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A remastered (24-bit) version of the forest classic that propelled Sanaton Records to legendary status has been released as a 15 year Anniversary Edition. http://www.sanatonrecords.com/2020/12/04/va-boldly-audio-anniversary-edition/ From their website: listen and get it here https://sanatonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/va-boldly-audio-2https://sanatonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/va-boldly-audio-2

Hey everyone! I'm one of the Belgian Cronomi dj's and I'm sharing around my latest dj set. I tried to play in between Goatrance and Forest Trance and pursue a very distinct raw and ravy sound. I mostly used bits and pieces of tracks and went for short mixes. I'm really curious what you guys would think of it since I normally only include a short section of this music in my oldskool sets on parties. <iframe width="100%" height="120" src="https://www.mixcloud.com/widget/iframe/?hide_cover=1&feed=%2FPsyt3k%2Fekata-psytek-synchronicity%2F" frameborder="0" ></iframe> Tracklist: 1. Fragletrollet - Origins 2. Hutti & Uttu - The Crack of Thunder 3. Meteloids - Infected By 3D 4. Droidsect - The Box 5. Droidsect - Supernatural 6. Lunar Plexus - Ugglor I Mossen 7. Droidsect - Poltergeist (Digital Talk Remix) 8. Grapes of Wrath - More Me 9. Farebi Jalebi - Who's Who in the Zoo 10. Derango - Sluggy 11. Toï Doï - Age Age 12. Zoon - Goskog 13. Shivattva - Slinky Wire 14. Toï Doï - Fusion Froide 15. Laatoka - Witch Technology 16. Battle of the Future Buddhas - Demonoizer (Freak Brothers Remix) 17. Toï Doï - E-Tium 18. Ka-Sol - Greenbuttskunk 19. Uminum - No Control 20. Battle of the Future Buddhas - Bodyhit 21. Ufomatka - The City of Acid Trips 22. Zoon - Stormbringer 23. Battle of the Future Buddhas - The Other Way Around 24. Toï Doï - Replicant

Artist: Schizoid Bears Title: Dictator of Silence Label: Forest Freaks Date: July, 2017 1. Shimmy Ye 2. Kito Visato 3. Analogue Woods 4. Man / Robot 5. Spacecake 6. Dropout 7. Kuelveerstuk 8. Keep It In My Heart 9. Parabulock P. Tale and C. Monster are back with their third release offered freely by our friends at Ektoplazm. Lithuanian Forest Freaks has been making some noise (get it?) in this genre with compilations like the Under the Moss series. This project does forest right with dark and uncertain atmospheres that bring to mind those places we are loathe to tread. There is a lot of twists and turns with new sounds lurking around every tree making for a very saturated aural experience. It can be harsh and electrically abrasive yet continuously lends itself to deep hallucination. Tracks like Man / Robot and Drop Out seem to have a perfect mix of power and psychedelia. In truth it's a lot to take in and like a lot of releases in this genre the sound sometimes tends to get bogged down with its equivalence. That said, I really liked it and while it isn't something I would listen to everyday, it gave me a sense of unease throughout. Free at Ektoplazm

Artist: Senang Title: Connection With Nature Ep Label: Banyan Records 1. Owl Lights 2. Sacret Agni 3. Alive Source (with Umber Vamber) 4. Connection With Nature This label is pretty cool and for my money (even though some of their releases are freely offered) they are one of the highlights in the niche genre of forest trance. Check this one out for your night time pleasure. Forest oftentimes falls into the same pitfall as darkpsy does with the lack of a discernible melody and incessant, constant hammering of the bassline. There's nothing really to grab onto until the artist begins to pay attention to the details. And you'll find that here in this short digital ep beginning with the psychedelic cover. Sure that hammering bass line is there, but he broadens the track with some eerie atmosphere and those delicious, swampy bubbles. It's pull your collar tighter and start looking at your surroundings a little closer type music. And it's free, so that makes it even sweeter! Free at Banyan Records

Artist: Schallusion Title: Morphologic Tales Label: Self Released Date: March, 2012 1. Shaman 2. The Aborigine 3. Transcendance 4. Harmonic Tales 5. Crossover 6. Collaborator 7. Future Stomp Wow if you believe what the announcement thread says sounds like these guys hit a home run. Let's start with this. If you open your debut with a 17 minute track you better know what you're doing. Yeah they did. Luckily this German project seems to have a pretty good handle on this whole psychedelic thing. Coming out of nowhere they dropped this hot potato right into our eager laps. For free. 5 years ago. This album is loaded with long tracks that reside in a variety of psychedelic genres. As others have said that opener was quite spectacular. Very lush and not boring for any of those 17 minutes. Aborigine only has one way to go and unfortunately doesn't come close to the depth or scope of Shaman. Just 11 minutes of noodling. Transcendance is a bit better, but again it fails to maintain the high hopes brought about by the opener. Harmonic Tales is better still with a haunting vibe and more of an alien flare. It's futuristic and heavy. Crossover charges full steam ahead for a pretty good track. Collaborator goes full goa with some glitch riding shotgun. Future Stomp closes it out with some more alien goa. When you make an album that only has long tracks you walk a fine line between overload and boredom. For the most part I think they straddled it pretty well. The album was psychedelic and sounded great even if some tracks went on too long. Is it a classic? Nah, but several tracks kick some ass. As I mentioned this came out 5 years ago so they're due to release some more music. Schallusion Soundcloud

Artist: Witch Freak Title: Freakazoid Ep Label: Banyan Records Date: November, 2016 1. Illogical Journey 2. An Infected Tale 3. Freakazoid I was so impressed with the darkness and detail of this label's release Arborum Susurri that I decided to check out some of their other stuff. First I would like to say that's an awesome cover by Shiva Om. Great detail. This is Alexander Tacconi and if you look at his Discogs page he's only had one other EP release. The dark forest vibes continue with this 3 track digital ep which is pretty good. Bubbling along with hammering bass lines are the course of the day. The last track has a female vocal that doesn't belong, but that adds to the eerieness. Banyan Bandcamp

Aritst: Various Title: Arborum Susurri Label: Banyan Records Date: 2017 1. Space Alien - Magic Moments 2. Senang - Free Your Soul 3. Noize Bug - Askeladden's Ferd 4. Etlainen - Rite of Passage 5. Ra Root - Dizzy Walk 6. Mandari - Cognitive Toilet Flush 7. Chudl & Vermo - Dark Side of Us 8. Raschka - Never 9. Praheya - Electro Angelic Wave Pulse 10. The Third Eye of Monkey - Menani "Isn't anybody here? Should we go inside?" Actual gif of me trying to escape whatever the hell is in this forest nightmare. I have never heard of this label nor any of the artists which are found on the track listing. The title I believe means "Forest Whispers" and this lush release lives up to that title. Everything about this release is dark from the trippy cover art to the music within. Bubbling sounds, eerie noises from every corner, and hallucination inducing atmosphere. Layer upon layer of delicious supernatural terror with psychedelic trees in motion all the while reaching for you with skeletal fingers. The music in each track refuses to remain stationary, constantly evolving with ever darker soundscapes. Each layer washing over you like a fresh nightmare. On the surface melodies would appear absent, but closer inspection will find them lurking underneath rumbling bass and kick. There are nine tracks, but if you buy the CD you get an extra one from the label. This is a very deep release which I enjoy discovering and separating each component. This is one of the best forest releases I have ever heard. Bravo. Psyshop Beatspace

Artist: Various Title: Remember the slime Label: Treetrolla records Date: Semptember 27, 2013 Damn, that artwork.... It's apparently made by a polish (I think) artist named Leszek Kostuj, who also did the cover for the Aegolius-album released on Medulla Oblongata a few years ago. For me it's a perfect aesthetic to the forest sound, I personally get quite affected by the artwork when listening to an album. This is another compilation by Treetrolla Records, a label which never has disappointed me. Compared to their earlier releases this one seems to lean more towards the old school forest vibe, with artists such as Ka-sol and BOTFB and sounds inspired by them. 1) Ka-Sol - Dialouge 2) Nirmanakayas - Spherestic 3) Derango - We're All Mad Here (original version) 4) Zoon - Toothbender (bended live edit) 5) Goch - Keg 6) Schoiroideairis - Dance On The Rain 7) Ka-Sol - Discover 8) Battle Of The Future Buddhas - Forever Before 1) Ka-Sol - Dialouge: I love Ka-Sol. I love their morning stuff, night-time stuff and everything in between. This one starts off with a crisp kick which seem to echo in the highs, or something. After less than a minute we are introduced to some weird panning percs and a first glimpse of the melody which will guide us through this mad journey. Deep reverberating saws, filtered synthezizer-madness and some distant voices keeps appearing and disappearing back in the darkness.... This is a great starting track, it seems to keep teasing the listener through the first half, adding and taking away elements. The name "Dialouge" is great, the noises sounds like they're communicating with each other.... After the fourth minute it slowly starts to gain energy! Hats, gated synths and classic styled undecipherable noises which remind me why I love this band. Solid track, could've gotten a bit wilder but works very good as an opener. 2) Nirmanakayas - Spherestics: Nirmanakayas is an artist I just have gotten into (though I can't understand why it didn't happen earlier). From Macedonia, Hana Cheljo Petreski - the brain behind the project - keeps pumping out massive goa/forest tracks which sounds more related to the scandinavian sound than the macedonian forest artists I've listened to. Anyhow, this tracks starts with a atonal weird lead and a strong kick+bass, soon leading us into a nice acid-line, haunting strings and some great melodies. A few minutes in more melodies are introduced and towards the end we finally get that ripping 303-sound. The ending consists of some masterly melody work but in my opinion it could have gone on for 2 minutes extra! This is quality forest music in my ears! 3) Derango - We're All Mad Here (original version): Oh mama! This is the original version of the classic remix on Tumult. True to the Derango vibe, this track is more complex than the previous two, less goa-inspired and has more variation. First minutes consists of some introductionary weirdness which morphs into a classic Derango jam - which means constantly throwing different crazy sounds at us. The first longer break is a sample from The Shining: ".....it was as though I'd been here before. I mean, we all have moments of déjà vu, but this was ridiculous..." Great Once the beat starts again stuff is getting pretty damn funky, dripping echoing melodies and bubbling noises dance around the quite subtle bass-drum. The following part is a mad party filled with stuff I can't describe, but Derango delivers as usual. I wonder if - since the remix was released 05' - this has been unreleased for almost 10 years?? 4) Zoon - Toothbender - Bended Live Edit: Zoon has appeared on numerous compilation with some really good tracks and released a full length in 2013, but I've never sat down and listened very carefully to his music. Toothbender brings us a biig kick drum and an interesting "wouhhwouhing" bass to start with, building different effects and sounds on top of this. The first two minutes move quite slowly but after the first break we're getting deeeeep into the forest Tribal vibes, twisted frequencies and some splashes of light between the trees. This is stomping music for sure. The melody that comes in at 03:30 is very interesting, it has some pretty light tones in the background but brings a dark feeling when put in the middle of all this madness. After a while there's a break and we encounter a weird plucky melody and hard hitting percussive sounds. I promise you I'm hearing the click of a computer mouse..... The track quickly gains layers, breaks down, builds up and so on. 7 minutes in and Zoon is far from running out of weirdness. By this time one can only enjoy: there's syncopated hats, bright, crashing noises and metallic "leads". The track is over eleven minutes long and ends by transitioning to a few moody melodies, I am impressed. 5) Goch - Keg: Goch needs no introduction.. This macedonian producer has been doing fast, intense forest music for many years now - with a very unique sound. It's hard to describe but listening to Goch high is like sitting under a 40feet waterfall only the water is acid and it's punching your head with energy and it's the darkest hour of the night and your in the middle of a deep forest and.... you get my drift.... This stays true to this vibe and doesn't take much time to get going. New sounds quickly joins the strong bass+kick in a great flurry. There's some great vocal-sounding samples jumping around, incredible lead just a minute in and lovely percussions.... Oh yeah! But Goch isn't done yet! More layers and more layers upon those, I have no idea how all this stuff fits into one track... Constant arrays of new leads and details drop in and out of this massive atmosphere, keeping the energy and feeling pretty stable but never repetitious. The melodies in the middle of the track is superb, we are hearing a master at work. Goch seems to do something delay-related with his hats to achieve a certain sound, like a very fast trill-effect (is that the word? or maybe tremolo otherwise). Wild saws join the party during the last minutes and the track kind of settles, taking away some energy before ending. Nice! 6) Schoiroideairis - Dance On The Rain: The track I've listened the least to. As I've understood it Schoiroideairis is part of the group "Hada" which appears later on this comp. This starts out energetic with lots of sweeping sounds and noises, but oh shit! At the 2 minute mark we meet a saw-arp which would make any Schlabbaduerst-freak wild with excitement, great! The song keeps moving trough gated sounds and creaking synths, there's a lead that sounds like a sad troll and awesome plucky tones here and there. Again at minute 5, the schlabbaduerster inside me screams of joy! Amazing synths modulating up and down, strings filling in the top shelves of freqs and I'm starting losing myself in the music by now. ...I should probably try to review something that isn't as close to my personal taste next time, because by now it feels like I'm mostly screaming "GOOD! CRAZY! YES! MORE! SAWS!" but ohwell, this is one great VA so far! 7) Ka-Sol - Discover: Time for the second Ka-Sol track! This one starts with a pretty similar kick and some interesting synths. I hear acid burps in the air and acid melodies climbing up trees. This track has a bit of a morning vibe with a few bright synths, but it generally keeps it on the darker side. There's something special with Ka-Sol's way of writing trance, they're tracks are often more monotonous than much forest trance (not that they don't know how to turn a track upside down:.. ) but they're packed with ear candy. This one keeps progressing through acid lines and flickering noises, sweeping effects and super cool saws. Not much more to say about it, but listen to it and you will ...discover... some interesting things. Ka-Sol will always be one of the best forest-projects in existence for me 8) Hada - Der Teufel: This is one of the very few Hada track I've heard, but it makes me wanna search for more Some research tells me Hada consists of Nirmanakayas and Schoiroideairis, the plot thickens...... These guys capture something that I really love with the early scando-sound, but they don't limit themselves to "old school" restrictions or genres (geographic or general) so to say Great work with the energy in this one, it probably sounds great on a dancefloor.... But do does it at home in my monitors, so let's get on with the review! Hada delivers interesting atmospheres with staggering gate-arps, squeamish melodies and a schlabby bassline. YES. Last part is so good! Swirling synths and creepy melodies, spacey percussions drifting from ear to ear and a strong backbone of bass and atmosphere. This was one trip for sure. 9) Battle Of The Future Buddhas - Forever Before: You can't really compare Botfb to anything in the psy-world, this is truly a one of a kind producer. Father of the forest-sound and ever defying the rules of production, this punk has created more weirdness than most labels releases under they're lifetime. Dave starts this one with a thumping bass and detuned leads, mystical! This track progresses slowly, using subtle changes to keep us listening - very meditative in a way. The track builds up with more weird leads and a female vocal sample which feels out of place and yet perfectly fitting into the song. This is one of the great things with the buddhas, unconventional use of samples and sounds! The track reaches an awesome crescendo during the last minutes, bombarding us with massive saws and atmospheres. Great track, perfect way to end this VA I'm happy I took the time to once again hear this compilation from start to finish, this is a collection of tracks that will bring great joy if you're into forest trance. It has a different direction than other Treetrolla releases, focusing more on the early forest sound as said in the introduction. My favorite tracks are 1, 2 and 8 But every track is top quality, strong release!

Artist: Various Title: Under The Moss Vol. 3 Label: Forest Freaks Date: June, 2014 01 - Re-Horakhty - Ravebros (148 BPM) 02 - Tom Noise - Double Trip Tip (150 BPM) 03 - C.Monster - How Do You Know (148 BPM) 04 - Schizoid Bears - Rhythm Of My Life (148 BPM) 05 - Cenotes - Dive (152 BPM) 06 - CTO Gram - Marshmallows, Monkeys, and Mortality (152 BPM) 07 - DoHm - Moss Party (152 BPM) 08 - P.Tale - Ypsilon (152 BPM) 09 - FungPung - Anthill (150 BPM) "How do you know?" Cause I'm American and we know everything. Where the hell have you been? Anyone who didn't think the series sporting foliage with eyes on the cover wouldn't have a LOTR sample is kidding themselves. This type of music just lends itself to fairytale creatures and magical realms. If I studied geography solely by listening to forest trance I would assume all of Scandinavia was like this. The cool parts anyway. Having reviewed the previous two volumes I would say this one is more accessible to those not indoctrinated in the rituals of forest trance. More Wizack Twizack night time mischief than supernatural there's no way out we're all going to die dread. Oh it's still psychedelic as hell so underestimate it at your peril. Full of hallucinogenic atmospheres, bubbly sounds and screechy leads. Just not as heavy. Get more fish with a wider net don't you know. That said aside from the dirge sung at the beginning of Ypsilon and the insanely twisting Anthill (f*cking awesome by the way) nothing stood out. And that's ok. Because with forest trance it is most assuredly about the journey and atmosphere and this compilation has loads of it. A deep eeriness and mystical whimsy. Oaks older than man and moss retaking all that he in is arrogance has built. Structures are temporary, but the forest...the forest is eternal. Creatures that were the stuff of legend appear and we realize that they didn't just appear. They were here all along. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Various Title: The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life Label: Sangoma Records Date: November, 2013 1. Entropy - Hamakor 2. Parus - Vremia 3. Antagon Vs. Ectogasmics - Degradation 4. Sunchild - Think In Tongues 5. Dragon - Flower of Life 6. Mubali - Entering the Neuron Community 7. Fractal Cowboys - Fluid of Life 8. Arjuna Vs. Deepbrianfrombosis - Fractacality 9. Primordial - Time Lord 10. We Are Noise - Acid Milk For All 11. Neesha - Great Ride "There are certain things we can do to become super human." The sexy lady tree will tell you the secret is all in the hips. Anyone else think this gif is a little...sinister? Sangoma is like the foresty darkpsy little brother of the older and well established Timecode Records. I absolutely loved almost everything that Timecode released so I'm hoping that Sangoma will continue the tradition. My first experience with them however was with Gaspard's ode to naptime Seems Legit. It wasn't legit. So not legit that I quit. Hammer shoutout! But hey that's why pencils have erasers right? This compilation is my second go round with Sangoma and I have to tell you...bring a f*cking flashlight. This is dark. Seriously so. Thumping bass lines and kicks rumble menacingly below swampy bubbling. If you're a fan of the Timecode sound this may take some getting used to. While the night time psy from Timecode was also dark there were always melodies that would carry you above the fray. This sound is more psychedelic forest and aggressive. Perhaps it's the logical evolution of darkpsy. It's a hallucinatory journey where sounds are stacked like dead bodies and the mood is decidedly...evil. Metallic leads sound like the dragging of relics across concrete. It's loud and a lush cacophony of sound that requires multiple listens to truly appreciate. Some tracks are horror movie ready and most are a twisting concourse into the mouth of madness. Heavy stuff if you decide to listen in one go. I'm not sure where I stand yet, but I certainly cannot stop listening to it. Sangoma Bandcamp Psyshop Beatspace

Finally a proper debut album from DoHm, and a first physical release from Forest Freaks, congrats! Promo text: "Dohm presents his Debut Album (CD) from the Dark Poetry – a special collection of deep, mystic, forest dark psytrance. From the enchanted forests of Lithuania, these powerful dance floor melodies orchestrates digital nature to take you on a spiritual flight through the jungle of your own soul". buy directly at the label http://forest-freaks.com/cd-music-store/ samples and buy: http://beatspace.com/8353/Forest+Freaks/DOHM/From+the+dark+poetry/detail.aspx other free stuff from Forest Freaks (highly recommended) http://www.ektoplazm.com/label/forest-freaks and check out his debut EP... awesome! http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/dohm-swampology

Psytek (BE) - We're All Math Here (Forest Mix) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.mixcloud.com/Psyt3k/psytek-were-all-math-here-forest-mix-1/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After 10 years of collecting this music I felt it was time to upload a Forest Trance mix. For this one I tried to focus on atmospheric "mossy" tracks in which the artists spent a lot of attention to the percussion works. I picked out music since '05 until now and wanted to stay within the modern Forest Trance sound. The first half of the mix is pure night time music that will hopefully get you ready to dive into the twilight/morning part, when the sun comes up, and the music becomes more floating and subtle. And for anyone who makes it to the end, there is a nice melodic surprise! This mix was made to spread the vibes as the artists intended it. All respect goes to them. Please support them and their labels by buying their work if you like it! And please leave a comment on my set if you feel like it, as I'm only doing this for the dancefloor, and your home listening pleasure!

Artist: Various Title: 71 Degrees North Label: DVSM Records Date: May, 2014 1. Phobium - Calyx 2. Bloomen - Echodroplets 3. Time For Slime - Apparater 4. Zoon - Dreamer 5. Scope - ElecTroll 6. Silent Horror - Itami 7. Terratech - Crystal Cascade 8. Paranoiac - Peace From Other Space (Part II) 9. Sundance Kid - Tesla 10. Yggdrasil - Ratatosk 11. Phobium - Bulb "Today we talked about turning your daydreams into reality. Tonight I want each one of you to go home and do just that!" c'mon, c'mon, c'mon.... 71 degrees north? The parallel? Like the Arctic and sh*t? Sounds desolate. I can already hear the f bombs an alien would drop if that's where he crash landed. "Mother...f*cker! Why the f*ck did you drop us here? There's nothing! Zero! F*cking nobody! I swear if you weren't my sister's kid I would've vaporized you!" If aliens were so advanced they'd stop landing in the middle of nowhere and start prepping for splashdown in Bermuda. Let's see what countries inhabit that area...Norway, Canada, USA (Alaska of course why wouldn't is be?) Greenland (ain't no green there) and Russia. What could these countries possibly have in common? That's once you get into the parking garage. I mean really? This is a place where hard on's go to die and shrinkage is a perpetual state. A place that is denied the sun for 3 months straight, cut off from the outside world due to storms like arctic hurricanes. I mean what the f*ck those two words aren't even supposed to go together! But just when you'd think that all is lost and the vampires would rule the eternal darkness, the sun comes back and the people celebrate with hot chocolate. DVSM is back with their latest compilation and what a varied effort it is. You've got everything in here. Darkpsy, forest, ambient...and the artwork is a perfect partner to the music inside. Calyx- Cold and vast the tundra sprawls before me. I force myself to move a little faster as the sun slowly attempts to reach the horizon. Superbly descriptive opener. As I begin to hunker down for the night I notice a penguin remains close. Echodroplets- This track sounds like the artists name. Cool slow downs and synths that are in kind of goa motion. Apparater- Time for slime? Don't mind if I do. Over 13 minutes of delicious forest psychedelia. Not in a dark way either. Outstandingly done with sounds that tumble over each other as if they where water molecules in slow motion. Dreamer- Very BOTFB hallucinogenic goa trance. Scando-goa if you will. And that's all right by me. Pretty intense and dripping like a Salvador Dali painting. Dali-goa I guess. Electroll- This is what happens when you don't make it back to base camp before sundown. Stuck in a thick forest with only the northern lights for illumination. Every sound makes me jump as the sound of tortured souls break the silence. Well layered bubbly stuff of horror movies. I can't find my penguin friend at all. Itami- I just need a window in, something to make the darkpsy more accessible and the lush detail here provides it. Echoing tones and eerie melodies make this my absolute favorite track from Mr. Shah. It's otherworldly and bursting at the seams with effects. Crystal Cascade- Another rapid and pummeling darkpsy track where tones sound like tumbling crystals as the bass rumbles and hammers away at your sanity. This is darkness incarnate. The wind is still blowing and you begin to question your decision to outlast the arctic hurricane. Those two words together are still frightening. Peace From Other Space (Part II)- After the last track has flayed the sinew from your body the aliens with a poor sense of direction arrive and well, I guess it's time for the probing. This is not as mind numbing with a little more melody work. Harsh sounds of machinery screech above the deep bass and yeah that big pointy thing is about to enter your business end. But it's definitely on the lighter side. Tesla- We are in the much softer portion of the album with glacial pads. I survived the hurricane and looking forward to the hot chocolate. Light and airy, but ultimately not that interesting to me. Tatatosk- Dubby beats to let you drift away. Staring at the horizon sipping my hot chocolate I can't help but wonder if my penguin friend made it out ok. Bulb- A wary closing bit of ambient reminding you to not underestimate nature's power and the 71st parallel. I'm not a darkpsy guy, but I appreciate the talent and skill it takes to put the mass of sounds and detail together into a cohesive structure. And this was some of the most enjoyable dark stuff I've listened to. The Phobium tracks are also some of his best work for me; as lush and moving as I've heard from him. The flow of the album really stands out and it's very fluid. Even though I may not have liked every track,without being partially mixed this was smooth. As I mentioned you get a little bit of everything and it's the closest you can come to being in this fascinating ecosystem without strapping on the cold weather gear and snowshoes. Well done guys, it's not perfect, but I believe this to be your best release yet. Hey what's that? *sees penguin with one wing tucked into Kate Upton's bikini bottom* You sonofa... DVSM Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Undergrounded Label: Quantum Satis Records Date: January, 2014 01 - Ka-Sol - El Doktore (140 BPM) 02 - Zoon - Gate (Hada Remix) (144 BPM) 03 - Goch - Extemporary Devices (146 BPM) 04 - Schoiroideairis - Natural (148 BPM) 05 - Nirmanakayas - Deep Inside (147 BPM) 06 - Battle Of The Future Buddhas - Lacking It All (148 BPM) 07 - Grobians - Da Mind Twister (148 BPM) 08 - Taigan Sunset - Xmas Shoe Eater (148 BPM) 09 - Spirituz - Mind Warping Spirits (148 BPM) 10 - Cavedave - Bruced Lead (129 BPM) And now for something completely different. Dissonant sounds and dark journeys through a magic laden forest. That's the dream isn't it? Let's see what have we got here...Ka-Sol, yeah that track sounds like they handed in a rough draft, Gate is dreary wailing, but the Goch offering does it right. Dark and frightful it seems to strike the right balance between being terrifying and just putting a gun in your mouth. The cat in the blender style of Deep Inside shows the outright contempt for the swift justice of PETA, and Buddhas devolved into an evil trance like state brimming with tortuous screams of agony. Otherwise known as a drive through Harlem after midnight. The Grobians (Google wanted to call them the Fabiens, just sayin') is a bubbly pool of monotony. But at least nobody died during it. Actually I cannot prove that. Probably nobody died. Xmas Shoe Eater is my favorite due to its title of course, but also its funky swing and chuckling goblins. Liked Mind Warping Spirits also, some wicked fun. Lastly with the f*cking shocker of the week is some downtempo enter the dragon sh*t with Bruced Lead which would seem more appropriate on a Kaaya Project album than a forest compilation. Taken as a whole it sounds like someone spiraling into a wicked depression. This could be the soundtrack that a disturbed individual would use when he fantasizes about mowing down soccer moms in the produce department of Food Lion. If you have the slightest mental issue or irregularity please give this a wide berth. That said there is creativity here. And that's why I continue to listen to the forest and the dark stuff in the hope that an artist nails it and creates something mindblowing. Without making me want to eliminate the 10th grade of the local high school. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Sideffect Label: Psynews Date: July, 2013 01 - Paul Eye & Olisan - Daikaisho (132 BPM) 02 - Hierophant - Intergalactic Love Song (133 BPM) 03 - Zero Point Module - Chromatic Fail (147 BPM) 04 - Kacid - Confusing Patterns (148 BPM) 05 - Saluberrimae - Fl0ating (120 BPM) 06 - Radioactive Sandwich - Sound Vibration Technique (75 BPM) 07 - Seismic Activity - Revelation (140 BPM) 08 - Imba - Moon Tribe (142 BPM) 09 - Lapsus - Normality (147 BPM) 10 - PhonoPhora - Phunnel (Version 1.1) (87 BPM) I didn't really know Koen. Spoke to him a few times and the conversations were always pleasant. But when you're used to "seeing" somebody as active as he was in the Psynews forum suddenly...not be there...it's a shock. I don't know the details of his passing nor do I feel I should. All I can hope for is that he found peace wherever he is. As the promo says this was a contest where members of the Psynews community submitted tracks in a bid to be featured on a compilation. I don't know if this was always planned to be dedicated to Koen or not, but it's a nice gesture and one I imagine he would have appreciated. Voted on by the community this is the result. Mastered by Deimos and artwork by Gasolin3, it's ten tracks of varying bpm's and numerous genres. Daikaisho- The first track is a gentle progressive trance number that is a nice opener and helps to ease you into this compilation. Soft melodies and bubbling sounds. Intergalactic Love Song- Didn't Stone Temple Pilots have a hit with...oh, that was Interstate. So obviously we're going bigger. Strong beat and smooth electric piano with long sweeps make this a pumping progressive track. Chromatic Fail- A galloping futuristic darkish track with metallic leads. Not bad. Confusing Patterns- Really like the deep bass line, it's got quite the rumble. It's a forest track with a lush atmospheric feel. Sticky synth sounds abound as the sound manipulation moves full force. Two really good breaks as well. What are they saying? Fl0ating- Smooth and oscillating downtempo that has spiraling leads in a goa fashion. The break felt organic when all the synths dropped out, nice touch. Sound Vibration Technique- And now a track by the very busy Sandwich! Dubby vibes slowly make their way across a picturesque beach. Strings are plucked, vocals are chopped...It'll keep your head nodding. Revelation- Good goa trance track that twists the cutoff knob for all it's worth. Once it gets going it's pretty powerful. Moon Tribe- I believe Imba was the winner of this contest. With this track he stokes the conspiracy fire as the sample about UFO's plays out. Normality- Lapsus delivers the best track of the compilation with a shimmery and ominous effort. Most aggressive also. Very cosmic and one that will hurtle you through hyperspace. Phunnel (Version 1.1)- Closing the compilation is a downtempo track that morphs into a deep trance track. Also very dreamy as the dance of the galaxy marches on. I didn't feel it was proper to crack jokes on a compilation that was meant to be reverential. Just didn't feel right. This is a nice gesture to honor a member of our community. While not the strongest compilation you will hear it shows how much talent is on this forum. With almost an hour and a half of music tracks from different genres are well represented and as a member of this forum I'm happy to have given this a listen. I hope you enjoyed it Koen. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Enchanted Explorations Label: Visionary Shamanics Date: April, 2012 01 - Shotu - Acai (Chris Rich Remix) 02 - Dream Visioner - Who Are You 03 - Amrita - Ratatam (2012 Remix) 04 - Aegolius - Fobia 05 - Mussy Moody - Pure Elements 06 - Nolm - Gold Freaks 07 - Grobians - Alien Invasion 08 - Shadowls - Chronicle Of Mystery 09 - Therange Freak - Enchanted Explorations 10 - Petran - Voyager Of Psychedelic States 11 - Paganopath - Legends And Fairytales "I can do whatever the hell I want! I'm a human being not some robot!" Sure you can, but I just saw a robot do this... So if I was a parent of a robotic Asian child (racist bastard) I would be very nervous right about now. When asked for comment, Yo-Yo Ma replied, "Are you from the escort service? Where da bitches at?" Here is the 2nd forest compilation by Visionary Shamanics. The first was Interweaving Dream Magics and you can find my review of that gem here. Most of the people on this thing are unknown, but what better way to get the crap scared out of you than the unknown? Acai (Chris Rich Remix)- Mr. Rich is an artist from the UK and he tackles a Shotu track from the Epicentre compilation. Don't really recall the original, but I like where he's going. Full of motion and straight ahead power. It has a very cyber feel with bubbling electronics. Ones and zeros are escaping the mouth of this computer program because he's choking the life out of it. Loved it. Who Are You- This is another track that is like surfing the net from the inside. Atmospheric and bubbly with a female computer vocal sample. The bass line drives this puppy as effects scrape across the windshield. Like that bug that hit mine on my last trip to VA Beach. Huge motherf*cker. Get ready for the squish! Ratatam (2012 mix)- 10 seconds in and I've crapped myself. Try listening to this in the woods. By yourself. Some scary stuff. Scratchy synths and a heavy does of dark forest horror. Creepy crawley things and unkown creatures mocking me from the dark make this the perfect bedtime story. For a serial killer Yay Yay..clowns are...fun.. Fobia- Yet another hallucinogenic nightmare. You didn't fall down the hole, you were pushed in. An eerie melody (and there is quite a lot of it here) is your guide and the ground you're walking on bubbles with the faces of trapped souls. Don't f*ck with this track, it apparently swallowed part of the Florida A&M brass section. Scary and atmospheric just how I like me forest. And with a little lemon. Pure Elements- Man that kick is punchy. I really think the forest genre has evolved and become more musically vibrant. There are more layers than an onion and all of them are scary. With sizzling effects like the sound of flesh burning there are also computer sounds. I liked it, but it wasn't as descriptive as the last rumbler. Gold Freaks- At this point you are so deep in the forest there isn't a prayer of getting out. Feels like I havent seen the sun in weeks. It scrapes, it bubbles, it can be noisy at times...I liked it, but it's just your ordinary run of the mill lost my way can't get out why is it so f*cking dark forest track. Alien Invasion- "Something as big as a battleship had just flow over and passed him...at speeds so great he couldn't begin to estimate it." Much more illustrative track with breaks, a sample, and leads to keep it interesting. Ominous? Surely...I mean c'mon it's an alien invasion. Lots of layers bubbling under the surface make this invasion a reason to celebrate. Yeah! Teddy Bear party!!! WHOOO!!! Enchanted Explorations- We finally come to the one artist who I have heard of. With very scary pads and clever use of a sample that we've all heard before I am fully on board this fright train. It's got it all...melody, deep bass bubbling, wails of agony. Like when I go to my son's pre-school... What...what are you kids lookin' at? Oh come on...the asian violin joke? You're still on that? Go drink your juice boxes! Chronicle of Mystery- "Why are you here? Why did you come to this planet?" We...Come...For...Scarlett....Johansson.... You know I cannot...nope can't for the life of me name one movie she's been in. Look, she can't even figure it out. To be famous for your tits is pretty low bar to set. Love the way it starts with the chopped up strings. It continues with a detuned downward spiral that has Trent Reznor looking for razor blades. If this is a hallucination, it's still a long way from being over. Walls are melting, trees are cracking their branch knuckles...Holy sh*t...did that tree just...drool? Voyager of Psychedelic States- The guy speaking that sample sounds like someone I would've shoved in a locker back in high school. But let's be clear...I am 100% against bullying. So much so, that I am 100% for watching the bully get his ass kicked. So...that's like, what....200%. Speaking of kicking ass, this track does. Wailing, moaning leads that echo forlornly like throwing a rock down a well. It's pumping and evolving, full of motion. A liquid, scary thing. Legends and Fairytales- Wow, this is dark. Lots of sounds and all of them telling you that you're f*cked. Imagine walking around an environment where everything can kill you. It's like a nightmare...or Australia. Visionary Shamanics is doing things right. They make forest compilations that are interesting and totally immersive. Leads, effects, spooky samples...it's like a how to. There is a feeling with forest music of not being in control, that things are happening around you and you are just a pawn. Dark and hopeless is no way to live your life, but it works great for a little forest escapism. Rekomended for a psychedelic trip. "I don't normally listen to forest trance....but when I do...it's Visionary Shamanics." Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Schizoid Bears Title: Bearsky Dreams EP Label: Forest Freaks Date: December, 2011 Nothing is more terrifying than seeing the dark side of something that always gave you comfort. What can I say, Santa loves the hoe, hoe, hoes! shortly after this pic was taken they found parts of little timmy in the freezer of the neighbor across the street who always waved to you on his way to work. "Now where dat Barbie b*tch at?" So the Freaks are at it again with a release from C. Monster and P. Tale. Two Lithuanians who love the dark side and first name initials. It's a 4 track EP that makes you think what really goes on in the deep woods where there are no prying human eyes. Love the cover with the psychedelic colors and the slighly out of focus bears watching in the background. Back on Action- Sounds like the bears have had enough with these f*cking hikers sh*tting in their woods. Hear that weird evil cry? That's them. Great effects and twinkling sounds create a rich atmosphere. But that is only added to with the clicking and bubbling as someone sings in an attempt not to be scared. It's not powerful but rather suggestive. Ooohhh...look what you diiiiiiiiid. Now you made him angry. Planeta Pliuk- Something about Russian that makes samples spooky. Unless you're Russian I guess. For all I know he said, "How bout some scrambled eggs for breakfast?" But for me it's very cold war get the hell outta here type stuff. Holy sh*t did you just forest goa me? I think you did, Ursa Major. So this is what bears do in the woods when nobody is lookin'. Twisted forest sounds with intertwining melodies. Pumping all the way through as you get lost in the woods. Easy to get turned around isn't it? Waggish Night- I love layered forest tracks and this is the tail that wags the dog. Or bear, in this case. Typical forest sounds with eerie pads and bouncing leads are on the menu and it does.not.stop. A very deep and involving track. Sick and Tired- "I'm sick and tired of hearing about all of the radicals." More of the punishing style with juicy and bubbling effects and unlike a lot of the darkpsy or forest this has more than one melody running concurrently. So the bears are sick and tired of you starting fires in their woods. Sick and tired of the sh*tty food selection in your pick a nick baskets. But mostly they are sick and tired of your extreme couponing. "Take that bush league sh*t to Food Lion, p*ssy. Dis Kroger, n*gga!" I hope they release more stuff and refine their sound. Some of the tracks were a little light in places and could use a little more oomph. Sounds odd to say, but I hope they take this in a darker, horror movie direction because it almost writes itself. Like a psychotic serial killer bunny named Kottontale that...ah, you get the picture. Using the cuddly teddy bear as a theme could prompt some truly psychotic images. Psychedelic....I meant psychedelic. It's free so I urge you to check it out. "That was nice, right? Just like we rehearsed. You need me to do it again? Cuase I got no problem with that." Ektoplazm Mdk