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Artist: Ephedra Title: Journey Through My Head Label: Goa Madness Records Date: October, 2014 1. We Are Not Alone 2. Beyond Spaces 3. Crispy Biscuits 4. Souls In Trance 5. The Walk of the Little Green Man 6. Little Molecules 7. Experiments 8. Bubblized 9. Smiling Sun (2013 Edit) Wow. Just...wow. Did anyone see this coming? Goa Madness Records is one of the new kids on the block and this label has had quite the beginning. Their first release was a compilation called Memories From Goa Madness. They played it safe and it was tried and true goa trance. Nah, it was better than that in this reviewer's opinion. So fresh off the success of that release they drop this bomb on us. This is the debut album of Alexandre Cohen and it is beautiful. So many swirling melodies and those acid sounds are verily delicious. Set your phasers to maximum twirling because this is a journey that catches you up and doesn't let go. Twists and turns abound and the sound is terrific. It's a full and rich atmosphere with screeching leads and layers of immeasurable beauty. I'm sorry I don't have anything funny to say or silly gifs to post. This is just a fantastic release and rightly deserves consideration for goa trance album of the year. Superb job my friend. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Unstoppable Remixes Label: Mechanik Records Date: October, 2014 1. Unstoppable (Shameless Remix) 2. Unstoppable (Outer Signal Remix) 3. Unstoppable (Brain Attack Remix) 4. Unstoppable (Resonanz3 Remix) 5. Cosmic Connection (Abomination Remix) Let me stop you right there. I like the Deliriant project, always have. Their aggressive, dark and melodic style was a staple for years showing the kids how it was done. Normally I don't review remix albums where it's just one track being remixed because I don't believe the artists truly understand what a remix is. For God's sake too many treat it like a f*cking copy machine. If you're going to do it make it your own. And maybe some did a bit of that. But you don't have to make it stop and start annoying do you? Most of the tracks are just inferior variations of the original, but the Resonanz3 remix was I think better. Pure power and acidic mayhem. The final track is pretty good stuff too, but nothing groundbreaking. So a couple of tracks are worth it, but hardly something you have to have. Juno Download

Artist: Various Title: Celestial Transvibration Label: Neogoa Date: October, 2014 1. Protorai - Midst Aetheric Halls 2. Ankrosado - Thing 3. Neuropa - Meganeura 4. What Lies Beneath - Ritual Algorythm (Early Spring Remix) 5. Proxeeus - Mission Atlantis (Alien Voices Mix) 6. Veasna - Quantum Connundrum 7. Arronax - Wings of Laniakea 8. PharaOm - Mighty Sun Sometimes you have to expand your horizons. Try new things and break out of your comfort zone. "C'mon Jimmy...just try a backflip." *flinches* Ooh...nobody saw that. "I've never ridden a motorbike before. So just, twist the accelerator and I'll go? Wow, that's easy!" FFFF*****CCCCCCKKKKKK!!!! Point is trying new things is usually a good thing. Neogoa is the penultimate netlabel when it comes to goa trance. Their releases are consistently great with a track record that a for profit label would envy. When Ivan hooked me up with this a few days ago I asked him what was the idea or the theme behind this compilation. He told me that he wanted to showcase new artists and for this compilation to go in a darker or more experimental direction. Well mission accomplished brother! Yep! Well, except that...the mission here was actually you know...accomplished. This compilation is the definition of a pot luck. Minus grandma's runny potato salad. The first three tracks are of the experimental variety with a sound akin to Slinky Wizard, Psychaos or COP. Shout out to psynewser Paul Eye representing on Meganeura. None of the tracks are mind blowing, but they are interesting and they avoid the all to frequent current goa stereotypes. Then you come to the longest track ever released by Neogoa in Ritual Algorythm. Made by another psynews regular ritual_Om this 20 minute effort is a storytelling journey. Not in the melodic goa sense, but in the exploratory mold. Again, interesting to say the least. And that is the turning point because the final four tracks are what you would expect from Neogoa. Melodic, goa stormers with newcomer Proxeeus kicking the door in saying, "Here I am...love me." Great f*cking track. The last track by former goa stalwart PharaOm was a downtempo goa track that sounded awesomely sinister. If that was the last goa track you made homie, you went out with a bang. So kudos to Neogoa for showcasing newer artists and sending goa trance in another direction. Neogoa is more than just a netlabel they also seem to find lots of up and coming talent that go on to future success. Maybe it'll stick, maybe it won't, but creativity is the mother of invention. Or some sh*t like that. Mdk

Artist: Talpa Title: La La La EP Label: TesseracT Studio Date: October, 2014 1. Dark Days 2. La La La Goran was pretty busy in 2014 with 5 released EPs which continued his mixing of Talpa and Riddler styles. Eerie melodies, groovy beats, haunting piano...all staples of his music. I suppose he could've combined all the EP's into an album, but who am I to tell him what to do. Have you seen him on Facebook? He scares me. But his music continues to move me. The only constant is the change the tracks undergo. Some nice stuff. Beatport

Artist: Various Title: Moon Ritual Label: Amakusa Records Date: October, 2014 1. RA - Azure Child 2. Chi-A.D. - Transition 3. Dimension 5 - Transformation (Taiwan Remix) 4. Hunab Ku - Sun In My Hands 5. RA - Spiritual Odyssey 6. Dimension 5 - Fundamental Hippie 7. Chi-A.D. - Exit Eternity 8. Electron Wave - Temporal Distortion 9. Hunab Ku - Children of the Stones "Nobody had a bad trip...it was all good." Not for her. Ok let's be honest...that's a hideous cover. It is. But don't let that visual dissuade you from exploring the beautiful goa trance found within. Seems today that all the labels have finally figured out what we knew a long time ago. Old is gold. And like dirty south rappers grill, there's gold in here. So here comes Amakusa records with a collection of tracks that were either unreleased or only available on vinyl. So what the f*ck is Exit Eternity doing there? Bah, no matter. Beginning with the floating Azure Child from RA it sets the tone with smooth layers. The Chi-A.D. track was at first a bit of a head scratcher. Why bring the mood down? It's a slow builder, but has a sinister chopped lead before it goes all cosmic. Interesting to say the least. The next three tracks are melodic stompers to be sure and I would expect nothing less from Dimension 5, Hunab Ku, and RA. They got a whole Etnica/Pleaidians thing going on as it's the same bunch of guys. Fundamental Hippie had me until it brought in that guitar crunch. Still pretty good. I'm not going to discuss Exit Eternity because it's a classic and we all know it's a boatload of awesome. Electron Wave is yet another side project of these same guys and it's also not bad. The final track is a bit too commercial or full-on for me. I can listen to it, but it's not like I would actively search it out. I was gonna just skip this album, but everyone started talking about how great it is and I"m a sucker for peer pressure. The last time I ignored the crowd I missed out on Mind Rewind so I'm not about to let that happen again. It's a good collection of tracks that like I said were unreleased or hard to find. I know Suntrip was carrying this for a while, but then that stopped. I think I got my copy off Discogs. I didn't see any there the last time I checked, but here's a link to their Facebook page. Mdk

Artist: Ajna Title: Search For The Divine Label: Ovnimoon Records Date: October, 2014 1. Speaking To God 2. Be Yourself 3. The All Seeing Eye 4. Follow The Signs 5. Search For the Divine 6. Come Back To Reality 7. The Age of Reason 8. The Only Way To Fly feat. Goalien "You ever have that feeling...where you're not sure if you're awake or still dreaming?" Mescaline? Try having two kids ask you every question in their repetoire 24/7 even if it has absolutely nothing to do with the current situation. And they don't give a f*ck what your answer is they just want to hear themselves talk. Happened yesterday and I think I blacked out for like...ten minutes. Thing is I was behind the wheel doing 80 miles an hour. "No officer I don't know how my car wound up in Lake Michigan, but since I've got you here who do you think would win in a fight between Unikitty and Pinky Pie. Cause this is the question I got for the past 35 minutes." Ajna is Oliver Chazard and I feel his album got lost in the shuffle with all the other releases. Ovnimoon releases like 6 albums every half hour so it's possible that they didn't even know they released it. What you get is dreamy and floaty melodic goa trance. It's high energy, pumping, and beautiful. Beautiful like Fabio...you know you're not gay, but you can't stop staring at his moobs. Fabio has clearly stopped giving f*cks. The layers are plenty and it has a spiritual quality taking you far away from mundane human pursuits and bickerings. There is a f*ckton of twirling opportunities and nobody is gonna get hurt as it weaves a trail of gentle and comforting atmospheres. There are a lot of the Middle Eastern melodies serving up images of vast desert sands and the search for the beginnings of humanity. It reminds me a lot of Afgin's release on Suntrip where it was so bright you had to listen to it with sunglasses. If there was one negative it would be that all the tracks resemble each other. A lot. Some might be put off by the samples or the goa "lite" style. And perhaps this is why it drifted within the goa ether largely ignored. As I mentioned it's beautiful sounding, but it's also the farthest you can get from the current trend of dark, moody releases. But you can't be dark all the time. Plants won't grow, sunscreen companies will go out of business, and you might one day call this freakshow your daughter in law. So let the sun shine, enjoy some soft melodic goa, and bow down to your new Ovnimoon overlords. Cause they is takin' over. Psyshop Beatspace