Sunshine Music For Smiling People - Kukan dUb Lagan - Review

It takes a singular vision to avoid the temptation of following the crowd. To blaze your own path in your own style is a pursuit we can respect in any artist. It's something that has always attracted me to the music of Kukan Dub Lagan a.k.a Itay Berger.

Itay has been creating his own take on dub music for the past 10 years. It's a journey that sees him mix up traditional old school dub with more modern psychedelic sounds. Nothing new there I hear you cry. And you are right - there is an entire ocean of it around to be sure. 

However there is something just that little bit peculiar, the little bit extra in his music that really catches my attention with each new album. 

It's like a peanut butter sandwich with lettuce added. You know the lettuce shouldn't be there but wha'dayaknow -  it works ! And so news of a new long player on the horizon was gleefully received by yours truly . 

Titled "Sunshine Music For Smiling People" it is presented with engaging cover art by Ronit Rozensal devoid of your typical dub cliches and sports 10 fresh new takes on the psychedelic ambient dub genre. The album contain a variety of styles from pure ambient dub to more experimental stuff and others approaching BuddhBar like chillout. With mastering by none other than Ultimae Records head honcho Vincent Villuis ( Aes Dana ) you can be guaranteed of top notch sound quality too.
 

Waypoint - Interchill Records - Review


Canadian label Interchill Records has released their latest compilation album. Titled "Waypoint", the new album continues Interchill's tradition of expertly curated downtempo compilations. With close to 20 years of top notch releases, the label is one of the most respected in the business. When I recently compiled my list of best psybient compilation albums I wasn't surprised to see Interchill feature heavily. 

Waypoint harks back to Interchill's "Earth Octave Lounge" series of downtempo/ambient compilations from about 10 years ago. Much like that series, Waypoint combines various styles that despite their differences do display a somewhat psychedelic jazzy/lounge feel to a good number of the tracks. 

Waypoint - Interchill Records
 
An exotic blend of freejazz, lounge grooves and tribal bass with chilled ambiance. Some of the artists featured on Waypoint are Interchill regulars such as Kaya Project and Adham Shaikh and a number of artists from the old Earth Octave Lounge series feature once again here. That's not to say this music is dated - quite the opposite actually - this compilation is as fresh and modern sounding as any compilation you will here in 2014 and quite possibly for the next decade too. 

The album has just the right amount of variation on offer to avoid becoming  a repetitive take on any one genre. It starts out with some sprinkles of stomp before gradually slipping into more sublime ambient territories. The tracks compliment each other so well that before you know it an hour has flown by as it sucks you in with sonic submission. 

Top Psybient Compilation Albums


Following on from the recent best psybient albums post which you can check out here, today I present to you a list of top notch psybient compilation albums. Once again I've decided to be fairly liberal in my approach here and expand the list to include various genres that often get lumped in along side the psybient tag. 



To make each album easier to track down I've also added their associated record label. For albums that make up part of a series I have simply listed the series name with a marker (s) behind the name to indicate it is a series. 

Rather than list the albums in rank of popularity or my personal choice I've decided to go for a simple alphabetical sort so that you can find what you are looking for easily. 

I hope you find this list of use and it points you to some new listening experiences. Of course, feel free to add your own favorites in the comments section. I've only added the albums I have actually purchased so if there is something amazing you think should be included then by all means let us know.

  1. 13th Moon - Interchill
  2. 6th Element - Altar Records
  3. A Conversation Between Two Trees - Critical Beats
  4. Air/Water/Earth/Fire (s) - Altar Records
  5. Alchemy - Arcadia Productions
  6. Amber : Gold Of The North - Zealotry Music
  7. Ambi-Ant Beatz - Green Ant
  8. Ambient Auras - Rumour Records
  9. Ambient Meditations (s) - Return To The Source
  10. Ambient Selections (s) - Cyan Music
  11. Ambrosia - Ultimae Records
  12. Ancestral Lullabies - Astronautic Records
  13. Angelic Science - Surreal Audio
  14. Anti Particle - Phantasm Records
  15. Arcana - Interchill
  16. Area 69 - Afrogalactic Recores
  17. Backroom Beats (s) - Twisted Records
  18. Beneath The Surface - Native State Records
  19. Between Earth and Sky - Tempest Recordings
  20. Bioluminescence - Native State Records
  21. Bliminal - Interchill
  22. Butterfly Dawn - Liquid Sound Design
  23. Cafe Marrakesh - Avatar Spirit
  24. Caribbean Eclipse - Flying Rhino
  25. Chill Out (s) - Tua Records
  26. Chilling Goddess - Peak Records
  27. Chillosophy (s) - Digital Structures
  28. Chillum  - The Ultimate Tribal Ambient Journey (s) - Agito Records
  29. Chilly Peppers Vol.1 - Beats and Pieces
  30. Cornwall Eclipse - Flying Rhino
  31. Cosmic Balance - Uxmal Records
  32. Depth Charge - Interchill
  33. Desert Phase Remixes - Interchill
  34. Devil in the Detail - Interchill
  35. Discovering Plexus Music - CosmicLeaf Records
  36. Dissolving Clouds - Interchill
  37. Down The Fractal Dimension - Liquid Seed Recordings
  38. Dreams - Millenium Records
  39. Dub Dimensions - Ajnavision Records
  40. Dub Mates Meeting - Gliese 581C
  41. Dub Warriors (s) - Triple Drop Productions
  42. Earth Octave Lounge (s) - Interchill
  43. Ease Division (s) - Spiral Trax
  44. Eclipse 2012 Following The Eye Of God - Twisted Records
  45. Eclipse: A Journey Of Permanence and Impermanence - Twisted Records
  46. Electroriental Delight (s) - Ultra Vista Records
  47. Elucidations - Liquid Sound Design
  48. Emptinesses - Sentimony Records
  49. Entheos Audio Archive (s) - Entheogenetic
  50. Epistemology ( ambient side ) - Maia Brasil Records
  51. Epistemology - Maia Brasil Records
  52. Ethneomystica (s) - Mystic Sound Records
  53. Everything Is Possible - Trimurti Records
  54. Fahrenheit Project (s) - Ultimae Records
  55. Fantazma - Sentimony Records
  56. Fire/Water/Fire/Air/Ether (s) - Altar Records
  57. Floatation - Interchill
  58. Floating Point (s) - Iboga Records
  59. Floating Spirals (s) - Altar Records
  60. Flutter - Flow Records
  61. Four A.D. (s) - Waveform Records
  62. Future Memories - Interchill
  63. Future Sound Theory (s) - Celestial Dragon Records
  64. Global Slowdown - Tempest Recordings
  65. Green Instant - Clima Records
  66. Greenosophy - Ultimae Records
  67. Grower - Lookinglook Records
  68. Hadravision - A Chillout Exploration (s) - Hadra Records
  69. Hammock - Synergetic Records
  70. High Priests Of Electronic Dub - Hypnotic
  71. Higher Mind - Maia Brasil Records
  72. Illuminations - Liquid Sound Design
  73. Imaginary Friends - Ultimae Records
  74. Infinessence - Interchill
  75. Infinite Excursions (s) - TIP World
  76. Interior Horizons - Liquid Sound Design/Interchill
  77. Intermittent Memories - Celestial Dragon Records
  78. Into This Wired Abyss (s) - Into This Wired Abyss
  79. Kumharas (s) - Space Teepee Music
  80. Left Coast Liquid Vol.1 - Native State Records
  81. Life Is.../Another Life...(s) - YoYo Records
  82. Liquid Dub Vol 7 - Liquid Sound Design
  83. Little Pieces Of Infinity (s) - Hispanodelicious Records
  84. Live At Dakini Nights - Dakini Records
  85. Made Of Dawn : Chapter One - Blue Hour Sounds
  86. Magnetic Blue - Interchill Records
  87. Mahamaya 5 Years Compilation - iT Records
  88. Mana Medicine - Liquid Sound Design
  89. Mar Y Tierra (s) - Zulu Lounge 
  90. Mashing Up Creation - Dubmission Records
  91. Materia Musica - Ajana Records
  92. Mellout - ID Siral Records
  93. MIDItation (s) - Ceiba Records
  94. Midnight Soul Dive - Aleph Zero
  95. Mind Gap - Kupuri Music
  96. Mira - Nutek Records
  97. Module (s) - 3D Vision Relax
  98. Mountain High (s) - CandyFlip Records
  99. Mutantribe - Iboga Records
  100. Mycelium Music Compilation (s) - Mycelium Music
  101. Mystic Chill Chapter 1 - Mystic Sound Records
  102. Natural Born Chillers (s) - Aleph Zero
  103. New Entry - Iboga Records
  104. Next Destination - no label ( via ektoplazm )
  105. Next Step - Nutek Chill
  106. Northern Circuits - Interchill
  107. Nova Natura (s) - Cosmicleaf Records
  108. On A Dub Mission (s) - Dubmission Records
  109. One A.D/Two A.D/Three A.D (s) - Waveform Records
  110. Opus Iridium (ambient disc) - Suntrip Records
  111. Organic Beats (s) - Altar Records
  112. Oxycanta (s) - Ultimae Records
  113. Painting Pictures On Silence (s) - Enig'matik Records
  114. Passages - Ultimae Records
  115. Paz (s) - Ovnimoon Records
  116. Peace And Love (s) - Vertigo Records
  117. Peace Therapy (s) - Kagdila Records
  118. Penduloom Waves - Sonic Loom
  119. Planet Blue - MikelaBella Records
  120. Planet Meditation (s) - Avatar Records
  121. Polymorphic Convolutions - Electronic Soundscape Records
  122. Portal of Perceptions - Celestial Dragon Records
  123. Psychedelic Chillout (s) - Insolation
  124. Psyderchill (s) - Psyderweb Records
  125. Psymeditation (s) - Organic Records
  126. Quality Relaxation - Chill Tribe Records
  127. Raja Rams Pipedreams (s) - TIP Worldg
  128. Relaxed Journeys - Chill Tribe Records
  129. Resonant Heart - Merkaba Music
  130. Resonant Mind - Merkaba Records
  131. Rhythm Code - Shanti Planti
  132. Rhythm Of Life - Solstice Music International
  133. Seeing Things - Twisted Records
  134. Serenity Dub (s) - Incoming!
  135. Siesta - Phonokol
  136. Signs Of Life (s) - Blue Room Released
  137. Sky Dancing Nada Masala (s) - Dakini Records
  138. Slow Motion - Blue Tune Recordings
  139. Soul Vibration (s) - Liquid Records
  140. Sound Drops - Warp Brain Records
  141. Space Forming (s) - Gliese 581C
  142. Special Places - Sentimony Records
  143. Spirit Of La Selva - Critical Beats
  144. Sticky Jam - Sticky Music
  145. Sub Signals Volume 1 - Interchill
  146. Summer/Spring (s) - Altar Records
  147. Sunset Magnetic North - Waveform Records
  148. Talisman - Interchill
  149. Temple Of Science - Nice Dreams Music
  150. The 14 Dragon Tales - Space Radio Records
  151. The Martian Chronicles - Trimurti Records
  152. The Mystery of the Yeti - TIP World
  153. The Next Mission (s) - Dubmission Records
  154. The Prophecy - Phantasm Records
  155. The Riddle Of Isla De Pascua - Avatar Records
  156. The Riddle Of Santa Catherina - Avatar Records
  157. The Second Coming - Mind Tweakers Records
  158. The Warp Experience - Liquid Sound Design
  159. Time Loop : Beyond Borders - Sentimony Records
  160. Top 40 Ambient Tracks - Altar Records
  161. Tranchillizer - Peak Records
  162. Transatlantic Chillout - Heart's Eye Records
  163. Turlitava (s) - Neogoa
  164. Twelve - TIP World
  165. Unity Dub's Voyage Into Paradise - Liquid Sound Design
  166. Unusual Suspects (s) - Twisted Records
  167. Up And Away ( ambient disc ) - Up Records
  168. Global Psychedelic Chill Out (s) - Spirit Zone
  169. Vampire Sunrise - Celestial Dragon Records
  170. Voodoo Roux (s) - Waveform Records
  171. Wabi - Flying Rhino
  172. Waveform Transmissions (s) - Waveform Records
  173. Wider Horizons - Liquid Sound Design


The Top 200 Psybient Artist Albums Of All Time


Over the last 20 years or so, since the early to mid 90s, I have listened to my fair share of albums within the psybient genre of music. Some artists are still with us while others have shone brightly, delivering glimpse of magic before fading away into the deeps of space from whence they came. Over this time, like many of you, I have pondered my firm favorites when it comes to best psybient albums. 

 
Artists such as Shpongle and Ott who helped form the psydub genre and psychill acts such as Carbon Based Lifeforms and Aes Dana feature heavily of course. However as popular as these artists are I think there is always room for some lesser known acts who have released equally fascinating albums. 

The list below comprises of what I believe to be the greatest albums by artists within an all encompassing "psybient" tag i.e psychedelic ambient, psychedelic dub, spacey psychill and genres that flirt about on the edges of those. There are many absolute gems in this list so I highly recommend checking them all out some time. This is a fairly 'loose' list, the main purpose is to get a good big list of best psybient albums to share online.

I'll be updating this list over time so you will see changes over the coming years as worthy albums are released. If you are interested in a list of compilation albums then stay tuned as I'm currently compiling that one and it's looking pretty awesome too.

Finally, I would love to hear back from you - what albums are in your top 10 ? Or is there anything else you could recommend to psybient fans that you think is worth a shout ? Drop a comment below and let us know what you are thinking.

 Rank - Artists - Album
  1. Shpongle - Are You Shpongled ?
  2. Ott - Mir
  3. Carbon Based Lifeforms - World Of Sleepers
  4. Aes Dana - Memory Shell
  5. Hallucinogen - Hallucinogen in Dub
  6. Abakus - That Much Closer To The Sun
  7. ISHQ - Orchid
  8. Ott - Blumenkraft
  9. Shpongle - Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland
  10. Drift - Drift
  11. Entheogenic - Entheogenic
  12. Deviant Electronics - Blunt Instruments
  13. Aes Dana - Leylines
  14. Shpongle - Tales of the Inexpressible
  15. Ott - Skylon
  16. Celtic Cross - Hicksville
  17. Tripswitch - Circuit Breaker
  18. Kuba - Through A Lense
  19. Carbon Based Lifeforms - The Path
  20. Alien Soap Opera - Second Wave
  21. Shpongle - Nothing Lasts
  22. Gus Till - Ghosts Of The Earth
  23. Ashirvad - Ashirvad
  24. ISHQ - The Invisible Landscape
  25. Younger Brother - A Flock of Bleeps
  26. Shulman - Soundscapes and Modern Tales
  27. Cell - Hanging Masses
  28. Ooze - Where The Fields Never End
  29. Kuba - How the Future Sounded
  30. The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
  31. Younger Brother - Vaccine Electronic
  32. Yggdrasil - Prose Edda
  33. ISHQ - And Awake
  34. Solar Fields - Blue Moon Station
  35. Subsurfing - Frozen Ants
  36. Bluetech - Elementary Particles / Prima Materia
  37. Dub Trees - Nature Never Did Betray The Heart That Loved Her
  38. Saafi Brothers - Mystic Cigarettes
  39. Solar Fields - Movements
  40. Bluetech - Dreaming Into Being
  41. Hol Bauman - Human
  42. KLF - Chill Out
  43. Carbon Based Lifeforms - Twentythree
  44. Anahata - The Unmade Sound
  45. Desert Dwellers - DownTemple Dub Flames
  46. Digital Mystery Tour - Digital Mystery Tour
  47. Makyo - Purnima
  48. Shulman - In Search of a Meaningful Moment
  49. Don Peyote - Eternal Now
  50. Entheogenic - Spontaneous Illumination
  51. Eat Static - Back to Earth
  52. Kalpatura Tree - Luminosophy
  53. Scann Tec - Facial Memories
  54. Phutureprimitive - Kinetik
  55. Younger Brother - The Last Days Of Gravity
  56. Greg Hunter - Metasurfing
  57. Carbon Based Lifeforms - Interloper
  58. ISHQ - Sama
  59. Kick Bong - A Cup of Tea ?
  60. Zymosis - Elements into Data
  61. Bluetech - Rainforest Reverberation
  62. Outersect - Caldera
  63. Shakatura - Shakatura
  64. 23 degrees - 23 Degrees
  65. Stress Assassin - Within The Office Of Eye And Ear
  66. Shpongle - Museum of Consciousness
  67. Astroppilot - Solar Walk 2
  68. Mental Extensions - Inner Reality
  69. Benji Vaughn - Even Tundra
  70. Shulman - Random Thoughts
  71. Globular - Colours Of The Brainbow
  72. Green Beats - Cosmic Turtle
  73. Zero Cult - Dreams In Stereo
  74. Makyo - Swara Mandala
  75. Kalya Scintila - Open Ancient Eyes
  76. Third Ear Audio - Third Ear Audio
  77. HUVA Network - Ephemeris
  78. Kuba - Bringing It All Back Home
  79. Kliment- The Perpetual Ritual
  80. Green Nuns On Ice - Pan Electric
  81. Pineal - Cauda Pavonis
  82. Androcell - Emotivision
  83. Makyo - Rasa Bhava
  84. Spectralight - Temple of Stars
  85. Entheogenic - Golden Cap
  86. Flooting Grooves - Psydeburns
  87. Globular - Magnitudes of Order
  88. Puff Dragon - Sazanami
  89. Akasha - Into The Web
  90. Manta Ray - Numinous Island
  91. Shulman - Endless Rhythms of the Beatless Heart
  92. Astronaut Ape - Ten Minutes Eternity
  93. Youth - Youth In Dub
  94. Padmasana - Padmasana II
  95. Asura - Code Eternity
  96. Solar Fields - Until We Meet the sky
  97. Healer - Higher Grounds
  98. Kalya Scintilla - Dance the Spiral Never Ending
  99. Kyoto - Skywolf
  100. Ochi Brothers - Ochi Brothers
  101. Androcell - Imbue
  102. Capsula - Synthesis Of Reality
  103. Kaya Project - Desert Phase
  104. OM - Viaje Al Interior
  105. Kaya Project - Walking Through
  106. Sounds From The Ground - Terra Firma
  107. Phutureprimitive - Sub Conscious
  108. Shakatura - Galactivation
  109. Mahaon - The Awakening
  110. Birds of Paradise - Flight Patterns
  111. Dymons - Druids Brew
  112. Elve - Infinite Garden
  113. Makyo - Shringara
  114. Flooting Grooves - Antimony
  115. Matt Coldrick - Music for a Busy Head
  116. Jairamji - Kindred Spirits
  117. Ornament - Bleu
  118. Pitch Black - Rude Mechanicals
  119. Chronos and CJ Catalizer - Quid Est Veritas?
  120. Amuravision - Light Energy Performance
  121. Argaman - My Little Forest
  122. Astropilot - Solar Walk
  123. Globular - Self Fulfilling Prophecy
  124. Vlastur - Interaxion Dub
  125. Daheen - Green Chillies
  126. Kalya Scintilla - Beginnings
  127. Easily Embarrassed - Tales Of The Coin Spinner
  128. Entheogenic - Enthymesis
  129. Unusual Cosmic Process - Aquatic
  130. Galaxy - Science Of Ecstasy
  131. Entheogeic Sound Explorers - Magic Garden
  132. Salmonela Dub - Calming Of The Drunken Monkey
  133. Sinepearl - Cycles Within Cycles Within
  134. GMO vs Dense - Equation
  135. Desert Dwellers - Muladhara Yoga Dub
  136. Pitch Black - Future Proof
  137. Hinkstep - Second Sight
  138. Lauge and Baba Gnohm - Langbortistan
  139. Dense - Exhale
  140. Hesius Dome - The Age Of Steam
  141. ISHQ - Blue Infinity
  142. Kaminanda - Gateways of Consciousness
  143. Kurbeats - Folktronica
  144. Padmasana - Padmasana
  145. Seamoon - Expression Of The Moment
  146. The Peaking Goddess Collective - Organika
  147. Younger Brother - Vaccine
  148. Warp Technique - Make Animals Happy
  149. Don Peyote - Heaven and Earth
  150. Ganja Beats - Paradise and Tranquility
  151. Gus Till - Dub Shadows
  152. Hinkstep - Sunrise From The Treetops
  153. Kaminanda - Ancestors and Guardians
  154. Pan Electric and ISHQ - About Time
  155. Pitch Black - Electric Earth
  156. Saafi Brothers - Midnight's Children
  157. Perpetual Loop - Passage of Sound
  158. Mystery School Ensemble - Mystery School Ensemble
  159. Rena Jones - Echoes
  160. Perpetual Loop - Universal Flow
  161. Hoopy Frood - Psychonaut
  162. Seahorse Transform - Dust form a trip
  163. Radioactive Sandwich - A World Of Delights
  164. Soulacybin - Gratitude
  165. Sync24 - Source
  166. Sysphe - Running up That Hill
  167. Asura - Lost Eden
  168. Distant System - Spiral Empire
  169. Pan Electric - Conscious Pilot
  170. Koan - When The Silence Is Speaking
  171. Kuba - Inside Out
  172. Banco de Gaia - Last Train To Lhasa
  173. Kaminanda - Liminal Spaces
  174. Ren Toudu - Intangible
  175. Waterjuice - Liquid Journeys
  176. Soulacybin - Self Existing Earth
  177. Toires - Oued
  178. Tengri - Shipibo
  179. Sunmonx - Power Salad
  180. Warp Technique - Shaman Lik My Pea
  181. Miditeranian - Gondolieri in Space
  182. Electrocado - The Hass Effect
  183. Galaxy - Everlasting Tone
  184. Krusseldorf - Bohemian Groove
  185. Sundial Aeon - Analysis
  186. Saafi Brothers - Live on the Roadblog
  187. Terra Nine - Strange Craft
  188. One Mighty Atom - Mystery Karaoke
  189. Supersillyus - Interabang
  190. Asura - 360
  191. Slackbaba - Perverting Mankind
  192. Seamoon - Twisted Downbeat Adventure
  193. Tajmahal - Star Circus
  194. Will O the Wisp - Long Sleep Plain
  195. Brujos Bowl - Peace Data
  196. Kuma Mela Experiment - East Of The River Ganges
  197. Master Margerita - The Marginal Rules
  198. Gnomes Of Kush - California Kush
  199. Koan - The Fables Of Belovodye
  200. Shantifax - Delete Automation

Music For Programmers - PsyAmb 76



Today I present to you a nice mix of music for programmers. Programmers require distraction free music to help them concentrate. It is also important for the music to boost their imagination so that they may code innovative software. I grew up as a programmer and the music I listened to was predominately psychedelic ambient music or simply deep ambient background music. 


For me this was the perfect fit. While some friends and co-workers coded to the sounds of death-metal, for me the hypnotic slow beats and swirling melodies of psybient or psydub brought out the best in my programming.

Here is a mix comprising of some great music for coders of all ages.  I hope you find this mix of some use to aiding your creativity, no matter what base language you are coding in.

It begins with a blast of distant psychill from artists Astronaut Ape and Kyoto before delving into some ambient sounds and then finishing off with glitchy programming from the likes of Frederik Oehr and Hataken.

Cheers ... 

 
Track / Artist 
  • 01. Sakura  -  Astronaut Ape    
  • 02. Sunrise  -  Kyoto     
  • 03. Combinations (On/Off Edit)  -  Solar Fields 
  • 04. Diagrams  -  H.U.V.A. Network 
  • 05. Submarine Poetry  -  Krill. Minima 
  • 06. Whales Street  -  Irukandji 
  • 07. Return  -  Frederik Oehr 
  • 08. Dark & Long (Most 'ospitable Mix)  -  Underworld 
  • 09. Trampoline Hotel  -  Hybrid Leisureland 
  • 10. Sun Cycles  -  S1gns Of L1fe 
  • 11. Naomeetayub (Paz Mix)  -  Hataken    

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      Direct Download. Right click then select 'Save link as ... '

      Listen to this music for programming mix on YouTube :

      Ten Over Ten Vol 1 - PsyAmb 75


       
      Welcome to a new mix series here at the PsyAmb podcast. This week I would like to present to you a selection of long psychedelic ambient tunes. I never really mix long tunes into my regular mixes here. Well, nothing over 10 minutes in length anyway. That's all about to change as I think there is just too much good music in my collection to ignore. So here we have volume one is a series of mixes that will concentrate of awesome tunes that travel over the 10 minute mark.



      We begin today with the track that put Ott on the map - "Jack's Cheese And Bread Snack" from his now classic debut album "Blumenkraft". Ott has of course gone on to bigger and better things but this track was absolutely mind blowing for me when I first heard it.

      Next is a track from Saafi Brother's dubby debut "Mystic Cigarettes" which I sold my kidney to get a copy of back in 1998. Well, not exactly but I was so desperate to get it after hearing tracks from it that I remember driving hours across town to a mysterious record store that claimed to have a copy for sale. They did indeed and I was then in a Mystic Cigarettes listening binge for weeks on end. Subsequent albums never lived up to the promise of the debut unfortunately.

      Ghosts Of The Earth - Gus Till - Review



      Artist : Gus Till
      Title : Ghosts Of The Earth
      Label : Interchill Records
      Release : Sep 30 2014
      Genre : Downtempo, Psychedelic, Ethnic, Jazz, Trance
      Rating :


      There are those artists for whom I will gladly hand over money without listening to a single preview online. Pre-ordering is like a satisfying injection of good-will and amplified anticipation. Carbon Based Lifeforms, ISHQ and OTT to name a few. Australian artist Gus Till is another. 

      Gus recently released his latest full length album titled "Ghosts Of The Earth" which has found a welcome home in one of my favorite labels - Interchill Records. The Interchill team were gobsmacked when they got their first opportunity to taste it and I think you, happy listeners,  will be too.
       



      Till has traveled the world time and again delivering a feverish blend of trance, dub and downtempo world music in a producer/dj career that has spanned some 20 plus years. From his early years in Australian bands that flirted with chart success through to his work in legendary trance duos Slinky Wizard and Zen Lemonade, he has now arrived at perhaps his finest musical offering thus far. This is a exceptional album from an artist at the top of his game that will capture your imagination from the moment it begins. 

      Ambient Mix - PsyAmb74



      A new beatless ambient mix is on offer this week. We begin with a track from Sinepearl's 2012 album "Through Water She Spoke". Sinepearl is the work of Swedish producer Bjorn Ekegren. Bjorn has quickly established himself as a leading ambient artist. His latest album, "Cycles Within Cycles", was released through Interchill Records early this year and is one I highly recommend for anyone seeking a truly chilled-out experience. 

      After Sinepearl we have a wonderfully minimal ambient piece from 36 ( three-six ). This is my kind of thing ! Stripped down, hypnotic ambient music that fills every void and takes you over. 36 is Dennis Huddleston from the UK. This one comes from his album Lithea. He has tons of releases online you can check out and they are all quality including his new one "Dream Tempest".

      We then have Peter Turcsoki, aka Garden State, who has produced a wonderful album in "Milam" with plenty of dreamlike ambient soundscapes. I first ran across Peter's work on Soundcloud so why not follow him there and keep up to date on his latest releases.


      Beats Bass and Beyond - PsyAmb 73


      Some captivating bass heavy tunes have been tickling my fancy of late. Here is a mix of psychedelic tunes with a bass focus. This one starts of in a pretty laid back fashion with a couple of tracks from Anchor Hill and AtYya. 

      Anchor Hill ( Richard Hartley  ) has crafted a fine album with his latest "Medicine Grove" release. Check it out on his Bandcamp page. AtYya ( Tyler Clark ), like Richard, is another bass lover from Canada and also has his latest work up on Soundcloud




      Some great stuff coming out Canada these days. Once upon a time there was pretty much just the Interchill label but now there are lots of new producers emerging. 

      After the those guys we have yet another Canadian - Daega Sound, one of my favorites when it comes to to deep bass laden electronic music. You can pick up this tune, Terra, along with many superb others on the Bloom Series Vol 1 release.

      We then move into a champion bit of psydub with a unique vibe from Soulacybin ( John LaBoone ). This track, Shine Out, comes from Mycelium Music Compilation Vol. 3.  For more of his excellent music have a listen to his latest full length release - Gratitude on the brilliant Australian label Merkaba Music.]


      16 Macro Images Of Psychedelic Soap

      We have all seen psychedelic soap before. A quick glimpse of a soap bubble shows colorful waves of patterns. However to truly experience it you need to get close, real close. 

      Macro photography opens up a beautiful world of trippy hallucinogenic imagery when pointed at soap films. 

      Here is a collection of some of the best ones. To read more about this art form follow these links :





      Psychill Mix - PsyAmb 72



      Summer holidays here and that means time to get some mixes done ! Today I'd like to kick of the summer break with a selection of top psychill songs for your listening pleasure. All of these tracks have a deep space vibe to them. Perfect for chilling out with a cold one to avoid the heat ( so hot here in Osaka !! ). And for you guys in the southern hemisphere - I hope the warm atmospheres in these hypnotic tunes can provide some warmth.

      psyamb 72 cover for mix

      The first track in this mix comes to us via Swedish producer Jansson Amos from the new compilation "Paz 2" on Ovnimoon Records. Amos has had a handful of compilation appearances on labels such as Ultimae Records, Suntrip and Spiral Trax. His debut album came out last year, also on Ovnimoon Records. 
       

      20 Psychedelic Patterns Islamic Style

      Islamic design makes use of mathematics to create intricate, detailed geometric fractal like patterns. The history of Islamic design finds its roots in the art of Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Persian cultures. 

      Presented here is a collection of 20 fine examples of design element. Some complex and some more simplified. I find these patterns below to have a decidedly psychedelic retro art feel to them. This is probably because psychedelic art of the 60s borrowed heavily from these types of images as well as the Art Nouveau movement.

      In Islam, the designs represent the infinite. That is to say, the complex patterns are a mirror of the nature of creation by Allah ( The Arabic word for 'God') . This is quite the opposite of what one sees in other religions that typically use religious iconography. 

      Read more about the background of geometric Islamic art  :



      black and white islamic art design

      geometric islamic art in blue and white

      How To Volunteer For Psychedelic Research


      With the increasing acceptance of psychedelic research these days, companies and organizations are looking for more and more volunteers to assist in their tests and programs. Before you sign-up for what you might imagine to be a free trip in the name of science it would be wise to review exactly what these groups have on offer. 

      Here I have compiled a handful of some of the leading groups that offer the public a chance to get involved with psychedelic science as either volunteers for psychedelic drug testing or on the less trippy side of things - office work. 
       

      MAPS

      The most impressive organization in this field would have to be MAPS ( Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies ). MAPS is an independent organization that survives on being totally funded by public donations - some of which can be as large as several hundred thousand dollars. 

      A totally professional and highly respected group, MAPS advertises for volunteer positions at other organizations and hospitals as well as its own in house psychedelic testing programs. 

      It provides a wealth of information regarding the use of psychedelics for overcoming issues related to addiction, stress, mental illness and more. It is also a highly regarded resource for freely available, unbiased information related to both the risks and benefits of the use of psychedelic.

      To read more about what research and volunteers opportunists are available through MAPS click the below link

      More info:

      Trippy Dark Psychedelic Art


      The psychedelic experience is not always full of happy machine elves and rainbow unicorns. Some people prefer to dabble in the darker side of the other side. 

      So with that in mind here I present an interesting collection of some darker trippy psychedelic art from the minds of some talented artists as they try to explore the macabre, the Gothic, the bad trip. The areas where you might be too afraid to go into in case you never make it back out the same as when you went in. 

      We start of with this harrowing image from none other than psyart legend Alex Grey. Alex usually presents vividly colorful, complex images that reflect a oneness with the cosmic self. In this instance however he shows us that even experienced psychonauts such as Alex are also vulnerable to the negative thought patterns that present them selves in a bad trip.

      "Bad Trip" by Alex Grey