The Simon Posford Appreciation Thread

[duga]

One of the most prolific trance artists out there, Simon Posford is a prodigy. He is the Jimi Hendrix of electronica. First showing up on the scene in the early 90's, he has so far participated in 4 projects all of which contain a signature "Posford-vibe"...and yet they are all different from each other. Hallucinogen, Celtic Cross, Shpongle, and Younger Brother...all amazing and all Posford.

Hallucinogen



Hallucinogen is one of THE original Goa/Psychedelic Trance projects. The album Twisted is so good that I find myself comparing all psytrance albums to it. Fast paced and otherworldly, Hallucinogen is what I put on when I want to dance or when I want to drive really fast.

Celtic Cross



Simon's second project, Celtic Cross only released one album called Hicksville(which is a shame, really). Collaborating with Saul Davies and Martin Glover, I consider Celtic Cross to be the precursor to Shpongle. There is still plenty of straightforward trance to be had, but there is more of a rock vibe and world music influence. This is the Posford project I come to the least, but it still has its place.

Shpongle



Shpongle is probably the project everyone thinks of when they think of Simon Posford. Collaborating with Raja Ram, Shpongle takes what Posford did with Hallucinogen, slows it down, beefs it up, and adds a lot of world music influence. Hallucinogen is a straightforward trance project while Shpongle allows Posford to go wherever he feels with his music. There is trance, ambient, world, idm...Shpongle is considered psytrance but it really shouldn't be classified. Shpongle is good for all times of the day.

Younger Brother



Younger Brother is by far the most different out of all of Simon Posford's projects. Much more chill and ambient, Younger Brother focuses more on atmosphere than texture. There are also quite a few more live instruments (namely guitar) going on than in his other projects. He collaborates with Benji Vaughan who is also credited in some way or other on nearly every Posford release. This is great introspective music. I usually stick this on while reading.

So there you have it. Psychedelic Trance, Trance Fusion, Chillout Trance, and Ambient Trance (if you don't like the genre tags I give these...tough)...all from one guy. He single handedly got me into trance and I have been hungrily devouring everything from the Goa scene since listening to him. So let's give him some love. He is awesome.

[jackhammer]

Quality post. Nice to read about someone I know barely nothing about and a little bit different to the usual type of sounds that get proffered on here. A couple of links would be welcomed!

[duga]

Originally Posted by jackhammer

Quality post. Nice to read about someone I know barely nothing about and a little bit different to the usual type of sounds that get proffered on here. A couple of links would be welcomed!

Glad you enjoyed it! I'm surprised more people don't know about Simon...the guy really knows his ****. I'm going to send you two must haves...Hallucinogen's Twisted and Shpongle's Are You Shpongled? If you would like more past that, let me know...I have all of it! I'm kind of obsessed with this guy's projects.


That being said I just found ANOTHER project from the late 90's that I hadn't heard of called the Dub Trees. I will post more on them later since I'm just getting my hands on their one album.

[duga]

So no one has listened to anything from Simon Posford and the only person interested in listening to him is jackhammer? You guys are all a horrible disappointment.

Looks like you have saved my faith in other people's musical taste once again, jackhammer. You are officially my favorite poster here.

[jackhammer]

I will give a detailed opinion over the weekend my man!

[Tea Supremacist]

Huh, only just noticed this!

Well I've had 'Twisted' and 'The Lone Deranger' lurking around for years. 'Twisted' is a sublime album - It's one of those rarities that will never get old and will always be at the forefront of a genre. I feel safe in saying that Simon Posford has done his bit to shape Psytrance practically on his own!

I was lucky enough to be here earlier in the year:

Frankly, I remember very little of it but enough to recall that this was one of the maddest nights of my life. Given the chance I'd spend any amount of money to go see this guy again!

I can't say I've ever really looked into Celtic Cross that much, but I'll certainly have a listen and look see

Good Call!

[noise]

never cared much for Celtic Cross, but i have all his other stuff. Younger Brother is definitely my favorite, but all is good.

Shpongle pisses me off sometimes though, some of the tracks have long boring intros before the actual music kicks in. i wish it was just keep rolling strong through the whole album...

[duga]

Originally Posted by noise

never cared much for Celtic Cross, but i have all his other stuff. Younger Brother is definitely my favorite, but all is good.

Shpongle pisses me off sometimes though, some of the tracks have long boring intros before the actual music kicks in. i wish it was just keep rolling strong through the whole album...

That's what I find Hallucinogen good for. Those albums are really damn intense from start to finish. With Shpongle he was able to explore a bigger range of tempos and moods. Have you heard Dub Trees yet? I have the album but I haven't listened to it yet. I probably will today.