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Artha - Influencing Dreams (Cronomi Records, 2010)
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Templar^
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : May 13, 2010 15:01:54
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Artha - Influencing Dreams
Cronomi Records, 2010
1. Dubber Nubber
2. Controlled (Live Version)
3. Chaos
4. Saikol
5. Mystic Change
6. Vocal Distortion
7. Bali
8. Transfusion
9. Insidelamp
Finally it happened. Well, it had to happen. After years of expectations from the moment when I first heard the track called "Controlled", the debut album of Artha finally found its way onto my shelf and into my CD-player. The only album I awaited more eagerly was probably the third Hallucinogen's album, which is the equivalent of "Duke Nukem Forever" or "Lethal Weapon 4". Artha, undeniably one of the cornerstones of Polish psytrance, it's not just some random guy, so Cronomi Records made an exceptionally good move by deciding to add him to the team. Artha had a difficult task, because everything below a very good album would be a disappointment, but after taking his talent into consideration, disappointment was not an option. As one might expect, Micha³'s debut album throws a good punch to the face and shouts: "Hey, psytrance is not dead yet - it’s alive & kicking!"
We are introduced with the world of Artha's music by a more laid-back "Nubber Dubber," where people not familiar with the sound of his music can leave their jaws on the floor, while the old timers will feel at home. Although the track lasts less than seven minutes, Artha managed to do wonders and surprises with frequent changes of themes. An excellent example of easiness in manipulating with psytrance may be the moment before the fourth minute, which due to the change of time signature reminded me of " Hallucinogen - Horrorgram". Pretty soon I got to enjoy one of the greatest treats on the disc - the epic "Controlled" is the first Artha track I have ever heard. Here we received it in a live version, so I was very curious how he attempted to present this classic, which like most other classic is best to be labeled with "do not touch." It is always easy to fuck it up, but who will do a better remix of such a track, if not its creator himself? It turned out that the metamorphosis exceeded my expectations, though obviously I still prefer the original version. Fans of the original will find here all the elements which they have enjoyed years ago, but delivered in a fast and modern re-do. In time the track surprises with a morph into heavy Shpongle-like vibes, which only whets the appetite for slower productions under the Artha moniker. Of course, this peaceful moment of the track just tranquilized the listener in a great way, because after a while the tune is back on track and its power returns with double force. "Chaos" from its first moments rises to the rank of one of the best tracks on the album. After an interesting introduction with an obligatory pinch of posfordisms it develops in a right way, pushing pedal to the medal. Artha did not fail in creating an interesting background full of different sonic surprises to measure his biggest inspiration, namely Hallucinogen. Particularly noteworthy is the extremely crafty ending of the track, which underlines the talent of Micha³. One can experience a multitude of goose-bumps with the advent of "Saikol". The level of its acidity makes the track go hand in hand with tunes by Green Nuns Of The Revolution, who were not cutting on those beloved TB-303 sounds. "Mystic Change" pours honey over the hearts of oldschool fans, where they will be treated many times with large portions of sonic tricks from years back, among which one can find the ever-popular acidic spikes. Moreover, the sounds which appear before the fourth minute add incredible quasi-oriental aesthetics to the whole thing. No less acidic is the "Vocal Distortion" track, which at times resembles heavily Infected Mushroom tracks from the times of "The Gathering", with the comparison being a complement. The mega-optimistic "Bali" track is another bright spot on the album, where Artha skillfully applies theme changes. Due to its party-vibe qualities, the track should quickly find its place in many DJ sets. "Transfusion" injects some interesting sounds into the speakers in the form of a rather ominous introduction, to continue by unleashing acidic fantasy and releasing melodies which remind of old PC adventure games. "Insidelamp" is the last track on the album and also a summary of everything that happened in a neat and more calm package, made with a similar pedantry as the previous tracks. Overall it is an acidic, trance variation on the style in the vein of the Arabian nights. One can hear that Artha feels also very comfortable with creating slower trance tracks, as it is with faster psy-killers. After the track ends one can feel an irritating craving for more, but that is just the way it is with all good things.
One can listen to the album from start to finish, without a moment's boredom. All tracks, without any exceptions, are well arranged, with Micha³ confronting in all of them various themes and moods, which melt and join in one point, thus creating an interesting whole. Just like Filteria is compared to Pleiadians and Talpa to Infected Mushroom (the old Infected Mushroom of course), Artha can be safely compared to Hallucinogen. Still, I would like to mention that these are just musical references and inspirations, not copying of the great ones, because they all developed their own style. Micha³ combined the old and new sounds in such a skillful way that he got rid of time borders in his music, owing to which it will still be up-to-date in the following years to come. It does not matter whether somebody is an old timer of the music, having listened to Dragonfly Records and Transient Records output with flushed cheeks years ago, or has been a trance listener for only a few days, the listening experience will be similar. The album is a perfect remedy for those who are angry on Simon Posford for the fact that instead of sweating in the studio and recording amazing psytrance bombs he comes up every now and then with chillout-experimental-rockish ballads under Shpongle and Younger Brother guises. The album is also living proof that this genre of electronic music still delivers. Because of the album's quite oldschool overtones, "Influencing Dreams" also embarrasses the majority of many goa trance releases which have been popping out for some time lately, which, lets be honest, not only are homogenous and repetitive, but also started again to deplete of ideas. I will add that although one can find here bold connections to goa trance, Artha has been above this label years ago - and rightly so. One thing is certain: the creator of this album will surprise us with other great releases. It is advised to find answers to what or where is psychedelic trance here. Remember about this album when choosing the best releases this year.
Links:
http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/crm/crm1cd003.html
http://www.arthamusic.com
http://www.cronomi.com
http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/artha-fluori-dolby-ep/ - grab Artha's debut single for free!
http://www.myspace.com/insidelamp
http://www.psytrance.pl
  www.ektoplazm.com/2011/panta-deus - download for free Psytrance.pl's 10th anniversary compilation featuring 100% Polish psy-music (goa, prog, dark, full-on, chillout): Artha, Sundial Aeon and many more
www.psytrance.pl - Polish psytrance website |
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goaren
IsraTrance Full Member
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60
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1151
Posted : May 13, 2010 19:40
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well... after ive listened to the EP released earlier this year (thank you templar for your review of that EP cuz otherwise id probably never hear of artha...) it was clearly evident to me that this album will be absolutely amazing!
i agree with almost every single word written here but i have a few critics of my own - all tracks are REALLY great - but theres one thing that i hope artha will change in his upcoming tracks - and thats the use of the similar kick/bass in most of the tracks (the same way i feel about filteria's tracks, but that takes nothing off both their geniusness  ) - but thats just a tiny hitch in an otherwise perfect album
and one more thing - i think these comparisons with hallucinogen are doing artha some injustice even tho you can hear the hallucinogen influence, his music is very unique (i dont think anyone can honestly label this music as goa trance, its just unique ) and atleast from my point of view - the freshest and probably best album ive heard in quite a few years now alongside with filteria's daze of our lives - and thats a big compliment there
now i cant wait for jon coco to review this album in his magical picturesque way |
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Anonymous
Started Topics :
0
Posts :
5
Posted : May 18, 2010 20:34
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I haven't been listening to Psychedelic trance much lately but when I stumbled upon this gem I just felt that I have to comment about it somewhere...
A masterpiece |
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Xamanist
Xamanist
Started Topics :
49
Posts :
938
Posted : May 20, 2010 12:19
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Masterpiece, period.
Sérgio Xamanist
facebook.com/xamanist
soundcloud.com/xamanist |
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*eLliSDee*
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
40
Posts :
671
Posted : May 26, 2010 23:24
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my compliments to the artist.
great music
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kazuku
IsraTrance Full Member
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100
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Posted : Jun 5, 2010 18:30
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A beauty! Emotional ride 
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moondancer
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jun 6, 2010 14:08
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So it's finally here... I think I've come across some unreleased Artha already round 2005 (possibly even earlier) and it totally blew me away. First of all, his sound, the melodies and synth presets are truly unique, whenever a DJ played an Artha track at a party I'd just know it was his, even if I didn't know it, and that in itself is quite a performance in today's generic trance world. When the first newschool releases arrived I just couldn't understand how the hell this guy could not get a record deal since I found his stuff was light years ahead of other newschool that was released. I remember having personally posted stuff on psynews pleading the Suntrip crew to give him a try but I've never got any replies 
Anyway, fast-forward a few years later and we're finally here  Of course, the main worry with such long-awated albums is that by the time they're finally here, people's expectations are so high that they end up being dissapointed, so I admit I was a bit skeptic of actually putting this in my cd-player. But I'm glad I did in the end
The opener is Dubber Nubber which is a nice midtempo intro track with some nice djembés and arpegiated voice samples, but doesn't really have the caracteristics of the Artha sound. A nice melody builds up near the end, but still, nothing quite spectacular.
Then comes Controlled ah now that's more like it. From the very first minutes you could hear those trademark synth presets, noone quite does it like Artha. Nice warmer but you can feel that there's still room to do more.
Chaos up next which is... chaosy... it sounds too random to my ears, don't really like it.
Saikol is the one that has the most full-on elements, the beginning doesn't sound great but there's a nice buildup to a good melody in the end, a pretty rockish pad in there (I suppose this is what the other reviewers think of when saying that there's a bit of an old IM sound in there)
Mystic Change gives us a more laid-back and melodic feeling, not quite what I was used to from the artist... but it's also the best track here IMO! And that last part with the 303 melody is just superb! One of the best tracks I've heard all year!
Vocal Distortion sounds a LOT like Hallucinogen's old stuff I mean if I didn't know The Lone Deranger by heart already I would've thought this was taken from there. That said, I don't really like it when an artists tries too hard to sound like someone else so I don't really like this one.
Bali gives us again a more laid-back and melodic feeling, and a nice trademark Artha melody in the end around 8:00, in the beginning it sounds wierd but then the more you listen to it it really starts making sense, it's very nice.
Tranfusion is like THE definition of morning goa IMO, that breakdown around 4:15 and the subsequent buildup mmm that's what goatrance is all about to me.
Then comes the closer (already ) Insidelamp which is on the downtempo side of things. Again, this isn't really the kind of thing I'd expect from Artha but it works out pretty well in the end. The melody around 3:00 OMG, and the progression afterwards, even more OMG!!
THE GOOD: Unique style, unique synth presets and unique melodies (and what melodies!!). In a trance world where it seems to be the norm to sound like everyone else this is a VERY welcome change.
THE BAD: Having been used to Artha's old unreleased tracks I must say that I'm a bit dissapointed by the relative lack of energy compared with his older stuff. How come DNA isn't on this album? That was his absolute best IMO.
CONCLUSION The second-best trance album I've heard so far this year (Alienapia being the first). Not all the tracks are great but there are definately some gems in there. I can only hope other newschool artists will abandon their preset FL Studio melodies and plugins and search for more originality the same way Artha does 5/5
“I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it.”
Charles M. Schulz |
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Templar^
IsraTrance Full Member
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105
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382
Posted : Jun 14, 2010 09:28
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scobbah
Kiriyama
Started Topics :
35
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991
Posted : Jun 15, 2010 10:18
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Just got back from trekking through some national parks accompanied by this album. It definitely works my mind the way I want, and the main melody in the penultimate track catapults me completely into hyperspace. Hats off.
Aural transmissions from the deep forests of Sweden
www.dvsmrecords.org - 'Patterns II EP' by Silent Horror out now! |
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full_on
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
279
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5475
Posted : Jun 20, 2010 18:06
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Quote:
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On 2010-06-06 14:08, moondancer wrote:
How come DNA isn't on this album? That was his absolute best IMO.
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I don't see DNA as one of his best tracks. Some tracks in this album are better IMO.
This album is very good and stands out. I'd easily play it in one of my sets.
However, I feel a final polishment is still lacking, which means there is still room for improvement. Some people may enjoy its "raw" style (as I do sometimes), but I still think it could be smoother and tastier.
Hats off to Artha, I will definitely follow his next releases. His style is really special. 
Recommended!
Get it here:
http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=8400
http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/crm/crm1cd003.html
http://www.beatspace.com/dettagli/dettaglio.asp?id=5602
Respect!
.
...Be gentle with the earth...
...Dance like nobody's watching...
.
...I don't mind not going to Heaven, as long as they've got Coffee in Hell... |
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Psy_Clone
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
30
Posts :
397
Posted : Jun 21, 2010 15:26
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Great great album!
I really enjoy it every time I hear it and I hear it allot lately.
Nice tunes old school Goa stylish with new school.
Thanx for the reveiw would be happy to hear some more quality goa albums like this one.
Great job Artha.
Now say the magic words: Bleep Bleep Deep Deep Wham..... |
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psyjuli
Started Topics :
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1
Posted : Jun 21, 2010 16:55
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A VER KE ONDA CON ESTOS VATOS!! |
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nois
Started Topics :
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Posts :
18
Posted : Jul 5, 2010 21:28
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that's the one I've been waiting for for a loong time, and it has fully met my expectations congratulations, Artha, I am waiting for more releases to come |
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Pt.
IsraTrance Senior Member
Started Topics :
236
Posts :
6106
Posted : Jul 14, 2010 14:03
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Artha - Influencing Dreams (Cronomi Records) 2010 (cronomi003cd)
Album-Art: http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=2253740
1. Dubber Nubber 6:50
2. Controlled 10:32
3. Chaos 7:02
4. Saikol 9:18
5. Mystic Change 7:53
6. Vocal Distortion 9:17
7. Bali 9:57
8. Transfusion 9:06
9. Insidelamp 8:51
Artha first got certain recognition for his production skills and vision when he joined a Psynews.org contest to make a Goa track for a free digital compilation. This was in 2002, back when his sound was (naturally) rougher and sort of more energetic if you’d like. As time passed, Michal from Poland, refined his sound and his music became cleverer, more twisted and he advanced in his hallucinogenic trance motion with subliminal patterns. After years without almost anyone daring to pick up and release his masterful music, Cronomi Records teamed up last year with Ektoplazm.com and finally decided go full throttle and release a free digital EP named ‘Fluori Dolby’ (http://www.ektoplazm.com/2010/artha-fluori-dolby-ep) which managed to create a stir in the psychedelic trance community. This release quickly grew in popularity and demand since it had feelings of lost magic and forgotten rituals. His style was a long sought after imitation of how real emotional and complex Goa trance was supposed to sound and feel, it was like someone had released 'Hallucinogen 3’ under a different alias.
Ok so here it is, in blunt words. This album is a MASTERPIECE. It has all the grooves, the turns and trance-flows a psychedelic explorer searches after when it comes to the Goa in trance. If you’re already familiar with Hallucinogen's earlier work, like the Twisted album released in ‘95, you will quickly realize how beautiful this full album release is. And this I say no matter how similar it is to Hallucinogen with some Shpongle influences here and there, or should I say inspiration. Influencing Dreams is fantastic trance music with beautiful cosmic voyages that absolutely deserves and craves your love and attention. For years, since Hallucinogen released his second album 'The Lone Deranger' in 1997, people around the globe had been crying for a third album from the master (Simon Posford). Well people, a Hallucinogen copy or not, here it is, this album is for you!
Ok, so enough about the fact that it sounds very much like Hallucinogen. This album has of course a lot of originality from Artha’s own heart and emotions. It’s filled with beautiful melodies and sexy tricks. It is satisfyingly lengthy, giving you a proper trip for the money spent on purchasing an original copy.
What seems to lack in this release might be what Artha used to have before becoming professional, a tad more power/energy and rougher pads - a stronger identity and better coherency would also be appreciated.. The album artwork seems cheap, but really it's super trippy! The track names however, give me little to no inspiration. Though one can argue that track names means nothing, I think differently because for me names and art will and may boost the impression of a track or an album, it becomes an extended identity of the ,,product”. The artwork has been cleverly created by one Tomasz Rozynski. I like the design scheme where you can hold it against the light and see how the front and back picture sort of morphs nicely into each other.
Recomendation: A couple of days ago while for the first time listening to the album, I fell in love. This was passion in music I had been missing. The following night I had the most extraordinary ‘in space with alien races’ sort of dream. When I woke up, I had to ask myself; Influencing Dreams, really? … Mastering is well done by Colin Bennun (OOOD). Everything is super, and that extra bass-drive in some of the tracks is nothing but stunning to get driven with. If you’re a fan of melodic Goa trance with intelligence and psychedelic drive, there is no doubt- GET THIS ALBUM!
Where to buy and other links:
CronomiHome: http://www.cronomi.com
CronomiDisco: http://www.discogs.com/label/Cronomi+Records
CronomiSpace: http://www.myspace.com/cronomirec
CronomiFace: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cronomi-Records/168409805329
LastCronomi: http://www.last.fm/label/Cronomi
ArthaDisco: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Artha
ArthaSpace/Home: http://www.arthamusic.com
Psyshop: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/crm/crm1cd003.html
Saikosounds: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=8400
Beatspace: http://beatspace.com/dettagli/dettaglio.asp?id=5602
Play: http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/13953237/Influencing-Dreams/Product.html
Juno: http://www.juno.co.uk/ppps/products/390968-01.htm?highlight=ARTHA
Wirikuta: http://www.wirikuta.at/web66/product_detail.jsp;jsessionid=LCEKLGLKNGOL?showDetail=238948
More influenced reviews: http://www.myspace.com/psytonesmusic
Original review published: http://www.isratrance.com/cd-reviews/artha-influencing-dreams-d1127.html
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