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Artist: Akshan Title: Versions Inedites Ep Label: Altar Records Date: May, 2013 1. The Rise Of Atlantis (Extended Live Mix) 2. Adagio For The Braves (Extended Live Mix) 3. Journey To Persia (Extended Mix) 4. Gates Of Heaven (Extended Live Mix) 5. Shadows And Lights (Extended Mix) Vincent Grenier is a French artist who has crafted some of the most gorgeous downtempo and progressive trance I've ever heard. His style is symphonic and wide open like the skies of Montana. No space is left untouched as his music reaches deep and lush soundscapes. These five tracks for an Ep (almost an hour of music) are versions that were unreleased from his two albums. One track Journey to Persia I've never heard before. The music is mellow, lengthy, melancholy and dream inducing characterized by long intros and outros. It's truly storytelling at its finest. It's been a while since his last album and I sure hope he will have more music soon. Altar Records Bandcamp (24 bits)

Artist: Ascent & Argus Title: Four Oak Trees EP Label: Ovnimoon Records Date: May, 2013 1. Memories 2. Four Oak Trees 3. Over Mountain 4. Fairy Tale 5. Deep In Forest 6. Rising Sun "Where am I, what is this place?" Paradise my brother. Now get back to work, I hired you to clean the pool not lounge in it! These two brothers have produced some smooth music in previous efforts like The Perfect Element EP and their album Beyond Sight. This 6-track ep sees them up to their old tricks dropping some highly emotional downtempo gems. Haunting melodies abound and an atmosphere that floats from tribal to goa. Never in a hurry they use long breaks that help tell the story employing foreign tongues and exotic whispers. Favorite? Feel the heat as the sun bakes the sands in the lush downtempo goa track Rising Sun. If you love lush, melodic chill with an Asian vibe then do not hesitate to buy this. Ovnimoon Bandcamp Psyshop

Stereofeld – Frequenzwechsel Album: Frequenzwechsel Artist: Stereofeld Genre: Progressive, Trance, Morning Label: Sun Station Records When: May 2013 Size: 183MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Zwirbeldrusenfunk 02 - Frequenzwechsel 03 - Earthbound 04 - Extraterrestrial Technology 05 - Tuning In 06 - Wormhole 07 - Hypnotad 08 - Atmospheres 09 - Cuba Libre (with Bart A.B.E.) Be taken aback a few years on a funky road trip through the Stereofeld cosmos. Celebrating nearly three decades of electronic music, this beautiful and danceable treat uses highly original and addictive techniques. Get ready to be swarmed with euphoric funk lines, melodic craftsmanship, and dreamy sound worlds. Enjoyable, solid grooves blow up every second into a colorful arrangement of echoing euphoria. Loving, warm sounds completely take everything underneath a ceiling of space-like instrumentations and perfectly placed vibrating wonders. It is quite the experience, taking any listener on an intensified and incredible journey. Combine the classic engulfing days of arpeggiating Goa with funkylicious basses and progressive trance elements, and "Frequenzwechsel" is born. It is nothing but quality, as expected from an Sun Station Records release. Spectacular! Every step is an incredible one, different from the last. It is impossible to grow tired from a theme in this album, because new themes are used all the time. Thick layers of sound are always present, going in and out at a wonderful, enjoyable pace. Atmospheric ambience is done so right, especially in "Earthbound". (with audiophile headphones I hear slight crackling in bass at the beginning, hardly noticeable but I recommend the master guy relook that beginning. I am only saying this because I want to hear this album used everywhere. Sometimes you have to be extremely nitpicky) The synths are managed with style. The artist pays close attention to the timing of everything, making sure to bring in what is needed. Nothing is ever overdone. Nothing is ever underdone. Its brilliant. The pads silently but surely build a landscape for me, taking me into a completely different world as mentioned above. Close your eyes and take a trip into a pure, talented, clean experience. This album really speaks to me. I think the best club music out there not only moves but encompasses. The way each gooey, chill vibe sneaks into my brain has a certain feeling that makes me want to get up and smile. I want to move all night long, surrounded by friends. This is something that needs to be played in clubs. It needs to be played at parties. It needs to be played everywhere. This could make a really fantastic live experience, and I will be looking for a performance from the artist. I don't care how long of a road it is to get there, I am going. This music can bring people together! It represents the spirit of every raver, with love in every beat. It isn't just music. It's an art form. It's communication. Feel it. Enjoy it. This album really is something else entirely. Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thank to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth. 10/10

Various Artists - Through the Afterlife Album: Through the Afterlife Artist: Various Artists Genre: Downtempo Size: 170MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Shunya - Deep States (Revisited) 02 - Kanka - Mira 03 - No Room - Made In Rainy 04 - Already Maged - Sulphur And Mercury 05 - DoHm - Silent Existence 06 - Farebi Chilebi - Swoon 07 - Molokow - Fields Of Aaru 08 - Parus - Afterlife 09 - Captain Kirk - Break On Through (To The Other Side) 10 - Six Fingered People - Polypi In the mist of nothingness, where breath and matter is nonexistent, a small fragment unknowingly begins to glow and evolve chaotically. This object becomes the center of everything, and for the first time in the infinite history of this land, color is created. Blue and orange clouds of gas combust into tall ruby fires amongst scattered pearly stars, violent oceans of green and purple waves bounce up and down newly formed spiraling horizons, and clusters of strange and exotic entities gasp into existence. Its dance spreads a beautiful and endless dream world of floating bricked towers, grassy mazes surrounding thick metallic waterfalls, and snowy pathways dripping downwards into oblivion. An observer, far away from the boundaries of this universe quietly sits and stares deep into its eyes. Then, from within the very depths of arabesque paradise, sound is created. He wakes up to find himself lost in this newly spawned world. Confused, he staggers in a daze, mystified and terrified by a barrage of strangely welcoming plants that move back and forth in dashing winds. Climbing through the alien world, he reaches the peak of a cliff and stares out into an open plane of astral creations, floating slowly in a never-ending abyss of abstractionism. As he glances over the wonders of his new reality, he takes a relaxing seat and smiles. This is the afterlife. Deep States (Revisited) by Shunya The eery yet soothing pads layering against each other are extremely fitting for this engulfing introduction. As I stare at the album artwork, I feel as if I am being taken away into another state of consciousness. Similar to the sounds of Solar Fields, the slow yet heavy bass progression delicately opens up a door into another dimension. The imaginary walls of this world are easily accessible, thanks to this captivating expressionism of sound. I can definitely tell you used Komplete to create this, if I am wrong let me know. You did an absolutely fantastic job at utilizing your sounds, crafting them to produce a wonderful soundscape. Everything morphs into a road and I am taken on a constant journey where the universe the song creates evolves. It is so calm and intricate. If putting me into a deep state was your intention, your certain achieved it with this tune. Mira by Kanka Beginning with the chitter chatter of a delayed synth line, Mira progresses with echoing pads and abstract percussion to start a bit of a different style. Different from the first track, Kanka shows uniqueness through wobbly, delicious bass lines and constantly organic tuned sounds. Around 3:30, it develops into a more active, heavier vision. I can also hear Solar Fields and Carbon Based Lifeforms inspiration in this track. It paints a interesting journey, making me want to go for a long walk in the middle of the night to explore unfound areas. I desire more, and enjoy the melodies that carry this track into a psychedelic art form. The land of Mira is awesome. Made In The Rainy by No Room Darker elements are chosen in Made In The Rainy. Paying attention to filling up the left and right channels with clearly enjoyable sounds produces an original and perfect backbone. In the center of this structure lies an addicting drum line mixed with some enchanting sounds. I feel as if I am inside a cave, running through a maze of rock hard, wet walls that lead into a cavern full of dazzling creatures. The style is a bit brighter towards the four minute marker, sounding like rain dripping into puddles. I didn’t particularly care for the melody towards the end but it did get its point across. Sulphur and Mercury by Already Maged Another darker track, as expected from its chemically raw related title. I am very glad to hear each artist in the album so far has stayed true to a unique style with different development and interesting composition. I thoroughly enjoy the progressions towards the beat that comes in at the one minute marker. The out-of-tune chords match the mood perfectly, and the light touch of background noise is wonderful. I can imagine a haunted house full of undead figures dancing the night away as a group of curious teenagers with a stupid dog come across the gloomy horrors. I can’t help but smile at this track. It it wonderfully quirky. Why wasn’t this used in a cartoon? It definitely could be. Oh man, after the four minute marker things get really interesting. The length of Sulphur and Mercury is highly entertaining with top notch replay value and production quality. The composition is groovy! And oh boy, your going to really dig the track around six minutes. Everything is psychedelic from captivating start to original finish. Silent Existence by DoHm Woh, is that quote in the introduction from the movie INK? AWESOME choice! If it isn’t I am mistaken, but either way I love the voice sample. In this track, we move onto a more tribal feel in the downtempo spectrum. With expected progression, the orchestration of percussion, guitars, and pianos follows an epic and deep electronic simulation into an African-like land. Satisfying leads and euphoric buildups make this track beautifully made. The melodies are all very well done! I can see myself playing this in the car to go deep into thought. Swoon by Farebi Chilebi Looks like its time for a slower, Jazzier track! Nighttime elements sprout up from the ground into a forest of gooey swamps and dark green trees that tower high into the moon filled sky. Get ready to feel lost, bewildered, and confused in this darkpsy head bobbing universe. The bass in the background of this strange and twisted environment is funky enough to make me feel drunk. Yes, that is a very good thing. With unconventional sounds, memorable tunes, and slow-time progression, Swoon is an impressive creation that can take anyone on a journey. I can’t stop listening to that baseline, its like I’m being chained down to my chair with this awesome track. Hell yeah. Fields of Aaru by Molokow Aaru must be somewhere in the Middle East, or no wait, the wild wild west, well wait a minute what the? Man this style is gorgeously diverse! Woh baby, I can play this sexy song on the dance floor. The beat creation skills featured in Fields of Aaru are simply swell. With obvious automation talents, Molokow can bend sounds at will with his synthesizers. The instruments are fitting for every minute, crafting together a desert theme full of sand and sunsets. Smooth, clean, and perfectly progressive. It even gets a little glitchy after the 5 minute marker, so your in for a treat. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album. I love it! Every little gap in the drum pattern is filled with some really interesting and creative elements. I want to live wherever these fields are. Afterlife by Parus Head bobbing, funky, downtempo styles are everywhere. String instruments, slower than usual Goa elements, and some kicks far out melodies bring everything together in a sort of Asian culture that reminds me of Buddahism. I feel this track is referring to the Third Eye, taking on a attitude meant to take listeners on a pathway towards enlightenment. It has a lot of organicness to it, yet it also adds some high class nostalgic and well programmed sounds that zap and zip in the foreground while a mixture of drums and guitars sing together. The mood is inspiring, and I feel very up in the air at every second. This track is very professionally done, paying high attention to the collection of highs, miss, and lows in order to layer it all on a beautifully done canvas. If anything, this track certainly reminds me of the masterful cover art. It feels like I am dead, traveling through a world unknown. Its like astral projection, and I am not talking about the psytrance group. Break on Through (To the Other Side) by Captain Kirk Starting with a twisted and strange sound world, Break On Through (To the Other Side) has the same feel that Afterlife does, yet it opposes it with a darker attitude. Echoing, triumphant pops and gargles fly and crash into mountainous walls, tribal elementals wash over the funkylicious body, and slowly evolving quirkiness fills the track to the brim with darkpsy inspirations. Unique from a downtempo style, Captain Kirk slows down a psytrance feeling commonly used for mind screws and gives it a fresh dose of styling beat mashing, scarily long textures, and basses meant to move crowds through the night. It is very interesting to hear this dark style slowed down and intensified. Awesome stuff. Prepare to board a spaceship to another dimension with heavy metal playing aliens around the six minute marker. Don’t worry, they are cool dudes and are totally down for kicking it as long as you have VIP backstage passes. Polypi by Six Fingered People IDM configurations ahoy! Blast that bass and get off your ass to this danceable delight. Taking from commonly used dubstep styles and drum n bass influences, this bigger, better, and broader idea combines all of that and turns it into a killer gangsta smash of totally tubular bodacious and sexy put-these-shades-on-bro kickassery. With a totally different feel, Polypi is the best ending for this album I could ever ask for. It ties everything into a nice package of bitchin drum kits, plucking synth explosions, and chillaxing beat grids. Take a ride on the soul train into a Psydub, Downtempo experience and enjoy the sexy universe of apparently Six Fingered People. (They must be the runner up band for the aliens in the last song). OVERALL An extremely diverse, talented, and unique group of artists who rest near the lower bpm side of the musical spectrum come together to bring you a brief look into the moments after death. In this “afterlife”, expect anything from soothing pad structures laced with intelligent and advanced synthesizer programming, to funky and quirky idm beat lines meant for moving any head. The album progresses through a wonderful electronic journey that can expand your imagination to its outer limits. Put on your best pair of headphones or blast this in your car on a road trip, the wonderfully played compositions and killer bass leads will tear you up with euphoric joy and inspirational engulfing marches of pure music. As the artwork describes, the psychedelic, downtempo, darkpsy, and idm experience of “Through The Afterlife” is destined to make anyone think. Open your mind and let the powerful masterpieces plant a seed into your brain. Its going to grow into a colorful, abstract tree that holds the very cores and visions each artists holds so dearly to their hearts. And boy, when this tree stops sprouting you will have all of these artistic expressions lined up neatly side by side in an image that can only be described as phenomenal. Have you ever had a permanent idea stuck inside your head because of a discovery? Well, now you do. Take a moment to be taken away to the land after death and breath the world in deep. Your going to love it. 10/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thanks to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth. - Special Thanks to James Mccarthy for his incredibly talented artwork! Check him out here.

Artist: Menog & Iliuchina Title: Dirty Passion EP Label: Spectral Records Date: May, 2013 1. Menog - Boom Festival 2. Menog & Iliuchina - Illusion of Reality 3. Iliuchina - You Drive Me Crazy 4. Menog & Iliuchina - Black Hole Not you Daniel. Get outta the way. *pimp walks up to Iliuchina* "Hello baby how you doin?" *licks finger and touches shirt and then proceeds to touch Iliuchina's shirt* "How bout you and me get outta these wet clothes and do...what we really wanna do?" *spits out tooth and wipes blood of lip* "What'd I say? Menog (Daniel Bernardo) and Iliuchina (Veronica Iliuhin Loren) team up for a powerhouse of an ep. Daniel has been holding it down since forever, but Veronica is relatively new to the scene. Underestimate her at your peril. Boom Festival certainly brings the boom along with acid wipes and futuristic laser barrages. The opening LSD sample creates the atmosphere as if I were waking up groggy from the operating table. Illusion of Reality is another eerie entry in this twilight spectacle. Maybe a little too heavy on the sample, but the significant bump of the kick and bass line will make that seem like a minor complaint at best. You Drive Me Crazy sees Veronica on her own with a high energy track (and that's different from the others how?) that once again isn't short on thump. There is no story here. It's just get the f*ck out of the way. Black Hole is blistering mayhem that isn't afraid to go into a break and wind you up again. Daniel once again shows the young bucks how to devastate a dancefloor. Iliuchina shows that she is someone to be reckoned with and capable of carrying the twilight torch. If Daniel ever decides to let go of the f*cking thing that is. Get your intensity on. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Dead Can Dance Label: One Foot Groove Date: May, 2014 1. Iliuchina - Brain Magic 2. Biorhythm - Sunquake 3 3. Dark Nebula & Tantrum - Neophyte 4. Sub-Zero - Ego Killer 5. Zion Linguist - Bam Bam Thea (Ironstein Remix) 6. Glitch - Dirty Game 7. Tryambaka - Dead Can Dance 8. Sick Addiction - Scooby Groovy Boo 9. D_Maniac - Dragon Tribute Zombies. "Dig thru the ditches and burn thru the witches...!" Brainless Zombies Walk...Dancing Dead. Movies have taught us that zombies are mindless creatures, hungry for brains or at the very least very competent in synchronized dance. Which makes this the perfect soundtrack for dead people. Loaded with samples and embarrassing stops and starts only the brainless or those so high as to act brainless could enjoy this. It's a perfect example of an attempt at quality twilight music gone horribly wrong. Very wrong. It was tough to choke this moldy cheese down let me tell you. Like a constipated grandfather who wolfs down prune juice in search of relief there's an awful mess waiting for those who choose to swallow this. Cornball melodies and just outright boring and uninspiring music is what this compilation is all about. Every one of the artists (at least the ones I'm familiar with) have produced waaaay better stuff than this. I tried to find one redeeming quality to this sh*tshow, but only found salvation at the end of the delete key. You're dead to me! Dead!! "Dude, look at the cover...we're already dead." DEADER! Beatport Mdk

Artist: SoulQuark Title: Slow Tachyon EP Label: Neogoa Date: May, 2013 1. Nitrogen Narcosis 2. Soul Bruise 3. Tāne Mahuta 4. Celestine Language 5. Lost In Frozen Dream This was released by Neogoa around the same time as the Goatree EP and while a review thread was started pretty quickly for that EP, Slow Tachyon has been largely ignored. Why? I'm looking at you hippie. Yeah, you. Is it because it's not goa in the sense we are used to? Too ethnic sounding? It's definitely different, full of chopped up vocal chants and beat patterns not usually seen in today's goa trance. So it's not goa. What it is though is melodic and deep with emotional feeling and a tribal essence. Nowhere is that more evident than in Soul Bruise with its battle of the bands like percussion. Celestial Language is a downtempo track that is brimming with electronic wonderment. With plenty of well placed soaring vocal phrases there is a strong spiritual component. Lost in Frozen Moment is another track that slowly ascends the mountain top while also being symphonic. This wouldn't be out of place in a big budget Hollywood soundtrack. Or God willing a Bollywood production. Throw away your preconceived notions of what this is and what box it should go in. Unless you have a box labeled moving electronic music. Yeah it would fit in there. Get on this if you're looking for something outside the norm. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Cryobiosis Title: Within Ruins Label: Cryo Chamber Date: May, 2013 1. Enthrall 2. Frigid Silence 3. Somewhere Safe 4. Recollection 5. The Corridors Beneath 6. Murkfall 7. Corroded 8. Through Debris 9. Forgotten 10. As the World Decays 11. Departure 12. Serenity What I've come to understand about dark ambient is that it is a vehicle for your imagination. I suppose that could apply to all music, but definitely in this genre. This is pretty good dark ambient that explores the deserted structures of ancient civilizations. Recorded in Romania by Cristian Voicu it is characterized by that eerie atmosphere which Simon Heath (Atrium Carceri) is known for. One aspect I like about this is that while relying heavily on effects and melancholy tone it is more than just drone ambient. Isolating melodies and pads stir up memories of a cold December, perhaps of a fortress ruled by a long dead monarch. Maybe of ghosts wandering beneath a deserted temple. Murkfall conjures up images of a massive Viking vessel with its creaking planks as it lolls listfully at sea devoid of crew. But even though the album starts off strongly it eventually gets lost as you get deeper into it. What was once eerie and interesting soon becomes just background noise. Forgotten sounds like Cristian recorded his cat walking back and forth on his aunt's piano. It moves slowly (very slowly) along with all the sounds you come to expect from dark ambient and you'll notice that a lot of those sounds are repeated. It doesn't frighten yet it does bring about a feeling that you are not alone thereby accomplishing its goal in stimulating the imagination. Think of it as the soundtrack to a dark, slow journey through the past. Not the best I've heard, but worth a listen. If I had to put a number on it, 6/10. Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Trold Title: Time For Solution Label: Vertigo Records Date: May, 2013 1. In The Hand Of The Shaman 2. Vacuum 3. Adventure 4. 10 000 000 X 14 5. Order In Chaos 6. Miracle 7. We Are The Devine 8. Alright What the hell is this? No seriously, what the hell is this? Forest trolls and psychedelic vikings deliver their 3rd album and I'm shaking my head. Where's the motherf*cking forest? This is like going deep into the Swedish wilderness and finding a McDonalds next to a Wal-Mart. Where is the dark atmosphere? The pads soaked in dread and leads creeping from behind ancient oaks? It's not bad psytrance so let's get that out of the way right now. But when you set the bar so high with Time of Illusion certain expectations are had. That album was frightful yet intelligent. Layers of mystery wrapped up and tailor made for getting hopelessly lost in the woods. This? All the rough edges and less accessible aspects of this project were sanitized for a more family friendly clientele. F*cking Vegas without the gangsters. I know I'm not an authority on forest music, but I don't need it dumbed down for me. So enough telling you what it ain't. What is it? Crystal clear psytrance where you can hear every note and every staccato stab of the bass. I know Colin mastered this, but there are instances where this resembles and OOOD album. It's drug samples, long tracks, and rhythms you can get down to. But all the energy and evil creatures have left the building only to be replaced by softer Disney melodies. Order of Chaos recaptures past glories with its acidic serpents tongue, but it's still too clean. Too obvious. Miracle is a good twilight track that might fit on a Timecode or Nexus Media compilation. The last track sounds just like something OOOD would make. Sorry Colin I'm not picking on you, I'm just sayin'. And that's my point. Where the last album had a forest maze with a nutcase Jack Nicholson in pursuit, here there are baby changing stations and stroller rentals every 100 feet. This must be what hardcore Metallica fans felt like when Enter Sandman came out. I don't like my forest rated PG, but that is what has happened I'm afraid. Funny thing is even though it may sound as if I didn't like it, I enjoyed it. It's twilight and some full-on with rounded edges, but it is outstandingly produced. So if you go into this not knowing what Trold has done in the past then this will have some appeal. But having heard and loved their last album this can only be seen as a disappointment. Time for another solution. Psyshop Beatspace Goastore Mdk

Artist: Speedball Title: Reloaded EP Label: Fractal Records Date: May, 2013 1. Kingston 2. Universo 3. Locked Ball 4. Hyperion "Welcome to the f*cking universe!" Hells yeah! Where's my sippie cup? And who took all the motherf*cing Goldfish? Not since the invention of the taco has there been a greater contribution from Mexico. There. I said it. Speedball are Javier Durán Cortes & Raul Gonzalez and their debut album Human Disorder showed that they were not messing around. There are certain tracks you hear that stick with you. They never get old and always cause you to get out of your seat and dance like a crazy person. For me it was Fully Awake by Electric Universe. But it was also Buenos Muchachos by these guys who took that Goodfellas laden track and annihilated anything I've heard recently. Speedball take twilight music to that other level where only a mentally unstable few dare to tread. It's acid laden and carries a big kick and rumbling basses. This is music that unleashes the wrath you may have pent up, and all you can do is look back and hope you have clean underwear. Futuristic hyper trance with an intense pace is the name of the game on 75% of this EP. I can only assume that Kingston was the product of a very fruitful journey to Jamaica. Make some new friends did ya? Irie man, irie. Sometimes our music disappoints and does the same old tired song and dance. With all the releases I suppose it's to be expected. These guys however helped to restore my faith in the good old psytrance beatdown. Suck it Oakenfold. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Phaxe Title: Calm Under Pressure Label: Iboga Records Date: May, 2013 1. Presentation 2. Angels of destruction 3. Kondi 4. It's always sunny (vs Vice) 5. Disturbed 6. The Witness (Phaxe and Pras rmx) - KRUEGER AND COYLE 7. Jellyhead (vs Morton Granau) 8. Drums and Guns 9. Unforgotten "Some confusion is perfectly normal at this stage captain." Phaxe is Kevin Josefsen and after going the EP route and appearing on a bunch of compilations he's ready to release his debut full length album. Lately the progressive arena has been owned by those crazy talented Balkan folks so Kevin needs to bring his A game. Does he win a date with the head cheerleader or is he destined to watch his pants get rung up the flagpole? Bit of a mixed bag really. Or so I thought. While not captain of the chess club, he's certainly not the quarterback of the football team. However I think that has more to do with the Iboga playbook than anything else. Their style is more beat driven compared to the lush, melodic atmosphere if say an Iono or TesseracT Studio. Presentation is a vivid opener with good bounce, but then the next few tracks don't live up to the hype. Not a lot of variation and they seem a little light. That said there were still hypnotic snippets to be found in Angels of Destruction. It's always sunny, has a great break, but it also has that silencer sound which annoys me. So at this point I'm thinking it's a decent release without making room for it on my CD shelf, but then the moody and beautiful Disturbed happens. Details so vivid I can taste it with a voice telling me to let myself go, drifting along, close my eyes...and let myself drift. Wonderful structure! The Witness continues the vibe with a wailing synth and chopped strings before a chant is repeated. The whole thing has an eerie tribal feel kinda like you think you're witnessing something benign, but then by the time you realize it's turning on you it's too late. Jellyhead pushes you further down this dark hole, but don't worry...he gives you a funky synth riff to help you climb out. He puts it all together with light and dark moments as well as another entertaining break. Guns and Drums brings more surprises with a bouncy feel and appealing melodies that all fit well together without overloading the ear. Closing with Unforgotten it's a positive ending with light melodies and a soothing hand. This is me being pleasantly surprised. After the first track I had my doubts, but then he kicked it into overdrive. Progressively speaking that is. Very rhythmic and detailed with a danceable swagger. It comes full circle as the beginning is positive and uplifting before he steers you towards the dark side of town only to bring you back into the light with the last track. A solid release that brings a smile to my face and it should do the same for melodic progressive trance lovers as well. Psyshop Beatspace Goastore Mdk

Astroschnautzer – Twå Album: Twå Artist: Astroschnautzer Genre: IDM, Glitch Label: Freudian Slip Records When: May 2013 Size: 161MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Yks 02 - Twå 03 - Weird-O Komp-O 04 - Plan C 05 - Vapaaehtoinen Taidebiisi 06 - Worm Song 07 - Walkman 08 - Muukalais-Dub 09 - Aalto 10 - Korton 11 - Dögge 12 - Bb-Dub 13 - Psyko-Paatti 14 - Snapper Tuna 15 - Aa:n Kahvila 16 - Space Humppa Although definitely interesting, slightly entertaining, and unique, the clattered clinking and scratching of Twå has a lot of room for improvement. This glitchy full-length album contains a series of seemingly random tracks that go all across the borders with drum n bass, ambient, glitch-hop, IDM, breakbeat, and lo-fi techniques. Experimenting with different styles, Astrochnautzer takes us through some glitchafied, drum-stepping, bit crushed projects. There are a few really sweet tracks on here, but at the same time there are some that should have simply been left out. Focusing on the classics with a boost of his own originality, the artist brings some chilled and mellow personalities with an added spray of freshness and downright quirkiness. The balance between the two, however, is unenjoyable at times. There needs to be more structure and organization to the “uniqueness” captured in each track. Snapper Tuna, for example, leaves a well balanced, smoothly progressive, and satisfying taste in my mouth. Worm Song is one of the tracks that does the opposite, based around a series of unfitting sounds that can prompt headaches. To the artist, I would strongly recommend taking this album as a great learning experience. It seems to be highly experimental, dabbling inside never-personally-done-before ideas. It is always good to try out new things so you can improve and expand your style. In fact, I urge people to reach out for new innovations. In this case, I suggest walking away from most tracks in this album, honing in to the better compositions. Snapper Tuna, Plan C, and Korton. Stay away from too many voice samples, bit crushed wobbles, and unfitting synth zaps and drum smashes. Everything needs to be done in moderation, as I like to say. Keep your chill like attitude and progress your tracks to have more meaningful climaxes, leaving the listener craving for that certain sappy synth. Spend more time crafting your sounds and it will be very rewarding. Think of it like this: Every sound is a puzzle piece. Put each sound together to form the perfect picture. If you put together pieces that don’t fit, the picture won’t make much sense. Keep up your hard work and good luck with your glitch experiments! 6/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thank to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth.

Edda - Synthetic Forest Album: Synthetic Forest Artist: Edda Genre: Forest, Darkpsy, Psycore Label: Anomalistic Studios Size: 54MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Grímnismál 02 - Valkyria 03 - Fenja In a vicious war, a golden paradise slowly burned and dripped down the desert dunes. Helpless against unknown forces, the astronomical collective of sky scraping pyramids was buried deep underneath the hot sand as if it never existed. The violent explosions of black bubbling tar from the hellish swamp erupted over everything, staining the surfaces of their existence with a thick tar. People screamed as the fire ripped the flesh off their very bodies like bullets on a battlefield. Stretching their arms high into the smokey sky, their pleas were silenced by the almighty creatures that washed over their world. The pyramids sank deep down into the yellow abyss bellow, taking the entire tribe into its isolated grave. The once proud Grimnismals had vanished into lands unknown, leaving nothing behind but an untold legend shrouded with mystery and chaos. Years passed as the moons above turned day into night. The land below became rich with a strange alien soil. As the distant galaxies sat stagnant in the purple night sky, plastic trees and metallic fungus curiously sprouted from the ground. They towered over the sand to create mazes of unnatural phenomena, blitzing a series of exotic beings into the barren world. The synthetic forest gave birth to a multitude of abominations. Laughing, screaming, yawning, crying, and beckoning, they chatted amongst each other to plan taking over, multiplying in unsurpassable numbers to morph reality into sheer terror. Soon, there would be nothing but tangled branches, slimy entities, and darkness. Edda had come. In a progressively evil journey, a trilogy of captivating frequency developments known to us as Grímnismál, Valkyria, and Fenja evolves into a darkening terraform. This terrifying soundscape is meant for trapping willing visitors in a moment of euphoria, changing your dreamworlds into nightmares. With layer after layer of twisted bass textures, electrifying synth arpeggiation, and organic overtures, Edda’s Synthetic Forest will take you into worlds unknown. Although it will be a short journey, it is certainly impactful for anyone interested in jumping into the universe of Darkspsy and Forest. Shattering realities, the hypnotizing tracks are quality, paying close attention to the mastering and interesting progression into higher levels of sound. Something tells me the artist needs to produce more than just three tracks, however. If you enjoyed it as much as I did, send him your regards so he can step behind his instruments to bring us more of his musical interactions. This is an awesome addition for any listeners darkpsy collection… but I truly wish there was more to be offered! Keep injecting the darkness into sound Edda and bring us more addictive tracks like you did here. 9/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thanks to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth. - Special thanks to Ningura for her Artwork.

Pavel Svimba – Space Babuska Album: Space Babuska Artist: Pavel Svimba Genre: Goa, Morning, Suomi Size: 163MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Free Step On It! 02 - Space Babuska 03 - Cheese Garlic Story 04 - Bad Hair Day 05 - Narrow Shoulders 06 - Magnetic Fields 07 - Same Frequency Different Level 08 - Schrimp Cütter 09 - Pimputus 10 - Yellow Snail Man 11 - Lying Pyramid 12 - Fucking Brains 13 - Teknikal Problems Haha! This style is really happy and fun. I love it when people combine a funk atmosphere into the psychedelic spectrum, offering a really different way of developing progression throughout dance music. I can definitely dig each and every single track in this album. Easy to listen to, upbeat and chill, dance floor acceptable, and surprisingly brilliant mixes of funk and classic early psytrance influences blast through every guitar riff and goa tempo. It is so amazingly quirky and funky, offering a set of short and sweet progressive tracks. I have never really heard this “Suomi” thing before, but it is certainly something that can brighten up any day. Not only that, but the classiness in this offers replay ability again and again. I think I will always have this on my MP3 player, blasting it on my speakers while partying with friends. Some may think to themselves, “Oh, well, its just a beat against a typical funk background…” I thought this at first. After listening to the first two tracks, however, I realized it was much better than that. The producer puts in some really GREAT melodies mixed with unique and juicy psychedelic synths that go far beyond the funk genre. Yep, you heard me right, this is original funk. I didn’t think that existed. Combining famous styles is one thing, but combining famous style and making it your own with unique chord progressions and bootylicious baselines is another thing. That, and the instruments in this are all done amazingly well. The horns, guitars, and other conventional instruments blow me away. This album is simply a jewel and I can’t wait to try this out in my car. I want to see this used in movies, and if it isn’t I don’t want to live on this planet anymore. I find myself smiling at every track. I really want to dance. Hell, I really want to make other people dance. It’s just so danceable. I’m delighted every second, accompanied by a warm and sweet vibe that raises my spirits. It brings back a lot of classic memories of 90s Psytrance… now look what it has turned into! Don’t ever stop what you are doing guys, keep up the sexy work. 10/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thank to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth.

Xnorophis - Eyes Album: Eyes Artist: Xnorophis Genre: Tribal, Progressive Size: 185MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Multi-Coloured Angles 02 - Jungle Paradise 03 - Seeds 04 - Step Inside 05 - Organic Saints 06 - Fabel Keepers 07 - Violet Tower 08 - Ganga Sparkle 09 - Oblong Roads 10 - Torpedo 11 - Cilandra's Test Take a seat inside an intergalactic time machine and get ready to be taken back in time in this percussion driven tribal elemental. Starting with a very minimal tone, the simplistic hand-crafted loops are placed neatly together side by side to form an African-like soundscape. Interesting enough, the composition takes place in Canada, yet nothing in this piece reminds me of Canadian styles. As neat as all this may sound, the minimal style in the beginning is, well, very minimal. The first six songs progress with small percussion and bass loops switching off and on rather than melody, layering synths, or pads carrying layers to create a musical body. The first half of the album should be left out, in my opinion, because each song is more of a backbone to a bigger, broader idea. There is no meat to them, no intricacy, no unexpected visions, and they just are not all that interesting. There is a lot of room left to grow and a lot more expected. Don’t let that fool you from giving this album a try, however. At track 7, Violet Tower gives us that body we have been craving. Vocals are added, pads begin to carry the vision further into broader horizons, and arping melodies similar to the Goa roots of Psytrance are brought forth to put together a final frontier of passion the artist begs to express. A true tribal experience, however, should let me close my eyes and imagine an organic landscape full of sun and open fields. I want to imagine wonderfully painted patterns on the faces of distant cultures, people dancing around large bon fires as the smoke climbs towards the white dotted sky, the moon screaming a blanket of twinkling blue light into the hearts of the earth, and I want it to sound amazing. This album doesn’t do that, but the last few tracks certainly get closer to that accomplishment of pure tribal engulfment. The tracks Violet Tower, Oblong Roads, Ganga Sparkle, and Torpedo are the definitions of this album. They combine the ideas and techniques from every other track and turn a small idea in a better experience. The tippety tappety of the small drums, the Goa bass line, the progressive style, the hint of vocals, and an additional trance melody with more layers of instruments make these tracks great. To the artist, I think if you were to simply take out everything else and leave these in, it would make the album better. Quality over quantity my friend. My advice would be to take a look at these creations and form your future projects based on what you have learned from them. Try to examine different drum lines, instrument programming, and tribal atmospheres to take advantage of our minds and run them through an organic soundscape. Right now, a large portion of the album is generic. Focus on expansiveness, yearning to create a land that only you know into pure sound where we can escape and relax. Keep it up man!! If you want some inspiration, listen to the Steve Roach album “Strata”. The first few tracks are largely tribal ambient, taking your percussion inspirations you love and adding astounding atmospheric explosions of euphoria. I can see you taking a faster pace than this without the ambient style, adding intricacy to your work. 7/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thank to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth.

Undertaker – Night Stories Album: Night Stories Artist: Undertaker Genre: Full On, Twilight Size: 179MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Maniac Killa 02 - Anonymous Absolution 03 - Unhuman (Undertaker Remix) 04 - Uskyldig Offer 05 - 3 Days On Dark 06 - Nuclear Man 07 - Purple Haze (Undertaker Remix) 08 - Cyborg Rebelion 09 - Big Mentira 10 - Last Two Boys Scouts I listened to this album a few times and my favorite thing about it was the wonderfully solid baselines. This reminds me of Orca, another Full-On Night producer who plugs in some hard electro inspirations into his productions. The difference between his music and Undertakers music is the quality, however. Even though Undertakers baselines hit each track hard, there are a few tracks here I did not enjoy as much as I thought I would. The artist does a fantastic job in creating some thick, gooey, and massive bass progressions that are destined for dancing, but there are many areas I feel are claustrophobic with sounds. These areas ruin the vibes for me, and urge me to only play segments of the track rather than the full song. There are many tracks that are simply repetitive and focus solely on that great bass… but I crave more progression, feeling, and climax from this nighttime style. The mastering is pretty good for most tracks, although at times they seems to focus on the low end spectrum. For example, the third song, Unhuman, has a lot of high frequencies that need to be toned down. I have to skip this track with my headphones on and they rattle my car. The next bit, Uskyldig Offer, has better mastering until the song jams sounds together near the two minute mark. That rising synth in the background is pretty cool, however, and I enjoy the buildup. If those sounds were layered correctly, this would be a fantastic track. The progression is very good, especially when it says “You are not alone” and kicks that delicious beat we crave right into Full-On action. At the four minute marker, the ambience in the background is awesome! Work on piecing together the puzzle pieces in a neater fashion and you can do great things. Right now, not all the pieces match the big picture. Specifically, the edgy lightning-sounding synths are too loud. Try filtering them a bit. Hidden in the album, there are a few very well done gems I can see myself playing on the dance floor when the moon rises high in the air. Nuclear Man is an excellent edgy full on experience that will please many ears. The sounds are mixed well together and progress into a well done style. If only every track was this good, then this album would earn higher praise. The voices really pull me in deep. The sounds go well together, and that is why I love it. In many tracks, a lot of the instruments are not as thought out. My advice would be to focus on your best sounds, plug them in all directions to be perfectly fitting and surround, engulf the listener in unexpected progression climaxes, and keep moving the crowds with your crystal clear basses. I would love to see more from you! Keep it up. Look back to Purple Haze… now, that one you did right! 7/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thank to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth.

Album: Tech Tactics Artist: Various Artists Genre: Psycore Size: 215MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Killawatt - The Joint 02 - Pastor John - HD204958B 03 - Dr. Bops - Machine Music 04 - HighStyle - Alien Alphabet 05 - Telepathy - Trouble 06 - Anubis - Inner Revelation 07 - Paralocks - Tactical Error 08 - Fright Rate - More Power 09 - Neonglo - Mirrored Benches 10 - Organoise - String Theory 11 - Gamba - Mindmatter For various artists albums, I feel it is nessesarry to offer my thoughts on each individual track to give everyone specific attention and feedback. Let’s start with the first creation, “The Joint” and move on throughout the album “Tech Tactics” The Joint Juicy and engulfing, like a typical danceable high-tech song should be. This is a song that can easily be applied on dance floors. The beat in the background changes off and on, keeping the flow going. Robot gargling synth textures chew up and spit out the bass occasionally and glitch things up, offering some interesting qualities that make this track unique. Well mastered, clean, well done. Great theme with the vocals about drugs. HD204958B This has a great buildup and intro, continuing a danceable, high energy mood left from the last track. Again, well chosen voice sampling is used for a great atmosphere. My head and heart cant stop bobbing to this fast paced action scene. There is a lot more percussion elements used here, adding a few extra enjoyable layers of sound. I can definitely hear the well mastered attitude here as well. Props to the clear quality! That is needed for DJs. Machine Music I now realize everyone is using kickass vocals here. I love that, it really adds that super special “this music is awesome” factor. Like the first two tracks, Machine Music is intense and fast paced. It does, however, have the best buildup I have heard in this album, so far. It lets you take a breath right before it says “the correct answer is” and moves right back into heavy technical dance psy. Staying true to the original theme of the album, it pushes things a bit farther and puts a smile on my face. Alien Alphabet “Everyone knows thats what aliens sound like” hahah! Like the other tracks, Alien Alphabet is fast, clean, action packed, vocal injected, and energetic dance music. Any psycore loving club would enjoy this piece, certainly shredding the darkness with glowsticks and approving shrieks. Personally, I find the track to be extremely similar to the others, so there is not much else I can say. However, this is a good thing because if you love the others, you will love this. It seems these artists have come together to create this quick and fast style. Trouble The synth riffs are very well done in this track! The melody is perfect, includes some classic 8-bit instruments, and everything climaxes around the 7 minute marker to plant an exciting body throbbing seed of euphoria in my brain. This is what I expect technical, high energy music to do. Nothing is overdone in this track, its the best one I have heard so far. A very good mix. It moves like a professional dancer, where everyone cant help but keep staring. Inner Revelation I thought the doorbell used was pretty clever. The artist seems to like putting in neat sound effects rather than vocals. I also noticed the use of rising pads in many areas. I really enjoyed how these pads carried the progression. The small sections of melodic harmony were really kickass. The bass keeps the same tone throughout the track, however. It would be nice to switch it up a bit against the constantly changing synths. Overall, this song had an excellent soundest and followed the normal high energy psycore style this album expresses. Tactical Error Many high frequencies rattle my head in this track, but they are mixed well with a few relaxed, slower tempo moments that made areas like 4:10 even better. Masterful progression and mixing. I usually hate all high frequencies, but this track places them all around my head and uses a decently changing bass tempo. It would be nice to see a better mix of frequencies, however. The constant zips and zaps give me a headache at times. Don’t get me wrong, I just would like to see more of a variety in here. More Power This track has more of those lows needed to move the driving high frequency leads. I enjoy this track a bit more than the others simply because it innovates the style rather than repeat it. It builds many different sounds across different climaxes and buildups, surprising me at points. I love to be surprised. I dont want to expect what zippety zap comes next, because that gets boring. This is a very enjoyable track, carefully choosing what hypnotizing synth bombardment to release next. Engulfing and juicy. Well done! Mirrored Benches Another quality piece here. The sounds used in this track remind me of playing Earthbound. That changing baseline is a very nice touch. Organized, to the point, fast buildup, good climaxes, and an overall easily danceable psycore track. I enjoy the melody used at 2:50. It is considerably quirky and interesting. String Theory I find this track to be the best on the album. The starting bass immediately capture my attention. It is low and steady, crystal clear and sinister, and exciting. If I could pick a track that put together all of the ideas and visions expressed in this collaboration, it would be this one. It doesn’t overdo the zaps and whistles. It has a seemingly perfect foundation, including all these great sounds and glitches. It stops and starts at all the right moments, bringing in “wikki wikki”, a downtempo segment, and orgasmic finales. If I would play any of these at a club or save them in my favorites folder, this would be my first pick. Good job! Mindmatter Another similar track with a lot of beat mashing, synth bending, and video game bit sounds layered underneath vocals. Still, it is well mastered, well done, and clear, but it lacks a special innovative, varied touch. It stays with a constant beat, predictable progression, and extraordinarily similar instruments. It is almost as if everyone in the collar is using the same program with the same sounds. Mindmatter is a good track, but I feel the similarities between it and the other tracks makes it boring for me. That isn’t each individual artists fault, its just the simple fact that all of these same ideas are placed together into one long album. Its easy to understand the style after the third song. Then it gets too predictable. OVERALL: Zippety zaps, xippity zoos, zappady waddas, and other collections of electrifying, jolting intensions of hard high end synths lead every song in Tech Tactics. Simply energizing, the 150+ BPM of each track is sure to make anyone want to dance. It can defintley explode crowds, twisting their bodies all over the dance floor. If you like the first track, your going to like the second, and your going to like the third, and fourth, and every other one after that. There isn’t very much variety in here, however each piece is well mastered, powerful, fast-paced, explosive, and intense. The solid bass textures can easily shake you and move you. If you are looking for more variety, then most of this album is not for you. It has picked a series of quality psycore tracks that follow the same attitude with a lot of extremely similar, heart-attack inducing, energetic synth leads. Although, there are a few unique innovations in here that go beyond the typical theme presented. String Theory, being one of them, is my favorite track on here. I strongly recommend each artist take a listen to the album and try to think outside the box… what else can you do to capture the attention of listeners? What methods should be used to add variety? I would suggest slowing down things at points, adding more ambience and unexpected drops to really buildup suspense and then hit it hard with some good ole energetic psycore! Its all about the euphoria. Keep in mind, this is my opinion, but I feel there is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of developing your individual styles! Keep up the research and production guys. 8/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thank to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth.

Shux - Garbage Marmalade Album: Garbage Marmalade Artist: Shux Genre: Forest, Darkpsy Size: 129MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Ygg 02 - Kitty Batter 03 - Call Your Mother 04 - Glued 05 - Skep And Skein 06 - Noname 07 - Use Your Head 08 - Xylem At every corner, expect very different progressions far off from your typical music theory. Lead by a large set of strange, exotic, and industrial sounds, Shux offers a unique and interesting experience down a dark, psychedelic road filled with layer after layer of fitting voice samples, ever-changing bass structures, and immediate and unexpected quirkiness that can either take you on a trip or confuse you. Sometimes, there are a lot of high frequency climaxes that can really explode the track from heavy dance patterns to a simply twisted and upside down journey. The artist moves every idea with a series of nostalgic or totally new sounds, ranging from an original kitty frying experience to what I believe is Zelda. A large soundscape of powerful textures and awesomely-crazy synth arps surround these recordings, lifting your mind up a mountain of shadowy trees and colorful rivers. The best part about this journey is the fact it offers a well mastered, quality set of always-different tracks. If anything, you shouldn’t expect the usual styles presented in Darkpsy or Forest. Garbage Marmalade creates this awesome style, a style that can tear apart our perception on reality. I am going to definitely play this in clubs. As a DJ, I constantly search the world for original material. And boy oh boy, this is original. I thoroughly enjoy the sudo-three-dimensional concepts that experiment with the X, Y, and imaginary Z axises of sound. Put on headphones and you will hear what I am talking about. Everything revolves around your head and zooms straight into one ear and out the other. Garbage Marmalade is going to zap your brain into oblivion. There are some great, five star tracks here that truly make me say “What the actual fuck is going on” and I love it. If you enjoy being bemused, bewildered, confuzzled, or possibly traumatized by energetic, encompassing, and intricate worlds, this album is just for you. The style is overflowing with creative darkness, using synthesizers to paint an active, astronomical forest into a wicked soundscape. I would strongly recommend any forest lover dive deep into this ocean of magic. Its definitely interesting. You will hear alarm clocks, cats, bubbles, and a whole lot of other stuff. A truly original way to utilize the everyday sounds we hear, yet this album turns them into something entirely different. 10/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thank to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth.