acid being Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 (edited) Various Artists - Acidum Influxum Suntrip Records – SUNCD77 What an exciting gem of a compilation we have here from Suntrip Records! If you love old school acidic Goa trance you may have been frustrated by a dearth of quality tunes from the big names in recent years. If so, I am pleased to tell you Suntrip and the artists have exceled themselves in putting this compilation together. My mind was blown by acid lines the like of which I had never imagined before. 1. Etnica - Golden Era 08:53 2. InnerZone - Heavens Gate 09:46 3. Hypnoxock - Magma 08:13 4. GoaD - Slayed303 06:35 5. Fiery Dawn - Fluoro Acid 07:20 6. Antidot & DICA - Soulbinder 07:50 7. SETI Project - Psychedelic Acid 08:08 8. Battle of the Future Buddhas - Tenderlion (Anthem Remix) 08:01 9. Binary Bliss - Analog Ascent 09:36 1. Etnica - Golden Era A stunningly good and hard track and it delighted me that Etnica are still releasing such classics today! 9/10 2. InnerZone - Heavens Gate We have eastern singing with a lovely wobbly acid line that goes great with the hard kick and bass. Then the acid goes wonderfully crazy, even more so towards the end where we get at least 2 or 3 acid lines simultaneously with lots of delay yet somehow it all fits together perfectly! 9/10 3. Hypnoxock - Magma This is very old school, hard acid with a slightly technoish feel. 8/10 4. GoaD - Slayed303 Another hard, driving track from a Danish newcomer to Suntrip. As the acid lines combine, this has a somewhat rougher, almost cacophonous feel which is nevertheless enjoyable. 6.5/10 5. Fiery Dawn - Fluoro Acid This one, from another newcomer to Suntrip but not to Goa trance , has an intriguing, hypnotic and quite dark beat with some wild, urgent sounding acid. 7/10 6. Antidot & DICA - Soulbinder Suntrip tells us these acid techno artists have recently been making Goa. This one is really trippy as synths wash over your ears in waves and some awesomely mean sounding croaky acid is let loose on your brain! 9/10 7. SETI Project - Psychedelic Acid Suntrip found an unreleased 90s track here. It sounds good now but remember what kind of impression this kind of music made back in the 90s! The acid is back to basics but nice, but that manic beat is fantastic. 7/10 8. Battle of the Future Buddhas - Tenderlion (Anthem Remix) I'm a fan of Battle of the Future Buddhas and really like the extra 303 treatment they gave this remix. 8/10 9. Binary Bliss - Analog Ascent Quite melodic acid here to end with a track which builds and builds and feels uplifting and yes euphoric as Suntrip wrote. 8/10 This is one of the best compilations I have heard in years. Well done, Suntrip. More of this kinda thing please! 9/10 https://suntriprecords.bandcamp.com/album/acidum-influxum Edited July 28 by acid being Clarified that Fiery Dawn is no newcomer to Goa trance :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoktorG Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 Etnica "Golden Era" First of all the alien atmosphere, then the bouncy bass, then the beat: that slapping kick and rattling percussion that Etnica perfected. Slightly loose, swinging, so easy to dance to. But I should have known that was just for starters, because when the 303 kicked in at 3.20 I felt every hair stand to attention and I thought "Fuuuuuck this is the sound I've been missing". The Italian masters know how to make a fractal melody like no one else. I wish the initial form of that melody came back later in the track, but what a bliss to get a blinding power Goa track from Etnica in 2023! It is like reuniting with your soul mate 24 years later because we haven't had a track like this from Etnica since "History" from Equator in 1999. The only question is why it took them so long to go back to the golden era. If they carry on making tracks like this we are in for a new golden era. Unfortunately, much of the rest of the compilation pales compared to this track, for me at least, but I must mention Antidot & DICA's searing "Soulbinder" which could light up a dancefloor, Inner Zone's blissed out "Heaven's Gate", and the whimsical trippiness of BotFB "Tenderlion (Anthem Remix)". Welcome back Etnica! ~*~ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acid being Posted June 13 Author Share Posted June 13 1 hour ago, DoktorG said: I wish the initial form of that melody came back later in the track, but what a bliss to get a blinding power Goa track from Etnica in 2023! It is like reuniting with your soul mate 24 years later because we haven't had a track like this from Etnica since "History" from Equator in 1999. The only question is why it took them so long to go back to the golden era. If they carry on making tracks like this we are in for a new golden era. Unfortunately, much of the rest of the compilation pales compared to this track, for me at least, but I must mention Antidot & DICA's searing "Soulbinder" which could light up a dancefloor, Inner Zone's blissed out "Heaven's Gate", and the whimsical trippiness of BotFB "Tenderlion (Anthem Remix)". Welcome back Etnica! ~*~ We're agreed on our favorite tracks on this compilation. Have you heard Etnica's UnIverso EP? I was going to write a review of that soon as well. A couple of the tracks on that are listed as remixes so I am unsure when they were originally released, but it has some of their classic Goa vibes I think, sort of halfway between Goa and psytrance maybe, though not quite as good as Golden Era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoktorG Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Thanks Acid Being. Yes, I did listen to the Etnica "Universo" ep and I liked it, but none of the tracks achieve take off like "Golden Era". I don't want to undermine your forthcoming review, but as you asked here's what I thought: "Different Species" is a collaboration with Ovnimoon to remix the Crop Circles (Etnica + Lotus Omega) original from the "Full Mental Jackpot" ep (1997). Excellent track. I think Ovnimoon is one of the best neoGoa/prog artists. "Chemical Brilliance" seems to be a new track and has a full on psytrance beat with fabulous Etnica melodies. Stunning melodies but the robotic beat works against them a bit for me. "Fireworks" is also a new track I think and has more of a techno vibe, like on Nitrox. I found this track a bit meandering and it didn't quite hold my attention, especially towards the end when it kind of peters out. Going back to Acidum Influxum, I think that it was a programming error to make the awesome "Golden Era" the first track; it set the bar a bit high for the following tracks. It would have been much better placed towards the end of the compilation I reckon. Overall, I felt the compilation lacked flow (admittedly only a few compilations really get this right). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astralprojection Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 I like the GoaD track slayer303. Most of the others were a little over the top. I was most surprised of the hyonocoxk track.. Didn't sound like him at all.. Acid is great when it fits, but acid just for the sake of it.. Meh... Not quite my flavor. The Antidot vs DICA track was also pretty good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acid being Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 On 6/14/2024 at 6:26 AM, DoktorG said: Thanks Acid Being. Yes, I did listen to the Etnica "Universo" ep and I liked it, but none of the tracks achieve take off like "Golden Era". I don't want to undermine your forthcoming review, but as you asked here's what I thought That's OK. You didn't undermine my review. I agree Golden Era is better, by the way. If and when I get around to writing the review, your thoughts have helped me and provided a bit of context I didn't have. Would you mind me using what you wrote in my review? On 6/14/2024 at 6:26 AM, DoktorG said: Going back to Acidum Influxum, I think that it was a programming error to make the awesome "Golden Era" the first track; it set the bar a bit high for the following tracks. It would have been much better placed towards the end of the compilation I reckon. Overall, I felt the compilation lacked flow (admittedly only a few compilations really get this right). Yes I see what you mean. I find the first two tracks the strongest of the compilation, with Golden Era probably marginally the better of those two over all, though I really love the climax of Heavens Gate. I think Suntrip put those first because of the slower tempo, with the idea that things would warm up to the faster tracks from there. Also, Golden Era did a great job of grabbing my attention. If it had opened with a poor track, I might not have got around to listening to the rest of it so soon. But in terms of overall flow I would agree it could be improved. It is a minor thing from my perspective though as I greatly enjoyed most of the tracks, really happy with a whole compilation of 303 focused Goa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acid being Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 On 6/14/2024 at 2:06 PM, astralprojection said: I like the GoaD track slayer303. Most of the others were a little over the top. I was most surprised of the hyonocoxk track.. Didn't sound like him at all.. Acid is great when it fits, but acid just for the sake of it.. Meh... Not quite my flavor. I guess that's one area where we may differ. The use of the 303 and similar acidic sounds made with other synths are the core part of what I love about Goa trance and I still listen to quite a bit of acid house where there's nothing more than wild 303 textures and an 808 beat. For my tastes, I am not sure it is possible for someone to go over the top with a 303. The more bold and outrageous the acid lines, the more I love them. It can still be done badly if it's not mixed well or the melody or effects aren't right, but that's not what I would call going over the top. The SETI Project track was for me an example of the acid being a bit too sedate and I would have rated it lower but that huge beat redeemed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoktorG Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 1 hour ago, acid being said: That's OK. You didn't undermine my review. I agree Golden Era is better, by the way. If and when I get around to writing the review, your thoughts have helped me and provided a bit of context I didn't have. Would you mind me using what you wrote in my review? Yes I see what you mean. I find the first two tracks the strongest of the compilation, with Golden Era probably marginally the better of those two over all, though I really love the climax of Heavens Gate. I think Suntrip put those first because of the slower tempo, with the idea that things would warm up to the faster tracks from there. Also, Golden Era did a great job of grabbing my attention. If it had opened with a poor track, I might not have got around to listening to the rest of it so soon. But in terms of overall flow I would agree it could be improved. It is a minor thing from my perspective though as I greatly enjoyed most of the tracks, really happy with a whole compilation of 303 focused Goa. You're most welcome to use what I wrote. I agree that nothing trumps quality tracks, but sets and comps with good flow create a journey. Ag I guess I'm just an Etnica fan; for me they are so plugged into cosmic power at their best that most everything else sounds a bit undramatic by comparison no matter the tempo. The kosmiche opera of trance. The production on this new track sounds promising; their old stuff was badly compressed, especially Alien Protein. Wild acid lines? Yum 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astralprojection Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 On 6/15/2024 at 5:10 PM, acid being said: I guess that's one area where we may differ. The use of the 303 and similar acidic sounds made with other synths are the core part of what I love about Goa trance and I still listen to quite a bit of acid house where there's nothing more than wild 303 textures and an 808 beat. For my tastes, I am not sure it is possible for someone to go over the top with a 303. The more bold and outrageous the acid lines, the more I love them. It can still be done badly if it's not mixed well or the melody or effects aren't right, but that's not what I would call going over the top. The SETI Project track was for me an example of the acid being a bit too sedate and I would have rated it lower but that huge beat redeemed it. i like acid, especially Acid Trance (ex: Earthbound Essence of life Trance version), is one of my most fav genres still. And ofc Goa where the Acid is just right. i.e SUN project - I feel for the more Goa style, and Bassline Baby- Altered states for the more Trance style. Btw, You said Fiery Dawn is a newcomer, thats not quite accurate 😃 well i guess thats a matter of opinion, but iirc he made some music back in 2014 also and has continued to make some music since. Thanks for your review and please do more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acid being Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 4 hours ago, astralprojection said: Btw, You said Fiery Dawn is a newcomer, thats not quite accurate 😃 well i guess thats a matter of opinion, but iirc he made some music back in 2014 also and has continued to make some music since. Thanks for your review and please do more. You're very welcome. I will do, sooner or later. About Fiery Dawn, I must admit I was just parroting Suntrip's own writeup where they meant he was a newcomer to their label. Still 2014 feels like only about five years ago to the likes of me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 Fiery Dawn started producing music from the beginning of 2000s 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acid being Posted July 28 Author Share Posted July 28 20 hours ago, Fiery said: Fiery Dawn started producing music from the beginning of 2000s Wow thanks. Review updated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsotsi Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 Interesting thoughts here. As always my taste is tested as I put the lower ranked tracks as my favs. Etnica was fine but not anywhere near my favourite or most memorable of their tracks. I'd put a track like Etnica - Surpressive Fire above this one. It's ofcourse technically competent and very well made but I don't get a very strong emotional connection from it nor is there a particular "High" that makes me saw "Wow". In that sense the rest of the comp isn't ruined for me at all. I find Goad, Fiery Dawn & Seti Projects to be the standouts with Fiery and Seti giving me moments where I need to do a double take, coming out of the tracks like "wtf just happened" Goads was incredibly hypnotic and circular like a spiral tunnel you're being shot down as you go around and around. BOTFB aren't usually my style, I don't have any real favourites from them and this track doesn't change that. I understand what others like about them but for me I probably need to see them live for it to properly connect. Quite like the dreamy Innerzone track. The final act brings it home but it's got nothing on tracks from the latest Odyssey album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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