Asia 2001 - Dreamland

[Guest Skytrancer]

Asia 2001 - Dreamland

 

 

Artist: Asia 2001

Title: Dreamland

Label: Avatar

Date: 2000

 

Track listing:

 

01. 09'31" Orion In Maroc

02. 06'03" After 2001 (Loren X Rmx)

03. 06'20" The Last Survivors

04. 05'13" 1666 (Loren X Rmx)

05. 06'47" Majestic 12

06. 08'01" Anafuzz

07. 08'26" Profetic

08. 07'01" We Are Not Alone

09. 00'54" Girl From Acropolis

10. 05'28" Black Sun

11. 06'13" Dreamland

 

Review:

 

New release from french Martin Cooper. The cover is awesome, there are some

aliens..., just beautiful.

These new tracks represent for me a little disappointment : he uses almost the

same sounds as on his first tracks !!

I find this style too boring, Martin hasn't really evolved. It's a shame.

This album is good for european Club !

I loved this group for several months but now it's different. I'm became tired

of Asia 2001.

I give it 4/10.

[Guest AlexG]

i agree with the above, the cover is beautiful. but i have a different opinion

about the music. it is very simple, 96-style goa trance, but none the less i

like it very much. this is very strange, because i usually don't like this

kind of re-production (see my review of mindwarped), but asia 2001 does it

very good. typical old-school basslines and melodies, but it is very nice and

relaxing to listen to. this is the first album i have from this guy, so i

can't say if he has evolved, but i think he is not trying to. if he was trying

to, then he wouldn't be making 96-goa; he's just doing what he likes. i don't

think this is for the dancefloors (maybe outdoor, but definately NOT clubs),

but the music is very nice 6/10

[Jeto]

Firstly I would say that the opening track is really nice and old school

melodic. I love the oldschool goa sound. It all depends on what kinda sound

you like. Nowdays evryone is "dark dark dark" or minimalistic..I think this

album is very nice...If you are into old school basslines and breaks.. a MUST!

7/10

[Guest Baboon]

One of the better "goa" albums this year... Asia 2001 keep doing the

traditional goa-trance and they do it very well in my opinion, they have

gotten the old school touch in this album but yet some kind of new vibes...

don´t really know how to explain, "Profetic" is my favourite on this album,

and I enjoy it very very much, great Goa track with the old Astral touch.

7.5/10

BooM!

[Guest Erez]

I suppose some of you find this style great and interesting, but im sorry. Ive

heard several times now, and i just can't see why its so good. It could be

good, but its really missing something, i dont know what, but its just too

simple for me.

[Guest Diepeveen]

Quite good album... There are som up's and some downs! Best track must be "The

Last Survivors" witch is quite fast and has lot's of nice melodie!

[Guest andrescottin[at]mac[dot]com]

heard it at the store. didn't buy. old. boring. not bad if you really, really

like the old-school, circa '96 goa.... zero innovation.

[Guest [Anonymous]]

it's nice,it's smooth and it's got an oldstyle though that really gets me. I

can't say you're wrong if you say there's no innovation but it just sounds

great. It's just not as demanding as some real hard psy/goa but that makes it

excellent for listening while concentrating on something else (like doing

homework). Because there are no full on soundscapes it can stay on the

backgroung, but it's interesting that he still can sound it psychedelic. for

me its just an 7/10 earned for a relaxing job well done.

[Guest thanosmusic[at]hotmail[dot]com]

well a little bit dissapointed. i was expecting more from asia 2001.the music

is good but repititive.6/10

[Guest dbrekken[at]hotmail[dot]com]

Excellent "old school" sound. I live in the states and missed the goa boat

the first time around, so I highly recommend this album. Not super complex,

but who said it had to be to emotive. This is the rude and crude goa sound at

its uplifting best. It would be better minus the samples. Id rate it a 8+.

P.S. If any of you fellow starchildren have any old goa to share, drop me a

line.

[draeke]

well u all need to clear your mind

if u all wanna hear is dark minimal trance then don't go for asia 2001.. it has

always been intended as a GOA artist so the sound is like that. I personally

love every track of this "old" stlye.. a lot of people says it's old-school..

but jeek this is the true goa sound, i mean, why u tend to classify it as old?

probably some people just got tired of the style.. but that is not a good

reason to throw shit at artists.. they deserve respect.. and personally i do

like this.

 

love, light & respect

draeke

 

PS: 7/10

[Lemmiwinks]

Funny thing with Asia 2001 (what a crappy name...) is that his music sounds

EXACTLY like goa did in 95/96!! Zero innovation and I mean ZERO!!! So this

could sound as a bad thing... except that when I see which direction

"innovation" in goa takes artists (less intricate melodies, less emotion,less

layers,...) I come to the conclusion it's not so bad after all. And if you

still crave oldschool but are tired of all your AP, Transwave, Prana and Total

Eclipse CDs, then I suppose you don't really have any other choice out there!!

9/10 oldschool never dies!!!

[Guest Dr G]

A very enjoyable album with a great cover, if you like the early Goa sound,

which I do. Martin Cooper might have put in more effort to his production, and

sometimes it is a little lacking in complexity, but otherwise this is a good

album with some excellent uplifting melodies and also with a slightly dark

edge that reminds me of Miranda's "Phenomena" album. This is not a classic

"must have" album, but mine is not leaving my collection, and I really enjoy

it when I play it. Recommended then, if you like the early style. 8/10

[Lost Buddha]

my first goa album and there´s such a magic in it , the cover is beautiful and the music vgood too , there´s some 2 traxx which sound more trance than real goa but they´re not so bad

they´re all great songs.

definatly an 8/10.

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Asia 2001

Title: Dreamland

Label: Avatar

Date: October, 2000

 

01. Orion In Maroc

02. After 2001 (Loren X Rmx)

03. The Last Survivors

04. 1666 (Loren X Rmx)

05. Majestic 12

06. Anafuzz

07. Profetic

08. We Are Not Alone

09. Girl From Acropolis

10. Black Sun

11. Dreamland

 

 

 

This is Gilbert's (his momma named him Gilbert I'mma call him Gilbert!) sixth album and it was released at a time when the melodic goa wave had all but receded. But don't tell him that. You like dark and minimal music? Then don't listen to this cause if you don't realize what his style is after six albums then you really don't know what the f*ck you're doing. He makes melodic goa trance. And pretty covers.

 

There are several tracks that just transport you back to those golden days. Anafuzz (whatever the f*ck that means), Profetic, We Are Not Alone, Girl From Acropolis are all very tasty. That being said there are some tracks where he just phoned it in. Even the good ones have some stretches where it seems a little less lush. Thin even. It's not even all goa trance. Maybe he was trying to flex his creative muscles. Maybe he was trying to catch as many buyers as possible with a broad net. The Loren-X remix of 1666 is downright laughing gas happy. It's not his best work and I believe that is something we can all agree on. But I'll take this over uninspired full-on and angry darkpsy anyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

Cause Sunday is a day of rest and darkspy can't hurt you on Sunday. Like Vampires.

 

Hey somebody help grandpa up there, it's like he's caught in a Parkinsonian loop.

 

Psyshop

 

Mdk

[Jon Cocco]

Finally hearing the for the first time in December, 2015. There are some great parts for sure. The album's dreamy (well dreamland, duh!), fantasy-esque, and imaginative. I like the samples.

 

Gripes - Let's get these out of the way. First, Orion In Maroc reminds me too much of Orion 2 from 1997's Psykadelia album. For a remix or a different version (it shares similar sounds), it's inferior in virtually every way IMO and not THAT good. Sure it's not bad; I see it as a buildup to the better tracksu That said, a more visionary (original?) opening song would have been nice here. Second, why is Anafuzz here? It's a song from Asia2001's 1997 album, Psykadelia. Having it re-appear feels less refreshing and supportive of the new album vision of Dreamland. I think it's obvious that people like to experience new songs on a new album.

 

Track 2 is good. 3 is great (that's what I like).

Track 4 - very nice melody-wise(!), but plays it safe around its warm harmonies.

Track 5 - pretty good with getting more fast and edgy, but the structure and direction (personality) is a little lacking.

Track 6 - Awesome song from 1997's Psykadelia. Is it here to raise the awesomeness?

Track 7 - Awesome song, never heard it before. The best track since The Last Survivors for me. I love the pacing, synths, gripping!

Track 8 -

 

Conclusion - Dreamland is a very good release. The artist doesn't top himself as a whole album (compared to previous ones) but it has its moments (awesome tracks) and is appreciated and enjoyable by today's standards. Just get Annafuzz off it and be your own album (unless it's a remix or different version and I missed something). Annafuzz is out of place here since it already released, though a great one for sure. I love the melodic/harmonious coupled with several galactic (more edgy/intense) Goa numbers and approach.

 

Best Tracks: 3, 7, and everything after Anafuzz (it's great yes, but we've heard it on Psykadelia!!! feels cheap and misplaced here, taking up space when we could have had a new song).

 

Probably an 8/10 from me (B+) something like that.

 

Currently in Suntrip's "shop" !

https://www.suntriprecords.com/product/item/AVACD04/

 

Stream the full album here!

https://youtu.be/WklqxsoNdDU

 

It would be amazing if this artist updated and evolved his style and made a new Goa album to release through Suntrip Records.