Hunab-Ku Magik Mix Contest – Q&A

I’m seeing a lot of interest in the contest (woohoo!) and have received quite a few questions. Where appropriate, I’ve updated the original post, but I thought a Q&A page would also be good. I’ll add questions and answers to this post as I receive them.

Q: Is this a joke? Or are you going to sell our mixes?

A: Nope, no joke at all, and I would never sell your mixes. I am truly just interested in generating some excitement in some of the DJs and collectors of old-school Goa, and hopefully getting some of these people to put together some really top-notch, creative, well thought-out Goa trance mixes.

Q: How many people you need to take part for it to be worthwhile for you to let go of the CD?

A: I need at least 10, but I’m optimistic there’ll be more than that.

Q: I only mix vinyl, is this O.K.?

A: Vinyl is welcomed 100%! There is a ton of stuff only available on vinyl, and the more tracks I hear that are new to my ears the more I’ll likely enjoy your mix. Any decent-sounding source format is OK. Hell, if you’ve got an awesome track on cassette you want to include, do it (and show me your cassette-mixing wizardry). 😉

Q: Are pre/proto-goa trance tracks welcome? What if a track isn’t 100% psytrance or Goa but would fit really well in my mix?

A: The “perfect” track shouldn’t be excluded if it’s outside the years or style specified in the rules. Predominantly, however, tracks should lie within the 1994-1998 psychedelic trance, Goa trance, and “all sub-genres thereof” realm. A mix containing a majority of tracks from other genres or years will probably not rate as high as those with mostly 94-98 psytrance tracks with some suprises thrown in.

Having said that, special tracks that you love and that you really want to include can really make a mix special, and can make it stand out from among the rest, so do whatever you like. Creativity and uniqueness sometimes require stepping outside the lines, thinking outside the box. One of my all-time favorite Goa mixes has some weird techno track thrown in, and it worked beautifully. I’m not in the business of stifling creativity.

Q: Can I submit an old mix that I made, rather than create a new one?

The short answer is “Yes.” The long answer is “No”, and goes something like this…

I want to avoid everyone submitting a mix they have laying around that’s been available for years. I want to get people really thinking about their mixes and creating new ones with an eye on uniqueness, creativity, uncommon tracks, good flow or fun themes (or whatever you think might make your mix stand out).

The idea here is that mixes submitted for the contest are newly-created mixes, previously unavailable. Though, if your old mix has seen little or no circulation, especially in the past few years, then I think an exception can be made. Better, however, would be to create a brand new, old-school mix for the contest and digitize and post your old mix as a bonus. But, beggars can’t be choosers, so again, if your old mix hasn’t seen the light of day for years, go ahead and submit it.

Just keep in mind that newly created mixes that take into account everything in the rules and tips and this Q&A (those done just for this contest) will likely have a better chance at winning.

Q: What is your favorite style? Floating, acidic, darkish, light, techy, minimal, super-melodic…?

Taken directly from the “Winning Tips” section of the original post:

“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!”

Though, if read the answer to the above question, “Are pre/proto-goa trance tracks welcome? What if a track isn’t 100% psytrance or Goa but would fit really well in my mix?“, you’ll see that it says you should spin what you dig (though in much lengthier verbage).

Q: I see there’s a 74min minimum duration for the mixes – is there a maximum duration?

A: There is no maximum time limit. I agree that telling a story is important, so if someone needs 90 minutes or 120 or whatever to tell that story, do tell.