Sandoz 25 - First Chapter EP

Early (dare I say it) trancey record from 1993 on Injection Records.

This is from the same staple as some of the Harthouse/Frankfurt brigade and is a great wee set of four bangin' acidy trancey tunes. I reckon there's always a time and a place for this kinda shit and I've said before and will no doubt say it again - early 90s trance was no bad thing. Years before it became a by-word the formulaic shite listened to by teenage day-glo Mitsubishi guzzlers, this sort of stuff used to get played back at the likes of Pure and always went down a storm.

A1, B1 and B2 are the big dancefloor tracks (a couple of jumps on B1, apologies for that). Lots of intense noises, synthy breakdowns, acid squelchings and that staple of any trance track, the big build-up. A2 slightly more 'home listening' but it's all relative I guess.

Give it a bash - listen without prejudice as someone once said...



Sandoz 25 - First Chapter EP
A1 - Polytone
A2 - Into Space
B1 - Shellshock
B2 - Rise

Buy it here

The Visions Of Shiva - How Much Can You Take?

A while back I stuck up some early trancey stuff and it seemed to go down OK, although I did get a well-deserved slagging in some of the comments. Early trance, mind (1993). Here's another one from the vaults, featuring Cosmic Baby and Paul Van Dyk's Visions Of Shiva project.

They released two 12"s - this one and Perfect Day (which is lurking about somewhere). I first came across this on the X-Mix 1 album, which was the first time I'd seen a 'mix album', ie on vinyl. For about 6 months I loved the MFS label and tried to pick up as many of the tracks on this as possible.

The names of the mixes here are quite appropriate, as the 'Physical' one's much clubbier in feel, but I still rate 'em both, despite the fact that the mere mention of Mr PvD is likely to send some of you running. Come back! Trust me on this one...



The Visions Of Shiva - How Much Can You Take?
A - How Much Can You Take? (Emotional)
AA - How Much Can You Take? (Physical)

Buy it here

Atom Heart - Globescanner EP

A great EP of acid tracks from Atom Heart here.

A1's a bit trancey, but don't be put off by the 'T' word - it's from 1993, waaay before it became a by-word for lowest-common-denominator day-glo '16 bars of drum roll before I burst' kinda shit.

The rest wouldn't sound out of place on an early Hardfloor EP - lots of HARD acid with some flange (yee-hah!), whooshing noises, hissing hi-hat, squelchy noises, you know the drill...



Atom Heart - Globescanner EP
A1 - Globescanner
A2 - 101
B1 - Rhizom
B2 - Pulsatrix

Buy it here

Ramin - Vol III - Moonchild

Not a cover of the Fields Of The Nephilim track but you can't have everything. This is a FAB trance track from 1993 on the Save The Vinyl label, that one where the label took up much more than it's regular alloted bit in the middle and the track ended about halfway across the record (I've adjusted the picture size accordingly).

Unlike a lot of early trance records I'd say this one's aged pretty well. Despite the fact that the drums POUND LIKE FUCK it's a gentle wee number, good for home/iPod listening.



Ramin - Vol III - Moonchild

Buy it here

Gilgamesh - Trescore

This is a lost classic - kinda Detroit trance, if that makes any sense. Listen to it and you'll see what I mean. It just builds and builds. One of those ones that when I first heard it out I had to go up and ask what it was, then somehow remember the details till the Monday morning trip to Rub-A-Dub. Pre-Shazam days, indeed!



Gilgamesh - Trescore

Buy it here