MikeLiveira's Space: PsyBreaks

PsyBreaks Download - PsyAmb 48:

I've been listening to quite a bit of psybreak ( psychedelic breakbeat ) music of late so I thought it might be fun to make a mix of psybreaks for you all. I listened to psybreaks back in 1996-98 when psybreaks were kind of a new thing I guess and the genre experienced a brief period of popularity. It seems to be coming back again but with a harder, twistier sound that I'm also quite enjoying. So here is a mix that incorporates some of the newer sounds I've been listening to over the last few years.

This mix isn't purely breaks however - it starts out with some nice psybient tunes for the first 30 minutes or so. It gradually builds up into a stomping breaks set for the last hour. I'm not sure if I'll do too many breaks mixes as it might be a bit too loud and energetic for the music I usually post here. Still, it was a fun diversion and I think some of you guys might get a a kick out it.

We kick things off today with a track from long time psy and world music producer Adham Shaikh. Adham is well known to fans of psychedelic ambient music and has also enjoyed great success in the world music stage including a 2006 Juno award nomination for his album Fusion. TV and movie soundtracks, stage audio and production work are just some of the areas where Adham finds an outlet for his endless musical talents. This opening track comes from the remix project CD "Refractions" which is now available for purchase through Adham's website.

Mahaon is up next with the track "Leaving the Limit" from the excellent "Grower" compilation. This compilation was released in 2010 on Ukrainian label LookingLook Records. The label was quite busy in 2010, it's debut year, producing four records. They have been pretty quite since then however. This wonderful compilation is now available as a free download from the Ektomplazm website so go check it out. Great news for Ektoplazm,who as of this week have achieved their funding goal for the development of the new version of the Ektoplazm website. Good job to all involved and to everyone who so generously donated to the cause.

One of the most exciting acts to tickle my ears of late is the fundamental funky psydub of John LaBoone, aka Soulacybin. John recently released his latest album "Learning through Dreams" which is a really top notch listen. This track "Halls Of Amenti" is available as a free download on John's SoundCloud page. It is proving to be very popular with over 700 downloads in the first two weeks of release. Get it while you still can - it's a real smooth and trippy psydubstep kind of a tune with lots of gnarly breaks and swirly visions. Keep 'em coming John !

After Soulacybin we have Desert Dwellers with a remix of their track "New Generation" by Temple Step Project. Brought together and directed by producer Blast, the Temple Step Project is a collective of musicians and producers from the Byron Bay Region of Australia. Blast ( Ben Last ) may be familiar to some of you as a member of Australian group Mantrix who produced a number of classic psytrance tunes in the mid 2000's. As well as being a prolific producer, Ben is also a Reiki master and an eastern percussionist using tabla, frame drum, daf, darbukka, riq and and drum kit to express the mystic tribal being within. Other musicians to feature in the Temple Step Project include highly talented multi instrumentalists Shai Shriki, Avishai Barnatan, Laura Targett and Amir Paiss.

Next up is Pavel Averchenkov aka "The Lonely Schizo". How's that for an artist name ! This track "Strom" comes from Pavel's debut EP "Imagination" released on Full Metal Recordings in 2010. It's a bass heavy tune that is a little minimal so I tried to liven it up a bit with some samples that some of you Younger Brother fans might find a little familiar. I think it works pretty well.

Following The Schiz is Sephira with a really nice tune called "Learning To Walk". I found this tune on Soundcloud too so why not grab a free download if you dig this sound. You can also get the album as a free download or donate as much as you like through Sephira's bandcamp page. It's a great album that deserves wider exposure.

Things start to speed up a bit now with some quicker breaks in use in our next track "Serenity" by "Parallax Breaks". This can be found on a super compilation of breaks and trippy beats called "Evolved Breaks" which was released by Morphosis Records a few years ago. Still sounds pretty fresh if you ask me. They have a sub label called Morphosis Limited which is a great source for progressive breaks geared towards the club scene from some of the best artists in the genre.

Continuing on we have "Digital Parasite" from Skaarjj. This was one of the best breaks tunes I heard in 2011. Played this one quite a lot last year. It comes from the chaotic compilation "Need For Beat" which is a total headphone wrecker !

French psy-breaks producer Peter Guildoux aka MartOpetEr is up next with the bass heavy track "Acid Rain" remixed by Lady Packa. This reminds me off that old minimal psytech tune "Vibes From The Other Side" by another French artist , Paps ( Stéphane Papin ) back around 1999. I think it's something to do with all those low bass frequencies shaking my internal organs. Available from Peter's Beatport page.

We then move into a sweet little breaks tune from Leuce Rythms. Leuce Rhythms are a DJ / producer duo that have been DJing and creating music since 2003. With a philosophy in fusing together all that is good in electronic music - from pumpin' funkin' breaks to the down-right filthy electro. This one you can find over at the award winning Scarcity Records label.

Monk3ylogic step up next with the tune "Bass Effex" remixed by Hedflux. Monk3ylogic, Liquid Records, Broken Records and Broken Robot Records, is the current project of Mike Connell (aka B3yondControl & Mike Method) and William Bolam (aka Subliminal System). Hailing from the streets of Bristol they have now created a lot of excitement in the Psy Breaks and Psychedelic Tech-Funk genre. Swirling psychedelic sound scapes, techy lead lines and driving bass lines are the cornerstones to Monk3ylogic's unique sound. With a ton of top tens and No.1's on the breaks charts of Beatport and Trackitdown these guys are really ripping it up over the best 2 years or so. This tune also charted highly on Beatport reaching number 5 on their breaks chart in 2011.

Now after that tune has cleaned out your sinuses we continue with Hedflux again teaming up with Neurodiver to deliver their hit tune "Energy Vibration" which has been so wonderfully remixed this time by MartOpetEr. If you are sensing a trend here you are right - a lot of psybreaks and techbreak artists mix and remix each others work. This is a welcome approach as it keeps the tunes fresh and creates a lot of good relationships in a scene where each artist encourage and support their friends and fellow musicians. The Energy Vibrations remix EP is an absolute gem so track it down sometime.

Another hit remix is up next with the track "Cortex" by "Bad Tango" and its superb remixed by Monk3ylogic. Bad Tango is the Psychedelic Tech-Funk project of Cambridge based producer Will Railton. Will has made a tremendous impact on the Psychedelic, Breakbeat and Tech-Funk scenes in a short amount of time. After his first release in January 2011, Will topped a numer of download charts with a string of exciting releases on a variety of labels; Exogenic, Yellow Finger and Logariddim to name a few, and was quickly scooped up by pioneering UK label Broken Robot. Within a year of his first release, Will received a nomination at the 2012 Breakspoll International Breakbeat Awards for 'Best New Producer', as well as making the shortlists in a number of other categories. This is super funk psypunk that is so addictive.

More beats ! More bass ! Okay, continuing on we have Kaba and Obscene Frequenzy together with their track No Feet which you can grab from the two track EP "Dance Time" on Divergence label. Both Kaba and O.F come from Spain where they teamed up to produce this very tasty E.P. Download more from the EP at the Beatport page.

Keeping it all in the family again it's time to bring Leuce Rythms back this time on remix duty for the track Surrender by UK breakbeat producer Digibox. This was released a few years back on the Surrender EP by Italian label Dirty Drop Records.

Another awesome Breaks label "Broken Robot" is home to our next track "Black Hole" by producers Luqas and Broken Eye. Broken Robot is also where you can find more tunes from the likes of Hedflux, Monk3ylogic, Neurodriver, RMS & Peak. With a sound rooted in high-tech breaks and encompassing influences from psychedelia, techno and electro, the label is constantly pushing new hybrid sounds, whilst keeping the focus on the dancefloor.

Russian producer "Alter Form" provides us with the next single, the dark and twisty breaks that is "Black Furies". This was put out earlier this year through digital label Ego Shot Recordings which formed back in 2008. The label is a sub-label of Morphosis Records which I mentioned earlier when talking about Parallax Breaks. Yes we have come full circle again ! They have been releasing some really amazing music of late so why not follow him on Facebook and keep up to date on all things Ego Shot including free download links too !

And so we reach the end of today's mix and we close it out with one of the best psybreaks twisty crisps tunes of present - Infected Mushroom's "Nation Of Wusses".

Musically it is never easy to know what to expect from a new Infected Mushroom release. Of course one can expect the usually high quality production, a bit of tounge-in-cheek and something a little different but I wasn't expecting this I must say. They boys have come such a long way since the late 90's when the pioneered a new style of psytrance. With close to 1,000,000 facebook fans, a new album out and what looks to be a mind-boggling new stage show I.M have become quite a global sensation and it's all down to hard work - they tour endlessly all over the world !

Well it's time to give my fingers a rest and get outside and get reacquainted with the sun. Hope you enjoy the mix guys. I think I'll be slowing things down a touch for the next mix as a few people have been asking for another minimal ambient or another ambient dub mix so I'll see what I can do over the next week or two. Thanks for listening and hope you are all enjoying the summer/winter holidays. Cheers ...

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