The second installment of A Magical Journey is eclecticism in a mini-skirt, from the Ajana family a sub from Trishula. I didn’t have the pleasure of vegetating to the first installment, but good things were said… bad things were also uttered, but if anything, it seemed like something different from the usual down-beat sphere.

( 1 ) Electrypnose breaks the ice with Ecalypt in a symbiosis of styles and mystery, clouded with piano lines, electro-dub pace changes and didgeridoos tussling in a successful ‘fusion reaction’ as Le Barde might put it. Was it not for the quality of the artists, it would have sunk in delusions of grandeur tying all those themes together. Fortunately, Nabuconodosor sails through the turmoil the right direction. *

( 2 ) Oliver Bach, better known as Olien (possibly a long lost relative of the infamous composer), Debuts his softer alter-ego. A lot of delayed chants and good atmospherics progressing somewhere in this Ozeanic sea of calmed turmoil, without forgetting the theme of ‘magical journey’ for a second. Besides being well honed, the beat might sound like night time material with reduced speeds.

( 3 ) Chronos is yet another new dig from the Ajana/Trishula radar and apparently a full length album of chilled out goodness is on its way. For the teaser, Sky Path ascends calmly to an eventual climax of sentient synths from the emotional era, that should bother me with its unabashed attempt at poignant, cheerful trance… but it doesn’t. Yeah, it might be a bit on the cheesy side, swiveling to a near cliché for some purists, but the delivery is well orchestrated and I don’t find myself bothered by it. *

( 4 ) Unstable Elements bring us back to base line with a noticeable shift in mood, descending to aphotic sides of down tempo. The arpeggio coming in by the end, sheds a little light to this dusk-time effort. From the milieu of effects certain redeeming elements – and not necessarily unstable- break forth as Technical Illusions.

( 5 ) The Atriohm brothers from Macedonia seemed to be stirring a ruckus lately with chill proposals and upbeat material. Their offering here takes prides on being downbeat, with an extra doze of balls and obscurity for hardened chai lounges. There is Hindi/far eastern thing going on with synthetic leads & tribal breaks. I don’t know if it’s Beyond Rituals, but it certainly feels like one. Take it as a compliment. *

( 6 ) Capsula, delights with his most enjoyable piece yet for my taste. This is the progression I had been expecting since his debut last year. Maturity, lounge vibes and ear candy all throughout, marking the Dice Man as you’re classier than average track. It’s soaked with that assertiveness of urban existentialism, and not necessarily the over aching psychedelic dub slap we might have grown accustomed to, while retaining his roots. *

( 7 ) Procs surprises in Fascinating Superhero with his first down-tempo attempt to my knowledge, looking not to stray too far from his playful, melodic knack. Think of it as a really long break inside in of his typical tracks, interesting deviation. *

( 8 ) Galileo Space Mission sounds like bonus track from Psyfactor’s chill repertoire that for x or y reason did not fit in the CD, so they threw in here. Fast beats, assertive synth sound action in its own simple demeanor. Nothing ground breaking once again, lots of emotional content and not much else.

( 9 ) Zoe Wheelings closes the journey with a beak beat slice of retro-sketched beats in the experimental side of things. The Shadow is back remains mildly interesting and nearly lounge-esque by the end with phasing lines, but the beginning of the shindig nearly kills my interest. The merit is simply the kind of music is trying to convey which I don’t you but I don’t hear too often.

Magical Journey is a Byzantine ride through nine rabbit holes interconnected loosely by what ifs and their own personal spice of down-tempo. An achievement in itself if only for the ideas presented herein. Some will draw attention more easily than others in their own paroxysmal micro-verse of cozy vibes, while others might need to travel bit further before we can declare them anything else than over intuitive. A few tracks are simply slowed down versions of what is normal night-time music, while some have dared to go beyond. You could do worse than hear some of these, coming to grips with the fact some people chill out differently than others.