Trance Reviews
by Shadworunner
photo by Todd Comer

This month I am starting to give you the info and links to some of the most vital places to go to immerse yourself in the trance culture.

Right now Trance is the dominant genre of dance music in Europe and other parts of the world. With so many various styles of trance, where in the world can a Trance addict get hooked up? Trance.nu is one of the foremost sources of all things Trance with interviews, articles, news, and links to all great destinations of Trance. Your subconscious will thank you.

Speaking of the subconscious, psychedelic trance, better known as Psy-Trance or Goa, is one sub-genre that could be best described as trippy, echoed out, energy driven trance. It is definitely not for the foo foo crowd. This style takes it to the far corners of dreamland and back again. One site dedicated to updating the info on Goa is PsyNews.org. It is a bare bones site that gives you just the necessities. See what they have to offer and safe journeys.

Here are my picks for the must have CDs of October.

Sarah McLachlan
If you are a fan of Sarah McLachlan check out her new CD "Bloom" the remix album of some of her latest hits. The top remixers in the business give her tracks the remixing that they deserve. Junkie XL, Thievery Corporation, Gabriel & Dresden, and Junior Boys to name a few. This one is just too smooth to pass up.

Dave Seaman
If you have never heard of Dave Seaman its time to crawl out of your cave and behold his latest effort "The Therapy Sessions". This two CD release features the efforts of Dave Seaman(of Global Underground and Renaissance's 'The Masters Series' mix fame) on disc 1, and Phil K(Australia's progressive breaks master) on disc 2. The mixing and track selections on these discs are of the forefront efforts in progressive house, trance, and breaks. Put these in your system and rock the block for hours.

Vinyl or digital, it doesn't matter, good tracks need to be brought to the masses. Here now is my picks for an Octoberfest of groove. So, grab a bratwurst with sourkraut, a stein of a german beverage, put your lederhosen on, and check out my picks for hot tracks this month.

Kosmos Epsilon - Innocent Thoughts (Stel Remix) - Heavy Rotation
Float away to a soft happy place in the clouds on this one. Hypnotic bells, strings, and synths hover over softly chugging beats. The breakdown is a long echoed dream of emotion and color. Try the flip-side for a slighty darker
and more progressive entrancement.

Gaudium - Phunky People (Andromeda Remix) - Spiral Trax
Andromeda has been very very naughty. However, it will be you getting the spanking on the dancefloor when this one gets dropped. This hypno-tech tribal ass whooping will smart at first but I know you will grow to love it. The
flip is a more laid back psytrance that is a lil proggy and understated. It is good as a filler but not as the main course.

Alucard vs Team4 - Winter Soul <b:side> Overrated - Somatic Sense Future
Sounds These two tracks are just as slick as my friend's 3 yr old who covered herself with a whole jar of vasaline jelly. This proggy driven blend of hypnotic beats are perfect for building that sexy vibe that just glides into the night and slips through the mix.

Andy Moor - Halcyon - Armind
I must warn you. This type of Epic Trance is why AVB's Label Armind is dangerous and addictive. Andy Moor uses hauntingly beautiful vocals and melodies in two strikeingly exquisite ways. The first track drives the synths and baselines hard with floating vocals that just arouse the emotions. The second track has a deeper proggy smoothness that glides through the whispy strings, thumpin low bass, and arpeggiated sexy vocals.
This S#!T is naughty.

T4L - Moonwalk <b:side> Perfect Blend -In Trance We Trust
"Perfect Blend" of daydreamer juice here. This track is one of those tracks that you can close your eyes to and let your imagination take you to wonderous places. Your spaceship is fueled and ready to go. "Moonwalk" is just a lil more epic energy with a long synthy breakdown and hellah buildup back into the body of the track.