Here we’ve new record on Echelon White, which showcases more melodic, uplifting trance tracks. George Philips aka Type 41 has returned on the label for the follow up of his 2009 single – ‘Serenity’. I really liked the special progressive club mix from label head Tempo Giusto himself. This one goes beyond what serenity offered and gets more bangin’ after each listen…!! 4 track pack here containing original mixes of Mystik & Lifespark. + Mystik Remixed by POl & Innerstate.
Read more for my take on each track and some samples…
I’ve been a fan of Ali’s work since 2005, and when I noticed his projects with Matt Smallwood, my interest was instantly renewed. These two producers have been around the scene for much longer than I have, and it seems they always manage to stay ahead of the curve with their pounding, driving and fresh takes on tech trance.
This latest effort on powerhouse label Reset Records is a dark and dreamy tech beast that slowly awakens to shake your core. Geez, was that a powerful enough analogy? But I digress…
Muze is a funky little tribal number that tosses in heaps of groovy funk, a growling bassline and a downright infectious in the breakdown that is reminiscent of Marco V’s Automanual. This track slowly creeps up on you and by the end of the track you’re left jonesing for more, but it looks the gents have decided to leave it at this. Here’s hoping we see some remixes in the near future!
Oliver Picart aka Oliver P has come a long way since his colab project ‘Fast Distance’ with Franz Hlusek aka Arpegia created mayhem everywhere around the globe. Their furiously epic journey into trance came to a sad end when they decided to part their ways. Now, Oliver P presents his maiden solo record on Enhanced titled as ‘Lost Without You’, with a remix from another French duo – Karybde & Scylla. Before this he has also remixed Redstar’s latest banger – ‘Evolution’, in case you’ve heard it. Also included the original mix of ‘Philadelphia’. Time to check out some hot ch00ns ATM…!!
Read more for my take on each track and some samples…
Well, as we all know very well, no classic trance tune is safe from the 2010 treatment, and it’s always a wonder how they manage to revive these and turn them into effective crowd pleasers….but time and time again, they do. Don’t get me wrong, often times they don’t, and this latest package does!
Marco V teamed up with Benjamin Bates way back in 1998 to release Luvstruck under the Southside Spinners guise. It was their only track together under that moniker, and for the past few years it seemed the track had been finally laid to rest as a defining trance classic of the late 90s. It turns out this wasn’t what the gents had in mind and in 2010 they’ve recruited a fresh batch of producers to rework the monster into a beast.
In this 6 remix pack are reworks from Marco V himself, Cliff Coenraad, Benny Royal, Filthy Rich, My Digital Enemy and Prok & Fitch. Marco’s version is undoudtedly Marco V a la 2010. Cliff’s version is MASSIVE beyond beliefe and steals the show. The other versions are utter garbage, wavering somewhere between confused tech house and confused electro.
Read on past the break for high quality samples of each mix!
“
You need to Understand, and you will... ” - Andre
9/10
8 years after his first vinyl release, Georg Levin can already be described as a long-time yet unlikely member of Berlin’s electronic music scene. With both his solo project and his production outfit Wahoo, he is definitely too much on the soulful side to be a typical representative of the techno and rock sound the city is known for. However, it may be this supposedly alien surrounding that gives his compositions and productions a distinctive blend. To his credit Georg also had a no.1 on Traxsource in late 2009 as a precursor to the release of this, his debut album.
Georg’s name isn’t household by any means, but this poetic master of music is quickly, and firmly, finding his spot in the today’s music scene, where one rarely only wears one hat. This singer, songwriter, producer has been busy in the studio, and his fruits are finally here to enjoy by all. Well, almost all, the album lands in stores in late March 2010, but till then, you can enjoy my review and the highlight samples I’ve included.
Read on past the break for my full review of this genre melting album, and be sure to sample the tracks for yourself, don’t just take my word for it!
Let’s see….this is review #5 today, and even though I told myself I’d be done after 4, I popped this gem into Winamp and well, I simply can’t let it sit idly on my computer without telling the world about it.
Bobby’s name hadn’t appeared on MusiCritics until today, and though that seems horribly wrong, I welcome his name to our pages with open arms. I’ve known Bobby personally for a number of years now, and it’s about damn time I start recognizing his talent on the site. This isn’t to say I haven’t loved his previous work, hell, one of his very own productions consistently gets played in my radio and live sets (especially in the summer!), and you can buy it on Beatport here!
This latest effort by Mr. Savage comes courtesy of Gabriel Batz’ label, Ora Recordings. Based out of Montreal, Ora has received support from some of the world’s top jocks including Roger Shah, Solarstone, Mark Pledger, and many others. Beautiful Brontosaur is a rather savage track that starts off with a wonderfully progressively summer vibe that quickly, with nary an indication, transforms into a growling beast after the lush breakdown and crash. What Bobby’s done here is craft a track that would be the perfect opener for say, Marco V (at Guv), or in a few months, Armin’s 450th episode bash at the Koolhaus. Someone get this track in his hands, it’s destined to melt hearts around the world. Along with the 4 to the floor proggy beast is a quiet sleeper in the form of a Mesozoic Sunset Mix. This truly showcases the man’s versatility!
Read on past the break for a high quality sample of each track and be sure to support the music you love!
“
Lexar is to Memory as Peanut Butter is to Mouth... ” - Andre
8/10
Fris! is one of my favorite progressive labels, and that’s due entirely to the presence of the venerable Ad Brown, and these two producers, Whelan & Di Scala. This time around Fris! drops an absolutely storm of a release with Whelan & Di Scala’s latest effort, Lexar.
If you’re a photog junkie like myself (here’s my flickr page) you’ll instantly recognize the name Lexar, and I’m guessing these blokes must know the name too, as it’s really the only reference to the name I can find. Regardless, this track is a storming beast that kicks things off with a very understated tech groove (as do most their productions), but by the midsection we’re floating in symphonic trance bliss.
Once you hear the melody in the breakdown, you’ll instantly fall in love with the track. On remix duties is Beat Service, a young Estonian producer who caught my attention last year with his remix of Nothing Less on Real Music Recordings. His version is a little more techy, a little more 4 to the floor and not quite as powerful as the original, but banging nonetheless.
Read on past the break for high quality samples of each version!
The dynamic dance duo from Deutschland are back at it again! With massive recent hits in 2009, these two have been busy touring the world and appearing in just about everyone’s live (and radio) sets. 2009 saw them release to much fanfare, a stellar artist album that included massive tracks like Flatline, Not Enough Time, Sign of the Times and Under Your Spell. I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say that IT was the stand out trance album of the year.
This new single entitled Barra once again confirms their professionalism and continuous drive to deliver outstanding quality. Barra is one of those fantastic big room tracks that will certainly warrant many ch00n signs. The track kicks off with a growling bassline that’s slowly morphed into a euphoric soundscape that you simply cannot escape. Try as you might, you’re getting sucked into this one for the full 7 minutes. Attached to the original is an edit that clocks in at under 4 minutes, and makes me wonder if this is really a radio edit disguised as a plain edit…
Read on past the break for a high quality sample of the Original Mix, you don’t need to waste time on the edit.
The latest on this Black Hole sublabel comes courtesy of trance heavyweight OneWorld, a new alias of Sander van Dien aka First State. He brings us a mesmerizing new track by the title “Green Bay”, and what a captivating release this is!
Get ready for a production that takes the combination of a four to the floor beat with 3/4 measure melody programming to a whole new level. Musical purists will notice it immediately and especially during the break, when the beats aren’t present, the chords and hook seem to take off in a completely different direction until the bass drums kick in again. It’s a lovely and surprising twist to the known formula of modern trance/techno productions and it really pays off in “Green Bay”.
Along with the Original Mix is a High Motion Remix, which I’m assuming is a Sander van Dien rework, and frankly, I’m having a hard time telling the two apart. You be the judge after the jump!
Time to dive back into proggy and electric waters, with this very refreshing EP, by the mysterious UNKNOWN1234567890 (looks like we’ve got a few mysterious producers lately…).
We start with the summery vibe of the hybrid CAT4, which gives away a glimpse of its theme straight from the beginning. Progressive arrangement, though electric sounds and distortion are the key elements that come in to play with a gorgeous melodic arrangement.
As the track evolves through 4/4 and broken beats, we hear classic house stabs, as well as glitchy voices serving as a bed to the melodic plucks, driving the track into its massive climax with strings stabs.
The simple but effective TIME 000 is on the flip. Again, we can taste a little bit of that summery vibe from Cat4, but this time it’s all about butt-shaking groove. With a housey vibe, on a progressive tone, the track keeps building up over and over, through stabs and plucks. A very interesting EP, impossible to define due to its hybrid nature: progressive, techno, house, trance… there’s a little bit of everything on each second, of each track!
Read on past the break for some high quality samples and if anyone knows who the hell UNKNOWN1234567890 is, please, do let us know in the comments!
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