Fineplay records released a double impact CD and DVD containing footage from their events. "The Beach 2009" features a list of major psytrance artists including 1200 Micrograms, Pixel and Bizzare Contact, GMS with Space Tribe, Space Cat with Perplex, Absolum and others.

There are no big suprises here (apart from the increasing use of female vocals) but you can expect top productions from established artists and some of the latest dancefloor favourites.

The tracks that stand out are: Irealise from the collaboration of psytrance mega-artists GMS and trance veterans Space Tribe. The 'Benny Benassi on acid' Green Room by Shanti and the anthemic All That Remains from Black and White with Epiphony.

Perhaps worth mentioning Basic Survival Instincts from Absolum vs. Menog for the night-time full on psytrance enthusiasts.

If you like psytrance but have an inclination for it's softer side then you might want to try out the new Progressive Trance network website. You will find a series of well known underground DJs alongside some more familiar faces of the commercial trance scene.

Best thing is that you can vote for your favourite DJs and acts from every spectrum of the trance scene.

If you are looking for a fresh compilation to listen to, search for "Kaleidoskopolis" from Cosm records. The label is trying to re-color and redifine what psychedelic trance is. An eclectic line-up of artists with the well known Spirallianz leading with a hypnotic morning track. The tracks border on minimal and progressive but there is enough weirdness, power and style to call this psychedelic.

There are influences from every corner of the music spectrum and the tracks take you through a microscopic journey of psychedelia. The two break beat tracks did not really do it for us and there a couple of tracks unsuitable for the dancefloor but overall this is a great listen.

Most notable tunes, Machine by Electric Sheep, 6th Floor with Dawn of a new error, Golden String from Sunburned and Paranoid and of course Isn't from German masters Spirallianz.

Psytrance has always been an ever-changing beast. The community was created and then diversified in the first 5-7 years. From there on, it was split between progressive trance and the traditional faster and harder psytrance. The people remained the same, their taste become a barrier often, but the community was still going strong.

The popularity of other dance styles such as techno, electro and house influenced psychedelic trance from the early days, however after a decline in sales and less parties in key locations such as the UK and other countries brought change once more to the forefront.

So in 2009 we saw the 'Acid family' old-guard entering in progressive waters. Infected Mushroom have long converted, before them, Juno Reactor and X-Dream strayed from the traditional forms and now the latest Hom-Mega Productions compilation with much slower entries from Growling Mad Scientists fame, Riktam and Bansi and Lish are showing a new direction. Are the artists 'forced' to change due to commercial reasons, are tastes becoming different and more diverse, is it the moment when we will see all brothers and sisters dancing again, unified, free of form and musical prejudice?

Or is this a betrayal of the style we learned and loved?

Is everyone going to hold hands and celebrate the culture of no barriers, the moment of truth, where we are all the same, full on and progressive, morning trance and dark beats, utter weirdness and techno-trance? Do we want to be better and bigger again, to attract people into joining us because we cater for the music of the future and not the music of the past?

Or are we loosing our identity and psytrance artists should respect it's early form more?

My wish is that in 2010 we will once again walk into the party without knowing what is going to hit us, which music piece or style is going to twist our brain and extract all our creative thinking. Something to make the intentions pure and the smiles flowing. Let's have fun.

What's your wish for 2010?

At last something very interesting to write about. Anomalistic records have released the compilation 'Against The Grain' with a mix of fresh artists with new ideas. And they are not the latest cutting-edge ideas, this is traditional psytrance with influences from previous European movements in Denmark, Germany, Scandinavia, Greece and France with a dose of Australian experimentation.

The forms for the bass and the sounds are familiar, the arrangements we have heard before, but these guys make choices and combinations, sometimes simplistic that really work.

You are always unsure of what is going to happen next and how much more twisted this can get. The sampling is fresh, nice voice sounds, lots of lazers (if you are into that sort of thing) and slightly a little too much of the classic Nordlead sounds that many psytrancers would recognise.

There are 11 tracks, things kick off with Faxi Nadu track called I am the night, color me black with a very funny 'zombie' sample. Kalilaskov As, Terranoise and Netrosystem supply very good night tracks, but Freakazoid stand out with the atmospherically psychodelic Crystal Aum. Digressio Traviato win the chaotic tune award with Electrified Water (maybe they had a little too much of that).

Star track by Primordial Ooze with the very complex but solid Building Boxes. Ayalien provide a perfect finish with the playful (but completely crazy) Small Kings Jump.

Worth checking out this one.