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Artist: Microcosm Title: Higher Levels Label: Released on Ektoplazm Date: October, 2011 01 - Ultraphoric Spacevibes (142 BPM) 02 - Eternal Circle (143 BPM) 03 - Beautiful Hallucinations (142 BPM) 04 - Ignition (141 BPM) 05 - When We All Come Together (142 BPM) 06 - Ultimatum (145 BPM) 07 - Perpetual Sunrise (144 BPM) 08 - Spacey Kebab (138 BPM) 09 - Destination Paradise (129 BPM) Dessert is good. Everybody likes dessert! You know McCoy was begging for a script where he could haul off and whack a b*tch. Bet he wishes it was Kirk though. Pies, cookies, fruit...somehow the French shoehorned cheese into the dessert cart and now the smooth bottom of dessert has a pimple on it. Old school goa trance is like a twelve layer chocolate cake with zero calories when done well. Pleiadians, Etnica, Transwave, Astral...all classics that never get old. Well make room at the table because here comes Microcosm. The Norwegian duo Fredrik Larsen and Georg Simonsen released and album that has been compared to Transdimensional by Dimension 5. And I fully agree. This was there only album and thanks to a close friend of theirs we are privileged to hear it. It is everything you could want in goa trance. Relentless, melodic, atmosphereic, entrancing, mind numbing. It soars and it growls, floats and dives. There were times I thought this could be D5 and times when I thought I heard a little M-Run and Crossing Mind. Just a marvelous piece of music. 2 bits of bad news. Primarily, Fredrik is no longer of this Earth. No idea how it happened, but let it be known that he was partially responsible for unleashing this old school beast on the masses. It should take it's place right up there with the more well known albums. Second, there is some background noise on the 320 mp3's. It's minor and for home listening it doesn't really sully the quality of this masterpiece. But you can hear it on some tracks. I've never been to a festival or party, but I imagine it wouldn't work on a big set of speakers. But who knows? If you are a fan of goa trance you already know about this. If it managed to slip under your radar, do yourself a favor and get thee to Ektoplazm and own this brilliant work or art. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Aritst: Mystica Title: Single Collection Label: Classic Goa Trax Date: November, 2019 1. Expose 2. Orly's Remix 3. Ever Rest 4. Jamiroquai 5. African Horizon 6. Yellow Pearl 7. Kalimenjaro 8. Ethnic Treasures 9. Bliss With DAT Records and Suntrip creating sub-labels that offer digital releases from old school artists that have mostly gone unheard we have a nice window into some nice music. Mystica (also known as One Man Game) was an Israeli project that was never on my must hear list. Aside from Expose and Orly's Remix (both very good tracks) I am not an avid fan. This digital collection therefore is great for those that aren't familiar with most of their work. And I gotta tell you it was a pleasant surprise. First thing I noticed is its steeped in the Israeli sound. Very upbeat and danceable. These tracks were on some EP's and compilations that people might have missed. I know I did. The sound palette is limited (nothing like the infinite layers of today's production), but they do a great job with what they have. It's always in motion and constantly evolving. Unmistakably goa trance. And good goa trance at that. Ethnic Treasures blew me away! Great job Suntrip and I look forward to more releases! Classic Goa Trax Bandcamp

Psyramid EP by Amithaba Buddha first released in Phototropic Records in 2008 is now available as a digital release with fresh mastering . https://submoonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/psyramid-ep-remastered

Artist: Various Title: The Kingdom Label: Zion604 Records Date: February, 2013 1. Kalika Inana (Live Version) - Eat Static 2. Howling At the Moon - Cosmosis 3. Tri Kay - Shakta 4. Mars Supial - Moonweed 5. Scirroco - Lunar Asylum 6. Mass Connection - ManMadeMan 7. Ants 4 Breakfast - ECT & Mass 8. Harold Eben D'Owld - Nervasystem 9. Spiked (Remix) - Double Dragon Zion604 is a label dedicated to keeping the old school spirit of goa trance alive. Run by veterans Roy Sason, Stephan Spivak and Masafumi Hoshida they have also released several other compilations. I reviewed their virgin effort Flight 604 and that had some really good moments. Their latest is a 2 disc compilation of new and old school artists called Phoenix and I am eagerly awaiting my copy. Till then this one caught my eye. Don't see many old school compilations these days and hold on, what's this? Unreleased stuff from back in the day? Finding unreleased stuff from the goa masters is like finding a Lexus under the Christmas tree. Driven by a busty pornstar with money coming out of her... Ewww....I'm not touching that. No, you keep it sweetheart. Put it toward your, ahem...medical school tuition. Eat Static begins with a track that would appear in the morning after a cleansing rain. Sunbeams shining down and reflecting the moisture with a tribal and slow opening as if welcoming you to nature's kingdom. Deep chants groan over bubbling electronica in a hypnotic dream of progressive goa trance. Normally I wouldn't care for this, but it's well produced and captures the feel of an ancient culture perfectly Howling at the Moon- Who doesn't know this classic beast of a track? Now remastered it's barely restrained chaos of screaming leads and rampaging acid lines. Hurtling the listener through the galaxy at ludicrous speed it is crystal clear. Non stop insanity and one of the greatest goa tracks of all time. Tri Kay- Shakta delivers one that somehow got away. It was put out on vinyl but not on CD. I've never heard it so it's new to me! The layers are delicious and eerie, but at almost 10 minutes it repeats itself quite frequently until the break. All the excitement at hearing this lost gem was tempered a bit as it came on like a lion, but left like a lamb. Still good though. Marsupial- Nobody loves a good didgeridoo more than I and that's how this begins. The leads dance in the sky and then come back to Earth. There is no mystery here just an all out goa assault. Scirroco- You say Scirroco to me and I'm thinking of an old Honda. And this track sounded old. Like it was something they were messing around with and never got back to. It seems more of an electronic sketch that isn't very strong. Mass Connection- Loved the atmosphere in this one. More psy than goa in the beginning they put effects in the right places to create an uneasy feel. When the goa gets going it becomes a stormer. Chunky and distorted that lead melody is all consuming. Ants 4 Breakfast- *Checks to see if this isn't Shamanic Tribes on Acid* By far the loudest and most experimental track on the compilation, this one is made for headphones. With rich bass sounds, darkpsy lead rips, and frenetic percussion it's constantly evolving. Full of skittering effects and at first I hated it, but with repeated listens this actually sounds like what having ants for breakfast would sound like. Aggressive and powerful and in a state of perpetual motion. You couldn't wring more out of a lead than this. Suomi meets goa in an insane track. I don't know if I love it or should perform an exorcism on it. Harold Eben D'Owld- There is nothing special about this track as it ambles its way through, but there is a high level of detail. Computer whirrs buzz amidst bubbly synth leads as this has a constant bounce. Clearly we're out of the melodic portion and now it's about setting a mood. Like industrial goa, but less aggressive and at a progressive pace. Spiked (Remix)- This final track was only released on vinyl so it might as well been an 8 track for me. It's from 2001 so clearly the focus at the time was taking goa in a different direction. Lots of percussive pot banging and sounds to create the atmosphere. Sounds like the needle scratching a record. Not dark, just is. This is a very varied compilation with different goa styles represented. It's all over the map from blistering to experimental madness. They mostly sound great so kudos to those responsible for mastering and recovery. I listen to all of my music on headphones so I can appreciate the finer details. This is like a goa market showcasing the directions in which goa can be driven and it's up to the listener to explore. The final 4 tracks mark the line where the compilation shifts from the melodic to the more...daring. What this has shown me is that while layers of melody are great there is much more to discover. Congrats Roy on a compilation that has a little something for everyone. Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Space Elves Title: Terrestrial Planet Finder Label: Dimensional Records Date: April, 2012 1. Fead Huck 2. Goa Trance Mission 3. Opening New Dimensions 4. Terrestrial Planet Finder 5. Tokyo Old School 6. Trance India Express (rmx) 7. Satellite - Space Elves and Somnesia 8. Vega (Space Elves rmx) - Jikooha Maradonna punched a ball into a goal in front of a billion people and he can't figure how you f*cked this up. So...lemme see if I got this. The, ahem..."secret" service, an elite force of agents responsible for the safety of the leader of the free world who also that shut down areas quicker than cops do a Kentucky meth lab couldn't keep their hookers in check. In Cartagena Colombia. The nation that coca built. All because one agent didn't want to pay 50 bucks to keep Rosie Perez quiet after she spent the night. I cannot say with certainty if it was actually Rosie, but I haven't seen her since White Men Can't Jump so...it's probably her. But, $50...really? That's like...I dunno $6 an hour. Girlie love you long time and you don't want to even cough up minimum wage? That's just asking for a Columbian necktie. Trayvon got shot because he was black and wearing a hoodie, what do you think stiffing her pimp/mayor of Cartegena is gonna get you? Look, I'm not saying f*ck some hookers, but damnit man your the secret service. Keep your pimp hand strong and I dunno...how about keeping a secret. My military and espionage training has consisted of watching a lot of movies and I can see the blackmail possibilities from here. The president was there but nobody knows what the f*ck he went for because this story overshadowed his visit. I haven't seen embarrassment this thick since that Rush Limbaugh video went viral. Ugh. There's an image you can't unsee. The stupidity is mind boggling sometimes. This is when you shut off the world and immerse yourself in some good music. Thankfully Imba sent me a copy of his latest work. Space Elves is an old school Goa trance project founded by our very own Imba in 2009 that consist of Imba, Arronax, CoaGoa, and SETI Project. The buzz is that it left the sunshine full-on goa trance melody stacks and parallel parked in old school town. Love most of the cover as the contrast between the satellite and the two planets is quite striking, but the nebula takes a little away from that. Take it with a grain of salt...my son tells me to color inside the lines. Fead Huck- "As I lay there...I couldn't leave. The room began to spin. I could step out of my body." Just say head f*ck, we're all adults here. Well, except Antares. Someone check his ID please?!? All we need is another angry parent killing field trips for the rest of us. The bubbling 303 is a constant sound as we are transported back to the mid 90's. It's goa in a dream state as layers of sound coalesce over the steady pumping rhythm. Kinda similar to a heart beat. Liked it. Goa Trance Mission- It definitely has that old school vibe to it, but it got kind of boring. The beginning and the break had me thinking aliens trying yo communicate. Something was missing though... Yes! Yes, it needs more awesome! Opening New Dimensions- "Do you understand how big a dimension really is? There are many universes with stars and planets. These are linked with trans-dimensional gates. Can you see the possibilites that exist?" Old school bounce for sure. Let's see how many times I can write those words in this review. They just let the 303 rip and build around it creating a nice spacey vibe. The distorted sample awakens supernatural evil to me, a la Event Horizon. Something juicy about this one even though it's not bursting with melody or power. Terrestrial Planet Finder- "In the hunt for alien life, scientists are focussing their efforts in finding small rocky planets like Earth. But finding another Earth is like searching for a needle in a million haystacks." More of the same type of drifting, outer space exploration atmosphere where leads twist and turn in a seemingly endless journey. Before you know it, 7 minutes have gone by and you're trying to figure out what you were doing. Tokyo Old School- " *some Japanese talk* Probably discussing anime, samurai, some f*cking wacko game show or a pasty chick with long dark hair that has her head tilted to the side. "Excuse me sir, you dropped this." "Oh thank you so much, I was looking for my racist card!" "Actually, there's about 20 or 30 of them, trailing behind you... "Ok, ok go f*ck yourself." Now this has some growl to it as they filter the hell out of that lead. First one that kicks the door in with attitude. It's sticky...like wacky wall walker sticky. I've been working on my own prototype of the wacky wall walker... Yeah, I tend to run through a lot of pre-teens so you know...still a work in progress. Trance India Express (Remix)- Holy crap 10 minutes...better unzip. We all know Trance Africa Express by Sheyba, and I even have a track of the same name remixed by the Elves and Somnesia, (Ass kicking track btw) but this is India. This is caught in a rainstorm dripping with old school sound. Ethnic and full of mystery. The unfurling acidic melodies that worm their way into your soul as well as the quirky bits make this a treat. Nah, a treat doesn't do it justice. Remember playing a video game and finally beating the boss gaining entry into the next level? Times that by 10. Superb. Knew I should've gotten X-box. They have all the cool games. Satellite- Almost 12 minutes?!? Jesus, why did I put pants on in the first place? Oh that's right, my son's first day of pre-school and I don't want to be, you know...that helicopter parent with no pants on. As good as the last track was, this tops it. Layers of swirling deliciousness throw your ass in a time machine when music was rooted in storytelling and evolving magic. This one has it all 303's, acid...it just keeps going. Remarkable. Vega (Space Elves Remix)- I know how much Imba likey Jikooha's work and he and his friends just flattered the hell out of him. This is a track from Jikooha's ablum Revolution Spaceship and I had to go back and listen to it so that I could make a fair comparison. The remix is a chunky, powerful compliment to the original. Fast and furious as they twist up the metallic sound, raising it up and letting it tumble. Much more digestible IMO. And to another point, that's what a remix should be. Flashes of the original, but owning it and making it your own with new touches. Yeah Scorb, I'm looking at you. Like an elephant baby, I don't forget. I know there are people out there that are sick of the way goa trance sounds these days. They clamor and crave for the sound that they remember. Well, welcome to 1996 people! This one won't knock you over with it's power or stack melodies like leggos but it will carry you away. It is a terrific journey that has the old school stamp all over it with running bass lines and one note melodies that flow and unwind. It's not oppressive in the least, but it does have a presence that gets better each time I listen to it. It bubbles and churns and sounds more like the genre I missed out on back in the mid to late 90's. The more varied styles that arrive in goa trance the better and I think if you love the old school sound, this is rocketing in the right direction. Good job gentlemen. Psyshop Beatspace Saikosounds Goa Store Mdk