2006 November | di.onys.us

Archive for November, 2006

Posted on November 28, 2006 - by dionysus

10 rules for making modern psytrance

For the aspiring psytrance producer: ten pithy guidelines on the crafting of insipid formulaic candy for the consumption of today’s callow, certainly un-psychedelic pill-popping club goer. The poor Czech author sounds quite jaded, almost as if he’s been partying in New York!

So without further delay:

It has to follow trends. Today, modern means either fullon or dark. Maybe it could be called progressive, but that’s a category of its own now.
If it is fullon, there has to be a melodic theme, carefully chosen so that the harmony is simple and infantile. In dark psytrance, infantile melodies are acceptable if the sound is dirty and distorted enough.
The bassline has to shift in pitch dramatically in every track. Using one tone will bore the listener off the dancefloor. It is imperative that the bass fall on every 16th note, or else your track cannot be considered psy at all.
There must be at least one long break per track, preferably with a hammering kick or snare onset, and right when it seems the tune will continue, there has to be a flip, or several ones. Another possibilities include slowing down tempo or changing signature from 4/4 to 3/4.
There is no strict rule on many shorter breaks and flips a track should contain. Generally speaking, however, the more surprises and twists in your formula, the better.
There must be a vocal sample. In fullon, anything new-agey will do, preferably something mystical and/or enlightening. Dark psy usually uses samples from horror movies. Evil remarks and screaming women are particularly well-received by enthusiasts. The vocal sample has to be repeated at least twice, but repeating it more often couldn’t hurt.
Using either highpass or lowpass (or both) cutoff on sound of the whole track has been the thing ever since house music, and it is a must in every modern psytrance track.
Since people won’t notice, it is entirely possible to use default arpeggiator presets from your favorite synth. Other way of showing to other producers that the maker is using state-of-the-art equipment and techniques is by utilizing highly obvious samples from the latest sample collections. They can be tweaked, but not so much as to become unrecognizable.
Psytrance is about complexity. In a psytrance track, sounds have to be whirling, whooshing and twinkling all around you all the time. There is no space to be left for imagination. Ecept for the overlong silences during the breaks, of course.
Again, good psytrance must follow the trends. Otherwise… well, first of all world top DJs wouldn’t play something that doesn’t sound just like the branch of psytrance they’re into – there has to be some integrity in their sets, right? If you’re playing fullon, you can’t just skip to something else.
Moreover, people expect to hear the style they already know, and they would probably get bored and leave the dancefloor if the DJ didn’t provide them with the latest, preferably unreleased, tracks from their favorite projects.

Link (kerray.cz)

Posted on November 27, 2006 - by dionysus

The Chakra Journey by Serena

(via tribe) Psy-artist Serena announced the commencement of a series of seven psychedelic illustrations called The Chakra Journey. Since each chakra represents “an aspect of consciousness essential to our lives”, hopefully the works will catalyze further acts of self-exploration and self-expression in this most talented member of our community.

The first piece in her series is entitled Muladhara, or Root Chakra. (more…)

Posted on November 23, 2006 - by dionysus

Happy Trancegiving

Today marks the start of the holiday season in the US. While most American trancers (us included) may be visiting family and friends, everyone else remaining in New York City will be gathering for a surprising amount of Trancegiving weekend parties.
Whatever your plans may be, enjoy the long weekend.

Posted on November 19, 2006 - by dionysus

An Ethnography of Psytrance Culture

(via EvanMartin) Check out Kat Kovaleff’s 7 minute photographic ethnography of psytrance.

Click through to YouTube and watch it in fullscreen if you are hoping to read that text.

Link

Posted on November 14, 2006 - by dionysus

[mix] deadly down under

Metaforce counted its third effort a success this weekend past, despite a crowded calendar and last-minute venue change. Trancers craving sounds from the darker end of the psy spectrum made their way to Studio B in Brooklyn for their Deadly Down Under party.

Their success marks a clear victory for Metaforce in their recent struggle with a NY trance mafia, a crew of thuggish pseudo-commercial promoters and musicians that attempted extortion against promoters through internet slander, race-baiting, and forum-poisoning. The NY trance community, ever democratic, ignored their crude intimidation tactics and partied with Metaforce anyway.

In fact, the so-called trance mafia’s clumsy attacks have only pushed the family Metaforce into closer alliance with the psy-in-NY community.

Response to the party was positive. As a sign of gratitude for the much talked about Metaforce hospitality, Glowing Dragon offered up a live recording of his set. Memoribilia for those that attended. The pictures you see here are by his hand as well.

I will gladly play party or work with you guys anytime !!! Much love to you guys and thanks for all the hard work to make this happen !!!

glowingdragon

Killer Party! So many great people, such wonderful music everybody ripped it! Special Thanks to MetaForce for keeping the music alive and for their great hospitality!

UgradevA

Posted on November 8, 2006 - by dionysus

all november's dances

In a fitting display of independent conformity, all of the northeast’s active collectives are hosting parties this weekend. For those who say that competition in the trance community is harmful, we at dance.with.us make the following prediction: all five of these parties will do extremely well. Dancefloors will be full. There are enough of us, now.

In Boston, we have Sonic Beating’s monthly Psyforia;

The Gaian Mind bimonthly down in Philadelphia, most modest of the five;

Three parties in New York total; two Friday night, one on Saturday.

First is the Shiva Chandra and Zion party Friday evening.

Tsunami chose Webster Hall for its Infected Mushroom concert, also that night.

Metaforce’s Deadly Down Under party closes the weekend out with the sunrise on Sunday morning.

Thats it until next month. Well, maybe. Rumor has it that Thanksgiving parties will be happening for the substantial number of nonamerican trancers in New York. Stay attuned to the local psytrance calendar for the latest details.

Link (event calendar)

Posted on November 3, 2006 - by dionysus

[mix] 28thdays a week

Our city hasn’t seen a psy-weekly since the end of the Psycheground parties of yesteryear. The hypercompetitive bar-and-club industry in Manhattan has little love for a culture that fails to promote alcohol abuse on weekday nights. Psytrancers are the Gypsies of New York, leading a nomadic nightlife, going from one safe haven to the next.

We gladly echo 28thday’s just-announced move into the weekly space. After a successful (and generous) summer season, the 28thday collective will transform some of that accrued karma into a psychedelic safe haven on Thursday nights for us at Shelter.

The flavor of psychedelic music will be, in their words:

“…the newest sounds in psychedelic dance music, featuring the best of progressive psy, prog-house, psy-trance, and electro.”

Marking the occasion, 28thday artist Tony Unorthdox released a mix distilled from this past summer’s parties.

tracklist

phatjak – dirty sunday (dimi phase rmx)
subsky – dont tell me more
P.O.T.S. – trance popper (electro popper rmx)
supercharger – cars & girls (d-nox &beckers rmx)
cult 45 – true to life (my digital enemy rmx)
flowjob – everland airport
the adjuster – over his heart (mashtronic rmx)
mark dynamixc &jaytech – identify me (instrumental rmx)
robimon – bridshock
boom jinx – come play perfect

Link (download, 150mb mp3)