• THAT WAS 2008 – THE YEAR IN CHARTS

    Dez 20 2008, 0h26 por Addicted2Melody

    THAT WAS 2008 – THE YEAR IN CHARTS

    Well, here we are again. Another busy year in the ever-thriving world of electronic music has just about whizzed us by. And returning once again is my whistle-stop tour of what has been hot in those dizzy 12 months, this time of course with more bells, whistles, awards and “probing” commentary than I provided last year. 2008 has been an excellent year. The overall standard of artist albums has been exceptionally high this year, and, despite the market becoming further saturated in some sub-genres, we have still been treated to some absolutely killer tunes from all corners of the dance music galaxy. Note: these charts are of the best stuff I've heard this year, not just a mindless list of absolutely everything I have even vaguely enjoyed. As I say, there’s been a lot of stuff worth checking out this year, so naturally there are some good albums and tunes missing.

    Ok, let's look back. Kicking us off, the best albums of the year...

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    TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2008

    20. Above & Beyond presents OceanLab - Sirens of the Sea
    (July / Anjunabeats)



    One of the summer's most anticipated “trance” albums turned out to be quite a smooth, downtempo affair, a mix of soft, "airy" progressive and stirring Ibizan chillout. Immaculate vocals and production as always from Justine and the boys.

    Favourite Track: Sirens of the Sea

    19. Insomnia - Rollercoaster
    (March / Trancelucent Productions)



    Pumping no frills full on, courtesy of Tom Shoval and Orel Shapira. Pure energy filled, electro driven psy-trance.

    Favourite Track: TocarDisplacement

    18. Quivver - Dirty Nails & Vapour Trails
    (July / BozBoz)



    A refreshingly varied approach from progressive trance's old head, John Graham, who mixed the drum & bassey feel of Chasing A Feeling with the moody electro breaks of What's Not Going On and the pure haunting minimalism of TocarDancing In Dark Rooms.

    Favourite Track: TocarDancing In Dark Rooms

    17. Josh Gabriel - Eight
    (October / Different Pieces)



    Josh Gabriel, formally one half of Gabriel & Dresden, served up a top notch progressive tech fest ruined only by the fact that the unmixed tracks are faded out at the ends. Infectiously danceable stuff though.

    Favourite Track: TocarAzora

    16. MorphonixOff the Grid
    (March / Vaporvent Records)



    This was my first real experience of the phenomena of psychedelic breaks. I got all excited, thinking this album was showcasing an entirely original genre of its own. Not the case, of course. But this was still a highly impressive effort from San Francisco's Lawrence Hoffman and definitely gets extra brownie points for completely blowing me away on first listen.

    Favourite Track: Island Sanctuary

    15. Trifonic - Emergence
    (February / Trifonic Music LLC)



    American newcomers, Trifonic, brothers Brian and Laurence Trifon, crash landed with this top quality downtempo/IDM debut. Brain apparently worked with fellow countryman BT on his incredible 2006 album, This Binary Universe. The influence of that is not hard to see at all.

    Favourite Track: TocarSooner Or Later

    14. Perfect Stranger - Free Cloud
    (October / Iboga Records)



    A stunningly hypnotic collection of progressive goodness from Israeli producer Yuli Fershtat. Part psychedelic progressive, part straight minimal progressive, this was another gem from the consistently amazing Iboga Records.

    Favourite Track: TocarEasy

    13. OttSkylon
    (January / Twisted Records)



    Twisted Records' only new album release of the year was this "sunny" reggae flavoured psydub effort from Ott. Cool as a summer's breeze.

    Favourite Track: TocarRoflcopter

    12. Simmonds & Jones - Interpretations
    (June / Armada Music)



    Better known to trance fans as Chakra, Lustral, Oxygen and Ascension, Simmonds & Jones set out to transform their discography of trance classics into a soothing collection of Balearic chillout tracks. Mission accomplished. This almost couldn't have been done better than it was.

    Favourite Track: Home

    11. Eat Static - Back to Earth...
    (June / Interchill Records)



    Merv Pepler, now working on his own, delivered the best psydub/psychill album of the year in Back To Earth, a mesmerizly diverse mixture of sounds which took us as far as the sands of Egypt and the carnival street of latin America. Magnificently glitchy and jazzy in places too.

    Favourite Track: TocarEpoch Calypso

    10. Sander van Doorn - Supernaturalistic
    (February / Doorn Records)



    This could well be the "marmite" album of the year - most it seems either love it or hate it. It's also interesting to note that I've seen this album criticised as fervently by fans of minimal and tech house as I've seen it criticised by disappointed fans of melodic trance. I'll have to admit, I was once a bit of a Sander skeptic myself. Two or three years ago I had him down as quite a "hit and miss" producer and when it first emerged onto the scene I thought Grasshopper was a pretty, boring uninspiring track. But, having seen him DJ three times now, it seems I've come full circle. As simple as it is, I've fallen head over heels in love with Sander's style, a style that he is making his own within the trance scene with every release and every DJing gig. What I do specifically like about this album is that, despite always being fairly minimal in style, it does have a wonderful balance between chilled out moods and dancefloor energy. I'm no expert in minimal and tech house, that is for certain, but I thought a lot of the percussion on this album was absolutely perfect, particularly in Apple and Dozer. And, of course, this album has Riff on it, which is pure dancefloor gold. How could you possibly not want to dance your balls off to that tune? Watch out, Sander - if it were scientifically possible, I'd want your babies.

    Favourite Track: Riff

    9. Kino Oko - Alphabetically Divided Highway
    (August / Tribal Vision)



    If this chart was solely about innovation then this album would be sitting proudly at the top of the pile. This was nothing like anything I'd ever heard before - an unusual mesh of psydub and progressive with nuggets of IDM, electro, trance and even jazz sprinkled on for good measure, busting with delicate little basslines and sparklingly with bleeping synth-lines. To save the effort of trying to categorise it accurately, it might be tempting to just call it a progressive psychedelic trance album, but tracks like TocarMade In Satisfaction or TocarBody And Mind don't quite flow like trance; they swirl, they reverberate, they float. To me, this album almost sounds like Zombie Nation, Shpongle and Tegma making a wild head-on collision, sending funky psychedelic jazz debris flying all over the road. In terms of creating something new and different, this was definitely electronic music's main achievement of 2008.

    Favourite Track: TocarMother Mature

    8. Armin van Buuren - Imagine
    (April / Armada Music)



    Oh, no. Armin's gone pop? No, not quite. The trance purists will hate me for charting this so high, but fuck it. Now that Armin is sitting top of DJ Mag's DJ poll, like Tiesto was previously, he is there to be shot at. And after producing something here that isn't necessarily "pure" trance from start to finish and something that in many ways reflects the direction that his A State Of Trance radio shows have supposedly gone, the cries of "Armin's gone pop" were bound to follow. But I'm sorry, I have a fairly broad taste, I don't turn my nose up at the first sign of a vocal and therefore I really enjoyed this. It's hardly music to be totally ripping up dancefloors, but if you take it for what it is, a chilled out trance-house crossover for the Ibizan beaches and terraces, then you have to concede it's more than fit for purpose. I think most of the vocals are great on this album, particularly those on In And Out Of Love and Hold On To Me, and the "spirit" of Ibiza seems to sustain itself from the first to the very last minutes. Whether it's better than 76 or Shivers I'm not entirely sure yet, but at least it's something different. Armin may have remixed The Killers this year, but don't panic trance fans, those collaborations with Girls Aloud and Miss Spears are a little way off yet.

    Favourite Track: In And Out Of Love

    7. Ferry Corsten - Twice In A Blue Moon
    (November / Flashover Recordings)



    With Right Of Way and L.E.F., the mighty Ferry Corsten had already set the bar incredibly high. I think if you compare Ferry's artist albums to those of the rest of trance's "big 4" - Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto and Paul Van Dyk - Ferry generally seems to deliver that extra something else, at least in terms of delivering a holistic yet varied package of tracks that work as well at home as they do on the dancefloor. And, more so than any of the others, he has found his own sound and more or less stuck with it. But, at the same time, he's managed to cater for quite a broad range of tastes. With Twice In A Blue Moon we are treated to yet more of the same. Same old Ferry, slightly different mood. This album makes stylistic reference to almost all of Ferry's older material - the uplifting trance, the electro trance, the vocal trance, even the dark moody stuff - yet injects an extra element of funky progressiveness in places. Another thing that I thought was excellent about this album was its use of vocals. If there's one criticism you could level at Armin Van Buuren's Imagine it's that it maybe uses vocals to the point of overkill. Ferry uses them much more sparingly and to much greater effect. The vocals themselves in terms of quality are right up there with the best you'll hear on any trance album. In particular, the vocals in Made Of Love, Black Velvet and Feel You are awesome. I would be hard pushed to say that this is better than Right Of Way - Right Of Way is a special album - but it's honestly not a million miles away from it. I certainly think it generally has a more listenable "vibe" or atmosphere than L.E.F.

    Favourite Track: Made of Love

    6. Quadra - Voice Of Reason
    (June / H2O Records)



    Having already released 3 albums under his Quadra alias, Ido Liran, one half of Save the Robot, was already a very well-established name in full-on psy-trance. His fantastic bootleg of Gorillaz's Feel Good Inc., LSD Came Falling Down, was one of my favourite psy-trancers of 2007. This album picks up from that in a very obvious way, bootlegging a number of familiar melodies and vocal samples such Wildchild's Renegade Master, Niels Van Gogh's Pulverturm, Planet Funk's Chase The Sun and even Tiesto's In My Memory. And I think that sense of familiarity works really well. In terms of overall sound, Voice Of Reason is your typical up-to-the-minute full-on album, with its crisp, punchy basslines, melodic breakdowns and bouncing psychedelic effects. This was by far the best artist album from this specific brand of full-on psy-trance this year, albeit not quite as good as Time Lock’s amazing Prototype 0.1 from last year and not quite the best psy-trance album of the year overall... keep reading for that.

    Favourite Track: Pulvertrum 3.0

    5. Enigma - Seven Lives Many Faces
    (September / Virgin Music Germany)



    Now, this is a bit of a strange one. Not the album itself necessarily. The album itself is classic Engima and, as always, extremely relaxing stuff. It's where this album fits into Enigma's overall discography that slightly bemused me. Everything about this album, including its title, had a sort of "final chapter" feel to it. Rather than carry on from where the incredibly subtle and significantly less vocalised A Posteriori left off, Seven Lives Many Faces seemed to bring together Michael Cretu's entire discography, going in all sorts of different but familiar, old directions. You can even hear vocal samples cut from previous albums which are clearly not meant to be carefully hidden away. Now, if this was planned as Cretu's final album as Enigma then a sort of "stylistic review" would have been a fitting way to bring this landmark project to an end after 18 spectacular years. But apparently this isn't Enigma's last album and Cretu is already working on the next one. So... why take Enigma stylistically backwards? A lot of Enigma fans moan about A Posteriori, some say that it was by far Cretu's most disappointing work. I love it, personally, and would have appreciated seeing Enigma continue a little further down that ethereal path, seeing what more could have been made of A Posteriori's wonderfully emotional and delicate feel. But if you put questions of overall artistic direction to one side and judge this newest release on its own merits then there is still a lot to be positive about. Even this album's cheesiest moments are carried off will such aplomb that you have sit back and say to yourself, "fair play to you, Michael." Another high quality record from the king of mainstream meditation. The question is, what next?

    Favourite Track: TocarThe Same Parents

    4. Juno Reactor - Gods & Monsters
    (February / Metropolis)



    I noticed quite a few Juno fans were disappointed with this, one of the year's first big releases. The last two tracks, which are essentially ballads, did leave a lot of people scratching their heads. But considering how long it had been since Labyrinth was released and considering how much of a free-thinking innovator Ben Watkins is, this was never going to be anything other than surprising. Watkins has never been afraid of throwing together styles and sounds that you wouldn't expect could or even should work together. Labyrinth was proof of that; Gods & Monster is unequivocal proof of that. However, there is something distinctly "Juno Reactor" running through tracks like Inca Steppa, Tanta Pena and City Of The Sinful- that dark, pulsating bass, that epic "world fusion" tribal feel. Even in Las Vegas Future Past you can hear "left overs" from his work on the Matrix soundtracks. But obviously we get a distinctly new take on that familiar sound. In Inca Steppa, for example, "Mexican rasta" is exactly what you get as that familiar Juno Reactor tribal takes on a distinctly Central American feel and melts seamlessly into reggae flavour. Other parts of the album treat us to something entirely different however - Haunting dub, chillout, touches of jazz, metal and, of course, ending on those two ballads. Do the ballads spoil it? Well, the answer is yes and no. Perfect Crime is a well-written song that sometimes even has me passionately singing along, complete with "emo" facial expressions. Whereas, the less said about Pretty Girl the better really. But overall, a sublime effort from Juno which I think might even grow with time. Superbly innovative and, in Inca Steppa, Tanta Pena and City Of The Sinful, has 3 real gems in its hefty locker.

    Favourite Track: Inca Steppa

    3. Pendulum - In Silico
    (May / Warner Music UK Ltd)



    As I mused in one of my most recent journals, Pendulum's long-awaited 2nd album wasn't as good as their first. But I never expected it to be. Hold Your Colour was one of those magical albums, an album which contains levels of balance and quality that even the greatest artists around don't just repeat at the drop of a hat. What I hoped Pendulum would do is take some of the key ingredients of Hold Your Colour and build something new, fresh and exciting, to elaborate on the group's familiar formulas to create something different. And that is exactly what they did. For me, In Silico is the perfect balance between familiarity and freshness. Pendulum have evolved without ripping up root and branch. Certain people were always going to be slightly disappointed. By nailing their colours to the mast and deciding to take the project definitively down the root of half-drum & bass-electronic-rock crossover, this Slam plus rock approach, certain stylistic elements of Hold Your Colour were bound to be lost. Hold Your Colour was after all quite a varied affair, whereas In Silico is more single-minded and makes no conscious attempt to "cover all the bases" just in case old fans get disillusioned. I think Pendulum have to be commended for that, for sticking to their guns and doing what they want with their music. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed with In Silico. Hey, so the days of Another Planet and The Terminal are clearly gone, but large parts of this new offering still had all the energy and power I've come to expect from them, without just being an attempt to copy Hold Your Colour tune for tune. Fuck the snobs; whatever genre you care to call it, whatever its popularity, this is good shit.

    Favourite Track: Midnight Runner

    2. Orkidea - Metaverse
    (March / AVA Recordings)



    Armin did very well, Ferry did even better - but unfortunately for them they were both royally owned this year by Finland's finest, Tapio Hakanen, better known to the world of trance as DJ Orkidea, albeit with the help of a few other big name producers such as Andy Moor, Solar Stone and David West. The opening few tracks of this album are so uplifting, particularly the last 2 minutes or so of Free Dreams. YearZero is just sheer quality and always has me turning up my stereo on the 4:26 mark. It combines that uplifting mood with a catchy, driving bassline to produce a near perfect example of what trance music is really all about at the moment. Other parts of the album have a slightly darker, moodier feel however, which provides an important element of balance and variety. Stretching Time, for example, even starts out sounding quite tough, almost psychedelic, while later developing into a lushly melodic affair. And the introductions of Masochrist and Requiem are totally epic, leading into yet more faintly psychedelic but melodic moodiness. And I'm sure many trance purists will delight in the fact this album contains almost no sung vocals, a la Ferry, Armin or DJ Shah. This album didn't require them at all, so you have to give Tapio credit for not being tempted to throw a few in arbitrarily. This is a distinctly different experience to Imagine or Twice In A Blue Moon and almost a million miles away from Sander's Supernaturalistic and, for my money, is the best of the lot.

    Favourite Track: YearZero

    1. Wizzy Noise - Renaissance
    (September / Harmonia Records)



    This came like a bolt out of the blue. Wizzy Noise are indeed a highly reputable psy-trance act with a solid and distinctive sound. But likely to produce an album that could comfortably clinch my top album spot for 2008? Certainly not. At least I didn't think so. I honestly never expected the Greek duo to come out sounding this good, especially considering how little they have altered their overall style to achieve it. Wizzy Noise just took that trademark sound that everyone in the psy-trance scene knows them for, gave it a bit more of a melodic edge and took it up a few notches. The interesting thing about this album is that almost every single track on the album starts out sounding like your run-of-the-mill psy-trancer, some of them even start out sounding quite dull. But then each one starts to move up the gears, gear by gear, kick back by kick back. Before you know it you're being bombarded by a wall of sound - a wall of soaring electro melodies and pumping psychedelic basslines. Trance is all about that progression towards a spine-tingling crescendo and this album has those crescendos in abundance. Sea Song turned out to be my psy-trance tune of the year. Anybody that has heard it will understand why. That kick back on the 6 min 30 second mark is a pure "hairs on your neck stand up" moment, every single time.

    Favourite Track: Sea Song

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    ALBUMS - THE HONOURABLE MENTIONS

    10 albums that deserve a shout... in no particular order:

    Nicholas Bennison - Tension of Opposites
    (November / Propulsion) (Progressive Psychedelic / Progressive / Psychedelic Breaks)
    Mirco de Govia - Iconic Path
    (April / euphonic) (Chillout / Progressive Trance / Trance)
    Tegma - Lo-Fi Adventures
    (February / Tribal Vision) (Progressive Trance)
    Kularis - Technical Progress
    (February / Spintwist Records) (Progressive Psychedelic)
    Liquid Soul - Love In Stereo
    (August / Iboga Records) (Progressive Psychedelic)
    Deadmau5 - Random Album Title
    (September / Ultra Records) (Progressive Trance / Progressive House)
    aladdin - Void Last Line
    (November / Meira Records) (Full-on Psychedelic)
    Jaytech - Everything Is OK
    (June / Anjunabeats) (Progressive Trance / Chillout)
    Ernesto vs. Bastian - Authenticity
    (February / High Contrast Recordings) (Trance / Progressive Trance / Tech Trance)
    Psysex - Healing
    (May / HOM-Mega Productions) (Progressive Psychedelic / Full-on Psychedelic / Psychedelic Breaks)

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    TOP 20 TRANCE, PROGRESSIVE AND TECH TRANCE TUNES OF 2008

    1. Sander van Doorn – Apple (Marcus Schossow Remix)
    (July / Doorn Records)
    2. Simon Patterson - Smack
    (April / Reset Recordings)
    3. Georgia - Ode To '99
    (March / Levare Recordings)
    4. Mike Foyle - Pandora (The Blizzard Remix)
    (May / Armind)
    5. B.E.N. vs. Mr. Pit - Superstition
    (May / Coldharbour Recordings)
    6. Graeme Harrison – Xanthe
    (February / Flux Delux)
    7. Lee Haslam – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD)
    (May / Digital Remedy)
    8. Armin van Buuren - In And Out Of Love (Richard Durand Remix)
    (August / Armanda Music)
    9. Talla 2XLC vs. Sean Tyas - Heart To Heart (Sean Tyas Remix)
    (February / Tetsuo)
    10. The Doppler Effect - Beauty Hides in The Deep (John O'Callaghan Remix)
    (February / Armind)
    11. Orjan Nilsen – La Guitarra
    (May / Armind)
    12. Rank 1 vs. Jochen Miller - And Then...
    (February / High Contrast Recordings)
    13. Jochen Miller – Lost Connection
    (July / High Contrast Recordings)
    14. Onova – Niveus
    (April / Total Digital Recordings)
    15. Akesson - Sunchaser
    (April / Fraction Records)
    16. El Cortez - Desert Rose
    (April / Intuition Recordings)
    17. Oceania – Never Forget (Arctic Moon Remix)
    (August / Well Mixed Records)
    18. Tom Colontonio - Headless Horseman
    (November / Discover Digital)
    19.Alex M.O.R.P.H. - Walk The Edge (Alex M.O.R.P.H. B2B Woody Van Eyden Remix)
    (May / High Contrast Recordings)
    20. Ryan Blair - Tek Drum
    (July / Monster Tunes)

    Producer Of The Year 2008:

    3. Orkidea
    2. Simon Patterson
    1. Paul Miller

    Superstar DJ Award 2008:

    3. Paul van Dyk
    2. Eddie Halliwell
    1. Sander van Doorn

    Label Of The Year 2008: High Contrast Recordings
    "One To Watch" for 2009: Tom Colontonio

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    TOP 20 UK HARD DANCE TUNES OF 2008

    1. ng rezonance – Sinners
    (September / High Drive Recordings)
    2. Technikal presents Helen G – Don’t Stop (Rodi Style Remix)
    (August / Technikal Recordings)
    3. Kenemy - Sorry For Itself (Emilio Remix)
    (August / Presence Hard Trance)
    4. Technikal presents Kris Mclachlan - Return To Innocence
    (November / Technikal Recordings)
    5. Jason Cortez – Set U Free
    (June / Tranzlation Whites)
    6. Iridium - Give It To Me
    (July / Carbon Recordings)
    7. Aftershok – Extraordinary
    (June / Outbreak Digital)
    8. Technikal - Ssst...(Listen)
    (October / Tidy)
    9. Technikal vs. The Lost Boys - Mass Effect (Iridium Remix)
    (May / Technikal Recordings)
    10. Paul Glazby – Alien Animal
    (August / Vicious Circle)
    11. Amber D - Rush On Me
    (October / Tidy)
    12. Bryn Whiting - 3rd Movement (Iridium Remix)
    (November / High Drive Recordings)
    13. Paul Maddox meets Technikal - Captive
    (September / Tidy)
    14. Velos - The Joker
    (November / Fireball Recordings)
    15. SQ presents Ben Collie - End Of Dayz
    (September / Outbreak Digital)
    16. Rob Tissera & Quake – Holdin’ On (Rob Tissera & Technikal Remix)
    (July / Tidy)
    17. Kym Ayres - Guitar Hero
    (December / Tidy)
    18. Pero - Obsession
    (September / Technikal Recordings)
    19. Emilio – Sabotage (Iridium Remix)
    (February / High Drive Recordings)
    20. Scott Genetik – Can’t Stop The Signal
    (April / Encoded)

    Producer Of The Year Award 2008:

    3. Paul Maddox
    2. Iridium
    1. Technikal

    Superstar DJ Award 2008:

    3. Paul Maddox
    2. The Tidy Boys
    1. Rodi Style

    Label Of The Year 2008: Technikal Recordings
    "One To Watch" for 2009: Emilio

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    TOP 20 FULL-ON PSY TUNES OF 2008

    1. Wizzy Noise - Sea Song
    (September / Harmonia Records)
    2. System Nipel & Electra – Game On (Ananda Shake Remix)
    (June / Utopia Records)
    3. Dynamic – Make Me (Space Cat vs. Dynamic Remix)
    (July / H2O Records)
    4. Wizzy Noise - Eyes Wide Open
    (September / Harmonia Records)
    5. Vibe Tribe & Gataka & Electro Sun & ziki- Tokyo Tel Aviv
    (September / Noga Records)
    6. Spade - Reaction
    (June / Utopia Records)
    7. Quadra – Pulverturm 3.0
    (June / H2O Records)
    8. Insomnia – Displacement
    (March / Trancelucent Productions)
    9. aladdin - U Know This
    (November / Meira Records)
    10. Freedom Fighters – Robotic
    (June / Utopia Records)
    11. Electro Sun vs. Stereomatic - Bubble Crash
    (September / Noga Records)
    12. Aquatica feat. Sapir – Angels
    (July / Com.Pact Records)
    13. Ultravoice vs. Rizo – Keep It Real (Azax Syndrom Remix)
    (March / Com.Pact Records)
    14. aladdin - Soul Of A Worm
    (November / Meira Records)
    15. Quadra – Back Again
    (June / H2O Records)
    16. Injection – In Su Lin
    (August / Phonokol Records)
    17. Ferbi Boys – Oggy Monster
    (April / Com.Pact Records)
    18. Ananda Shake & Phanatic - Phananda
    (May / Utopia Records)
    19. CPU – Wicked Plastic
    (June / Nutek Records)
    20. Tactic Mind vs. Unique - Problem
    (February / Tactic Records)

    Psy-Trance Compilation of 2008: Thank You For Flying Utopia



    Producer Of The Year 2008: Wizzy Noise
    "One To Watch" for 2009: Stereomatic

    -----------------------------------------------------

    TOP 20 ELECTRO-HOUSE TUNES OF 2008

    1. Melleefresh & Deadmau5 - Attention Whore
    (October / Play Record)
    2. Dave Darell - Children
    (June / DBX Records)
    3. Sebastien Benett - Extremly Madness
    (December / BITRATE RECORDS)
    4. Felguk - WashEm & GiveEm Food
    (November / plasma.digital)
    5. Zoe Badwi - Release Me (TV Rock Edit)
    (November / Time Records)
    6. Vaca - Move Me 2008
    (January / Ministry of Sound Germany)
    7. Felguk - Whatever Clever
    (September / plasma.digital)
    8. Three Drives - Greece 2000 (Chris Reece Remix)
    (July / S2 Records)
    9. d.kingz - Rescue Me
    (August / Clubtronics)
    10. JS16 - Lights Go Wild
    (Febuary / VIP Recordings)
    11. Michael Woods - Natural High (Out Of Office Full Vocal Mix)
    (November / Diffused Music)
    12. Romain Curtis feat. Awa - I'm A Soldier (Filthy Rich's 'Full Metal Jacket' Remix)
    (Febuary / Twist My DJ Records)
    13. Toby Emerson - Inappropriate Electro
    (November / Bugeyed Records)
    14. STEVE FOREST - Freed From Desire (Ortega 2008 Remix)
    (July / Jolly Roger (Sound Of Pirates)
    15. D'argento - Come On Over (Chris Reece Remix)
    (September / Pinkstar Records)
    16. Lazy Rich - Don't Go Back
    (November / plasma.digital)
    17. Dave Darell - Freeloader (Spencer & Hill Remix)
    (December / Tiger Records)
    18. Feed Me - The Spell
    (November / Mau5trap)
    19. Jean Elan - Where's Your Head At? (Klaas Remix)
    (July / Cinnamon Flava)
    20. Guru Josh Project - Infinity 2008 (Klaas Remix)
    (November / Maelstrom Records)

    Producer Of The Year 2008: Felguk
    "One To Watch" for 2009: Bass Weazal

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    Well, there you have it ladies and gents. That was 2008. With the new Prodigy album on its way in March and my trip to the White Isle booked for July, I'm already psyched for the musical year of 2009. Bring it on, I say!

    Merry Christmas one and all; Be excellent to each other.
  • mm, yeap vol. 2 ;j

    Fev 23 2008, 10h17 por icqipsy

  • THAT WAS 2007 - THE YEAR IN CHARTS

    Dez 18 2007, 15h20 por Addicted2Melody

    THAT WAS 2007 – THE YEAR IN CHARTS

    Well, the year of 2007 is coming to an end. Only 13 of the 365 days remain. So, what's been massive in the world of electronic music this year? What has floated my boat? As is the case with most years, there's been plenty to savour.

    -----------------------------------------------------

    TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2007

    10. The Chemical Brothers - We Are The Night
    (July / Freestyle Dust)



    This actually took a while to grow on me, but I half expected it would. A clever album from a brilliant EDM act who have shown clear attempts at evolving their sound in subtle and intelligent ways. TocarDo It Again, TocarSaturate and TocarBurst Generator stand out on this album. All great tunes.

    Favourite Track: TocarDo It Again

    9. Infected Mushroom - Vicious Delicious
    (April / YoYo Records)



    I was, and still am, disappointed with this release from the Mushrooms. TocarBecoming Insane, TocarChange The Formality and TocarSpecial Place are great - IM at their best. TocarIn Front Of Me and TocarBefore really let the album down though. And coupled with tracks like TocarArtillery and TocarHeavyweight, this album was always going to be controversial in psy-trance circles. Let's face it, in places it all just goes a little too Eiffel 65. I've got nothing against Eiffel 65, but it's not really the direction I want my favourite psy acts to go in, to be honest. It still deserves a place in my top ten though - tracks like TocarSuliman and TocarEat it RAW do go a long way to saving it... but I was just expecting so much more.

    Favourite Track: TocarChange The Formality

    8. Daft Punk - Alive 2007
    (December / Virgin Music)



    The only reason this isn't higher on the chart is that the clarity of "live" recordings just isn't that great. Never is. But as live albums go this is wicked. A really refreshing and clever meshing of their best tracks.

    Favourite Track: Around The World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Live)

    7. Matrix & Futurebound - Universal Truth
    (April / Viper Recordings)



    Hold Your Colour's little brother - not in the same league but still the most listenable drum & bass album I've heard all year.

    Favourite Track: TocarKnite Riderz (Feat MC Spyda)

    6. Solar Fields - Earthshine
    (November / Ultimae Records)



    Wasn't expecting this at all when I heard Solar Fields was releasing a new album. This is progressive trance as opposed to his usual blissful chillout, but it still ticks all the right boxes and shows his versatility.

    Favourite Track: Black Arrow

    5. Calvin Harris - I Created Disco
    (June / Fly Eye)



    There have been quite a few albums showcasing this particular brand of electro this year... this is the best of them. Commercial maybe, but makes no excuses for it. Overplayed maybe, but with good reason. It's just catchy as hell.

    Favourite Track: TocarVegas

    4. Jonas Steur - Born For The Night
    (September / Black Hole Recordings)



    Nothing fancy about this. Just good, solid, consistent progressive trance. Very much in the Michael Cassette sort of mould and arguably not lacking the same quality. What I do like about this album is that Jonas has managed to create an album with a clear theme and collective sound, yet each track has its own distinctive charms. In other words, how an album should be made.

    Favourite Track: I Know

    3. Time Lock - Prototype 0.1
    (October / YoYo Records)



    Painting by numbers in psy-trance terms maybe, but this still makes for what can only be described as a musical textbook for any up-and-coming full-on psy-trance producer. Powerful, punchy, aggressive and never afraid to be funky. The beats and melodies in this ping around the room like the musical equivalent of flubber. Brilliant!

    Favourite Track: TocarTime Theory

    2. Vibrasphere - Exploring The Tributaries
    (June / Tribal Vision)



    For me, the best work Vibrasphere have ever done and that's saying something, because Vibrasphere are amongst the best progressive trance acts in the business. Some top progressive trance, as always, and some truly stunning chillout. Pretty much faultless.

    Favourite Track: TocarEnsueño

    1. Younger Brother - The Last Days Of Gravity
    (October / Twisted Records)



    A simply breath-taking mix of progressive psy and innovative chillout - comfortably the best album of 2007, in my opinion. Nothing I can say here would really do it justice. Hearing is believing.

    Favourite Track: All I Want

    -----------------------------------------------------

    ALBUMS - THE HONOURABLE MENTIONS

    10 albums that deserve a shout... in no particular order:

    Freaked Frequency - FF Syndrome
    (September / Noga Records) (Full-on Psychedelic)
    Dual Core – Eruption
    (September / H2O Records) (Full-on Psychedelic)
    High Contrast - Tough Guys Don't Dance
    (October / Hospital Records) (Drum & Bass)
    TC – Evolution
    (October / D-Style Recordings) (Drum & Bass)
    Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release
    (June / Wichita) (Electro / House)
    Ulrich Schnauss - Goodbye
    (June / Independiente ...) (Chillout / Lounge)
    Asura – Life² (July)
    (July / Ultimae Records) (Chillout / IDM / Trip-Hop)
    Massive - Not An Angel
    (December / Nutek Records) (Full-on Psychedelic)
    Ananda Shake - Inside The Sound
    (September / Utopia Records) (Full-on Psychedelic)
    BK - Under The Influence
    (May / Riot! Recordings) (Hard House / Hard Trance)

    -----------------------------------------------------

    TOP 20 TRANCE, PROGRESSIVE AND TECH TRANCE TUNES OF 2007

    1. Re:Locate – Undercurrent
    (July / Fundamental Recordings)
    2. Above & Beyond – Home (Club Mix)
    (October / Anjunabeats)
    3. Ronski Speed, Stoneface & Terminal - Soulseeker (Stoneface & Terminal Remix)
    (August / euphonic)
    4. Daniel Kandi - Child
    (January / Anjunabeats)
    5. Marcel Woods – Lemon Tree
    (June / High Contrast Recordings)
    6. Simon Patterson – Bulldozer
    (September / Reset Records)
    7. Temple One – Forever Searching (Orjan Nilsen Remix)
    (April / Enhanced Recordings)
    8. Vincent de Moor – Fly Away (Sean Tyas Remix)
    (September / Combined Forces)
    9. Airbase – One Tear Away
    (February / Intuition Recordings)
    10. Filo & Peri – Anthem
    (June / Vandit)
    11. Ronald Van Gelderen – Dirty Rocker
    (November / High Contrast Recordings)
    12. Tiesto & BT – Break My Fall (Airbase Remix)
    (August / Magik Muzik)
    13. Tony De Vit – The Dawn (Bryan Kearney Remix)
    (October / Tidy)
    14. Matys – Funk
    (September / Midway Records)
    15. Sean Tyas – Candida (Terk Dawn Remix)
    (May / Inspired Limited)
    16. Above & Beyond – Good For Me (Club Mix)
    (March / Anjunabeats)
    17. John O'Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallaher – Big Sky (Agnelli & Nelson Remix)
    (November / Armind)
    18. Tom Cloud - Mercury Room
    (August / Songbird)
    19.Michael Cassette - David
    (June / Anjunadeep)
    20. Ferry Corsten – The Race
    (August / Flashover Recordings)

    -----------------------------------------------------

    TOP 20 UK HARD DANCE TUNES OF 2007

    1. JX – Restless (Technikal Remix)
    (October / Tidy)
    2. Masif DJs – Everyday (Steve Hill vs. Technikal Remix)
    (VW Recordings)
    3. Adrenaline Dept. – U Got 2 Be There (MDA & Spherical 4am @ Logic Remix)
    (November / Oblivion Recordings)
    4. SQ – Hypnotising
    (March / Oblivion Digital)
    5. Adrenaline Dept. – Saturday
    (August / Nuklearpuppy Records)
    6. Sambo - Mezmerize
    (September / Technikal Recordings)
    7. Jason Cortez – Shining In The Ecstasy
    (July / Nuklearpuppy Records)
    8. Matt Gardner - Endeavour
    (June / Oblivion Digital)
    9. Lee Pasch – Feel It
    (August / Tidy)
    10. Louis Fernio – Free Your Mind (Iridium Remix)
    (November / Presence Funk)
    11. Pienaar & Bamford - Industrializm (MDA & Spherical Remix)
    (October / Technikal Recordings)
    12. Kenemy – Pure Intellect
    (Augusy / Staar Recordings)
    13. Phil York – Minds At Work
    (August / Tranzlation Whites)
    14. Sam Townend & Jon BW - How Can I Love You (Take You Back)
    (July / Tidy)
    15. Baby Doc & Sj - I Need You (Knuckleheadz Remix)
    (October / Tidy)
    16. BK – Insane (KY Jellybabies Remix)
    (March / Riot! Recordings)
    17. Batch – Stay Where You Are
    (July / Impact Digital)
    18. Simon Qudos - Velocity
    (December / Presence Recordings)
    19. Lisa Lashes – Unbelievable (2007 Mix)
    (October / Lashed Music)
    20. Jon BW – Cutting Shapes
    (September / Tidy)

    -----------------------------------------------------

    TOP 20 FULL-ON PSY TUNES OF 2007

    1. Dual Core - Magnetic Area
    (September / H2O Records)
    2. Zeta – Blood Red Rain (Astrix Remix)
    (October / Farm Records)
    3. Eskimo – 5 And A Half Stars
    (May / Wired Music)
    4. Ananda Shake – Disco Dancer
    (September / Utopia Records)
    5. Time Lock – Time Theory
    (October / YoYo Records)
    6. Domestic – Bloom On Day
    (January / HOM-Mega Productions)
    7. Electro Sun – On Air
    (November / Trancelucent Productions )
    8. Time Lock – Return Of The Machine (Remix)
    (October / YoYo Records)
    9. Quadra – LSD Came Falling Down
    (January / H2O Records)
    10. X-Noize – Voice Tweaker
    (June / HOM-Mega Productions )
    11. Infected Mushroom – Change The Formality
    (April / YoYo Records)
    12. Time Lock – Rocketman
    (October / YoYo Records)
    13. Time Lock – Activate Evolution
    (October / YoYo Records)
    14. Dual Core - Eruption
    (September / H2O Records)
    15. Audio Chemistry – Long Long Arms (Joti Sidhu Remix)
    (February / Solstice Music International)
    16. Infected Mushroom – Becoming Insane
    (January / YoYo Records)
    17. Broken Toy – Low Down & Dirty
    (October / Alchemy Records)
    18. BECKERS – Switch (Growling Machines Remix)
    (June / Spun Records)
    19. Bizzare Contact – The Beach (Visual Contact Global Club Edit)
    (March / Com.Pact Records)
    20. Broken Toy – Heavy Structured
    (October / Alchemy Records)

    -----------------------------------------------------

    TOP 20 ELECTRO-HOUSE TUNES OF 2007

    1. Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand – Let Me Think About It
    (October / Data Records)
    2. David Guetta – Love Is Gone (Fred Rister & Joachim Garraud Remix)
    (May / Virgin Music)
    3. Lissat & Voltraxx - Young & Beautiful (Klaas & Micha Moor Remix)
    (January / Scream And Shout Recordings)
    4. Micha Moor – Space (Klaas Club Mix)
    (July / Scream And Shout Recordings)
    5. Calvin Harris - Merrymaking At My Place (Deadmau5 Remix)
    (September / Sony Music Entertainment)
    6. Kanagawa & Lucy Clarke - Twisted Wave
    (February / Riot! Recordings)
    7. Rene Amesz & Peter Gelderblom – Waiting 4
    (November / Data Records)
    8. Todd Terry, Kenny Dope, DJ Sneak & Tara Mcdonald - Get Down (Tim Le El Remix)
    (July / D:vision Records)
    9. Supadelics - Take A Look Inside (Miles Dyson's Peaktime Dub Remix)
    (March / Mylo Recordings)
    10. Dualton - Papercut (Klaas & Micha Moor Remix)
    (September / Royal Flush Records)
    11. Freaks - TocarThe Creeps (You're Giving Me) (Vandalism Remix)
    (November / Azuli Black)
    12. David Philips & Chiba Unit - Unforgettable Time (Nino Anthony Remix)
    (March / Omnis Recordings)
    13. Global Deejays feat. Technotronic - Get Up (General Electric Version)
    (March / Superstar Recordings)
    14. Jesse Garcia - Off Da Hook!
    (March / Stealth Records)
    15. Rubikon - TocarAdore (David Amo & Julio Navas Mix)
    (March / Substream)
    16. Subsource - This Town (Hook N Sling Remix)
    (April / Spin Out Records)
    17. Scooter - Lass Uns Tanzen
    (March / Sheffield Tunes)
    18. David Sense - My Juice
    (February / Presslab)
    19. Super Mal & Luciana - Bigger Than Big (Macca Dub Mix)
    (March / Eye Industries)
    20. Mark Mendes - His Music (Mark's Bouncing Is Fun Remix)
    (April / Mar186)

    -----------------------------------------------------

    Now, bring on 2008!
  • mm, yeap ;j

    Dez 16 2007, 0h35 por icqipsy

  • Mine 50 main artists.

    Set 12 2007, 9h56 por CJlE3bl

  • The "awesome" game (stolen/inspired by another journal entry)

    Mai 9 2007, 21h00 por maplejet

    Pretty much the following

    Put on the "awesome" last.fm tag radio, listen to the 15 songs that get scrobbled, and review them.

    Yes, you must listen to them in it's entirety and critique them. Give a rating out of 10.

    1 - WHAT IS THIS SHIT!
    2 - Shitty
    3 - Terrible
    4 - This is far from awesome
    5 - Mediocre
    6 - Ok
    7 - Decent
    8 - Great
    9 - Defintely Awesome
    10 - KICKASS AND AWESOME

    That's right...listen in it's entirety and then jump to conclusions!


    SONG #1 - New Young Pony Club - The Bomb
    Band Tags (use top 7, arrange starting with most popular): electronic, electro, indie, electronica, dance, electropop, new wave, indie pop

    Definitely listenable and cool, but really not my style of music. 7/10



    SONG #2 - Michael Woods - Solex
    Band Tags: trance, electronic, techno, progressive trance, electronica, awesome, dance, vocal

    Better than the last one, not too fond of vocals. 8/110



    SONG #3 - Linkin Park - Papercut
    Band Tags: rock, alternative, nu metal, metal, alternative rock, nu-metal, punk rapcore

    What more can I say? I'm a big time Linkin Park fan, and this is by far one of my favorites from them. Easy 10/10.

    BTW, new album ain't bad...it's just different.



    SONG #4 - Bis - Eurodisco
    Band Tags: electronic, indie, britpop, electronica, indie pop, pop, rock, scottish

    Kind of getting tired of too much electronica, another 8/10 here.



    SONG #5 - Thomas Bronzwaer - TocarShadow World (Midway Remix)
    Band Tags: trance, melodic, awesome, asot, my personal favorites, electronic, progressive trance, uplifting trance

    It seems most electronic tracks get the awesome tag around here, eh? I like this trance...could use more to my electronic collection, 9/10



    SONG #6 - Sons and Daughters - Dance Me In
    Band Tags: indie, indie rock, rock, alternative , seen live, female vocalists, indie pop

    It's ok...nothing really awesome though...catchy rhythm and a ton of repetition. 6.5/10



    SONG #7 - Akrid - Tocar533
    Band Tags: chillout, techno, trance, awesome, electronic, lesser known yet streamable artists, unsigned

    Feels too repetition, acidy by far. 6.9/10. It seems a lot of people love tagging electronic tracks awesome.



    SONG #8 - Arksun - Arisen
    Band Tags: trance, awesome, dance, melodic trance, progressive trance, rave, techno, uplifting trance

    This is the awesome station, right? Not the trance station? Anyways, it's another cool/ambient track, but I'm kind of getting bored at this point. Got to let the music go on though. 7.8/10



    SONG #9 - Ananda Shake - TocarThe Movie Star
    Band Tags: psytrance, psychedelic, psychedelic trance, electronic, trance, electronica, goa, dance

    I really don't know why I'm getting fed nothing but trance sites...even if this a good one, 8.9/10

    This track did not scrobble correctly.



    SONG #10 - Tiefschwarz - TocarNo More Trouble
    Band Tags: electronic, house, electro, electronica, dance, german, techno, minimal

    A house-groove-styled song...sounds like they sampled some familiar song in the mix. Cool. 7.3/10



    SONG #11 - Fat Jakk and his Pack Of Pets - TocarWho Let The Dogs Out?
    Band tags: There aren't any

    Oh boy...what the fuck is this...a poorly done "cover" of Baha Men's crazy song from....I don't remember when. Annoying, 2.4/10.



    SONG #12 - Father Abraphart and the Smurps - Lick a Smurp For Christmas (All Fall Down)
    Band Tags: None again

    1/10...who's the bastard that tagged this under awesome.


    At this point, I realized the radio was streaming songs from one album only. I stopped and hit play again. The annoying songs kept coming up again from that damn album...I finally refreshed the damn browser and got back to music. Whoever uploaded that shitty album better watch out.



    SONG #13 - Christina Aguilera - TocarWalk Away
    Band Tags: pop, female vocalists, rnb, dance, female, hip-hop, rock soul

    Now that's over with, this is the second recognizable artist I've run into. Doesn't mean it's awesome. This song's definitely not crappy, but it's not my style. 6.6/10



    SONG #14 - Cindergarden - TocarOne By One
    Band Tags: darkwave, electronic, gothic, awesome, dark, female vocalist, beautiful, new

    Dark ambient sound...female vocal, i'd give a 7.8/10. I'm really giving up here...is there going to be anything other than electronic music? Some rock or metal perhaps? I think the radio is broken...



    SONG #15 - The Kingston Trio - Where Have All The Flowers Gone
    Band Tags: folk, 60s, oldies, singer-songwriter, american, awesome, close harmony, country

    Finally some change for once. A listenable folk song...decent 7.5/10.



    SONG #16 - Coheed and Cambria - [track artist=Coheed and Cambria]Wake Up (Acoustic Version)
    Band Tags: progressive rock, rock, emo, alternative, indie, metal, punk, seen live

    Well, decided to continue to see what I could fetch...an acoustic. Is the voice of this band a girl or something? 6/10


    I decided to finish off here...well. Maybe the awesome station is not-so-awesome. Guess it's back to what suits me the best...



    BTW, I ran the radio on the I/E browser. Normally, 9 bands show up on the upper left hand corner. The 9 in this case were RHCP, Taking Back Sunday, LCD Soundsystem, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Brand New, Pink Floyd, and Muse. IMO, 5 of them deserve that honor. Won't tell you which ones though
  • A SELECTION OF: Great Psytrance Albums

    Mar 2 2007, 15h37 por Estorium

    This is just a short list of some of the psytrance albums that I am enjoying at the moment. They're not all new releases, but I guess that is just indicative of their longevity. :) Please feel free to comment or add suggestions.

    The Time Machine
    Heroes Of The Imagination
    1200 Micrograms

    * Just a quick note:
    1200 Micrograms are also sometimes tagged as 1200 Mics.

    Don't Worry Be Groovy!

    WE SPEAK MUSIC

    Artcore
    Eye to Eye

    Lemon Flavored Kiss
    Talisman

    Emotion Chaos

    Parasite

    No Rules

    Polaris

    New Moves

    Sexperimental
    Insectified
    Wicked

    Phoenix

    __________________________


    Artist Connections:

    1200 Micrograms
    Alien Project
    Ananda Shake
    Astrix
    Divinorum
    Echotek
    Fractal Glider
    GMS
    Polaris
    Psycraft
    S.U.N. Project
    SynSUN
  • Seen Live

    Abr 7 2006, 14h57 por thesilentnigma

    Metal and Rock:

    Anathema 2x
    Katatonia
    Moonspell 2x
    Mão Morta 2x
    Isis
    Pelican
    God Is an Astronaut
    Caspian 2x
    Linda Martini
    Process of Guilt
    A Storm of Light
    Sunn O)))
    Earth
    Men Eater
    Vader
    Children of Bodom
    Severe Torture
    Sepultura
    Bauhaus
    The Cramps
    God Dethroned
    Keelhaul
    Circle
    Benediction
    One Man Army and the Undead Quartet
    Humanart
    August Burns Red
    For The Glory
    Catacombe
    katabatic
    The Allstar Project 2x
    Miss Lava
    Black Bombaim
    Cosmic Vishnu
    Before The Thorn
    Ektomorf
    Oomph!
    Noidz 2x
    Seven Stitches
    Divine Lust
    Oratory
    Beseech
    To/Die/For
    HIM 4x
    Within Temptation
    Nightwish
    Eagles of Death Metal
    Johnny Panic
    Yeah Yeah Yeahs
    Blind Zero
    X-Wife
    F.E.V.E.R.
    Guano Apes
    Gomez
    Gang of Four
    Panico
    [reckless]
    !!!
    Xutos & Pontapés
    Smix Smox Smux
    Osso
    Les Triple
    Broken Social Scene

    Electronic:

    Shift 3x
    Tickets
    Frozen Ghost
    Multistate
    Twisted System
    Pitch Hikers
    Dirty Motion
    Zion Linguist
    Hiyarant
    Lost & Found
    Rinkadink
    Iron Madness
    Abomination 2x
    Digital Talk
    Azax Syndrom 4x
    Outer Signal
    Seroxat
    Materia
    Menog 2x
    Tryambaka
    Audialize 2x
    Khopat 4x
    Myrah 3x
    Orianis
    Suria
    Phonic Request
    Khaos Sektor
    sick addiction
    D_Maniac
    Spector
    Penta
    Absolum
    Painkiller
    delYsid
    Blisargon Demogorgon
    Xerox & Illumination 2x
    Ibojima
    Vibe Tribe 2x
    Ananda Shake
    Alternative Control
    Freaked Frequency
    Dino Psaras 2x
    Bizzare Contact
    Astrix 2x
    Talamasca 2x
    XSI
    Atomic Pulse
    Eskimo
    Void
    Skazi 2x
    BLAZED
    Solar System
    40%
    Lab 2x
    Goa Gil
    Joti Sidhu
    Swan
    Charade
    ATARY
    High Pulse
    Tryon
    BoogieMan
    Xama Cirkus 2x
    Kryptum
    Panacea
    Propaganda
    Current Value
    Counterstrike 2x
    Noisia
    SPL
    Limewax
    Cooh
    The Sect
    Audio
    Dylan
    Donny
    Mampi Swift
    DJ Friction
    Spor
    Chris Renegade
    Drumsound & Simon "Bassline" Smith
    Logistics
    Apex
    DJ Fresh
    DJ Marky
    TC
    C-Netik 3x
    Warren Suicide
    Digitalism

    Others:

    Hilight Tribe
    OLIVETREEdance 2x
    Human chalice 2x
    Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra
    Morrissey
    Gravy Train!!!!
    Toranja
    Clandestino
    Delfins
    Planet Hemp
    Members of the public
    Buraka Som Sistema