THE SECOND ROOM PRESENTS:
CD Case -- Ambient
“Sub Signals – Volume 1,” mixed by Gaudi (Interchill Records, Mariko Music)

Released at the end of 2006, this first installment in the Sub Signal series carries a peculiar but telling caveat on the cover: “Woofer Advisory – Explicit Bass.”

This is understatement. Gaudi has laid down 12 tracks that are about 90 percent bass.

Prepare to ease yourself into “Sub Signals” deep universal beats, defined and unified by warm fat bass. Dub fans are gonna’ love this one. Chill floor fans will appreciate the new low-end vibes as most of these tracks are unreleased.

Interchill, under the direction of Andrew Collins, Naasko and Nick Edell, traversed the far reaches of the ambient soundscape on tranquil and mystic journeys of aural exploration last year with releases like “Arcana” and “Sanctuary” in the Spectrum series. Beyond the next release we’re going to talk about, Interchill in looking to release new creations from Pushmipulyu, Umberloid, Ashtech and Liquid Stranger.

CD Case -- Ambient
“Bliminal,” compiled by Andrew Ross Collins (Interchill Records, Mariko Music)

Interchill’s first release for 2007 is more than just a clever trick of the name.

“Bliminal,” which is not a word in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary but seems like it should be, captivates you right on its’ entrancing cover and sidelines you with the thought, “Is there something missing?”

Even subliminally, there is no way for anyone within reach of the “Play” button to confuse this compilation with “Sub Signals.” For we are now out of that deep end of the bass pool, sidestroking the vibe into brighter waters.

But Mr. Collins is indeed cunning. Because you know this is leading somewhere, despite being an obvious “return to the deep, luscious and universal chill sounds that Interchill is known for.” Masterful praise I wish I’d written first for a masterful chill album that’s going to give us a nice foundation for the Journey of 2007.

If “Bliminal” is any indication, the year ahead is all about freshness, with a renewed emphasis on originality from the likes of Greg Hunter, Eat Static, Legion of Green Men and Ishq, which scored a divine 15-plus-minute journey called “Nepalese Sun.”

THE SECOND ROOM PRESENTS:

DVD Case -- “The Gathering 2006” (Vision Quest Records, 4,935 yen)

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The fifth in “The Gathering” movie series by Vision Quest Tokyo, 147 minutes, features video clips for 14 live acts, five DJs and finale; 10 unreleased tracks. Filmed entirely on location at PalCall Tsumagoi Ski Resort in Gunma Prefecture, Sept. 14-16. 2006, directed by MJM Japan.

“The Gathering 2006” outshines its predecessors in every comparable category: video quality, shot composition, digital editing and effects, sound, music selection, stage control. To date, this is the most solid single-event DVD yet produced for the psychedelic trance scene in Japan. This production is even more phenomenal when you take into account the rain, mountain mist, dew and mud that framed this entire weekend.

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At right, The Second Room’s Top 5 Gathering clips: Melicia, Astrix, Skazi, Dino and SUN Project, with Matthias’ guitar ablaze. (Screenshots from “The Gathering 2006”)

In the beginning, there was a circle of Seven Dwarf stools upon which sat great thinkers sharing fantastical ideas about how to make the people dance.


From these meetings of minds, complex plans were born for huge outdoor gatherings featuring the world’s best psychedelic trance artists in an end-of-summer Japan showcase event that would become their permanent signature.


The famed stools upon which The Gathering was created have been retired, but it was atop these wooden dwarves that a unique sense of excellence developed which has made each summer’s Gathering better than the year before.


Building an event like this to the point where you can book up to 17 A-list live acts, rent out a huge ski complex with a big hotel and get a whole hot springs resort town to welcome -- during a prime holiday weekend -- several thousand colorful young people who will come regardless of the weather requires a certain kind of finesse toward customer relations that is the real signature of Vision Quest Tokyo.

Starting with The Gathering 2002, Vision Quest added a new dimension to our final romp of the summer by deploying nearly a dozen video cameras for the purpose of making a movie. This was, as many remember, the Gathering where Bryan Burton Lewis jumped out of the helicopter and parachuted in for his DJ set (ala Austin Powers sans machineguns), all captured on video.


Three months later, just in time for the yearend holidays, the first Gathering DVD (with CD compilation) was released. It was for many of us who were at the rave the first look at this memorable unannounced stunt. That was the first buzz. Then people started to notice something else in the movie – themselves. And the buzz evolved into something new.

"2002” was not only the first real must-see, must-have DVD for the psychedelic trance crowd in Japan, it spawned the irresistible notion of “I must get myself into next year’s movie,” thus ensuring sales of a future product in a market that then was almost nonexistent.

And more. When once the sight of a video camera at a trance party used to send people scurrying to preserve their anonymity, the kids now position themselves and resort to all sorts of wacky looks and behavior just to get the cameraman’s attention.

Fast-forward to 2006. The DVD is now an integral part of The Gathering, designed into the scheme of the show, with crane cameras sprouting from the front of the stage, time-code synchronization and a dedicated audio feed.

Vision Quest has finally found the balance they’ve been searching for in producing a multipurpose multimedia product that serves not only the fans, but also the artists and VQ’s own event schedule.