Trance2MoveU Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Artist: Laughing Buddha Title: Illusions & Collusions Label: Nano Records Date: June, 2014 1. Laughing Buddha feat. Eat Static - Razorback 2. Laughing Buddha feat. Lucas - Neutrino Storm 3. Laughing Buddha feat. Dickster - Stepping Stoned 4. Laughing Buddha feat. Master Blasters - High Right Now 5. Laughing Buddha feat. Space Tribe - Mind Altering Technology 6. Laughing Buddha feat. Groove Addict - Something Out There 7. Laughing Buddha feat. Tristan - Back In The Game 8. Laughing Buddha feat. Electric Universe - Stargate 9. Laughing Buddha feat. Avalon - Bring It "Yeah I'm gonna go find myself in the mountains." Said every white chick in a horror movie. That sh*t doesn't turn out so well. Ever. It's no wonder black people make fun of us. Anyway...half of Cosmosis is better than nothing I always say. Jeremy is back with his second album and I guess he had a lot of free beer at his house cause all his friends showed up to drink it. While they were pretending not to hit on his sister and puking in the pool they also helped him out in the studio. What could go wrong? Razorback- What the f*ck does this have to do with Arkansas football? Besides being disappointing and making little kids cry? Yeah Merv I'm gonna need you to step away from the keg and give me a little more. I know it's just the first track, but seriously I'm about sixteen bars away from a nap. Neutrino Storm- Ok Lucas made it a little better. We're now one notch above uninspired full-on. *sees Jeremy's sister in a tight tube top* 'Scuse me. Gotta go before she sees Clooney! Stepping Stoned- So all we had to do was add a little weed to the party? *Hi-fives Dickster* My man throws a slight bit of dubstep in the break. Pretty good. High Right Now- Me too. But not because of drugs. It's cause I'm crowd surfing. *swings foot and knocks over a statue. Watches it break into a million pieces.* My bad. Mind Altering Technologies- Olli whassup? I knew I could count on you to mess with my mind. Still cranking out those drug samples huh? Ummm...Olli? Olli! Dude, your headphones aren't even plugged in! By the way you dropped this. *Hands him dozens of tabs of acid that were trailing behind him like bread crumbs.* So that's how he does it? Something Out There- What's your name? *shouting over music* Oh, nice to meet you Sanjay. Don't take this the wrong way, but your track seems to be on autopilot. Aren't you gonna twist some knobs or something? Back in the Game- Tristan! Yo man are you ok? *Track plays water droplet sounds* Shake the dew off that lily and get the hell outta the john! Jeremy really needs you, he's dyin' out there! Stargate- Boris, what the f*ck man why are you touching my face? Nah it's cool man, I just...you know it's a little awkward that's all. Me standing here and umm...you with ah, I mean where are your...you know, your...pants? Man I gotta get the f*ck outta here. Bring it- Yeah Leon I was just leaving. Nah man you're cool. You had the best track, but this party's lame. I gotta work tomorrow, the keg is tapped, and I think I saw Ari take a dump in the living room. I mean, who does that? Good luck with your next album and tell Jeremy thanks for the invite. I don't know what went wrong here, but this album completely underwhelmed. Like going to a party with the cool crowd and finding out how weird they really are. Which is sad because there are a lot of really talented artists here. All of whom have done better work than this. This album is an example of what could've been. Most of the tracks sound the same and have that Nano sound. Normally that's a good thing, but I believe an opportunity was missed here to give these tracks some depth. It just comes off as thin full on. I've been to that party too many times and I just wanna go home. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Yeah, it's really incredible how an album "composed" - allegedly - by Jez with 9 different other artists sounds so much homogeneous. It really is the same Nano sound over & over, which - in itself - wouldn't be that bad if the sounds were at least put together to create some decent melody, a build-up or swirly plateau of some sort. But no - it's just those rave'y drum rolls, echoing scratches and numbing bassline one track after the other. Previous album, although sprinkled with some heavy cheese, had few memorable tracks that stood out. Here, it all blends together. At this point, from 2009 onward there's only been one singe good release from Nano Rec. - Master Blasters' "Life Changing Experiences" which although followed the same template sonically, was on another level musically and above all was very psychedelic, much more subtle and not so in-yer-face hip. I'm really starting to believe Nano Rec. has single CD with samples and a sequencer that randomly generates tracks and then assigns them to label 'artists'. It's good for label to "have its distinctive sound", but this is really taking it too far! There's new Tristan album out soon but judging by the samples I should steer clear from that one as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraneFreeze Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Lots of labels have distinctive sounds and styles. That's nothing new. Some people like Nano, some don't. I think the problem here, stated bluntly, is that Laughing Buddha just isn't that good. Yes, he was originally part of Cosmosis. Yes, he's worked with a lot of well known producers. But has he produced anything great or distinctive by himself? Nano's style isn't the problem. His collaborators aren't the problem. JVK is the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trance2MoveU Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Nano's style isn't the problem. His collaborators aren't the problem. JVK is the problem. Nail meet head. MDK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franki Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 A bit harsh, I think. The album certainly is derivative and breaks no new ground. Could also do with a bit of a boost to the bottom end, but it's one of the better full-on albums I've bought recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Nano's style isn't the problem. His collaborators aren't the problem. JVK is the problem. Indeed, I agree. However, Nano records doesn't help their artists evolve by restricting their sound to very limited range of samples & instruments, making them virtually indistinguishable from one another. You don't have to look far - check Tristan's output pre- and after- Nano, or even better check Avalon's music when he was with WildThings Records (as part of RealityGrid and Avalon) and after that. That's night and day difference! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franki Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Have to agree with that. Certainly Tristan's move from Twisted to Nano lost him his unique sound and lumped him in with all the other full-on merchants. Avalon's output I like much less since his Nano signing. The only Nano album to really buck the trend recently is Loud's No More X and I think that is a great album! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kartoonz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 nice album but I feel sacred technology was much better and catchy... but again this is still a good album atleast to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 At this point, from 2009 onward there's only been one singe good release from Nano Rec. - Master Blasters' "Life Changing Experiences" which although followed the same template sonically, was on another level musically and above all was very psychedelic, much more subtle and not so in-yer-face hip. I'm really starting to believe Nano Rec. has single CD with samples and a sequencer that randomly generates tracks and then assigns them to label 'artists'. It's good for label to "have its distinctive sound", but this is really taking it too far! There's new Tristan album out soon but judging by the samples I should steer clear from that one as well... I would agree with most of this except to say Avalon's "Distant Futures", from 2010, is a masterpiece. Just saying.... I saw Laughing Buddha last NYE in Montreal and it was terrible, very homogeneous and very Nano. The label has taken a weird turn these last few years and have gone very club sounding. Not a fan of that vibe at all. That said, Laughing Buddha's "Sacred Technology", also post-2009 on Nano, is another great release so we know he's capable of great work. For some reason, though, these Nano guys are releasing shit these days. I also saw Tristan at Boom 2010 and, again, very homogenous and clubby, it leaves me with very low expectations for any future releases by Nano. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I would agree with most of this except to say Avalon's "Distant Futures", from 2010, is a masterpiece. Just saying.... Obviously it's a matter of taste, but no - it's not. It is by-the-numbers, generic, predictable and cliched - like most of Nano Rec. stuff in last 4 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 It is a matter of taste and we can agree to respectfully disagree. Generic, by-the-numbers full-on would be the Killerwatts album. Unfortunately, that does include Avalon. The best psy to me is the psy that would make me lose track of time and space while on the dancefloor and some of the best moments of "Distant Futures" (especially "Another Planet") get to those levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Arts Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Razorback is a f@cking choon! Tastes and all that jazz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recursion loop Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 I love the sound-design, all these squelches, stabs, metallic FMish sounds etc. Also the grooves are catchy and hypnotic. But I agree that the whole thing is very predictable and generic without any really memorable moments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschoolgoa Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 i know what to expect and im not going to even listen to this... i bet its pure fullonic trance with that hard sharp zap kick .... neeeeeeeeeehhhhh laughing buddha was good , well he did good goa shit like karma , earth medicine i thing , few good songs... this is just plain boring predictable and cliche Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antic604 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 laughing buddha was good , well he did good goa shit like karma , earth medicine i thing , few good songs... this is just plain boring predictable and cliche Yeah, no - I think it's mostly Bill Halsey's work... In those times Laughing Buddha was Cosmosis' alter ego releasing under labels other than Transient. Once Bill and Jeremy parted ways, they also split the names. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschoolgoa Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Yeah, no - I think it's mostly Bill Halsey's work... In those times Laughing Buddha was Cosmosis' alter ego releasing under labels other than Transient. Once Bill and Jeremy parted ways, they also split the names. yes you are correct as far as i remember they were making music together at the time or something. Frederic of the Ethereal goa music project knew it better damn thats really ages ago lol but isnt it weird if it is you say that Bill did the music for Jeremy? hard to believe lol dont see the point its not like Jeremy doesn't know music.. :\ come on... he does... :| laughing buddhas eps were quite alright , being the karma , megamorphosis ep the closest to cosmosis style and goa peak imo the best thats comes first in my mind.. i can say if you want best from both is cosmosis first album it proves they built and 'defined' a new goa style as we all know .. think they did the album together not sure if you can find it in album credits or not but you can clearly listen the style was identical to some point lol then they probably went psy and parted ways who knows , they are not a 'band' nowadays and after cosmology few scattered good songs can be found in next 1-2 albums... moonshine from synergy was the best and rest stopped following I never got much into psystyle since im very classical musical orientated person .. more melody structures and less 'noise' LOOOOOOL and believe me ... melodies are INSANE! look at beethoven etc them guys! shitttt!....... its outstanding work! super insane! looooll ..but its true . not that im into classical trance its been done few times anyways and im complete shit at classical music but giving an example... its complex and very advanced from a producers perspective. anyways back on topic sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antic604 Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 but isnt it weird if it is you say that Bill did the music for Jeremy? hard to believe lol dont see the point its not like Jeremy doesn't know music.. :\ come on... he does... :| laughing buddhas eps were quite alright , being the karma , megamorphosis ep the closest to cosmosis style and goa peak imo the best thats comes first in my mind.. i can say if you want best from both is cosmosis first album it proves they built and 'defined' a new goa style as we all know .. think they did the album together not sure if you can find it in album credits or not but you can clearly listen the style was identical to some point lol No, no. That's not what I meant - Bill obviously didn't write the music FOR Jeremy, but they were doing it together and considering Bill's broad musical knowledge and experience - he was a professional guitarist playing and doing session recording for jazz/funk bands - I'd suspect he had much greater influence on the final sound of Laughing Buddha back then than Jeremy had. For me the clear evidence lies in "Synergy" - 1st Cosmosis album after they've split, which for me to this day is a pinnacle of Psychedelic Trance (not Goa-Trance), with its incredible musical and technical achievements: beneath the overwhelming acidy storms it's full of melody, musical ideas and clever arrangements. Jeremy's solo albums in comparison - even to later Cosmosis albums, which not consistently as great as Synergy - sound empty and soulless... And it's not an isolated situation either - just compare the before and after output of Dick Trevor without his Green Nuns' pals Matt Coldrick & Neil Cowley, Etnica / Pleiadians without Carlo Patterno & Andrea Rizzo, or Koxbox without Ian Ion... The list goes on 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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