Review by DeathPosture:
Gob smacking trip tales pt. 3
Psy Stories 3 is the 13th (oo-er!) release by Danish underground psytrance outfit Parvati Records – and the final instalment in the Psy Stories trilogy. The first one, released in October 2005, was a masterpiece and still holds the position as the seminal Parvati release. The follow-up, released in June 2006, was a real whirlwind too and was *almost* as good… Great, great stuff all together, so yeah, I’ve been jumping around in concentric circles ever since this third opus was announced. Sadly it’s also the last in the series, but hey, I’m sure more Parvarti madness awaits so I’m only frowning for a sec… Enough jabbering, it’s story time.
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Mussy Moody – Clear Fusion [146 BPM]
As with the first two Psy Stories, Danish producer Thy Trung opens the ball with a taste of her fingerlicking psytrance… This is twirling, acid-fuelled, bass-heavy psytrance rooted deep in the Århus underground… Crackling textures, syncopated synths and totally trippy stuff… Some of the best stuff I’ve heard from Thy… A lovely piece of rich, shroomy girl-power psytrance!
#02: Acoustic Reaktion – Spystories [149 BPM]
Next up is a track by Parvati label DJ Arjuna (Arjuna Musicco) from Italy. To my knowledge, this is his first released track… At least it’s my first encounter with his music. The track opens with the subtle beat of a filtered-down drum, which soon evolves into a driving, rapid beast… The atmosphere is liquid and spongy and the psychedelic little quirks are sprinkled about just the way I like ‘em… The rhythm section is immensely complex, which will cater to both trippers, dancers and underwater trancers… A very lush track!
#03: Dronebixie – Paths In Nature [149 BPM]
Jingle bells! Danish producer Christian Kaas Andersen has made some real amazing stuff in the past – and I’ve always appreciated his somewhat anti-climactic style. His subtle full-off style takes psytrance to new, uncharted territories – and this track is no exception. And though this runs @ an incredible 149 beats per minute, it never gets too full-on… It’s somewhat ‘halted’ and that’s pretty unique within this kind of music. So, as usual this track caters more for the focussed home-listener than the tripped-out dancer… A very interesting track.
#04: Snap, Crackle & Pop – Where Is Pop? (Syntax Error Rmx) [148 BPM]
S,C&P was a one-off collaboration between Grapes Of Wrath (Jacob Skouborg/Jaffa & Morten Wurtz/Monno) & Kindzadza (Leo Greshilov) formed for the first Psy Stories compilation. The original track was an epic underground mega-hit of unforeseen dimensions – and this remix by Jaffa adds even more magic monkey juice to the mix…. If the first track was dark, this is pitch black. If the original was psychedelic, this is über-psychedelic…. It’s lingering somewhere between amazing and downright perverted! It’s a big, stinking pile of what-the-fuck-was-that!? (And in this context, that’s meant as a superlative, mind you!) Blimey!
#05: Encephalopaticys – Chaotic Secrets [148 BPM]
Vasko Velickovski is one of the key players in the Macedonia psytrance yakuza and it seems his tracks are popping up everywhere recently… His output has always been pretty high quality, though his compilation tracks have often been outweighed by other players with even greater tracks… And such is the case here. I mean, this is a very nice, driving piece of nocturnal psytrance with a bunch of interesting ideas and quirky twists, but somehow it’s not enough. The x-factor is not present, thus this track doesn’t make it to the stand-out reel.
#06: Atriohm – Paranormal Amplifier [148 BPM]
The other two top dogs in the Macedonian psytrance yakuza are the Golcev brothers Leonid & Aleksandar. I’ve always been fond of both their mellow downbeat tracks and their enthralling upbeat tunes… And this is another hit! Atmospheric, pounding night-trance with enough acid to go around twice and a surprise electro-clash middle bridge… Brilliant!
#07: Red Eye Jedi – Infiltrator [150 BPM]
The Jedi is Stephanus Smit from Denmark and his tracks have been on all three Psy Stories compilations. Once again Stephanus gives us something totally intense and incredibly complex. This is IDM-inspired, spugedelic psytrance designed for hard-trippers and sickos. Definitely not for the faint-hearted, nor the easily scared. This is about as introvert as it gets when we’re talking Parvati – and in essence this is demented, gut-wrenching stuff. And sadly just a tad too complex for my taste.
#08: Gidra – Joker’s Joke [150 BPM]
From the motherland itself, Goa/India, comes a track by Gidra aka. Thomas Aquino Lobo… It goes without saying, that this is yet another extremely fast-paced piece of murky, cheese-repellent psytrance – but unlike the previous track, this seems less chaotic… Raw, pounding and leering on the bleak side… Luckily there are enough odd-ball, trippy elements to keep me entertained. A brutal, yet enchanting track.
#09: Hokus Pokus – BZ’er [150 BPM]
Christian Kaas Andersen (Dronebixie) is joined by Anders Eskildsen in their Hokus Pokus outfit which has been featured on all three Psy Stories volumes. This is their fastest track though – and perhaps their most accessible… This is scrump-dedeli-umptious psytrance aimed for both the feet and the mind. Downright groovy, luscious and body-temperature rising stuff… I’m totally digging the bubbly, playful nature of this fantastic track… Amazing!
Well there you have it. The final instalment in the gob smacking Psy Stories trilogy. As we’ve come to expect, Parvati always delivers the goods in the shape of relentlessly powerful hypertrance. This is another collection of mostly fiiiiiiiine tracks by some of the underground front-runners. Sure a couple of the tracks were a little too complex for me, but as always, they were easily outweighed by the abundance of really excellent choons.
In comparison, the first Psy Stories compilation is still the best, but this second one is pretty damn cracking too. The cover art by Betinna Butann is a winner in all its kitchy glory and I still find myself amazed by the seemingly bottomless pool of sheer mass which Parvati Records seems to have unlimited access to.
TwiBBle fums up to Guiseppe & Crew for their continued quest to cater to the masses. Hypertrance fans and members of the Parvati Army in particular needs to own this bitchin’ piece of plastic. It’s underground Top Of The Pops. It’s sick, soulful and totally sexy! It’s complete qwnage. Enjoy!
Favourites: 1(!), 2, 4(!), 6, 8, 9(!!)
DeathPosture
External links:
Parvati Records:
http://www.parvati-records.com Discogs:
http://www.discogs.com/release/901589 Parvati Webshop:
http://www.parvati-records.com/order.html Saiko Sounds:
http://tinyurl.com/298nff Beatspace:
http://tinyurl.com/yqbgku Psyshop:
http://tinyurl.com/yv6wfj Wirikuta:
http://tinyurl.com/ytt75yJuno:
http://tinyurl.com/yptu6d 
