remnant Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Xenomorph-Totalitarian Democracy I don't care about the message, not because I disagree with it, I just don't care about political messages in my music. For me this can be quite disturbing. Ok, the specific artist and album look like to be somewhere between industrial, extreme metal and psytrance and targeting for a neutral occult atmosphere. But for a more psychedelic or goa synthesis such or more targeted (politicized) references would be unsuited, could feel foreign and for sure regardless of side, lines and colors. Wouldn't such samples be spoiling for the feeling of the music and diminishing for its essence? For example, instead of a sample or a voice of a scientist, a visionary, a psychic, a poet, a guru would be politicians or whatever political messages. I think goa trance is a musical expression that has to do conceptually with images and themes like space, cosmology, futurism, exploration, mysteries, nature, science fiction & theories, intellect & consciousness and spirituality in general, like hinduism, mythologies, theologies etc.. Of course it would be deficient not to mention that this genre was born in and expresses a spirit of freedom. How much pleasant or tolerable such references and expressions in the musical synthesis could be? Can there be exceptions and of what kind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multi-Media Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Interesting topic... well if we take the Psy/Goa genre I think this social and political content might be out of place (even if I agree with the views). We have some other genres which are better suited for this and traditionally use such lyrics to critize certain developments. Mostly Punk, Hardcore, Thrash Metal but also some EBM/Indus bands. However it doesn´t change anything in the long run, punk was making anti war and anti capitalism songs for at least 20 yrs now. But wars haven´t stopped and society got colder more darwinistic (mega capitalism in which the banks and big corps rule, not the electred or the people anymore) However there is nothing wrong with the artist expressing his views, that is one of the resons art existis right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolmot Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Well, personally I wouldn't have spotted a tiniest bit of psytrance in that particular track unless someone told me. It's so far from the centroid of this genre that we could debate whether it even belongs there. Anyway, the legend has that many members of the early goa community were Israeli soldies who wanted to take a total break from the rough life of war, politics and religious conflict in the Middle East. That was achieved with a combination of physical distance, slow life, recreational drugs and cosmic music. The hippie scene in general had similar goals. For that purpose, eight minutes of trance works better than two minutes of punk. You could argue that a major point of the genre is avoiding boring or stressful everyday matters and replacing them with something more vague or universal. Come to think of it, you don't hear much politics in any kind of rave parties. Typically the most mundane message you can spot there is "love is totally great, right?" or "I hope this party doesn't get busted". Other genres take care of the particulars of that tragic reationship with Annie and how much the current government sucks. Party-goers prefer happy thoughts and distant concepts, where you can fill in the details yourself or just ignore it all and keep dancing. But you can't control the content of any genre. Sometimes they get totally diverse over time. For example, many people think of reggae as "that laid-back beach party music", but in reality it has covered jolly ditties, slavery, the judgement day, gang fights, gun lyrics, slackness, heavyweight dub and how the singer's car is crap. Eventually all sorts of variants turn up when the base version is getting too repetitive. The audience decides whether there's any real demand for them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padmapani Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Come to think of it, you don't hear much politics in any kind of rave parties. Typically the most mundane message you can spot there is "love is totally great, right?" or "I hope this party doesn't get busted". depends on the genre. the freetekno scene is highly political and that is often reflected by the music. i've heard tracks with chopped up speeches of our (now former) minister of interior at parties, as well as attacks on right wing parties, anti-capitalism samples, ... i have no problem with political content in psy, but it has to be done in a way more subtle way. in a way doof's youth of the galaxy fits in here "it's time to demand our freedom", just like the fullon on tracks with "there must be security and justice for all or no one is secure" or something 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multi-Media Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 on topic just found this : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotwang Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 When it comes to politics in dance music, I think these guys have the right approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollylovesgoa Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Haha, got to love Autechre!I don't personally enjoy politics in my music. I think of Billy Bragg and the like, all of his tunes that were about love were so much better than the anti-thatcher hymns. Trying to shoehorne politics into a style of music that is conspicuously non-vocal seems like a great recipe to ruin a track and become very "of the now", liable to never being played again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotwang Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Trying to shoehorne politics into a style of music that is conspicuously non-vocal seems like a great recipe to ruin a track and become very "of the now", liable to never being played again. Not to mention that politics is extremely divisive and therefore IMO has no place in a genre that's supposed to be about unity and hedonism. For a paradigmatic example of almost-good psytrance ruined by politics, see Vegetal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psylophyta Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 1) I think it's uncool to try to tell the artist what they should put into their music. 2) I've heard a few psy tracks with political samples. I didn't think they were out of place. 3) I think that some social/political awareness and, to an extent, activism are essential for everybody who uses the term "psychedelic". It's a sign of rare level of intelligence to bring these subjects up in such a way that they unite, and not divide people. I thought that the psychedelic scene was where I would find this level of intelligence. Largely, I've been disappointed. As the saying goes, it's good to have an open mind but not so open that your brains fall out. Oh well, still listening to the music. 4) The word "hedonism" makes me wanna puke. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the goa constrictor Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Not to mention that politics is extremely divisive and therefore IMO has no place in a genre that's supposed to be about unity and hedonism. For a paradigmatic example of almost-good psytrance ruined by politics, see Vegetal. lmfao but samples about mayans, ufos, lsd, multiple dimensions, and god and heaven are okay? lolololololololololol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remnant Posted December 9, 2016 Author Share Posted December 9, 2016 1) I think it's uncool to try to tell the artist what they should put into their music. 2) I've heard a few psy tracks with political samples. I didn't think they were out of place. 3) I think that some social/political awareness and, to an extent, activism are essential for everybody who uses the term "psychedelic". It's a sign of rare level of intelligence to bring these subjects up in such a way that they unite, and not divide people. I thought that the psychedelic scene was where I would find this level of intelligence. Largely, I've been disappointed. As the saying goes, it's good to have an open mind but not so open that your brains fall out. Oh well, still listening to the music. 4) The word "hedonism" makes me wanna puke. Well, i think there are fitter music genres like Rock styles, Metal styles, Industrial, Neoclassical etc.. to express such issues, and even more, propaganda. But again, it is certainly different to talk about a way of life or a cultural activity. This music's essence would be abused for sure by political colors and agendas, and degraded. The previous decade, it had been twice i listened to well-known tracks in political promotion. One was Lepton Head by Deedrah in a youth's party, and the other a Jaia sample in a commercial. It felt such a misappropriation. "hedonism"? a controversial term, indeed. I would recommend the term "experience" (or for the old era or the pure spirits, the value "mysticism"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkraver Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 Are you the old Mr.Mustafa? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trunksan Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 When I was younger, more naive and hopefully less-wise (in the sense that now I'm wiser) I tried to attach meanings and metaphors to all kinds of things (mostly art). Now I see how naive and non-pragmatic, that thing was. Music and art, in general, can create a certain feeling and/or thought process but, for me, in the end, it's just entertainment and shouldn't be taken very seriously, If there's one conclusion that I've come to is: Economic prosperity is the biggest catalyst in bringing change to the world. Once you have a home and food in your mouth, you can start investigating higher meanings. Until that happens, all political theories and spiritualistic mambo jumbo belong in the garbage bin. It's the same reason why people in the Middle East don't seem to give a shit about Democracy (and Americans wonder why that is the case). With an empty stomach, the only thing you have in mind, is how to fill it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormion Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Trying to shoehorne politics into a style of music that is conspicuously non-vocal seems like a great recipe to ruin a track and become very "of the now", liable to never being played again. This Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awanteelpsyvieja Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I don't personally enjoy politics in my music. I think of Billy Bragg and the like, all of his tunes that were about love were so much better than the anti-thatcher hymns. Trying to shoehorne politics into a style of music that is conspicuously non-vocal seems like a great recipe to ruin a track and become very "of the now", liable to never being played again. i think OP talks about timeless political references. more like a philosophical kind of thought rather than, for example, anti-thatcher speach. i think it can be interesting. something like this but political Not to mention that politics is extremely divisive and therefore IMO has no place in a genre that's supposed to be about unity and hedonism. For a paradigmatic example of almost-good psytrance ruined by politics, see Vegetal. psytrance is not related to hedonism. not IMO at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acid-brain Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Weird, I was going to necromance this thread the other day too, and just to say how f***ing good the track in the OP is, and how it reminds me of Ministry, and it's basically industrial metal, so it's totally the wrong track to use talking about psytrance in politics. As for music in general, there is a place for politics in some genres, not in others. After all, that's what genres are, variety is the spice of life etc psytrance is not related to hedonism. not IMO at least. Can you elaborate? Psytrance is all about hedonism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trunksan Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Can you elaborate? Psytrance is all about hedonism. I'm 100% with you on this. Even though the sexual aspect isn't really present unlike other types of electronic music like house or techno, Psy/Goa is hedonism to the MAX! Like a friend of mine says: Good Psy on LSD beats great sex every day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remnant Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 I would recommend the term "experience".. ..and "Recreation", a nice term i forgot to mention before. Are you the old Mr.Mustafa? Just curious. Mr Mustafa to be precise. Is there a new Mr Mustafa? There's another user entitled the same, someone 'MrAnarchy', so i decided to change it a bit to avoid any confusion. I follow psynews respectfully, since 2006. "That's why we see the great teachers to say again and again, that wealth, perfect health, happiness, do not endure when are not founded on our internal spiritual heritage." Swami Paramananda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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