Astral Projection - The Astral Files

[Children]

Astral Projection - The Astral Files

 

 

Artist: Astral Projection

Title: The Astral Files

Label: Trust In Trance

Date: 1996

 

Track listing:

 

01. 07'24" Ionised

02. 05'56" Zero

03. 07'20" Enlightened Evolution (Rmx)

04. 07'40" Free Tibet

05. 07'03" Maian Dream

06. 09'04" Kabalah (New Age Mix)

07. 07'23" Time Began With The Universe (The End Of Time Mix)

08. 07'48" Utopia (Concept Rmx)

09. 09'04" Electronic

10. 07'41" Ambience

 

Review:

 

GOOD Album, but not as good as the other Astral Projection's albums ...

It contains 2 FANTASTIC Tracks : Track 5 (Avi Nissim's Maian Dream) and 9

(Electronic : Ambient Track) !

The other tracks are quite good, except Tracks 6 and 10 :-(

Rating : 7.5/10

[Ormion]

11/10 simple as that.

U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E

[NEMO.BOFH]

11/10 simple as that.

U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E

622868[/snapback]

Nothing to add

[Jon Cocco]

I will write more on this some day. For now...

 

 

ASTRAL PROJECTION - ALBUM SCORES:

 

 

2002 - AMEN ... B+

 

1999 - ANOTHER WORLD ... A-

 

1997 - DANCING GALAXY ... A

 

1996 - THE ASTRAL FILES ... B+

 

1996 - TRUST IN TRANCE ... A

[rino]

As much as I loved and venerated the debut, I cannot but have mixed feelings about this sequel

First of all, it's Astral Projection's mentality; having realized their money earning potential, cashing in on their A.P. 'til I die fan base did not seem like a lame idea. Four out of ten tracks were previously released, and needless to stress out that neither of the three remixes comes close to matching the original, with Enlightened Evolution (remix), being the stand out, with a great closing climax. The remix of Kabalah gets my vote for the worst old school Astral Projection work, while the only conceptual aspect of the otherwise classic Utopia (Concept Remix) is that here we are given a 2 minute edit of the original... I mean, WTF? On its own, it stands as a very good tune, but was this really necessary when most fans have not yet properly assimilated the timeless original.

 

I still stand by my original opinion that Avi & Lior just don't know, or just can't, produce decent ambient/downtempo music. While Electronic has some plausibility, the sheer cheese overflow of Ambience just kills everything achieved on the previous track. But both should be a matter of taste really.

Also, the inclusion of Time Began With The Universe (The End Of Time Mix) will have its critics as well, since I find it to be the weakest out of the three mixes off of the Matsuri Productions 12". Far from the track being unbearable, it just belongs in the category of previously released material, so it feels awkward listening to it knowing it could have been executed better.

 

However, when "The astral files" is in full effect, then the album is hot on the heels of the debut- the smashing opener Ionized, followed by an Astral Projection - Deedrah collaboration, Zero, are no more and no less than two old school classics. Maian Dream has always been, and still is, my favorite tune of theirs. What a number have we got here! The last three minutes or so are the most emotional, touching and spacey moments in their extensive discography, but the whole thing is just beyond words. Those three jewels should validate the purchase of this CD to anyone looking for blissful and far reaching goa trance classics. Period. Free Tibet has an OK mid section with some pretty impressive wizardry being done in the melody department, but the whole track in its entirety gets spoiled by uber annoying monk vocals incorporated both at its beginning and ending.

 

All in all, "The astral files" is a mixed bag, consisting of some typical Astral Projection classics, some filler material and then some fodder for their die hard fans. They have done better, but likewise, later on in their career they've done far worse. What this release is missing in order to get a higher vote is, simply put, effort. At times, it comes across as a commercial, an attempt to cash in on their status, rather than a proper album, in which time and thought has been put. Whatever my final judgement of this album might be, be assured that Astral Projection fans own two copies it, surely hailing it as a monstrous classic, but from my viewpoint, this one merits a 3/5. For those thirsty of some wicked, intelligent and melodically intricate releases circa 1996, there are other stops I'd recommend making before going on a hunt for this one

[Jon Cocco]

ASTRAL PROJECTION - THE ASTRAL FILES

1996

 

 

Track list:

 

1. 7'24" IONISED ... B

2. 5'56" ZERO ... B+

3. 7'20" ENLIGHTENED EVOLUTION (RMX) ... B+

4. 7'40" FREE TIBET ... B+

5. 7'03" MAIAN DREAM ... A-

6. 9'04" KABALAH (NEW AGE MIX) ... B

7. 7'23" TIME BEGAN WITH THE UNIVERSE (THE END OF TIME MIX) ... B+

8. 7'48" UTOPIA (CONCEPT RMX) ... B+

9. 9'04" ELECTRONIC ... A-

10. 7'41" AMBIENCE ... C

 

 

The Astral Files is a great album including several of AP's finest (pre-1996) songs remixed and a handful of exclusive greats and classics as too.

 

Ionized starts off the album with a strong melody. The multi-layered style sounds excellent. This is a fairly simple song with one braid of melodies carrying throughout until the band is taken out somewhere around 3:30. And at 4:10, the musical band continues with no surprise other than fresh alterations of the same sounds. Many people seem to favor this and place it as one of the best. It's a classic AP style sounding track, even if they've done better.

 

2. Zero kicks ass. The opening voice sample introduces the outer space communication theme generally present throughout AP's albums. I find this more catchy than Ionized. More takes place with the melodies and direction which I find more engaging. I like how some of the melodies are introduced... arriving and going into a less submissive state or waiting for a voice sample to before letting loose and bursting into all other sound. 5:20 has some interesting notes mixed in. Overall the outer space and astranout theme help develop the songs character and make the song even more memorable.

 

3. Enlightened Evolution ... Another great song. God can it ever end? AP is too good!! Haha. I love that stuff they do around 6:00 Zwwaaa-weeeeee! Climax.

 

4. Free Tibet has these skipping voices followed by skipping melodies (I.E. Aes Dana skipping technique I think, the concept) and I really like it. It adds to the rhythm. I don't think song's as good/great as the previous one but it's not far behind. The elevation of sounds and melodies around 3:00 is very catchy. I like when AP plays around with sounds. It sounds as if they love distorting sounds as if they're tangible, bendable. The chopped up voice bits and ethnic-influenced melody make this song generally different from many AP's songs. I most enjoy the skipping melody around 5:45. That's good. And I can see how others can find certain voice bits and higher pitched sounds (up and down?, the one the song ends on) less attractive.

 

5. Maian Dream is, if not one of the top highlight here. The song starts good before developing into an addictive rhythm and pace introducing some of the most elegant sounds and melodies. The sound is dreamy, upbeat, and beautiful.

 

6. Kabalah (New Age Mix) was a hit-and-miss for many people but that's because the original was perfect. AP added, echoed, altered, and changed so much, but none of it sounds better or average. Those melodies are still awesome and I've enjoyed the remix over the years. However it's just not magical like the first it that makes sense. I don't think the intent was to ever top something so flawless but many people seemed to compare right away and for such a superb song like Kabalah, why wouldn't they? For a remake it would be disappointing but for a remix it's pretty cool, no more or less. I'm glad at least AP remixed it and no one else.

 

7. Time Began With the Universe continues the more energetic, aggressive, climactic style. It's great.

 

8. Utopia (concept mix) is another highlight which is placed between two great songs. At 4:20 and again aroun 5:55 appears one of my most favorite leading melodies on the album. It's excellent.

 

9. Electronic is one of the best, most unique songs every by AP. The slower, more downtempo, funky PSY trance sound mixed with an (Arabian-esque?) melody/sound is very floating, catchy. This sounds nothing like they've ever done before. It's comprised of multiple great melodies, ambience, ambient notes, drums all swirling together in this fine rhythm and rhythms. And then a goa melody mixes in around 5:00 in. Wow. And it continues with a transition followed by another fresh melody. The drums roll and the previous rhythm returns over the new sound. I've listened to the song while writing this. Electronic is a real gem.

 

10. Ambience is decent but it isn't that good. Maybe they should have ended the album with Electronic. It's another slower song but it's not ambient. Basically this is a slow PSY trance (dance?) song. The melodies aren't nearly as catchy or captivating as the previous song. Loud, echoed, incoherent voice bits drown most of the sounds out for a small time. The songs filled with melodies on top of each other but it's rather repetitive and boring. I have difficulty getting into and enjoying this because of the overall sound, style. The voices return more distracting than ever. The song improves a bit, becomes fairly groovy around 5:55 but those blurry, incoherent, loud voices appear again and distract the you know what out of me. Overall a decent (meaning okay) at best song. Overall I don't like it and I appreciate AP's attempt to do somethinig different. Sometimes it succeeds greatly with Electronic. Other times it fails.. miserably. Sorry guys. It's not a good track.

 

 

In conclusion, this is a great remix album. Although they improved their sound/style with the follow-up now known as Dancing Galaxy, there are some super songs here. Many people consider this one of the best goatrance albums. Sure it isn't as classic as AP's Trust In Trance but that's mainly because the the remixes here wouldn't exist if not for the originals on it. This may not make many peoples Top 10 Goatrance Albums list but that doesn't mean there are some superb classics here. The only song I really don't care for is track 10 and in all fairness, it's not bad. The Astral Files is a very special album.

 

 

Favorites: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9.

 

 

B+

[Hazard]

I really love all albums of Astral Projection - all of them have A from me. Ionised is my favourite track from this album.

10/10

[LunarDawn]

Ionised and Zero definately. Ionised was second goa track I ever heard

[oldschoolgoa]

yea we all suffer from same syndrome

most of us got into the goa sound thanks to these 2 guys that came with such ingenious sound

they definitely nailed it in the head

all 90s dance sounds we all were into and they added the goa magic and voila!

all first 3 Astral Projection albums are awesome

altho im not listening to astral projection today because its bit cliche and repetitive but thats just my mood i still remember back in the days really lovin this shit and those big leads are like wow ... everybody that knows goa music knows it lol