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Artist: Space Buddha & Toasted Title: Reality Check Label: Agitato Records Date: August, 2014 1. Connection To Psy 2. Nirvana (2014 Remix) 3. Reality Check 4. Drifter 5. Modo 6. DMT to Goa 7. Goa Sunrise 8. Last Chance 9. Straight Ahead It seems like some people never want to grow up and mature. I get it, you gotta get a job, gotta pay bills...Hell you can't even nuzzle in the soft, comforting confines of a woman's breasts that you just met. Cute as a toddler, but that's assault now. You'll face some hard time. Space Buddha has been around for a long time. He should really know better. This generic full-on pablum would've sounded dated a decade ago. Same tired, racing bass lines and cornball melodies. It's kiddie-glowstick music. Zero depth. Zero soul. The only positive here is that it's strictly a digital only release so other than the airwaves it didn't physically pollute the environment. Not that you needed it, but here's a reality check. This is some outright sh*tty music.

Artist: Various Title: Analog Dreams Label: DAT Records Date: August, 2014 1 Hallucinogen - LSD '93 2 Space Tribe - The Great Spirit (Original Mix) 3 Doof - We Are Free (Desk Mix) 4 Slinky Wizard - Funkus Munkus (Original Mix) 5 Green Nuns Of The Revolution - Ring Of Fire (Extended Mix) 6 Total Eclipse - Free Lemonade (Live in Paris 1995) 7 Etnica - Full On (Original Mix) 8 Prana - Voyager 2 9 Nervasystem - Whirling Dervish (Kaleidoscope Mix) "Let me show you something. That'll make you feel young as when the world was new." DAT Records is back with its latest compilation and the hype levels were off the charts. And why wouldn't they be? Look at that tracklist. Ain't seen that sh*t since Destination Goa. Draeke takes what is old and makes it new again, building it better. Faster. Stronger. Yeah that 55 Chevy looks great, but it's stunning with a new coat of paint and a souped up intake valve. As a special bonus the album comes with an 8 page booklet that provides welcome insight to the tracks. Love that. LSD '93- This is one of the greatest goa trance songs. Ever. It's full of power and mystical possibilities. Blows my mind that this was made 21 years ago. This version however is weaker and loses some of its gravitas. Think of the track as the elder statesman of the goa trance age. Don't take away his Viagara. The Great Spirit (Original Mix)- Olli's brand of goa always felt lacking and incomplete to me. Let's face it he ain't in the top ten when you discuss the masters of the genre. I remember album covers more than tracks. But I liked this one. Not a stormer, but a subtle guide with good attention to detail. It weaves hypnotically with a tribal feel. We Are Free (Desk Mix)- Not a fan of the repeated samples, but the crunchy lead synth running through its cycle is delicious and juicy. Funkus Munkus (Original Mix)- Very acidic with dark, tribal overtones. Ring of Fire (Extended Mix)- Kitty like original better. Free Lemonade (Live In Paris 1995)- I've never liked this song to begin with so the fact that it was recorded live in Paris is not going to change my mind. Unless it includes round trip airfare tickets then of course I'm on board. Full On (Original Mix)- Say what you want about this track but I really liked it. The sounds were crystal clear and all the layers were nice and bubbly. Voyager 2- You hear how sneaky that lead is? Dancing. Mandatory. This is what old school goa trance was all about. Foreign and exotic, opening up doors with magical possibilities. Trance state achieved. Whirling Dervish (Kaleidoscope Mix)- The album closes with a mysterious almost downtempo goa song heavy with ancient shaman sensibilities. At first there was euphoria with climax inducing praise. As you got farther into the release thread you would've thought this was a dud. Wrong. With regards to criticism about the mastering let me tell you for home listening this doesn't appear to be an issue for me. Sounds great on headphones or my speakers. I will say that on some tracks the kick sounds muted and others it's right in front in the mix. But guess what? These tracks are old. Some older than you. I imagine that they weren't in the greatest condition and a balance had to be struck when mastering the album. Didn't take any enjoyment away from me. I like hearing different versions of well known tracks. They're not all going to be hits, that's why the famous ones are the famous ones and the other aren't. Prana ain't Prana because they released Kollage. Someone said that we are reluctant to criticize our favorite labels and that may be true to some degree. But not because of some blind loyalty. Maybe we're afraid that they'll stop doing what they do. And we enjoy goa trance way too much to have it goaway. (See what I did there?) Making an album and releasing a CD seems like hard work. Harder work than I want to do. Especially if it's trying to resurrect older material. You're not going to please everyone. Sometimes you hit a home run and sometimes you put your uniform on backwards. While nowhere near as epic as Live in Athens this album is a worthy addition to your collection. Why? It's like listening to a piece of history that has only recently been discovered. Sometimes history ain't pretty and can leave you with more questions than answers. Sometimes you might not like what you find. Like you I love what DAT Records does and hope they keep doing it as long as the passion is still there. They have my full support and I will continue buying their music. Having missed out on this great era once I have no intention of repeating that mistake. DAT Records Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Stellar Discovery Label: Goa Galaxy Date: August, 2014 01. Cactus Arising - Magic Notes (9:54) 02. Somnesia - When Stars Dream (7:12) 03. Protorai - Treetop Kingdom (8:09) 04. VinShu - Darkness Behind (7:03) 05. Nash Mafia Blues - Apocalypse (6:48) 06. Proxeeus - Orbiting Arcturus (8:03) 07. SatanicElectro - Comfortable Man (8:13) 08. Jagoa - Astral Flower Power (9:47) 09. Itzamnia - Teleport To The Moon (Solar Mix) (6:57) 10. Travma - Shaolin's (6:05) Goa Galaxy is a Bulgarian netlabel which has been releasing a few digital compilations and EPs over the years. I suppose the best way you could describe them would be as a giant steaming bowl of Stellar Discovery followed it's older brother Galactic Discovery in more than just album covers. Some of the tracks are good, some ok, and clearly some were the result of incriminating photos. None made me want to dance, but that could be because I'm lazy. Something is missing from the tracks, some sort of dynamism that encourages repeated listens. The tracks themselves are a notch below those of the established labels and none of them evoked any kind of emotion from me. Whether that's due to the production, mastering, or the financial collapse in Greece I couldn't tell you, but it's easy to hear. So with this new release Goa Galaxy continued to fill the bowl with more mediocrity. Give me the Proxeeus, Nash Mafia Blues, and Jagoa tracks and I'm outta here. Goa Galaxy Free Download

Artist: Shamanizm Parallelii Title: The World In A Drop of Rain Label: Neogoa Date: August, 2014 01 - Box With Old Toys (130 BPM) 02 - Place Where Ganga Was Born (140 BPM) 03 - United Spirit (120 BPM) 04 - Shadows Of The Mountain's Shamans (146 BPM) 05 - Space Sweet Home (120 BPM) 06 - Three G (- BPM) 07 - The World In A Drop Of Rain (120 BPM) 08 - Erinaceus Europaeus In The Mist (92 BPM) What the hell is this? My inner OCD wants to...nay, needs to put this in a neat and tidy box, but after washing my hands twelve times in a row I can't place it. It's all over the place with no boundaries. You have to have boundaries don't you? That's what all the high school girls keep telling me. They wouldn't lie would they? This is part dub and downtempo, part Pink Floyd, and a soucon of Shpongle. It's not very relaxing and is jam packed sonically. Throw the rules out the window I've closed six times (and immediately reopened) in hope to define this. So I'm gonna break the cardinal rule of obsessive compulsive disorder. The holy grail. F*ck it. Yeah I said it. Freedom b*tches! Don't bring your closed minds or neatly prepared boxes for this. Just revel in the insane amount of detail located within. Get lost trying to find out where the hell it's going to go. Enjoy the musicianship and patience it must've taken to put this together. I still don't know what I'm listening to, but I recognize quality when I hear it. Hell I'm not even sure I like it. It's experimental with loads of weirdness (see the last track). Did they just put a curse on me? Oh God...starting to backslide. This might be too good for my small mind to process. And that beautiful cover art isn't helping! Can you f*ckers please throw me a bone? Where's the goa Neogoa? Is it techno? Shoegaze? *sobbing, pleading* Dear God I don't even know what that last word is!! Free at Ektoplazm Mdk