The story behind Astral Projection
Astral Projection grew out of Israel’s first wave of trance production and became one of the projects most closely identified with the classic Goa sound. Avi Nissim and Lior Perlmutter had been making electronic music together from the end of the 1980s, initially through earlier names and configurations before Astral Projection emerged as their enduring identity. Their work developed alongside the Trust in Trance label network and helped give the rapidly expanding Israeli scene an internationally recognisable sound.
Albums such as Trust in Trance, Dancing Galaxy and Another World established a style built from long melodic arcs, bright arpeggios, acid detail and densely layered rhythmic motion. Tracks including “Mahadeva”, “People Can Fly”, “Kabalah” and “Dancing Galaxy” became fixtures of the classic repertoire. Although the production language evolved with the wider scene, Astral Projection remained unusually committed to the melodic, expansive side of Goa and Psytrance rather than abandoning it for a completely different genre identity.
The project is still genuinely active rather than surviving only through reissues. Nissim and Perlmutter continue to perform internationally, and Astral Projection’s own channels show new activity throughout 2026. The modern live identity sits alongside an extensively remastered and reissued back catalogue, so current appearances is a continuation of the project itself instead of merely a nostalgia presentation.
Origins of Astral Projection
Evolved from the earlier Israeli project SFX and the Trust In Trance production/release network.
The early years
SFX-era recordings and early Trust In Trance material document a wider membership/collaboration network before the later duo stabilized.
How the career developed
Classic albums in 1996-99 established the duo's melodic Goa identity; later releases carried the project into continuing Psytrance.
Astral Projection sound
Classic Astral Projection is melodic Goa Trance: fast rolling rhythms, layered arpeggios, acid lines, dramatic harmonic movement and long-form arrangements designed to build steadily across a dancefloor. Later work uses more modern Psytrance production weight, but the project’s melodic architecture remains its defining feature.
Place in psytrance history
One of the central projects in the establishment of Israel as a major Goa Trance production scene and an important bridge from the early local network to contemporary Psytrance.
Connections and influence
Influential through a highly melodic, arpeggiated and cosmic form of Israeli Goa Trance.
Astral Projection today
Active in 2026 as Avi Nissim and Lior Perlmutter, with current performances and continuing release activity.
How the sound changed over time
Selected releases in the archive
Related projects and collaborations
Artists with overlapping styles
Laughing Buddha
Jeremy 'Jez' Van Kampen’s UK Psytrance project, with roots in the early Cosmosis era and a long solo career spanning TIP, Flying Rhino, Dragonfly and NANO Records.
Cosmosis
Bill Halsey’s British psychedelic project, rooted in classic Goa Trance but shaped by a guitarist’s feel for funk, phrasing and live musicianship.
Doof
British producer Nick Barber’s Goa Trance project, closely connected to the formative TIP, Dragonfly and Twisted networks of the 1990s.
GMS
Growling Mad Scientists, the Amsterdam-born project of Riktam and the late Bansi, now continued by Riktam as a solo act and central to the rise of modern Full-On Psytrance.
Green Nuns of the Revolution
British Goa Trance group whose fast, acidic and irreverent 1990s productions became a distinctive part of the TIP and Flying Rhino era.
Man With No Name
British producer Martin Freeland’s Goa Trance identity, responsible for melodic 1990s classics such as “Teleport” and “Floor-Essence” and a major bridge between Goa culture and the wider UK trance scene.