Sphere Records began as an obscure U.K. label releasing dark and experimental psychedelic trance in the year 1999. Psychoaneasis is the second release from Sphere, showcasing an assortment of unknown artists, rising stars, and veterans. It was not widely successful, although it gradually developed into something of a cult favourite in certain circles. Sphere released a sequel four years later, but there is no hint of continuity. As for the first in the series…

Dark Soho’s Depth of Emotion helped to jump-start the Israeli group’s meteoric rise to fame in the year 2000. Their combination of heavy metal, industrial techno, and psychedelic trance with gothic overtones won them many fans as they exploded on to the world stage with tracks such as these. Spooky melodies, chugging rhythms, and copious guitars are put to good use on this anthemic crowd pleaser. Sphere released the group’s debut album Sun Spot later that year, but managed to completely botch the mastering job. Any Dark Soho fan is going to want to own the BNE version instead, which also includes a remastered version of this very track.

ECT & Mass have two noteworthy tracks on this compilation. I believe both are taken from the cancelled ECT debut due to be released on Phantasm back in 1998, so they are probably older than the rest of these tunes. I would describe the style as an experimental mish-mash of Double Dragon and Metal Spark, melting broken beat structures and lurching rhythms into something utterly bizarre. Magic Dart is slathered in all kinds of strange noises, shuddering and warbling across the blackened groove, make this a hit with the psychedelic freak patrol. What an oddity!

Cerebellum is an amateur project that only released a pair of tunes with Sphere. Emulating the general trend toward GMS-like noise and aggressive beats without the production value to make the approach shine, Oh Fuck is nothing special.

Cat On Mushroom – Expose is lifted from the previous year’s Deck Wizards 6 compilation, released on Psychic Deli. Erez, Duvdev, and Avi merge their Hallucinogen-influenced styles to craft an energetic dance floor bomb full of weird bubbling sounds, scathing psychedelic melodies, and trippy effects. The bizarre gargled singing heard shortly after the halfway point is so strange, but it really works. This was the hottest sound in 1999 and it still sounds fantastic.

Monkey Shine is even better than the first offering from ECT & Mass! Rusty breakbeats clatter across sluggish magmatic beats, frothy layers of liquid lead slurry overflowing from every side. Complex arrangements of warped sounds fill the track with amazing details that are simply too awesome to describe. This is a lost classic of “outsider” psychedelic trance!

Prodigal Sun is in the same class as Cerebellum: amateur stuff. Poorly produced beats, hackneyed acid lines, and no real direction. Skip!

Veteran U.K. producer CHI-A.D. (Dave Young) summons the ancient spirits on Manitou, one of the most underrated and overlooked songs in his impressive discography. It begins on a mysterious note, deep trance rhythms gleaming with blackbody radiation, the essence of possibility hanging pregnant in the void. The progression is slow, delicate, determined, and unfolds with measured certainty. Epic melodies streak upward from the depths in a series of intelligent breakdowns, passing through ever-higher states of cosmic consciousness. The final lead, slowly rising from the abyss, gives the last few minutes the feel of one long sustained climax. Manitou is magnificent!

Space Boot is a deep and droning techtrance experiment from the Russian artist In R Voice (Dennis Kozlov), similar in some ways to early Parasense. It isn’t exactly monotonous, as the beats jump around, fall apart, and re-assemble with alarming frequency. Nowadays it merely counts as an undeveloped curiosity; an evolutionary dead end.

Infected Mushroom’s Muddy Effect was one of my favourites from Deck Wizards 6 when it came out. This messy assemblage of fat and funky bass, high tempo, demented effects, and spooky melodies was a real hit on the dance floor back then. Despite the rough production quality, Muddy Effect is bursting at the seams with the creative energies that made Infected’s debut album The Gathering a worldwide hit. Fans of the group will certainly wish to hear this weird old experiment!

Psychoaneasis 1 is an inconsistent patchwork of great tunes and poor showings. Much of the material is of no interest to modern listeners. The songs from Dark Soho and Infected Mushroom can be found elsewhere whereas CHI-A.D. and ECT & Mass provide exclusive contributions of note. Manitou will be of great interest to any cosmic trance enthusiast. Collectors and bargain bin hunters may be interested in this compilation, but it is no better than average for the time of release.

Release Data

Title: Psychoaneasis 1
Label: Sphere Records
Format: CD compilation
Released: 2000

Tathata 1 is the third compilation from Germany’s Spirit Zone Recordings, one of the original mid-90s Goa trance labels. This particular compilation is a “mid price” sampler, blending album teasers and tracks previously released on vinyl with the addition of one exclusive tune. The front cover claims that the compilation includes four unreleased tracks, but this was only true when it came out. Such releases were not uncommon in the early days of trance, as labels sought to promote their upcoming releases and vinyl singles with cheaper CD-only compilations. Collectors seldom value sampler compilations, but this means that they tend to be far more available than other more lucrative old school releases.

Phyt, credited to Volker König, is lifted from Ololiuqui’s debut album. It has a very distinctive sound: deep and tribal, with a rippling organic groove. Mystic melodies with an Eastern feel chime in at all the right moments. Be sure to check the first Ololiuqui album for more great trance like this.

Train Ticket, later released on Spicy Moments, is one of the very first tracks from Shiva Chandra (Daniel Vernunft). Intricate drum programming and scratchy acid leads can easily be discerned, but attentive listening will truly open up the magical storyline behind the beats. The sound of a train flares up now and then, while a wide assortment of other noises make this a real psychedelic journey. Shiva Chandra’s production skills had not yet matured, but his creative spirit is abundantly evident on this noteworthy production.

Psy Phy 6 (Marco Rademacher) is an obscure German artist known to some for his soft style of Goa trance. Basswall, taken from the tenth Spirit Zone vinyl single, has the feel of a decent song struggling to break free from the murky confines of poor production value. The rhythm section has very little power, and the melodic direction is not entirely convincing. It has not aged well.

S.U.N. Project opened their debut album Drosophilia with Tribolus, a surprisingly impressive piece of old school Goa. The production quality is raw, but the artists still manage to generate a sense of theatre. Ethnic samples—suggestive of classical spiritual themes—add character to the piece. This classic is a pleasant find.

Online Information was a major hit for Electric Universe in 1996. Boris Blenn, with some help from Michael Dressler, originally released this anthemic slice of breakbeat-laden trance on the Sunglider EP. It was later featured in mixed form on the Stardiver album, and has been released on over a dozen other compilations including Transient 4. There really isn’t much to it—bubbling acid lines and a raspy breakbeat loop cycle and flow above a standard trance rhythm for the duration. It may have been groundbreaking at the time of its release but it has never sounded all that special to my ears.

Etnica’s Fractal Gates—previously released on The Italian EP—is a commendable early effort from the legendary group. The Juggling Alchemists Under The Black Light was released in the same year, and the style is similar. The rhythm section does not make a strong impression, but the twisted interplay of numerous layered melodies and frantic acid riffs ensure a lasting appeal amongst old school fans. Fractal Gates is very well composed and arranged.

The second track from S.U.N. Project, Crazy Stories, originally appeared on another early vinyl single from Spirit Zone. Tribolus is better, partially due to the weak production value of this particular offering, but it is not without charm. As with Tribolus, there is an obscure epic quality to this acidic tale. The sample, “Jesus, I’ve been told crazy stories tonight,” works well in context. Crazy Stories is not great, but it may interest some old school fans.

Flommi is the only truly exclusive song on the compilation; it is released nowhere else. This time around, the producer is the other half of the early Ololiuqui: Oliver Elschenbroisch. Volker seems to have been the main talent of the group, but Oliver still manages to write a decent piece of trance. The rhythmic programming is much less intricate than in most Ololiuqui songs, but the drums still sound good. The ethnic samples in this one will be recognized by many listeners; they appear in a number of other old school classics. There are a few interesting melodic flourishes near the beginning, but then the storyline begins to drag. Mediocre.

The German act Evolution provides the final track, which is apparently sourced from a vinyl single on Spirit Zone. Genetic Engeneering [sic] is a slow and ponderous tune, crawling along at 130 BPM with tribal drumming and strange melodies. The sound design is similar to what was heard from Psy Phy 6; it seems somewhat ugly and washed out in some ways. Easily overlooked.

Tathata 1 is an adequate old school compilation. Spirit Zone certainly had a sound of their own back in the day: a mystical tribal-electronic fusion that is the essence of Goa trance. There are a few good tracks here, but most of the better ones are commonly available elsewhere. Flommi is an interesting curiosity for Olo

Release Data

Title: Tathata 1
Label: Spirit Zone Recordings
Format: CD compilation
Released: 1996

More Information

TRiP: Vintage review (1995 to 2003).