TIP Beyond Colour

Beyond Colour is effectively the penultimate TIP Records release. The label managed to squeeze out two “best of” compilations and The Growly Family after Beyond Colour, but this compilation counts as the very last taste of the original TIP Records sound in all its iridescent glory. Jason C sums it up in his original TRiP review back in 1998: “TIP again take the pulse of the trance movement, setting the standard by which others are judged. Totally hip, totally TIP.” And, from the liner notes, the conceptual underpinnings of Beyond Colour are described as follows:

A galactic hangout where digital heroes pay stomp duty and sample the universe to capture the rapture of fluff free frequencies where entities are entertained. The sacred palce of techno yogi’s who are guiding us on a white knuckle voyage to eternity on a one way ticket.

The journey opens with one of the very best tunes Growling Mad Scientists ever wrote: 1.3 Crumbs. Digging deep at 138 BPM, this chugging psychedelic monster is a trippy delight. Scathing leads burst from a twisted mutant groove, thick layers of sound squelch and wiggle, and a cheeky passage from Ghostbusters 2 is put through the wringer: “I received this information from an alien.” No doubt about it!

Originally released on a lavender-coloured vinyl by High Society, X-Dream’s “True School Heart Trance Mastermix” of Out Here We Are Stoned is an exceptional reworking of the 1992 classic by E-Rection. The throbbing bass, looping industrial drum patterns, and deeply hypnotizing melodies make this megalithic monster one of the most memorable tunes of 1998. Simply brilliant!

Snake Thing’s Blizzard Of Ooze is probably one of the most wildly creative psytrance songs ever written. There hardly seems to be any point in describing what this incredibly weird song is all about in words—the best thing you can possibly do is simply listen to it. This is the best thing Nick Taylor ever produced, hands down.

Years ago I recall running across an online forum dedicated to extolling the meritorious virtues of Shpastic Elastic. This 13 minute-long collaboration between Jan of X-Dream and Planet B.E.N. is the very definition of epic. As with the last few tracks, words don’t really do it any justice. Experience it for yourself!

Systembusters is a project formed by Riktam and Bansi of the Growling Mad Scientists alongside Francesco D’Amato of Lotus Omega and (in this case) someone named Amrit. Originally released on a TIP vinyl single, Godzilla is a real monster of a tune, taking psychedelic trance to a new extreme. Dirty bass lines, crispy percussion, and a fat stomping kick make for one hell of a rhythm section. Elastic noise patterns, tweaked into ornate configurations, leap across the sound canvas like demented goblins. This is a thrilling example of GMS at their creative and artistic peak.

Following up on the previous killer, Growling Mad Scientists step up to provide a blistering 150 BPM remix of Friagram, originally composed by Psychopod (a Koxbox side project signed to TIP) and Graham Wood of The Infinity Project. With this all-star line-up of contributors there is every reason to expect the best and this stellar song certainly delivers!

Halluciongen’s Magik is a kaleidoscopic display of Simon Posford’s awe-inspiring abilities to bend reality and warp minds. As one would expect from the grand wizard of psytrance, the sheer quality of the sound manipulations is simply staggering. Blend in a few oddball samples and you have a very excellent piece of work—not Posford’s best, but still very very good.

Mudspirit is a one-off project consisting of Nick Barber (Doof) and, in his second accredited appearance, Benji Vaughan (Prometheus). Wormhole failed to blow my mind back in the day, but it is not without merit. There is a deeply mysterious feel to this song, which tweaks and plods along with a wobbly gait. For some strange reason, it sounds somewhat like what you might hear on Sandman’s classic debut album, Witchcraft. It is not the best track on Beyond Colour but Wormhole still makes for an interesting listening experience.

Psychopod wrap up this amazing release with Seriaf, a somewhat more subdued take on the bubbly psychedelic style heard on the Headlines EP. In fact, this sounds more like Dragon Tales than any other tune released under their Psychopod alias. In any event, it is another fantastic piece of imaginative psychedelic trance.

I don’t know what else to say! For me, Beyond Colour is THE most inspirational psychedelic trance compilation I can think of. I first heard this when I was becoming more involved in the scene—and this may indicate some bias—but the vibrant creativity and highly advanced production style exhibited all over this release is precisely what has drawn me into this culture. Beyond Colour earns my highest praise—and I would recommend it to absolutely everyone with any sort of interest in the psytrance genre.

Release Data

Title: TIP Beyond Colour
Label: TIP Records
Format: CD/Vinyl compilation
Released: 1998

More Information

TRiP: Vintage review (1995 to 2003).
Discogs: Detailed release information and user-submitted reviews.
Psynews: User-submitted review forum.

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