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Psychill - definition, borders...
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Kras
Started Topics :
7
Posts :
84
Posted : May 8, 2011 15:21:05
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Hi there!
I wonder about this whole psychill scene. When it comes to uptempo psytrance it's all quite easy but with the downtempo scene I'm a little bit disorientated.
Some things that I hear on the Internet psychill stations don't seem to fit. It's like anything goes. I hear heavily reggae-influenced stuff, lots and lots of dub. But most of those things aren't really downtempo psytrance. I know that psychedelic-oriented people usually don't like labels and boundaries but I wonder how it came that most chillout stuff fits better to breakbeat scene then psy parties. Is Ott even a psychill artist? Why he even attends psytrance parties? I need some story behind all of this.
I would appreciate help from those more in the know then me. I know lots about uptempo scene but somehow most downtempo seems to be added just to fill the void. How many of those artists are really psychill artists? What does define it? Are there many downtempo material smuggled from other scenes just because... why in the first place?
Thanks a lot for friendly replies. I'm looking forward to a longer discussion between experts.
I wish you all the best! |
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Meta-Morphosis
IsraTrance Senior Member
Started Topics :
216
Posts :
4980
Posted : May 8, 2011 16:31
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Ok good points here kRAS
Its psy-chill for Many people in their own taste. Why do you need definitions and borders ? Its just music. And I GUESS you know this theme already mate.
I dont know why things fit with Breakbeat etc I guess the people who make this music would know it more, I listen to the old school psychedelic Sounds for now and always look for them Again very Subjective. And I Think.. Ott made great Psychedelic Remix of Hallucinogen. Rest was a too Disco for my taste. No disrespect but MY Brother who doesnt love psy at all, Liked Skyline. Again matter of taste.
Defining Psy-chill is really difficult. Psychedelic is a matter of relation to every human being which is out of the context of definition. I would feel that some Artists would answer questions on the stuff that involves them in your post.
 “What we need is the development of the Inner Spiritual man, the unique individual, whose treasure is hidden in the symbols of our mythological tradition and in man’s unconscious psych.” - CJ Jung |
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TechMonkey
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
41
Posts :
985
Posted : May 8, 2011 17:09
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Everyone will have their own definitions, but here's my take on it....
I think that back on the early to mid 00s a distinctly different form of ambient caught on that:
A) Had lots of interesting shifts/pans/echoes as an integral part of the music. There was a ton of amazing little details to hear in the music and it generally was very trippy. Usually laced with MCKenna or philosophical samples. The key part being the attention to little details in the creation of the music though. (Think Shpongle)
B) Borrowed heavily from the soundbanks of the psy-trance scene and much of it sounded like 100BPM psytrance. ( Some early Ultimae sound?)
C) Both
I think these things existed to some degree since the mid-90s, but really blossomed a bit after 2000 with acts like Shpongle, Entheogenic, Androcell, Aes Dana, CBL, et al. Since then, I think the "Psychill" genre stagnated a bit and began mingling with other downtempo/ambient styles. Now I think it's really just a generic umbrella term like "ambient", "Downtempo" or "Chillout" that encompasses a wider variety of styles than it did some years ago.
Again, just my take on it. I'm sure others will disagree and have their own advice on the matter.
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McKennaDMT
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
12
Posts :
457
Posted : May 8, 2011 17:40
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Quote:
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On 2011-05-08 17:09, TechMonkey wrote:
Everyone will have their own definitions, but here's my take on it....
I think that back on the early to mid 00s a distinctly different form of ambient caught on that:
A) Had lots of interesting shifts/pans/echoes as an integral part of the music. There was a ton of amazing little details to hear in the music and it generally was very trippy. Usually laced with MCKenna or philosophical samples. The key part being the attention to little details in the creation of the music though. (Think Shpongle)
B) Borrowed heavily from the soundbanks of the psy-trance scene and much of it sounded like 100BPM psytrance. ( Some early Ultimae sound?)
C) Both
I think these things existed to some degree since the mid-90s, but really blossomed a bit after 2000 with acts like Shpongle, Entheogenic, Androcell, Aes Dana, CBL, et al. Since then, I think the "Psychill" genre stagnated a bit and began mingling with other downtempo/ambient styles. Now I think it's really just a generic umbrella term like "ambient", "Downtempo" or "Chillout" that encompasses a wider variety of styles than it did some years ago.
Again, just my take on it. I'm sure others will disagree and have their own advice on the matter.
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I agree with you. I'd add that the inclusion of ethnic samples too around that same time added a unique component. Now you've basically got to do your own recordings of unique instruments, vocals, etc, or you'll end up sounding like Shpongle/Entheogenic. |
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Melancholyman
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
14
Posts :
233
Posted : May 8, 2011 18:38
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Ott^
OTT
Started Topics :
0
Posts :
488
Posted : May 8, 2011 19:36
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Kras:
There is a committee which meets twice a month in Berlin whose task it is to sift through recent releases and assign 'genre designations' based upon a points system.
Nobody really knows which criteria they judge on but it is thought factors like 'McKenna density' do play a significant part. Artists are allocated a basic designation from up to 14 genres and 21 sub-genres although they can apply for re-designation every four years if their output deviates sufficiently from the officially recognised parameters of their current genre and sub-genre.
I've not been 'Psychill' for at least five years and I applied for re-designation in 2007 but they say they lost my forms [twice] and made me reapply.
The whole process takes ages and is probably why the current system of genre allocation looks so confusing to you.
Hope this helps. |
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Vonoom
Vonoom
Started Topics :
14
Posts :
274
Posted : May 8, 2011 20:11
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kukan-dub-lagan/ItaiTaiko
kukan-dub-lagan/ItaiTaiko
Started Topics :
144
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1728
Posted : May 8, 2011 20:18
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i just know i like to focus on electronic music .
most of us just started in the trance scene some how(or got psychedelic influences from that genre) ...
the good thing is that we can make and manipulate our style as well as much we like.
i like reggae a lot so for me i like to make my own sound for this style in a way, but i am sure that many out side there not see me as a "dub artist" 
and some others yes.
i just see a lot of new artists trying their style and it is just beautiful, i am happy to see it grows slowly but still grows. no matter what this style is.
psy chill? well what ever you want to name it all time it is tasty 
Check out my music page - free music , new style and more :) |
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Kras
Started Topics :
7
Posts :
84
Posted : May 8, 2011 21:00
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Don't get me wrong. I know that my post can be considered a faux pas. Instead of a sarcastic replies I would be more interested in relations between breakbeat or dubstep with psychill.
Ott, seriously I was wondering if you consider yourself to be a part of this scene. Do you play on other gigs that are not related to psytrance? Where is your heart? I don't want to insult anyone. I'm just confused and I'm hoping for polite and helping answers. Hey, if your music is confusing for me, maybe it's because it's so psychedelic
I do feel committed to psytrance scene and tagging myself as such isn't a bad thing or is it? I just stumble upon lots of stuff that just makes me confused. When I hear reggae I think about reggae, not about psychill. Don't worry, I have my own taste. |
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shotgun
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
30
Posted : May 8, 2011 22:08
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Quote:
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On 2011-05-08 21:00, Kras wrote:
I do feel committed to psytrance scene and tagging myself as such isn't a bad thing or is it?
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I would think twice before tagging myself to such so-called "scene". There can be consequences u might not be ready to deal with. Even tagging ur audio files as such may lead to quite a predicament. |
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andrew interchill
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
26
Posts :
435
Posted : May 9, 2011 00:40
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you said; Some things that I hear on the Internet psychill stations don't seem to fit. It's like anything goes.
there you have it, in your own words - anything goes. that's a beautiful thing.
Interchill - Label - Publisher - Consulting - Artist Services |
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kukan-dub-lagan/ItaiTaiko
kukan-dub-lagan/ItaiTaiko
Started Topics :
144
Posts :
1728
Posted : May 9, 2011 00:41
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Quote:
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On 2011-05-09 00:40, andrew interchill wrote:
you said; Some things that I hear on the Internet psychill stations don't seem to fit. It's like anything goes.
there you have it, in your own words - anything goes. that's a beautiful thing.
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exactly !
Check out my music page - free music , new style and more :) |
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Kras
Started Topics :
7
Posts :
84
Posted : May 9, 2011 00:51
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Most of replies to my original post contain things that I have already written. I don't force anybody to define things. I just wonder about your feelings. Anything goes... Fair enough. But this answer is like no answer.
I've also asked about relationships. Anything goes. So what does it mean? Any story behind all of this? Any insights into how original downtempo Goa turned to "anything goes"?
I think that I won't receive answers that I seek for. Maybe I started this thread from the wrong issues. Anyway, thanks Ott because your post gave me a smile (in a friendly meaning)
Although I'm disappointed that people didn't tried to put some effort to write something that would give me some hints.
So... why not experimental industrial like superb Coil on the fests? |
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DjSchofield
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
21
Posts :
1050
Posted : May 9, 2011 01:14
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^ Yeah I have to echo Andrew here. Anything indeed does go - and that attitude leads to some wonderful creativity in artistic music production and sound design - and dj'ing as well.
I suppose that if it was possible to define what is "psychill", and then to have a bunch of dj's that only play that style of music over a whole party (think 12-24 hrs), it could potentially be boring as hell after the first 5 or 6 hours (or less). Whereas chill spaces and artists have diversified and brought in elements from many other arenas and genres to create sonic journeys that really take you places that are unexpected and truly psychedelic when the style forces your mind to wonder where the hell are we going? or how did we get there? or did I really hear that? WTF? I love that. My mind shifts and that is really psychedelic.
So I guess psychill is a part of all that, rather than all that being a part of psychill. It's probably only the dancefloor that has that one style of dance music - psytrance - that plays all night and all day, albeit with variations of style: progressive, full on, dark, melodic, psygressive, psybreaks (to a degree), psy-tech, etc.
For me, often the best music is played on a chill stage. There's a lot more going on and you never know where you will end up. True adventure! (which is really in the spirit of the whole party thing isn't it?)
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DjSchofield
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
21
Posts :
1050
Posted : May 9, 2011 01:18
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Perhaps psychill quickly outgrew the confines of being downtempo psytrance.
There's also not as much of a markert for psychill - though I doubt that has much bearing. I think it is more about the sound artists themselves. |
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