Top Psychill / Psybient / PsyDub DJs

Here is a list of my favorite psychill , psybient, psydub and generally psychedelic downtempo DJs. I've focused here on DJs that are more focused on DJing than production per se. There are a number of excellent DJs that also produce music such as DJ Zen, Alex Patterson, Darren Sangita and Greg Hunter to name a few. So I wanted to give a bit of exposure to the guys who are out there spinning tunes just for the love it. Let's begin ...

AuroraX

Desislav is a Bulgarian DJ and producer involved in electronic music for 12 years. For the last five, AuroraX has initiated development and production paralleled with Dj-ing around the Bulgarian and foreign psychedelic/ambient festival scenes. Many of his mixes are available for listening on online-radio stations such as Digitally Imported, Eilo, Morbomusic, Chillout Zone and more. His mixes typically include a lot of spacey ambient sounds such as your might here from Ultimae Records and Altar Records. Very deep, emotion galactic journeys that you can chill out to again and again.

http://soundcloud.com/aurorax
https://www.facebook.com/pages/AuroraX/148796815132229

DJ Samsara

Christian Borgmann aka DJ Samsara from Denmark, has been actively promoting psychedelic chillout music for many years now and is also well known as the man behind a number of charity albums of chillout and psychedelic trance music that he curated on labels Critical Beats and Random Records. As a label DJ for Altar Records he is often found DJing at the biggest psychedelic festivals around the planet. His mixes make use of idm, glitch, ambient, psybient, psydub and more . Much like AuroraX, his mixes are long spacey journeys so expect to hear artists like Aes Dana, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Asura etc.

http://soundcloud.com/dj-samsara-altar-records

Crispy / Leave Trace

Chris Haines aka Crispy is author of the Splendid Beats podcast/website where he hosts a huge collection of wonderful psybient, psychill, psydub and ambient mixes. His blog is well worth following as he also talks about other areas related to the scene as well as his own ongoing production efforts under the Leave Trace moniker. He was very active on the DI.FM psychill channel where he mixed up all kinds of psychedelic ambient styles into each set that proved incredibly popular with online listeners.

http://splendidbeats.com/category/downloads/

Shoom and Bloodwing

Speaking of DI.FM Psychill, that popular online psychedelic chillout radio station would never exist without the efforts of our next DJs. Shoom and Bloodwing. As directors of the Psychill,Goa/Psy and Progressive Psy radio channels they have done more for introducing new psychill sounds to people on-line on a daily basis than just about anyone you care to mention. In that last few years they have played out at many festivals and shows throughout the U.S.  In early 2013 Shoom joined Suntrip Records as a label DJ.

http://www.goa-shoom.net/mixes/

Kalya Scintilla Interview

Australian producer Kalya Scintilla has been winning praise wide and far with his mix of deep bass, stuttering beats and ancient sacred melodies delivered with an underlying current of psychedelic funk and whomp. 

With a number of EPs, compilation appearances and his latest album "Dance The Spiral Never Ending" all released in just a few short years, he is quickly becoming a name known for innovative psychedelic electronica. 

He recently took time out from his U.S touring schedule to sit down and answer a few questions for the PsyAmb blog. 

PsyAmb: Well, first let's get started at the beginning. How did you get into music production ? Did you come from a musical family ?

Kayla Scintilla: My parents have a great taste in music. They raised me and my siblings on Led Zepplin, Lionel Richie, and other great old rock, soul, and funk. 

I wasn't really into sport at school but I was into music so my friends and I would listen to mix tapes during school and jam out at each other houses on the weekends. We all took turns on drums, bass and guitar playing mostly metal and funk. 

When I left home and moved to the city I fell in love with going to nightclubs. It wasn't long before I had a pair of turntables and was rocking vinyl at house parties and clubs. I played House, Hip Hop, Funk, Breaks, Techno etc basically anything with serious groove. 

In 2005 I purchased my first computer to make beats but living in the city and having a 9-5 job meant that my focus was not as intense as I wanted it to be. In 2007 I went to my first outdoor psytrance festival, called a Doof in Australia. The experienced changed me deeply and I opened my being to a whole new world of frequency. 

The music from Zenon Records changed the way I perceived what was possible with sound and it wasn't too long before I had left my life in the city to pursue a life of music. My focus was psychedelic trance but about a year later the Kalya sound started to emerge as a result of me wanting to explore different realms.

Surreal Wall Mural Art Paintings : Interesni Kazki

The wall mural artists Interesni Kazki create some of the most amazing trippy wall art you are ever to likely see. A duo comprised of Aleksei Bordusov aka AEC and Vladimir Manzhos aka Waone, both from Kiev Ukraine, Intersni Kazki have been leaving their mark all over the planet with their striking and unmistakable mural art.

Their art is a mixture of fantasy, psychedelia, religious iconography, hybrid animals and contemplative humor. Think Hieronymus Bosch meets Dali at a B grade drive-in movie. Imagination overload. Take a look for yourself below.

5 Psychedelic Animations That Will Blow Your Mind

Here is a great collection of psychedelic animation shorts, cartoon and 3D renders that will flip your brain sideways.

Ben Ridgeway created this stunning video using a variety of digital methods. Ben is currently an Assistant Professor at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California, USA. He has 13 years of professional experience as both a 3D artist in the video game industry and as a Professor. While in the games industry he helped to create games for Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft console systems. Ben has been making experimental animations since 1992. His films have been showcased in film festivals worldwide and have received numerous awards.

This hand-drawn animation is the work of artist Jake Fried. This 60 second video took about four months to complete as Jake built up successive layers of imagery and scanned each time resulting in over 1500 individual images that were scanned and later composed into a this video using Final Cut. That's real dedication !

31 Psychedelic Trippy Owl Pictures

Owls are by far my favorite animal so I was delighted to visit an "owl cafe" recently where I was able to get up close with a number of owl species. It was a bit sad to see these magnificent birds tied up to their posts while visitors to the cafe walked around petting them and taking photos but at the same time, knowing that I would probably never get a touch an owl without such a venue, it was still a great experience. 

It also reminded me that I have a number of psychedelic owl images taking up space on my computer so I thought I'd share them here on the psyamb blog. 

Here we have owls in different poses, atmospheres and all exhibiting a generally trippy theme. I hope you enjoy this little collection from our psychedelic feathered friends. 

Psychedelic Quotes and Trippy Anecdotes

Here are my favorite best psychedelic quotes and trippy anecdotes from comedians, actors, artists, writers and more. From funny, trippy, hippie quotes to psychedelic quotes about life, love, music and drugs - there are some real catchy sayings here that are well worth remembering. I've been collecting these for some time now and it's always such a pleasure to run across a new one so if you have any you would like to share feel free to add a comment below. 

The original recordings of a number of these sayings have been used by some of the artists that feature in my mixes. I've personally used a number of them over the years to mix between tracks too. 

I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has any psychedelic related quotes from comedians as I get a kick out of cool one liners with a trippy vibe.

Quotes from Movies and Television

Easy Rider - Sampling goldmine

Seems like everyone's sleep-walking through their waking state, or wake walking through their dreams. 

- From the movie Waking Life

One of the things you learn after years of dealing with drug people, is that you can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug. 

- From the movie Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas

Two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine and a whole galaxy
of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers.

- From the movie Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas

First you will see a spot. The spot will become a crack. This is the crack between the nothing, and out of this nothing will come your unborn soul.
- From the movie Altered States

I wish there was some hip way of telling you this, baby, but, ah... you're one with and part of an ever-expanding, loving, joyful, glorious, and harmonious universe.
- From the movie The Trip

Psybient Mix - PsyAmb 65

Here is a straight up psybient mix that is full of deep bass and plenty of atmospheric psychedelic melodies. This mix is intended for a quicker head trip so I've kept it a bit shorter than my recent mixes. Have no fear though as there are tons of awesome sounds packed into the 70 or so minutes of psychedelic music which includes a number of classic oldies and some new lesser known artists.

Let's look at some of the highlights. We begin with a Phutureprimitive remix of a tune by American producer ZerO One ( Kevin Dooley ).  Kevin's self titled debut album was one of the first albums I purchased from Waveform records. Released around the late 90s it was one of just a handful of quality psychedelic ambient albums produced by US based artists, with most psychill and psybient albums coming out of Europe. That has all changed now of course with loads of amazing American artists releasing music every other week. Kevin's latest album "sOnar" was recently released on Waveform and you can hear full tracks from the album at his SoundCloud page.

DMT Art : 40 Visionary Paintings Inspired by DMT

DMT art is a form of visual psychedelic expression that is slowly gaining in numbers on the internet as the topic becomes more openly shared through social media. Psychedelic spiritual art is something I have long been into. So with that in mind I though you guys might like to get your heads around some wonderful DMT trip inspired art from a number of amazing artistic visionary explorers.

Note : Click on each item to see a larger, more detailed version of the image. 

Infected Mushroom The Messenger : Original vs 2012 Remix - Which is better ?

Back in 1998 Infected Mushroom were relatively unknown outside their home country. Things were about to change rather quickly though with the release of the debut classic album "The Gathering" the following year. The success of The Gathering propelled Infected Mushroom into trance super-stardom. 

Around the the same time they also teamed up with Dj Jorg ( Jörg Kessler ) to create a song that was more than a nod to the influence of Hallucinogen's "Twisted" and Shpongle's "Are You Shpongle" albums have played on their rapid creative development.

Infected Mushroom

The song, titled "The Messenger" was an epic track twelve minutes of of psychedelic bliss that merged elements of psytrance, downtempo and classical music. The track was released in September of 1999 on the compilation album Kumharas through the Shiva Space Technology label owned and operated by Jörg.

Fast forward to 2012 and the release of Infected Mushroom's eighth album "Army Of Mushrooms" where you can find a remix of the original "The Messenger" as the last track on the album. The new remix make use of modern sounds giving the tune a total overhaul with new tires, a boosted exhaust, a v8 engine and sidewinder missiles !! Mixing in a harder edge with dubstep basslines and thumping percussive effects, the new version is a testament to just how much the Infected Mushroom sound has evolved since that original version. 

PsyStep Mix - PsyAmb 64

Psystep  is a term I'm not exactly comfortable with but I guess it is the easiest way to describe what is going on in today's mix. This mix is a collection of psystep, psydub, glitchhop and, generally speaking, beats and bass psychedelic downtempo. In this mix you can here sounds from a number of present day artists who are exploring new areas in bass driven sounds. It's a heady ride into the vibrations of the universes.

We start with a deeply meditative intro via the spoken words of Darpan and the spatial bass frequencies of Itom Lab. Darpan has a great album of spoken word meditations mixed with ambient soundscapes called "LoveLight" that you can hear online at this link. Itom Lab released a a wonderful EP earlier this year so if you haven't had a chance to hear it year then drop over to the Itom Lab page at bandcamp to hear some tracks from the Brahmin EP. 

After Itom we get into an artist you will hear all over this mix - Bird Of Prey. Bird Of Prey ( Torin Goodnight ) is the world's foremost psystep artist I think. His work with Tyler Gibson as the duo "Birds Of Paradise" is also making huge sonic waves at the moment since the release of their new album "Flight Patterns" - one of the best albums of 2013.

This track is a remix of the Bird Of Prey track "First Step" by another artist full of psystep and psybient whomp - Kaminanda. You can find it on the 4 track EP "Bird Of Prey - Reconfigured". The long anticipated Birds Of Paradise album Flight Patterns proved to be an instant hit climbing to number one on the Beatport Breaks charts. They have recently toured with Kalya Scintilla as part of The Divine Alignment tour so check in with their facebook page to see what they are up to and where to see them live.

Following that we have the duo Akasha ( Shane Harris and Babak Rezvani ) with their track "Out Back" from the album "Into The Web" released early this year. This is one of my favorite albums of 2013. Remarkable production with loads of psydub, glitchy tribal wobbly sounds full of deep basslines and delicate, sophisticated melodies that mix together in a sublime display of musical genius. 

Akasha will be featured as part of the psychedelic arts and music event "The Boogie Returns" in London on November 16th so you guys in the UK should check it out if you get the chance. Good news for people down-under too as the boys will be showcasing their latest tunes during an Australia tour early next year.

Psychedelic Glitch Mix - PsyAmb 63

Well, 63 episodes in and I am about to attempt a glitchy psychedelic mix. I'm not sure if that is even the right name ! The tracks in this mix share a stuttering glitchy feel to them so I'll just ride with that. So if you happen like that kind of thing you might enjoy this week's episode.

We begin with a a track from UK duo Synth Sense from their After Dark EP. I really dig the Synth Sense sound. I think their darker tracks work best where the bass is to the foreground such as on this tune "Next Level". There is  another track from them later in the mix where I'll talk further about the duo.
 

After Synth Sense is Digital Connection with a a great slice of bass percolation. Just listen to that bass synth bubbling along. The lush synth cords and a touch of rap adds up to make a superb track. This one comes from a huge collection on tracks on the compilation "Bass From Above 2" which is a free download on Bandcamp.

More funky bass from Sympath follows on next with his track "Zero Sum" from Native State Records now classic release "Bioluminescence" of 2007. If you like ambient, quirky glitch psy then you have to get a hold of it. It stands as somewhat of a defining moment in a number of genres including glitch, idm, ambient and psybient styles. On this release Native State artists demonstrate an intelligent merging of all these genres into something new which drove the music forward to the next step. Highly recommended listening.

After Sympath is a collaboration between Xerxes and Jonas Kroon. Xerxes may be known to a number of listeners here as his work has featured on a number of past mixes. This track comes from the eclectic "Droplet Of Water" album released late 2012. A nice diversity of tracks on there so check it out if you enjoy a bit of variety between tracks. Jonas is a producer and mixing engineer who has worked in a variety of media including sound works for film and television. You can listen to more of his individual work at his website. 

Enrico Coniglio

We then dive into the clear blue waters of Enrico Coniglio's tune Brushwork from the album Dyanmu. Guitarist, environmental sound recordist and sound artist, Enrico is a musician with an interest in landscape aesthetics. Enrico's music  aims at investigating the loss of identity of places and the uncertainty about the evolution of the territory. Enrico is part of several collaborative projects as Aqua Dorsa, Herion, Lemures, Exquisite What and Sens-O-Tape. Together with Leandro Pisano, Enrico runs the digital label Galaverna. This year he started another new project My Home, Sinking. 

Psychedelic Dub Mix - PsyAmb 62

Another new mix for this week is ready for download. This time I have a psychedelic dub mix full of bass heavy wobbly bits that are sure to get you head nodding in a cloudy vapor. This is quite a long mix so rather than going through each track in detail I'll just highlight some of the more interesting a noteworthy tunes that are worth a mention. 

Firstly one artist I'd like to pick out is Ras Command ( aka Alex Buchal ). Alex was mostly active from the mid 90's onwards before he passed away in 2000. He released two solo albums "In Dub" and "In Dub 2" as well as appearing on a number of excellent dub compilations. Under other names he also put out a good amount of quality drum n bass tracks as well and managing a DnB label. He was such a talented musician so hunt down some of his releases for quality electronic dub with a different twist.

Next highlight would have to be "Infinity Dub" by Somaton. This is a brilliant little tune that has some of the nicest use of a tb303 acid bassline that I've ever heard. If you have never heard of Somaton before then you most likely will know of him by his real name - Seb Taylor ( aka. Kaya Project, Digitalis, Shakta and many more ). This track comes from the Somaton album "Future Memories" released in 1998. A great album with a nice mixture of psy-trance, dub and breaks.
 

Ambient Space Mix - PsyAmb 61

At long last my internet connection is up and running after a difficult period of house moving. So for those of you who may have thought this site had gone under I offer my deepest apologies. All is sorted now and I have a number of new mixes I completed during the down time.

So without further ado let's get into the first of the "waiting for internet" mixes. This is a spacey ambient mix full of those familiar hypnotic beats and reverb laden atmospheres that can really lift you into an outer body experience.
 

It kicks of with E-Mantra's awesome Harmonic Waves tune from his latest release on Altar records, "The Hermit's Sanctuary". A fabulous album and certainly Emanuel's most polished to date. You can get more info and listen to some online samples through the Altar records site at this link.
 

50 Trippy Coloring Pages

Stop Press !! My new psychedelic coloring book is now available on Amazon ! Check out some samples here :

High Visions - Psychedelic Coloring Book

Summer is here in Japan and that means summer holidays. Which also means kids screaming in your ears for something to do ! Well if you can scrape  them away from the X-box/Playstation long enough and remind them what color pencils look like then they might just enjoy this collection of printable psychedelic coloring pages. 

Some of these crazy trippy coloring images are detailed and complex enough to amuse you and your kids for hours on end. Actually I suspect some of you adults might find more enjoyment out of doing these than any toddler. I know I'm getting a kick out them. 

To view the image simply click on it to be shown a larger version which you can then print out from your browser or just download it and do whatever you like with it. 

If you come up with anything really colorful why not take a photo of your creation and email them to me and I'll post them here on the blog to share. I'm always on the lookout for new trippy patterns.

Have a great psychedelic summer everyone and enjoy these psychedelic coloring pictures !

Best Psychedelic Books List

Psychedelic books have always constituted a large percentage of my reading time.

From my teenage days when I  traveled far to the city in search of  bookstores stocking anything to do with psychedelia to today where I can have my next book delivered to my ebook reader within seconds. Psychedelic literature of all forms has shaped my understanding of life and continues to inform my decisions.

So in an effort to collate all the psychedelic books I have read and would like to read I have put all the books in a long list of noteworthy titles. 

That done, I was wondering if you guys have any others you would like to recommend ? 

This list is a work in progress so please help me build up a solid collection of psychedelic books that we can share as a resource for people everywhere. I have included all kinds of trippy literature here from drugs, spiritualism, art, music and the science behind the psychedelic experience. 

So if you have any of your own favorites to add please comment in the form below, send me an email or contact me via the Facebook link on the right-side of this blog.

Happy reading !

• LSD My Problem Child - Albert Hofmann
• Be Here Now - Ram Dass
• Pihkal: A Chemical Love Story - Alexander Shulgin, Ann Shulgin
• LSD - Otto Snow
• The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - Tom Wolfe 
• Sacred Mushroom of Visions  - Ralph Metzner
• Psychedelic Prayers: And Other Meditations - Timothy Leary
• Your Brain Is God - Timothy Leary
• High Priest - Timothy Leary
• The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead - Timothy Leary
• The Invisible Landscape  - Terence McKenna, Dennis McKenna
• Thr Archaic Revival - Terence McKenna
• True Hallucinations  - Terence McKenna
• Food of the Gods - Terence McKenna
• Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs
• The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
• The Doors Of Perception - Aldous Huxley  
• Advanced Techniques of Clandestine Psychedelic & Amphetamine Manufacture - Uncle Fester
• Adventures Beyond the Body - William Buhlman
• Animals and Psychedelics - Rob Montgomery , Giorgio Samorini
• The Shaman & Ayahuasca - Don Jose Campos, Geraldine Overton, Alberto Roman, Charles Grob 
• Ayahuasca Visions - Pablo Amaringo, Luis Luna
• Sacred Vine of Spirits : Ayahuasca - Ralph Metzner
• The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge - Jeremy Narby
• DMT: The Spirit Molecule - Rick Strassman
• Shedding the Layers - Mark Flaherty
• The Ayahuasca Diaries - Caspar Greeff
• Fishers of Men - Adam Elenbaas
• Heavenly Highs - Peter Stafford
• Pineal Gland & Third Eye - Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler
• Supernatural - Graham Hancock
• Inner Paths to Outer Space - Rick Strassman
• The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide - James Fadiman
• Tripping with Allah: Islam, Drugs, and Writing - Michael Muhammad Knight
• Hallucinogens: A Reader - Charles S. Grob   
• The Long Trip: A Prehistory of Psychedelia - Paul Devereux
• One Pill Makes You Smaller - Lisa Dierbeck
• The Chemistry of Mind-Altering Drugs - Daniel M. Perrine
• Peyote and Other Psychoactive Cacti - Adam Gottlieb
• Peyote : The Divine Cactus - Edward F. Anderson
• The Hummingbird's Journey to God: Perspectives on San Pedro - Ross Heaven
• Plant Spirit Shamanism - Ross Heaven, Howard G. Charing
• Plants of the Gods - Richard Evans Schultes, Albert Hofmann, Christian Ratsch
• Psilocybin Mushroom Handbook - L. G Nicholas, Kerry Ogame
• Psychedelic Monographs & Essays - Thomas Lyttle
• The Psychedelic Sacrament - Dan Merkur
• Off the Wall: Psychedelic Rock Posters from San Francisco - Jean Pierre Criqui 
• Mushrooms and Mankind - James Arthur
• The Psychedelic Future of the Mind - Thomas B. Roberts
• The Psychedelic Renaissance - Dr Ben Sessa
• The New Science of Psychedelics - David Jay Brown
• Brotherhood of the screaming abyss - Dennis McKenna
• Psychedelic Shamanism - Jim DeKorne     
• Psychedelic Trips for the Mind - Paul Krassner
• Psychedelics Encyclopedia by Peter Stafford
• Sacred Plant Medicine : The Wisdom in Native American Herbalism - Stephen Harrod Buhner
• Soma : Divine Mushroom of Immortality - R. Gordon Wasson
• Persephone's Quest - R. Gordon Wasson, Stella Kramrisch, Carl Ruck, Jonathan Ott
• The Great Shark Hunt : Strange Tales from a Strange Time  - Hunter S. Thompson
• Sisters of the Extreme - Various
• Cosmic Trigger I : Final Secret of the Illuminati - Robert Anton Wilson
• What the Dormouse Said - John Markoff
• The Road of Excess : A History of Writers on Drugs - Marcus Boon
• The Joyous Cosmology : Adventures in the Chemistry of Conciousness - Alan Watts
• The Road to Eleusis - R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann
• Are You Experienced ? - Ken Johnson
• The Secret Chief - Myron J. Stolaroff
• The Natural Mind - Andrew T. Weil M.D.
• Earth Ascending - Ph.D. Jose Arguelles
• States of Consciousness - Charles Tart
• The Private Sea : LSD & the Search for God - William Braden
• Transfiguration - Alex Grey
• Storming Heaven : LSD and the American Dream - Jay Stevens
• The Teachings of Don Juan ( series ) - Carlos Castaneda
• Psychedelic : Optical and Visionary Art since the 1960s - David Rubin
• Tryptamine Palace : 5-MeO-DMT and the Sonoran Desert Toad - James Oroc 
• Electrical Banana : Masters of Psychedelic Art - Norman Hathaway, Daniel Nadel
• The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes : The Art of Alan Aldridge - Alan Aldridge
• Art of the Dead - Phil Cushway
• High Art : A History of the Psychedelic Poster - Ted Owen
• Sex, Rock 'n' Roll & Op. Illusions - Victor Moscoso
• Visionary Plant Consciousness - J. P. Harpignies
• Yellow Submarine.. the Beatles (hardcover) - Charlie Gardner
• Hallucinogenic Plants (A Golden Guide) - Richard Evans Schultes, Elmer W. Smith
• Ecstasy : The MDMA Story - Bruce Eisner, Peter Stafford, Stanley Krippner
• Codex Seraphinianus - Luigi Serafini
• Art Forms in Nature - Ernst Haeckel
• Salvia Divinorum : Doorway to Thought Free Awareness - J. D. Arthur
• Mushroom Wisdom : How Shamans Cultivate Spiritual Consciousness - Martin W. Ball
• Ayahuasca in My Blood : 25 Years of Medicine Dreaming - Peter Gorman
• Ayahuasca Reader -  Luis Eduardo Luna, Steven F. White
• Cleansing the Doors of Perception - Huston Smith
• Sacred Mushrooms : Secrets of Eleusis - Carl A. P. Ruck
• Etidorpha The End of Earth - John Uri Lloyd
• Psychedelic Healing - Neal M. Goldsmith
• Decoding Eternal Tales : Psychedelic Art of John Thompson - John Thompson
• Global Tribe : Technology, Spirituality and Psytrance - Graham St. John
• Orange Sunshine - Nicholas Schou
• The Art of Peter Max - Charles A. Riley, Peter Max
• Illuminatus - Robert Venosa
• LSD Psychotherapy - Stanislav Grof
• The Futurological Congress : From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy - Stanislaw Lem
• Grudge Punk - John McNee
• Vurt / Pollen - Jeff Noon
• Visions of a Huichol Shaman - Peter T. Furst
• The Shaman's Mirror : Visionary Art of the Huichol
• Trout's Notes on San Pedro & Related Trichocereus Species - Keeper of the Trout
• Left in the Dark - Tony Wright, Graham Gynn   
• Entangled - Graham Hancock
• Enter Through the Image - L. Caruana
• The Art of the Fillmore : 1966-1971 - Gayle Lemke, Bill Graham
• Memoirs of an ExHippie : Seven Years in the Counterculture - Robert A. Roskind   

  

Entheogenic - Anthropomorphic - Review

Artist : Entheogenic
Title : Anthropomorphic
Label : Universal Symbiosis Records
Release : May 2013
Genre : Psychill, Psydub, Psytrance
Rating :

Entheogenic are back with a surprise new release, a four track album called Anthropomorphic. Some may debate that a four track release can hardly be called a full album. However each of the track are over or close to 10 minutes in length so I think it's fair enough to go with album rather than EP this time. 

 Tracklist :

1. Luminous Child 11:19

2. Tonglen 09:51
3. Spirit Molecule (Wounded Man Pech Merle Mix) 09:59
4. Soma (Veda Mix) 11:22

Entheogenic remain one of the best loved acts in the psychedelic ambient music scene. Their twisting melodies and deep basslines have gained them thousands of fans worldwide since their masterpiece self titled debut release in 2002. 

Subsequent albums were met with mixed reviews as they tried out different styles of music. However over the last two or three releases then have regained some of their original psychedelic brilliance which has never been more wonderfully demonstrated than on Anthropomorphic.

The album begins with the 11 minute spiritual carpet ride Luminous Child which will melt you right into your sofa and tingle your pineal gland with multilayered sparkling crystals of hyper dimensional resonance. 

Trippy Pictures Collection

I've gathered together another round of trippy pictures and psyart for you all to see. There is quite a range of styles on offer here from black and white collages to full blow color trippy mind-fraks. 

I especially like the grizzly bear and giraffe Godzilla like creation. There is so much crazy stuff going on with Photoshop artists these days. I like to equate these psychedelic collages to a form of sampling. 

In much the same way that genre mashing groups like Australia's "The Avalanches" created psychedelic music out of sampling other artists I get the same sense that designers and bedroom Photoshop kids are also doing the same in the digital art realm. 

Wonderful stuff - I can't get enough of these trippy creations. Enjoy !

Best Free Online DJ Mixer

Online DJ mixers ( ODJMs ) are a fun and free way to experience DJing for the first time. If you are interested in DJing, the cost of hardware mixers that use Vinyl or CDs can prove cost prohibitive for many beginners. Standalone Digital DJing software such as Native Instruments' Traktor and the like are not exactly cheap either. 

Enter the age of "Cloud DJing". The no download revolution !

Online DJing mixers are the result of the evolution in music sharing and cloud services like SoundCloud, MixCloud and Youtube. Now, with nothing more than an internet connection and browser you can experience DJing for free and get access to libraries containing millions of songs. 

The technology is still somewhat in its infancy with most DJing online sites having their fair share of pros and cons when it comes to usability, presentation and performance. However I've no doubt that these sites will continue to gain in popularity as the tech improves. 

Will they ever replace standalone DJing software applications ? Hard to say really - it probably depends greatly on what your intended purpose is. In some situations like a casual house party or home use, ODJMs are certainly more than capable of doing the job. As a reliable method for live performance at a club or festival .... probably not.

Anyway, lets take a look through some of the best online DJing systems currently available and some of there good and bad points.

Psychill Mix - PsyAmb 60

A new psychill mix ! Yeah ! This one is a bit longer with heaps of interesting new tunes so strap in for a quite a ride. If you like bass driven, somewhat darker atmospheres then this might be the mix for you. Lets get going ...

We begin with a track from Aligning Minds stunning debut album "My Heart Is Love". Certainly their best work to date and one of the best psychill albums of 2013. After only a few short years together the Aligning Minds guys have hit on a great formula where they mix elements of psychill, dubstep, psystep, dub and downtempo genres to create music full of atmosphere and drama. Keep an eye on these guys as they just keep getting better and better.

Next is a rather catchy tune, so catchy I found myself humming the riff for a few days after the first listen. Banco De Gaia ( Toby Marks ) is back with a new album of all new material called "Apollo". The track "Wimble Toot" from the album has been remixed by psychill legends Eat Static and released as part of the "Wimble Toot EP". It's a rather short track but really unique and enjoyable and as I say, very catchy.

36 Amazing Psychedelic Blacklight Posters

Psychedelic posters are a great way to decorate you home, bedroom or chillout space. From the vintage 1960s counter culture waybill posters to modern day psychedelic rock and music posters for bands like tool, STS9 etc there are plenty of options available to spruce up your walls.

One category of trippy posters that is commonly seen at festivals and psytrance parties are the good old psychedelic blacklight posters. These creations are painted with a special paint known as blacklight reactive paint. The paint glows when exposed to a backlight - a light source which has a wavelength predominately in the ultra violet ( UV ) range. Because of this the artwork in this genre is also referred to as UV art.

Backlight paintings at festivals have a variety of psychedelic motifs including bright fluoro fantasy landscapes, alien abductions, visionary experiences and the like. A well arranged placement of black light banners around a dance floor can add tremendously to the overall atmosphere of the party and become as much a talking point as the DJs and musicians headlining the event. 

Ambient Dub Mix - PsyAmb 59

Hi everyone. Have a bit of ambient dub for you this week. This mix features a few older tunes from around 2000-2005 that have been screaming at me for years to add to a psydub play list. So for some of you there might be a chance to get acquainted with some lesser known ambient dub producers of the past or at least some older tunes from current artists. They all still sounding super fresh mind you so I hope you dig this hour and half of dub vibes.

We kick of with a track by Daniel Symons and friends in the group Gaia Nima. Some of you will know Daniel from his solo psydub moniker Dymons. This is a fantastic tune and as far as I'm aware the only tune they did together as a group. 

Next is a track from last years Dub Dimension compilation, "Coping with Babylon" by Quanta. One of my favorite dub releases from 2012 for sure. You can download it for free now from the Ektoplazm website.

Following on we have a lovely tune from Michael Sundo aka Vonoom. Michael has released a number of awesome dubby tracks on a number of compilations over the past few years. For more info on Vonoom you can read an interview Micheal did with me last December in which he talks about his studio, touring, future plans and more.

After a heavy dub from Nako the mix then slides into psychedelic dub star Androcell with a track from his Enthomythic Remixed album. This tune, Dub Ripples, is actually one of two original tracks on the album with all the other tracks being remixes of tunes from his hit Entheomythic album.

I really dig the remixes and the two new tracks also hit the spot and are hopefully a sign of things to come from Androcell after he announced that he is now working on a fourth studio album ! Yes !

Following on we rewind to 2004 for the heavy vibes of Detson Engineering ( Detlef Funder ) and his track Lowland from the Goa Beach Volume 2 album. This is a really unique tune that combines screaming guitar work, ethereal chanting and some heavy,heavy bass. This is followed by a track from Outernational Spacelords which was also featured in one my early ambient dub mixes - PsyAmb 38 so check that one out too if you like their sound. 

Cool Psychedelic Beatles Posters

The psychedelic Beatles songs were a big part of my childhood thanks to an excellent collection of original vinyls that my uncle left in our family care once he moved abroad. The albums included the four psychedelic classics Magical Mystery Tour, Revolver, Sgt Peppers and The White Album. 

While these albums were busy forming a solid basis for appreciation into psychedelic sounds in my young and impressionable mind, my eyes were drinking in the visuals provided by an accompanying collection of psychedelic Beatles posters and art books he also stored with us. So for a literal trip down memory lane here I present some of the best trippy Beatles images and artist books that I enjoyed looking through as a kid.

PsyStep Mix - PsyAmb 58

After some nice feedback on the psystep mix from last year I thought it might be about time to do another mix of psychedelic beats and bass. Today I have 20 top tracks full of squelchy stuttering funk'n groove that are sure resonate with your bones.

The mix kicks of with Brujo's Bowl ( Saxon Higgs ) who was also featured on the original mix so be sure to check it out if you are fan of BB's tunes. His music covers a range of styles from psystep to techfunk and progressive trance, all of which he handles with ease.

Following on are two artists, Whitebear and Landswitcher who may not be so familiar to psybient/psychill listeners here at the blog. Whitebear is Australian producer Arthur Song. He releases tunes through the Enig'matik Record label, one of Australia's newest and most exciting labels. You are going to be hearing a lot more about Whitebear in the future I suspect - a real exciting new comer. 

Landswitcher is a French duo who are having a big year after signing on with French label Free-Spirit Records. Another act who are definitely set for big things so keep an eye on them too. 

We then move on to some ethno psystep sounds thanks to to a number of top American producers in Jef Stott, Soulacybin and Birds Of Paradise. I highly recommend you check out these three acts if you even slightly interesting in quality psystep sounds. These three guys are at the top of their game. It really doesn't get much better at the moment when it comes to mixing psychedelic riffs, funky bass and stuttering syncopated percussion.