Hunab-Ku Magik Mix Contest

Welcome, all, to the Hunab-Ku Magik Mix Contest!

Here you’ll find everything you need to know about how to win a free, original copy of Hunab-Ku’s Magik Universe!

The collectors among you will recognize this CD as one of the rarest and most highly sought-after albums of the old-school Goa trance genre. While this CD would fetch a pretty penny on eBay or the Discogs Marketplace, I am more interested in getting some great mixes out of you old-school collectors and DJs!

There have been numerous attempts in the past at starting “mix contests,” but they always seem to fizzle out without much participation. I love this music and I love creating mixes myself, but I also thoroughly enjoy a good mix that I didn’t have to create. Thus, the idea for the Hunab-Ku Magik Mix Contest was born!

What follows are the description, rules, and tips for winning the contest. Everyone is welcome to participate, from seasoned DJs to collectors to people who just like old-school psytrance.

Contest Summary

Up for grabs is one original, retail copy of Hunab-Ku – Magik Universe [BMPHQCD003]. To win the CD, create an old-school Goa and/or psychedelic trance mix and send a link to an MP3 of your mix to marsh [at] goatranch [dot] com. I will download and listen to each mix as it is submitted, and once we reach the contest deadline I’ll pick my favorite, get the mix creator’s address, and send the CD!

Each submitted mix – unless otherwise specified by the DJ – will also be posted here on the Goat Ranch for everyone’s enjoyment. If you wish your mix to remain solely in my collection for whatever reason (i.e. unreleased tracks, modesty, etc.) please let me know when you submit your mix. These “private” mixes will still be entered in the contest, they just won’t be made available to the masses here on the Goat Ranch. I encourage everyone to create shareable mixes – the point of this thing is to whip up some excitement and get some more of this great music out there!

The Rules

• Submission window: January 1st, 2010 through March 31st, 2010 (3 months)
• Duration: 74 minutes minimum (no maximum)
• Vintage: 1994-1998*
• Style: psychedelic trance, Goa trance, and all sub-genres thereof
• Format: MP3 @ 320kbps or high-qual VBR (-V0)
• Tracklist required
• Description required **
• Source: Vinyl, CD, DAT, MD, high-quality digital, etc.
• Submission limit: Two (2) mixes – one public, one private (see “Tips” below)
• No whining***

* Modern releases of tracks composed during this time period are O.K. (DAT Records, Avatar’s Retrodelic Vibes, and similar). Also, the “perfect” track shouldn’t be excluded if it’s outside the years listed above – this is just the preferred time period.

** A short (or long) description of each mix. When mixed, how long did it take you to assemble the tracks, what was your idea/theme for each mix (if any) and anything else you think you might want myself or others to know about the mixes are all examples of what I’m looking for. A good description of a mix somehow lends personality to it, so sell it with a good description! Your description will be posted along with your mix if you allow it to be posted on the Goat Ranch.

*** If you don’t win, it’s likely not because your mix wasn’t awesome, but more likely that someone else’s just happened to grab me more at the time. Yes, I’m both judge and jury on this thing, but hey – it’s my CD. This is all in good fun – no hard feelings should come out of this contest!

Submitting a Mix

Send an email to marsh [at] goatranch [dot] com containing the tracklist and a description (required!) of your mix, along with a download link to the MP3.

Don’t forget to specify whether the mix is public and can be posted here on the Goat Ranch, or if you wish it to remain in my private collection listenable only by myself.

Winning Tips

• Take your time. You have three months to select your tracks and put together a mix, so don’t rush it. Have fun with it and don’t stress!
• Include rare tracks, vinyl B-sides, unreleased and/or other uncommon tracks. Including a “hit” here and there is fine, but I want to avoid getting 20 mixes all with Alcyone and Gamma Goblins.
• As mentioned, unreleased tracks are welcome (even encouraged) but at the same time, I’m wanting you to put a mix together that others can also enjoy. I’m a fiend for the Etnica/Pleaidians live stuff and NN – Unknown super-duper-pooper-stompers too, but if you include one or more unreleased tracks, think about whether you want this to cause the mix not to see the light of day beyond my headphones.
• In fact, submitting a “public” mix along with a private mix will garner some brownie points. If you believe your mix full of super l33t unreleased monsters will win you the CD, sending a “public” mix in addition to the private one is just good form.
• Your mix doesn’t have to be technically perfect, but ambient-fade instead of trainwrecking every transition, please. An occasional sloppy mix is expected and can even lend character to a mix, but I’d much rather have 100% ambient fades than 50% trainwrecks.
• Psychedelia FTW. Hyper-melodic mixes can be great, but there is SO much more old-school psytrance out there than the Blue Moon Productions/Astral Projection-type stuff that deserves play time. Please don’t be afraid to create tweaky, techy, hard, dark, or even wacky and weird mixes. Think outside the box, this is psychedelic trance, after all!
• Having said that – play what you dig! A DJ mixing stuff he or she isn’t really into will show. If you love the music the mix will tell that story, and that’s what I want.

Questions?

Please see the Hunab-Ku Magik Mix Contest Q&A

That’s about it for now, I think. I’ll add more tips as I think of them. Feel free to ask questions via the comment form below (or email).

Good luck, everyone! Can’t wait to hear your submissions!