Various – Random

I can't believe 'Great Leap Forward - Sniff' was never released on vinyl; such a great track

Koyote Records based in the UK is surprisingly back with a new compilation! They have been gone for a couple of years, and I’m sure many thought the label was closed down, but here they are with a new compilation called Random. Koyote Records has been a high quality psytrance label for many years, releasing albums by Menis, Ominus, Miranda, the debut album by Hux Flux, among others.

When you look at the track list you might think that this is a mixed compilation, but it’s not. Most of the tracks are pretty short. First out is an artist called Mantak (N. Connely) who has two tracks on this compilation. This is a short, floating ambient track with some mystic, almost scary sounds. Interesting start. Track 2 is by an artist called Captain Ginger (S. Kaskamandis) who also has two tracks on this compilation. Here we also get a slow ambient track, with some city street life sounds and groovy bass guitar. After a little while, we get some relaxed dubby rhythms. Nice one, but very short. Track 3 is by Sam Spacey (S. Haymann). This one starts with dubby beats and some weird sound drops above. Then the beats take a break and we get a beautiful piano playing. After a while, this goes over to some kind of 80’s electro vibe. Really nice. One of my favourite tracks on this compilation. Track 4 is by an artist that is a bit more well known in the psy scene. It is made by Great Leap Forward (M. Katz). This track was also released on the chill out compilation called Floating Point 01 on Iboga Records in Denmark. This was actually one of my absolute favourites on that compilation. A very trippy, but chilled track. Great Leap Forward has also released an album on Flying Rhino Records called Cinkofa in 2001. Great track! Track 5 is by an artist called Erik The Viking (E. Viking). Now we jump from chilled beats to pumping trance. The trance we get here is not very massive, and the sounds we get above the pumping bass line are pretty relaxed and floating. Then we get a new track by Aphid Moon (J. Hamer) who is releasing music everywhere these days. Here we continue the trance vibe, with a groovy, stumping bass line. Above we get some guitar sounds and funky sounds. Personally I think this track gets a bit boring.

Track 7 is by another star in the psytrance scene called Polaris (A. Stengel). Now the compilation is built up to full on. Here we get a massive rolling bass line and psychedelic sounds jumping in and out above. Pure night time full on trance. Track 8 is by someone called Front Minimale (B. Jacobsen). This track continues the dark night time trance. Totally, stumpy, heavy beats and dark sounds jumping in and out, but it could have been a bit more varied. Track 9 by Angels Vs. Aliens (L. Harper and B. Grubb) is just a little short track with a child telling us something, with a scary sound in the background. Track 10 by Humito (H. Bacchus) sounds even more scary. It has some floating, dark sounds and groovy bass. This is a very experimental, weird track. Humito has also released a couple of tracks on the chilled side label of Dragonfly Records called Liquid Sound Design. Track 11 by Machineries Of Heaven (R. Di-Prisco) is a psychedelic drifting track. Chilled with mystic floating melodies and a slow dubby rhythm. Track 12 by Revolution Void (J. Dempcy) is a bit lighter. Dubby chill out with some easy piano melody above. Track 13 is another track by Captain Ginger. Here we get a funky track with mostly acoustic guitar. Things are a bit softer in this one. Track 14 by Yuji Hosoe is a bit more experimental again. Slow dubby vibe, with weird melodies and sounds swirling in and out. Track 5 is a totally relaxed track with some nice ethnic female vocals and sitar. Track 16 is actually the last music track on this compilation. It is made by Mantak, who also started this compilation. Here we get a relaxed track with funky guitar, floating vibes and some beautiful female vocals. Nice one. At the end here, we get a little bonus, which is just a child giggling.

This compilation is a really varied journey! Here you go from slow ambient to dub, from dub to trance and back again. We get a lot of total unknown names, but also several well know. It's good to see that Koyote is back.