A daring step forward for Benji Vaughan aka Prometheus and half of duo Younger Brother, on Twisted Records. Benji has not tried to conform to a style and Spike introduces the listener to his personal quest into a sonic landscape yet undefined.

After a slow start, the sound progresses to more familiar territory later on with the thoughtful Darkstar and some well crafted tunes such as the brilliant 2010 and Rhythm, Circuit, Echo emerge from the speakers. The intensity drops with Taylor's Machine and Colt, to conclude with the classical style composition Datcha.
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Vertigo records release their second compilation 'Culture Vulture'. They claim to bring us their state-of-the-art psy culture from Europe, Russia and Australia.

A constant journey into deep psychedelia this comp is more concerned about atmosphere than dancefloor success with intricate beats, crunchy and bleepy sounds. The style is overall sounding a little dated and whilst all the artists make an effort to be original, the final selection falls short of a clear winner.

Delirious Noon stand out with 'Process of Lanctus', whilst Trold fail to impress despite the 3 appearances here.

Other artists include Braincell, Whoop, Liquidshire and Hedonix.

For some strange reason the folks at Catawampus records have started Feeding The Whimsy. If you are wondering why, then you have to listen to this rare species of cheeky, quirky and disorientating psychedelia.

The tracks clearly influenced by the Russian psy trance sound with aggressive but not entirely mean sounds. The only criticism would be regarding the repetitive use of arpeggio sounds as well as some very classic blips from the Nord Lead.
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Cosm records released Fractalism, a story of psytrance music that mixes old and new to produce a compromise between depth and dancefloor power.

All the artists involved have made an effort to differentiate their sound and this is audible across this fine compilation out just before our entrance into 2011.

The opening tune 'Waves And Ripples' by Electric Sheep sets the tone. Ari Miller's psy trance attempt Open Your Mind also stands out.
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Following the release of two successful compilations Syncronize Records disappeared from the psytrance radar for 3 years. They are back with Kazem, a blend of weird and wonderful psychedelic music.  The compilation celebrates the life of a label partner who lost his fight with cancer earlier in the year.

The comp kicks off slowly with a hypnotic downbeat track by Ajja & Dymons, named Space Jester. Zimon then get's things into a faster groove with Moonstomp that has some funny drunk-man sounding samples. Yab Yum & Apex turn on the psychedelia with a seriously bleepy encounter, Voodoo Logic. Genepool follows with an indiferent track, but Ajja, this time alone, lifts the spirits with the correctly structured and delivered Believer. Possibly best track.
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The one ex half of Cosmosis, Jeremy van Kampen aka Laughing Buddha has released Sacred Technology, a tale of sorts.

Technically the compilation delivers with the production crisp enough for the dancefloor to operate in full tilt. At times it lacks a little warmth but overall the music has urgency, tempo and psychedelic sounds.

The only criticism is that the music is not looking into 2011 but back to older days with the Laughing Buddha sound not really maturing enough after these years. Die hard fans might argue that this is a back-to-the-basics move from the ex-Cosmosis member, however our opinion is that there is more room for experimentation and new elements.

Are you laughing Buddha?

Magus live in Psychedelic Circus, Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Magus, the psychedelic trance duo from Thessaloniki, Greece formed in 1996 and released 3 EPs and dozens of tracks in psytrance compilations around the world but never delivered a whole album. Whilst the band stopped playing and releasing tracks in 2001, there seem to be good news for those that enjoyed their often unconventional sound.

Magus are rumoured to bring out a collection of previously unreleased tracks celebrating their music journey through the end of the 90's and into 2000.

The release is due out early in 2011 so if you are into weird sampling, off-beat psychedelia and like your music strange, stay tuned for more news on this blog.

A small surprise as we edge 2011. Always looking into the future, Blacklight Records has released On, a crossover compilation featuring a fusion of progressive and psychedelic trance.

Blacklight open the curtains with two progressive tracks. Rocky presents the melodic Naked Eyes, whilst Flegma & Zyce deliver Fall Back in style.

After that, the comp takes a harder psychedelic approach, starting with Crossing Reality from Nukleall and building up to the political Mysteries of the Governments by Barkode. The most powerful psychedelic delivery comes from a collaboration between Nukleall and Purple Raver with the name Rack Riders and the track Constant Flux. It finishes with a softer attempt Connect to the Source by Solar Spectrum. Other artists include Dickster & Hopi, Ital and Ilai.

Does fusion has a place in psytrance for you?

Ukraine does not have a long tradition of psytrance music production but Clocktail Records wants to change that with a limited edition of 400 CD copies. It has brought us 'The Organic Relativity' compilation featuring a list of local and foreign talent.

Whilst this is a good effort, most tracks fail to really stand out with productions also sounding not so crisp. However there are nice dark sweeping melodies and the mood is deeply psychedelic showing how Clocktail is developing a style to mark it's releases.
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