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Artist: Hypnoxock Title: Mental Conversations Ep Label: Goa Trance Music Date: April, 2017 1. Transformation 2. Pecadus Nocturnis Hypnoxock (pronounced Hip-no-shock) is Victor Solsana's baby now and he's been on quite the f*cking roll. I haven't heard his latest Eurythmia yet, but I hear great things. And even before his latest this project has consistently put the psychedelia back into psytrance. From way back in 2009 with the night time trance of Logic Evolution to the more recent Sounds From Another Time this project has not disappointed. With their more recent turn towards goa we have even more reason to celebrate! Discogs says this is from 2015, but their bandcamp says 2016 so forgive me if I have placed this incorrectly. This digital ep has two tracks. Transformation builds well and it's not until more than halfway through that a goa melody finally unwinds. The end is the hammer and it's worth the wait. Pecadus Nocturnis twists and turns and even though it has a galloping bass line it brings a smile. Almost halfway through the break sprouts a new tributary in which to travel. And that new way...is a goa one. Well done. Super danceable and worth adding to your hopefully large Hypnoxock collection. Hypnoxock Bandcamp

Artist: Various Title: Goa Trance Revolution 2: Retrofuturism Label: Goa Trance Music Date: December, 2016 1. MK Ultra - Shivarathri 2. Athena - 20 Seconds 3. Spirit Dance - Telemetry 4. Indoor - Bom Shankar (Original 1995 DAT Version) 5. Shakta - Lepton Head (Veasna Remix) 6. Proxeeus - Tyca Tyca 7. Denshi Danshi - Leave The World Behind 8. Ephedra - Disappearing Dreams 9. Clementz - Circles I'm a little uncomfortable with German youth getting this excited. Hype. As long as people have been selling something, there has been hype. And you have to otherwise the masses won't know how great your product is. So many incredible inventions have simply ceased to exist because they didn't have a Flavor-Flav type hype man telling you how everyone is getting their product and if you don't then you'll be the only loser relegated to a lonely life in your cat urine stained one room apartment. Por ejemplo: "What the f*ck? Sheep sold separately? What a rip-off." So yeah hype is aggressive marketing. Our little music scene is no different. The labels have to get the word out otherwise they're gonna be left with a lot of backstock in mommy's basement. Which is why this compilation was so refreshing. Goa Trance Music isn't a label that releases a lot, but when they do you can rely on its quality. I don't recall a sh*tload of advertising here and the only reason I know about it is because of the forum here. Word of mouth is the best advertising they say so maybe those fine folks are on to something because this album is awesome. Like the previous version, this is a mix of old hard to find goa trance as well as some of today's artists. The older ones I had never heard of and they absolutely rip. Shivarathri is a blistering opener and Spirit Dance has that beach vibe that sweeps you up and carries you all the way through. So bouncy and melodic. You also get the full version of Indoor's Bom Shankar and while the track is fine it's the long break where its worth can be found. Bee-yoo-tiful. Throw in a very old track from Athena (Miranda) and it's like it's 1995 all over again. The new guys don't disappoint either with an impressive remix of Lepton Head. Proxeeus goes full India on Tyca Tyca and doesn't forget to bring his screeching 303. I'm uncertain whether the Denshi Danshi track is new or an old one, yet it is quite involved. Great to hear. The only track that didn't knock me over was Ephedra's Disappearing Dreams. Hands down the most mellow thing I have ever heard from him. The class of the new guys though has to be the closer Circles by Clementz. Where the hell did this guy come from? What a track! Intense and old school to the bone this is X-Dream reincarnated. So bottom line, this has to be one of the best compilations of 2016. No filler to be found with great mastering by the one and only Tim Schuldt. The artwork is retro also supplied by our good friend Ivan Richpa. Thumbs way up. Goa Trance Bandcamp

Artist: Afgin Title: Old Is Gold Selected Tunes (2006 - 2015) Label: Goa Trance Music Date: July, 2015 1. Ray of Light 2. Old Is Gold 3. Old Is Gold (Part 2) 4. Amanita 5. Astral Experience 6. Shine On 7. Fly With Me 8. Violet 9. The Sound of Goodbye 10. Aden Prayers (Part 2) Afgin. How can you not like this dude? From the beginning when we found some of his goa trance mp3s on the web back when the goa resurgence wasn't even a thing yet. Then came the Astral Experience from Suntrip which was great goa that forced sunshine out of every pore. After that were a few EP's and the Emotional Peaks maxi album. If you didn't think it was possible for his music to become more euphoric and melodic, those last releases put that notion to bed. So here's how I see Afgin. Talented as hell, good lookin' guy that seems to always have chicks around him, and I think he kick boxes too. On top of all that have you seen his FB feed? Dude roams the mountains of Israel in a sweet blue rig. Do you know anyone who has this much life win? I wish this fool would run for president. I'm not making this sh*t up people. There are those that think Afgin has sold out. I suppose the sign that you've made it is the cheesy album cover. It's already been memed so I'm not gonna post it here, but he's been doing his thing for a long time. Even if you perceive him to have sold out (which he hasn't) you have to respect his contribution to where goa is today as well as the volume of quality material he has produced. I've never spoken to him and I don't know him, but it feels like one of us made it to the top. Now I would lose my credibility as a reviewer if I didn't mention the copious amounts of cheese in Fly With Me. It's euphoric melodic trance at it's most epic. Real Paul Van Dyk stuff. But even here, he cannot resist throwing a little 303 at you. The music is the classic, full Afgin melodic sound. Don't dismiss it as soft though because some of these tracks also pack quite a punch. You get tracks from his albums and ep's as well as some unreleased and some never before released on a proper CD. Even when he goes all euphoric on you he always leaves traces of his goa roots. He really understands how to structure a track so that it's not just a collection of sounds but a dynamic, fluid tale. Respect. The music is well done, sounds great, and will not fail to put a smile on your face. Psyshop Beatspace