HISTORY OF PSYCHEDELIC TRANCE (continue)

..CONTINUED... (Part 3)
Back with his experiences from Goa it was Johann, together with his party mate Youth, until then known as partner of Alex Paterson in the Ambient and Electro project “The Orb” and as bass player in the Wave-Rock band “Killing Joke”, who released the first „official“ Goa dance track. The track was “Jungle High” released on Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto label and was a massive chart success in England. Inspired by this Youth formed the first Psychedelic Trance label ever. He utilised the structures and recording studio of his Butterfly label and suitably named his new child Dragonfly. This label shortly became the first human resource and brain pool of the London Goa scene, Ronald Rothfield produced here, flutist of the legendary jazz-formation Quintessence better known as Raja Ram together with Graham Wood made the first tracks under The Infinity Project. Simon Posford made his break here and from Butterfly sound engineer became Hallucinogen. The first release by Dragonfly came out in May 1993 and was a sampler featuring artists such as Genetic, Gumbo, TIP and Black Sun. The second compilation “Project II Trance” in August of the same year already included tracks by the French Total Eclipse and the Mandra Gora tracks by Johann and Youth. In the following year more singles followed and first tracks by Hallucinogen. Man With No Name (Martin Freeland), Prana (Japanese Tsuyoshi Suzuki and Australian Nick Taylor), Ayahuasca (amongst others Dino Psaras today A&R for Atomic), Slinky Wizard and Doof (today on Twisted), and already the initial Order Odonata compilation.

During this year the English Psy-Trance-party-scene developed rapidly, party collectives such as Return To The Source formed and parallel a whole label scene was quickly taking shape. Raja Ram and Graham Wood founded a label under their own project name, called TIP in short, Prana’s Tsuyoshi Suzuki created with John Perloff and Matsuri a label for headbanging stuff between experimental Techno and Trance with releases by Transwave, Digitalis and Quirk, the Slinky Wizard boys James Monro, Dominic Lamb and George Barker founded Flying Rhino Records with Sally Welch as label manager. Simon Berry established Platipus Records - the first release was by the way a vinyl by Technossomy alias James Monro - and is acclaimed for the out licensing of the most successful Trance chart stormer of all times with Robert Miles “Children” track, as well as ground breaking albums for instance Union Jack’s “There will be no Armageddon” (1996) featuring Trance anthems “Red Herring” and “Cactus”.

Part 4
Blue Room Released became one of the most brilliant and at the same time mysterious labels. Led by Simon Ghahary Blue Room understood itself as a truly innovative label, from its beginnings concerned with expanding the musical concept beyond goa-kitsh or hippie-romantic. Financially well backed up, because set up as sign-off project for a Swiss loudspeaker company, irrespectively of costs or sales figures the scene’s most innovative acts were signed and distributed in brilliant designs around the blue planet. In April 1995 “Outside The Reactor” was the first compilation to be released as a triple LP and CD presenting a world wide trance overview featuring for instance Spectral, Total Eclipse, Moog, Har-Ell, Voodoo People and Total Eclipse’s master piece “Nautilus”. In the same year debut albums were released by Total Eclipse, The Infinity Project and Ben Watkins co-project Juno Reactor (with “Beyond the Infinite” including 8 tracks on four LPs). The out standing logo consisted of a doubled bass key, becoming thereof the icon of the scene. Following a brilliant start on German labels such as Gaia and Tunnel Records, the Hamburg based band X-Dream found a suiting home. Following an Etnica album, X-Dream’s “The Frog” single and the second stroke of genius “Violent Relaxation” by Total Eclipse, in 1996 the height of the Blue Room and psychedelic trance was reached, culminating in further releases with Juno’s “Bible of Dreams”, Saafi Bros. “Mystic Cigarettes” and the at the same time released ground breaking X-Dream remix of “Internal Code Error”, the Delta single “As a Child”, further releases by Noosphere and Johann and the “Dragon Tales” album by Kox Box.

Although England had been leading the Trance music scene for years, due to its superbly developed independent music structure, the party scene had been restricted on the island by the Criminal Justice Bill and was almost non-existent. Out door parties, which are an elementary requirement of a proper Trance experience, were not possible and club life was damped down and demoralised by early closing hours.

Meanwhile Germany’s liberal laws and the newly reunified east sparked a party paradise, which again had a strong effect on the musical development and success of German productions. With Spirit Zone in Hamburg there had already been a German Psy-Trance label since 1994, that after international releases by Kuro from Japan, TIP from England, Etnica from Italy and Har-Ell from Israel gave locals the space for releasing music such as Electric Universe, PsyPhy6, Ololiuqui, Star Sound Orchestra and S.U.N. Project.

Part 5
Goa’s fame spread around the world; in suit of this more and more tourists came - from 1994 to ‘98 there were four times as many visitors. Hence the long cultivated relationship between travellers and local tipped off balance, money became increasingly important, as the Indians and the police grasped the financial potential that flowed persistently into their land. The original spirit of Goa was gone like smoke in a few years, the brotherhood gave way to ego-thinkers, territorial disputes and ignorance.

At this time the Psy Trance progression stood at its height, everything had become larger and fatter, the Voov-Experience (by Antaro and Scotty) and the Shiva Moon (by Jan Engel with Scotty, later with Waldheim’s Ernst and finally all alone) reached visitor number above the 10,000 mark for the first time. With the since 93 permanently grown Antaris Project, many smaller organisers and the Lovefield many more Parties and Festivals appeared on the scene, resulting in the formation of a complete Germany party summer. The mainstream, media and companies became aware of the phenomena Goa, event though its peak in content had passed. Blinded by success many prime freaks mutated to arrogant, self indulgent assholes, many DJ’s behaved as god-like. In short: the decadence did finally get a foot in the door to the spirit, even though no one had thought about this wonderful new world finding the same end as other musical developments previously had done. In October 1997 Matsuri marked the end of Goa-Trance with the compilation “Let it R.I.P.” (Rest In Peace). Sales had suddenly dropped, and the collapse of the English distribution Flying tore up a deep gap into the label scene. Almost all English labels weren’t being payed out and generally had a hard time surviving bankruptcy, or resurfaced under a different name and company, as in the case of TIP Records and TIP World.

Parallel to passing the zenith of classical Psychedelic Goa Trance new concepts and projects developed, which reduced the overt effects and immense tempi and rather focussing on groove and beat, combining elements of Club-Trance, Techno and House. In Germany there had already formed a functional musician and producer scene around acts such as Digital Sun/Tarsis (Sebastian Krüger and Linus Wessel), Ouija (SUN Project and various DJs), Earth (DJ Sangeet), Ololiuqui, Shiva Chandra and many more. With the Voov-Experience as the annual meeting point this development was quickly taken across the continent by 97/98. Many Swedish having become infected by this music found their own progressive interpretations. The first and best known of them is Tomasz Balicki, who after initial productions as Mato Project together with Magnus Andersson (lately successful as Noma) started a furious solo career as Atmos. Through a single release on Eve Records (Eve26 “Body Trance”) he made contact with Cass Cutbush, who together with James Monro was undergoing a restructuring of Flying Rhino. Atmos’ track “Klein Aber Doctor” and the simultaneously released number “Confusional State” by Pete “Slide” Martin on the “3rd Flight Slipstream” compilation marked the most successful releases by Flying Rhino to that date; the “Confusional State” single sold over 5,000 copies. The new sound once again hit the pulse of the time and gave the scene a lasting boost to reach new shores. Even „conservative“ labels such as Dragonfly set on this new sound, in Sweden DJ Anti’s label Spiral Trax mutated to an epi-center of Progressive Trance. Atmos’ debut album, Noma and S-Range (previously with initial releases on Medium Records) became milestones. After the release of a first album on Novatekk the band Son Kite from Malmö launched a further large and successful platform for Swedish sound with the MPDQX Labelgroup - Digital Structures and Baluns.

Backed by this output Progressive Trance expanded rapidly; ever more minimal bands appeared on the psychedelic world map, whereby regional differences in scenes and music structures formed, and so the term for off-beat trance “Hamburg Sound” went down in history. Progressive Psy Trance was also evolving outside of Europe."