DoktorG Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 Astral Projection Let There Be Light (12", 33 ⅓ RPM, EP) SUNCDEP02 Tracks: Filteria–Filtertraces (Astral Projection Remix)10:08 Astral Projection–Let There Be Light (Filteria Remix)8:55 Astral Projection–Enlightened Evolution (Morphic Resonance Remix)10:21 Astral Projection–Another World (2017 Remix)9:21 I'm reviewing the vinyl 12" edition of this fine ep. Really excellent sound on this 12" courtesy of the masterful mastering of Tim Schuldt. A good quality pressing. Filteria–Filtertraces (Astral Projection Remix)10:08 Astral Projection's remix of Filteria's "Filtertraces" sounds so classically AP that Filteria seems neither here nor there - a very sweet epic track that hovers on the edge of the saccharine towards the end, but in the right mood is a bomb. The masters of melody do not fail to deliver. Astral Projection–Let There Be Light (Filteria Remix)8:55 Filteria returns the favour with a remix of "Let There be Light": this is altogether tougher and faster with the bigger bass of nu skool Goa. The lead melody is perhaps a bit forward in the mix, making it strident - this spoils part of this remix, which I can't fully rate. Astral Projection–Enlightened Evolution (Morphic Resonance Remix)10:21 The Morphic Resonance remix of AP's "Enlightened Evolution" doesn't have shrill leads or cheesy modulations, but it can't really be said to add much, if anything, to the original, which I prefer. Two not such great remixes from the nu skool guys then. I notice that neither of them has the perfect sound that Astral manage; their production is just not as subtle. Astral Projection–Another World (2017 Remix)9:21 Then it is the turn of Astral to remix their own track "Another World" from the album of that name. Ahhh, sweet bliss. This is almost indescribably awesome: pure spirituality in aural form. I felt my body dissolving into a sea of pulsating pixels to this track. For me "Dancing Galaxy" and "Another World" are their best albums, and that this track seems to attain another level of beauty in this remix seems miraculous to me. Wow! I'm afraid I have no choice but to conclude that the old school masters showed these Johnny-come-latelies a thing or two. I am not suggesting at all that Filteria and Morphic Resonance are less than very good, but I am suggesting that Astral Projection's production values are on another level of mind-bending subtlety. Two great remixes from Astral Projection, the other two are not as memorable. ~*~ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoktorG Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 3 hours ago, Magus Knight said: @DoktorGSpeaking of vinyls as you reviewed this EP in the vinyl format, I read yesterday in the news that 2022 was a record year for vinyl sales in the United States. Even higher sales than in the early 90s. I wonder if this has been reflected in the sales of Goa/Psy vinyls as well? Perhaps all the Goa/Psy vinyl collectors and labels who continued to push the format were actually ahead of the curve rather than backwards-striving? What should we push next, maybe a Minidisc or DAT-revival? The thing about physical media is that it is just so much more memorable, not to mention literally tangible, than the anonymity of the giant digital akashic library in cyberspace. Yes, it is less green, but if it is good art that is being pressed, then that is not such a problem. What we don't need is trees being cut down for airport novels, if you catch my drift. I personally prefer the sound of analogue, even if the original recording is digital - it has a visceral warmth that speaks to my body directly. Goa trance sounds amazing on vinyl, provided you have a top hifi - mo psychedelic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsotsi Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 People might be starting to learn that an endless supply of music streaming hasn't made them more excited for music but rather some background noise that they don't need to think about. Vinyl feels more real as far as a listening experience goes. I still like digital. But need to force myself to listen to an album through and through without skipping to some other new release halfway through. AP really do nail it in their subtlety you got that right. Filteria and Morphic just seem like the least subtle artists in the genre and aren't known for their delicate touch. You would think you could get some synergy there, a new approach rather than someone else with a soft touch coming to do what AP has already done. But it's hard to move past such a classic sound. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoktorG Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 On 1/26/2023 at 3:51 AM, Tsotsi said: Filteria and Morphic just seem like the least subtle artists in the genre and aren't known for their delicate touch. Thanks for your comment Tsotsi; I tend to agree with you that Filteria and Morphic Resonance are not the most subtle of artists (which is not to say that subtlety is automatically good or that being upfront is necessarily bad). For me they tend to over-indulge in maximalism at times, what I think of as manic layerism - just a bit too busy, which can become tiring. Nevertheless, I do think that the first two Filteria albums are mostly very good and Morphic Resonance's City of Moons is a neo-Goa classic in my estimation, with a particularly evocative dirty apocalypse kind of atmosphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsotsi Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 20 hours ago, DoktorG said: Thanks for your comment Tsotsi; I tend to agree with you that Filteria and Morphic Resonance are not the most subtle of artists (which is not to say that subtlety is automatically good or that being upfront is necessarily bad). Absolutely agree. No value judgements needed for Goa, it has all kinds of shapes. Morphic Resonance blew my mind more than several times through City of Moons. Agree with your estimation of that album. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoktorG Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 Yeah, City of Moons is a contemporary Ultimate Experience; both albums are awesome. I sometimes think that whereas Ultimate Experience puts you on Mars, City of Moons puts you in a ruined megalopolis on Mars. I can't help but think that Jules Villeneuve missed a trick by not edging out some Hans Zimmer and putting a track from City of Moons at an appropriate point or two in Bladerunner 2049. The vaulting arpeggios on this album would really put the audience's hearts in their mouths and spin their heads with some of the imagery from this film. But I'm wandering away from Astral Projection. I'm not sure if you heard this, but if further proof were needed (which it ain't), that Astral Projection still have "it", this came out last year. Some dissed it, on this forum and elsewhere, for being fluffy and simple. I couldn't disagree more: listen with an open mind and heart and this is so deep, so harmonic, so beautiful, such a wonderful blend of form and content, so inevitable, that all barriers, expectations, criticisms, melt into insignificance. Truly eternity now: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoktorG Posted November 20, 2023 Author Share Posted November 20, 2023 2 hours ago, Parasphere said: Love it, very classic euphoric cosmic trance, ala MWNN etc. And indeed the classic AP sound of course. The style-ID is well defined and works as it should. Clear vision, not any unnessecary sounds IMO. The tracks I like the most from AP,have hypnotic repetitive waves of euphoric layers, that unfold gradually. Chaos beeing my fav so far in that style. Thanks Parasphere. I'm happy we implicitly agree that complexity is no guarantee of psychedelia or good music. You can pile on mega layers, but this can just create a chaotic mess and lose subtle textures and feeling. I've got no issue with complexity, but this idea that simplicity is bad is itself not good. For me, simplicity is the ultimate elegance. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry had it: "it seems that perfection is attained, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astralprojection Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 On 1/31/2023 at 2:31 PM, DoktorG said: listen with an open mind and heart and this is so deep, so harmonic, so beautiful, such a wonderful blend of form and content, so inevitable, that all barriers, expectations, criticisms, melt into insignificance. Truly eternity now: It's one of the worst AP tracks in 10+ years.. Literally one melody repeating over and over and over. This track is god awful. Deep? Harmonic? Beautiful? Dafuq. But that's funny. One forum but people on completely opposite sides. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prana4ever Posted November 26, 2023 Share Posted November 26, 2023 On 11/20/2023 at 4:42 PM, astralprojection said: It's one of the worst AP tracks in 10+ years.. Literally one melody repeating over and over and over. There are three different melodies in that track. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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