rino

WOW!!! I know what's gonna keep blasting outta my speakers for some time to come... Like it hasn't got enough plays up untill now! Cool, thanx to the guys at Metapsychic

Damn, "Fusion" always does it for me much more than "Revolution"! But always... Oh well, to each his own...

Say what?

Astral Projection- "Trust in trance" (1996) Mastering by: Ben Bernefeld I wrote in my review of this album that it is futile comparing this sound-wise album to any other from that entire period because the sheer clearness, sharpness and crispiness that Astral Projection had in 1996 was not matched by anybody up until... who knows??? I always thought that I somehow got my lucky fingers on some remastered, deluxe edition of "trust in trance" with an error on it, saying the album was from 1996. Only to discover there was never a remaster... How they did it, it's only a mystery!!! And speaking of the Pleiadians mastering, "I.F.O." is by far my all time album, bar none, the absolute winner, the best goa trance I have ever heard, the best music I have ever heard those four italin masters put out, and I would never do something as horrible as speak against it, but people... come on- nobody ever loved this album for its mastering. Nobody. Ever. If one fact is accepted throughout the psy/goa trance community, it is that the italian geniuses had some sound trouble until they moved to a high-tech studio in Ibiza, in the year 2000. But did anybody ever complain? No. Why? Because when music "speaks" for itself as much as their music did, the last thing on your mind is the sound quality when listening to it...

Because I actually read it in an extensive music article a couple of years ago- the article was about all the sampling, copyright and plagerazing stuff. Now, when you are an artist, and a signed one too (meaning you are bound to a record deal), the material you produce under a certain name belongs to the label, which has the exclusive right of publishing those tracks. So, for example, when I come to you (and let's pretend that you're a record label executive) and I want to use a track from one of your artists, for a compilation my label has in preparation, you give me the licenced right to use that track on a certain various artists compilation. Nothing more. It's not like I'm buying the track in a sense that I can do whatever the hell I want with it... When you remaster a track, when you have the right to do that, it means you own the track, and all the rights to it, and in the case of the Tantrance compilations, that is not true. How do I know? Well, it says inside the liner notes (the stuff about copyright, and the reserved rights of the only Tantrance V.A. I actually own!). Now, you can argue me, and say that the "Retrodelic vibes" compilations have older tracks with the remastered sound, and I would say: "OK, nemo, you win!" without trouble, but my biggest argument for the Tantrance compilations is common sense, good headphones and a pair of very healthy ears ! And, as well as I pointed out before, there is no word about remastering on my copy of Tantrance 4, which I bought, by the way, back in the day to have Plastic and Elektron Bender on original CDs!!! On the other hand, as radi correctly pointed out, on compilations like Tantrance what does happen from time to time, is that you have alternate versions of already released and known tracks, which are unfortunately (NOT always) very often left overs, that have never made it to the final cut, from better and more complete versions that have already previously seen the light of day on proper albums or 12''. If you don't believe me- take any two V.A.s you have from and make sure one is Tantrance, and that the other one is any compilation that contains a track previously heard on the Tantrance one... And let me know! See, sometimes it's just enough to sit down and listen properly... And, just let me ask you, for example, my Tantrance compilation is from 1997, the same year that Etnica's Plastic came out. So, why would anybody remaster in the year 1997 a track that was produced that very same year. And just look at the tracklists on those Tantrances- in 97% of the cases, those are tracks released in the same year as the compilation came out... My hands are falling off from writting, we can continue after a short commercial break...

So after so many warnings pointed at me to stay on topic, I'm the only one who hasn't gone off yet. Cool. Up until now. Now I will. I have to. In no way did I say radi is stupid. Why? Because I do not know him. What he wrote though (his statements and thoughts) are dull. In another words. yes, I said they were stupid. And I am willing to repeat it another 20 times. Why? Because the statement that the tracks for the Tantrance compilation series were additonaly remastered is wrong... Period. The tracks were merely collected, and put on CD. Naturally, only after the home labels of the artists in question gave the permission to use those tracks on other V.A.s. Each and every track from any of the Tantrance compilations was previously released on other places... The Tantrance series, however, remains a nice compilation, which very often successfuly collected the best of goa trance from a certain period, and gave the listeners a nice overlook of where the genre stands in the given moment. And as for the Doof track fro Tantrance, it is an alternate version of the track from "Let's turn on", in the same fashion that there were two versions of the track Atomic Armadillo by the Green Nuns Of The Revolution... Or, the same thing that took place with Crop Circles' Lunar Civilization, which had only one version released, and other 6 or 7 stayed alternate mixes, seen only on bootleg compilations and DJ mixes... So, when radi says he likes that version better, he is actually not saying ANYTHING about the Tantrance series, but more expressing his opinion on a single track. Furthermore, that implies that this whole thread is pointless, because all he said in the first place is that he like some tracks which just happened to find themselves on Tantrance. And why does he think they have better sound than elsewhere, that's his and only his secret. Maybe he should ask his speakers before going out public on a forum...

This is as stupid as it gets, man. 1. Robostix also appeared on Transwave's 1995 EP, Hypnorhthm. 2. Astral Projection's Power Gen appeared on about 3(!!!) compilations before it came up on Tantrance, and in the exact same version as well. 3. All the tracks from the Tantrance series compilations were priorly recorded at artist's studios and home labels, so whoever compiled these compilations, only collected the tracks! Whoever compiled them DID NOT sign artists and neither did he master a single track. Whoever compiled them did not get exclusive, never heard before tracks from some artists... 4. Your statement is on the same level as saying that the Destination Goa compilations have better audio quality than Distance To Goa because artists tried harder to produce better tracks for the first one... Hello?!? What is wrong here? They are in 97% tracks previously released, produced and mastered for other albums, and label compilations (such as T.I.P.'s "Blue Compilation", "Orange Compilation" or Transient Records "Transient Dawn" or "Dance, trance and magic plants")and licenced to labels like Why Not? Records and Leguan, who then made these compilations... Snap out of it, yo!

I do not see one possible reason why it should be any trouble, unless you pack some plastic C4 in your CD cases...

His Story: Aw yes, how and where to begin with Astral Projection's debut album? So much paraise has been given to "Trust in trance" that it seems as though this album single handedly goa trance. And then perfected, polished and ended it! Which might be overstating things a bit, but Astral Projection played a fundemental role in molding this style. It is hardly imaginabile what would the whole psy/goa trance scene have developed into if it wasn't for them. By the time of this album's release, Astral Projection have already established themselves as a force to be reckoned with via some previously released singles, under their SFX moniker, but it was mainly Mahadeva and Let There Be Light. The first one became an instant classic, tore apart dance floors worldwide for over two years and put Israel on the map as the Mecca of goa trance. A little later, Let There Be Light appeared on the "Orange compilation" from the super influential, London based The Infinity Project Records, and Astral Projection blew the hell up. All they needed was an album to avoid the "one hit pony" sticker glued to their name! Even though it was already then hard to label them as one time hit makers, considering they had released an album, together with Yan-iv Haviv and Guy Sebbag, as SFX, and an EP as Aban Don, both in 1995. But it was first and foremost the name Astral Projection that caught the attention of listeners everywhere, while those releases made them superstars in their own country, where Avi Nissim and Ya-niv Haviv were already famous and respectable DJs with regular gigs in clubs nation wide. So by 1996, they introduced themselves quite nicely to their soon to be international fan base. Keep in mind that back in 1994, when singles like Mahadeva came out, there was no Internet promotion and stuff, and Astral Projection made more eyebrows rise with it than most of today's artists can with three albums, plus label, radio and Internet advertising put together! Well, enough of the history part, as everybody probably knows it already by heart, and let's focus on the album, as there is a lot to focus on here... The Album: The album opens up with Kabalah, a timeless collaboration between DJ Jorg and Astral Projection. A beautiful track with what is, IMO, one of the best melodies in the history of goa trance, kicking in at 01:35! As mesmerizing as it ever got. I know that from today's production viewpoint, this doesn't seem fairly complex or difficult to come up with, but part of its beauty lays in the fact Astral Projection came up with it first. They did it their own way before anybody else did, and just because something produced ten years ago may sound overly simple in some demanding listener's ears, that does not mean that it lost its efficency or classic status during time. For example, the track's mid part is soooo uplifting it entrances me today as much as the first time I heard it. And I know the track by heart front to back. Speaking of the last two minutes here... An expose on how to make a classic climax. What a track! What a track here. And then we move into another classic, Enlightened Evolution, which is Avi Nissim's and Lior Perlmutter's solo effort here, and what a tune it is as well. Now, when I say their solo effort, I say it because generally Astral Projection is considered their solo project without Guy's and Yan-iv's interfearance, although it is known that the latter had his fingers in the majority of tracks on this particular release. Back to the track, which opens with a wonderful female robotic sample going: "We have determined that the human form is best suited to our purposes", and from there up to 02:45 the track has an introduction part, fairly long, but so perfectly constructed it drives me crazy. It seriously has to be one of my all time favorite track introductions, followed by a killer sample, by the same female space-age vocal saying: "Converging on a higher from deepest space... Enlightened Evolution!", and then the lead melody kicks in! A marvellous transition from the intro to the climax. In fact, I still think this track is one of the best Astral Projection tracks construction wise- so powerful, futuristic, and intensely psychedelic. Needles to say, it is another classic! The Feelings is up next, and while I don't think it's on the same level as the previous two tracks, the one minute interlude from 04:23 to 05:23 is beyond words. Just listen to it, the track slowly builds up for around four minutes, and the melodies Avi and Nissim rip during that minute are some of the nicest they ever did. And that is saying a lot about the track. For the last two minutes it tends to ease up on the psychedelia level, but that only emphasizes the inexpressible intensity of the climax during the mid section. Overall, the melodies throughout the whole track are nice, and suite the its mood perfectly. The fourth track, Utopia is one of their greatest floor arsonists they have ever done. The bass heavy kick on this one is mad hard, making it perfect to just... spread your hands out far and wide and get buckwild! It' only after arond three minutes that you really get the taste of the main melody here, and what else to expect but a killer one. Again. From here on it only gets better, resulting in an ultimately highly melodic climax. Once again, the melodies used here are far from mind puzzling, when compared to today's production vaults. But let me ask you: What is the point in comparing a mid ninetees goa trance album with today's psy trance? It doesn't do justice to neither one. And who on earth questioned these melodies and their level of musicality back in the day? They sounded awesome back in the day. They sound awesome today. They will sound awesome another ten years from now. Period. It's another one track of Astral Projection's sure shots. And who can keep count of those? Black & White is the track I still play the living hell out of it whenever I get the chance to. Very fast paced, very psychedelic, but not as melodic as the previous tunes. Not that there are no melodies, it's just that I never dug them as much as some other ones on the album. OK, the acicdic melodies from 02:45 are spectacular. I take back what I said two sentences ago. And the break is very nicely done here with that short twirling melody repeating itself. Oh, and some more acidic synths thrown in afterwards for good measure. Naturally, this is still an excellent track. Now, the next one is... well... People Can Fly . Need I add anything else? All I am going to say that if you don't have this track you don't like trance, be it psychedelic, euro, club, whatever. Or even worse, you don't like electronic music. Hell, I'd go as far as to say you don't have any respect for music if you do not own this track. My mother listens to it when driving my dog to the veterinarian. But I have to reflect some... I remember how it was the world's greatest mystery and eternal quest to find out where the sample comes from. Nobody knew it. And then, a few years later, I rejoiced when I saw the movie "Kalifornia" and discovered it was David Duchovny's voice (it's the scene when they're driving on the highway, he's driving and thinking to himself, Michelle Forbes is taking pictures with her camera, while Juliette Lewis and Brad Pitt are cooling on the back seats). If you stepped to me taking s**t about this one back in the day, I'd regularly score a three pointer with the basketball- in your face! A track beyond this universe. For nine minutes and fifty five seconds, Astral Projection make you believe flying is possible, even without airplanes or Leonardo's crazy plans and drawings. The impact of this track on the entire scene is still hardly intelligible, matched only by a handful of other tracks. MFG appear as guest stars on Radial Blur, the album's seventh track, and although I was never crazy about them, this collaboration is amazing. Especially those descending sound effects falling onto the track at around 02:25 while a melody is killing it. I always adored those. This track is an israeli all-star tune, or at least that is how I always saw it. Four of the most known israeli goa trance producers mash on the same track! How can it even cross anybody's mind that this even comes close to being anything but staggering. Oh yeah, and if you are still not convinced, the melodies from 05:08 clear all doubts about the track. Climaxxxx! Golden goa from the golden era gaining golden duckats! The penultimate track, Aurora Borealis is the lightest one here. Some really dreamy melodies here, and to me, this one always sounded more as a "Dancing galaxy" type of track, but it fits in just perfectly even here. Actually, it does its purpose as a guide towards the album's grand finale. It is not ambient or downtempo for that matter, it is just much "softer" than the other tracks, a much more morning tune, obviously intended for the party's closing hour or so! The melodies are still very fresh and constantly changing throughout the track, with new ones continuosly arriving from the background to the forefront! And the short break with the sweet melody being the only thing heard at six minutes, before the final closing and clash of these beautiful sounds comes back on track is, yes you guessed it once again, beautiful (I shoud really update my vocab some time soon now, as I often think I repeat myself too much...). And the album's closing number, Still Dreaming (Anything Can Happen) is a downbeat version of the album's pinnacle track, People Can Fly. But this one has some newly added, and lighter melodies accompanying the "usual" stuff. And I am especially into the slow motion climax of this one; think of the break-sample-killer climax of People Can Fly, and then slow it all down, and you get a climax on a downtempo track! I know I enjoy it a whole lot. Well, it's hard for me not to enjoy this one, as I seem to really have a special thing for the original! One of my all time favorite closing tracks- up there with Trip Tonite and Celaeno! 01. Kabalah FEAT. DJ Jorg 10 02. Enlightened Evolution 10 03. The Feelings 8 04. Utopia 9 05. Black & White 9 06. People Can Fly 10 07. Radial Blur FEAT. MFG 9 08. Aurora Borealis 9 09. Still Dreaming (Anything Can Happen) 8.5 The Verdict: This is a classic debut album where Astral Projection defined an entire genre. They set whole new standards for the cca. '96 sound, and although I'm in no way saying that they are the only ones who had amazing, truly original and rule setting music during that period, I can comfortably say that nobody did it with so much attitude and self confidence as they did. They threw it in your face so fast and hard you could not dogde their sound if you wanted to. I guess I could describe "Trust in trance" as a stone cold concrete wall which suddenly appeared in front of you, and it was so wide, you sensed it was useless trying to go around it. And it was as high up as your eye-sight could reach. But you chose to hike up that wall in order to see how high will it take you. And the more you went up in altitude, the better you felt. Get the point? After this album's arrival, it was impossible not to be aware of Astral Projection's presence on the scene. It was the epiphany of goa trance, the establishment of the fact on how goa trance was supposed to sound like in its essence. The world was watching and listening- and they very much liked what they saw and heard- thus catapulting these two producers to superstardom! Where they more or less undisturbed resided until the year 2000, but that's another story. With "Trust in trance", Astral Projection's iron fist took a firm grip of the psy/goa trance scene, and did not loosen that same grip for years to come. And eventhough some of their own original fans eventually got tired of their sound, there is simply nothing bad to say about this album. Even people who with time got skeptical of A.P.'s work tend to look at this release as a true masterpiece and an example of an artist in top form. Speaking of sound, this album has more than impressive mastering, taking in consideration the year it was made in. Astral Projection's sound is incredibly crisp, sharp, clear and polished, making it almost pointless to compare with most other releases of that era. Mr. Ben Bernfeld is the same of the mastering ingeneer here, and there is no way I can end this release without mentioning his name, as the work he did here is immaculate. With no conception. Furthermore, recently I've been hearing some negative comments about this album, calling it overly commercial and pop-goa trance. I mean, back when this came out, terms like "pop goa" or "commercial goa trance" were not even in the process of making. What you need to distinguish is being popular and making pop music. While Astral Projection were very popular and their music was always in demand, and who can blame them for getting all that fame when you make music as beautiful as this, they were not pop artists. Yes, there's a very fine line between being undeservably popular and filthy rich, and getting your fair share by producing outstanding music which thankfully found its core public. And that same public gave a positive response to A.P.'s magical albums by making them the hottest name in the history of goa trance. So, pay your respects where they are do, if you somehow managed not to do it yet! FINAL SCORE: 9.5/10 You got it, this is a c-c-c-c-class kick!!!

I would have to say that these two can take a seat and watch and learn from Laurent Garnier. Yeah, even though Hawtin's fantastically phenomenal techno masterpiece Minus Orange is by far THE best techno track I have ever heard, but IMO, the frenchman IS electronic music, and yes I admit, Richie is hot on his heels... @ seraph: I have listened to all the "In the mix" series, and if I recollect, the fourth one still stands as my favorite. Otherwise, my favorite work from Sven Vaeth is his second album, "The Harlequin, The Beauty and The Beast".

A few years ago, I would have been amongst the first people in Europe to buy this double CD mix, but unfortunately I have to say this guy has been nothing but disappointment during the last years, IMO. I got kind of tuned out of the whole Vaeth mania... But I still might give it a try, I might even get positively surprised, if it's half of what you say it is!

EDIT: I posted this same enormous review twice... ! So I naturally had to delete one review... Feel free to call me an idiot.

This has got to be the most debated Astral Projection album. By some it's considered the quintissential goa/psy trance release, while by others regarded as the album where the israeli golden boys started to lose their touch with reality and decided to head for superstardom. What is unquestionable, however, is that this is by far their most famous output, conceived in a manner almost impossible not to be liked. "Dancing galaxy" has it all: epic leads, joyful melodies throughout, banging' kicks, shining production, undeniable charm and likeability, and last but not least, enormous cross over potential. I mean, everything that made them popular was multiplied by a thousand here, thus making it the most sold album in the history of the genre. My personal feelings towards this album are somewhere in between calling it a masterpiece and dispatching it as a blatant sell out attempt. While I adored tracks like the opener Dancing Galaxy, Life On Mars and Flying Into A Star ever since first popping this into my stereo, the rest took me years to appreciate! And I'm still not that crazy about the remaining tracks. In my opinion, they lack edge and challenging moments when compared to their previous material. In addition to that, I find tracks like No One Ever Dreams, Liquid Sun and Soundform too formulaic, and well, shallow. Yes, despite their warm, euphoric and larger-than-life melodies, I cannot but feel these tracks were made to be hits, if you follow me. I can play any one of those tracks to any one of my techno/house/drum 'n' bass infatuated friends any given day of the week, and they'll be jumping all over my bedroom walls. If this genre was ever predestined to spit out a hit album, this was it. The Billboard #1 release on the eternal charts of goa trance... To conclude, this is an album not to be missed- Astral Projection fans already own at least two copies, and trust me, other music fans are not far behind. Whether you love 'em or bash 'em to death, this one deserves at least a dozen proper spins. As much as I was never crazy about this alleged magnum opus of theirs, its magnitude and importance is not to be missed or ignored.

I am thouroughly impressed by this new, and uttery effective criteria for judging Simon Posford's music you so gently unleashed upon us. Now that I am aware of the fact your cousin likes Shpongle, I tend to notice their music to take me at the speed of light to new and unexplored territories of the human psyche. I feel as though I was reliving another enlightened evoultion. Unfortunately this is as far away as possible from A.P.'s one... Post that video too, I'll try and find y'all in order to take you out of your miseries with two removable cannons attached to my mechanical arms, and heat sensor guided rocket launchers leaning over my forehead. Resistance is futile. Furthermore, I am deeply convinced that each and every "Posford hater" worlwide is deeply ashamed of ever dissing that producer's integrity or credibility, moreso when they came to knowledge of your cousin's fascination with his Shpongle project... I reckon that the existance on the face of the earth of every Posford hater became meaningless once you've smacked them across the face with this indispensable piece of information!

I never said anything about not agreeing on what IDM is. In fact, I am not by any means going against what I quoted and you wrote, however all I was saying is... ...that I agree with Time_Trap, and that is the same thing I said: Cosmosis- "Moonshine" is NOT an IDM track, it's an oldschool goa trance track... an awesome one too!

Miranda- gnocchi (short, catchy, unforgettable and plainly simple. But undeniably effective.) Technossomy- V.T.O.L. (why? Because this abbreviation got around 3/4 of the world's goa/psy trance listeners wondering what the hell it meant! Naturally, today it doesn't raise that many eyebrows, but think back- remember how cool was it to be one of the "enlightened" ones who knew what it stood for? ) Oh yeah, and the album title of Pelinpala's debut release: My CD has landed on the next dor neighbours dog (wonderful title)

OK, for the first one, I'm officially jelaous... The first track on this release is one of my all time favorites!!! Too bad I only have this on MP3, but I won't give up... IMO, the last truly great Infected Mushroom track is the jaw dropping monster "Roll us a giant" from the B.P. Empire EP! I find each and every track produced since to be pathetic... Just my two cents, that's all!

Sir, with all due respect, I think you got things mixed up. A lot. Or you simply used the wrong thread, or the wrong forum, for the matter of fact. In my music book, "Moonshine" is as far away from IDM as Michael Jacksons's "Stranger in Moscow"...

No, sir, it was not even in the subcontext that you are an idiot! I agree that Infected Mushroom can release whatever the hell they want, it is their and only their choice. That's why I say that I am disapppointed with the direction they took, and somebody else might like it. To each his own. Oh yeah, by the way, about the genre mixing thing, I was always skeptical about it, so don't take it to your heart . I have always been the type who went: "If you wanna give me hip hop, give me hip hop. If you are giving me rock music, then let me hear some real rock music". And psy trance was never an exception- when I'm in a mood for some pop, I'll play my New Order records...

In human terms, caused by a lack of ideas and creativity, the thought of mixing two otherwise unmatchable genres, and thus fattening their already big bank accounts, seemed just dazzling. I despise Infected Mushroom for this. I am not an idiot: I am very well aware of the difference between pushing your music to new and unexplored territories and simply selling out.

Ignorance is bliss... Today is like my studying "day off", and I think I'm gonna go scroll back into my bed... And have nightmares of Dante and Bocaccio smacking me across the face with hard-coover, hand written copies of "The Divine Commedy" and "Decameron" until I agree to translate them to ancient greek. Yuk!!!

Cool, guess I'll catch on some time later then. Even though I'm not on these last few weeks as well- I have exams . But I'll be back and regularly there in about 10 days. Dumb Question: there is no time difference between Finland and Croatia, right? God, I can't believe I got the courage to ask something as blatant as this on a public forum...

Oh, come on... This really seems like a fairy tale, with a happy ending only the Grimm brothers could have come up with! If I recollect, Air Born has the "Licenced to slink track", right? Amazing stuff...

Damn Oopie... I sure as hell use a hand when I'm writting those literature critics... Damn you got a knack for writting. Same here for the MSN, I've been on, but haven't seen you either. In fact, I've seen noboday on MSN lately... I am really that repulsive? Wait, I'll check your profile and see if I even added you properly. Laters! EDIT: I don't feel personylly offended... no offense taken. Yeah, I guess this discussion could be taken to X Files territiroy with all the "the truth is somewhere out there", "the truth is relative" etc.

wow... thanx!