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V/A - Wellspring Vol. 1: Equinocturnis (Geomagnetic.tv 2006) CD

DeathPosture
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  142
Posts :  547
Posted : Jun 20, 2006 17:43
Wellspring Vol. 1: Equinocturnis

Cover: http://tinyurl.com/n9clx + http://tinyurl.com/o5zhy + http://tinyurl.com/lvkaf

Artist: Various
Title: Wellspring Vol. 1: Equinocturnis
Format: CD (digipack)
Label: Geomagnetic.tv (USA)
Cat. #: GEOCD006
Distribution: saikosounds.com
Date: 12 May 2006

Track listing:

01. 06’52” Chromatone vs. Helios – New Consciousness
02. 06’57” The Loomii – Freak Factory
03. 07’08” Mind Storm - Psybernetic
04. 07’39” Quadra - Vibrations
05. 08’25” Penta – Blue X-Mas
06. 05’58” Aeon – There For, Party
07. 06’10” Random – 13 Again
08. 07’35” Bodhisattva 13:20 – Gung Fu Trippers
09. 07’41“ Deeper In Zen - Trancedelia
10. 06’38” Rob-Ot - 1995

Review:

American knights on mescaline…

Geomagnetic.tv is an American label based in San Fransisco. It has bubbling in the Bay Area underground for a number of years – and it especially renowned for its visually stunning DVDs and recently also psytrance music. It was only recently though, that the label started raising eyebrows outside the US when it set up international distribution. Wellspring: Equinocturnis is the 6th release - compiled by acclaimed video director and label boss Doctor Spook (Nathan Vogel). The tracklist reveals a couple of well-known names, but also some rising talents… Let’s check it out…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: Chromatone vs. Helios – New Consciousness [146 BPM]
First up is a collaboration between Chromatone (Lawrence Hoffman) and Helios (Raphael Pepi). I have no idea who Pepi is, but Hoffman is a renowned American producer and studio engineer who has mastered pretty much every single darkpsy release within the last couple of years… This track is a pretty uplifting piece of psytrance… Lots of melodies here! Not too dark, but not too fluffy either… It’s somewhere in between… The groove is tight and the acid bits are subtle – It could maybe benefit from a climax of some sort, but basically this is a nice little track which I really like… Also the mastering is absolutely stunning!

#02: The Loomii – Freak Factory [145 BPM]
Dave & Peter Loomi make up The Loomii – and once again I have absolutely no idea who they are… Anyway, these guys know what they are doing – this track is indeed freaky as the title suggests! Basically this is one *massive* 303 workout – the acid is flowing all over the place, hurling from one side to another and back again… Twirling synth exploration and sharp acid stab and hisses… Oh yes, that’s a lot of stuff going on at once, and maybe it does become a bit too chaotic for a while… It’s almost too freaky for a while there… Almost!

#03: Mind Storm – Psybernetic [145 BPM]
“What do they look like? I’m not sure exactly, but I think they might look a lot like us!” Mind Storm consists of none other than Geomagnetic big cheese Dr. Spook and Tamir Ozana from Atomic Pulse. So yeah, you can guess where this is going – that’s right – full-on! But do not despair; this is far from formulated, generic full-on… This is extremely uplifting, non-conformist, edgy full-on that fuses the best elements of Israeli morning trance with the trippy twists of Bay Area thrash….This is very tasty indeed, but just like a piece of sugar-loaded candy, it might sting your teeth a little… But I do enjoy a nice sugar rush once in a while!

#04: Quadra – Vibrations [145 BPM]
And here’s a loaner from Solstice Records. Israeli producer Ido Liran has made tons of tracks over the years – pretty much all of them full-on… And sure enough, the experienced trancer hasn’t lost his touch … This is ripe, thrilling, uplifting morning trance with a psychedelic edge… Very reminiscent of the 2002-2004 sound: pretty tight and very, very energetic… This will go down very well with the connoisseurs of chemicals… The sheer level of energy is very impressive, but I could have wished for more variation here…

#05: Penta – Blue X-Mas [145 BPM]
From fellow San Francisco-based label AuraQuake Records come a track from one of my personal fav’es… None other than Penta! I’ve pretty much liked everything I’ve heard from Nikita Tselovalnikov and this track is no exception… As usual Nikita doesn’t follow the norm and incorporates a bunch of different styles, variations and oddball twists and turns into his tracks… The striking contrast between the naïve uplifting melodies and the grotesque, tweaked bullhorn is just another stroke of genius courtesy of Penta… A very nice, elusive track!

#06: Aeon – There For, Party [145 BPM]
“You have opened our minds and swayed our hearts. Let us there fore, party!” Aeon La France is an American psytrance producer, currently living in Santa Cruz, California… He was featured on Mubali’s debut album Cats @ Play released by Trishula Records earlier in 2006. And the experimentation and oddball approach from the Penta track continues here… The intro is gloomy and builds excitement before the track kicks off with humorous voice samples and trippy, acid-ridden synth experimentation… Gone are the most uplifting bits from earlier tracks, and we’re left with a more focussed and extremely trippy night trance track… Extremely dancefloor friendly! I’m totally digging it! Best track thus far!

#07: Random – 13 Again [145 BPM]
Ross Dubios aka Random is another Geomagnetic regular – and on this track he’s joined by Andrew Contreras. Actually I’m not sure I want to be 13 again – no sex, no booze, no drugs and my musical tastes weren’t really refined yet… Nope, I want to be 21 again and know all about women than I know now… Ok, enough side-tracking now – this track is actually interesting enough on its own. We’re definitely moving further and further away from full-on now, and this track is easily the weirdest thus far. That’s right, the old weird-as-fuck meter has been cranked up, and this is some seriously demented, oddball stuff – like mix of IDM and industrial with thick psytrance elements… Not as totally deranged as Derango, but we’re getting there… It’s interesting and unique – I’ll give Random that much… I’m just not sure how good it is… I can’t see this working on the dance floors and for home listening it does little but confuse me… Especially the last rundown is way too hectic for my enjoyment. So yeah, like Finnish trance this is the stuff you’d need to be in a certain mood (or state) to fully enjoy…

#08: Bodhisattva 13:20 – Gung Fu Trippers [145 BPM]
“It’s freezing! You’re cold? Yeah! I’ll teach you how to keep yourself warm – get up!” The cover notes list this as another Ross Dubious project, but I’m fairly certain that’s a mistake – AFAIK this is a Christopher Martin project… Again the weird-factor is high, but this time it’s not as hectic and confusing as the previous track. This is actually pretty damn sweet. Dark and informative like Kemic-Al, twisted like Penta and trippy like Derango… What a sweet cocktail! A nice little track with a super-cool surprise ending!

#09: Deeper In Zen – Trancedelia [145 BPM]
On loan from Soular Records is Deeper In Zen aka. James Brian who has been in the game for a while and has released three full albums and a handful of compilation tracks… On this track we’re heading back to the uplifting, full-on power trance sound like we saw earlier on this compilation… This is flaring, wall-to-wall melodic psytrance with a couple of guitar screeches and subtle acid-lines thrown in for good measure… Pretty good, but there’s nothing here we haven’t heard before…

#10: Rob-Ot – 1995 [141 BPM]
Last up is a track by some dude called Robert Watson… And that’s all the info I have on him. Anyway as the BPM count is lowered, the funky atmosphere is introduced… This is indeed funky, groovy and experimental stuff – kept within a framework of trance of course… As the title suggests, it’s also a nod back to the somewhat simpler trance produced a decade ago… It really is a 1995 flash-back! Slow-burning digital music which will definitely turn some heads… It’s all nice and pleasant, but sadly also a little boring and it wasn’t the trip down memory lane I’d hoped for… But for coming down off the trip, this will work wonders…

This was my first encounter with Geomagnetic – but definitely not the last! This compilation was better than expected – and more varied than I’d hoped for… There are a couple of tracks here that I don’t really agree with, but luckily there are even more tracks here that totally does it for me… Obviously emphasis is on the more uplifting side of psytrance, but luckily there’s some edgy, experimental tunes thrown in to break the flow and ensure attention from the picky listener like me… Nicey nice!

The digipack is packed with info, and despite the kitchy artwork it looks pretty neat… All in all, this is another high quality release from the The Bay Area… Fans of West Coast psytrance will most definitely take well to this, as will fans of uplifting yet edgy psytrance in general… Enjoy!

Favourites: 1, 3, 4, 5(!), 6(!!), 8

DeathPosture


External links:
Geomagnetic.tv: http://www.geomagnetic.tv
Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/692512
Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/qneq8
Beatport: http://tinyurl.com/m9zd3           On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion...
Meta-Morphosis
IsraTrance Senior Member

Started Topics :  216
Posts :  4980
Posted : Jun 20, 2006 20:26
Aha good review by DP again
Makes me get the V/a after reading your reviews.

Heard the penta track here and its real nice...over the years all the tracks are wonderfully produced by nikita

Good one Dr spook a nice blaster from your crew im sure...well the review tells us the story doesnt it ?

Boom and more coming i believe

           “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
Meta
Meta/Boomslang

Started Topics :  24
Posts :  1045
Posted : Jun 21, 2006 00:30


Thanks for the kind words... glad you dug it...


Rob-Ot (Rob Watson) is a label DJ for PsyBooty and is part of the duo M-Field, they have a few tracks out on some of the PsyBooty Records comps and I think their album is about to be released on that label. Rob is another SF Bay are old-schooler, he and Random used to be in a project called Random Robot way back when, however they have obviously taken some different stylstic directions. Rob is also a way-cool dude.

And yes track #8 is Bodhi/Chris Martin. It wouldn't be a psy-trance comp without a few typos. D'oh!

          http://soundcloud.com/aeon604
http://www.metaekstasis.com/
http://the1134.com/
Shawnodese
IsraTrance Full Member

Started Topics :  141
Posts :  2339
Posted : Jun 21, 2006 16:54
Goodluck with this release amigos ...specially all my buddies like Aeon, Nikita/Penta, Lawrence/Chromatone, Ross/Random, Greg/Mubali, Bodhi and all others involved......Loved most of the tunes but Chromatone is of course my favourite of these all !
          Mind Funk Records
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
www.myspace.com/shawnodese
www.myspace.com/mindfunkmusic
rob-ot
M-Field

Started Topics :  6
Posts :  123
Posted : Jul 4, 2006 00:51
Hey ya'll.

For the record, the last track "1995" is actually written by me.

I didn't expect it to be released. It was the SECOND track I had ever written, like over 4 years ago (early 2002), mixing on computer speakers, with little knowledge and a crack of logic 5 on a shitty computer. this is long before I started collaborating with Jay Indigom on our M-Field stuff (PsyBooty).

IMO its not nearly finished. But Spook somehow liked it and decided to put it out. I didn't fully realize that was happening, but I considred the track public domain so whatever.

I was a little annonyed because the track isn't really complete (too short, not enough change ups, rises, overall detail work plus a few more ideas). but hey it does have a nice vibe, and its a great trip down memory lane.

Rob
rob-ot
M-Field

Started Topics :  6
Posts :  123
Posted : Jul 5, 2006 21:57
Anyways, thanks for all the support all of you around the world of San Francisco artists. We have a lot of talented people here, and its nice to see now that we're gettin' recognized.

Meta
Meta/Boomslang

Started Topics :  24
Posts :  1045
Posted : Jul 6, 2006 04:58
Finally out on Saikosounds... dig it.

http://saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=5717
          http://soundcloud.com/aeon604
http://www.metaekstasis.com/
http://the1134.com/
Geomagnetic Records
Geomagnetic Records

Started Topics :  64
Posts :  423
Posted : Jul 18, 2006 14:19
and now on PSYSHOP as well!!!

http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/geo/geo1cd006.html

I want to make a special THANKS to KJ a local san francisco/west coast dj who co-founded the psy scene back in the early 90's who helped make the orginal iteration of this banging blaster possible...

So please enjoy this wonderful piece of the west coast psy history books... each track is special and dear in so many ways and all of the artist who made such a wonderful contribution really deserve some applause --- ( a muffled sound of clapping is heard at this moment around the world ) thanks guys =)

Loads of respect and appreciation (and more!)...

the Doctor-
Divinori


Started Topics :  9
Posts :  93
Posted : Jul 18, 2006 14:59
rao!

it's was totally amazing to me got track 4 from quadra, vibrations. it's an old favorite track for me that i'm totally in love for it! people just get wild at the main floor whit this track! thank's to all team for it!
great freaky track's from aeon, penta and random(!!!).
gung fu trippers from bodhisattva 13:20, a strong and unbelievable funny track!

now trancedelia (deeper in zen) always creating fully non gravity space! great trancy acid guerrilla melodies on this track!

so,

geomagnetic.tv, have been releasing awesomes v/a's and also albuns!
wish you guys long life!
just waiting more of this wellspring series!

divinori
a natureza chama...
!Ce M@n
IsraTrance Junior Member

Started Topics :  30
Posts :  857
Posted : Jul 31, 2006 17:01
When I first captured this copy...
Thought its a killa compilation....
Mostly all pick up tracks...
This needs some more power...
Except for the random track..
Remixes to this compilation wuld be gr88 !!           0x00000PSy
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