The best of Goa Trance - top artists, albums and tracks
This is now only maintained on my website at http://www.karangill.com/the-best-of-goa-trance---top-artists-albums-and-tracks.html.
Goa Trance
Trance in its Purest Form
This is a collation of the best tracks and albums of my favourite genre Goa Trance! Its a great introduction to the genre. There don't seem to be any Goa Trance specific lists on the web despite the "Goa sound" being distinct from mainstream trance, so I came up with this. All feedback is welcome though I warn you I'm totally biased in favour of Goa Trance as the best musical genre ever :P NOTE that this is a broad overview to the genre, so I've tried to keep bias out of it and included albums that mayn't be to my taste but are well regarded by others. If you're new to Goa trance, it may be easier for you to go through this short list first which has a complimentary torrent.
If you are a repeat visitor to this page, remember that new additions are always highlighted the way this line is.
If you feel I've missed out any noteworthy tracks, or have any other feedback in mind, don't hesitate to drop a reply.
First some QnAs on Goa Trance and this guide. If you know what Goa is then you can skip to the album list.
Q. Aaaaargh! I'm not going to listen to all this. Give me the 3 top albums! Why can't you put them in best to least best order so I know what I should listen to first?!!
A. Here is a short list of the best Goa tracks.
Its too difficult to arrange all this stuff in order. I ask you, which is best, Twisted, Trust in Trance or Alien Protein? Or maybe Lets Turn On, or Cosmology? Because I haven't the faintest idea. However, I have included some album descriptions which will help you decide what you want to check out first.
Ok, 3 albums you must get before anything else:
Hallucinogen - Twisted
Astral Projection - Trust in Trance
Etnica - Alien Protein
For a general flavour of Goa you can try getting Dragonfly presents: A Voyage into Trance mixed by Paul Oakenfold
Q. Whats the history behind Goa Trance?
A. Goa Trance is a subgenre of trance that originated in Goa, India stemming from the hippie influence. It had its roots in psyrock and the mid-80s electronic music in Europe. Goa Trance was also called "Trance Dance", hence the names of the Astral Projection and Cosmosis tracks. It slowly morphed into Psychedelic Trance around the turn of the millenium, and today there isn't much Goa Trance produced.
Here is a map of all the sub genres of psy and goa trance by Anoebis of Psynews. It was originally posted here. You can't see the whole thing properly so save it to your computer and then open it and zoom into the top left corner which shows Goa and its sub-genres.
Goa is a small (by Indian standards) state halfway down India's western coastline which was a Portugese colony for hundreds of years. It still retains signs of Portugese influence, evident in the beautiful churches you'll find there, which makes it distinct from the rest of India in general. Perhaps this made the Goans more tolerant of hippies. Till the mid-70s hashish was legal and this coupled with the beautiful beaches and the freedom attracted them. Anyway, till the early 90s, no one really cared about the drugs. Then the police started cracking down and the scene shifted to other countries while Goa became a magnet for the usual tourist crowd.
Two albums which kicked the scene off were:
Project II Trance from way back in '93.
Order Odonata Volume 1 from '94.
The entire scene was managed by foreigners, mostly Europeans and Israelis. The only thing Indian about the scene was the location. You'll find that all the major Goa artists are from Israel, France, England and Italy. This will be clearer when you look at the list of major Goa labels down a page. It is said that a major reason for the spreading of Goa in Israel were R'n'R visits paid to India by Israeli soldiers after their compulsory military service. For playback, in the late 80s, casette disks were predominately used, replaced by DAT tapes in the 90s. (Vinyl warped in Goa's heat). The party scene grew through the late 80s into the early 90s as DJs explored the sound, pushing sonic boundaries to give ravers the trippiest experience possible, and out of this desire to explore the consciousness, through music and parties that built up through the night, came the Goa sound.
The "Goa sound" is acid-filled, with the bass comprising of a thumping kick, very melliflous, mysterious and ecstatic and manages all of the above without sounding cheesy (!). Goa trance tracks are melodious, but the harmonics are very important too. You could say the tracks mimic the effect of a drug. They start off slowly with a plain melody. Then the kick is added, then synths and the melody becomes faster and faster with the acid notes becoming quicker and closely spaced. The track then rises to a entrancing climax, and the dénoument is rather short compared to the track's length. Goa tracks are generally 8 minutes long and can stretch to 11 minutes in length. Goa tracks frequently have vocal samples, often from movies, generally referring to aliens, space travel and other "New Agey" themes. For example, Identified Flying Object had theories on space travel on the inside cover.
Goa Gil drew a link between Goa Trance and ancient tribal ceremonies. Goa trance wasn't just music to get you high, it was supposed to be a mind-altering experience.
Cathedral of St. Cajetan in Old Goa
For the mind altering experience some people at these parties were on drugs and their drug of choice was LSD, simply referred to as acid. To know the hows and whys simply listen to the vocal sample in Hallucinogen - LSD or read them here. A sample from the track is
"You're introduced to LSD, an' it's not like taking some other drug for instance like marijuana or something, hm, well, you know, it's altogether a new thing, and you actually can have a religious experience, and, hm, and it can be even more important than reading the bible six times or becoming a pope or something like that, you know... "
Goa Trance parties generally started in the late evening and went on all night, ending the next morning, although parties in Goa could go on for days. This gave rise to a phenomenon singular to Goa and also Psychedelic Trance, a track is sometimes sub-genrefied by the time of the day it is most suitable for. For example, some tracks will be called "morning". Another point to keep in mind is that one producer can or will have several seemingly separate projects, which is why its a good idea to use Discogs so you know which albums and projects to connect. For example, Ofer Dikovsky has worked under the monikers of Phreaky, Omputer, Tandu, Indoor, Sound Pollution, Oforia and Pigs in Space!! Quite something.
Major Goa labels include
UK - Dragonfly, Flying Rhino, Blue Room Released, TIP Records, Phantasm, Celtic, Transient, Return to the Source
Japan - Matsuri Productions ,Tokyo Tekno Tribe
Australia - Psy-Harmonics
Germany - Nephilim, Spirit Zone, High Society, Nova Tekk
Israel - Brand New Entertainment (BNE), Trust in Trance, Phonokol
The record label that has lead newskool Goa is Suntrip Records (France/Belgium). Avatar Records has re-released many old goa classics, besides their "Retrodelic Vibes" series of goa compilations.
NOTE: Acid, as in referring to LSD the drug , and acid as in referring to music are two different things. For LSD click on the link. Acid in music refers to the high frequency, high pitched tweerps, bells, whistles, squeeks, squeals, whooshes etc which generally warp your mind, give you the feeling that your brain is 20 light years away in space and depending on your imagination make you think of aliens/space/ancient tribal ceremonies....you get the general idea.
Acid Trance should make you see stuff like this =P Cover Art from the Flying Rhino release, VA - First Flight
Q. What happened to Goa?
A. Well, essentially all Goa has been produced in 6 all too short years, 1993-1998 after which the sound became psychedelic. Psychedelic trance is much less melodic, has sharper distinct sounds instead of melodies which flow into each other and is darker. Goa Trance is more organic while psytrance is more mechanical.
A good illustration of the transition of Goa into psychedelic trance is Koxbox's Dragon Tales album and Children of Paradise - Urban Alien.
Or, quoting sljiva for this,
"For a real contrast between goa and psy I would recommend checking Raja Ram's two labels: TIP Records and TIP.World. TIP Records were releasing melodic, organic and eastern influenced trance prior to 1998 from artists such as The Infinity Project, Doof and Psychopod, while on the other hand TIP.World is some kind of psy successor of TIP Records and they release this metallic, cold and mechanical type of trance from artists such as Alien Project, 1200 Mics and Logic Bomb."
Another case in point is Etnica. By 2000, it lost 2 members and went the psychedelic way. Essentially all genres need to develop further, artists began to explore and wanted to branch off themselves from the Goa sound. Some produced more listener friendly music, others preferred the dark, twisted atmospheres of Psytrance.
However, thanks to the efforts of Suntrip Records among others, a new wave of Goa artists have come up in Filteria, Khetzal, Goasia to name a few. I find the newschool Goa artists lean towards the morning or uplifting sound to a greater degree than oldschool artists, this can give the feeling that their tracks have less substance.
I don't want to give the impression that goa trance is better than psytrance. Its just that there so much mediocre, run of the mill psy out there that finding good psytrance takes time. You just need to look really hard for it because its hiding underneath a heap of commercial releases.
Q. All Goa sounds the same, with the same acid TB303 sounds!
A. To really understand Goa or Psy Trance for that matter, I'd say you have to dance to it. Goa/Psy Trance party listings are next.
Otherwise it takes time to develop a liking for Goa. Give the tracks a couple of listens and some patience. The sounds will be the same to a new listener but with time you'll appreciate the different melodies and the acid. Goa Trance is not "fluffy" or "cheesy" so if you've started off by listening to that kind of trance, it will take some time to appreciate Goa Trance.
If you're new to Goa Trance or Acid Trance you could these tracks first:
The Light - Dusk - Make sure you get the 8:46 version, not the 3:46 Northen Exposure one.
Astral Projection - Mahadeva
Blue Planet Coporation - Overbloody Flood
Boris Blenn - Rain (California Sunshine Mix)
Q. Goa Trance and Psytrance party/festival listings?
A. Isratrance Party Listings - all world
Isratrance Festival Listings - all world
Psynews Party/Festival Listings - all world
Ektoplazm Event Listings - mostly focused on the States and Canada
Goatrance.de - focused on Germany for the large part
Psyevents - Parties in and around Austria
OzTrance & Australiens - Australia
Psytribe and Psycircle - California
Q. Where can I get these tracks and the artist discographies?
A. Dedicated Psy/Goa database at PsyDB
Discographies at www.discogs.com .
Tracks sold online Saikosounds or get them off Soulseek . There is also Psyshop which but people say Saikosounds is better.
Q. Are there any free Goa releases I can check out?
A. Few I've come across:
Golden Vibes I
Golden Vibes II
Pyramidal Trancedence
Q. I wanna know more!
A. Awright, here are some links :)
Isratrance - Big trance forum with lots of party listings
In-depth article on Goa Trance
Site which chronicles the origin of Goa Trance till its transition into Psytrance
Another article on Goa Trance, shorter and easier read then the other links
Psynews - Meet other people who have good taste ^^ and are into goa/psy
A tryst with Goa Trance
Another article from someone who was there
The first half is a good first hand feel of the party scene in Goa
What is Goa Trance? - History and Development of the scene
An article on the evolution of Goa after 2000 by one of the founders of the Suntrip label.
Road to Goa - Part of how it started in the 60s & 70s
The Rhetoric of Psytrance: Anix Gleo, Astroff, The Fusion, and Martin Cloud - PsyTrance in Russia
There some movies made on the Goa Trance phenomenon
Karahana Ganey Huga [Download] - Movie on the famous party in Israel.
Liquid Crystal Vision - Ok movie if you ignore the hippy mumbo jumbo, has some nice visuals.
Last Hippie Standing - Has Goa Gil in a leading role :P
Q. I want to hear Goa tracks with Eastern/Oriental/Tribal influences, and those tracks that marked the point where the Goa sound began to form.
A. Eastern/Oriental/Tribal influenced Goa tracks
-Shakta & Moonweed - Micronesia - This one rules them all, with the strains of a beautiful sitar starting the track.
-Shakta - Silicon Trip (album) - Many tracks have an Oriental/Indian feel to them.
-Canda - Luxman
-Sundog - Touch the Sun
-Bass Invaders - Nene Naha
-Chi-a.d. - Pathfinder
-Dogma - Sutra Sarma
-Pharagonescia - Pharatropic
-Elysium - Monzoon has this eastern-tribalish atmosphere
-Juno Reactor - Beyond the Infinite
-Juno Reactor - Navras - has a lot of Indian chanting, that complements the atmosphere of the track beautifully.
-Medicine Drum - Supernature
-The Nommos - Amma - The best tribal track I have ever heard. In the climax of the track you will find this crazy, primal female vocal sample \o/
-Juno Reactor - Beyond the Infinite (album) - Similar to Shakta's Silicon Trip in that you will find many tracks with an Eastern/Indian feel to them.
-Mysterious Wizard - Visions of India
Oldest Goa/Proto-Goa/Goa-ish tracks
-Tangerine Dream - Pheadra (1973)
-KLF - What Time Is Love (Pure Trance Version) (1989)
-Dance 2 Trance - We Came in Peace (1990)
-A.B. Kazes - Out of Space Trance (1989) (album)
-Trilithon - Trance Dance (1991) (album)
-The Overlords - Sundown (Ionizer Mix)
Q. So what do you think of Goa Trance?"
A. I think that after writing this long article, I'm entitled to my 2 cents =] Goa Trance simply blew my mind when I first heard it. It instantly appealed to me, caught me and said "BOOM!!". Mainstream trance is fine but it doesn't take trance to its highest and fullest level. Music cannot go higher than Goa, nor can any other genre take you to the places Goa does. Its a different feeling altogether. For sheer soaring psychedelia, nothing beats Goa, its as simple as that!
First, the best Goa albums. In these all albums every track is good, and at least half of them are simply great.
Format is [Artist] - [Album] - [Year] - [Notable Tracks] followed by remarks if any on the following lines.
The first link is to the listing on www.discogs.com and the subsequent ones to the YouTube videos.
Asia 2001 - Live - 1996 - [4] - Rakshas
Good stuff, and the 2 remixes from MFG round if off well.
Asia 2001 - Ra - 1996
--->I find that Asia 2001 is difficult to appreciate during home listening., and almost all his tracks seem to be meant for parties. Keeping this in mind, he has some great fast, trippy tracks.
Astral Projection - Trust in Trance - 1996 - [1] - Kabalah, [6] - People Can Fly, [8] - Aurora Borealis
Well to be honest, there isn't any point in listing notable tracks, the whole album is a work of art. If you don't like this, don't bother going any further. The wonderful acid notes, the beautiful buildups and ecstatic melodies will give you a real high.
Astral Projection - Dancing Galaxy - 1997 - [1] - Dancing Galaxy
Astral Projection - Another World - 1999 - [1] - Nilaya, [2] - Another World, [4] - Searching for UFOs
--->Israeli trance at its best, Astral Projection is arguably the best known Goa Trance project with its joyful, morning sound. Their unique style - uplifting and light Goa Trance - takes what is already a beautiful genre and makes it so uplifting that you actually feel like you're flying.
Bell Size Park - The Truth is There - 1996 - [1] - Aqua Darkness, [4] - Horizons
Still a bit divided or including the entire album or just the good tracks. Definitely one or two fillers. However on the whole the entire album is trance that fills your head, takes it's own and allows you gratefully sink into it's grooves.
Blue Planet Corporation - Blue Planet - 1999 - [2] - Crystal
This album is a must if you are into light, melodic music. The tracks on this album are almost hyper-melodic, lilting and beautiful =D
California Sunshine - Imperia - 1997
--->California Sunshine are known for a happy,uplifting sound, though some of their tracks get formulaic. Nonetheless, if you like the uplifting, morning sound, you should try them.
Chi-a.d. - Virtual Spirit - 1997 - [1] - Healing Magic, [3] - Astral Warrior, [7] - Paranormal Activity (Spooky)
This one is one of the best Goa albums ever, consistent throughout. If you want to nitpick, sometimes the vocal samples are used too frequently, but otherwise its a great piece of work.
Chi-a.d. - Earth Crossing
--->Chi-a.d. is I think the most underservedly underappreciated artist in Goa...his tracks are very good, full of innovation and highly recommended! Perhaps they could build faster though.
Cosmosis - Cosmology - 1996 - the entire album - [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]
Afterglow is great ambient goa and Key to the Innerverse is the best Symphonic Goa Trance track you'll find. It really screams at the end. And the rest is very fast, trippy music, no track will disappoint, its guaranteed to give you that epic feeling. Cosmosis can venture into hard acid territory at times. For example, from 2:00 to 3:50 of Gift of the Gods the acid line is reminiscent of Higher State of Conciousness .
Cydonia - In Fear of a Red Planet - 1999 - [1] - Haunted World, [4] - Cactus
Dark Goa Trance release.
Darshan - Awakening - 1998
Another good Dark Goa release.
Dimension 5 - Transdimensional - 1997 - [3] - Antidote, [10] - Flow
This has some fast, pulsating Goa melodies, but is less complicated and more uplifting then say IFO. If you loved this album be sure to check out the Magick Universe album made by the same people under the moniker Hunab Ku.
Doof - Lets Turn On - 1996 - [1] - Lets Turn On, [4] - Double Dragons
Enchanting and fantasical music, this album will carry you away, especially Double Dragons.
E-Mantra - Arcana - 2009
Newskool Goa - floating.complex.intense.dreamy.layers melding together.very much in the oldskool vein of things.
Electric Universe - One Love - 1995 - the entire album - [1] - One Love, [2] - Out of Time, [3] - Orange Night, [4] - Galaxia, [5] - Equilibrio, [6] - Electronic Pulsation, [7] - Virtual Landscape, [8] - Visiting Venus, [9] - Nexus
This entire album is consistent, quality Goa, especially Electronic Pulsation and Virtual Landscape. Electronic Pulsation approaches Etnica in excellence.
Elysium - Monzoon - 1996 - [2] - Monzoon, [7] - Aliens
I like the entire album. It has this oriental, tribal feel like you're in the middle of a lush rainforest standing next to a waterfall.
Etnica - The Italian EP - 1995 - [A] - Fractal Gates, [B1] - Chemical Trance, [B2] - Acid Shell
All 3 tracks on this EP are great, and as the names suggest trippy stuff.
Etnica - The Juggling Alchemists Under The Black Light - 1995 - [5] - Moon Influence, [6] - Spheric Koncept
Etnica - Alien Protein - 1996 - [2] - Chakra Active 8, [6] - Starship 101
This is one of the best Goa albums of all time, its transcends the whole sensation of listening to music and makes turns it into an entirely different experience all together.
Etnica - Equator - 1999 - [1] - Be On Go, [5] - History
If you're looking for downbeat, ambient and slower Goa which stil retains all its elements, this is for you.
---> Etnica is my favorite Goa project. Their music is on a deeper level, profound and full of meaning. It is truely transcendent. It takes a lot of listening to appreciate it, but its more than worth it :D. To be honest, you can't go wrong with any pre-2000 Etnica track. They are just so good. And this isn't my opinion, ask anyone who's into Goa.
Goa Gil - Forest of the Saints - 1998 - Bamboo Forest - Sadhu
Goa Gil - Ceiba - 1998
When it comes to Goa, you're going to bump into Goa Gil sooner or later, he was huge in the initial Goa Trance scene. So I thought I'd put down a few of his mixes over here.
Goasia - From Other Spaces
New school Goa Trance. If you like this one, try Dancing With The Blue Spirit too!
Green Nuns of the Revolution - Rock Bitch Mafia
--->GNOR are a kind of "funky" Goa mixed in with hard acid.
Hallucinogen - Twisted - the entire album - [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [Hidden Track]
The most famous Goa album ever. Hypnotic, fluid, trippy, twisting...the definitive Goa album and "LSD" the definitive Goa track. If I had to pick one Goa album everyone on Earth must hear, I'd pick this. This album will overwhelm your senses, LSD is beautiful, lilting and the layers all meld together to make it a journey though sound. Shamanix has a very recognisable vocal sample,
"The way I feel, I don't expect to go to sleep for a year, I'm on f... fire!!" Exactly the way you would feel if you were on LSD and were listening to it.
When you hear Solstice, keep listening after it ends, after about 5 minutes or so of silence, you hear some ambient Goa sounds, this is the ambient version of a track called "Angelic Particles". I highly recommend getting the original too.
--->Hallucinogen is a project by Simon Posford, and his sound is very twisted and effortless, spinning out rhythms and melodies with ease.
Watch Hallucinogen - LSD
(The) Infinity Project - Mystical Experiences - [3] - The Answer
Mystical Experiences isn't just another New Age-ey name, they mean it! This is ambient Goa, but of a different kind than Shpongle, more Eastern and mystical. The Answer is one of the best tracks ever.
--->The Infinity Project was a collaboration between Simon Posford and Raja Ram who also plays the flute on some of the tracks.
Jaïa - Blue Energy - 1998 - [1] - Sommeil Paradoxal, [6] - Maï Maï , [8] - After the Rain
This is excellent uplifting, light, melodic Goa. Mai Mai is the best track on it, and Sommeil Paradox and After the Rain are good ambient tracks. You also get a hidden track at the end of After the Rain.
Juno Reactor - Beyond the Infinite - 1995 - [1] - Guardian Angel, [3] - Ice Cube, [5] - Samurai
--->Juno Reactor incorporates a whole lot of tribal influences and drumming sometimes making for very "heavy" tracks. The group is also known for its work on the Matrix soundtracks.
Khetzal - Corolle - 2005
New school Goa trance.
Man With No Name - Moment of Truth - 1996 - [2] - Floor Essence (Dayglo Mix), [4] - Evolution, [6] - Low Commotion
A Goa Trance classic 'nuff said.
Message from God - The Prophecy - 1996 - [7] - Hynotized
Message from God - Project Genesis - 1998 - [2] - Intelligent Machine, [3] - Project Genesis, [8] - On Mars
On Mars is a beautiful track, there is no discernible rhythm because MFG has managed to blend together the different tonal layers so well, that there appears to be a continuous stream of rhythm.
--->Commonly abbreviated as MFG. Project Genesis is dark and may be considered psychedelic.
Paradise Connection - Paradise Connection - 1995 - [5] - Longbaceglider on Solstice, [6] - Jeboa Electrogarden, [7] - Source of Emotion
A Boris Blenn production, the first 4 tracks aren't bad, but the last 3 above-mentioned tracks are simply lovely, you can simply put them on, close your eyes and float away ^_^ Source of Emotion is just heaven, 20 minutes of bliss.
(The) Pleiadians - Identified Flying Object - 1997 - the entire album - [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]
The album is great. No, scratch that because this album cannot be described. Its up there with Twisted as the best Goa or Psy trance album of all time!! You just have to get this! I particularly liked Maia, Taygeta and Alcyone. Maia has such an eerie ending with a sinister choir that it makes you think you're at the climax of an ancient shamanic tribal ritual.
--->The Pleiadians are a project formed by Etnica with the same band members and the same sound. These tracks are extremely fast and trippy. The difference between Etnica and Pleiadians is the name, and that Pleidians stuff is faster and trippier while Etnica is more laid back and melodic.
Shakta - Silicon Trip - 1997 - [1] - Neuromancer, [5] - Spiritual Beings in Physical Bodies
High quality Goa throughout, none of the tracks will disappoint. There are an incredible variety of sounds in this album, keeping each track fresh even with repeat listens. Spiritual Beings in Physical Bodies is the awesomest, yummiest, trippiest, acid-ey, crunchalicious, mindtripping track ever.
Shakta - The Enlightened Ape - 1999
--->Shakta is one of the lesser known Goa artists bus has a very distinctive sound and is one of my favourites. The range of the psychdelic sounds he dishes out will have you marvelling.
Shpongle - Are you Shpongled? - 1998 - [1] - Shpongle Falls, [6] - Divine Moments of Truth
--->Again, Simon Posford at his best, this time collaborating with Raja Ram to produce some great ambient Goa. Shpongle is really the gold standard for ambient Goa.
Tandu - Multimoods - 1997 - [1] - Alien Pump, [4] - New Aura
This album finds frequenct mention on "Favourite album" discussions, and is another masterpiece from Ofer Dikovsky.
Total Eclipse - Violent Relaxation - 1996
Transwave - Backfire - 2007 - [2] - Hypersphere, [5] - Cycles of Life
Yes! This is like a "Best of Transwave". Très bien! Cycles of Life when the beat drops at 4:40...aaah!
Ubar Tmar - Fusion - 1997 - [10] - A Trip to Taketori
Haha, psychedelic madness, Ubar Tmar throws all sorts of stuff at you. Heck he introduces something new every 4 beats. Good stuff if you're tired of the usual goa albums and want something fresh.
X-Dream - We Created Our Own Happiness - 1997
X-Dream - Trip to Trancesylvania - 1993
Zodiac Youth - Devil's Circus - 1997 - [3] - Atoms (Angelfish Mix), [8] - Fast Forward the Future (Voodoo People Mix)
A very interesting album, with a variety of styles since each track is a mix by a well-known group. The Voodoo People remix of Fast Forward the Future has some awesome acid sounds. Don't miss the hidden ambient track, which rounds off the album after the last track.
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Often a release has this one really mindblowing track which stands out from the rest. So while the release doesn't deserve a place, the track does. THis is a list of tracks that stood out in otherwise average releases not covered above.
A.B. Didgeridoo Oblivion - Vortex
Alienapia - Dharmakaya
Analog Pussy - Go Wacko
Excellent track. From the Psycho Bitch From Hell album which I liked initially but didn't hold up on repeat listens.
Astral Projection - Mahadeva
This tracks needs no introduction, its on every top trance tracks list you'll find. Etymological note: Maha means Great or Mighty and Deva means God in Sanskrit. This is one example of the India influence in Goa Trance.
Astral Projection - Liquid Sun
Astral Projection - Solid Electronics
This is one of my faves, and exemplifies how a light, euphoric Goa track should start.
Ayahuasca - Ayahuascan Chant
Now, this track may be personal preference but I love this! The notes hit just the right chord with me and will take you away, as if through a cosmic journey.
Battle of the Future Buddhas - Tigerhill
Battle of the Future Buddhas - Lord of Dance
Battle of the Future Buddhas - Marsmellow (Meditation Mix)
All from the Twin Sharkfins album, which is good dark forest goa.
Boris Blenn - Rain (California Sunshine Remix)
A great track, melodic and uplifting...you really feel like its raining, and nature is all around you.
Blue Planet Corporation - Overbloody Flood (8 minute version)
Blue Planet Corporation - Juno Satellite
Canda - Luxman
A harmonious blend of Indian mysticism and Goa melodies :)
Chakra & Edi Mis - Liquid Troll
Charm - Brain Structure
Chi-a.d. - Eye Am the I
The best Chi-a.d. track ever!
Chi-a.d. - Biocandy
Chi-a.d. - Pathfinder
Chi-a.d. - The Flame of Eternal Life
Cosmic Silence - Psy Spirit
Cydonia - Animals
Darshan - Warped Dimension
Deedrah - Essential
Doc Von Ooze feat. Boney Arse - Jerking Knobs (Microsurgery Mix)
Edi Mis - The Big Glory
Nothing too complicated, a simple track with aesthetically placed notes.
Endora - Joy
Etnica - Tribute
Four Carry Nuts - Nuts Without Sugar
Genetic - Transmission
Genetic - Floor
Goasia - Reach New Land
Goasia - Yin and Yang
Hallucinogen - Angelic Particles
Hypno - SR111 Flight
Imperial Project - Parallel World
Imperial Project - Acts of Violence
Both from the Remote Viewing album, which is pretty good :)
Juno Reactor - High Energy Protons
Juno Reactor - Acid Moon
Juno Reactor - Conga Fury
Juno Reactor - Pistolero (MWNN remix)
Kopfuss Resonator and DJ Jörg - Whipbird
Crazy, high frequency acid.
Krumelur - A Glass of Milk
Mama Indica - Radioactive Rain
Hard acid Goa! Yeah!!
Manmademan - Drama
Man With No Name - Teleport
This track is one of the most famous Goa Trance tracks ever produced. Man With No Name at his best!
Mary Jane - Kairo
Mary Jane - Inuendo
Moodsyne - Frogs Breath
Mushroomman - Dreamer
Mushroomman - Crystadelic
Mindsphere - Perception
MWNN presents Yogi Bear and Grey One - Big Trouble in Outer Space
N.D.M.A. - Vitan
On the surface there is nothing special about this track, but at the end of it, you feel so good.
Neuwerk - Outland
Noma - Another Time
An entrancing 10 minute long ambient tracks that gives you a real release.
The Nommos - Amma
The Nommos is a project by Goa Gil and his wife Ariane which fuses tribal drumming and Goa. Amma really evokes a kind of New-Age tribal atmosphere and will send chills up your spine.
Planet B.E.N. - Screwdriver
Planet B.E.N. - Trippy Future Garden
If you like Planet B.E.N. slow, trippy builds and journey tracks then I recommend you try out the rest of the Trippy Future Garden album.
Non Fiction - Prolog - The Next Generation
Oforia - Timelessness
Pan - Adios Amoeba
Pharagoonescia - Pharatropic
Paradise Connection - Synthadelic Glide
Perfect Rainbow - Dream on Dreamer
Perfect Rainbow - Exotic Eye
Prana - Voyager III (Voodoo Remix)
Prana - Message for Eastedge
Prana - Boundless
Prana & Athena - Future Space Travellers
Quirk - Robatised
Ra - Gates of Tiptareth
Ra is an ex-Dimension 5 member and this track is a lilting, carry-you-away ambient trancer. This was released on VA - Twist Dreams from Suntrip.
Radiotrance - Plasma
Sandman - Tripulogic
I was pleasantly surprised to hear the innovative bassline for a track made in '96.
Section X - Galaxian
SETI Project - Pain of Anxiety
Shakatura - All Hallows Morning
Shakta & Moonweed - Micronesia
Shakta & Ping Pong - Between the Nothing
Shakta - The Future is Now
Sheyba - Into the 4th Dimension
Slinky Wizard - Supernatural
Solar Plexus - Solarplanet
Solar Plexus - The Landing (Epilogue)
These tracks are from their Images of the Fifth Dimension album, which is good, but not good enough to make it to the album list.
Soluna - Dancing Spirit
Sound Pollution - Where
After you hear this, you'll feel that as far as trance goes, this track is "just right"
Space Elves - Anjuna Beach
Stanley Shanti & the Chillum Wallahs - Placid
Subcouds - On Red
Sundog - Shatterbox
Sundog - Touch the Sun
Talamasca - Believe
Technossomy - Elektron Bender
Technossomy - High Density
Technossomy - Pyramid
Technossomy - V.T.O.L.
The Overlords - Sundown (Ionizer Mix)
Great track, it was released when Goa was in its formative years.
The Light - Dusk
Make sure you get the 8:46 long version, not the shorter 3:46 version on NE. The first half of the track is ok, but the second half is really good.
The Muses Rapt - Spiritual Healing
Total Eclipse - Total Eclipse
Found on VA - Project II Trance way back in '93.
Total Eclipse- Sound Is Solid (both Original and Simon Posford's Remix)
Total Eclipse - Transparent Mind
Total Eclipse - Can't Do That
Total Eclipse - Far Beyond Speech
Transwave - Land of Freedom
Transwave - Rezwalker (Black Thunder Mix)
Takes a bit to get started but its good after that.
Trilithon - Trance Dance
An absolute gem from way back in '91, pure acid bliss. Exemplifies the transition between new beat and goa.
Tufáan - Probe (Green Nuns of the Revolution Mix)
Unconscious Collective - Fluorostani Trancendance
This track is rather funky, so if you like GNOR, you should like this one
Underhead - Orojuna
Witchcraft - Magic Frequencies
This track sends shivers up my spine. Witchcraft is Chakra and Sandman.
Zen Paradox - The Light At the End
A floating ambient track, check out the rest of the EP, of the same name, it appears on if you like the track.
Zirrex - Enter the Psychedelic
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In conclusion, I've written this from the point of view of introducing someone unfamiliar with Goa Trance to the genre. I hope you liked it, and it helped you get to know the genre. There are many more artists out there like Bypass Unit, Dogma, Electron Wave, Kopfuss Resonator, Kumbh Mela, Kode IV, Lords of Chaos, Metal Spark, Mindsphere, Moksha, Ka-Sol, O.O.O.D, Ololiuqui, Planet B.E.N., Psychaos, Psyko Disko, Quirk, Shakatura, Sandman, Shaolin Wooden Men, Tarsis, Ypsilon 5, Xenomorph that there isn't really any end to listing albums & artists. Use Discogs to find other projects by artists you like (look up all the projects each individual member was part of, and the projects of members of those projects and so forth and you'll quickly find a lot of releases to listen to) Psynews.org review section to discover more, Psydb and keep exploring the sound ^_^
Thanks for the reply. I'm still building up my oldschool archives mainly - man, there's so much stuff I wasn't even aware of that's absolute killer. I've downloaded like, more than 100 Eps, albums and compilations in the last few days. That was after I came back from a mini holiday break, before which I'd downloaded another 50 or so albums, so there's LOTS of catching up to do. Hard to follow newschool.
When I used to go to parties in the late 90s I was more preoccupied with getting up there, if you see what I mean, than investigating the scene. Plus there was no downloading and little money. I only knew about 10-15 artists, none in depth. The parties I went to, even then, were mostly darkpsy, mostly boring musicwise. I went to Aurora last year & there was a little goa there, but much more so this year. I couldn't afford it this year though :( It's more a hope than a belief that there's gonna be a goa party (not festi, I'm getting too old for 3-6 day trance mayhem).
I'm looking forward to anything by Sir Simon (he should really be knighted) this year and the next, though with his dedication to innovation I doubt that Hallucinogen 3 is going to sound anything like oldschool. Hopefully it's going to be layered and melodic - I'm not a big fan of Shabby Trance.
Finally, it's great that a few years down the line you're still into goa. Most of the peole from the old days have lost interest. Keep it up (and check the oldschool project if you haven't already done so).
I really wish Simon didn't get into all this psybient stuff...ok Shpongle was good, but then Younger Brother followed it. Twisted was a gem, but after that, perhapns leaving the Space Pussy EP, nothing from him has come close to it. Thats why a Hallucinogen 3 would be great, though the chances of that are...well the chances of that depress me. He doesn't have to do a repeat of Twisted, every artist wants to explore which is why he moved onto psybient. Maybe he could do something like Tetrahedron, a progression of goa into something harder, darker yet twistedly psychedelic.
It took me about 2 years to fully explore Goa, I think thats how long you need for every EDM sub-genre. I'm doing DnB right now.
I don't really mind darkpsy, its good to stomp to, as long as it doesn't continue for more than a couple of hours, after that I need something lighter to go higher =]
I love Shpongle and YB I quite like :)I actually like psybient as much as goa(if not a tiny little bit more). To be honest I like all Hallucinogen stuff, though nothing as much as Twisted - except Angelic Particles. Funnily enough I listened to The lone deranger today before I read your reply. I find it (excuse the pan) more twisted and warped than Twisted.
Tetrahedron completely blew me away, I like it almost as much as IFO, espacially Lunar Civilization. I think, judging by Shabby Trance, the new Hallucinogen is going to be part trance the English way (=utter strangeness), part Shpongle-like ethereal stuff. We'll have to wait and see.
I hardly ever go to parties anymore, mainly due to the fact that I live in a small town in Greece, where there's nothing going on except the occassional folk night, but also because there's very little goa even in the capital. Darkpsy is ok just for a couple of hours as you said. After that I feel too disorientated and mentally tired. I wish there were psybient nights but I'm not aware of any.
Now with downloading everything relatively new (this decade and the last) can be explored
very quickly. Dowload-evaluate-buy accordingly. Mega convenient.
I can't not mention my favourite band of all time: for those who like it psychedelic without being stuck to any one genre, and also enjoy insrumental rock (guitar/bass/drums/keyboards) check out Ozric Tentacles - Erpland (and then the rest 25 or so albums) :)
Yup there isn't much goa, but I'm sure there is some melodic/progressive psy - If could catch artists like Talpa or Chromosome. I don't know if its worth going for a psybient night, you might as well listen to it at home.
I still have a lot of listening to do in genres like rock, jazz etc. so I haven't checked out Ozric Tentacles as yet. Everyday instead of discovering more music, I discover how little I've heard. 25 albums? Thats a pretty impressive discography. See? Now I have even more to listen to.
There a couple of huge differences between listening to psybient at home and at a party: the decoration, the volume/quality of sound and the beautiful people. Plus the 'I'm going out mood'.
As far as the Ozrics are concerned, I would suggest that any pschedelic fan check out their first 3 albums (Pungent Effulgent, Erpland and Strangeitude), though the differences among their albums are more to do with technology than style and can usually be spotted by
fan(atic)s only.
Oh yes I couldn't agree more with you on the subject of 'I only know one thing: that I know nothing'. Thanks again for some great suggestions.
ok this list is great i love it!!
I have a question for you electronic music lovers... does anybody know how/where to get soulseek for a mac?? Does it exist? I miss that program, i know that's what you all use b/c that's how i found about it. I just switched over to mac so i'm using OSX instead of windows and finding soulseek for that is proving very difficult... I'm wondering if it exists at all :(. Please help me!!!
ps sorry for the spam-like message i know this has nothing to do with this awesome goa list but I'm really pissed because limewire sucks and I lost all my great trance music on my old computer and I want to get it back!!
Spamming off topic is bad enough, but spamming again to explain your previous spam? You could just google 'soulseek for mac' or go to the Soulseek forums and click on 'third party clients'.
Umm... good question, actually I enjoyed more tracks by different artists, I loved all artists so I'll go with my least favorites (which have less tracks I enjoyed really, but some great, you know) ; Cydonia, Asia 2001, MFG and Shpongle. But I still have to listen the tons of albums I downloaded from that list, I only have to find 12 of them now :)
Here are my personal favorite tracks actually:
Astral Projection - Aurora Borealis
Doof - Double Dragons
Pleiadians - Maia
Hallucinogen - LSD
Shakta - Lepton Head part 3
Etnica - Moon Influence
and that's about it for my real favorites
Seems you prefer the more acidic, trippy stuff. You could try compilations since you like many different artists. Psychedelic Goa Core and Pure Goa - A Psychedelic Trip seem to be to your taste :)
hey thanks for these suggestions! I found Pure goa - a psy trip but didn't find psy goa core yet :( Btw I have problems to find some albums on your list on slsk:
Chi-A.D. - Earth Crossing
Green Nuns Of Revolution - Rock Bitch Mafia
X-Dream - We Created Our Own Happiness
and Zodiac Youth - Devil's Circus
...Where did you find them? Or do you have a slsk account so you could upload them to me?
Its there on Soulseek. My username's the same.
Hey there. It's me again. Got any suggestions for compilation albums? I've got some, mostly downloaded, mostly mega classics (TIP, Flying Rhino, Dragonfly, Distance and some Transient) and I'm wondering if there's anything else not as well known worth checking out. I'm talking about 1994-2000. Thanks.
PS. Has anyone checked out the Ozrics?
Hey, check out the two compilations mentioned in the post above yours. Then Concept in Dance, The Independence Trance Revival, Accidental Occidentalism, Celtic Records, Deck Wizards Series, Destination Goa - The Second Chapter is really good, Greetings From Goa, Holy Mushroom, Language of Light 3-Caltrans, Tribal Science, Twist Dreams, Trance Mix 6 (Melodia Records). I haven't listened to a lot of comps myself, and everyone has their favourite compilations, but thats a good list to start off with. Some of the comps have been included for specific tracks, like the Independence Trance Revival for Etnica - Nice Toy and that X-Dream mix.
I will check out Ozric, *eventually*
Hello again, just a quick one this time: does the version of Karahana for download have English subtitles? Or even, does one with subtitles exist? Great film with awesome music and atmosphere-pitty I don't speak Hebrew. Thanks.
Yup, the one for download has subtitles. Its an awesome movie, I feel so good when I watch all the smiling faces =]
Hey, I stumbled across this list and had a right good read. I've been listening to goa/psy trance ever since the heydays of the early to mid 90's and I have to say that your list does include the best of the oldschool goa albums. I'm slightly disappointed by how dismissive you are about anything that came after about 1998 when the scene underwent a fairly dramatic shift. The Goa lable fell off the genre mostly in an attemt to make it more mainstream marketable (think of Paul Oakenfold and Danny Rampling playing Man with no name, Astral Projection, Juno Reactor among other on Radio 1 in the UK). While I have to agree tat the sound certainly underwent a huge change around this time I think you're issing out hugely on a massive amount of incredibly good trance that still continues to be produced to this day (one look at Psyshop or Saikosounds will confirm this). Indeed many of the originators still release and perform regularly - Green Nuns have made a revival, Hallucinogen is still the bigest draw on the festival scene, Transwave with a new release, Juno Reactor playing in London this October, etc.
The change in sound came as much from new technological inventions as the need for the producers and party goers to always be at the leading edge of the psychedelic shockwave. It comes as no surprise that as the original Goa sound gained more widespread acceptance that people would push to somehting more extreme and so the scene fractured. From the all-encompassing umbrella of Goa trance we now have darkpsy, morningpsy, progressive, psybreaks, the list goes on...
Good quality oldschool psytrance (I only ever called it psytrance ever since the beginning) is still out there and being made - check out the new Cosmosis album - it just takes a bit more tracking down.
As far as your list goes,
Hallucinogen - The Lone Deranger - every bit as good as the first and still the most well produced trance album ever made. Posford really ups the technological game compared to Twisted.
Cosmosis - Synergy - again a second album that is every bit as good as the artist's first (if not better) with the benefit of better production. Higher Access (track 5) is one of the most euphoric, mind-meltingly psychedelic tracks ever.
Space Tribe - any of the first 3 or 4 albums contain some of the best tunes of the genre in particular, God's Chosen People and Know Your Dopefiend.
Shamanic Tribes on Acid - nt that well known but perhaps one of the most psychedelic artists that there was (sadly Jake is no longer with us) - Check out his "Mad Gatter's Acid Tea Party" album
Psychopod - Side project of Koxbox and much more psychedlic
Infected Mushroom - The Gathering and Classical Mushroom. No matter how much you may hate their awful wailings nowadays these 2 albums are both masterpieces.
I could list more but I'd need to go trawling through my old CD collection to jog the old grey matter.
Music is always so much better ( I feel) if you don't try to compartmentalise it too much. Psytrance is more popular now than it ever was, probably because the sound does keep evolving, so stop bemoaing the loss of the good old days and go and find a party and have a good stomp :)
Oh yeah, probaably my idea of what constitutes a good "Goa" track is totally different from yours ;)
Yeh, I was worried about coming across like that, since my perception of psytrance has changed since I wrote that (that was quite sometime back). So I've edited it to...
"This is not to say psytrance is bad. There is a lot of good psytrance out there too. You just need to look really hard for it because its hiding underneath a heap of commercial releases."
The link is to my psytrance list, which is similar to this, but much less exhaustive. I like psy and what is had to offer a lot, some of the ful-on and darkpsy is pretty good, as you can see on that list. I know producers aren't going to make the same 'ol Goa sound forever, but that doesn't stop me from mourning =p
Hallucinogen - The Lone Deranger
Its on the psy list. Actually this album is rather divisive imo, lots of people dismiss it in comparison to Twisted, but as you said, imo Posford tried to do something different and it is good.
Cosmosis - Synergy
Will give it a listen and let you know.
Space Tribe
Big fan, I love the acid on Through the Looking Glass. Again, he's on that psy list.
Shamanic Tribes on Acid
I did give STOA a listen, but it didn't grab me. One of the albums was okay, but not good enough.
Psychopod
From a comment of mine on the psy list
"Koxbox is great. Check out Psychopod which is an alias. They released an EP with two tracks - Psychopod and Dreampod. Both tracks are good stuff."
So I'll give it a re-listen and maybe add it here.
Infected Mushroom - The Gathering and Classical Mushroom.
Hehe "awful wailing". Yeah well, I've included the Gathering on the psy list.
I'm sure our tastes aren't that different. You should be gladdened when you see my best of psytrance list =]
I don't give a damn about goa trance, but this is awesomeness right here. Great work!
Thanks! Its good to know this page is worth a dekko :)
Hi karan129
I owe you a big, overdue, 'thank you' for this great page, which I discovered last year. It really pointed me in all the right directions while I was discovering Goa Trance.
I've got a few suggestions for tracks not on your list. What's your opinion on these?
Astral Projection - Axis V0.99
Transwave - Land Of Freedom (or even the whole of 'Phototropic')
Etnica - Plastic EP (which is just amazing - even better than The Italian EP!)
Tim Schuldt - Frontline Assembly remixes (Columbian Necktie & Evil Playground)
Juno Reactor - Biot Messiah
Thanks =] I owe you an overdue reply :p Some of the tracks you mentioned are rather obscure and I had to get them first. Looks like someone's done a bit of exploring :)
-Astral Projection - Axis V0.99
Do you feel this this track is a little cheesy? Euro-trance-ish?
-Transwave - Land Of Freedom (or even the whole of 'Phototropic')
The sounds on Phototropic were ok, but I've heard it before. Land of Freedom is definitely stands out from the other tracks so I've added it :)
-Etnica - Plastic EP (which is just amazing - even better than The Italian EP!)
I had given the Plastic EP a listen, I think I like the Italian EP better. Its just personal preference, they're both good. Besides I already have a lot from Etnica/Pleiadians on this list.
-Tim Schuldt - Frontline Assembly remixes (Columbian Necktie & Evil Playground)
I could only find the Cydonia remix of Columbian Necktie. Is the Tim Schuldt remix separate or did you mean the Cydonia one. Anyhow the Cydonia one's already included in this list as part of the "In Fear of a Red Planet" album. As for the Evil Playground remix, I might put it on my psy list. Its an interesting track, need to give it a couple of listens to let this blend of industrial? and psy sink in. But I think I'll add it to the psy list. Its always nice to find a good experimental track after trying out x albums with the same synths and sounds.
-Juno Reactor - Biot Messiah
Hmm...I'm not sure how 'goa' this is. Seems to me Juno Reactor decided they wanted to see what happened when martial industrial and goa were mixed up and out came Biot Messiah ;) It is a good track though, but good enough?
Hi,
Tim Schuldt did a mix of Columbian Necktie ("GOArge mix by Tim Schuldt") distinct from the Cydonia mix, and I will see if I can find a link to this for you later. I like the Cydonia mix - it's quite powerful but I think the arrangement and production could have been much improved. Tim Schuldt's mix is better than Cydonia's and is definitely more Goa-like than his own take on Evil Playground which, as you rightly say, is quite Industrial. I also agree with your view on the Industrial sound of Biot Messiah... perhaps it's not really Goa.
Fair enough about Axis V0.99 although I do love it, however cheesy it may be.
Glad you added Land Of Freedom, which is my absolute favourite Goa track. By the way, did you hear the 'new' Transwave album "Frontfire" yet? A couple of decent tracks on there, but definitely not Goa in any way at all.
If you go to this page, you will find two links to FLA's Explosion, which contains the Tim Schuldt mix of Columbian Necktie:
http://u2n2.com/article.asp?id=71396
arsonik by transwave .....is this still considered goa. Anywho i think its great u guys like it?
Yup its Goa, good track.
Hey it's me (again lol) I liked the song The Muses Rapt - Spiritual Healing but I thought it sounds a lot like psytrance, isn't it? What do you think about that tune?
I always thought it was slightly cheesy and edged towards eurotrance? Like the nizhonot stuff (nizhonot = euro + goa trance = very cheesy)
I always thought it was slightly cheesy and edged towards eurotrance? Like the nizhonot stuff (nizhonot = euro + goa trance = very cheesy)
Hi Karan,
Thanks for the great leadership!!! I used to adore goa in the 1990s, then I neglected it...by now I am back to it and it makes me feel great!
I would appreciate it a lot if you could comment on my list, thanks!
First of all, nothing by Astral Projection or Man With No Name will appear on the list, or else I would have to make top 100 rather than top 20.
Second of all, i cannot believe that some of these songs were not mentioned on your list; perhaps you have not heard them (or maybe you have not heard them in a long time)?
Here's my list and thank you so much again for your list:
20. Shakta&Ping Pong-Between the Nothing
19. Oforia-Timelessness
18. Doof-Double Dragons
17. X-Dream - The second Room (A-Trip)
16. Satori-Back to Earth
15. Orion-Liquid
14. Koxbox-Fuel On
13. Transwave-Land of Freedom
12. Phreaky-Tornado
11. Total Eclipse-Free Lemonade
10. Miranda-Triplexus
9. Shakta-Lepton Head
8. X-Dream-Zebra
7. The Nommos-Po Tolo
6. Kuro-Thunderstorm
5. Quirk-Ping
4. Encens-Spiritual Transgression
3. Elysium-Monzoon
2. Section X-Atlantis
1. Talking Souls-Karma 209
Hey I can see some great tracks on that list. I don't have my music with me right now, so I can't listen to these tracks rightaway. Give me a few days :) You're right about Elysium though, the Monzoon album should be on this list. Added!
Thanks Karan! Wow there's no more fun than rediscovering, it's even more fun than discovering! Especially after 10 years! It's kind of like coming back from a coma! I used to listen to all these songs at pirated video cassetes in the Balkans during the time of wars and chaos in the 1990s. So just today I rediscovered my most favorite album of all times: Goa Gil: Deck Wizards-Kosmokrator. Every track is brilliant and can easily enter any BEST OF list:
1 Infinity Project, The - Phosphoressence (Doors Of Perception Mix)
2 K.U.R.O. - Thunderstorm
3 Shakta & Ping Pong (2) - Between The Nothing
4 Sephalopod - Option Paralysis
5 Deviant Electronics - Oxygen Cult
6 Growling Mad Scientists* - Rollercoaster
7 Nommos, The - Po Tolo (B Sirius Mix)
8 MFG - Alternate Dimension
9 Dimension 5 - Iron Sun
10 Shakta - Lepton Head (Deedrah Remix)
Other than this album, the ones who have to make it to the top are Distance to Goa 4 and Man With No Name's Moment of Truth. Astral Projection has many awesome albums but they still don't have one where every single song is amazing (in comparison to the three albums previously mentioned).
And I rediscovered another phenomenal track: Power Source: Granada. I used to adore this one-still do.
You will probably easily deduct what works for me in terms of musical taste: a combination of speed and dreamy sound. Give me a song like that and I am sold.
Regards!
Yeah..listening to goa trance after a gap of years is the closest you can come to hearing it for the first time. I wish I could relive listening to artists like Etnica for the first time, the impact is mind blowing. Wow, I didn't know goa made it to the Balkans in the 90s :D I did listen to your top 20 list and added a few, they were really good ones - Timelessness especially. Some of the tracks like Double Dragons were already on the list. What do you think of Etnica/Pleiadians?
Astral Projection's Trust in Trance surely doesn't have a single weak or even average track? As for DTG4 I'm not sure about compilations since it easy to put together a list of great tracks, unless they're tracks which haven't got previous recognition/appearing for the first time/are obscure...
More listening now :P Yup I'll give Tinkerbell, Granada and other Power Source tracks a re-listen. And Kosmokrator too :)
Hey I'll have to do some listening too in order to catch up, especially on Etnica and Trust in Trance. Thanks and talk to you soon!
Hi karan!
Your list is great, it helped me a lot when goa had its grip on me last year. I don't know if you've ever heard of Zirrex's album, Lost in Time, which is to be rereleased soon, but imo it should be included in your list as this album is absolutely fantastic and has everthing I love goa so much for! Big respect for listing Ubar Tmar. He's a genius for sure.
Unfortunately, in my country goa trance is among the least popular psy genres and have very few parties a year where you can listen to this wonderful music. I hope it's gonna change in the near future.
I also have a few favorites that you may consider including in your list:
Chi-A.D. - Sol-Ice
Brain Accent - Orange Acid
Bypass Unit - Shanti
Indoor - The Key
Indoor - Shiva
K.U.R.O. - Zoa (It has several versions. I prefer the original version that is on Japan EP (Spirit Zone Recordings, 1994). A slightly changed version can be found on K.U.R.O.'s debut album, Revolution (Tokyo Tekno Tribe, 1996) renamed as 'Gon 2'.
Masa - Beautiful People
Masaray - Time Traveler of Trance
Miranda - Steps to the Stars
Miranda - Mars Needs Women (Remix)
Rainbow Spirit & Sangeet - Sirius Shuttle
Rainbow Spirit - Prana
Ra - R.O.M.
Ree.K - Kage
Shamanic Tribes On Acid (Drugged to the Eyeballs, Extraterrestrial Lover, Omega Sunset)
Symbiotic - Forces of Technology
Keep up the good work with your other lists too! Best wishes from Hungary!
Hey great to hear you found the list useful! :) Yup Lost in Time is on my to-hear list. Now I have to listen to it. Parties wise I'm sure you can find psy parties even if goa isn't to be found. Check out Isratrance or even Facebook groups work sometimes. I've heard some Shamanic Tribes on Acid but it didn't grab me, lets see. Same with Brain Accent. The rest of the tracks need listening, thanks for the recommendations =]
You're welcome. I hope you'll find some of my recommendations useful. If not that's OK with me then I'll have to come up with better ones next time. :)
Luckily we have some very good psy parties from time to time in Hungary, this I have to admit. Guess I love goa trance too much therefore I can hardly be fully satisfied with the present situation. Fortunately there are more and more signs of change.
Just a little correction: as far as I know Prana's track called Future Space Travellers is a collaboration between the Prana guys and Athena (a side project of Miranda Silvergren) so I think you should give her a credit for that.
I liked your recommendations because they were from some really obscure releases some of which I hadn't been aware of such as Masa. I made that correction, I think they didn't properly credit Athena in the album, but only in the EP and I don't have the EP.
I love dancing to twilight or dark upto 155 BPM, its great for stomping. Above that yeah dark gets a little too fast. Atleast here I can forget about hearing Goa live, so just go for whatever is there.
Chi-A.D. - Sol-Ice -added
Brain Accent - Orange Acid -almost good enough
K.U.R.O. - Zoa -was on the list, its a beautiful track :)
Miranda - Mars Needs Women (Remix) -which remix? it seems to have quite a few
Rainbow Spirit & Sangeet - Sirius Shuttle -had a good beginning but didn't carry through
Symbiotic - Forces of Technology -on which release is this? I can't find.
Zirrex - Enter to Psychedelic -added
I'm glad you liked my recommendations. As far as Mars Needs Women is concerned, I like the original remix on the maxi released in 1999 (duration: 8:25) the most. Forces of Technology can be found on The Best of Goa Trance (Jumpin' & Pumpin', 1998). Jumpin' & Pumpin' has "some really obscure" compilations, if you bump into one you should definitely check it out.
I have come upon a very good album lately, Lord Shiva - A Revolution in Music (2002). It is also a little-known goa trance release and has some great tracks you might want to listen to (my recommendations: Secret Horizons, Visions of Parvati, Spirits of the Real World).
It's a strange thing but I really enjoy quality darkpsy in partys but I refuse to listen to it at home for several reasons.
I tracked down the releases and I really liked the first half of the Original mix but it didn't carry strongly into the second half. Forces of Technology will require more listens, its definitely not the usual goa track and sounded more techno. From the Lord Shiva album recommendations, I thought Spirits of the Real World was good.
Darkpsy is really hard to listen to at home, unless its the slower stuff. I can listen to Ghreg on Earth - Sigilweaver but not the 155+ BPM stuff (like Furious) for more than a couple of tracks. Its just great music to dance to imo :)
Haha, high again Karan. I've moved on to being an ambient connoisseur mainly now, but I still love Goa at the right times. Tbh, I prefer Darkpsy the most. There's a lot of rubbish out there but some is wicked. It's great that you can categorise Darkpsy into three main areas too:
* Scandinavian [dark forest] (Derango)
* [Extreme] Russian (Furious)
* South African [Horror] (Frozen Ghost)
Favourite tracks are Furious - Powered Psidm (gives me the energy shot that I need) and Frozen Ghost - Deranged.
In my opinion, good darkpsy does everything that goa does but better, but I'm sure that you'll disagree. I keep coming back to Pleiadians and Hallucinogen still though :)
Thanks for bringing my attention to Powered Psidm, what a crazy track! Though if only a track like that gives you enough energy I think psytrance has spoiled you =p Furious really takes it to an extreme.
I think every subgenre has its own time and mood. In the morning I love listening to Goa but there is no way I can listen to dark psy. Dark is real energy though, and good dark can take you into a world of its own. Its a bit too fast to dance to, I prefer twilight (Dark Full-on). Its got darkpsy's hard basslines but retains some of the melodies in full-on.
Wow, I just realised that I said "high" instead of "hi"... all this darkpsy is getting to my head. I love Furious, it just leaves me shaking my head each time that I listen due to its pure complexity.
I really listen to ambient most of the time but occassionally psy. The albums which really stuck with me are Hallucinogen - Twisted, Pleiadians - IFO, Electric Universe - Cosmic Experience, D5 - Transdimensional and Derango - Tumult.
Haha yeah! Listen to some beatless ambient, stuff like Gus Til - Aquana :) Both psy and goa have their place, but I'll always come back to the golden melodies of oldskool goa :D
hey guys i know a good site to download some goa and psy (in rar archives) mp3 (mostly 320 kbs) or flac files
http://oldschoolproject.blogspot.com/
Great list overall, and I agree with 99% of it - there's just one small detail I felt compelled to comment on. How can you say that Mai Mai is the best track on Jaia's Blue Energy, and give no mention to Sillenium, Brainstorm or Nasty Angel?? Criminal! ;) nah, I'm just kidding, it's all about personal taste in the end.
My favourite artists include (but are not limited to)
Old School - Astral Projection, Chi-AD, Cosmosis, Man With No Name, MFG, Shakta, Transwave
New School - Afgin, Radical Distortion, Alienapia, E-Mantra, Khetzal, Liquid Flow, Amithaba Buddha, Ra, Artifact303
Thanks :) Yeah well, Nasty Angel is good but the melody that comes in Mai Mai at 2:55 is just too good! It is about taste though I try to incorporate all viewpoints.
I need to listen to a little more newschool, not too clued in on some of the up and coming artists. Got any tracks in mind?
Sure, some great new school tracks are:
Radical Distortion - Psychedelic Dreams / Amorphia / The Dreamer (Orient Mix)
Afgin - Dreams In Motion
Alienapia - Dharmakaya / Fear & Anger / Inner Poison
E-Mantra - Praying Forest / Shamanistic Rituals / Approaching Nibiru
Amithaba Buddha - Secret Of An Amulet / Sarcophagus
Ra - Spirit Complex / Time Current
Artifact303 - Influence Your Dreams / The Ancestors / Trip To The Sun
Astrancer - Athanaton
Red Gravity - Momentary 29
Goasia - Liquid Soul / How Deep Is Your Trip
Liquid Flow - Old Temple / Analog Boost / Tribal Vision
Pandemonium - 4 Snobs In A Row
PS. I can make a torrent of these for you if you want?
Thanks, I should get through these tracks soon. I'm sure I must have heard atleast some of these already, but somehow in newskool Goa tracks tend not to stand out that much...
I went through all of them and the release which really shined was E-Manta's Arcana. It was so good that I heard it more than a few times and I've added the entire album :) Great stuff. The rest of the recommendations were all good, but they didn't quite move beyond the newskool-ey sound y'know. Arcana on the other hand, had this oldskool Goa feel, intense and calming.
Hi karan!
it's been a long time... in the mean time I've read Red Mars and Gardens of the Moon (individual of your list, I found your list later and thought: wow, similar music, books and philosophies)
Anyway, I think you should watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FAuJbpL1uo
Absolutely stunning magic video with Juno Reactor's distinct soundtrack.
Hey! Sorry about the late reply, last few days been super busy.
That video is really cool, the way he coordinates the magic with the music. And you read both Red Mars & Gardens of the Moon? Wow! I think both are simply amazing, but Red Mars simply blew me away. You're in for a treat then, since you have the rest of both series to read. Erikson can keep you engrossed forever, he's a spellbinding storyteller. Philosophies too? ;)
Great, great list, I've got my own :)
I went through yours :) And I think our lists overlap for the most part, so I agree with your list :) The most interesting track was that GMS one. I've heard some early GMS stuff, but that was a very Goa sound for GMS.
Yeah the acid line in Commental is something special! I really like GMS' old school twisted style, but when they started making full on... bleh :P
By the way, I think you missed out Planet B.E.N - Trippy Future Garden from your albums section here, imo it is one of the most psychedelic and extraordinary journeys through rythmic trance music ever to grace my ears!
I don't mind some of the GMS full-on, I think Juice is the perfect balance between popular appeal and good music :) Ofcourse now they're making electro or something which is definitely bleh. I had given Trippy Future Garden a listen way back and I think my tastes hadn't matured enough then to appreciate it, so I didn't put it on. Your post made me revisit it, and I think you might be right :) Need to give it a few listens and see what needs to go on here :)
I added the tracks Screwdriver and Trippy Future Garden to the list! :)
Fantastic! :D, still surprised Ant Invasion didn't blow your mind, that's my favourite. Btw, i see you post at psynews, same, im ollylovesgoa haha
Seen your posts around Psynews :) That place's been getting a lot more interesting since they re-opened offtopic, though the threads have got pretty random too heh. I think Trippy Future Garden is one of those albums that has to wait for my tastes to mature, since it's so different. So it's a good thing someone recommended it after my tastes improved :) Maybe I'll like Ant Invasion better after some more listens.
Hey Karan thanks a lot for making this list! I got into Psybient recently but I have enjoyed some Goa and Psychedelic trance tracks a lot, specifically those which are more aggressive/abrasive and energetic like this one (which is from a rythm videogame called Beatmania): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGFE3bEKqqA
I don't know if this is the type of Goa trance you like, but I'm sure you could point me to some artists or individual tracks which sound similar.
Thanks in advance :)
This is great! Definitely my kind of stuff. So you need acidic + melodic goa trance. You should like most goa trance but try...
Astral Project - Kabalah, Enlightened Evolution, Mahadeva, Utopia. AP is right up your street.
Doof - Double Dragons
Hallucinogen - Shamanix, Space Pussy
Cydonia - Animals
Cosmosis - Key to the Innerverse
Chi-A.D. - Eye Am the I, Biocandy, Astral Warrior
Bamboo Forest - Sadhu
Mama Indica - Radioactive Rain
Moonweed - Telepath
Zodiac Youth - Atoms (Angelfish Remix)
Also VA - Psychedelic Goa Core I
These are just the beginning. If you like any of them, try the rest of the album too. Just locate the artist on this list and you'll find the album info :)
Thanks a lot, I just listened to those AP tracks and they are out of this world. I only wish there were clubs in the city where I live where I could just dance to this style all night long!
I better get back to listening to this great stuff :D
Where are you located? There is usually some sort of psy/goa trance scene in all parts of the world.
And yes Astral Projection is amazing :D
I live in a coastal city called Mar del Plata in Argentina (population is around 800k), there's no goa scene here at all. But I'm 5 hours away from Buenos Aires, the capital city, and I guess there are some places dedicated to this genre over there but none that I know about. I'll be asking some people around here if they know something ^^ I really want to dance and party to these tracks
Ah I see. Yeah I haven't heard anything about the scene in Argentina. I did see an Argentinian psy trance artist live one. Name's Glosolalia http://www.tantrummrecords.com/artist_glosolalia.html You should check Isratrance Latin America section http://forum.isratrance.com/forum-south-and-latin-america/ There will definitely be a scene, even if it is small, so just search around :) Like you said, you have to dance to this music at a party to understand it fully :)
Hi Karan. Great compilation.
Could you pl check out this video and tell me which track is being played in it and tell me what sub genre it falls under. Many thanks...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jz7Nmv-Fks
Yeah goatrance is really something that was revolutionary and i personaly got to know goa during my scholarship stay in Netherlands, when i went to famous goaparties in Elf Squat. Nevertheless, reason im writing here is this; once i got a beautiful goa set from my mate who was dj Myata, very very underground, and who has gone forever, there was this one song which i heard only in this mix and probably the best i have ever heard, only clue is that this track must have been released before year 2001, and has this almost heavy metal or hard rock sound with strong electric guitar riffs and then when the beautiful beat kicks in it just completly takes you away. Awesome. So if there is anyone with the knowledge, maybe u could email some tips. It is worth the try.
I assume that track is still Goa Trance? Because that's a hard one - Goa Trance and Heavy Metal/Hard Rock have almost never been mixed, especially not by 2001.
Xenomorph - Gehinom comes to mind, but it has the guitar throughout.
Tim Schuldt goes in that direction too, ex. Tim Schuldt - Mummy Machine & Pretty Poison. Also Front Line Assembly - Colombian Necktie (Goarge Mix) (by Tim Schuldt)
Juno Reactor also experiments with guitars, Juno Reactor - Biot Messiah.
It could be Psytrance instead. Something like Skazi. For example -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-H-sV0Hjy8 Start listening at 4:30 onwards where the guitars come in. But this is definitely after 2001. Sorry if this doesn't help, but pre-2001 Goa Trance mixed in with Psytrance is very hard to find. Prolly will be some dark Goa project.
i don't know what direction trance has taken in the last couple of years jumping off with tiesto's "kaleidosscope", but man it has gone down the tiolet. more like maybe electro-trance? horrible. the same can be said for armin van buren. so i've given up on the scene and opted to go a little more underground and went back to listening to goa and progressive psy.
for goaheads looking for something original i highly recommend "in fear of a red planet" by cydonia (the 1999 original blue room release before it was remixed). this album is a must have if you really like goa and one of my absolute all-time favs. it's dark but brilliantly produced and a masterpiece. not dance club material though.
if you want something really drippy and kaleidoscopic sounding, check out koxbox's "searching for psychoactive herbs": probably the most organic trak i've ever heard in electronic music.
also check out john oo fleming "radio 1 essential mixes" where you'll hear some totally un-mainstream serious trance=)
Apologies for the late reply. Got caught up over this last month. Mainstream trance has definitely got commercial, electro something ;) But that's normal for any genre imo. Genres will start underground because people really want to great something, and gather a following. Then, the moment people realise there is a following which can be taken mainstream, things go downhill. The good part is there will always be that underground scene if you look for it :)
Cydonia is excellent. I love the track "Animals". Koxbox of course. I consider the 'Dragon Tales' album to be psytrance and so it's on my psytrance list. I've heard the name John Fleming before. If he plays the real stuff like you say I should check his mixes out. I also have my "normal trance" list if you're interested :)
karan129, i forgot all about this site until your reply to my comment hit my inbox. anyway, definitely check out 00 fleming. his own music is so-so, but his mixes on the other hand are flawless and high end. as he has said on his radio 1 mix intro, "trance music doesn't have to sound like it comes from a candy shop" (something to that effect), and his choice of traks underscores this. a lot of his stuff is not necessarily psy, but trust me, his trance is creme de la creme of the scene. all very serious, deep, dark and heavy, and, very layered. oh, sure shoot me your list. btw here's a link: http://alldj.org/index.php?name=News&op=Article&sid=33494
Here's the Psytrance list :) http://www.karangill.com/psychedelic-trance.html
Thanks for the link -- I listened to the Essential Mix off the page, and you're right. The tracks are layered and intense. It's good music. Will gives his mixes some listens by and by :) It's good to see people who try and place good trance, instead of the 'put your hands up in the air' variety. Some it makes me feel like I've eaten too much candy floss ;)
First I have to congratulate - great job, man! :) I'm 22, been listening to different kinds of goa/psy/acid/dark trance since I'm 12 but still I found here many great tracks I haven't heard before (and that's hard to do since I've been collecting goa albums for years :)). I have been googling for some old school goa tracks and found this precious, really great :)
I don't know if it's due to the fact that you focus on goa, not psytrance, however I believe you should add at least one song of Infected Mushroom, they had really great influence on this king. Examplary
IM - Vicious Delicious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgtDHqWmSnc&feature=related
since you seem to have a similar music taste as me, you should also check out those ones (of course if you don't know them), which are one of my favs :)
100th Monkey & Tristan - Spiritus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYxxGhYl_68
Pleiadians - Zeta Reticuli (Lazy Spiral Remix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r-Jw3x-XUM
Echotek - A Living Monitor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjv4TB-qsDs
and a great remix of our Polish DJ
Andromeda - Crystal Kingdoms (Psycode Remix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GizzTVXs_8
and some new, hard sounds :) I don't kow whether it's goa or psy, but still like it:
Merr0w - Mind Blowing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKFTDmXmVF4
Keep up the good job, I will be visiting the site since I still haven't listened to all the songs you listed! :) Also gave the link to my goa friends, who listen to this beautiful music.
Do you maybe know an album or compositor whose style is near to Chakra & Edi Mis' "The Promised Land"? This is probably ma fav album, however the only one in this kind of style :(
Cheeers! :)
Thanks =] Yup, when I first started exploring goa trance, I couldn't find a comprehensive listing. It was a lot of collecting information and asking people. Which was the motivation behind creating a one stop list of the best goa out there.
I like the links you posted in the sense they were layered and complex tracks. The Andromeda track in particular was a pleasant surprise. I'm going to give the Pleiadians, Andromeda and Merr0w tracks a few more listens, they're all good :) The Echotek track was weaker. Spiritus is one of those border line tracks which almost makes it.
Infected Mushroom can be found on my psytrance list :) http://www.karangill.com/psychedelic-trance.html (Yes, I have been moving all content to my personal website)
Sorry! I didn't see the second part of your post. Hmm in that style, try Green Nuns of the Revolution? Maybe some Cosmosis. I'll keep it in mind. And thanks for spreading the link :) I added the Andromeda track to list, but on my website, because it's simpler to integrate everything over there.
Hi Karan, I revised my list, it's now three times as long :p Check it out if you get a chance.
Yup! I see some tracks up there that I need to check out :) I'm only updating this list on my website though now.
Man, here i am again. Listening to Artifact 303 and impressed. Probably the most sophisticated modern take on goa trance I've heard in a long time, if ever. The guy who's behind this act is a musical genius who knows what he's doing. Check it out.
I'm trying to find an artist from a GOA Trance CD. The CD itself was lost when I moved. Here is what I remember:
The artist is, no idea how to spell it, Klangshalster Project with the song Celtic-something. The album was a 2CD compilation of various artists, UFO / Alien theme if I remember correctly!
If anyone can help me get the name, I'd be so grateful.
/Lyndsay
Hey, as far as I know there are 2 goatrance tracks with 'celtic' in them --
Spectral - Celtic Alchemy
Shivasidpao - Power of Celtic
The second track is kinda famous, maybe it's that one? :)