TIP Singles 1 collects some of the finest music ever released on the legendary TIP Records. As the name implies, the bulk of the compilation is made up by songs taken from vinyl singles that had gone out of print by 1997. There are also a three songs exclusive to this compilation. Of course, it goes without saying that this compilation represents the classic TIP sound: an experimental mish-mash of tribal trance and psychedelic techno.

The compilation opens with the fantastic Acid Rockers remix of Hyperactive. It bounces all over the place and then slides into an awesome breakdown before kicking back into high gear. I still count this as one of my favourite works of old school Goa trance. Acid Soul is just what you might expect from Organic Noise, a collaboration between Jan Müller of X-Dream and Planet B.E.N. Deep, chugging, psychedelic—quality stuff, though not quite as captivating as some of their other early material. Transparent Mind is a truly amazing piece or work—especially considering its incredibly early release date of 1994! This is right up there with other ever-lasting Total Eclipse classics like Waiting For A New Life and The Crucible.

The original Mindboggler appeared on TIP 3D. “Part 2″ is a serious tune-up. Dark, richly psychedelic, and extraordinarily well-composed, this is the last great song from The Infinity Project (the group broke up later that year). Cor follows, showing what the Green Nuns do best! Wild acid lines, ripping guitar, and one of the most memorable (and humorous) transitions in early Goa trance mark this track as an all-time classic. Can’t Do That is yet another blinding piece of work: deeply emotional and utterly unique.

Head Rush is the only piece of filler on this compilation. It sounds like an underdeveloped excerpt from Chaos Laboratory. Psychopod delivers just over 10 minutes of unmitigated brilliance on the full-length version of Dreampod. It really doesn’t get any better than this! Finally, Sandman completes the journey with Starfinder, an inspired work of noctilucent psychedelic trance that vividly captures the awe and mystery of creation.

I don’t think anything else really needs to be said. TIP Singles 1 is an absolutely essential release, particularly for anyone into the original TIP sound. It might be a bit difficult to track down nowadays, but at least there are options. TIP Singles 1 was packaged with TIP 3D and re-released as The Colours Of Shiva 3 on Nova-Tekk in 1999. Good luck finding it!

Originally released in 2005, A Walk Through Neptune’s Garden is the debut release from PAR-2 Productions, an independent label founded by Jikkenteki and Katapult. Defying conventional standards, this thematic compilation explores the concept of water in all its forms:

Water is an ever moving, ever changing force of nature. From calm cool pools and flowing rivers to raging storms and massive floods, water is many ways nature’s equivalent to human emotion. It sustains us and gives us life. It can calm us and lull us to deep meditative states. It can also assault us with an aggressive onslaught that can be both amazing and terrifying. For this reason it serves has an ideal theme for linking the music on this compilation. Rather than dwelling on any one particular “style” of psychedelic music, we have tried to create a fluid sonic journey through the whole range of emotional content that psychedelic trance has to offer.

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Re-released in 2008 under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. This compilation appears here with the full cooperation of PAR-2 Productions. If you would like to show your support for this initiative, the original CD pressing is still available for sale at the PAR-2 Productions store for USD$10 including shipping! Also feel free to leave some comments here or on the existing Psynews review thread.

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