"V/A - Goatronika"

[Trance2MoveU]

 

 

Album: Goatronika

Artist: Various

Label: Phototropic Records

Date: January, 2010

 

 

1. Analogue

RADICAL DISTORTION

 

2. Goa Trance Mission (Jikooha rmx)

SPACE ELVES

 

3. Inner Poison

ALIENAPIA

 

4. Next steps to the stars

SKY TECHNOLOGY

 

5. Uncharted Planet

AMITHABA BUDDHA

 

6. Cosmic Sphere

HYPNOTIC SIGNAL

 

7. Cassiopeia

BLACKSTARRFINALE

 

8. Four Points

VOX

 

9. Synesthesia

NK47

 

10. The journey continues

ARRONAX

 

I know I did an abbreviated review earlier, but I thought it was time to go through this track by track and kick the tires again!

 

Phototropic Records is another label that is continuing to release new school goa trance or SWOG (Second Wave of Goa .) Based in Austria, they are responsible for goa compilations such as "Ya Wichna, Artificial Sun and The Sitting Goddess, just to name a few. Their style is high energy and loaded with beautiful melodies. This effort was compiled by Imba and Digitoxin with cover art by Radical Distortion. Geez, is there anything that those guys can't do? The cover is beautiful; showing an alien against a multicolored background. I know this has been an area of contention, but I think it is a nice composite of the two worlds; one ancient and mystic, the other futuristic.

 

Analogue- The Greeks open the compilation with a track that slowly evolves with a pretty dirty bass lead focused more on groove. Not long after more traditional leads appear and it is more of a mellow offering. Some of the leads are floating some are twisted. Not blasting right away, but gently easing you into the experience. Good track.

 

Goa Trance Mission (Jikooha Remix)- Jikooha had a pretty good album in 2008 with Revolution Spaceship and here they give the Space Elves the remix treatment. It's fairly driving and very old school sounding. What you don't hear is the stacking I've mentioned before of countless melodies but again a more toned down approach that is just entrancing. Like they used to do it in the old days, give you one central melody and build around it. Pretty smooth.

 

Inner Poison- This is a track off of Alienapia's brilliant debut (review coming) Goapocalipsis. Much more aggressive than the previous two tracks, with swarming melodies and grungy leads. The break is a nice display of a new lead flowering without losing momentum and still keeping the atmospheric feeling. The last third of the track really picks up some power finishing strongly. Great track!

 

Next Steps To The Stars- Sky Technology's EP Time and Space (free at Ektoplazm) from UAF was a strong statement that brought out the chaos and beauty in goa trance. He wastes no time after a short intro melody by jumping right into the battle with crazy filtered leads and an even crazier melody line. It's totally different than what I'm used to with beautiful melody combinations with great pace. Sure it has the goa melodies we are all familiar with, but it is what he surrounds them with that makes this track stand apart. The feeling of a higher consciousness and spirituality is definitely present. Super!

 

Uncharted Planet- Filipe can do very little wrong in my eyes, as he has made track after track of pure goa bliss. He starts right away with arcing pads, and a fairly plain beginning lead. It doesn't stay that way however, as it gets twisted and filtered to within an inch of its life. Middle Eastern melodies cascade above 303 stabs right into an outer space break. Quite the pace young Skywalker. No more 8-bit stuff, the Buddha rules!

 

Cosmic Sphere- "First there was darkness. Then came the Strangers. They were a race as old as time itself. They had mastered the ultimate technology. The ability to alter physical reality by will alone. They call this ability...tuning."

 

I love a Dark City sample and ones I can understand more. Beginning with some tribal percussion this track growls, speaking in low hushed tones before spiraling skyward into melody. There really isn't a lot of evolution, but what is given works very well. This track makes the alien on the cover seem more relevant and keeps the theme focused. Good track.

 

Cassiopeia- This is his 3rd track (actually 2nd since this came before the Dimensional Gateway comp) and he has been pretty solid. This one has a shimmery start almost noisy with some 303's underneath. At the 3 minute mark it changes and becomes more melodic with the 303 becoming more prominent. It takes over, actually. Fast and furious is how I would describe this track, and I liked it.

 

Four Points- This is Tomislav Crncic from Croatia and his album Innerpolarity was quite good back in 2007. He also released a stormer on the V/A Protozoa this year. Analog leads, thick and fat storm to the break, and then out of it, becoming a little monotonous. It takes almost 5 minutes for the goa to come out and then the lead melody dances around like a butterfly. I would say that this track was weak in the beginning, took too long to get strong and then didn't quite make it worthwhile. Good, but not great.

 

Synesthesia- His Outer Space Shaman EP showcased his talent with three strong tracks. The outer space feel is here with nice melodies that shoot past stars, with a great amounts of reverb. Nice alien effects pelt the small spacecraft, into the break with a filtered synth crying the whole way. An interesting song, pretty good.

 

The Journey Continues- The bass in this one is a filthy affair as a lead tries to be heard. Groovy, sure, but it doesn't stop there. High pitched tones that speak of other beings pop out. This is not a track that bombards you with wave after wave of melody until you submit. It shows you several of its sides, one at a time, leaving before it becomes repetitive. A different take on how goa can sound is always refreshing, and this one is pretty psychedelic.

 

I think when a new goa album or compilation comes out one of two things happens...we tend to be overwhelmed by its newness and the accolades start pouring in or we dismiss it entirely. I know when this was first released I hopped right on the bandwagon and enjoyed the hell out of it. I still do. This is a good example of the sum being greater than all the parts individually. Most of the tracks are good on their own, but when listened to all the way through, they seem more cohesive. Although I didn't care for the Vox effort it wasn't terrible. One could say this is a mixture of different styles of outer space goa trance. There are more powerful goa albums, but this is still a worthwhile addition to one's collection to hear the style of different artists. And don't forget, it is still melodic as hell. Highly recommended.

 

Mdk

 

Beatspace

 

Psyshop

[Agneton]

+1

[Imba]

Thanks a lot for your kind words!

 

I didnt know that people like this compilation a lot as you... i saw not so positive review on discogs. This isnt super mega giga compilation but is very good to be released. This is for the people, not for me, i get nothing for this

 

My next compilation will be for Phototropic again but in another style - old school. No much groove, fast melodies and new school sounds. Will be much more easy than Goatronika but i think more trancy...

 

Thanks for your support and +1 for ya!

[Penzoline]

It's hard to say anything else other than a +1 to the rest. I think this is the strongest yet compilation from phototropic. Some tracks I'd like to point out that were really good were Hypnotic Signal's atmospheric Cosmic Sphere, Blackstarrfinale's debut track Cassiopeia with it's crazy spiraling melodies, and Alieanapia's Inner Poison with it's dark forest atmosphere. Also one of the strongest Amithaba's tracks is on this comp.

 

But Sky Technology's track is the best track on this comp for sure. The sounds, the melodies, the style it's really fresh from what I've heard lately. The liquidy/bubbly style really lifts it up to a higher level. It's quite a fascinating execution and really hanging in the balance of being a cheesecake or a superb track, which from the latter it is.

 

The rest were ok-good aswell but those I wanted to point out. Surprises from newcomers is always a pleasure.

 

Edit: I'm really loving the Arronax track too, very spacey theme.

[LuisBSF]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed that. I'm biased, of course, but I believe it's a very solid compilation, Phototropic's best IMHO.

[amithaba_buddha]

+4 like Vox just stated.

[Helios909 (rx7style)]

This album is absolutely wonderful. This is the best album I've purchased in quite a while. If you like goa, if you like psychedelic, if you like MUSIC... this album is for you. Amithaba Buddha makes sinfully good tracks, and being the highlight of the album for me (yes I'm biased toward his sounds), I would have purchased it just for the one track! Bravo. More please! =D

 

+100

[Imba]

Thanks for kind words, glad you enjoy it

[Imba]

I just found another review from Last.fm by Praetorianer:

 

That's what the label has to say about the new VA, which basically tells you, what to expect: 10 tracks, clocking in at about 78 minutes, packed with Goatrance goodness.

 

One of the first compilations of the year 2010 is Goatronika, compiled by Imba, mastered by Digitoxin and released on Phototropic Records. The cover art has been done by Imba and John Spanos from Radical Distortion. Radical Distortion, whose 2009 album Psychedelic Dreams has been a massive hit, kicks off this VA of Goatrance goodness with Analogue. The first half of the compilation features well known artists, being Space Elves (remixed by equally well known Jikooha), Alienapia, Sky Technology and Amithaba Buddha.

 

Basically there's nothing much to say about those already well known artists, as they've got a reputation for quality releases, but I have to emphasize, that Inner Poison by Ukrainian duo Alienapia is my favorite track on this compilation. Compared to the other tracks, it has a rather dark touch to it, but it's just sooo psychedelic and full of energy. Alienapia will release their debut album, called Goapocalipsis on February 12th, and judging from what I've heard so far, this will be one of the best releases in years. Be sure to check out the samples at Beatspace.

 

The latter half of the VA consits of another five tracks, this time by lesser known artists, yet by no means of lesser quality...some nice Nitzhonot elements here. My favorites are the tracks by NK-47, whose EP can be downloaded for free at Ektoplazm, and Cassiopeia. Check out samples of Goatronika at http://www.imbagoa.co.nr/

 

 

[Lemmiwinks]

well first of, I find the album cover butt-ugly but hey, who cares about the cover if the music inside is good.

 

Now for the tracks:

 

Radical Distortion is up first with a nice midtempo warmer track. Nothing exceptional but a very nice starting track, making you really want to find out what's up next.

 

Space Elves come with a VERY nice oldschool vibe. I mean, REALLY oldschool, stuff that remind me of the good ol' days, not the modern newschool interpetations that we have gotten used to expecting to hear when someone mentions "newschool". Definately one of the best tracks I've heard this year. Keep up the good work lads

 

Alienapia up next with a great blend of forest trance and newschool, my absolute favorite track on this comp. As far as I'm concerned, THIS is the way of the future for goatrance!

 

No let the name fool you,Sky Technology's Next Steps to the Stars has nothing to do with Miranda's classic, it just shares a similar name. A nice track but personally I find that it lacks focus, it's as if the artist doesn't really know where he's going with this, just trying out different ideas.

 

Amithaba Buddha up next with some nice oldschool 303 lines on top of some nice swirling melodies, although I always find that there's something missing in his work... can't tell what, cause all the elements are there, but they don't quite fit my definition of a great track.

 

Hypnotic Signal up next with trance straight from Siberia (nice to see that the goa spirit has spread so far BTW ). Some nice ideas tried in there and a pretty good melody, although this isn't quite top notch material IMO.

 

Psynews' own Blackstarrfinale gives us his debut track which is a great first effort but a bit too generic to my ears.

 

Vox up next trying out some interesting stuff, mmmmm this is definately my cup of tea... the melody that kicks in around 3:00 is absolutely SUPERB and makes my heart melt... although it is VERY similar to a certain Shiva Shidapu - Virtual Voyage... but hey, I guess that most people into the scene today don't even know of the original so bringing back such a great melody can't be a crime, let's just call it a tribute Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, copyright issues aside, this is one great track

 

NK47 starts off pretty generic but if you're patient enough and stay with it you'll get a nice rewarding melody in the end (around 6:30), reminding me some nice oldschool israeli trance from the good ol days. My only complaint is that the "good part" only lasts for about a minute

 

The closer is from Arronax. You might think he's a newbe to the scene but it turns out he's been releasing stuff already since 2004. Personally I've never heard of the guy but I guess it's better late than never He gives us a track that's a bit more on the dark and fast side of things. Again, some nice ideas explored in there but somehow I find the track as a whole is lacking something.

 

Conclusion A nice add-on to an ever-growing newschool collection. Of course, just like other comps this isn't perfect and still suffers from that generic plasticky sound that the first generation of newschool productions had, although this is definately another step in the right direction 3,5/5

Favorites: 2, 3(!!), 8(!!)

[amithaba_buddha]

This album is absolutely wonderful. This is the best album I've purchased in quite a while. If you like goa, if you like psychedelic, if you like MUSIC... this album is for you. Amithaba Buddha makes sinfully good tracks, and being the highlight of the album for me (yes I'm biased toward his sounds), I would have purchased it just for the one track! Bravo. More please! =D

 

+100

 

hey Helios , glad to see you here and that you still like the stuff im making

Thanks a lot for your support , more stuff is certainly coming !

[Imba]

This album is absolutely wonderful. This is the best album I've purchased in quite a while. If you like goa, if you like psychedelic, if you like MUSIC... this album is for you. Amithaba Buddha makes sinfully good tracks, and being the highlight of the album for me (yes I'm biased toward his sounds), I would have purchased it just for the one track! Bravo. More please! =D

 

+100

 

 

You can expect more this year

Also thats for positive comments!

[Trance2MoveU]

I updated my review for this one. Seems a little bit of the luster came off, but this is still a good ride.

 

Mdk

[Trance2MoveU]

Still quality material. Love it.

 

Mdk