DJ Basilisk - In Exile

dj-basilisk-in-exile

In Exile is a special mix composed by Basilisk for Global Goa Party 2, a virtual party organized by Marsh at the Goat Ranch, a flashpoint for old school Goa trance fandom. The concept is simple enough: gather up a bunch of seasoned old school veterans and have them mix up a full night of music just as if it were some point in the not-so-distant past. The first event—for which I produced Moonshadow—landed us 1999.

This time we travel back to the year 1996, smack dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Goa trance. Bill Clinton is in the White House, Boris Yeltsin is in the Kremlin, the reigning human chess champion is defeated by a computer for the first time, and tantalizing evidence of life on other worlds captures headlines around the world. I am merely 15 years old, not yet fully initiated into the world of psychedelic trance, although the groundwork is already laid by my adolescent fascination with industrial music, cyberpunk fiction, and early dial-up BBSes. One of the aims of the Global Goa Party project is to provide an experience for those of us who did not have the good fortune to attend psytrance parties back in the day—myself included! (I first heard DJ Nivoc play Goa trance in April of 1996 but had no idea what was going on at the time.) For the 2:00am to 3:30am time slot I did my best to build from a hypnotizing introduction to a seething, storming climax, taking care to end on a high note.

Track Listing

  1. 01 The Infinity Project feat. Paul Jackson - Cybertropic TIP Records, 1995
  2. 02 Voodoo People - Drop the Bomb (Hint) TIP Records, 1995
  3. 03 Slinky Wizard - Wizard Flying Rhino Records, 1994
  4. 04 Koxbox - Loads of Flow (Cwithe's "Molecular" Mix) Harthouse, 1995
  5. 05 Rotortype - I Come in Peace (Hint) Planet Rhythm Records, 1995
  6. 06 Etnica - Astral Way Blue Room Released, 1995
  7. 07 N.D.M.A. - Vitan (Hint) Sub Terranean, 1996
  8. 08 Morphem - Magma Tunnel Records, 1996
  9. 09 Cygnus X - Kinderlied (Hint) Eye Q Records, 1995
  10. 10 Crop Circles - Full Mental Jackpot Auracle Records, 1996
  11. 11 Hallucinogen - Soothsayer (The Lysurgeon Warning Remix feat. Raja Ram & DJ Andre) TIP Records, 1996
  12. 12 Phreaky - Tornado Dragonfly Records, 1996
  13. 13 Four Carry Nuts - Weird Egg 3rd Ear, 1996
  14. 14 Green House Effect - Spawn Melodia Records, 1995
  15. 15 Cydonia - Screaming Darkness Blue Room Released, 1996
  16. 16 Transwave - The Rezwalker (Black Thunder Mix) Matsuri Productions, 1995
  17. 17 UX - Life Support Technology Dragonfly Records, 1996
  18. 18 Koxbox - Stratosfear Blue Room Released, 1996
  19. 19 Hallucinogen - Trancespotter Flying Rhino Records, 1996
  20. 20 X-Dream - Panic in Paradise TIP Records, 1996
  21. 21 Deviant Electronics - Catharsis Helix Records, 1997
  22. 22 Cosmosis - Howling at the Moon Transient Records, 1996
  23. 23 Laughing Buddha - Karma TIP Records, 1997
  24. 24 Infernal Machine - The Loin King Twisted Records, 1996
  25. 25 Paragliders - Paraglide Superstition Records, 1993

Notes

  • Working on this mix while travelling in Thailand was extraordinarily difficult, and I faced numerous hardships in having it prepared in time for the big radio broadcast, but I managed to pull it off while in a self-imposed exile—hence the title.
  • It was recorded in a sparsely-furnished jungle cabin just outside Thong Sala on the island of Koh Phangan with a pair of headphones (no monitors or other speakers), my humble Dell Latitude D620 laptop, a first generation Korg Nanokontrol, and Traktor 1.1.1.
  • The photograph on the cover depicts the ferry’s wake as it returns to the Thai mainland. It is a fitting image for this project—which is a nostalgic look back at a time in music history now long gone.
  • Without realizing it I included a pitched-up version of The Loin King taken from this 2CD release. It’s been so long since I heard the original version on vinyl that I didn’t recognize the discrepancy. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to have been digitally released anywhere else, so it’ll have to do.
  • A few alternatives that didn’t make the cut (taken from extensive notes taken in pre-production): Transwave – Code S9; Pleiadians – Jungle Trax; Elysium – Master of the Rainforest; Psychaos – Psychaos; and Chakra – Hallucinator.
  • This mix begins at 138 BPM and finishes at around 155 BPM so it’s quite a climb!
  • Phreaky’s Tornado has long been one of my favourite tracks. What I didn’t realize until putting this mix together is that it jumps from around 139 to 145 BPM at the breakdown.
  • 20,000 downloads and 4,000 listens as of March 2019.

Tags

Time Periods

Styles

Series: Global Goa Party

Global Goa Party is a series of virtual events organized by Marsh at the Goat Ranch, a blog dedicated to old school Goa trance. Each event is broadcast live on web radio, transporting listeners to some point in the past, while challenging DJs to produce a mix suitable for their time slot using only music available at that time. I assembled night-time sets for the years 1996, 1997, and 1999, which are all available here in their uncut, full-length versions.

  1. Moonshadow
  2. In Exile
  3. Blacklight Metropolis

26 Comments

  1. phreaky – tornado

    you got me there. love that track!!!!

    great trip down memory lane 😀

  2. Wow….lots of memories ! I´m really happy to find N.D.M.A – Vitan. When I had to compile the second PULSE compilation I had meet Andy of N.D.M.A at a party and he gave a DAT to my hands. Two days later it was part of the 2nd PULSE compilation and Andy started his project M.O.S. Thanks for this wonderful mix that reminds me of really good times.

  3. Alas, you will hardly hear Vitan in the mix… I used the first half as an overlay and mixed out before it really gets going. Great track though, and I didn’t want to leave it uncredited!

  4. Still never been to goa 🙁 been into psychedelic trance since 94 and missed the golden age myself
    One day I’ll get there. Nice mix dude 🙂

  5. Dr. Bob: I Grew up with that compilation. Thanks for all those years!
    Basilisk: Great Stuff, I’ve told you this 48 times in 492 places already, but can’t stress it enough!

  6. A great choice of tracks in your selection, one that took me right back to those heady days.
    And, that you did this whilst travelling, makes it that little more special.

  7. Yeah, you’ve gotta stop living in the past, man. I mean: a bunch of tracks from, like… ’96? What’s the deal?

  8. Great mix, Basilisk! Such a classic selection of 90s GOA tracks, many of which are my all-time favourites. Please do keep it coming!

  9. ^_^ One of my favourite mixes of all time. Well done Basilisk! 🙂 soooooo gooooood! *hopes for another one*

  10. One of your best mixes for sure, really like the track selection towards the end.

  11. I had this mix from goatranch and then something happened to it, so I re-downloaded. One hell of an awesome mix. I love that old skool sound. When I join the afterlife, I want to be reincarnated as a goa trance party-goer in the mid 1990’s! (I think you can do that since time in the afterlife doesn’t exist, and onlyt ime on earth is linear, right?) 😉

  12. That was amazing!!!! This is what real goa must have felt like.. thanks a lot for this mix! <3

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