Ra – To Sirius

Prepare to engage warp drives and activate your stargates, for DAT Records has once again propelled us deep into the cosmic unknown with the reissue of RA's legendary masterpiece, "To Sirius." Like a voyage aboard the USS Enterprise under the steadfast command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard - DAT Records' mastermind Draeke being our musical counterpart - the mission is clear: to boldly go where no Goa trance aficionado has gone before.

From the opening cosmic chords of "Prologue," listeners are invited through an ancient stargate, spiraling towards a sonic universe brimming with psychedelic energy and celestial wisdom. The hypnotic journey through "Astral Flight" feels akin to navigating the wormholes of Stargate SG-1, traversing through vibrant nebulas and ancient alien civilizations. RA's meticulous sound design resembles mentoring Starfleet cadets, patiently guiding the listener through intricate layers of melody and rhythm, illuminating the mysteries of cosmic consciousness.

The track "Universal Key" serves as a psychedelic portal to the Q Continuum itself - ethereal, transcendent, and brimming with omnipotent energy. As each track unfolds, the listener encounters alien worlds: from the mystical landscapes of "Beyond Control" to the pulsating rhythms of "Other Self," reminiscent of alien rituals discovered on distant planets.

Disc Two, "Rebirth," acts like discovering Atlantis in Stargate Atlantis - ancient, sophisticated, and brimming with hidden technologies of sound. The collaboration with Dimension 5 on "Mooncake - Tribes of the Moon" delivers an interstellar council meeting of galactic proportions, bridging universes with interdimensional wisdom.

The additional disc, "The Early Years," serves as a prequel series, revealing the formation of RA's sonic identity. Tracks like "Cheops (Spirit Nomad)" and "Iris" resonate like cadets' first exploratory missions, raw yet filled with promise, charting the early stellar coordinates of their celestial journey.

Accompanying this star-bound experience is a meticulously detailed booklet - our starship’s logbook - crafted by Draeke himself, the Jean-Luc Picard of psychedelic preservation, documenting RA’s profound musical evolution and illuminating their voyage through the expansive psychedelic universe.

DAT Records' reissue of "To Sirius" is not merely music; it's a psychedelic star trek through ancient stargates and alien landscapes. It's an invitation from the Q Continuum itself, beckoning listeners to transcend mundane reality and explore the infinite possibilities of the cosmic realm.

I didn't know that DAT Universe had been working on this, especially for several years, but I'm so glad they were and have now released it. The original album sounds stellar with the new mastering, along with the full version of 'Astral Flight'. The tracks found on disc 2 and 3 are also great additions to have, there isn't a single track that I find boring on here, and there's many that I enjoy a lot. The booklet has been a really fun read, too.

A terrific album. Don't get gouged for it though. A new Deluxe limited 3CD set is being issued via the DAT Universe label on 28th February this year. Orderable direct from their bandcamp page. I've waited a long time to get a copy and have pre-ordered. I will review the new edition when I get the discs.

Update: Digital is now out. Sounds fantastic. They found a full 15 minute version of Astral Flight. Superb. 31 tracks, and they went back to the original DATs. CDs are supposed to ship out on the 10th March.

One of a small handful of great post-millennial releases in the genre of Classic Goa Trance. Like the others who managed to pull off post millennial masterpieces in this genre, Ra is to be commended. Thanks to Ra for keeping the light of authentic Goa Trance burning when most other's had burned out or moved on to the status quo of repetitive and soul numbing psytrance. After years of waiting I was finally able to purchase a NM copy of this Vinyl.......a very important part of the history of Classic Goa Trance.

yea . this is RA. the RA we all know. Not the one that came after with 9th and such.. forget those and pick this one ... then you will see...

Odd thing. I must have picked this one up way back when in Zagreb, in a more or less regular music shop, and never thought that much of it. Pretty dope goa trance, if not terribly predictable and repetitive.

R.O.M. (Reign Of Madness) was, and still is in my ears, the absolute stand out here. Give it a try first, and if you like it, you ought to feel the remainder of the album as well. Overly melodic, heavy eastern influences and, for the most part, pretty upbeat and dance friendly.

It's still a far cry from their Dimension 5 material, namely "Transdimensional", as it's hopelessly buried in tons of redundant samples and the eastern melodies do become tedious sooner than one had hoped for. They're just overused and exaggerated.

That does not make it a bad album though. The old school loving goa crowd will be pretty much over it, as "To Sirius" has in tact most of the elements that attract it: uplifting melodic ages, mystical vibes, plenty extraterrestrial culture references and enough eastern musical promises to cover three albums of this length.
For me however, this hardly cuts it nowadays. If you want a more elaborate sound design from these guys, maybe you should scope out their album recorded under the Electron Wave moniker. The Hunab-Ku one is even fluffier than this one, so if this wasn't your cuppo,skip it.

Their Dimension 5 work is compulsory if you are an old trance head, or a decent melody aficionado. The odd thing I was referring to in my first sentence, actually, was that I never imagined this one would become a sought after rarity in a decade or so! Maybe I would have held on to my CD better :-)

An all-time favourite. Seductively sensual mystic vibes on this incredible album that defines Goa trance. Some have denigrated this sort of psytrance as "dolphin-swimming" music; I say that swimming with dolphins is an otherworldly experience here on planet earth. Christer Borge-Lunde (and the other artists) I salute you! ~*~

Absolutely superb album. Acidic synths in a true old school Goa style, pulsing kicks, chunky basslines, and top notch production to boot. Melodic and also quite dark at the same time, but never cheesy.

Every track here is a winner, no fillers, and the Prologue and Epilogue are a nice touch, rounding off the whole experience. As mentioned before the tracks do sound similar to one another, but rather than sounding monotonous or samey, it only helps to give the album a nice flow from beginning to end.

Outstanding.

Superb album! I just listened to it about 5 times in a row for old time's sake. The music is very powerful, darkish and melodic with eastern melodies.

On first listen I thought Astral Flight was the best track. Later on I fell in love with Sign Of Light and Beyond Control. I'm sure now that all the tracks are approximately equally wonderful! There's no doubt whatsoever in my mind that this is a 5/5 release.

The style here isn't overly creative and all the tracks sound similar but it's definitely not boring. The only negative thing about this album is that lots of the samples, while saying cool things, sound cheesy, most notably the ones in Universal Key.

If you like melodic goa like Astral Projection and epic stuff like Dimension 5 this album is for you. If you're lucky you might even find the original mixed version. Prepare to meet and be teased by Ra the sun god!

Pure melodic old skool Goa bliss from back in the days. Well, actually this was released two years after the reign of the melodic school but this could might as well have been released in 1995. Some of it sounds very Astral Projection inspired but with a more sticky edge. Monotonous and … well, that and melodic. And like not much else released in 2000/2001.

My favourite is perhaps Universal Key that rose straight to my list of essential goa tunes. POOWW!! It’s taste, of course, but AP lovers should love this. Still, it competes with Initiated which is so ridiculously relentless it lacks words. Just coming at you. This is the dark edge of psytrance I fell in love with in the mid nineties. Yet maybe it’s even Sign Of Life that ends taking that prize. Combining dark with melodic it’s even more haunting. AUUCHH! And R.O.M. is not much worse! By this time the album is flowing into Neverland and I’m kicking my head I didn’t know about this album back in 2000. DOOIOOIOONG!

And with 3 Capital Letter exclamations in one comment an album can’t make a much better grade.