S.U.N Project

A psychedelic trance act from Hamburg in Germany. Three people involved, and they are:

Way back in 1992 these were 3 Hamburg based Heavy Metal musicians who decided to spend a holiday in Goa, India. The home of psychedelic trance, however they knew nothing about it and had never been exposed to it before. The story goes that they had never even given the idea of producing computer based music any thought at all. But after experiencing some parties for themselves they realized they had discovered something beyond what they had ever imagined before. As I'm sure anyone who has fallen in love with psy-trance can tell you, it's nothing short of a revelation.

After their return, okay - three years later to be more precise - action was taken. Computers and synthesizers were purchased and the exploration began. In 1996, the name S.U.N Project was decided upon. When asked what it means the only statement they make, is this:

"Many people ask us about the meaning of S.U.N. For people who don't like us it means S.tupid U.nrespectable N.oise. For the rest it just means SUN which is something that everyone likes. It's something positive. To be honest - the dots between the letters are only to make people wonder about the meaning of the name... and it seems to work! If this should be too trivial for you... sorry!"

That same year Antaro, of Spirit Zone Records, heard some of their work and most importantly, liked what he heard. Knowing it sounded very different to any other trance around at the time he offered to release his favourite tracks on 12 inch. The guys then began to focus on their live act and developed a strong performance style integrating their instruments and the computer. And are always proud to describe their act as a 'psychedelic-rock-trance-show'. Which just about sums it up really.

Their metal roots can still most certainly be heard in the music, with the amazing use of electric guitar and drums combined with synth sounds to create an experience not quite like anything else. Good example (and personal favourite) 360 Volt off the album Zwork. The combinations of sounds bring about an experience that is completely uplifting, even within the pretty uplifting genre that is psy-trance. It seems to capture a feeling that I can best describe as pure happiness, with none of the slightly darker undertones that you can find in some other tracks from certain acts such as Hallucinogen.

As a live act they are highly rated and put on a show that has seen them play at some of the biggest trance festivals around the world, covering the USA, Japan, Brazil, Israel and most of Europe. They have released 4 original albums, a remix set and a compilation based on the most guitar focused work. The discography so far:

Very generally speaking the albums tend to have 2 or 3 tracks that show off the guitar while the rest are more traditional, but still unique sounding, examples of psy-trace. While the last track is sometimes totally ambient, like a little piece of the chill room after the madness that preceded it, just perfect. Both Marco and Mc Coy are active in other projects, both solo and with other Dj's. These side acts take shape in the form of Ouija, Slap and C.O.N.sequencer. All trance style acts, but those are another story.