So. It’s time that I explained what this is all about.
I’m a huge fan of the traditional psytrance and goa trance sound. Probably always will be. Poking around the edges of the Goa genre, though, I kept stumbling across other scenes and styles… from the earliest roots of the scene in the late seventies and early eighties, to nineties cross-over techno, to post-millennial sounds that (by design or accident) echoed the ethos of the old school, I found myself with a lot of music that just didn’t fit any single pre-existing category.
Except for one: ‘psychedelic’. The music I was drawn to all had one thing in common: it was as much for the head as it was for the feet. These records had an almost cinematic quality that transcended mere ‘dance music’, along with a willingness to experiment and a palpable sense of wonder. No two followed the same formula; as Ray Castle put it: “Each track (in the old Goa scene) had narrative personality and character”. http://www.discogs.com/groups/topic/159529?page=2#2705409
I feel that that’s missing from the psytrance scene of today. No doubt, part of it is just my reaching saturation, which happens to any fan of any music. But I do feel that the current, single-style approach is lacking something vital. So I’m looking back, as well as forwards and sideways… in this blog, I want to continue the search for that ‘something’ that, for me, began with psytrance.
By now you’re probably thinking, ‘shut yer trap and let’s hear this post-Goa grooviness already!’ 😛 Music’s coming soon, very soon. For now, though, I’d be remiss not to credit a few of my inspirations:
http://goatranch.com Marsh is a champion of old-school psychedelic trance, and has rescued a lot of great music from the memory hole.
http://prototrance.blogspot.com has been an invaluable source of information about what rocked Goa back in the 80s.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheUAEcars does new mixes of music that used to be played in Goa.
http://soundcloud.com/goa-rod-t was a Goa DJ in the early years of trance, and hosts a weekly old-meets-new radio program.
http://soundcloud.com/davemothersole/the-roots-of-goa-trance is a tribute to Laurent and the 1985-89 psychedelic sound. This one really expanded my horizons; highly recommended.
Keep the faith,
– Earwall
Bring That Beach Back 