Artifact303 - From The Stars

[Tsotsi]

Artist: Artifact303
Title: From The Stars
Label: Global Sect
Release: May 15, 2021

Tracklist:-
1 - Apex
2 - Astral Traveler
3 - Dreamland
4 - Solar Warden
5 - Unidentified
6 - Summer Storm
7 - Open Your Eyes
8 - Secret Space
9 - The Divine Plan
10 - Wisdom bringers

 

First he went Back To Space, and now he comes From The Stars. Feast on your feelings and get in touch with your innards as Artifact303 comes to help us feel joy again.

 

 

https://globalsect.bandcamp.com/album/artifact303-from-the-stars

https://globalsect.bandcamp.com/album/artifact303-from-the-stars

[Penzoline]

Secret space is contender for track of the year. Serious insane power. It's very similar to Levitation Device on VA People Walk Funny. Really pleiadean climaxing.

Unidentified, Astral Traveler, Open Your Eyes and Summer Storm are all fantastic, varied and interesting tracks. The Divine Plan is like sequel to Tropical Paradise, which is also pretty good. I did not care for Apex, Solar Warden and Dreamland very much at all. They were a little too uplifting, monotone and had really trancy melodies. Apex in particular becomes quite cheesy in it's 2nd half. The last downtempo track was just meh, would have preferred another track like Delirium from the first album, sending the listener into a voyage.

Although the album doesn't bring anything new to the table, it's still absolutely fantastic summer music and overall a worthy sequel that that extends A303 library with a lot of great tracks. Recommended.

[astralprojection]

Apex goes to some strange territory in the end. But the first part.. 

Secret space starts kind of amazingly. 

But when the kick and bass drops all I can hear is software sound. I wish I didn't. But, that's just my opinion. Don't be mad. 

The music sounds pretty much similar to his other stuff, except I think this album is a bit softer and more easy to listen to than Back to space, but in this case i don't think that's a great thing. 

Back to space has a different, more cocky and near perfect sound, and the music is easily as good as this.. 

So I suppose I'm just a bit disappointed. But, nonetheless its a good album that I hope many other people will like. It's a great intro to new school goa trance. Sad just that it's not more an outro. 

I half expected him to be like "ok guys. This is what you want. New school goa is over. This is the finale." 

Again, don't be mad just my opinion. 3.5/5

 

[astralprojection]

7 minutes ago, Psychedelic Superbeast said:

 

Please tell me the last Great Newschool Album...what was it? how much time passes since? Why you loved it? Was it truly better than From the Stars?

 

the last "Great" was Filteria - Daze of our lives. I loved every part of it. Sound and production, music, and how it creates something new and interesting.

Theres tons of very good albums after that, but thats still the best so far I think.

[Anoebis]

As reviews are always personal and people's view can differ, I always look to the score on discogs to see which albums are great and which ones are not. Mostly you have so many ratings it gives a nice "average". When you look at these ratings, Artifact has not such a good score, and at this point Fiery Dawn and Median Project get higher ratings for example. As for new school, for now, the latest Khetzal even has 4.8/5.

Anyway, I am still waiting for the cd (did you guys get it already?) to listen   Too old school I guess?  I'm very curious tho 

[psytones]

Lord mercy, I think this Arty303 is a super nice talent that shows a great deal of Goatrance perspective pleasent to the ears and mind capible of lifting the spiritual body up back to the Stars. I own his Debut album and have enjoyed it a few times but never managed to wore the CD out.. I was thinking about buying the new album that this review thread should be about:) *but I decided to save my money for smth else that is more my tru taste.

Now, back to the space of ARTIFACT303's FROM THE STARS album:

1. Nice, sweet swirls, the thumps are ok to quality. Sounds are classic and polished. Emotions are intact. Arms in air cheese makes the arm pits become refreshed. It defo has a taste of classic euforical trance anthem going on with a psychedelic goatrance twist! 
2. Kickbass are solid and quality but also annoying neighbour complaining *dunk dunk*. The theme and leads are cute but also full of classic cheese with a sinsair twist. The cheese is strong with this one. A bit too much of mdma vibed, and it paints a dangoures picture of stumock wrenching progress to the album, that it will be overlly cheesy throughout. Some nice key change turns to be found and the seretoni level rises yet being unsure of to feel nausea or not. But also, it feels safe, where you can allow yourself the sailing on the stars made of cows teat fat. Either you love it, accept it, or you can noty stommack it.
3. Kickbass more Goatrance like now, and some astral projection elements levitates the track forward.. The kicks are again quality but also annoying (my taste my review). Now, I donno, it feels honorable to the old classics of Goa Trance. But also stail. For sure this album is full of Classic Trance anthems with Goa Trance in mind. I donno, if I was wasted out of my mind and needing some kind of safe haven (or something to make me puke, like with Ayahuasca or Kambo), I would trust this album to do it's task and lead me on. I have trust in it no matter what, and the producer is clearly skilled. Track has some nice layers as it evolves sounding both old and new in one go. It's simple, and a bit complex. It houners, and it discards. No matter, it has soul.
4. Knowing that this music, this album is not for me and my personal taste, it's a challange to keep on, to stay with it and listen, even though i accept it and appreciate what is. This track rises the level and catapulls me into a more cool stellar journey being more energy impactful. The attitude is more cool and flairing - but there is no hiding the grinding cheese. 
5. Things are turning more serious now, .. And I'm happy the album and my review is soon done. nana nana nana *oh no, i just realized the album has 10 tracks not 7. Luckely this track rises the level as it nicelly progresses and the dance in my body is starting to get triggerd, ehich is super important for me and my listening experience.
6. Woooh! Ending of the previous track sure saved the day. And the intro of this track sounds really good, tho the kickbass thing still annoys me even tho it sounds quality for what it is. Energy level is at a nice platou, and I even feel some groove catching on. Boarderlining cheese but still very nice in ways. Only 4 tracks to go and this From The Stars journey is over and not to be revisited any time soon. Again, for what it is, it's quality. For what it is not, it's terrible. Tastes are like the ass, divided, and usually they stink. This is a cool track and tripped I do enjoy some of the effects used.My head is even starting to dig the phase and rythm of killa synths, whcih uis a good sign. Headbopping?
7.  Continues the cooler stellar travelling path, and I'm uber glad the uber cheese is way behind and that the light in the end of the coulerful and euforic tunnel is soon near and there for, dear. I guess the artwork actually reflects this album nicelly. When i can not stand the music, the producer turns around and wins me over.. Good. Great ending progression to the track
8. Here the air becomes nicer and quality remains with delight and a super tranced out journey. Uhlala, i like . Maybe a bit traditional and typical, but it works great. Feels like the albums first half stared out real heavy on the cheese, only to work it off in to lighter space, tho still weighty on the quality and this track for reasons is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Fhju, nice nice.
9. After the amazing star filled journey of the last track, this track brings it down for some breathing and progression. Nice tempo, feels almost mellow but stable and I like the thumps of the quality kbb a lot. The track makes me smile and where much of the album feels kind of juvinile, this track comes off as more mature. When the main lead enteres it's still nice but I fall off the wagon a little bit. A lot to all of this album smells like old and stail classic intervowen with modern quality and complexity. The kbb impresses me less as the track evolves. Only 1 more track to go before it's over. Will it have a fat lady singing? hey, and then enteres a female divine humming, and eventually, a nice speaking sample. And then the progression actually kicks it up a notch hightening for me the level of the track. and then it falls a little again.. anan nana nan a *yawn* -- Note: I am not listening to it with FULL attention so maybe under all the bad lays a lot of good, textures and whatnot that really reviele the magic of the album. 
10. Finally, the end is near. And nice enough and defo most suiting as the album has a respectful storytelling flow. A chilled track, downbeat. Sounds nice enough:) But I'm gonna skip it and leave the album be. Thanks for the pleasure, and don't mention the miscontempt. Before I reached the stop button, some are u shpongled lines enetred, and it aint bad. *Stop.

Overall: It has nice progression of storytelling and flow, where it takes you on a true conceptial journey trip. Cheesy and anthemy at most times and always with a true sense of psychedelic (...) goa twist. A lot of euforia that can both be wonderful and sickening. For me the album is quality on top of not quality on top of what was and is. I guess I'll give it a 7 out of 10

 

[RTP]

Cleaned up the trash. Sorry if anything meaningful went with it, but I didn't feel, that it would do the topic much good if I left it here...

Thanks for pointing it out.

5 hours ago, AstralSphinx said:

And back to topic thanks for making these video reviews Tsotsi! They are very good. 

This exactly

cheers

[GS Concept]

Thank you, good job. 

For not be off topic my favorite 3 tracks from album:

- Solar Warden - just killer morning sound
- Unidentified - very strange alien track. It looks like classic modern goa but when i hear synths with deep attention it looks like very experimental sound imo. I very want test it on dancefloor. 
-  Secret Space - i understand why some guys very like it and some dont like. Its just special cosmic style of goa (my favorite).

All other tracks cool too, i think this music not classic goa in many moments, but level of Artifact303 skill very high and i enjoy all tracks.

It was very interestring and long adventure work with this album. I hope we will continue work with Zsolt in future.  

[Before Big Bang]

This album is amazing!
Deep, Euphoric, Uplifting, Psychedelic.
Each track of this album is exclusive and attractive, mesmerizing into its own world.
Listening to this album, you can experience the state of euphoria of paradise places, you can  feel  levitating in a dance , you can experience the state of contemplation of the UFO phenomenon, and also go on an intergalactic journey.
The artist perfectly conveyed the concept in the atmosphere of music.
This album can be described as  harmony of technology and spirit.

Thank you Zsolt Peter & GS Music

[astralprojection]

Trivia. The track the divine plan. 

It's a beautiful track. It samples a lady, that was also sampled for Lost Tribe - Gamemaster. 

Really cool. 

Here's the original sample. 

 

[Tsotsi]

On 6/8/2021 at 8:20 PM, psytones said:

Now, back to the space of ARTIFACT303's FROM THE STARS album:

1. 
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

BRB short review coming up: -- is Bandcamp down? 

 

I believe we were all promised a review

[psytones]

1 hour ago, Tsotsi said:

I believe we were all promised a review

jah man coming up ive just been too busy pimpin', and hiking mountains with my dog. Speaking of your point, same goes for the Suntrip 50th release And the Aion name copyright info-dilemma. *my head is on it*. Anyway, way the go filling this review topic even more up with unrelated text to the music. When I do make the short review I hope you'll edit yours here and have it say (to the Admin) DELETE ME. I'll do the same. Ps. Notice how i removed my offtopic stuff from my originaø post? .. Btw. My heart hurts reading how much astralprotrction apologiezed for writing His honest opinion review of the album. He should not have to so strongly apologize for it .. Which reminds me of my saying, "tastes are like asses, they are divided and usually they stink". 

[Tsotsi]

22 minutes ago, psytones said:

Anyway, way the go filling this review topic even more up with unrelated text to the music. When I do make the short review I hope you'll edit yours here and have it say (to the Admin) DELETE ME.

Cheers man, i'm just playing around, write a review, don't write a review, life's busy and it aint easy pimpin'

 

[DoktorG]

The second Goa album from Artifact 303 piqued my interest as I enjoyed the first album, so here's my review after quite a few listens. 

When I first got "Back to Space" back in 2011, I was initially underwhelmed. It seemed not to be the best of both worlds, but to fall between two stools. On the one hand, it had the manic, sometimes indigestible, layerism of nu skool Goa that throws everything including the kitchen sink at the listener. On the other hand, it seemed to be a fairly straightforward copy of Astral Projection that wasn't original enough to justify its existence. So ran my initial thoughts. But over time, "Back to Space" sank into my consciousness and I started to enjoy it for its delicate melodies. It does have the weakness of a certain breathless quality that would benefit from pruning the endless pretty layers and more attention to spacing and pacing, but there are some great melodies on that album. 

10 years later and Peter Zsolt brings us another Goa artifact: "From the Stars". One thing is for sure, his basic template has not changed at all: this is still highly layeristic nu skool with a strong Astral Projection type melodic flavour. This brings both the joy in some fantastic melodies, and the limitation of a certain relentless breathlessness and prettiness, at least to this listener. What is a bit new is that there is a bit more full-on dancefloor influence on the sounds, especially early on in the album, and the album as a whole is less spacey as a result. Moreover, this album reminded me less of Astral Projection than the first; this new record reminded me of Oforia.

 

For me, the album doesn't start that well. I find "Apex" is a bit too nitzhonot for me, especially in the main melody and then the modulation of that melody that plays from the 5.20 point. All a bit too hands in the air ravey for me. 

"Astral Traveler" goes a bit deeper with more complex modulations of the main melody, though that main melody is again fairly cheesy and some of the synth stabs sound a bit predictably 80s. It sent me to Laughing Buddha's 1998 "Astral Traveller" track, but I am not too sure there is an obvious influence (I much preferred the altogether tougher psychedelia of Laughing Buddha btw). 

"Dreamland" starts better for me with a kinetic, bouncy rhythm section and then when the melodies kick in they are a bit lower in frequency and more swirly - nice deeper track than the first two (and I can't help but think of the great Asia 2001 album which has the same title). 

"Solar Warden"  has strong claims to be the best track on the album, going a bit more acidic and darker than the earlier tracks and gaining some heft and gravitas in the process. I like this track which has some super cool unpredictable transitions, like the staggered sounds at 4.30. 

"Unidentified" keeps up the trajectory into slightly harder sounds and has a gorgeous weirdo forest-style melody at 2.15 with all the mystery and intrigue that one might find in Battle of the Future Buddhas, for instance. Really cool background drones towards the end of this track. Another good track, though I think it might have done more with that forest melody!

With "Summer Storm" Artifact 303 continues the journey towards darker sounds - the album is quite carefully structured in that way. Nice sawing bass synths with a grinding quality at the start of the track. I'm not too convinced by the main melody at the 5.30 mark as it has a bit of old school hard house flavour - hard to describe - a certain hysteria that can grate in the wrong mood. I'm being over-picky here as I like this track, but I also don't like the vocal repeating "summer storm" towards the end. 

"Open Your Eyes" has an excellent rhythm section with really nice climbing and angular melodies, especially the main one at the 5 minute mark and onwards. I like this track almost as much as "Solar Warden". 

"Secret Space" is a kinda subdued, almost interior, track. However, it builds gradually and imperceptibly towards a helluva melodic climax that is truly psychedelic and trippy. I like this one. 

"The Divine Plan" heads back into more chintzy, uplifting territory. The sample works for me and helps lift the track into an overtly cosmic dimension. Lots of background noises, drones, swooshes and plinky plonks to dig into here. Yeah, I like this one too as it stays just this side of cheesy. 

"Wisdom Bringers" is the obligatory chill out track at the end of the album. This one goes way too plasticky for me with the synth sounds chosen for the main melody. I found this a weak psychill track. 

 

So for me this album does not start out so well with too much full-on psytrance/nitzho flavour for my tastes. Luckily it improves after this and is carefully and tastefully structured after track two. For me, "Solar Warden" is the track, though I enjoyed "Unidentified", "Open Your Eyes", "Secret Space" and "The Divine Plan" almost as much. I don't think this album is as good as the first one, primarily due to an occasionally malfunctional quality control filter, but it has some very good tracks. I kinda feel that the next album will be make or break for Artifact 303. More experimentalism away from the dancefloor will be key in my view. ~*~ 

[Aspartic]

Artifact303's debut album has been a long time nr. 1 in my list of all time goa albums. But this second one might take the spot now.
Initially I wanted to compare both albums, but this has no use whatsoever.
From The Stars is faster, more energetic, more aggressive, just more in-your-face. A different approach.
All tracks have a pumping energy and a spiral/tunnel-like vibe that draws you into the music of each track. That's an effort only the best achieve.

I simply love this album! Artifact303 remains the king. Hail to the king!

[Jon Cocco]

Well I don't mean to crash the party but I'm less impressed with this album, and I'm not going to hesitate to point out what I think is great (and not great) about it. I agree there's some great (excellent / superb) work, and I'd never call this a bad or average album. Almost any track will work on dance floors, though some are much stronger than others and I say keep to your winning horses. Let go of the routine and capitalize on your greatest marbles! That's what establishes super albums and I often intend my reviews to double as feedback, though like you all I'm sharing my honest, open thoughts. That said--

1.  Apex begins with a digitized synth, and a plesent albeit simplistic in structure and arrangement Goa sound that is easily topped, thanks to a superior synth at 1:48 >>> my favourite part. So far, so good... that is until 2:55 where the track gets repetitive. An interlude soon arrives, igniting the second albeit repetitive synthetic part, and it's here that the music grows conventional, inspired. The music improves at 5:00 but just for a moment until the artist transitions the music one final time.. It's not the change I was hoping. I'd describe the next 3-4 minutes as a Full On Club Trance. Ahhhh!!!!! It's so TYPICAL sounding and completely takes me out of the song. Actually it's not until the FINAL MINUTE that a healthier balance of Goa and Trance return to the cool feel earlier in the fifth minute. This track could have been great, but it chooses to take an extremely LAXY, FORMULAIC approach. Apex starts promising before devolving into formulaic, typical-sounding Club Trance where it completely loses my interest.  C

2.  Astral Traveler is a big improvement from before. This track has a heart and soul that I didn't see at first, and is my wife's favourite song on the album due to the terrific ending! The first third is a bit similar sounding (predictable/routine arrangement >>> could have been better). The development into ACT 2 is very nice thanks to ambient notes, Goa elements, catchier synths, and more. Also, ACT 3 is incredibly euphoric, warm, and uplifting in a positive way! Improved sound/melody work, FEELS (!!!), multiple key changes providing storytelling and substance is just part of it. Although it took an ACT to warm up where we were going (ACT 1 could have been stronger in that regard), the song beautiful, well done! I find this so much more enjoyable and engaging than Apex, and sadly, the one track that follows.  B+ / A-

3.  Dreamland is typical and formulaic, routine sounding CLUB TRANCE (the fuck??!) with a touch of Goa so slight in the middle that I hardly cared for fear the last act would undue ACT 2 via Apex. The overall sound and direction here is so predictable, with a very been-there / done-that feel throughout. The song offers nothing new, as if the label requested a more commercial, by-the-numbers dance number. Just why??! This artist is so much more creative, intelligent, and talented than this! I can't help but feel the desperation to appeal to a wider audience, preferably not in a redundant way. People like fun, danceable tracks that don't sound like stereo typical Club Trance! I acknowledge the very catchy, little echoed beeping melody accent in the last minute. Where was that the whole time? Aside from that, Dreamland is generic, Full on Club Trance and the most commercial sounding track I've ever heard from Artifact303.  C-

4.  Solar Warden has some very catchy sound/melody (Goa-Trance) work in ACT 2. Unfortunately, the overall structure and arrangement of ACT 3 reverts back to a less pure Goa sound a la Trance-friendly motions. I wish the artist committed and further developed the purer, melody-licious tunes of ACT 2 into ACT 3.  B-

5. Unidentified stands out as a favorite to me. It has a smart, catchy tune that gets stuck in my head (so simple, works wonders!) and is wildly danceable. ACT 2 could have been stronger, more fun and memorable. It's not bad by any means, and I realize you don't want the lead to grow tiresome, but at least make ACT 2 more interesting and engaging (is my constructive feedback). The in-my-face main synth in the 4th into 5th minute felt routine, repetitive, and formulaic compared to everything else. Fortunately, the artist brings back the best part back with added growth and development in ACT 3, and I'm hooked all over again. Honestly ACT 2 could have been shorter (tighter in that sense) and ACT 3 with its wonderful growth and signature synth star return could have been meatier, a little longer, but what are you going to do? This is a strong Trancey dance number despite a weaker ACT 2. It's shows that-- however simple, one can make a fantastic track with the right sounds, mixing, and arrangement (ingredients). Well done!  A- / A

6. Summer Storm begins fresh, zippy and quite Goa-esque! It reminds me of one of Artifact303's best tracks-- Leviathan Dance after the second minute. That nighttime sound is so sleek and sexy. Then at around 3:30 the music sounds juvenile with its sound effects and beat. Get that out of there and replace it with something powerful! The part that soon follows is far catchier and the Goa rhythm develops into something more intense, rhythmic, and psychedelic. Cue climactic lead and this is doing things right despite the somewhat simplistic arrangement. I like the edgy Goa sound in ACT 3, as it incorporates some of the sleek, sexy feel from ACT 1.  At this point I'm confused because this album can't seem to make up its mind with whether it wants to sound contrived, repetitive, and afraid to take risks, or create and develop greatness onto of greatness.  B+

7. Open Your Eyes is sleek. It covers less ground, with fewer ideas, ACT 1 grows too similar sounding to me despite it being fairly catchy in sound. A new technologic synth improves ACT 2 followed by more variety, though a more elegant/tasty synth could have complimented the more aggressive, rough synths, approach. The song climaxes towards the end with an energetic, strong synths, though again, I find the arrangement, sound selection and overall direction repetitive and lacking to what we've come to go-- WOW, that's catchy and different! This gets predictable towards the end (arrangement, complimentary elements-wise), but it'll certainly be effective on dance floors.  B

8. Secret Space starts great. Early on is exciting and the ambient notes convey feels, helping to flesh out a story. Although the excitement / ACT 1 seems to run out of steam, the song is pushed up by a healthy ACT 2 that develops the music. I can't predict where the music is going unlike numerous prior tracks and I love that, even if the artist repeats some elements with greater rhythm and complimentary ingredients, e.g., a Pleiadian synth that skips and is soon accentuated by clear, piano-esque notes, playing a distinct melody that enhances the complexity of the whole. For the album's emphasis on Trance-friendly style, this is a strong track!  B+ / A-

9. The Devine Plan is a fairly progressive, gentle, uplifting morning Trance number. The song is peaceful and the conscious aware samples attract me. Having said that, it's a bit formulaic, contrived sounding via sounds, arrangement, and overall direction. Still it's not bad but not as memorable as it could have been. ACT 3 is very nice, providing a warmer (euphoric) climax. The song's grown on me despite being fairly structurally/sound-wise predictable and risk-free like much of the album. I do appreciate the non-banger approach though after the previous four digits  B- / B

10. Wisdom Bringers is pleasant, harmless. It has a nice sound, beat, a touch of ethnic/world influence. The artist could have closed things with a stronger downtempo track, or one more akin to the Goa style more prevalent in BACK TO SPACE, but he took a risk here to include this, as it is unexpected and different-- and hey, at least he didn't put it in the middle of the album a la debut! The song isn't bad. It's not that memorable either and sounds like it would maybe be better suited on a downtempo compilation. Decent, fairly good overall. I believe he can make stronger, more imaginative, fun/entertaining down (and mid) tempo ones too that better compliment the stylistic vision of the album. That said, it's nice (I enjoy it more without the voices to be honest) and appreciate the slight Psy/Goa touches in the second half.  B-

COONCLUSION

An arguably solid album that is too formulaic (and/or Club Trancey-ish in sound, structure and arrangement at times while maintaining some strong Trance (and Goa influenced Trance) songs and elements, as well as a few super dance-floor bangers to boot. Though friendly for dance floors and almost entirely RISK-FREE, I miss the purer, punchier, less linear Goa approach that BACK TO SPACE had. I really loved the debut album despite some shortcomings-- its few weaker first half (Tracks 2, 3, 4). Similar to the debut, TO THE STARS improves in the second half, though its style, sound, and the way numerous songs are structured and composited (the overall direction) is definitely more mainstream friendly (and predictable sounding at times) for dance floors. There are things-- elements, melodies, moments- almost entire songs I really like/love here (praised above). There are Goa elements/Goa songs(!), and I simply wish the artist didn't limit his mind to more contrived structures, arrangements, and synths at times, as that reduces how expansive, imaginative, and well-- ground-breakingly CATCHY the album could have been while also being fun, danceable, and mainstream friendly! What we have is something good- sometimes great, and occasionally too rudimentary and routine (going through the motions) to my ears and mind. But there's greatness nonetheless including some of the best dance songs I've heard all yar. In the end, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I love strong songs and when I don't land on one, I get bored quick. But oh.. oh.. those moments and tracks I cannot deny. Give it a listen and decide for yourself.

HIGHLIGHTS:  2, 5, 6, 8

B / B+

 

[astralprojection]

@Jon Cocco nice unbiased, objective review! you really nailed it tbh.

 

[GhostOnAcid]

On 7/26/2021 at 7:42 PM, Jon Cocco said:

Well I don't mean to crash the party but I'm less impressed with this album,

Hehe.

No problem. Some critical voices are missing here. As I said before i am not a big fan of the current goa, maybe since the second album of Median Project.

A big benefit goes to the great production quality, mixdown sounds very clean. But maybe at the end it can be the problem, that its sound to perfect, to digital, i think. And at the end with the formualic, generic melodies it bores me. Musically, it doesn't bother me at all. It seems Goa nowaday is reduced of cliche and typical elements.

What do you mean with club trance? Uplifting trance? Talla 2XLC?
The closeness to psytrance and fullon is right, i think. Both i dont like (anymore).

 

On 7/27/2021 at 1:03 AM, AstralSphinx said:

That he did indeed seem to have made some Full-On or perhaps Progressive tracks? So that could explain the fusion of styles you noticed on this album Jon Cocco?

Instead of experiment with elements of Progressive and Full On its for me more interessting to experiment with genres outside of the psy scene: techno, breaks, house and so on.

[Novoice]

Best track for me Solar Warden... Apex, Unidentified and Secret Space comes next. Rest is nice enough that I want to listen to it many times... and again...

Overall 4,5/5 = very, very good. Production quality top notch. Trancy stuff.

[Jon Cocco]

On 7/29/2021 at 3:55 PM, GhostOnAcid said:

What do you mean with club trance? Uplifting trance? Talla 2XLC?

Club Trance = Uplifting in the sense of sounding contrived, formulaic, more typical and conventional (not taking risks or allowing for greater innovation as a whole to distinguish itself) trance.

PS:  Sorry for the late reply GhostOnAcid. I was locked out of my account for some time, felt inspired after a while to create the new password when I had more free time and saw your response. I've been immersed in post-production for a film I'm editing.

Some of my other thoughts...

Some of the album is less conventional and shares influences to his previous work. And IMO he went too Full On here at times, though there's some great yet there's some track(s) and moments of tracks mentioned throughout the tread. Regarding going too Full On as some have said, my suggestion is to split the difference.

Also I'd consider the general consensus- tracks people really like vs don't like or like less, with make adjustments for the next album.

I love Unidentified and I really like Astral Traveler's second, especially third act, Summer Storm, Solar Warden, and Secret Spaces are good too IMO.

I just don't want to see this artist turn into another Full On commercial (by the numbers, predictable and typical sounding a la  Talamasca. It's important to be mindful of one's inspiration for growth, expanded growth and development(!), imagination and standards for greatness. I get what sells and we also seem to agree (generally speaking) on what's catchier whereas some tracks have split consensus. He's still producing music that's entertaining, fun,  and engaging thankfully, if not as consistently for as many in the more imaginative Goa realm, and that's fine to some degree if it's good!

[RTP]

On 7/26/2021 at 7:42 PM, Jon Cocco said:

Well I don't mean to crash the party but I'm less impressed with this album, and I'm not going to hesitate to point out what I think is great (and not great) about it. I agree there's some great (excellent / superb) work, and I'd never call this a bad or average album. Almost any track will work on dance floors, though some are much stronger than others and I say keep to your winning horses. Let go of the routine and capitalize on your greatest marbles! That's what establishes super albums and I often intend my reviews to double as feedback, though like you all I'm sharing my honest, open thoughts. That said--

1.  Apex begins with a digitized synth, and a plesent albeit simplistic in structure and arrangement Goa sound that is easily topped, thanks to a superior synth at 1:48 >>> my favourite part. So far, so good... that is until 2:55 where the track gets repetitive. An interlude soon arrives, igniting the second albeit repetitive synthetic part, and it's here that the music grows conventional, inspired. The music improves at 5:00 but just for a moment until the artist transitions the music one final time.. It's not the change I was hoping. I'd describe the next 3-4 minutes as a Full On Club Trance. Ahhhh!!!!! It's so TYPICAL sounding and completely takes me out of the song. Actually it's not until the FINAL MINUTE that a healthier balance of Goa and Trance return to the cool feel earlier in the fifth minute. This track could have been great, but it chooses to take an extremely LAXY, FORMULAIC approach. Apex starts promising before devolving into formulaic, typical-sounding Club Trance where it completely loses my interest.  C

2.  Astral Traveler is a big improvement from before. This track has a heart and soul that I didn't see at first, and is my wife's favourite song on the album due to the terrific ending! The first third is a bit similar sounding (predictable/routine arrangement >>> could have been better). The development into ACT 2 is very nice thanks to ambient notes, Goa elements, catchier synths, and more. Also, ACT 3 is incredibly euphoric, warm, and uplifting in a positive way! Improved sound/melody work, FEELS (!!!), multiple key changes providing storytelling and substance is just part of it. Although it took an ACT to warm up where we were going (ACT 1 could have been stronger in that regard), the song beautiful, well done! I find this so much more enjoyable and engaging than Apex, and sadly, the one track that follows.  B+ / A-

3.  Dreamland is typical and formulaic, routine sounding CLUB TRANCE (the fuck??!) with a touch of Goa so slight in the middle that I hardly cared for fear the last act would undue ACT 2 via Apex. The overall sound and direction here is so predictable, with a very been-there / done-that feel throughout. The song offers nothing new, as if the label requested a more commercial, by-the-numbers dance number. Just why??! This artist is so much more creative, intelligent, and talented than this! I can't help but feel the desperation to appeal to a wider audience, preferably not in a redundant way. People like fun, danceable tracks that don't sound like stereo typical Club Trance! I acknowledge the very catchy, little echoed beeping melody accent in the last minute. Where was that the whole time? Aside from that, Dreamland is generic, Full on Club Trance and the most commercial sounding track I've ever heard from Artifact303.  C-

4.  Solar Warden has some very catchy sound/melody (Goa-Trance) work in ACT 2. Unfortunately, the overall structure and arrangement of ACT 3 reverts back to a less pure Goa sound a la Trance-friendly motions. I wish the artist committed and further developed the purer, melody-licious tunes of ACT 2 into ACT 3.  B-

5. Unidentified stands out as a favorite to me. It has a smart, catchy tune that gets stuck in my head (so simple, works wonders!) and is wildly danceable. ACT 2 could have been stronger, more fun and memorable. It's not bad by any means, and I realize you don't want the lead to grow tiresome, but at least make ACT 2 more interesting and engaging (is my constructive feedback). The in-my-face main synth in the 4th into 5th minute felt routine, repetitive, and formulaic compared to everything else. Fortunately, the artist brings back the best part back with added growth and development in ACT 3, and I'm hooked all over again. Honestly ACT 2 could have been shorter (tighter in that sense) and ACT 3 with its wonderful growth and signature synth star return could have been meatier, a little longer, but what are you going to do? This is a strong Trancey dance number despite a weaker ACT 2. It's shows that-- however simple, one can make a fantastic track with the right sounds, mixing, and arrangement (ingredients). Well done!  A- / A

6. Summer Storm begins fresh, zippy and quite Goa-esque! It reminds me of one of Artifact303's best tracks-- Leviathan Dance after the second minute. That nighttime sound is so sleek and sexy. Then at around 3:30 the music sounds juvenile with its sound effects and beat. Get that out of there and replace it with something powerful! The part that soon follows is far catchier and the Goa rhythm develops into something more intense, rhythmic, and psychedelic. Cue climactic lead and this is doing things right despite the somewhat simplistic arrangement. I like the edgy Goa sound in ACT 3, as it incorporates some of the sleek, sexy feel from ACT 1.  At this point I'm confused because this album can't seem to make up its mind with whether it wants to sound contrived, repetitive, and afraid to take risks, or create and develop greatness onto of greatness.  B+

7. Open Your Eyes is sleek. It covers less ground, with fewer ideas, ACT 1 grows too similar sounding to me despite it being fairly catchy in sound. A new technologic synth improves ACT 2 followed by more variety, though a more elegant/tasty synth could have complimented the more aggressive, rough synths, approach. The song climaxes towards the end with an energetic, strong synths, though again, I find the arrangement, sound selection and overall direction repetitive and lacking to what we've come to go-- WOW, that's catchy and different! This gets predictable towards the end (arrangement, complimentary elements-wise), but it'll certainly be effective on dance floors.  B

8. Secret Space starts great. Early on is exciting and the ambient notes convey feels, helping to flesh out a story. Although the excitement / ACT 1 seems to run out of steam, the song is pushed up by a healthy ACT 2 that develops the music. I can't predict where the music is going unlike numerous prior tracks and I love that, even if the artist repeats some elements with greater rhythm and complimentary ingredients, e.g., a Pleiadian synth that skips and is soon accentuated by clear, piano-esque notes, playing a distinct melody that enhances the complexity of the whole. For the album's emphasis on Trance-friendly style, this is a strong track!  B+ / A-

9. The Devine Plan is a fairly progressive, gentle, uplifting morning Trance number. The song is peaceful and the conscious aware samples attract me. Having said that, it's a bit formulaic, contrived sounding via sounds, arrangement, and overall direction. Still it's not bad but not as memorable as it could have been. ACT 3 is very nice, providing a warmer (euphoric) climax. The song's grown on me despite being fairly structurally/sound-wise predictable and risk-free like much of the album. I do appreciate the non-banger approach though after the previous four digits  B- / B

10. Wisdom Bringers is pleasant, harmless. It has a nice sound, beat, a touch of ethnic/world influence. The artist could have closed things with a stronger downtempo track, or one more akin to the Goa style more prevalent in BACK TO SPACE, but he took a risk here to include this, as it is unexpected and different-- and hey, at least he didn't put it in the middle of the album a la debut! The song isn't bad. It's not that memorable either and sounds like it would maybe be better suited on a downtempo compilation. Decent, fairly good overall. I believe he can make stronger, more imaginative, fun/entertaining down (and mid) tempo ones too that better compliment the stylistic vision of the album. That said, it's nice (I enjoy it more without the voices to be honest) and appreciate the slight Psy/Goa touches in the second half.  B-

COONCLUSION

An arguably solid album that is too formulaic (and/or Club Trancey-ish in sound, structure and arrangement at times while maintaining some strong Trance (and Goa influenced Trance) songs and elements, as well as a few super dance-floor bangers to boot. Though friendly for dance floors and almost entirely RISK-FREE, I miss the purer, punchier, less linear Goa approach that BACK TO SPACE had. I really loved the debut album despite some shortcomings-- its few weaker first half (Tracks 2, 3, 4). Similar to the debut, TO THE STARS improves in the second half, though its style, sound, and the way numerous songs are structured and composited (the overall direction) is definitely more mainstream friendly (and predictable sounding at times) for dance floors. There are things-- elements, melodies, moments- almost entire songs I really like/love here (praised above). There are Goa elements/Goa songs(!), and I simply wish the artist didn't limit his mind to more contrived structures, arrangements, and synths at times, as that reduces how expansive, imaginative, and well-- ground-breakingly CATCHY the album could have been while also being fun, danceable, and mainstream friendly! What we have is something good- sometimes great, and occasionally too rudimentary and routine (going through the motions) to my ears and mind. But there's greatness nonetheless including some of the best dance songs I've heard all yar. In the end, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I love strong songs and when I don't land on one, I get bored quick. But oh.. oh.. those moments and tracks I cannot deny. Give it a listen and decide for yourself.

HIGHLIGHTS:  2, 5, 6, 8

B / B+

 

Hello Jon Cocco! It's a delight for me that I have the pleasure to comment on a review of yours, I think this is a first

I almost missed this delightful album due to the drama caused by Psychedelic Superbeast. Man, that put me off ... I completely forgot about it - until I finally got shown the beauty by having discovered one of the tracks in @Basilisk's "Saturnine Exapnsion" mix ... there he put the Divine Plan in -- which I discovered after a few hits'n'misses guessing the track from the list -- and that got my attention, because it was my favourite track in that mix. So I checked the album out and found the thread again. Thus, I am now the excavator of this topic ... but it's not that long anyway...

I come to a truly interesting conclusion: I seem to be attracted particularly to the tracks which you find weaker (Apex is an exception - I am with you on that).
Not only it is for my mind easier to follow the more simplistic structure, I also would feel that in the simpler tracks there is more "light" in the air, more uplifting feel and I like that more than the "complexity bonus" of the tracks that you point out as more interesting for you.

I'm a huge, huge fan of Astral Traveler (candidate for best track on album for me), I like Dreamland a very big lot (reminds me of modern Astral Projection), Solar Warden is also very very good for me -- and then my euphoria kinda takes a break, only to return for Divine Plan (second candidate for best track on album for me).

Tracks 5 to 8 are in NO WAY bad, don't get me wrong. They are very good! It's just that on my personal level, I feel more attracted to the aforementioned ones than to the others.

I think I have a somewhat high sensitivity towards these "more goa power" tracks and they tend to contain too much energy for me. Which is why I always approach real oldskool Goa Trance with a certain respect mentally, knowing of its power. My consumption of real old school Goa was and is scarce, in the past I had compilations, not albums ... which facilitated the practice to make breaks between tracks ... and I had the fortunate case to pretty soon drop into that pocket dimension of old progressive, where I have built my mental hideout and where my mind is not exposed to so many sound stimuli
Fun fact: the first Filteria album I may have played only twice or three times - once, deeming it too strong ... and then saving it up for migraine attacks (I can guarantee this technique has a profound effect, I can see music in geometric forms and in colours when on a migraine).
So, actually it's GOOD in my perspective that this is a more accessible album than the first by Artifact 303. I personally might probably not have enjoyed it that much if it wasn't. Anyway, maybe my ramblings can contribute to enrich the dialogue and see something positive in the fact that the album may not be as "intense" (?) as you have hoped...?

I also like the tenth track by the way

Summing up: it's a phenomenal album for me and I LOVE it - albeit maybe not for the same reasons as others on here

[RTP]

On 8/5/2022 at 11:56 PM, Magus Knight said:

It would be interesting to hear from Artifact303 himself, what his main inspirations and themes were for this album.

 

I would like to hear that too!
Maybe @mars or @Global Sect have his contact info and can point him to this thread? That would be  b e a u t i f u l  

[artifact303]

Hi

Thanks everyone for the reviews, opinions and your support.

About influence: I enjoy some psyprog and psytrance for their clean modern mixes and productions, so I challenged myself (learned) to do a similar modern production, but also to stay true to "goa trance" as much as possible. I had to find a balance. That's why some tracks have psytrance and psyprog influence.

I could say the motivation and inspiration came from learning new production standards by myself, for myself.

As for the feel of the tracks, as RTP very nicely pointed out, some tracks have a "light" and others a "dark-er" tone/feel. I enjoy and make both styles, depending how I feel in the moment.

[artifact303]

12 hours ago, Magus Knight said:

Do you create your kick drums from scratch?

Yes, I created all kicks carefully with Sonic Academy Kick 2 plugin. Kick and bass are very important for trance IMO, so a lot of care is put in to them.

[astralprojection]

@artifact303

what a treat to get both filteria and artifact303 on the forum in such a small window of time..

Its rare to say the least. Thanks for your commentary.