Confessions of a goa-trancer

[Arronax]

I started listening to Goa in 2002, when things were going rather downhill for this sub-genre of psychedelic music. Everyone was crazy about the "new full on sound" and yet I was only beginning to uncover the epic sounds of the 94-99 era... I was pretty disappointed to see so many "veterans" giving up on good oldskool sound, becoming "another one to fall" to the new craze of full on. Don't get me wrong, I liked a lot of full on myself, but it could never replace the sound of the 90s to me.

 

As years passed by, I was even more saddened that Goa is practically dead until the emergence of Suntrip and Filteria. To be honest, I was really happy to see that I wasn't the only one trying to make this sound alive again. Back in 2003 when I was learning how to produce my tracks, my main inspiration were albums from 95, 96 & 97. After one year when I could finally make a track that sounded acceptable to my ear (today I think I shouldn't have published those haha because they were very amateurish) I was more than happy to see Suntrip releases coming out. So yeah, most of us "young" newschool artists didn't have our chance to participate in the 90s era simply because we were kids, listening to Scooter or something like that. :-P As we grew up, the scene grew with each of us because we all wanted to create something new in the spirit of the 90s. Not replicating it, not trying to "steal" the memories of the older generation, I believe we were just trying to find ourselves in the sound that is highly inspired by the 90s.

 

This little story isn't supposed to change anyone's mind, but I'm simply trying to explain how the world looks like from a typical 28yr old producer in 2015. Or at least, how it looks from my personal perspective, I'm not really sure others will agree completely :-D

[Balance]

If you are one of those who pledged for the album you do know what goes on and has been told the CD is currently going to mastering. If you are not I do not think it's none of your business just as the notorious troll "mike" from Australia aka Balance has a personal grudge against me that has nothing to do with my CD release. he has been going on and on about this CD release as he now has a favorite theme he can troll with no matter the topic here.

 

yet he is allowed to troll on here as no one cares about his sorry behaviour anywhere else. I am just flabergasted the admins here allow him to post insults (and other diluted bumbo jumbo) and troll as he does,.

You said it was going to mastering last time I asked questions almost a year ago. No insult. You carried a torch blaming everything on Niva Zembla yet your behavior regarding this release is no better than anything they did to you. You're just to sel centred to see it. I've told mods etc. who I am since I resigned on. Never denied it. Stop acting like its a conspiracy. Unlike you I now tell the truth. Troll.

[Imba]

...the scene grew with each of us because we all wanted to create something new in the spirit of the 90s. Not replicating it, not trying to "steal" the memories of the older generation, I believe we were just trying to find ourselves in the sound that is highly inspired by the 90s.

 

 

Most simple and right explaination!

 

 

If you listen closely to artists of new era, they are very much unique in their own way. Each have his own production or some melodies as his signature

 

 

Some of well known artists now:

Filteria - can you find one artist in 90s that has music like he does? His agresivity and twists, resonances, sweaps?

Amithaba Buddha / Lost Buddha - was there artist like him in 90s with his egyptian/arabic euphoric melodies?

Goasia - someone made that much groovy and ultra layered tracks in 90s?

Agneton - now that guy is unqiue, nitzhogoa or goa doesn't matter. Listen to his melodies and crazy twists and transitions. I haven't heard nothing like him from 90s.

Afgin - his deep (lets say cluby) euphoric goa/trance atmospheres? Only one close to his sound i can find Man With No Name.

 

 

[Starkraver]

 

If you are one of those who pledged for the album you do know what goes on and has been told the CD is currently going to mastering. If you are not I do not think it's none of your business just as the notorious troll "mike" from Australia aka Balance has a personal grudge against me that has nothing to do with my CD release. he has been going on and on about this CD release as he now has a favorite theme he can troll with no matter the topic here.

 

yet he is allowed to troll on here as no one cares about his sorry behaviour anywhere else. I am just flabergasted the admins here allow him to post insults (and other diluted bumbo jumbo) and troll as he does,.

No, as stated in the promotional section. I missed out on pledging and had a genuine question - " Can I now contribute" a fellow member replied saying "we(those who have not pledged) can buy after its released"

 

Thank you.

[ma05683]

Some of well known artists now:

Filteria - can you find one artist in 90s that has music like he does? His agresivity and twists, resonances, sweaps?

Amithaba Buddha / Lost Buddha - was there artist like him in 90s with his egyptian/arabic euphoric melodies?

Goasia - someone made that much groovy and ultra layered tracks in 90s?

Agneton - now that guy is unqiue, nitzhogoa or goa doesn't matter. Listen to his melodies and crazy twists and transitions. I haven't heard nothing like him from 90s.

Afgin - his deep (lets say cluby) euphoric goa/trance atmospheres? Only one close to his sound i can find Man With No Name.

:o :o

i cant imagine their DAT's played more than 10 sec in Rhino,Matsuri,Blue room .TIP,Transient,Phantasm ,Psy Harmonics headquarters dat players

am i wrong??

-_-

hmmm

5 sec then

[Padmapani]

:o :o

i cant imagine their DAT's played more than 10 sec in Rhino,Matsuri,Blue room .TIP,Transient,Phantasm ,Psy Harmonics headquarters dat players

am i wrong??

-_-

hmmm

5 sec then

 

i often wonder if old tracks that some consider classics now, but are pretty simplistic, sound a bit amateurish and aren't mixed very well, would even be released if they were unknown and you sent them to one of the top labels now. my guess would be that the artists would get a reply like "go back and work on it a little more before you send us something" for tracks like etnica - the gili's voyage, prana - mugen, d5 - cranial meltdown or paradise connection - portamento.

[Balance]

i often wonder if old tracks that some consider classics now, but are pretty simplistic, sound a bit amateurish and aren't mixed very well, would even be released if they were unknown and you sent them to one of the top labels now. my guess would be that the artists would get a reply like "go back and work on it a little more before you send us something" for tracks like etnica - the gili's voyage, prana - mugen, d5 - cranial meltdown or paradise connection - portamento.

I beg to differ. I reckon a lot of the new names now would struggle with primarily hardware setups of yesteryear & the current sample n software based production world. I don't think many now understand how long it would take to develop a sound using only old analog gear. Now you can spit out a polished turd in a day. Back in the early days it took a fair bit longer.

[transistor91]

Something tells me none of these "new school" artists will be remembered in 10 years, let alone considered classics, while the original goa masters will still survive.

 

Reason: Because their music really sux. You gotta be doing drugs++ to like it.

[Balance]

Like it or not the original music in this scene was great because at the time, like most underground music scenes, it was a movement. It had passion, personality & a desire to be new. The musicians out so much effort in to giving their music that personality, that thing that made it an X-Dream track or a Doof track.

 

Modern Goa & Psy lacks that personality. All I hear is basically cover artists. Afgin sounds in this scene were basically the sound of AP'a Another World era. Filteria just sounds like poor man's mash of Etnica & Peleidians . I can easily go on. The only difference today is that technology offers simpler ways to achieve what was done back then. Even Aphex Twin has said many times it's sad that so many kids attempt to replicate what he did in the 90's using software that attempts but ultimately fails to replicate true skill & technique.

 

But hey you know preaching to the converted never works so we shouldn't bother expressing our views.

 

keep flogging that dead Goa horse, it ain't gonna move forward ever again.

[desysko]

Like it or not the original music in this scene was great because at the time, like most underground music scenes, it was a movement. It had passion, personality & a desire to be new. The musicians out so much effort in to giving their music that personality, that thing that made it an X-Dream track or a Doof track.

 

Modern Goa & Psy lacks that personality. All I hear is basically cover artists. Afgin sounds in this scene were basically the sound of AP'a Another World era. Filteria just sounds like poor man's mash of Etnica & Peleidians . I can easily go on. The only difference today is that technology offers simpler ways to achieve what was done back then. Even Aphex Twin has said many times it's sad that so many kids attempt to replicate what he did in the 90's using software that attempts but ultimately fails to replicate true skill & technique.

 

But hey you know preaching to the converted never works so we shouldn't bother expressing our views.

 

keep flogging that dead Goa horse, it ain't gonna move forward ever again.

 

Okay.

[Psychedelic Alien]

What an arrogance by some people here... Are you guys God or something? You decide what is good and what is not? WHat is cool and what is not? If you think psy-trance is a dead horse, well, go away and let people have fun who actually enjoy the music.

Wake up, talent does not go in waves. Some have talent, some don't. Today there are people with talent, in 1996 there were people with talent. Only the popularity of styles change. There are some blatant insults here which I can't believe.

 

For me, as a rather young person, I also prefer modern goa-trance over old school goa-trance. Of course I like a lot of the old stuff, but my biggest love is the modern goa-trance. Why? Its more powerful, cleaner and more up to date. I am happy to see more and more of the new artists on big festivals. I think the new wave only started, and i'm sure, for me, in 10 years artists like E-Mantra and Filteria will be classics! Whatever some know-it-alls say here... My opinion is a valid opinion as well...

[Guest The Hypnotic LFO Room]

No, as stated in the promotional section. I missed out on pledging and had a genuine question - " Can I now contribute" a fellow member replied saying "we(those who have not pledged) can buy after its released"

 

Thank you.

 

I do not go here to the promotional section when i send information to those who pledged

[Rotwang]

yet he is allowed to troll on here as no one cares about his sorry behaviour anywhere else. I am just flabergasted the admins here allow him to post insults (and other diluted bumbo jumbo) and troll as he does,.

Do I need to remind you of the reason for your last "permanent" ban? If the admins here took a harder line on this sort of behaviour, you wouldn't be here.

 

I've told mods etc. who I am since I resigned on.

And this is a lie. We were informed of your identity by another poster months after you created the Balance-Music account.

[Starkraver]

Hmmm!! Don't poke the mod who himself likes to poke things

[Arronax]

It's interesting how some of the folks here have enough free time to register, comment and lose their precious time throwing hate comments at something that is "dead".

[Celaripo]

as far as i am concerned i share pretty much the same thoughts as the OP

but if you dig you will still find something good

 

my main concern is not lack of innovation or creativity because i wouldnt mind if new artists create something similar to the past - as long as they are talented enough and make something brilliant

 

http://www.dimensionalrecords.com/cd-releases/247-space-elves-terrestrial-planet-finder-cdr.htmlhere is an example of great modern goa made by space elves and that sounds just like the old school beauties released in the 90s

its true that suntrip disappoints more and more since ra - 9th but check somewhere else

neogoa releases good and less good but there is more hope there i reckon

how about anjuna records i think their releases are strong

[Padmapani]

I beg to differ. I reckon a lot of the new names now would struggle with primarily hardware setups of yesteryear & the current sample n software based production world. I don't think many now understand how long it would take to develop a sound using only old analog gear. Now you can spit out a polished turd in a day. Back in the early days it took a fair bit longer.

of course it was more work back then, but i rather appreciate the finished piece of music than the amount of work put into it.

no sane person is going to say "lame, he's modded his 303 with a midi input and doesn't use the built in sequencer that's a pain in the ass to work with". and i don't care about how many microedits some psycore artist did to achieve his fx, i still don't like the music. my opinion depends on how it sounds.

[ma05683]

i often wonder if old tracks that some consider classics now, but are pretty simplistic, sound a bit amateurish and aren't mixed very well, would even be released if they were unknown and you sent them to one of the top labels now. my guess would be that the artists would get a reply like "go back and work on it a little more before you send us something" for tracks like etnica - the gili's voyage, prana - mugen, d5 - cranial meltdown or paradise connection - portamento.

Of course these tracks cannot pass the standards of now labels.i can't argue on that

now days there is a hype about complexity.sound quality mixing skills crystal sound etc etc.

THATS THE DIFFERENCE.

[Guest The Hypnotic LFO Room]

Do I need to remind you of the reason for your last "permanent" ban? If the admins here took a harder line on this sort of behaviour, you wouldn't be here.

 

You are welcome to ban me again if you think I have violated any rules here. I still do not believe i ever violated the rules here at the time you decide to ban me. IMO (if the truth has to come out) the only problem at the time was power hungry mods who took things way too personal and a clique of members who had a hard time debating without becoming very personal (a group who also was friends with the mods). But its water under the bridge. I still do believe Mike is a major troll. But it's your call. I've ignored him from now on.

[Rotwang]

You are welcome to ban me again if you think I have violated any rules here.

If I wanted to ban you I would have done so this morning.

 

I still do believe Mike is a major troll.

So do we. He's gone.

[Mental Explorer]

Regarding current releases I find myself much more interested in the Israeli and Japanese scene than in (mainly)European "newschool" sound: The sound is more raw and fresh, a little slower and more technoish.

 

I think most "newschool" sounds a bit too polished and predictable for me, though there of course are quite some great exceptions (Nervasystem, older E-Mantra + Filteria tunes, etc, etc).

[Scandinasia]

While you know I am a passionate defender of new-school, I shall also recognize that many artists keep applying the same formulas, and sometimes it gets boring. But every time I hear a new gem, all the boredom is wiped away. And gems, we have more and more.

 

These guys have so much potential. They need to be supported, and sometimes, they do surpass my expectations.

 

The World Beyond, Kolovrat, Psytrance Powers my Space Engines, The Illusions of Reality, Atlantis EP, The Call of Goa, The Inner Shift, Mother Pitch, Back to Space, are so amazing. Seriously. This is the way to future.

 

I am the first one who gets irritated each time a guy falls into the same formulas. CoaGoa's last EP, or Perpetual Intelligence were very displeasing to my ears. So what do we do ?

 

Do we keep saying :

 

They're so cliché ! Let's give up this scene ?

 

Or do we support them by intelligent criticism ? Or do we produce our own music according to better standards ? Or do we spread the higher spirits of the Goa wit, by promoting a positive emulation ?

 

I will keep standing here. I will make reviews, I will share the sounds, I will criticize, I will be harsh sometimes, I will also love the releases, but in the end, I wouldn't have be a complainer. I'd have, even in a very humble way, contributed to this scene.

 

And you, what do you do ? What will you do ? Keep complaining ? Or stand on the side of creativity ?

[NightHex]

just browsing...dont mind me )

[mars]

1) Nope but agreed to some extent.

2) Real nope.

3) Yeap.

[Basilisk]

1) The most talked over new releases are unreleased material from 94-98

 

I used to think that almost all the good stuff had been released but changed my mind in recent years. Turns out there's a lof great stuff that never made the cut for whatever reason (probably because we're not exactly talking about the most straight-laced of people on the business end of things). Personally I feel like it's amazing that we're still adding great tunes to the Goa trance canon (even if they're not all winners).

 

2) Neo goa-trance is circling in an endless loop

 

Depends on how you look at it. Five years ago I would have agreed with you, more or less. Nowadays I think differently. For starters, new school Goa trance as a movement has been around longer than the "golden age" (94 to 98 or thereabouts). There's been more of an opportunity for artists to really hone their sound and get at what they're trying to achieve. Most of the old school greats burnt out before they had the chance to reach the same level of artistic development. Yes, the new stuff isn't quite so wild and untamed but there's a lot of it... and some of it is pretty good.

 

Another point: the common usage of the term "new school Goa trance" is nowhere near as broad and inclusive as how we defined old school Goa trance. Nowadays we're usually talking about music that exhibits a particular melodic approach derived from Etnica, Dimension 5, Shakta, etc. To say that the entire movement has less range than the old school greats isn't exactly true... I'd argue that it's our more precise use of the term that gives this illusion.

 

A few practical examples: while we can all name some modern-day equivalents to many of the old school greats... what about groups like Koxbox, Orichalcum & The Deviant, Ka-Sol, Quirk, Sandman, Metal Spark and the rest of the Dutch break-trance squad, etc.? If we expand the field to include acts like Amygdala, Kadasarva, Exelization, Fuzzonaut, and some of the weird stuff on this compilation, suddenly it doesn't look like the movement is quite so limited.

 

3) Old artists don't have it anymore and make us feel pitiful

Some do, some don't. I don't think it's universal... but it would be nice if the big organizers paid more attention to the quality of the sets played by some of the old giants.