Compiled by Basilisk and Akhentek, Entheos Audio Archive 3.0 showcases a dazzling array of psychedelic trance and downtempo music reflecting the spirit of the Entheos Summer Solstice Conference and Festival, an annual gathering of the Pacific Northwest tribal dance community. The story begins with powerful full-on psytrance but quickly drops into deep dubby soundscapes and hazy broken beats before cruising to a shimmering finale. Although heavily stacked with Canadian content, this compilation also includes a pair of offerings from our American kin as well as a special guest appearance by Norwegian producer Phobosphere. Entheos Audio Archive 3.0 has been mastered by Akhentek at Ilum Studios and features artwork designed by Onbeyond Metamedia.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. Be sure to check out the first two compilations in the series for more: Entheos Audio Archive 2.0 and Entheos Audio Archive 1.0.

Track Listing

01 :: Akhentek - Infinitron Class Flagship (144 BPM)
02 :: Nexus7 - Aarzach (145 BPM)
03 :: Clone - Token Toker (140 BPM)
04 :: Osiris Indriya - LouZ (128 BPM)
05 :: Phobosphere - Serious Vacation (115 BPM)
06 :: Neto - Cepheid Variable (90 BPM)
07 :: Progress - Rain Road (80 BPM)
08 :: Psyentifica - Entheogenic (99 BPM)
09 :: Ekoplex - Forest Shaman (110 BPM)
10 :: Pharoelidae - Transposition Burst (112 BPM)

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (10 comments so far).

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The Future Of Light is the first downtempo and chill out compilation from Neurotrance Records, a Bolivian netlabel. Compiled by Erofex, this release features relaxing and meditative music with light tribal beats, much of it with a distinct South American flavour. Conceived as a “journey of light,” the story wanders along a path where everything is possible and limits are left behind.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. Several other releases from Neurotrance Records can be downloaded from their homepage.

Track Listing

01 :: Oxya - Tau Feeling (8:59)
02 :: MetzAnima - Maia Gaia (6:40)
03 :: Frequency Surreal & Erofex - They Still Hold Peace In Their Hearts (5:27)
04 :: Jash - Betun Brasilero (6:32)
05 :: Dark Fox - Stelar Madness (Majestad Valkyria Remix) (6:08)
06 :: Erofex - Mental Peace (7:17)
07 :: Kusillo - Digital Anima (4:00)
08 :: Virtuaz - Devil Eather (7:29)
09 :: Le Guide - Kranum (5:19)
10 :: Trebolactiko - Alpha State (6:30)
11 :: Etrea - Condor al Revez (4:33)
12 :: Paul Jove AKA Pituko - Sun Stars (10:49)

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (7 comments so far).

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Damion Brown’s infamous Psyreviews has returned after more than a year of inactivity. Rumours of a comeback have been circulating for months now—and here we are. Looks like the site might be a little flaky while Damion irons out some bugs and messes with some templates so keep at it if you encounter any mishaps. And if you’ve never experienced what Psyreviews is known for—skewering pop star wannabes and unimaginative productions, praising the few deserving releases out there, and generally taking the piss out of psytrance culture—here are a few choice cuts from previous years:

Skazi – Total Anarchy (Review)
Dali – Hectic (Review)
Younger Brother – The Last Days of Gravity (Review)
Excitement Mounts As Posford Puts Four Kick Drums In Sequence
Dreadlock Girl Revises “Don’t Need Drugs” Policy
Analysts: GMS Involved In “97%” of 2002 Albums

Incidentally, Damion’s declaration of “RIP psytrance” is what prompted me to start the Essential Selections project. I try to remain fairly positive about the creative vitality of the psytrance world by avoiding a lot of the dross that Damion subjects himself to—for our benefit, I might add. Think of it as a public service: someone has to tell it like it is! And, judging by the strong show of interest in the return of Psyreviews, the scene really needs this kind of medicine.

Of course, I say all of this knowing full well that no one is safe; Ektoplazm might very well become the target of one of Damion’s eviscerating reviews. (Insert nervous laughter.) At any rate, welcome back!

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or be the first to comment on this post!.

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Compiled by Audio Psykosis and released by Liquid Frequency, Kalila is a sizzling darkpsy release showcasing the mind-altering sounds of the Indian psytrance underground. The title of this compilation is taken from the Panchatantra, an ancient fable chronicling the search for a “mountain herb that was believed to restore life to the dead.” This release has been mastered by Kri @ Audiovalve with paintings by Dhiren Sasmal, a celebrated artist and illustrator from West Bengal, and digital design by Yidam.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. This release is also available from archive.org. Check out Helicon Vedas for more Indian darkpsy.

Track Listing

01 :: LiquidNoize - My friend EGo (152 BPM)
02 :: Farebi Jalebi - Giggle Pit (150 BPM)
03 :: Audio Psykosis - Senile Syndrome (150 BPM)
04 :: Ouroboros - Dreamer (155 BPM)
05 :: Adi - Tripplethree (148 BPM)
06 :: MunkE - Close Your Eyes (154 BPM)
07 :: Aghori Tantrik - Corpses Don’t Lie (158 BPM)
08 :: Hydropanic - ChapOri (150 BPM)
09 :: Allegoric Psynce - Travel Through Blackhole (150 BPM)
10 :: Bloodclot - Salad Fingers (154 BPM)
11 :: Spiral - eXpanding Aggresion (154 BPM)

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (9 comments so far).

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Tapwatr (Jeremy Reid) returns with The End Of Everything EP, his second release with the German netlabel Digital Diamonds. The original track is a slick piece of driving minimal techno drowned in delay and accented with bleak electro motifs. Three additional remixes from René Patrique, Theme Fe, and Knifestyle round out the release with differing interpretations of Tapwatr’s distinct groove.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. Visit the Digital Diamonds discography for more deep techno sounds and be sure to check out Tapwatr’s Dirty Things EP.

Track Listing

01 :: The End Of Everything (128 BPM)
02 :: The End Of Everything (René Patrique Remix) (128 BPM)
03 :: The End Of Everything (Theme Fe Remix) (132 BPM)
04 :: The End Of Everything (Knifestyle Remix) (128 BPM)

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (1 comment so far).

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Auxiliary Magazine is an alternative fashion, music, and lifestyle publication based in the United States. Back in March both Ekoplex and I were interviewed by Digitalgeist (Alex Kourelis) for an article entitled “My Label is the Internet,” a feature on netlabels. You can find the finished article on page 27 of the April 2009 issue. Additionally, Auxiliary has been publishing the original interviews on their web site. Here is the full text of my interview with Alex:

Hi Alexander, Lets get right into it. What brought Ektoplazm into existence?

I relaunched Ektoplazm in 2006 in order to explore a number of revolutionary ideas about music distribution, social media, and technology. Of course, many others have done the same thing in recent years—but I was interested in taking these concepts and fitting them to the specific needs of a niche market, namely the global psychedelic trance counterculture. Motivated by concern for the creative vitality of the movement, I set out to develop a viable alternative to the commercial distribution system. The problem, in a nutshell: psytrance is a very small industry. With decreased physical media sales most of the labels have become very risk-averse; they simply can’t afford to take a chance releasing music that doesn’t fit a particular template. New and unusual producers have an inordinately difficult time breaking into this market—and we, as listeners, lose out. To address some of these concerns I set out to open up a new frontier: free music done in a professional way, maximizing exposure for the artists while providing the highest quality digital media to an ever-growing international audience.

From your perspective, is technology like BitTorrent file sharing a threat?

No, not at all. Technologies like BitTorrent are an opportunity, not a threat. It is the task of business leaders to innovate and adapt to changing market conditions, not dictate terms to their customers. Creative and cultural industries have been turned upside down by the ease and convenience of file-sharing but those industries were in dire need of renewal. In the new economy of abundance, where media objects are infinitely copyable, any business models based on guilt trips, digital rights management, or other pointless stopgap measures are ultimately doomed. Why fight against the inevitable? It is a better use of time and energy to invest in the future.

Does the traditional model of promote-release-tour apply to you and your artists?

Years ago a band would tour to support an album. Now it’s the other way around: bands release albums, generate interest, and then go on tour. Although physical media sales are down, fans are more than willing to pay for unique real-time experiences. When you have fans you can draw a crowd—exactly what every promoter wants. The challenge, then, is to earn fans—not sell records. Charging for access to your music is very limiting if you aren’t already established. Of course, the opposite is true: professional-grade free releases are incredibly empowering to the artist interest in building an audience. Ekoplex is the biggest success story so far; after the debut of his full-length album (Journey Of The Turtle, a free download) he has received numerous invitations to play at parties and festivals across North America and in Europe. There is great promise to this approach.

Apart from an online presence, is there a consideration for physical products as well?

Physical products are important as long as there is a division between online and offline spheres of activity. That division is growing increasingly thin with every passing year but it still presents a barrier to the direct exchange of cultural goods. What do we do online? We send links. In the real world we pass on (or sell) physical goods. When you try to perform one of these acts in the wrong domain it doesn’t work very well—people don’t pay attention or don’t remember. Now, things are moving very quickly in our society. We probably aren’t far from a day where we all carry personal media devices (like the iPhone, for instance) that allow for streamlined and effortless file sharing, but we’re not quite there yet. Until that happens physical media will still serve a purpose. Well, assuming people still use CDs—many don’t.

Ektoplazm is unusual in that we sell CD versions of every release we do. This is accomplished through an on-demand manufacturing service that prints as many copies as are needed—with no minimum order. Unsurprisingly, few are sold online—but I have personally sold a fair number of CDs at parties and festivals. Some people like to have a copy for their car, a few buy CDs just to support the concept, others don’t bother with downloading, and I have even met a few people without Internet access, shockingly enough.

There is one more benefit to physical media that I would mention: prestige. Since Ektoplazm is actively seeking out bookings for our artists it is important to make a strong impression, particularly with promoters. Anyone with an inbox knows how much junk there is out there—but how often do you ignore a package on your doorstep? Physical media informs potential customers that you’re serious about what you do.

How closely do you follow other netlabels offering similar material? Are they competition or allies?

Ektoplazm is both a netlabel and a free music portal; I both produce and aggregate content, some of which comes from distribution partners like Digital Diamonds (Germany), PAR-2 Productions (Japan), or SunStation (Russia). I closely follow what is happening with free music in the psytrance scene and step in to cross-promote what I feel is the best of it. A year ago I had no trouble keeping up with new releases but nowadays it has grown difficult—enough people have seen the value of the concept and interest is really beginning to skyrocket. Still, I have my methods for filtering out those who aren’t serious. For instance, if I don’t see a lossless download option I won’t bother downloading at all.

Competition in a free marketplace is an interesting thing. We’re competing for attention, essentially. And there is no shortage of it to go around. With that said, I am not really sure if Ektoplazm has any real competitors at the moment. I’ve not seen a site just like mine. There are other psytrance netlabels doing good work but I prefer to partner with them—to bring them into the fold. In the end, we all benefit. Even the commercial labels! What I find really interesting is how Ektoplazm has gone viral. People share the link all over the place. As a result, all sorts of people are discovering psytrance for the first time through my site. Nothing promotes a music-based subculture quite so effectively as free music!

If money and economics were not an issue, what would change with the label?

Now that’s a real game-changer! Money imposes all kinds of restrictions on the way Ektoplazm is designed to operate. Remove those restrictions and everything could change. I would be able to jump into things full-time, redesign the site from the ground up to be a little more community-oriented, work with a wider range of artists, outsource the drudgery, and increase overall productivity. I would still want to work on a non-profit basis though; legitimizing free music really is my calling! And if I could work on Ektoplazm all the time instead of just in my spare moments, well—I provide no assurances of what might come of it, but I am sure it would be big!

The full text of Alex’s interview with Ekoplex is now available here.

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (1 comment so far).

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The Magick Mother EP marks the debut of Mukti (Darren Harper), an American psytrance and ambient producer. This five part conceptual release explores the rich symbolism of the mother archetype, challenging the listener with raw psychedelic rhythms and powerful atmospheric effects. Although the style is associated with darkpsy it is better to think of it as twisted forest trance with space rock influences and a slightly lo-fi sensibility—not unlike Para Halu or Psykovsky in some ways. This EP has been mastered by Kri at Audiovalve and features artwork by Paul Zulauf.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. You are encouraged to share, copy, broadcast, and perform this release! Be sure to visit the Ektoplazm discography for more high-quality free downloads.

Track Listing

01 :: Magick Mother (145 BPM)
02 :: Awakening (Upon A Star Part 2) (150 BPM)
03 :: Eastern Wind (150 BPM)
04 :: Crossing Rolando's Fissure (152 BPM)
05 :: The Thanaton (152 BPM)

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (23 comments so far).

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Gi’iwa Productions has the right idea with the release of Freeform Human’s debut, Arnika. Most psytrance albums are just a collection of tracks—DJ fodder, in essence. Not this release. The team behind Arnika have taken this “psychofunkadelic” production to the next level. Other labels and artists should pay attention: if you want to actually sell physical media in an underground niche market, well… this is how it is done.

First: the raw facts of the release. Freeform Human is a collaboration between two Australians, one half of Hired Goonz (already known from a smattering of compilation appearances) and Hueman, a visual artist and VJ. Together they have composed a seamless 60 minute voyage into genre-bending psytrance with “elements of electro, breaks, chill, hip-hop, disco and full throttle metal.” Want a taste? Check out the MP3 mega-mix available from the group’s web site or click below to stream it now (Flash required):

In addition to its healthy disregard for stylistic conventions, Arnika is composed almost entirely with analogue gear: a Minimoog, Sherman Filterbank, a “shit old microphone,” and not much else. In a marketplace saturated with pristine digital productions the raw organic sound of this low-tech album is particularly ear-catching.

Freeform Human also cover the charity angle: 10% of the net proceeds from the project will be donated to the protection of Tasmania’s old growth forests via Still Wild Still Threatened and The Wilderness Society. Smart move; this is sure to appeal to the album’s core demographic. Since I expect this release will sell out this also means that a nice chunk of change will be put toward saving the trees.

All of the above would be enough to give Arnika an edge in the dwindling physical media marketplace but there is more. From the band’s web site:

Each album cover is one-of-a-kind hand painted and hand crafted from 100% post-consumer recycled cardboard. The album cover is UV reactive and has been limited to 999 editions.

Very smart. And it is smarter still that the manufacturing process was documented. Here are a few shots of the album artwork in progress:

Doesn’t that make you want to own one? Anyone merely downloading this release is missing out on the experience of the release. My only criticisms: the band’s web site is a bit weak (very “web 1.0″) and it would be nice to see the DJ-friendly digital version available at more than one outlet. These issues are not huge, however. The sheer strength of the concept and presentation should be enough for this album to succeed.

The take-home message for labels and artists is simple: find a way to make your releases special. The market for mass produced copies is shrinking fast but here is still some hope for individualized releases like Arnika, where every “copy” is actually unique in some way. Music fans place high value on experiential qualities; they want to be involved in the narrative unfolding around the music. Freeform Human’s Arnika project demonstrates one way in which physical media can be infused with elements of the experiential.

The Arnika CD is available for purchase from the Freeform Human web site or Saikosounds. DJ-friendly versions of several tracks can be purchased from Mindawn in MP3 or FLAC format. Finally, Damion (of Psyreviews fame) has conducted an interview with Freeform Human for Chaishop.

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (2 comments so far).

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This set was recorded live at Darkrave vs Panic, a special one-off event held on the May long weekend in Toronto, Canada. My mission was to showcase the hard and nasty side of psychedelic trance often referred to as “darkpsy,” a style that is not often heard on Toronto dance floors. I try to ease it up near the end with a few crowd-pleasing tunes with big build-ups and a splash of melody but much of this set might be too intense for some listeners; consider yourself warned!

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Track Listing

01 :: Gappeq - Speaker Seeker [Wirikuta Recordings]
02 :: Datakult feat. DJ Ehm - Valis [Pleiadian Records]
03 :: Furious - Sadizmo [Technical Freaks Records]
04 :: Polyphonia - Caballero Negro [Tremors Underground Productions]
05 :: Mukti - Eastern Wind [Ektoplazm]
06 :: Dragon - Ritual Fire [T.O.U.C.H. Samadhi]
07 :: Penta - Robot Poetry [AuraQuake Records]
08 :: Sulima vs Hysteria - Data Processing Tower [Blitz Studios]
09 :: Baphomet Engine feat. DJ Zoim - Psycho Motor [Kabrathor Records]
10 :: Mubali - Artificial Freaks [Trishula Records]
11 :: CPC - Lizard Metanoya [No Comment Records]
12 :: Phatmatix - Hominus Nocturna [Yabai Records]
13 :: Exaile - Tied Up (Azax Syndrom Remix) [GBM Records]
14 :: Rinkadink - Techmology V3 (Menog Remix) [Nutek Records]
15 :: Electric Universe - Holografic [Electric Universe Records]
16 :: Delirious Noon - Quasar [Vertigo Records]

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (8 comments so far).

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Clay Shirky wrote about this subject in 2003. Here is an excerpt from an influential article entitled Fame vs Fortune:

Free content is thus what biologists call an evolutionarily stable strategy. It is a strategy that works well when no one else is using it—it’s good to be the only person offering free content. It’s also a strategy that continues to work if everyone is using it, because in such an environment, anyone who begins charging for their work will be at a disadvantage.

The issue here is whether free content providers continue to benefit when it is no longer revolutionary. If everyone is giving their stuff away for free how do you stand out from the crowd? The answer: offer something of greater quality. Free content is not created equal!

Consider the music industry. It is now common for labels and artists to offer single MP3s for free download, often as a means to sample a commercially-available release. Some of these free offers aren’t really free at all—for instance, when prospective listeners are required to divulge personal details or register to access downloads. Not everyone is willing to go to all that trouble just to download an MP3. Reducing barriers to entry will immediately increase the reach of free content.

Presentation quality is another way to gain an edge. When everyone else is offering junk MP3s you can tap into the “breakthrough free” effect by going lossless (as long as lossless downloads remain uncommon anyway). There is a huge difference between random MP3s and a complete release package featuring properly tagged and professionally mastered lossless-quality audio files and a full set of high-resolution cover images ready for printing! Lossless audio attracts discerning listeners who appreciate quality—and aren’t those the sort of listeners you seek?

The intrinsic quality of the music is inescapable. Free or not, the music has to be good. I will be the first to admit that a lot of free stuff is given away simply because it can’t be sold. (Of course, a lot of commercially-available music is not remarkable either!) The key is to provide something of substantial value, whatever that means to you and your audience. Don’t expect vast returns on your free content if it lacks an essential spark of creativity and vision.

Ultimately, labels and artists need to consider how free music fits into their overall strategy. Free music is nothing more than a promotional gimmick for those who struggle to remain profitable selling recorded music. Giving away an MP3 to try and sell an album is not a bad idea but it isn’t likely to be insanely effective for the very reason that lots of organizations are doing it. Godin was very astute in using the phrase “free by itself” in his original post. We are increasingly immune to offers of free stuff precisely because we recognize these offers for the hollow gestures that they are. On the other hand, those of us who have embraced the idea of cross-subsidies (give the music away and hope for more gigs and merchandise sales) would do well to focus on the quality of our free content. Free by itself is not enough; you have to be sharing something of quality to really interest people nowadays.

©2009 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or be the first to comment on this post!.

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