Mahkina - Entities [Pyramid Fields]

Artist(s)
Mahkina
Release title
Entities
Label name
Pyramid Fields
Release date
Feb 14, 2025
Release type
EP
Link to external store
https://neptunediscs.bandcamp.com/album/mahkina-entities

Breach

Member
Dec 28, 2023
36 Posts
28 Thanked
My word, what an EP. 1, 3 and 4 are outstanding. Super trancey release.
 

Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
2,712 Posts
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Sweden
Sounds like most other of the nutrance stuff once again. Isnt there anything more distinct sounding out there? You guys keep reposting the same-sounding stuff now since 3-4 years back. Whats up?
 
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Breach

Member
Dec 28, 2023
36 Posts
28 Thanked
Sounds like most other of the nutrance stuff once again

So what? A formula in itself is not good or bad. I assume you liked Enigma State tracks from the last few years? If so this is sounding like hundreds, maybe thousands of other tracks. But it's good because its done well, despite it sounding like the majority of Trance releases. Every sound has potential to do something good.
 

Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
2,712 Posts
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Sweden
So what? A formula in itself is not good or bad. I assume you liked Enigma State tracks from the last few years? If so this is sounding like hundreds, maybe thousands of other tracks. But it's good because its done well, despite it sounding like the majority of Trance releases. Every sound has potential to do something good.
It really depends on many factors. I did not like ALL of the ES tracks. I judge them as single tracks of their own. Everything will be subjective in the end anyways. I think this is a pretty uninteresting release. Yes i like some sounds/parts which are solid but as a package it sounds bland and unfocused and its the blandness that for me is the reason most of these nutrance/housey trance hybrids are boring. They are always very loose/too repetitv and doesnt care a great deal about building any momentum or interesting developments. Especially the more "trancy" ones. The housey tracks however are often better for some reason. And yeah i get that they do their tracks as such on purpose. But if your tracks are more repetitiv without much development it needs much more distinct/unique sounds to make up for it imo. And they often dont have that.

I always like when dance music breaks free of the restraint of sounding repetitv even if it is a genre that is based upon repetition.
 
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m_st

Member
Dec 24, 2022
209 Posts
228 Thanked
it does have a sound we are all familiar with now. but i hear enough to separate it above and get me excited and returning to the samples.

i wonder who was the first to make this kind of music we call nu-trance and nu-prog today. must be in 2019 or 2020?
 
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Manofearth

Senior Member
Sep 24, 2020
497 Posts
284 Thanked
That first one sounds very housey, not typical "nu-music", It sounds good. The rest does fall into the category of typical, but i'll view each release in isolation and I like what I hear this time around. The 3rd one I think I like the most here.
 

TRANCEBLASTER

Elite Member
Jul 21, 2020
1,407 Posts
1,876 Thanked
Spectral Bonds and Godform are both really great.
yes, those two woud be also my picks, the full 'Spectral Bonds' is already on bandcamp

Mahkina - Spectral Bonds [Pyramid Fields]

i wonder who was the first to make this kind of music we call nu-trance and nu-prog today. must be in 2019 or 2020?
imo the 'Trance' revival started in 2016 when 'Konstantin Sibold - Mutter [Running Back]' became a BIG hit in Europe, djs and producers recognised that people are liking (still, or again) trancey types of melodies and a little dose of 'Trance' melted with 'Techno' or 'House' doesn't hurts so much. also some djs like 'Nina Kraviz' or 'Nthng' started to playing old skool 'Trance' tunes in their sets, later many more djs jumped on this, since then we have alot more vinyl reissues of old obscure 'Trance' records from the 90's then ever. the 'Trance Wax' releases also started in 2016.. and the first bigger 'nu-trance' releases were 'Ex-Terrestrial - Euphorbia EP [Magicwire]' from 2018 and 'Bliss Inc. - Radial Reality EP [Magicwire]' from 2019.. also 'DJ Metatron – Loops Of Infinity (A Rave Loveletter) [All Possible Worlds] from 2020 sold more than 2000 copies of vinyl
 

Hensmon

Admin
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
3,560 Posts
3,189 Thanked
UK
'Bliss Inc. - Radial Reality EP [Magicwire]' from 2019

Yeah this was the one I was thinking of, also the Hacking The Planet EP (shared back in 2020 on the forum here ). It has that sound that is so common now. Glen S and Guy Contact really come to mind. It's pointed out in the thread that Maruwa - Ultraworld in released a few months before this release sounds exactly the same. Both are Russian.

Good memory for the Ex-Terrestial release too, I picked up both mixes of Mojave Skyline, which are so good. Was he the first then, for this nu-proggy sound, specifically?
 
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m_st

Member
Dec 24, 2022
209 Posts
228 Thanked
from another realm - good one. god form also excellent.

best ep from the year so far i believe
 

Trance4Ever

Senior Member
Dec 18, 2021
543 Posts
286 Thanked
I only truely loved Godform, wow! but i also agree with Daysleeper here, some essential ingredients are missing despite having some great parts, not having to worry about a build up / release of tension with this sub genre, as it just keeps on going on in a repetitive manner, which can indeed sound blend and directionless (if a single track is sounding like 100 different trance tracks out there)..then its basically aiming for jack of all trade and not too confident within itself which can also = immature in a way as its a 'hoping' to please potential new fans / target wider audience within the realm of trance and it kinda shows lack of distinctive ideas / artists inability of creating a powerful/techinical melodic layers of complexities (as it relies on samples & various fx) in order to pull your SOUL in gradually needing to listen to the entire track a good few times just to get use to all the elements and then enjoy the subtle stuff placed there intentionally for further proper enjoyment, Godform is sounding great, it shows the potential is there for this type of genre..

Basically pick your poison type of situation, stuff like this sounds more organic and not as digital / sharp sounding as mainstream releases, but at the same time its not as cohesive sounding (as normal / generic ) mainstream trance due to lack of melancholic vibes/ingredients, proper melodical hook with kick/bass combo aka the 'soul / artists signature sound' particle which connects us closer & closer to the music or makes you move closer to the speakers in a dance floor situation.
 
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