Neo Goa
Psy · 2004 · 138 to 148 BPM · also known as New School Goa, Goa Revival
Neo goa is a studious revival of the 1994 to 1997 goa sound, led since the 2000s by devotees who reclaim its machines, its scales and its art of layering. Suntrip Records serves as its parent label. This is not lazy nostalgia: the best neo goa productions rival their models in complexity, and the scene releases as much new material as it reissues old. Its practitioners treat the original goa records as a technical discipline to be mastered rather than a mood to be sampled, painstakingly recreating period hardware and arrangement techniques with a level of precision the genre's original producers rarely had the studio time to achieve.
6 reference tracks
- Filteria: Sky Input (2004)
- Khetzal: Corolle (2005)
- Ephedrix: Trancemission (2009)
- Median Project: In the Depth of Space (2015)
- Median Project: Constellation (2020)
- Filteria: Bring Everything But Whistles (2021)
At a glance
- Tempo: 138 to 148 BPM
- First appeared: around 2004
- Machines: Roland JP-8000, Roland TB-303
- The sound: Arpèges superposés à l'ancienne, Roland JP-8000 et émulations, TB-303 logicielle, Structures longues en spirale
- Labels: Suntrip Records, Metapsychic, Neogoa Records, Cronomi
- Key artists: Filteria, E-Mantra, Artifact303, Median Project
Producing Neo Goa
Neo goa reuses 1995's tempos, 142 to 148 BPM, a touch faster than original goa since its producers grew up on psytrance, on a straight, unswung grid but distinguished by real precision, arpeggio layers quantized to the sample, over 9 to 12 minute tracks counting 16 bar blocks while layering 3, 5 and 6 bar phrases against them. A better produced kick, tuned near 55 Hz, sits under a 909 clap, alternating velocity sixteenth hats, and synthetic congas, tablas and bells, snare rolls kept moderate since real lifts come from arpeggios not drum fills. The bass is continuous sixteenth acid, a TB-303 style sawtooth or square with resonant filtering, accents and slides like the real hardware, sometimes layered with a second, higher line. Arpeggiator lines, a phrygian lead, and period effects like slow phasers finish the picture.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Neo Goa?
Neo goa is a studious revival of the 1994 to 1997 goa sound, led since the 2000s by devotees who reclaim its machines, its scales and its art of layering. Suntrip Records serves as its parent label. This is not lazy nostalgia: the best neo goa productions rival their models in complexity, and the…
What tempo is Neo Goa played at?
Between 138 and 148 BPM.
Who are the key Neo Goa artists?
Filteria, E-Mantra, Artifact303, Median Project.
