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Artist: Zonka Title: Remixes Part II Label: Uxmal Records Date: April, 2011 1. Sideform - Deeper Unity (Zonka Remix) 2. Sideform - Low Rider (Zonka Remix) Someone asked me to throw some bones towards the progressive crowd so here goes. Zonka is the co-founder of Mexican label Uxmal Records and while their progressive isn't on the same level as Iono Music or Tesseract's they do have some great tracks. The first EP of remixes is a perfect example of that. Which leads me to believe that Mr. Zonka should make more music. Or at least produce a few more remixes. He takes two Sideform tracks (neither of which I've heard) and it's magic. This is bubbly and dreamy melodic progressive. Replete with effects to just plunge you into the moment. Groovy and right in my strike zone with zero wasted space. Recommended for a quick progressive shot in the arm. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Senzar Title: Before the Morning Sun Label: Lookinglook Records Date: April, 2011 01 - Intro (feat. Ariel Electron) (0 BPM) 02 - Deep Sea Civilization (0 BPM) 03 - Before The Morning Sun (66-132 BPM) 04 - Power Of Light (75 BPM) 05 - Mos På Træerne (75 BPM) 06 - Finsteraarhorn (Erot Remix) (85 BPM) 07 - Sun Dance (90 BPM) 08 - Path Of Dhyana (60-120 BPM) 09 - Book Of Dzyan (120 BPM) 10 - Before The Morning Sun (NASA Remix) (128 BPM) This is Denmark's own Thoke Fillip Anders Thomsen with his debut album originally released a year earlier. Ever wonder what it would be like to do maintenance on the International Space Station with 21st century CGI camera angles? That's how I would describe this. The melodies and pads are extremely soft and gentle as the beats move from drone to ambient to deep trance territory. The album is aptly named as each track promotes images of dawn across the globe. With the samples and long drifting pads there is a heavy sci-fi feel to the entire album. Futuristic without being threatening. I don't know how to even write that Danish track (I think if I tried to copy paste it I would unknowingly open the gates of hell), but it sounds like the soundtrack to the movie Gravity. Positively uplifting fitting in well with that morning cup of coffee. Ready to go to your boss and ask for that raise? Take this with you. Time to confront your husband on why it takes an hour and a half to drop off the babysitter when she lives down the street? You go girl. Working up the courage to ask little Johnny why he spends an hour in the john "combing his hair?" Now you're talkin'. If I have one gripe with this album it's that there isn't much evolution. He finds a melody or groove and rides that puppy all the way to the end. With tracks floating around the nine minute mark it can get slightly tedious. Oh and one more thing. Sometimes it was so positive and uplifting that it felt cheesy at times. That said if you can't imagine performing a spacewalk to this then maybe it's time to stop sniffing paint. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Various Title: The King of Nothing Label: Neurotrance Records Date: April, 2011 01 - Fuzzonaut - Flashback (145 BPM) 02 - Oberon - Loosing Control (142 BPM) 03 - N.O.X.Y. - Quick Turn (145 BPM) 04 - Rigel - Voltage Controlled Freak (145 BPM) 05 - Le Guide - Mantrance (146 BPM) 06 - Deep South - Gaia Power (148 BPM) 07 - Erofex - The End (147 BPM) 08 - Wizack Twizack - Razors And Ice Cream (System Sequence Remix) (150 BPM) 09 - Organikka - Dreams (148 BPM) 10 - H1N1 - We Have All Power (147 BPM) 11 - Malice In Wonderland & Electrypnose - Los Viajeros (143 BPM) 12 - Clean Trip - Wrong Serenade (143 BPM) 13 - Oblivion vs Psoma - Psychopsomatics (145 BPM) 14 - Wizack Twizack - Pumpen (146 BPM) 15 - Hanuman - Darkness In My Room (147 BPM) 16 - Erofex & Oxezy - Power History (150 BPM) 17 - Box Of Evil - Against The Evil (152 BPM) 18 - Dark Fox - Better Stronger Faster (150 BPM) 19 - Paranoiac - Just A Tiny Taste (148 BPM) 20 - Plaxius - Indigo Patrol (183 BPM) Wow this is a big one. It's a lot to digest so I'll just try and throw some bullet points at you. This is a dark themed compilation that is free at Ektoplazm. Such a giver that guy. In the beginning while still dark it's more accessible night time full-on. As you get deeper into this it becomes more heavy. Darker. Ending with what can only be described as darkpsy composed while riding a speeding bullet. Flashback sounded crystal clear with great production and who the hell doesn't want more Mario Brothers? Loosing Control didn't, it was steady and monotonous. Quick Turn isn't very quick at almost 10 minutes and while I like it's gurgling style it needs more evolution. Voltage Controlled Freak is mediocre full-on. Mantrance is a really stupid name for this boring track. There is nothing "man" about it unless it's wearing a dirty wife beater while sleeping on the couch watching Beavis and Butthead amidst half empty pizza boxes. Gaia Power really descended into the moaning of a female. And not the good kind. The End doesn't get here fast enough. Filler. Razors & Ice Cream (System Sequence mix)- The original was great from his 2nd album Dead End and this is a worthy remix. Full of power and acid. Dreams- "I think it's become clear that our sinful ways have damaged the boundary between the living and the dead." If you're going do dream, do it big I say. Do you think he went Gameboy first? Amateur. This hits the twilight button with lots of lasers. You like lasers. We Have all the Power is more proper twilight psytrance with acid flying all over the place and bundles of high energy. One of the best here marred only by that painful buildup near the end. Los Viajeros leans a little on the minimal side, but it eventually wakes up and becomes quite psychedelic. Wrong Serenade- "Give her a little serenade, make her feel at home." You wanna make her feel at home ask her what's for dinner. Psychopsomatics- the people behind this one spent too much time trying to manually tune into a radio station. Meh. Pumpen by Mr. Swedish Nightmare Tommy Axelsson keeps it dark with lots of echoing sounds and effects. Good one. Darkness in my room is really dark. If hell had a soundtrack it might sound like this. Power History is comprised of rumbly basses and Artifakt like abrasive sounds. Liked the funky breakbeat. Against the Evil by Box of Evil...what do you think it's gonna sound like? Surprise! It wasn't as evil as I thought it would be. More twilight in style with too many stops and starts. There's still screaming samples in it if you like that sort of thing. Better Stronger Faster- "We have the technology..." Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Not bad darkpsy track at all. Just a Tiny Taste is a spooky and eerie darkpsy-esque track with some haunting strings. Just a small taste of what it would be like to get lost in an insane asylum after the inmates somehow got out. Indigo Patrol is an exercise in speed. This is what someone on cocaine must feel like after 5 espressos. With a rocket surgically placed in his rectum. Super fast with sounds coming at you from all sides. By the time it was over I needed a cool down. Interesting to listen to, but not my cup of tea. I didn't think this was so great. Of course darkpsy ain't exactly my thing. All the comments are overwhelmingly positive, so those posting seem to follow the "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" mantra. Aren't you lucky I don't subscribe to that point of view. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Entanglement Label: None Date: April, 2011 01 - Mr. Bill vs Circuit Bent vs Tom Cosm - Incompusmentus 02 - Mr. Bill vs Circuit Bent - Salt Water 03 - Mr. Bill vs Circuit Bent vs Tom Cosm vs Sun In Aquarius - Tangle 04 - Mr. Bill vs Circuit Bent vs Tom Cosm - Coke & Caviar Sometimes I'm in the mood for something different. And that's the cool thing about our little corner of music, plenty of styles to explore. Take this for instance. It's a collaboration between Australian and New Zealand producers that deliver....what? F*ck I still don't know how to label this. I've heard some of Mr. Bill's noise and became an instant fan. Well let's go through the tracks. Incompusmentus- Big beat, dubstep, drum n bass, glitch...man this one has it all. So much so that you have to change your dancing style several times during the track. I mean, you can't dance to dubstep when he switches to drum n bass...you'll look like an idiot. Wobbly basses and nasty techo noises with beats that push the funky limits had me rockin' out. Yep...that is my jam. Salt Water- More slow saunter with techno beats and sounds that sound like they're spinning manhole covers like nickels. Slow that is until they hit hyperspace and this thing picks up speed. What's cool is that is vassilates with slow, fresh sounding breaks. Not enough? Then they come at you with a Riddler-esque type of lounge progressive that is cooler than the guys in Ocean's Eleven think they are. Bravo gentlemen. Tangle- This jazzy, glitchy mash-up is so smooth that I'm thinking this will surely get me into a Diddy linen party. Martini funky and nod your head awesome. Even when it slows to a crawl with a mechanical creaking, it's so interesting that I'm glued to it. It'll have 'em dancing on the ceiling (purposeful Lionel Richie reference). "For the last time, if you don't have a sack of loot get the f*ck off my chimney ya fairies!!" Coke & Caviar- Cooler than a Tron light cycle and nastier than old people body fluids this thing has an alien feel to it. While at the same time making me want a drink in the fading afternoon on the beach. I think the moral here is that experimentation can be awesome and more people should do it. 4/4 gets staler than week old bread, and trust me I know. My kid won't eat it. These guys combine lots of styles in each track to take you on a journey that has plenty of twists and turns guaranteed not to bore you. It's good time music that you can't help but appreciate. Hell the tracks are on the hard drive, but I have to leave the genre section blank because I have no clue how to label it. Recomennded. What's that? It's free? Get the f*ck outta here... Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Absence of Gravity Label: Sentimony Records Date: April, 2011 1. Free Search - REACTIVE 2. God's Channel (Original Version) - ASTROPILOT 3. Sandal - MARY BRUK 4. Tunguska - SPECTRUM VISION 5. We bring the light - ALEXANDER DAF 6. Endless Rotation - CHRONOS 7. Missing Bot - IRUKANJI 8. The third orbit - CJ CATALIZER 9. Nine - PSYFACTOR 10. Approaching to pulsar - NEIRULA 11. Once upon a time - UNSTABLE ELEMENTS Sentimony Records is a Russian downtempo label based in the Ukraine that was started by NeiRula and Irukanji. This release was put together to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight. Free Search- This is a lovely beatless ambient opening where the only constant is the soft hum of machinery perhaps scanning the fertile surface of an unknown planet for lifeforms. Creatures of the landscape chirp in response above futuristic pads. Got your space suit? God's Channel (Original Version)- Dmitry brings you 10 miles above the surface of the planet with some cold, droning pads as a discussion about space time unfolds. Everything seems to move in slow motion as the light from a nearby star reflects off the faceshield of an astronaut. This must be what it's like when your floating way up there with no sounds but your breathing. Sandal- The slow docking procedure of a vessel hums mechanically in the black void of space. Inside...it's deserted. The first beat of the compilation arrives in a methodical fashion as footsteps echo with a hollow timbre. Computer screens blink waiting for a command that will never come. Very spacious with gentle pads and a lead that rises and falls. I'm so chilled out right now. Tunguska- I imagine the sample is of Russian mission control speaking to their crew on a deserted space station. More droning ambient with a fast moving synth arpeggio. Could be the soundtrack to the astronaut on the cover making a few repairs. Someone check my pulse cause I'm fadin' fast. We Bring the Light- A short one here, but Alexander manages to bring a tribal aspect and a sparkle to the space journey. The rhythm picks up but nothing is changed. The same ambient that was happening before three minutes now has drums. It was nice, but simple and unremarkable. Endless Rotation- "I'm completely operational and all my circuits are functioning perfectly." This Russian duo have their 4th album called Inspirational Power out this year and here have the longest track on the compilation. Over 10 minutes of ambient...I might need a defibrillator. But instead of droning, his pads have dynamic strings and leads that don't let the mind wander. This is seeing the sun rise from behind a planet from 20 miles above the surface. Effects that speak to futuristic progress flutter as the beat gets heavier. The sample fits like a glove as the break vibrates with electricity. Chants and a slow synth line wavers out of the break and the track has an overall positive vibe. Very nice! Missing Bot- A far away chunky beat rumbles below some more spacious pads as a lead lightly growls. That beat germinates into an equally chunky breakbeat and this is easily the most aggressive track with scratchy synths. It's space chaos, I'm tellin' ya. If you were really sleepy this track put an end to naptime. The Third Orbit- Surprise, another Russian downtempo artist that brings floating pads and long, unwinding synths that drift in zero gravity. Soft melancholic tones drive home that isolated feeling one feels miles above the Earth. An awesome ambient piece that defines outer space ambient for me. Nine- Another Dmitry (must be like Mike over here in the States) that is well known for his darkpsy, but has been making a name for himself in the downtempo arena. Here we make our first alien contact with creatures that sound like the ones found in Pitch Black. Space dolphins if you will. It has a beat and it churns which gives it motion. It's ok I guess. Approaching To Pulsar- Ooohh, I like the gurgling metallic sweep. Metallic clankings ripple and where the other tracks marvelled at the beauty of space, this one shows you a darker side. Detuned synths provide a hallucinatory nightmare. Strings drone as a sample is drowned out. Not bad at all, but with the way it began I was hoping for something really twisted. Once Upon a Time- They could've ended this compilation on a great note, but instead decided to put an astronaut speaking to music. All the way through. If I wanted to know about the space missions I would've gone to the library and looked it up. A sample should enhance a track, not be it. Dis...wait for it...appointed. This was a nice trip into space with futuristic pads and atmosphere. It was a good mix of bright and dark themes with only the Irukanji track providing a hiccup in flow. Not saying it was bad, far from it. It just seemed...misplaced. The last track...c'mon man, leave that sh*t for school. My faves? The first three and the Chronos and CJ Catalizer tracks. http://www.beatspace...ity/detail.aspx http://www.psyshop.c.../smy1cd010.html http://www.goastore....roducts_id=4444 Mdk