Category Archives: Trance

Just one week following his massive "Chronicles Chapter 3" show at the Gorge Amphitheater, Seven LionsandWoolihave released a remix package for their collaboration with Amidy, "Shadows."

The remix EP features longtime Ophelia Records favorite Xavi as well as drum & bass guru REAPER and trance vet Maor Levi. Each producer offers a unique take on "Shadows," infusing the melodic bass anthem with a diverse sound palette.

Xavi's remix maintains the heaviest feel of the trio released in the EP, as the impassioned sonics of the original have been replaced by arumbling bassline. REAPER holds nothing back on his edit, similarly taking a heavy route. Amidy's vocals remain the focal point leading into a dramatic, eerie breakdown followed by relentless drum & bass and halftime drops.

The final remix by Levi is by far the most divergent of the three remixes, bravely venturing away from the bass music and into Levi's home of trance. The heaviness hasn't been abandoned, however, as the track opens with an onslaught of menacing bass patches. The climactic drop holds out until the final third of the track, turning the ballad into a tense nail-biter.

Listen to Shadows (Remixes) below and find the EP on streaming platforms here.

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Seven Lions, Wooli, and Amidy Unveil Diverse Remix Package for "Shadows" - EDM.com

The Space Development Agency (SDA) is seeking responses to their Request for Proposal (RFP) to help build the Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL).

T1TL is a mesh network of more than 100 optically interconnected satellites that provide a resilient, low-latency, high-volume data transport communication system.

T1TL will provide global communications access and deliver persistent regional encrypted connectivity in support of Warfighter missions around the globe by serving as the backbone for Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) built on low-latency data transport and sensor-to-shooter connectivity.

T1TL will consist of six near-polar orbital planes of SVs in a 1000 km altitude proliferated LEO constellation, linked together to form a global space mesh network. SDA expects to make multiple awards from this solicitation.

Proposals are due by October 1, 2021 at Noon EDT.

More pertinent information is available at this direct infolink

Originally posted here:

Space Development Agency's Latest RFP Calling For 100+ Satellites To Help Build The Trance 1 Transport Layer SatNews - SatNews Publishers

Even by the usual American standards, the collapse of the US-built and generously sponsored Afghan army in the face of the Talibans walkover victory into Kabul is a fiasco of mega proportions. The habitual post-mortem (who lost Afghanistan, how, and why?) hardly scratches the surface of what actually happened.

When a ragtag movement, supposedly crushed into oblivion by the most powerful military alliance on the planet, and bombed and re-bombed to smithereens for over two decades, rises from the ashes, walks into the very presidential palace built by the terminators who were incidentally still around, watching as if in a trance to manage its terminal absence, it is not Afghanistan we should be discussing here. It should be America itself and what is left of it as a world power.

Hitherto, the standard answers being offered included: how the good war in Afghanistan (unlike, God forbid, the bad one in Iraq!), turned bad as well; how better logistics and timing could have helped, how strategies could have been different, etc.

This focus on largely technical issues, such as the internal command problems within NATO, weak planning, corruption and incompetence in the Afghan leadership, the failure of President Barack Obamas 2009 surge, missed opportunities for peace-making, etc, is more of a distraction than a insightful analysis.

Even the persistent accusations against Pakistan of supporting the Taliban are irrelevant; even if those are true, its involvement would be no match for the over 40 other advanced countries backing America, and the strong support from tribal-ethnic forces that did most of the ground fighting initially.

Here, we have the worlds mightiest, ultra-modern war machine, failing dismally in a war against a marginal, almost alien, military-political force, in one of the poorest countries in the world. This dream alliance, generously funded (to the level of over a trillion dollars) and backed by United Nations leadership and guidance in civil affairs, spent two decades amassing victories and achievements. Then it watched in stunned impotence as bare-foot villagers walked in, or rode in on motorbikes, to wipe out all those achievements within a couple of weeks.

That was no technical or logistical mishap. It was a thrashing, a defeat in all the senses of the word, an abject failure. Even in the wake of the most violent colonial wars of liberation, never have we seen an occupation that had to rush to take all its human achievements, including the translators, home with it. As routings go, this was epic!

A few critics raised the fundamental issue of whether the idea of the war itself was sound, reminding us of the questionable justifications, given that none of the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks came from Afghanistan, and America has harboured more of them than Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda chose Afghanistan because of its statelessness, not because it had a terror-sponsoring state. So, the war did not address the root cause of the conflict.

Afghanistan had remained exceptionally resistant to foreign invaders and very effective in keeping them out, unlike Iraq, which had a formative colonial experience. The invasion was thus both unhelpful and unwise. Many deemed it unjust and illegal.

However, Western support for this good and just war remained strong overall, apart from a small section of sceptics. In October 2019, Foreign Affairs asked a group of authorities with deep specialised expertise on the Afghan case whether the war was a mistake. Only a handful questioned its legitimacy, even after all that had happened or become known.

In the post-9/11 trauma, US leaders felt they had to do something violent, and soon. It was more an act of seeking catharsis than a rational response. Like Osama bin Laden, George W Bush also chose Afghanistan, the apparent weakest link, as the site of his retaliation spectacle.

Nonetheless, the consequences of such a rash indulgence were not that hard to predict. The question is: Why was foreseeing the disaster so difficult in this advanced country, with a limitless supply of pundits, scholars, experts and veteran policymakers?

The Afghan debacle was not the only major occurrence that had caught experts by surprise. So did the Arab Spring, the Berlin Wall, the Iranian revolution, the rise of Islamism you name it. There is something problematic about experts who always appear the last to know.

Some scholars had contended that historical developments are inherently unpredictable, even to the actors involved in them; many of the latter engage in preference falsification (the deliberate hiding of intentions). However, this is not the whole story. There is often a reluctance by experts to see the obvious.

I have spent the past few decades responding to wishful thinking about the end of Islamism. In the late 1990s an American friend sent me for comment chapters of her book, which predicted the end of Islamism. I sent her an article I had published a decade earlier, criticising the methodology for similar conclusions reached by State Department analysts.

They had based their conclusions on election results from five countries, all autocracies! I warned in that piece that continued oppression by US-backed regimes will radicalise Islamists, not eliminate them, as some seem to aspire. I think we all now know how things have evolved since then.

Edward Saids deep critique of Orientalism has shown us these errors were part of a broader pattern of distortions. Ironically, Saids work faced a backlash that triggered a sectarian polarisation in Middle Eastern studies in the US. Opponents of his views, including an alliance of neoconservatives and pro-Israel lobbies, launched multiple crusades against fair-minded academics, including campaigns of defamation, lobbying to cut official funds to universities deemed anti-Israel, or even anti-America.

These ventures included the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, set up in 1995 by Lynne Cheney and Senator Joe Lieberman, and described by critics as a form of New McCarthyism for its systematic targeting of progressive academics as enemies of the American civilisation.

In 2002, the pro-Israel lobbyists launched Campus Watch, dedicated to targeting academics deemed hostile to Israels agenda. The group published a black list of offending academics, and urged students to snitch on their professors!

Given the already mentioned problems of expertise in foreign policy analysis, the advice of these campaigners looks like a prescription for the poor-sighted to wear blindfolds. Enhanced since then by Trumpism and its hostility to anything rational, this approach threatens American society as a whole, and not just academia and rationality.

The Afghan question needs to be seen in this broader framework. Faulty analyses (or plain prejudice/bias) often produce disastrous policies, which in turn generate more misguided analyses. There is the background issue of Israel, and the irrational decision in Washington to indulge whatever absurd and dangerous policies Israelis propose, oblivious of the consequences, even to Israel itself. As a result, it is not Israel, but America that is the gravest threat to stability in the region.

But the immediate roots of the current crisis go back to 1990, when President George Bush Sr decided to exploit Iraqs invasion of Kuwait to assert US hegemony in the post-Cold War era. Instead of using diplomacy to resolve the crisis, he took the opportunity to show off American firepower, shore up friendly despots, secure oil supplies, and show everybody who the boss was.

Senior British and US officials dismissed warnings of serious consequences, boasting after the war about how right they were: nothing happened. Then, of course, 9/11 happened, and the same people were asking: where did this come from?

What happened in 1990 in the Middle East was similar to what happened in Afghanistan in 2001. In both cases, a conservative society was traumatised by a disruptive foreign presence (more violently in the case of Afghanistan) that tore it apart and provoked violent defensive reactions that spilled over into America.

The intrusion into Saudi Arabia in 1990 was the original sin, producing al-Qaeda; the 2003 invasion of Iraq produced ISIS; then the invasion of Afghanistan created a more viable Islamic emirate.

Simultaneously, the regional balance came unhinged. Ironically Iran, the supposed enemy, was handed multiple victories; the US neutralised its Iraqi (and later Afghan) enemies, and practically handed over Iraq to it. Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia, Irans nemesis, was destabilised by the disruptive presence of US troops on its territory.

As I have pointed out elsewhere, followers of Irans late Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini would be forgiven to regard this as a divine intervention: Heaven sent Irans archenemy to subdue its local adversaries and hand Iranians the spoils. The US acted practically just like one of the pro-Iranian militias in the region, doing its bidding from a distance, only for free.

In the same vein, instead of taking serious action to stop Bashar al Assads genocide of the Syrian people, the selective intervention against ISIS made the US and NATO the complimentary air force of the Syrian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Qassem Soleimani, this time handing over Syria to Putin and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Americas most dependable ally, Turkey, was left carrying the can, hostage to the Russia-Iran alliance. Even good old Machiavellianism appeared elusive. Ethics is not the only casualty here, but pragmatism as well. By continuing to let down its allies through its fickleness and faithlessness, and helping its enemies prosper through its incompetence, America will be without allies next time it decides to face up to China or Russia.

Only a decade ago, the question asked would have been: How long could extremists survive in the era of American unipolarity? I think now the question would be: how long can America last in the era of the Taliban?

In this, so-called experts are as guilty as the blundering politicians.

A few years ago, a taxi driver who drove me to Sky News studios in London for an interview, asked about the topic I was going to speak about. When he learned it was the war in Iraq, he remarked wryly, I think the intelligence agencies should be sued under the Trade Descriptions Act.

Maybe they are not the only ones.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.

Continued here:

What is left of America (and its experts) in the Taliban era? - Al Jazeera English

To the editor:

President Joe Biden should not be impeached, he should face a court martial for dereliction of duty.

His decisions are 100% responsible for the needless death of 13 American serviceman and women in Afghanistan. There is no doubt he has blood on his hands. Every American should be outraged at his incompetence and total inability to be commander and chief.

Sadly we know more Americans will die because of Bidens decisions. Its heartbreaking to see all these families suffering because our supposed leader is not mentally strong enough to make the right decisions.

Because of our president, America is the laughing stock of the entire world.

Our enemies are celebrating how weak we have become.

Our closest allies have called Biden Gaga and his handling of the crisis a monumental blunder. Whenever he holds a press conference he appears to be in a trance and has to read from notes or a monitor, which appears extremely difficult for him to do. The presidents oath of office is to protect the American people. He has allowed thousands of immigrants into the country without knowing if they have COVID-19. And now his inability to make the right decisions are getting Americans killed in Afghanistan. Where will it end? Are we going to let this incompetent buffoon continue to destroy our country? How many more of our American heroes will have to die?

Kenneth Porter

Attleboro

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A dereliction of duty | Letters To Editor | thesunchronicle.com - The Sun Chronicle

When Sensorium's virtual PRISM world finally opens its doors to concert-goers later this year, don't be surprised to find yourself striking up a conversation in the crowdwith an AI-driven avatar.

Its no secret AI has been a pillar of Sensorium Galaxys overall development strategy, but the technologydeveloped in partnership with Muberthas been kept vastly under wraps.

When it comes to AI, Sensoriums computer-generated avatars serve multiple functions. Some are artists with the potential to produce an endless stream of electronic music in a live performance setting. The remaining AI personalitieseach possessing unique behavioral traits and professional and personal backgroundsare residents of the Sensorium ecosystem. They have the "freedom" to navigate the hyper-futuristic PRISM grounds, converse with fellow festival-goers, and encode new shared experiences.

EDM.com had the chance to interview and interact with several of Sensorium's avatars first-hand and learn more about the role AI will play in shaping the company's broader metaverse experience. The demo was led by Ivan Nikitin, Sensoriums Product Director and Head of AI Research and Development.

Sensorium Galaxy

We were first introduced to Katherine, an aspiring AI makeup artist. While the avatars are meant to function as conversationalists, we were initially full of questions for Katherine.To start, she handled personal questions with ease, drawing upon her programmed background and using it to elucidate her long-term goals and career aspirations. We questioned her on her creative approach and what makes a great makeup artist, and she was able to articulate her stylistic preferences in a manner that felt organic.

"First I figure out what the person needs based on their features and their character, Katherine said of her approach. Then I start playing around with ideas that have to do with that, drawing little sketches in my sketch book.

A particularly impressive element of Sensoriums AI personalities is their ability to track a conversation across multiple lines of questioning. WhenKatherine shared some of her artistic inspirations with us, we followed up with a probe: Why?

Katherineshowed us she was able to retain the context of the conversation long enough to understand the follow-up. "He has an incredible eye for color," she said of her favorite artist. "He can change the entire feel of a performance using his makeup using colors and textures like no one else."

While these machines embody some impressively human qualities, talking with them long enough does create the potential to expose gaps in their knowledge. During our conversation, Katherine revealed that she considers herself an impressionist capable of impersonating Britney Spears, Jessica Alba, and more. However, our follow-up question asking her to do her best Paris Hilton impression fell flat when she simply responded, "Impersonates Paris."

Therein lies both the appeal and the Achilles heel of AI personalities. They are largely unpredictable and unscripted, save for a few guardrails.

When it comes to shaping the internal frameworks of these AI, Nikitin refers to the emerging field of AI Ethics as the guiding principles under which Sensorium operates.

"The considerations for AI Ethics are technical in nature,"Nikitin explained."We do content filtering and semantic analysis of both user and AI replies. We do not process responses from the users that contain vulgarity or fall within our age ratings category, which is 16-plus. With the AI responses we do analysis to never allow any of the sensitive topics, such as politics and religion. We do not allow any wording that can be considered aggressive or toxic in nature."

Nikitin says that by default the AI personalities mainly seek to provide positive reinforcement to Sensorium Galaxy occupants. They listen and react absent judgment. The company has also ensured conversations between users and avatars are completely siloed, eliminating the risk of sensitive information from one attendee being transmitted by the AI to others.

Our experience meeting Lilith, an AI personality with a background in accounting and finance who appreciates going to raves in her spare time, illuminated the congenial nature of the technology.

Lilith shared that one of her favorite artists to see is Ferry Corsten, an iconic trance music producer and DJ whom she speaks very highly of as a "musical genius." As uplifting trance fans ourselves, we waxed poetic on the genres euphoric qualities: "Youre right," Lilith agreed. "Its like a great filmits brilliant when it comes together."

While these types of interactions with AI are entertaining, the avatar's generally agreeable nature wont necessarily challenge the viewpoints of users or present them with earth-shattering new perspectives.

After conversing with several of Sensorium's AI-driven avatars with varying backgrounds and experiences, we were ultimately left wondering how artificial intelligence fits into the organization's broader vision for creating next-generation entertainment experiences.

"The ultimate goal I believe is the creation of social bridges," Nikitin said. "All of this connection creates a different level of immersion in the virtual world. Its like creating a true illusion of a parallel world which lives by its own rules and exists even when youre not there."

Sensorium Galaxy is expected to debut its PRISM concert platform in the back half of 2021.

Read the rest here:

The Robots Are Coming and They Like to Rave: What We Learned From Interviewing Sensorium's AI Avatars - EDM.com

If you had asked me yesterday to imagine a scenario in which I experienced any kind of warmth towards Michael Gove, well I wont say I couldnt have done it, Ill just say it would have taken some time. But it turns out all he had to do was go to a nightclub in Aberdeen and dance on his own, and not only did I momentarily forget his drawling self-importance, but the people of Scotland did too. You would think the other revellers would have chased him off the dancefloor, pausing only to spray paint him first, like a fur-coat wearer at an animal rights protest. If Aberdeen is famous for anything but granite, its the oil industry and whatever you think of fossil fuels, that means the city is rammed with experts. So Saturday night could have been the perfect opportunity to express that, maybe, they had had enough of Gove.

Instead, they posed for selfies with him, swapped tall tales (did he, or did he not, try to evade the 5 entry fee by saying he was the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster?) and made the man feel like a visiting and esteemed dignitary to the land of trance and bacchanalia. Theres a Narnia thing, a code of values older than politics; its worse than unkind to mock someone who is dancing its also cynical, joyless and where does it end? You would be like that woman who put a cat in a wheelie bin. What else might she dispose of so casually? Your dreams?

In fact, I hadnt even seen the video of Gove dancing before I was moved to empathy by the fact that he staggered from a pub to the club upstairs at one in the morning, red of face, out of place, lit up like the Commonwealth (yes, I have been looking up olde worlde synonyms for drunk, thank you for noticing). I felt like I had been there (the scenario, I mean, though I have also been to a club in Aberdeen).

Add to that Goves recent separation from his wife; newspapers always cover prominent political divorces as if they were slam-dunk scandals, and they must be surprised, though they would never admit it, at how rarely any spontaneous grassroots opprobrium materialises. Its because disapproval is quite a shallow and, more importantly, abstract emotion, while those of us who have been divorced and there are tons of us experience a ravaged empathy that overrides our critical function. We might, on the surface, pretend to be thinking how outrageous it would be that Matt Hancock was paying his girlfriend while snogging her in his office, but our actual internal monologue is all, Poor him, imagine having to move out with the paparazzi watching when your wife wont let you into the hall but then, poor Mrs Hancock poor Gina Coladangelo, what if only Hancock thought this was a love match? Poor Oliver Bonas (or to give him his real name, Oliver Tress), he must have thought he was too tall for this to happen Poor kids, theyre going to be reliving this for years.

Finally, though, its because its quite hard to feel animus towards someone who likes what you like. There are provisos; if they sound like they are lying David Cameron and football, for instance disliking them is even easier, but if the preference is sincere, youre well into truce territory. I saw Ken Clarke having a curry once and asked him if he wanted to join me and my sister. It was only partly because I thought nobody should have to eat alone if they dont want to; it was mainly that I was so pleased he liked curry, even though almost everybody does. Anyway, turns out he also likes eating alone, but there were no hard feelings.

People make the point, and I take it, that if you dwell too much on the humanity of senior Conservatives, its a failure of solidarity to all the people whose humanity those same Conservatives dont care about. In the end, though, its not about Michael Gove and his moves. Its about not being hardened by the hardness of others and, it turns out, the clubbers of Aberdeen are a world away from granite.

See the original post:

I didnt think I could feel empathy for Michael Gove. Then he hit the dancefloor - The Guardian

To honor the passing of Aziz Sergeyevich Shavershian better known as Zyzz, a Soviet-born Australian bodybuilder Tevvez, a prolific French artist, produced a prodigious portfolio of songs and video accompaniments in his album Phantom.

Deemed the son of Zeus, Zyzz revolutionized fitness by popularizing aesthetics training to look like a Greek god and ultimately inspired a legacy of pursuing dreams beyond the monotony of everyday life. Given Zyzzs passing 10 years ago on Aug. 5, I thought a dive into Tevvezs memorial album was fitting.

This 12-track, 42-minute album romanticizes the journey and legacy of Zyzz with layers of orchestra-like chords and intense, resounding kick drums that comprise the songs baselines and dictate the tempo. The songs names, such as Vision, Guardian Angel and Legacy, also pay tribute to Zyzz, and the album cover depicts him ascending to the clouds.

Except for bits of choir-like singing at the beginning of some songs, Phantom features almost no vocals. Essentially, any human voice functions as just another instrument in the symphonic masterpieces of Tevvezs tracks. The album also includes both major and minor tones to contrast the inspiration Zyzz provided and the sadness of his passing. With both computer-generated and classical instrument sounds, the musical style resembles a blend of techno, trance and hardstyle that is more sophisticated than either genre alone.

Generally, the individual tracks commence with simple, light melodies. Over the course of each song, deep chords, kickdrums, clap drums, among other features, are smoothly woven in. The songs later return to their basic melodies before building up to greater intensity than earlier, evoking fervent feelings of strength and determination.

The musical variation among the songs allows the album to string together different aspects of Zyzzs life and legacy in an elaborate narrative. The opening track, Vision, begins with a slow, brooding melody, as if symbolizing the bullying Zyzz suffered; Vision later progresses to distorted arpeggios, as though representing Zyzzs dejection from the bullying and his subsequent vision to transform himself. The track then diverges to portray Zyzzs hard work, exhibiting a faster tempo and exhilarating drum sequences, and concludes in the same way it began possibly to depict Zyzzs passing.

Continuing to tell the story of his life, Infinity begins with eloquent, high-pitched wailing juxtaposed with sorrowful chords, perhaps representing an individual mourning. The song then switches to a bouncing melody, evincing the sparks of hope Zyzz provided fans, and continues to add layers of chords and kickdrums to denote the individuals endeavor to achieve their dreams ultimately conveying that Zyzzs essence will remain on Earth infinitely.

My favorite piece by far is Legend. Compared to other tracks, Legend evokes the most emotion and displays the greatest contrast between its climax and mellower preliminary themes. The song begins with a short drumroll and an elaborate prelude that resembles funeral music. Then, after an epic crescendo, the air is quiet for a transient moment. A thundering beat-drop shatters the fleeting tranquility, and the ensuing climax seemingly portrays the awakening of a sleeping giant with its emphatic kickdrums, possibly corresponding to the posthumous popularity of Zyzz in the past decade.

Phantom proves useful for a Zyzz-worthy purpose: pushing past limits in the gym. Especially on high volume, the intense chords, beat and kickdrums evoke passion and motivation, perhaps in an attempt to drown out any perception of pain.

I would consider Phantom to be Tevvezs greatest album. It includes all the musical styles he utilized in previous albums Waves, Obsidian and Divinity while also sounding noticeably more refined and intricate than previous works, featuring cleaner and purer-sounding chords. I find no fault with this album. Considering its songs together, I feel that Phantom excels in generating a desolate depiction of Zyzzs childhood and death, as well as serving as a poignant call-to-action for listeners to better themselves. The distinct elements of each song and the albums short duration ensure that the listener never feels jaded. It is, therefore, no surprise that the comment sections of the songs of Phantom on YouTube are almost exclusively filled with praise for masterfully preserving Zyzzs spirit and inspiring millions to pursue their dreams.

See the article here:

Album Review: Tevvez keeps the legacy of Zyzz alive with 'Phantom' - The Stanford Daily

On August 27th, almost six years to the day since their debut single Mandrake, ARTBAT launch their own UPPERGROUND label with brand new single Flame. The label is sure to become a go-to outlet for the emotive techno ARTBAT is now known for around the world.

ARTBAT have been prolific in the studio and have put out a steady stream of high quality, always innovative sounds that make deep connections with their audience. They have also just completed a US tour and will soon tour South America. But first they step out with their own label, which is named after the way they want to be perceived in the music world.

Says the guys from ARTBAT of UPPERGROUND, during the pandemic, we had enough time to work on new music and had our heads deep in the studio working on new ideas. Now we feel like we have the right tracks to be presented on our own label. Especially after a worldwide lockdown, we wanted to kick off with something fresh and new, filled with life, colour, spiritual uplift and emotion. Now feels like the exact right time to do so.

The ethos of the label is to be seen as neither underground nor commercial, but simply a mark of unique, high-quality electronic music known as the ARTBAT sound and accessible to everyone around the world. After all, when your photo is on a billboard, youre playing to tens of thousands of people at festivals and hundreds of thousands more tune into your livestreams to enjoy your melodic techno, is this underground? Probably not, which is what makes UPPER GROUNDsuch a perfect name. As well as releasing their own music on the label, Artbat will carefully A&R talented new artists and give them a platform to shine around the world.

The scintillating first single Flame is a dramatic mix of techno and trance that is awash with feelings. A tender vocal layers in deep feelings of introspection while the elegant synths flash high above the moody drums. After an artful breakdown brings big moments of emotion, the drums drop once more and are sure to carry the crowd to a whole new level.

This single is a fantastic way to start UPPERGROUND.

Listen to the track here.

Read the original here:

ARTBAT have dropped a brand new track 'Flame' on their own UPPERGROUND label - Rave Jungle

Music is a reflection of the timesa snapshot of the mood of a society and a window into the soul of the enduring human spirit. When enthusiasm is high, anthemic powerhouses tend to arise, urging listeners to have fun, worry less, and party more. And when morale slips, the tones are somber and lyrics turn towards self-reflection.

Inarguably, humankind is currently experiencing the latter, and musicians are listening. As producers emerge from the progressive tones of the 2010s, electronic artists have taken a liking towards deeper, techno-driven sounds. The minimalistic approach practically mirrors society's angst amidst a global pandemic, something Cosmic Gate picked up on and created yet another shift in their musical catalog.

Having recently completed their20th anniversary tour, the iconic German duo gravitated to the studio yet again, after the runaway success of theirremix of Gabriel & Dresden's "Only Road." A Grammy-nominated cut, the track ended up being a catalyst in their ever-winding career, this time laying out the groundwork for MOSAIIK.

Their 11th studio album (in which they give a nod to on the stylized "II" in the title), MOSAIIK acts as a portal into a new universe for Cosmic Gate. The project will be split between two chapters, and in chapter one we find Bossi and Nic Chagall embracing the dark corners of the dancefloor, a bass-driven techno affair.

The first hint fans had of their evolving sound was with "Blame," which serves as the record's opening cut. Featuring the alluring Diana Miro, the songbecame Cosmic Gate's fastest release to hit a million streams on Spotify. Miro also lends her talents in "Nothing To Hide," satisfying the hunger for not only her mystifying vocals but also a hint of trance in the climax of the track.

In "Your Mind," the boys sample a rave classic, concocting the album's fist-in-the-air anthem. Although C'hantal's "The Realm" has been reworked by artists in the past, Cosmic Gate managed to curate a powerful rendition, making it irresistible to jump at its high peaks.

In a departure, "Summer Wonder" is the archetypal love song. Full of emotion and yearning for a lover's embrace, the song features vocals by Mike Schmidt. The progressive trance recording is the closest the album gets to connect with the group's previous endeavors, particularly 2014's Start To Feel.

Without skipping a beat, Cosmic Gate realigns the listener's audio senses in "Vertigo." Acting as a jolt to the system, the record orients itself back into the techno lane, after straying from the genre for a bit. A brooding piece, the melancholic tone would feel right at home in a doomsday scenario, or in the confines of a Berlin warehouse. "Vertigo" is a contemporary techno production, a unique offering from the duo and a standout on MOSAIIK.

Julie Thompson lends her sultry voice in "These Dreams," a slow-burning, ambient recording. The ethereal track serves as a great come down from "Vertigo," but it falls short of making a bigger impact on the album. The track manages to survive if only by the sensuous vocals of of Thompson.

Closing out the first chapter of MOSAIIK is yet another 90s sample, this time from Natural Born Grooves' track of the same name, "Universal Love." It mimics the same formula found in other Cosmic Gate tracks: low valleys building up to high-energy peaks. It's a blueprint that works well for the duo, and one that they have a stronghold on.

Throughout this first half of MOSAIIK, we are almost reintroduced to Cosmic Gate. It's a literal mosaic of the over two decades of artistry, ranging from their early hard trance days, progressive mid-years, and now a deeper, techno-permeated future. The patchwork of genres Cosmic Gate are known for seamlessly blend together, blurring the lines of what trance, progressive, or techno should be.

MOSAIIK Chapter One is available now via Black Hole Recordings. You can listen to the album in full below and find it on streaming platformshere.

Facebook: facebook.com/cosmicgateTwitter: twitter.com/cosmicgateInstagram: instagram.com/realcosmicgateSpotify: spoti.fi/2HyFMga

Read more from the original source:

Cosmic Gate Piece Together a Symphonic Collage in "MOSAIIK Chapter One" Album - EDM.com

Attention, attention! This is not a movie! This is real life . . . or what remains of it.

You remember all those old movies where the zombies, the pods, the aliens have descended from . . . wherever . . .and have taken over the brains of the unsuspecting humans on their way to conquering the earth? We are saved by the herocoming forth to battle the wayward, slavering minions of already mind-dead citizens intent on eating others brains, or at leasttaking over the world. By the end of the movie, he or she has opened the eyes of whomever they can save and turned the tide of the invasion to save the planet.

Gulp. Well its here but this time, the zombies might be altogether unstoppable. They look exactly as we do and walk, talk and wiggle exactly as we do, but zombies often have looked like us, just with drool. And they are everywhere!

You come around a corner in your car and there he is! Standing right in the middle of the road, oblivious, gazing down in their zombie trance at their cell phone, usually an iPhone or an Android. Aha! That should be enough of a telltale alone: An Android?!

I knew it! Droids and Iphoneys, roaming the streets, gazing helplessly into their machines of dominance, in a trance. The Crystal Ball Gaze, as some call it. They cant look away. They have given up their brains and their will to survive. People walking and Crystal Ball Gazing,three abreast in the street, out past the center line, oblivious of the traffic. The Gaze unfortunately reduces their survival instincts to basically a mosquito level just flitting away, waiting to be swatted. Their backs are turned to the danger of the speeds and tendencies of Gloucester drivers. Just like when their mommies had to grab them by the collar to keep them out of harms way. Their brains formerly fully formed and self-protecting, have turned to mush.

On a recentmorning, this writer came around a blind corner to a smallish car sitting on a two-lane road in the left lane!, no less the driver was stopped, gazing away at his crystal ball. But so was his passenger, both of them so there was no one to grab him by the collar. Almost rear-ended them. Its a street, I yelled, as I edged around them get off the phone. Naturally, they couldnt hear a thing with all the windows rolled up tight. When I looked back, they were still sitting there they had no plans to move. Another attack of the zombies that almost got me (and themselves). Not what Mr. Darwin would call survival of the fittest.

And its spreading. You cant go into a restaurant without seeing a majority of the customers glued to their screens, ignoring their fellow diners and even their meals after they arrive. Been on a sidewalk in a city lately? The zombies have taken over even more minds in the bigger cities. In NYC, absolutely everyone is trapped by their phone. No surprise they lead the nation in pedestrian deaths. And even here, you see zombies at Gloucesters only two traffic lights they immediately reach for their phones to make sure they havent missed any messages maybe zombie instructions from the great zombie leader? I hear complaints of some married couples that their mates must check their crystal ball before sleep at night and then hurriedly first thing upon waking in the morning. Of course how else can they report to their phone? And, of course, we are training the next zombie generation of children to do the same.

So, real world or virtual world? In virtual world, you can check the weather in Instanbul or Cleveland instantly. But out in the real world, people cant remember phone numbers or add or read a map or remember Mickey Mantles number (7). In a drink ticket line at a sailing event last week, the cashiers phone ran out of juice. Twotickets were $12 and I gave her a $20 bill. She couldnt do the subtraction in her head. She had been zombie-ized! Finally, she looked helplessly at me and held out $7. I shook my head and said $8. She was desperate to get her phone back, she said.

But is Crystal Ball Zombie Brain also behind people not getting COVID-19 shots, blinded by their online telephonic masters to be ruled and misinformed by the Zuckerberg forces over the hordes of the already mash-brained Iphoneys? One can only wonder how we will all survive. Hoorah for my flip phone! Hoorah for the real world. Now get off that phone!

Gloucester resident Gordon Baird is an actor and musician, co-founder of Musician magazine and producer of The Chicken Shack community access TV show.

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Fishtown Local: Attack of the zombies | Opinion | gloucestertimes.com - Gloucester Daily Times