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The DVD thread


Basilisk

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The concept is simple: psytrance DVDs are released every now and then, but seldom will one find a review for what gets released... without the ability to preview the content, the higher cost may be daunting to potential buyers. How about we use this thread to relate impressions of the various DVDs out there? Son Kite and Juno Reactor both have live DVDs, there are number festival productions (Samothraki for example), and some labels have even begun to release stuff like Supervision or New Maps of Hyperspace, ostensibly something new and interesting... but is it worth taking the chance on what the promotional hype is saying?

 

I'll start with the one DVD purchase I never cease to recommend: Mr. Peculiar & The Shapeshifter's Syncrosect DVD, released in 2004. Back then I was really hoping it would herald a new trend in the psytrance world, as it combines excellent tunage with sound-responsive 3D visuals done in a very unique style. It isn't for everyone, but I think it's a great DVD to own... I just wish there were more like it (I have this notion of mixing visuals AND sound simultaneously, but this is looking ahead a few years perhaps)...

 

So, what do you think of any psytrance DVDs you have purchased?

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The Son Kite DVD is amazing. I have the Samothraki DVD as well, but even though the images are great, I was kind of disappointed that none of the audio was live audio - it's all a soundtrack (and a poorly mixed one at that) running on top of the video. I prefer Vision Quests way of doing their audio instead, but on the other hand the footage there is quite boring...

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I bought 3 DVD´s over the years. Solstice Music Festival, New Maps of Hyperspace and Liquid Crystal Vision.

 

Solstice was definitely the most interesting. The production quality was amazing and it offered a very interesting peak into the festival-culture, which at the time, was unknown territory for me. I also got a few good laughs from some of the interviews, particularly Raja Ram. It was also my first opportunity to witness Shpongle Live and it was trippy beyond words. The DVD contains a clip of a Shpongle Live concert on Mt. Fuji in 2001, one of only 3 Shpongle live concerts ever performed.

 

New Maps of Hyperspace was a bit of a disapointment. It contains some nice clips (especially the Shpongle show), but it lacks some of the background-stuff on Solstice. There are just so much more that could´ve been done here.

 

Liquid Crystal Vision was more of what I was looking for in a psy-DVD, but I can understand if it doesn´t cater to everyone´s taste. The musical direction and the pace of the DVD is really high-quality, though at some point it lapses into nonsense, IMO. The track-selection and musical direction, however, is flawless.

 

There is not much happening in the DVD-department, sadly. But I´m really looking forward to Supervision II from tip.world. It supposedly contains specially crafted videos for timeless classics like Astral Projection - People can Fly and Shpongle - the Sixth Revelation, plus some behind-the-stage footage from the tip.world soundlabs. It is something I don´t want to miss.

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Here's a quick run through of the DVDs I have to date.

 

Son Kite - Live In Tokyo

http://www.discogs.com/release/351528

 

My benchmark for psy-related DVDs. I prefer live recordings over studio overdubbed soundtracks and this is all about that. Also has a mess of interview and documentary type stuff too. Yummy.

 

Juno Reactor - Live In Tokyo

http://www.discogs.com/release/481244

 

The other benchmark for live psy-DVDs. I was at two of the Japan shows for the tour this DVD captures and it's quite true to the original show. Great stuff.

 

Solstice Music Global Trance Festival 2000-2002

http://www.discogs.com/release/208619

 

Hands down the best of the "festival documentary" DVDs. The live acts are actually shown with the proper live recordings to go with them. Has some short but good interviews as well.

 

Countdown 2004 - New Maps Of Hyperspace

http://www.discogs.com/release/452703

 

My favorite of the "pure live show" style DVDs. Its a bit too short for my tastes, but everything there is quality. Good audio quality, good picture quality, if only it were twice as long.

 

 

Skazi - Hit & Run World Tour Part 1

http://www.discogs.com/release/741040

 

Yes I bought this. Ignoring the music and such for a moment, this is actually a quality DVD. I would have prefered a bit more "live" recordings, but the documentary stuff is fun to watch and all and all it is put together very well. If it were by an artist I was more interested in, it might be my favorite, but alas...

 

Super Vision (1)

http://www.discogs.com/release/744643

 

This is a "music video" style DVD and in that regard its pretty good. As I said before, if I'm going to watch psy-trance, I prefer to watch live sets, but for those looking into the visual side of things, this might do the trick.

 

The Gathering 2002

http://www.discogs.com/release/235700

 

To be blunt, crap. This has none of the things I am interested in when watching a psy-dvd. Its just a bunch of live video footage with a completely unrelated studio soundtrack on top. Some people might like this I guess but for me, live video should go with live sound and studio footage should be mixed with studio visuals. That said, the included CD isn't too bad

 

The Gathering 2003

http://www.discogs.com/release/429843

 

This DVD is much better. A decent mix of documentary style goofing around, some studio soundtrack action and a decent helping of live sound action as well. By far Vision Quest's best DVD. My only gripe with it is the "Tania Miller" interview section. To be honest I'm still not 100% sure who she is or why I should care what she has to say. I'm assuming she is one of the organizers, but her endless talking comes across as self-important babble and really breaks the mode of the DVD for me.

 

The Gathering 2004

http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=4747

 

After coming up with a winner for 2003, VQ goes back to the formula for 2002 and presents us another loser. I seem recall the original advertising for this saying it included live coverage of the festival and all (although this was later changed), but the end product has probably less than 10 minutes of live footage total and at home video camera sound quality to boot. I remember feeling horridly cheated when I bought this. By far my least favorite of the psy-DVDs to date. I haven't seen the most recent Gathering DVD, but I definately won't be buying it without watching someone else's copy first.

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