I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to Cronomi Records, a new label from Israel specializing in new school Goa trance founded on the initiative of Michael Anenburg, a long-time friend and ally of Ektoplazm. You may already know of his work as Subra–a constant fixture of the Golden Vibes series of free compilations that have been so popular here on the site–and you will soon hear from his Felis alias on Organic Circuitry, an upcoming compilation release from Ektoplazm.

Cronomi has just released Freshly Cut Tomato, a compilation that is bound to appeal to fans of the new school sound. As the promotional text states, “from minimal and progressive through psychedelic night-time music to epic melodic tracks, this compilation has it all.” If you’ve enjoyed hearing free music from artists like Jikkenteki, Anakoluth, K.O.B. (AKA Filteria), and Subra, I encourage you to show your support for these artists by purchasing this excellent commercial release. Samples and official information can be found at the Cronomi home page.

Summer is in full bloom and we are working hard to finish off several upcoming Ektoplazm label releases. Back in late February we announced five projects with our very first release schedule, two of which have now been published. The response has been extraordinary; altogether, the debut EPs from Ekoplex and Soul Kontakt have been downloaded more than 13,500 times! In an age where 1,000 CD sales is considered substantial, this figure represents an extraordinary level of exposure for these new artists.

The rest of the previously announced projects remain in various stages of development. Most are not far from being ready to download or purchase. Our mission here at Ektoplazm extends beyond that of a conventional label–we’re also interested in legitimizing free music as a viable alternative to the established commercial distribution network. This approach is conceived as a way of addressing some of the bigger issues facing the psytrance industry today, from rampant piracy to creative stagnation. We also really like the idea of taking full advantage of digital distribution technologies to spread the love of psytrance around the world! With this ultimate purpose in mind, we’d rather take the time to get things right than rush anything.

With the preamble out of the way, here is an update on where we’re at with our upcoming releases:

EKTEP03: Anakoluth – Dwelling In The Void EP
Expect to see Roman’s debut EP online very soon. The only task remaining is the artwork, and that is very nearly done. DJ Basilisk has been playing material from this release out for a couple of months and the response has been great so far! Here in Toronto several comments have been made about how well this fits with the feel of the old Black Light Activists events: deep, dark, hypnotic, and minimal. We chose Sensient of Zenon Records to master this release given his expertise in this style of psytrance.

EKTLP02: Proton Kinoun – Apeiron
Kasper’s album is almost through the mastering process. We’ve tried a track out on a big rig and it sounded absolutely delicious–waves of sound, one after another, oozing out of the speaker stack. In addition to the remastering, Kasper has also provided a bonus track for the official release. Artwork remains to be done but the concept sketches are looking promising!

EKTVA01: Organicic Circuitry
Ektoplazm Volume 1 now has a name: Chromatic Organic Circuitry. Mastering is now complete and only artwork remains to be done. It is hard to believe I began the search for material back in the spring of 2006! Now it nears completion thanks to the generous contributions of all the artists involved. There is a definite old school vibe to this release; every track has some kind of distinct melody going on. It is not strictly a tribute to the past, however–these tracks are all unique in their own special way. Here is a full list of contributors: Eraser vs Yöjalka, Filteria, Intriga, Magic & Witchcraft, Clone, Felis, Jikooha, Jikkenteki & Katapult, Phobosphere, and Ekoplex.

EKTLP01: Ekoplex – Journey Of The Turtle
Ekoplex’s full-length debut is set to be released at the upcoming Eclipse festival in Quebec.
It has been mastered by Tim Schuldt at 4CN Studios and the final product sounds great! We’ve just polished off the last bit of artwork and the release has been sent to the factory for manufacturing. Look for the Ektoplazm vending booth at Eclipse where you will be able to purchase a copy on CD for $10. After the festival we will post the album online for free download, of course. We charge for the atoms but the bits are free! Incidentally, this album is the first full-length release from a Toronto psytrance artist. We’re quite proud, as you can imagine!

Upcoming EPs
In addition to the coded releases mentioned above we’ve also got a new round of artist EPs in the pipe. PhaseTech–a name you might recognize from the recently released Momentum Volume 1 compilation–will be presenting material from his Float side project on Ektoplazm in the coming months. We’ve also secured agreements with a number of Canadian artists to promote their work. Expect to see EPs from Repeat Customer, Akhentek, and (perhaps) Kaminanda in the future.

Demos Welcome!
As always, we welcome demos from our readers. We can’t always get to every email but we’ll do our best!

Finally, we would like to take this occasion to express our sincere appreciation for all the support we’ve received from all our visitors, distribution partners, and participating artists. Together we’re changing the shape of the digital music landscape!