Search the Community

Artist: Shakta Title: Retroscape Label: Suntrip Date: November, 2014 1. Somaton - Ouroboros 2. Somaton - Brainwashed (Shakta & Ping Pong Remix) 3. Shakta - It Was Not Human 4. Somaton - Fearful Symmetry 5. Somaton - Principles of Gravity 6. Shakta - Amber Mantra 7. Shakta - Indra's Net 8. Shakta - Cosmic Trigger 9. Shakta - Solar Origins 10. Shakta - Misra Indica 11. Somaton - Dredlarks I mean do I really need to say how brilliant this release is? How the melodies swirl and the 303's growl like a pack of lions? It's powerful goa trance from back in the day from Seb Taylor who is a cornerstone of our favorite genre. Whether it's as Shakta or Somaton it's blistering layered goa trance at an unrelenting pace. Vinyl only, hard to find, or unreleased tracks that will put holes in your wall when you turn it up. This goes right up there with Etnica Live in Athens and Flight 604 Chapter II and the Dimension 5 stuff for me. Absolutely stunning and a must have. Suntrip Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Asura Title: Radio Universe Label: Ultimae Records Date: November, 2014 1. Overture 2. Interlude Sky 3. Oblivion Gravity 4. Gaea (Transit) 5. Ascension In Blue 6. Farscape 7 7. Lonely Star 8. Illuminations 9. Back To Earth 10. Everlasting (Album Edit) You think that Trump can't say dumber things, but then it becomes tomorrow. So the reaction above is either his latest piece of verbal bile or you just listened to the last album from Asura. Mouth meet floor in both cases. And that was just the first track. What a stunning piece of music this is. Look Ultimae and Charles are well established as the premier leaders in ambient and downtempo music, but this is unbelievable. It's traveling through space on a massive star freighter in the distant future. Sweeping pads provide stunning views of celestial glory. It's ultra HD immersive theater that crawls at a snails pace sweeping up everything in its path. Melodies are cold and warm simultaneously and you feel just how insignificant you are in the vast cosmos. At times he channels his inner Vangelis and Kitaro giving you a front row seat as ambient images take shape excruciatingly slowly. Blade Runner meet Silk Road. Oblivion Gravity is so vivid I felt joy and terror at the same time. It was deliciously slow torture that brought out emotions and made me...feel. It's not all dark though as Ascension in Blue let's the solar rays stream through the rugby sized pitch window. Ayten's voice is haunting on Farscape 7 and Lonely Star with its piano and measured pace seem to be another nod in the direction of Vangelis. Charles made a beautiful downtempo track incorporating a little bit of dubstep. That sh*t is epic and brings a smile to my face every time. Alas nobody is perfect and for this album that is due to the plodding and uninteresting Illuminations. It doesn't come close to the gravity and grandeur exhibited by the rest of the tracks. No surprises as it slowly drips like the last bit of maple syrup. Back To Earth isn't a song at all, but merely a night spent amongst the frogs and crickets during a rainstorm. Perhaps that's where the escape pod landed after ejecting from the spacecraft upon Earth re-entry. The final track is a very positive one with a vibe that lets you know that everything will be all right. So there you have it. True quality from Ultimae and Asura like you would expect. Not perfect, but the tracks that are good are stellar. Interstellar if you will. Take a ride into space. You won't be disappointed. Btw...I ordered the FLAC from Ultimae, but it seems that the CD comes with a 16 page booklet. Don't know what's in the booklet. Could be porn, so you might wanna check it out. Ultimae

Artist: Psilocybian Title: Unfold Oneself Into Endlessness Label: BMSS Records Date: November, 2014 01: Wonderfantabulous 02: Dreamability 03: A thing about inconsequent Reverberation 04: Pathways 05: Science Friction 06: Strawberry Fields 07: Unfold Oneself into Endlessness 08: PsiloCybian & Deimos - Waveform with a mind of its own 09: Yield 10: NLO 11: Let me tell you about a weird Dream So we all know Sasa Dukic (Psilocybian) from his fine work in the full-on arena with albums like Dreamtime and Godhead. Both great stuff from a guy who likes to put a pinch of goa in all that he does. For his latest he delivers something that has been on his mind for quite a while. A chill-out album. It took me a long time to review this because I had the hardest time getting into it. And I'm lazy. Well, mostly because I'm lazy. This isn't the dreamy soundscape stuff you would expect from Ultimae or the crazy psychedelic madness from the likes of Shpongle. I suppose you would classify it as psychill (if you must), but it's really all over the map. In speaking with Sasa he basically said he wanted to make a chill out album that people could dance to. Say what now? The name chill out means to, well...chill out. Relax. Not dance. That's what the other stuff is for. So I had to wrap my brain around that mindf*ck. And let me tell you this isn't music that will help you escape, or drift off into memory. That's not what he wanted. A lot of the tracks are big beated. Don't think that's a word, but you know what I mean. Head nodding beats. He's not here to put you to sleep, but to wake your punk ass up and keep you grooving. He mentioned that this album was made without any inspiration from other artists so he took the music wherever it wanted to go without any distractions. Good for him. My favorite was Science Friction with its big beat and Shpongley vocal tacet. And he kept the goa special sauce in there, don't worry. It's really a very different type of chill album than I'm used to, but I think it hits some psychedelic notes. It has some really good melodies and as I mentioned he wanted you to dance with this so that's in here. He floats among all the styles, breakbeat, downtempo, ambient, even a little drum n bass. So there's probably something for everyone here. Not my favorite chill album, but an interesting foray into chill from a guy who knows how to craft a psytrance track. BMSS Psyshop

Artist: E-Mantra Title: Echoes From the Void Label: Altar Records Date: November, 2014 1. Echoes From the Void 2. Everything Ends 3. Snow Began To Fall 4. E-Mantra & Reasonandu - Words You Said 5. Stillness of Dawn 6. Sundial Aeon - Drifting Radio Frequencies (E-Mantra Remix) 7. Moon Drifter 8. Night Hex - Invocation 9. Shivers Art. You painted a f*cking soup can. Good for you. I can go to Food Lion and see six pallets of those. That's just my 2 cents. Drugs are bad, okay? Still think that last tab of acid was a good idea? But at least your shoes are pink so...awareness and sh*t. Ho-lee-sh*t. You just painted a picture of your dirty feet. How many millions did that sell for? These are just a few examples of why you can't judge what is art and what isn't. Eye of the beholder. Even though the above are just some random examples and seem ridiculous to me I am not the end all and be all of opinions. Like you I have one and it's no more or less accurate than yours. Well, maybe yours (points to guy with the dirty feet.) Take a shower man this ain't Woodstock. Art is subjective. And artists regardless of medium tend to be some odd f*ckers. Might be what sets them apart from the rest of the normals. I imagine Emmanuel is no different. Don't know him, but what I do know is that in his chosen medium he can do no wrong. Having already conquered goa he has almost done the same to psychill. Echoes From the Void is his fourth album in the downtempo genre and surprise surprise he explores new territory. The first half of the album is an ambient experience exploring mystical soundscapes. Ideal for waking up early and catching the rising sun from atop some lofty snow capped peak. Which is what I would've done if I didn't have kids. Floating voices soar and echo above warm pads as he slowly brings you along. Measured break beats keep the tempo whilst hypnotic melodies lull you into a dream state. Words You Said is the first surprise being more uplifting than his usual moody downtempo style. The second half of the album is progressive trance with a few showcasing the goa style we have come to expect from this artist. His Nighthex alias in particular produced a very enjoyable track. E-mantra is goa trance first and foremost, but he has also proven himself in the downtempo and ambient genre. With this album he explores the progressive arena with fine results. He's an artist that I hope continues to stretch his creative imagination as we the listeners will all be the better for it. Highly recommended to add to your E-mantra collection. Altar Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Goa Energy Label: Timewarp Records Date: November, 2014 CD1 01. Travma - The Reality 02. 01-N - Teonanacatl 03. Screwloose & Lunar Dawn- Sunspots 04. Trinodia - Astral Clouds (Edit 2014) 05. Siam & Nova Fractal - Inside the Vortex 06. Cactus Arising - Transfer at the speed of light 07. Fiery Dawn - Mahakala 08. Nova Fractal - Naga 09. Somnesia - Wind Melody CD2 01. Psysutra - OamPower 02. Lectro Spektral Daze - 25th Century Technology 03. Anumana & Nostromosis - Traveler 04. Arronax - Lightning Bolt 05. Omneon - Sirius 06. OXI - Haunted Dreams 07. GoaTree - Hide & Clap (Morphic Resonance Remix) 08. Morphic Resonance - Neutrino 09. First Man - First Sound F*ck you Yoda. Yeah, my review game as of late has been pretty weak. I know it. But my meatball game...legendary. So I've had this album for a long time now and it just kept getting pushed farther and farther back. Kids, life, and those meatballs don't become legendary by themselves. So I apologize to Timewarp for the delay. It's not like there have been any good goa trance releases in the last six months anyway. Cube! Can we not get past this? You make kids movies for chrissake! So yeah no pressure. Well Timewarp (underneath the huge umbrella that is Ovnimoon Records) has established itself as a quality goa trance label with releases like the Colors of Goa and Call of Goa series in both the CD and digital arena. So it should be no surprise that their next compilation is also 2-CD release because clearly Renato is on a personal quest to suck up all my personal time like he was a three story vacuum cleaner. That's ok, I don't mind. Could be worse I suppose. I could actually have a, you know...job. *shudder* I'm here to tell you that this is one of the best things to come out of Timewarp Records. 2 Cds and not one mediocre track. Sure there is a clearly defined level between the more well known and established acts and the relative newcomers, but it's not a dramatic gap. But before I give you my opinions on the standouts, I would like to voice my concern over one artist in particular. Travma. What the hell happened? The new stuff to my ears is not even remotely close to what he brought to the scene years ago. Night and day, might as well be full-on. Perhaps he has other interests and goa trance isn't at the top of his priority list, but his track left me wanting. Wanting to hit the skip button. *Rim shot* After the gentle opening, we are treated to bomb after bomb with just very good to great to even outstanding goa trance. I broke Renato's balls a bit with the last 2-Cd compilation as having a lot of filler, but that ain't the case here. Trinodia's remix of Astral Clouds (already a monster track) made me sit up and take notice. Arronax and his acidic live wire Lightning Bolt was another eye opener. Fiery Dawn and Lectro Spektral Daze also put this comp on their shoulders and ran with it. Even the new"ish" projects like Omneon and 01-N impressed. But hands down the the one two punch from flavor of the month Morphic Resonance was the knockout blow. Since Astral is for all intents and purposes (loved the remixes, but let's have some new material) the walking dead, the guys from Morphic Resonance are the logical choice to rip the torch from Astral's cold, lifeless grip. With a frenzied pace melodies came fast and furious putting an exclamation point on this compilation. This was a monster dunk and you got posterized. Damn...a brother can't even check an Ebay auction without getting dunked on. Do not hesitate to purchase this compilation. Psyshop Beatspace

Artist: Electric Universe Title: 20 (1994 - 2014) Label: Dacru Records Date: November, 2014 1. Electronic Pulsation 2. One Love 3. Galaxia 4. Out Of Time 5. Online Information 6. Sunset Skyline 7. Spectral Blue 8. Meteor 9. Renania 10. Love Is Not A Crime 11. The Prayer 12. Journey Into The Subconscious 13. Mind Of God 14. Gajin Rocker 15. The Self 16. Solar Noir 17. Tune Up 18. Psycho Acoustics 19. Bodhisatva 20. Freedom "And suddenly I was thrown into this expansive, amazing feeling...of freedom." Boris Blenn doesn't have to do sh*t. He doesn't have to prove sh*t. Psytrance Jesus practically invented the genre that allows talentless artists to make crappy full-on and believe they're Tiesto. You could argue he and a select few paved the way for those who would come after, and that without him the genre wouldn't be the same. This album celebrates his two decades in the game and is a great cross section of his huge and impressive body of work. Beginning with his best goa selections like Electronic Pulsation, Galaxia, and of course Online Information. Then not unlike the entire scene at the time he took a nap during his more experimental phase with with tracks like Spectral Blue and Renania. This is where I catch a few ZZzzzz.... Then after a few selections from his awesome album Cosmic Experience each he supplants himself in full-on territory. And I don't think he's moved since. I'll chalk his Higher Modes album up to bad drugs, a vengeful hooker (we've all been there, am I right?) or a throbbing case of not giving a f*ck. Once Boris released Cosmic Experience each subsequent album had the same style. Track names? Why the f*ck you gotta bring that up? At this point you either love where his music is or tire of hearing the same track ad nauseum. With his goa days long behind him this style of full-on is what he does and what the younger trancers know him for. The last track is from Journeys Into Space (haven't heard it yet) and it sounds even more cosmic and euphoric if that is at all possible. This is a great double CD of material and an adequate representation of his musical catalog. I don't think you can go wrong with it especially if you consider yourself a fan of his later stuff. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk