Astral Projection

Avi Nissim and Lior Perlmutter, performing as Astral Projection, are among the founding figures of Israeli psytrance and Goa trance globally. The two met in primary school and started making electronic music together in 1989 under the name SFX, releasing the 1991 Israeli-scene single "Monster Mania" before relocating briefly to New York where Lior released the 1992 single "JBIE" before returning to Israel in 1994. The Astral Projection project crystallised in early 1995 around the new Trust in Trance Records label, and the duo's first single under the name — "Mahadeva", released on Smart Records Copenhagen in 1995 — became one of the foundational documents of Goa trance. Their albums Trust in Trance (1996), Dancing Galaxy (1997), Another World (1999), and Amen (2002) constitute the most influential body of work the Israeli Goa scene has produced. "Mahadeva", "Another World", "Trust in Trance", and the broader catalogue have remained dance-floor staples across thirty years and across every iteration of the global psy festival circuit (Boom, Ozora, Universo Paralello, Symbiosis, Earthcore). Beyond their own catalogue, Avi Nissim and Lior Perlmutter co-founded Trust in Trance Records — one of the foundational labels of the entire psytrance lineage, releasing material from Israeli and international psy artists across the late-90s peak. The duo continues to perform at major psy festivals worldwide, and their influence on subsequent Israeli producers (Astrix, Captain Hook, Ace Ventura, Vini Vici) is direct and frequently acknowledged. With ten albums to their name and thirty years of continuous activity, Astral Projection are essentially the lineage that the modern Israeli psy scene traces itself back to.