Various
Only Promos Ma Poule EP

Following the success of the first Planet Love compilation, Safe Trip has delved even deeper into the roots and formative years of trance music. The result is a vivid snapshot of heady, trance-inducing music released between 1990 and ’95.Like its predecessor, Planet Love 2 does not deliver a straightforward chronological run-down of influential ‘proto-trance’ cuts and key early anthems. Instead, it casts its’ net far wider for inspiration, joining the dots between trance-inducing tracks in a disparate mixture of interconnected styles.Before trance became rigidly defined in the late 1990s, the term was more loosely used as a descriptor, with the tag variously being attached to tracks that combined elements of techno, ambient, breakbeat, deep house, electronica, progressive house, acid, tribal and new beat. What unified these disparate musical strands was an emphasis on groove, melody, atmosphere and – more often than not – psychedelic intent.You’ll find all this and more amongst the 12 colourful and emotive tracks from around the world that make up Planet Love 2. The hard-to-pigeonhole, early ‘90s New York rave scene is represented by the immersive ambient of Lazer Worshippers’ ‘Free Flight’, Revelation’s trippy gem ‘First Power (Domination Dub)’ and the delay-laden drums, held-note new wave chords and psychedelic electronics of ‘Time Warp’ by Moodswings.The UK’s rarely discussed role in the development of early trance – often via tracks that touched on ambient techno and progressive house – is represented by the Obsession Project’s prototype melodic trance obscurity ‘Untitled Part 3’, the Arc’s fast-then-slow rework of The Moody Boyz ‘The Pygmy Song (Nocturnal Version)’ and ‘X O Surf’ from The Deep, a breakbeat-driven workout that defies easy categorization.

A beautifully produced collection of instrumental tracks by The Disciples' Russ Bell-Brown featuring 8 excursions in chill out, atmospheric downtempo and dubby breakbeat. Surely we wouldn't be surprised to hear some of these at a Cafe del Mar sunset session in Ibiza. The way these tracks build up over a gradient (sometimes up to 11 minutes long) from silence to mellowed out spacial trance was clearly not done with industry standards of any sort in mind, allowing the listener to dive deep into the takes of this uncompromising producer. The title Experiments couldn't be more appropriate. In his own words: “This is a collection of tracks recorded in the mid 90`s... not reggae but what i call my `experiments`... downtempo, electronic, ambient, ethnic, jazzy, funky, dubby.... whatever came into my mind.” Surgically re-mastered for vinyl by manmade mastering in Berlin.

First release on Sydney based label Natural-High comes from Neotex with four cuts ranging from club focused music to ambient home listening. Music for your body and mind.