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Artist: Various Title: Suncokreti Label: Ultiva Records Date: May, 2009 1. Where Have We Been - California Sunshine 2. Icon - Ra 3. Metempsychosis - E-Mantra 4. Serbia - Chemical Products 5. Sunrise Zone - Radical Distortion 6. Abandoned Souls - California Sunshine 7. Tesla - Travma 8. Bruxism - Amanians 9. Rumble Fish - Jikooha Ultiva Records came out with this very attractive lineup in 2009. Never heard of this lavel, but even Suntrip had to start somewhere right? I guess they're legit, they have a FB page and everything. "Hey f*cknut, my dog has a FB page it's no big deal." My answer to that is you need to get laid because I'm pretty sure that your dog didn't agree to the terms of service. There wasn't a review only info in the label announcement forum on this site. And it uh, well...it wasn't very kind. The cover is beautiful (who doesn't like sunflowers?) but if you read that thread apparently Suncokreti which was written in cyrillic means get your sh*t together and fix that mastering problem. This point having been driven home by RA himself (calling his track unrecognizable) and one of the gents from Radical Distortion gave his own account. Not a good sign if the artists on the comp don't have very flattering things to say. Or to put it another way. After completing his masterpiece the Venus De Milo the museum curator says, "Yeah that's great, but where are the f*cking arms you hack? Nah don't worry about it, I'll get my guy to finish it. Beat it." Where Have We Been- Ah the answer to the question nobody has been asking. This is a horribly boring track that only sever as a placeholder. Why would you start with this weak sh*t? The object is to draw the audience in. "I found him! Yeah that won't get the stink off, you knew it was weak." Icon- This one gets regular plays from me today. It's massively powerful, melodic and the essence of a big track. Metempsychosis- The Polish Prince delivers one of his signature dreamy and trippy tracks. Picture the cosmic ballet unfolding all around you as you attempt to take it all in. Even with the sh*tty mastering this is spectacular and a window into what he had in store. Serbia- I think you have had enough chemical products. While not terrible the leads themselves were annoying like the buzz of a mosquito. Still not as bad as California Sunshine. Sunrise Zone- This project was so pissed off at the lack of mastering quality that they put their track on the net for free download. Good on them. Fairly standard as far as new school goes, but it'll get your heart moving. Abandoned Souls- CS again? Fear not this is much better. It's amazing how good a track can be when you plug your equipment in. There is some real bite with the leads here. Like a 303 food fight. He's dead. Tesla- This is a bruising track from the Turkish mastermind. Loud leads and an unrelenting pace characterize this bomb. You sort it out. Bruxism- "Hey babe you won't believe who I bumped into today. My ex girlfriend of 6 years! I know right? We're going to the movies later to catch up. What's that grinding noise?" Bruxism- habitual grinding of teeth usually during sleep. Something must've pissed this guy off to name the track like this. Cell phone company? Girlfriend? Ending of the Office? All acceptable. Not the most complex, but stunningly effective and moving with its growly lead taking center stage. Rumblefish- Have you checked out his new album Sirius Rising? Me neither, but I will. Ultiva obviously couldn't figure out the math of mastering so what do you do? You get an Asian. Problem solved. That's such a bullsh*t stereotype. I had an Asian friend in Calculus class in college and all he wanted to do was get high. This was a good one to end on. Not overly powerful or full of twirling melodies just sturdy goa. And since I'm already on the fast track to hell... It's painful to see a Serbian label have such a problem mastering tracks. A sh*tload of today's goa artists are from the Balkans so it would make sense to figure this out. I haven't gotten any of their other releases so I can't say whether they've handled this issue. But it doesn't sound great. Shame because there are several good tracks here. Mdk I don't feel right linking to it.

Artist: Various Title: Straight Forward Vol. 2 Label: Spintwist Records Date: May, 2009 1. SSH - MORTEN GRANAU 2. Galaxy Traveler (Neelix rmx) - FELGUK 3. Shockwaves - MIDIMAL 4. Sun Spot - LISH 5. Straight Forward - AQUALIZE 6. Prophecy (Zyce and Flegma rmx) - LIQUID SOUL 7. Controlled Emotions (Audiomatic rmx) - AUDIOMATIC AND VAISHIYAS 8. All 4 You - DAY.DIN AND DJ FABIO 9. Dreamless - PHAXE AND TIME IN MOTION 10. Perimeter - ORGANIX Spintwist is a Gernan label that makes progressive trance in the slowly evolving style. Where Iono and TesseracT Studio major in melody and atmosphere, I think this label took a few courses at the community college in groove. Not saying it's bad, just different. Their focus is not on tons of layers but in making you dance I guess. Still, their resume of releases is impressive on both the CD and the digital side. Ssh- Never heard of him, but what a nice groove to start the compilation. I'm sitting on my deck in the afternoon sun with a view of the mountain in my backyard and this just feels right. Toe tapping, head nodding, melody makes the November sun feel extra toasty. The break has oscillating waves of ligh that conbine with churning synths. When the 2nd break arrives it's blue sky as far as the eye can see as sampled voices get chopped up in staccato moments. Right now? Perfect. Galaxy Traveler (Neelix Remix)- Space pads and long whooshes open things up with more sliced voices and sound stabs. You can really hear the slap bass and speaking of slapping, someone hit the sequencer, it's skipping. That sample is irritating, but happily it is overtaken. IIRC, Neelix had a habit of including petulant samples in his work. And then over using them. Meh. Shockwaves- Let's not make any shockwaves, I've got 2 kids sleeping at the same time. Do you know how difficult that can be? This is Christian Merkis from Switzerland who recently released his 2nd album In Pursuit of Happiness this summer. Rest assured this boring track won't wake anybody with a lot of up and down bass work. It's the same crap until the break mercifully arrives at 5 minutes. Which is nice and littered with echoing sounds, but he shoulda stopped there because he jumped right back to the pre-break pablum. Reminded me of a blind date my mom set me up on... Yeah, we're still not speaking. I just don't think this is proper attire to go to the movies. *Gag* I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. Sun Spot- Lior Maimon and Shay Tiab released one of my favorite albums ever with Free Fall in 2005. Whooshes, oscillating synths, and bass sweeps give this some massive scope. But what I will always remember about this track is the effect that sounds like a phone is ringing off in the distance. I was lookin' all over for that thing. It chugs along nicely right into a deep space break where a thick lead taps out a chunky melody. Good stuff. Straight Forward- This is Vladislav Koumpatidis & Koinis Anastasios and I usually like most of their work. This one has shimmery leads with a chunky bass line. Kinda eerie vibe with the chopped up synth coming and going. Good I suppose. Prophecy (Zyce & Flegma Remix)- I've been on these two projects nuts like a speedo but that's because they consistently produce music of the highest quality. Their trademark effects are there, echoing beautifully through all the layers. It's a slow crawl as it takes its time. The break has a bit of a break beat rhythm to it and the effects don't stop. Once again their tracks are deep and only appreciated on numerous listens. Was this before or after Revenge of the Nerds? In later sequels he became the nerds's friend. Sellout. Controlled Emotions (Audiomatic Remix)- I've had Benjamin's latest album on my desk for weeks but my wife had to go and have a baby so I've been kinda busy. And this track is a little busy. It has more layers than I'm accustomed from this label and seems to be in a hurry. I haven't heard the original so I can't comment on whether it's better or even different. I can tell you that the sample isn't winning me over but the music ain't half bad. But I defy you to find one thing in this track that will make you want to play it again. It's like all these tracks are the hot chicks friends at the club only the hot chick stayed at home to study. Hey...sweet cheeks. Book's upside down. Now stop wasting that mouth on that skinny pencil. All For You- Yeah I didn't like this at all. Forget the chopped up vocal sample in the middle of the track even though that was annoying enough. It's just straight boring. They throw a token melody in at the very end like that should satisfy you. When I wan't some steak, don't give me a dog biscuit. And by the way, why did it take two of you to produce this boring mess? Dreamless- Love the work from these two projects and I have reviewed a bunch of their stuff. Go ahead, look it up. I'll wait. It's catchy and their work in the break is seamless. Twinkling synths echo far into the distance as they add layers. Believe me the filter knob is getting a workout as they twist that lead. It's positive and has plenty of sunshine but lost a little oomph towards the end. Very enjoyable for an afternoon at the beach though. Perimeter- Get it? They put it at the end of the...perimeter? Sigh. This is Daan Van Hamersveld & Pim Van Horssen and just a shot in the dark, but I bet they're Dutch. Haven't heard much from them. The first 4 and half minutes are are about as vanilla as it gets, but the last bit has a quirky groove to it. Oscillating synths, whooshes and a delicate melody that sparkles. Other than that it won't stay with me after the period at the end of the sentence. I think to call this anything other than a disappointment would be wrong. Too many mediocre tracks that outweigh the nice ones. For my money, get the first one and the Zyce & Flegma remix and be done with it. http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/spn/spn1cd025.html Mdk