Recently I’ve been purchasing more music from Beatport than ever before. Although I am known as a psytrance DJ my tastes are broadening and it’s a good place to look for progressive house and similar styles. The economics of purchasing psytrance on CD still prevails over digital downloads in most cases, whereas progressive house, electro, and trance songs are often…
This is the live recording of my set at Harvest 2006. I was opening the trance tent at 9:00 pm on the night of the festival so my intention was to get things started right, beginning with an old favourite from 1992. From there the set develops into progressive house and trance territory, keeping it all fairly low-key. The final…
Koxbox released World of Illusions on an obscure British label by the name of WTP (short for “Where’s The Party”) in 1993. A year later they were successfully courted by Sven Väth’s famous Harthouse label, where the group (then consisting of Frank E, Peter Candy, and Ian Ion) began to establish their reputation as one of…
The biggest shop in the U.K. is shutting down at the end of the month! From their mail-out: Chaos Unlimited, the original Psy Trance webstore, will close on 31st August 2006 after 10 years in the Psy Trance scene. This is due to personal health issues combined with the continued decline in Psy Trance CD sales.
Blue Room Released was founded by Simon Ghahary in 1994 to provide a “futuristic soundtrack” for the trailblazing loudspeaker company of the same name. Outside the Reactor, their first full-length release, was compiled by Mike Maguire, who remains entirely faithful to this mission. His selections trend toward the more techno-oriented side of trance music, and the overall vibe…
DJ Basilisk’s Octopus Marmalade is an exploration of the light and funky side of progressive psychedelic trance. These tracks were chosen for their intricate rhythmic programming, deep and groovy bass lines, warm summer melodies, and laid-back atmospheres. Instead of being a peak-time party mix, this one is crafted with smooth harmonic mixing for background listening in the car or at…
Late April of 2006 marks a full decade since my first experience of trance. Ten years ago I attended my first electronic music event: a party thrown by Syrous, one of Toronto’s early large-scale rave production organizations. The party was held in a huge warehouse complex in the industrial wastelands of the west end. Three rooms featured jungle, house, techno,…
Heliocentric is the sound of summer: sixteen upbeat tracks smoothly mixed into a journey that softly builds from thoughtful grooves toward an energetic peak. The introduction is purposefully sedate, though Cosma’s song rapidly catalyses the emotional power of the developing storyline. The mix keeps on pumping steadily until Jaïa’s From Tokyo, when a funky tribal twist alters the trajectory and…
Mystic Revelation is a curious blend of contrasts, uniting the forces of dark and light in a driven melodic journey. Ninja’s Show Time kicks it off, immediately involving the listener in a deep fusion of full-on energy and balanced atmospheric sounds. The slightly Gothic character of the mix becomes apparent by the time Dark Soho’s track glides in. The keystone…
Replicant Redux is a tribute to the grim futuristic mood of tech noir, an artistic style of literature and film best known from the movie Blade Runner. The flow of the set is programmed like a descent into dark realms of the imagination, beginning with a series of synthetic progressive grooves. From here, increasingly mechanical techtrance rhythms vividly flesh…