Hidden Sense marks the return of Tara Putra (Marcus Straczkowski), a German producer seldom seen since the release of the Groom Mountains album in 2005. This three track EP focuses on deep psychedelic chill with lazy breakbeats, dubby bass lines, shimmering melodies, and magical atmospheres. Little more needs to be said; in the words of Tara Putra: “no words, just music!” Designed and mastered by the artist.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage! Visit Tara Putra on ReverbNation, Last.FM, and SoundCloud to leave some feedback and hear more from this artist!

Track Listing

01 - Tight Flair (80 BPM)
02 - Hidden Sense (90 BPM)
03 - Sad Cosmos (64.5 BPM)

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (4 comments so far).

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Revenge Of The Sun is the debut release from InnerSelf (Kristijan Petkovski), a new artist from Skopje discovered by Underground Alien Factory Records. InnerSelf’s music will touch your heart and lift your spirit with sparkling melodic highs and raw psychedelic energy. As with other UAFR releases, this release fits within the new school Goa trance movement, but the specific approach heard here is somewhat darker and more mysterious than usual—perhaps even influenced by forest music and the Glowing Flame style of full-on psytrance. Featuring cover design by Imba and mastering by Psyks Studio.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage! Visit the Underground Alien Factory Records homepage for more new school Goa trance releases.

Track Listing

01 - Revenge of The Sun (145 BPM)
02 - The Earth (143 BPM)
03 - Different Horizont (145 BPM)

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (17 comments so far).

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Cyan Music returns with Supersonic Architect, the debut album by Paranormal Activity (Marc Schuurmann), an eclectic and unconventional German producer based in Münster. Describing his sound as “psylectric ambiental chillcore,” Paranormal Activity has concocted a strange and heady brew of deeply hypnotic grooves and psychedelic soundscapes with ragga and broken beat influences. Switch this album on and prepare to descend into a labyrinthine world of paranoid thoughs and cryptic revelations.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. Visit the Cyan Music discography for more free music.

Track Listing

01 - Geheimgang (106 BPM)
02 - No Imitation (100 BPM)
03 - Zähflüssig (80 BPM)
04 - Nebelfelder (114 BPM)
05 - Conspiracy (90 BPM)
06 - Break-Able (75 BPM)
07 - Funny Bridge (120 BPM)
08 - 16% Steigerung (87 BPM)
09 - CSI Münster (114 BPM)
10 - Trockenbau (90 BPM)
11 - Supersonic Architecture (120 BPM)
12 - Flächendoktor (119 BPM)
13 - Fern-Glas (90 BPM)

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (4 comments so far).

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Elysium (Kristian Thinning Andersen) is one of a handful of old school producers whose pioneering productions defined the tribal aesthetic of Goa trance. Live Versions is a special digital-only release featuring reworked classics from Dance For The Celestial Beings (1995), Master Of The Rainforest (1995), Celestial Sounds & Tribal Beats (1997), and Regenerated (2002). Clocking in at a steady 140 BPM, Elysium’s music swirls and pulsates with archaic energy and unique tribal atmospheres. Listeners will be transported to an ancient realm of archetypes and spirits as these hypnotic gems unfold and work their magic. Artwork by Alexander Synaptic featuring photos retouched by ralphrepo.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. Elysium previously released a live recording of these tracks made at Antaris Project, Germany, on July 12th, 2009; download it in MP3, FLAC, or WAV format. Be sure to visit Kris Andersen’s homepage for more free music and email Elysium at live.elysium@gmail.com for booking inquiries.

Track Listing

01 - Interpretation Of Dreams (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)
02 - Elysium (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)
03 - Trancelestial Psychobabas (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)
04 - Keep It Cool (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)
05 - Wild Dance On Naked Feet (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)
06 - Ethnolastic (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)
07 - Subconsciousness (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)
08 - Dust (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)
09 - Monzoon (2009 Live Version) (140 BPM)

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (20 comments so far).

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Best EPs

#5: PharaOm – Awakening Bodhisattva [Underground Alien Factory Records]
#4: Dissociactive – Underwater Lab [Sun Station]
#3: Amygdala – The Sprawl [Ektoplazm]
#2: Kino Oko – The Doggy Bag [Digital Diamonds]
#1: Anakoluth – Beyond Reach [Cronomi Records]

Honourable mentions: Mukti – Magick Mother, SoulCraft – Zen Spirit, Faradize – Darknight Castle, Kemonoid – Squishy Fish, and Hypnagog – Dreaming In Pieces.

Best Compilations

#5: Telepathik Nonsense [Wonk#Ay Records]
#4: Art From The Heart [Old Is Gold]
#3: Helicon Vedas [Helicon Sound System/Om Veda Records]
#2: Entities [Croatian Psytrance Community]
#1: Under The Moss [Forest Freaks]

Honourable mentions: Energies Around, Rest In Pieces, T.O.U.C.H. Samadhi 001, Entheos Audio Archive 3.0, and The Future Of Light.

Best Albums

#5: ManMadeMan – Children Of The Light [Ektoplazm]
#4: Disco Hooligans – Clear Skies [Ektoplazm]
#3: Jikkenteki – The Beginning Is At The End [Ektoplazm]
#2: Cybernetika – Atropos [Independent]
#1: SubConsciousMind – Intermezzo Extended [Ektoplazm]

Honourable mentions: Proton Kinoun – Apeiron, Xamanist – Initiation, Freeform Human – Arnika, New Age Hippies – Entrance, and Trebolactiko – Deep Channeling.

There you have it! 2009 was another fantastic year for free psytrance and I think it shows in the quality of releases listed above. Hopefully there are a few in the list above that you haven’t heard and now feel compelled to discover!

This is actually the first time I have surveyed visitors to assemble this list; if you have a look at the Best Free Psytrance of 2008 you can see that it consists of my own personal highlights. I would like to give credit to Volker at Digital Diamonds for introducing me to Google Forms, the system used to operate the survey. Basing this list on community input makes way more sense than filtering through everything myself!

I will have more results from the Ektoplazm Free Music Survey 2009 to post very soon. The next part will consist of your feedback, what styles you want to hear more or less of, media preferences, and some announcements about what sort of changes can be expected to the site this year (all based on your comments of course). Thanks again to everyone who participated and I hope 2010 is every bit as good (or even better) than last year’s bumper crop of awesome free music!

Is your favourite 2009 release listed here? Do you agree with the results?

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (7 comments so far).

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The psytrance industry is a motley collection of small businesses that don’t always play well together; allegations of misconduct are commonplace in this scene. These petty disputes are frequently made public on big international forums like Isratrance, particularly when disgruntled artists, lacking any other method of recourse, decide to expose shady label owners for non-payment. Obviously the camaraderie experienced on the dance floor does not always extend to backroom business dealings in this subculture. Is it because so much of this business is conducted for small amounts of money over international borders? I can’t say for certain, but there seems to be no love lost between many of the major movers and shakers in this industry.

Case in point: this exchange found on the psychedelic.be forum. Here we have a discussion between Saikosounds and Psyshop, two of the largest (if not the largest) psytrance mail order shops. Both offer in-house distribution for labels (more Psyshop than Saikosounds, really) but there isn’t much of an exchange between them. This is compounded by the rivalry between Psyshop and Wirikuta, another European distributor that deals with Saikosounds. As a result, there are many titles that are available in one shop but not the other—a big pain in the ass for psytrance fans with broad interests. Do you suppose they might work it out amongst themselves to provide a better customer experience in this era of plummeting physical media sales? The answer can be found after the break.

Saikosounds:

Hi Rolf

How are you ?

Kagdlila Recs [a psytrance label] asked me contact you about stocking their label releases.

We can supply you directly- the price is 8.17 Euro + shipping cost. As you know, this is the same price you offer your releases to us. As previously discussed with Jochen, if you want to have some two way business to balance, then we can also order some of your releases, it’s up to you.

Please let me know your order.

Thanks
Rob

Saikosounds:

Cc: “Psychooo Timooo” ; “shu-ki
golan”
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 3:02 AM
Subject: Re: Kagdila Recs

Hi Rolf

I didn’t get your reply on this, but I hear from Kagdila that you are not happy about the price. I don’t really understant that since it’s the same price that we pay for your releases.

I can offer you a lower price on the condtion that you offer your own releases to us on the same terms.

I can even agree to order the same quantity of your releases, if you want, so there is no balance between us. It’s up to you, but I will order at least the same quantity if you want a lower price.

And I can even agree to keep the same retail price on our website the same as yours, for all releases we are buying from each other.

So you can choose the price that suits you best.

Please let me know.

Thanks
Rob

Psyshop:

Rob
Forget it.

Under this conditions we will not work together.

By Rolf

Saikosounds:

To: “Psyshop / Rolf”
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 11:33 AM
Subject: Re: Kagdila Recs

Hi Rolf

Thanks for your email

Perhaps you could explain what is the problem ?

Bye for now
Rob

Psyshop:

Im tired to explain my friend…

Rolf

Saikosounds:

To: “Psyshop / Rolf”
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 11:50 AM
Subject: Re: Kagdila Recs

Hi Rolf

Thanks for your email.

Well, in case you decide to explain, perhaps we can find a
solution.

I’ll be waiting.

Thanks
Rob

Psyshop:

Rob, I explained this now 1000 times…

…but meanwhile I accept the way you are doing your Distribution
and that you dont order our releases.

So go on with this strategy if there is a strategy at all………

By Rolf

Saikosounds:

To: “Psyshop / Rolf”
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 12:47 PM
Subject: Re: Kagdila Recs

Hi Rolf

We both know that you have not explained anything to me about this, since it’s the first time I have ever offered to sell CDs, that are distriubuted by Wirkuta, to you directly.

If you think you have explained it 1000 times, then it won’t hurt you to make it 1001 times, will it ? So, please…….. ? ? ?

We are not talking about distribution, we are talking about you stocking Kagdila’s releases on your website. These CDs are distributed by in Europe by Wirikuta. You have told me in the past that you won’t buy from wirikuta because they don’t order enough from you. That is obviously not a problem if you buy them from us since I can easily order more from you than you will order from us.

Personally I am also hapy to continue as we are since there are so many different options for customers in Europe to buy our CDs from. But if you want to have your CDs available in Asia, we can work something out, along the lines I have proposed earlier today.

Or we can continue without working together. I simply promised Kagdila that I would try to find a solution. But after this email if there is no further movement from your side, there is nothing more I can do.

Thanks
Rpb

Psyshop:

Hi Rob

1. Stop working with Wirikuta. 2. We can buy all releases you
print directly from you for a reasonable price.
3. You order our exclusicve releases from us.

…and we can start immideately a sucessful relationship.

By Rolf

Saikosounds:

To: “Psyshop / Rolf”
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 1:58 PM
Subject: Re: Kagdila Recs

Hi Rolf

You have not right to demand that we stop working with wirikuta. I am offering these products to you and it has nothing to do with wirikuta.

We are talking about Kagdila Recs releases.

Is that the same “reasonable price” in point 2. below, that you will also offer to us in point 3 ?

If the terms are equal, there should not be a problem.

Let’s say 7.50 euro plus shipping is a “reasonable price”. We pay that price for your releases. You pay that price for ours. If 7.50 is not a “reasonable price” then please tell me what you prefer. So long as it is the same price we pay for your releases, I don’t have a problem.

Thanks
Rob

Psyshop:

Rob

Our CDs are 8.17 Euro for you, as for all our customers who are ordering in those quantities. Maybe we can discuss some FOC but thats another story!

I will pay for your CDs not more than 6.50 Euro including shipping. I think this is a suitable price for the releases you hace to offer!

By Rolf

Saikosounds:

Hi Rolf

So, you want us to pay you 8.17 euro plus shipping for your CDs. So that will be more than 8.50 euro including shipping.

And you want to pay us 6.50 euro including shipping for our CDs.

Could you please explain WHY you think you have a 2 Euro advantage ?

Thanks
Rob

(Evidently Psyshop does not respond.)

Saikosounds:

Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:00:36 +0800
To: kagdilarecords@hotmail.com; chakras303@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Kagdila Recs

Guys, I think you can see that this will not lead anywhere. Psyshop is unwilling to play fair.

What you should do is to carefully explain to your atists, DJs, customers, friends, partners, and anyone else who will listen, what kind of kind of dirty dealings that they engage in. Send these emails to them. Post these emails on some internet forums if you want. I don’t mind. The more people who know, the better. People should understand this for what it is. Only when other labels and other customers understand this, and are willing to do something about it, will things change. Psyshop relies on these kind of tactics, just like the “school bully” relies on scaring other children into submission. Well, I’m not a child who gets scared easily :-)

You can’t say that I haven’t tried to fix this.

Bye for now
Rob

It does not appear that Psyshop has any interest in dealing fairly with Saikosounds (or Wirikuta for that matter—I wonder what the deal is there). This is really no surprise; Psyshop’s reputation isn’t exactly stellar. And people wonder why the psytrance industry is falling apart? A little cooperation goes a long way.

Anyhow, I found this to be an insightful look into the sort of stuff that goes on behind the scenes. Much like the Shpongle contract leak (context), it’s fair game once it hits the net. Besides, I haven’t picked on Psyshop in a little while.

Photo credit: Okinawa Soba.

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (18 comments so far).

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All Stars Festival – Deco by Neuromantix

Welcome to the 2010 edition of Ektoplazm’s annual North American Festival Guide. Here you will find a listing of various outdoor gatherings at least somewhat associated with the psychedelic trance subculture in Canada and the United States. Many more festivals will be added to this list as details are announced!

Faeries & Fools – May 22/23 (Crystal Creek, B.C.)
Gaudi, Adham Shaikh

Lightning In A Bottle – May 28/29/30/31 (California)

Alchemy – May 30/April 1/2 (California)
Procs, Aphid Moon, Progress

Sacred Earth – June 4/5/6 (Wisconsin)
SouthWild, Parus, Progress, Shapestatic, Annunaki

Orb – June 10/11/12/13 (New York)

Gemini – June 11/12/13 (California)
OOOD, Ajja, Chromatone, Mubali, Aerosis, Enertopia, Ekoplex

Entheos – June 18/19/20/21 (B.C.)

Om Reunion Project – June ? (Ontario)

Red Marines – June 18/19/20 (California)

Desiderata – June 23/24/25/26/27 (New York)

Astral Harvest – July 1/2/3/4 (Driftpile Valley, Alberta)

Shaman Tales – July 2/3/4/5 (Ontario)

Sacred Seed – July 9/10/11 (Cherokee Farms, Georgia)

Motion Notion – July 15/16/17/18/19 (Drayton Valley, Alberta)

Eclipse – July 23/24/25/26 (Quebec)

OpenMind – August 5/6/7/8 (Quebec)

Shambhala – August 4/5/6/7/8 (B.C.)

Worldbridge – August 6/7/8 (Cherokee Farms, Georgia)

(TBA) – August 13/14/15 (Pacific Northwest)

DICA – August 20/21 (B.C.)

Burning Man – August 31 to September 7 (The Playa)

El Hal – September 3/4/5/6 (Quebec)

Harvest – Late September (Ontario)

This is version 1.1.

Festivals in bold featured Ektoplazm, Drumlore, or Omnitropic live acts and DJs. Interested in booking Basilisk, Ekoplex, Clone, Aerodrömme, Akhentek, Farbo, Neto, or Neuromantix (a Toronto-based psychedelic arts collective; deco pictured above) for your event? Contact us soon as dates are filling up!

Festivals with a strike through the name have been cancelled or seem dodgy (based on previous event reviews) and should be treated with caution.

Consult last year’s guide for more festival links if you’d like to get ahead of the game or watch the following web sites for more festival announcements: AtlPsy, Saint Jean Basstiste, Brainfest, Psytribe, Space Gathering, T.O.U.C.H. Samadhi, Another World, Symbiosis, Beheshto, and Venus. Apparently Gaian Mind is not taking place this year, nor is Natura by the looks of it.

Tips and info welcome. Leave a comment below or use the contact form.

What is your favourite North American psytrance festival and why?

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (2 comments so far).

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The Bolivian netlabel Neurotrance Records is back with another dazzling psychedelic trance release designed to set your mind on fire! Compiled by Hyper Drive, Highway To Eternity will guide you on a cosmic journey into the past, present, and future, where matter and the soul are allied, and one right path leads to our destiny. Uniting genuinely psychedelic full-on with reality-bending darkpsy, this release features ten captivating tracks that will “open your eyes and consciousness” and induce a state of “eternal ecstasy.” Mastered by Erofex with artwork by Jar Jar Binks.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. Visit the Neurotrance Records homepage to download more of their free releases.

Track Listing

01 - Uminum - Eeen (143 BPM)
02 - Enertopia - Shadow World (Erofex Remix) (148 BPM)
03 - Clean Trip - Magic Technology (143 BPM)
04 - Hyper Drive - Highway To Eternity (147 BPM)
05 - Wizack Twizack - Baka En Kaka (144 BPM)
06 - Microverse - Illusion Of Ourselves (147 BPM)
07 - Jar Jar Binks - Psychedelic Experience (148 BPM)
08 - Electrypnose - LTech (148 BPM)
09 - Peace Ka - Bounce Escort (150 BPM)
10 - Meteorburn - Velocity (154 BPM)

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (17 comments so far).

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With a full moon overhead it is time for another blinding compilation from the UK netlabel Cosmogenesis Recordings. 29 Full Moons continues the sonic countdown to 2012 with a global line-up of full-on psytrance producers keen to blast your mind and body into ecstatic overdrive. As always you can expect to hear energetic tunes in a variety of modes, from upbeat and energetic to deep and driving with hints of the old school magic from time to time. In short, these are massive tunes from the digital underground.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. Visit the Cosmogenesis Recordings discography for more free psytrance!

Track Listing

01 - Felix - Tranceform (147 BPM)
02 - Bionick - Place Of The Future (145 BPM)
03 - Tartaro - Arabian Sessions (145 BPM)
04 - Cozmographika - Star Cluster (150 BPM)
05 - Atomgrinder & Sketchball - Brain Buzz (148 BPM)
06 - Boom Nasha - V-Check (147 BPM)
07 - Hannebu - Chemtrails (143 BPM)
08 - Astral Invasion - Future (145 BPM)
09 - Nemesis - Alive (145 BPM)
10 - Cosmo Circle - In My Dream (146 BPM)

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (8 comments so far).

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The Finnish psytrance collective People Of The Butterflies returns with Sauce Masculino, the full-length debut of Bechamel Boyz, a “world famous boy band” that demonstrates the typical Finnish disregard for anything even remotely serious. It isn’t clear from the absurd promo text exactly who is behind this strange project (although Astroschnautzer appears to be involved). Their music is fat and groovy “spugedelic” Suomi-style psytrance with ridiculous samples and plenty of weird melodies. The caption on the back cover says it all: “First I was like WTF then I was like OMG LOL!” With artwork by Aapo. Psikaflex also has something to do with it.

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Released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage. Check out the Morphing Psyche compilation and visit the People Of The Butterflies homepage for more!

Track Listing

01 - Zykkelnykkel (145 BPM)
02 - Bechamel Boyz (145 BPM)
03 - I Love This Song (140 BPM)
04 - Daddy-Yo (Alpum Mix) (148 BPM)
05 - Lé Spacemodulator (145 BPM)
06 - Ferrari (146 BPM)
07 - Rabbit Humppa (feat. Dänkki J) (148 BPM)
08 - Monsieur Walaskala (145 BPM)
09 - Tosi Anssi (143 BPM)

©2010 Ektoplazm; click here to view the original post or read what others are saying about it (17 comments so far).

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