Showing posts with label McProg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McProg. Show all posts

Sunday, August 16, 2020

Way Out West - Don't Look Now

Distinct'ive Records: 2004

(a Patreon Request from Philoi)

Like Hybrid, I never thought I'd dig into the discography of Way Out West. I liked the odd track I'd hear from them, but the general discourse of “each album is less interesting than the last” didn't inspire much curiosity from yours truly. Still, I took a chance on Intensity, quite enjoyed it, and will get around to their self-titled debut in due time. Meanwhile, I'm here reviewing by request Don't Look Now. Hey, that was, like, one of TranceCritic's first ever reviews! Let us never speak of it again.

Way Out West were often fancied prog-house taste-makers, helping usher in a young prog-breaks scene while Nick Warren handled a pile of Global Underground sets. There's very little taste-making going on with this album though, the duo clearly hearing the winds of change, hitching their wagon to the emergent McProg sound of the mid-'00s. They even went out and got their own vocalist, billed here as Omi (Lord Discogs tells me she performed as Emma Hall with Starecase prior).

This could have been a great album, easily on par with their older works – Nick and Jody remain talented producers no matter how 'basic' their songcraft gets. However, it feels like the sequencing of Don't Look Now is totally borked. It starts as you'd expect of a group trying to get on that Hybrid-prestige, Anything But You a decent prog-breaks outing while letting Omi do her thing. All momentum of the album is sucked out, however, with a watery trip-hop follow-up. Plus, if you came in already feeling suspect about Omi turning into a major focal point (centre-spot on the cover art doesn't help), this wouldn't have allayed your worries. Never mind she doesn't appear much after (only three more songs out of twelve total), the front-loaded impression is difficult to shake.

The middle run of tracks are all serviceable stabs at various forms of prog (house/breaks/slowbeat?) but I cannot deny my attention often drifting as they play. Chasing Rainbows' languid pace and dreamy guitars are quite nice, while Fear triggers all the right McProg-enjoying endorphins lurking somewhere in the recesses of my brain.

Still, I feel stupid for not really getting into this album until Killa, just because it's such a simple, dumb-fun tune (those chants! D'at thunderous beat!), your reptile brain can't help but take notice. From there, more intuitive breaks action comes care of Northern Lights (the sort of science some undoubtedly expected from the start), while Melt is a pleasant little ditty for Omi to take us out on. Oh, wait, they got Ulrich Schnauss with them for the actual closer, Absinthe Dreams a weirdo trip-hop session that certainly fits the title.

Regardless of how folks reacted to Don't Look Now, it ended up being a one-time outing. Omi would never return, while Nick and Jody split off for solo pursuits for half a decade. It does hold up better than most commercial prog of the day, but that's not a terribly high bar to pass.

Friday, February 28, 2020

Various - Base Ibiza 2003

Base Ibiza Records: 2003

As the early Hed Kandi brand grew, the temptation to spin off sub-labels couldn't be helped. Aside from Stereo Sushi, however, these didn't take root, folks content sticking to the label and artwork they were most familiar with. The Acid Lounge tried getting in on that underground downtempo gig, with a grittier, pulpier comic stylee, but only lasted a few releases. Then there's this, Base Ibiza Records, a tie-in with the Ibizan bar of the same name. That's... remarkable, that Hed Kandi never really paired up with any established club for a proper residency, instead letting their brand tour about. It wasn't a long partnership though, lasting just half a decade. Base Ibiza 2003 is smack dab right in the middle of the run.

With my last exposure to the Hed Kandi discography a pair of utterly abysmal World Series mixes from much later in their lifespan, these CDs were such a refreshing reminder of the class once associated with the label. House music! Real, honest-to-God house music! With the disco loops and the soul sista's and the fiesta chants and the club monologues and... the trend-whoring remixes and... the euro anthems (?), and the.. cover songs? Wow, they really couldn't clear the rights to X-Press 2's Muzikizum? That track was everywhere, so it couldn't have been that expensive. Why settle for a knock-off version?

Speaking of, you remember what song got huge around this time? Talk Talk's It's My Life, is what, though thanks entirely to No Doubt's cover resurrecting interest in it. Then radio stations started playing the original version again, and folks realized the O.G. '80s style was better (retro revival sure helped). Thus is the only reason I can fathom hearing a Liquid People remix of It's My Life on here. Cool bassline added though. Speaking of basslines, Junior Jack sure did love him some of Daft Punk's Burnin', but hey, throw some Latin vibes over it, call it E Samba, and no one will ever tell the difference!

As should be abundantly clear, I'm not giving Base Ibiza 2003 that much of a serious critical overview. Nor should I, the music within about as deep as the beach shallows of the Ibizan shores. It is fun music though, at least the first disc wherein the disco vibes and garage shuffles and floppin' funk is felt. It's got a StoneBridge remix in there, mang', and you can't have a proper Hed Kandi outing without at least one tune with StoneBridge at the console.

CD2 aims for the 'later in the night' club outing, but is all over the place as a result, sounding like a mish-mash of left-over tunes that just wouldn't fit in the first CD. Some mild McProg (iiO's At The End), a little tech-house (4Tune 500's Dancing In The Dark), and a nod to the burgeoning 'eurotrash house' sound (Andrea Doria's Bucci Bag). Oh, and all those aforementioned cover/remixes are here too. Yeah, I think I'll stick with CD1 in this outing. It's funner!

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Markus Schulz - Amsterdam 08 (Original TC Review)

Armada: 2008

(2019 Update:
Man, is there anything left for me to update regarding the Schulzer? I already did one of these with
Ibiza 06, actually went back and surprisingly enjoyed his earlier mixes, and am pretty sure touched on all his activities of the past decade. Did I mention his mid-life crisis pairing with Ferry Corsten as New World Punx? That should be reiterated, absolutely. He did release another artist album this past year, where he poses in all white while glancing at a piano, touching a single key as though... y'know, I've no idea what sort of message that's supposed to portray. Seems either hilari-bad, or ineptly pretentious. Almost curious of what the album sounds like though, just to hear where his muse has wandered in all this time. His go at the creaky In Search Of Sunrise series too, if I'm being honest.

Most of the complaints (and faint praises) I had with this set remained intact as I replayed this. It's funny though, how without even looking at the tracklist again, I instantly knew which tracks Carl B had his fingers in. Very definition of hilari-bad eurotrance excess.)



IN BRIEF: I dub thee Side-Chain Schulz.

Are we tough on ol’ Markus Schulz? Certainly, but it’s tough-love we deliver, not spiteful rage. Whether in his distant producing past or recent remix work, we hear the potential he has to do something more with his career beyond merely pandering to the watered-down popular taste. I suppose the reason we continue to scope out his output is the hope that some of that unrealized talent surfaces again, but the returns have been ever diminishing.

His DJ releases haven’t fared much better. The last major offering, Ibiza ‘06, was a bland trudge through melodic trance mediocrity, indistinguishable from the glut and hobbled by his insistence on giving much of his label’s singles undeserved spotlight (save a couple decent tracks). Since then, the Schulzer’s career has seen something of an uptick thanks to an album [Progression] that, while still treading water, was better received than his debut [Without You Near] (probably due to expectations being sufficiently lowered after his abysmal ‘first time’). The general assumption has been Markus would capitalize on that momentum to reinvigorate his DJing career as well. After some delays denying him a proper 2007 release (to keep with the idea of an annual DJ mix), we finally have Amsterdam ‘08, where the answers to this question shall be given.

The opening of the first disc is promisingly interesting. Some pleasant sounds, laid-back rhythms, and agreeable melodies are featured here (although why is Beyond The Shadows making that out-of-sync beeping sound? Reminds my of my discman's pause feature). Glenn Morrison’s two offerings of Blue Skies With Linda and Rubberband easily steal the show: his tracks have some wonderful sounding synths on display, and the melodies he crafts are quite lovely, even if Blue Skies does draw a bit closely to over-sentimentality. Also, there is a rather lazy tone to this mix; not so much haphazard or sloppy, but more lethargic and mellow (no, not stoned... or k-holed, to be more contemporary within the current clubbing scene). Overall, it’s quite nice.

...and all downhill from there.

Rubberband makes for a great mid-set peak, but Schulz obliterates all those warm fuzzy feelings the tune leaves in its wake by following it up with one of the most abysmal sequences of tracks I’ve heard in a DJ set in some time. Rex Mundi tries some ‘piano trance’ breaks, and fails miserably in the process (break-beat rhythms should never sound this bland, my friends); Mr. White features annoyingly aggravating hookless hooks care of Ruben de Ronde’s remix; tiDi’s silly attempt at clicky minimalism screams of Schulz trying to get a piece of the ketamine crowd; and let’s not even mention the atrocious side-chaining going on in the latter two (we’ll be dealing with this abused effect in a bit anyway). The shell-shock of these three awful tracks leaves a very sour aftertaste, ruining the set’s momentum and instilling general apathy for the rest the first CD's final stretch. There’s little to mention there anyway: straight-forward trance number Azaleas from SupĆ¼er has a better-than-average hook, and Sonic Division’s If I Had Wings will turn your head since it apes the memorable chorus from 80s classic (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight by Cutting Crew.

Any hopes of recovery on disc two is put to rest with the opening tracks, where Schulz under aliases treats us to awful side-chaining effects. Eh, you’re not sure what side-chaining even is? Although it’s long been an attribute associated with bass kicks canceling out equal frequencies, Markus and his McProg associates have been known to apply the effect on everything from backing pads to lead synths, creating a distinctive ‘pulsing, throbbing’ sound. When handled effectively it gives tracks some decent rhythmic pump, but when handled poorly, it wrecks any sense of sonic flow with constant aural interruptions. Repeatedly hearing frequencies cutting out and springing forth at full volume can be incredibly disorientating, the audio equivalent of someone continuously zooming in and out when recording a video. Markus has been a big proponent of it, and made good use of it when it was first being championed, essentially relegating it to the background as he let the twinkly melodies McProg was derided for claim the stage. On Amsterdam '08 though, many of the pulsing synths are blatantly front-and-center, as it seems some of these producers rely heavily on it to create hooks (instead of, y’know, writing a goddamned melody rather than depend on pre-set effects doing the work). The opening of disc one avoided the problem based on the strength of melodies grabbing your attention, but from there on, and especially so on the second disc, it turns intolerable.

Seriously, CD2 is rendered practically unlistenable by how bad the side-chaining effect is abused, persisting for well over the first half and much of the second. After only three tracks it’s become a painfully predictable gimmick, where a perfectly fine eerie peak-hook in Schulz’ own Fly To Colors is ruined by unnecessarily throwing this effect on it. You can’t enjoy any of the nice synths on display when they’re constantly cutting out (and no, this does not create a ‘strobe’ effect like multi-tap delays do; more like a vertigo effect), and by the time Agnelli & Nelson’s pleasant little trancer Sleeping In Airports hits, I keep imagining I’m hearing synth throbs despite there being none, so ingrained into my psyche the pulses have been.

As for the actual music, decent moments seem few. Coldharbour’s Next Big Anthem in Forsaken will either having you reaching for the lasers or rolling your eyes, depending on your taste for cloying tunes such as these; the tech-y finish has some fine grooves in tracks like Avalon (now there’s some good use of side-chaining!), but equally cringe-worthy bits as found in More Manners Please (idiot electro-fart nonsense) and Formulation (now there’s more of that poor use of side-chaining...). Ultimately, not the greatest finish, but then given the lead-up, it isn’t that surprising.

Reading back on this, it may appear my bitching is focused mostly on technical attributes, something that really shouldn’t factor much when reviewing music. However, the very fact I’m ranting so much about it highlights one of the overlying problems, in that the music on hand either isn’t terribly interesting or is ruined by overdone pulsing-synth wank. Glenn Morrison aside, few of the melodies make a lingering impression, and the tracks that jump on current trends (nu-electro farts; minimal clicks) are quite forgettable. Seeing as how Markus’ commercial sets are as much a promotion vehicle for upcoming Coldharbour cuts as they are standard DJ sets, this doesn’t bode well for his label. Sure, his loyal Cult will lap it all up, but if you’ve grown weary of Schulz’ shtick, Amsterdam ‘08 will only reinforce your distaste for his sound.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2008. © All rights reserved

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Armin van Buuren - A State Of Trance 2006 (2015 Update)

Ultra Records: 2006

Oh what the heck. Though it's hi-lar-ious to leave my current thoughts of A State Of Trance 2006 out there in the ether, I feel like this needs a proper reassessment anyway. In the ensuing years following my bevy of bile, I had defenders proclaiming Armin's selection of tunes here wasn't so bad, not when compared to where the genre had gone since. And that's a valid point, all manner of sad bandwagon jumps and obnoxious productions (ugh, all that side-chain nonsense) still over the rim from 2006's vantage point. Hell, the idea of dubstep cozying up with trance was utter bollocks in the mid-'00s, yet here we in 2015, Seven Lions an actual thing. The euro trance scene has done more than enough to prove the old adage “it's never so bad that it can't get worse”, and there's been many instances of me going back to these old, lambasted releases, wondering just what zombie bug crawled up my ears to get me so irate. Maybe A State Of Trance 2006 was unjustly crucified, time and hindsight now offering a renewed perspective on Armin's mix.

Nope. In fact, it’s gotten worse! While On The Beach didn’t blow me away as a set, I found it agreeable enough as a proggy collection of tunes way back when. I haven’t a clue how I came to that conclusion before, because this sounds so dull to me now, spinning its wheels worse than the In The Club mix. The two tracks I pointed out as highlights – Zirenz’s Edge Of Space (Whiteroom Remix) and Incolumis’ One With Sanctuary - do remain the best of CD1, but everything else around them is useless plodding McProg and forgettable progressive trance. I mentioned Jody Wisternoff’s Cold Drink, Hot Girl as a mood changer, yet it serves no function in the context of this set. What was I even hearing? At least 2006 Sykonee was accurate in mentioning how lame that acoustic guitar in Sunlounger’s White Sand is.

As for In The Club, yeah, that’s gotten no better either. I ranted big about its problems before, but I could have summed it up with a single word: homogeny. There are twenty-three names listed among these tracks, and only five of them show any sort of personality outside the bog-standard epic, uplifting trance template: Stoneface & Terminal’s Venus for its distinctive rhythm and synths, Sander van Doorn’s rub of Control Freak for its Doorny beats, Thomas Bronzwaer’s Shadow World for those guilty-pleasure SUPREMEsaw synths, and van Buuren’s Sail for its awfulness. Everything else comes off like euro trance as disposable product, duplicated and churned out to meet Armin’s needs in presenting his singular, myopic vision of what trance must sound like. And this has been a problem with his music ever since!

With plenty other fresh takes on trance now available (prog psy! neo-trance! throwback trance! melodic, hypnotic techno!), settling for A State Of Trance 2006 as a standard-bearer of the genre is an exercise in musical denial.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Armin van Buuren - A State Of Trance 2006 (Original TC Review)

Ultra Records: 2006

(2015 Update:
My friends, this review is
awful! ...is what you want me to say, right? I won't deny this is one tedious slog, taking forever to get to any point and forcing the reader to wade through waves of bile to do so. This thing is seventeen-hundred words long, with maybe two or three paragraphs of a clear point being made throughout. Hell, I spent the opening three-hundred words building to a lame joke about the cover. Who has time to read that? Certainly no one in this day and age. And there's so much more that's just cringe worthy to read now: still doing track-by-track in some instances, rambling on about inconsequential details, and what the Hell was I going on about with constant reference to 'Glory Years'? I just listened to a DJ mix that sounds much closer to Millennial trance than this one, A State Of Trance 2004. This sounds nothing like that.

I was tempted to do a full Update review, as I've plenty fresh things to say about this mix, but that'd be cheating my ironclad rules. Besides, do I really need to spend any more words on
A State Of Trance 2006? I mean, just look at this review! It's a bitter, bloated beast, ornery and cranky for reasons I can't recall now, beyond my utter frustration with Armin's scene in general. All that hype, all that marketing, all that product and good intentions. All that waste of my time.)


IN BRIEF: Still living the Glory Years.

Armin van Buuren’s always been the guy who remains cheerfully optimistic in the face of adversity, and it clearly shows in his approach to music. His brand of uplifting trance is known to rock many a club night while putting sincere smiles on all those who hear it, equally enjoying the soaring melodies while Armin exuberantly lays down the anthems behind the decks.

But one has to wonder whether Armin is growing tired of his role as cheerleader for the epic trance brigade. After all, nearly every other DJ that helped build the style into the dominating party music that it was at the turn of the century has begun to move on to other pastures, leaving Armin to carry on in their stead. He’s certainly made ample use of being given the spotlight, as his star rose to the elites of popular trance DJs while promoting his A State Of Trance internet radio show as the premier source for new uplifting tunes. However, being stuck in that typecast has left him at a standstill for the last few years.

His artist album Shivers from last year saw him attempt to break that mold by creating songs outside the trance template. A worthy idea, but the results were uninspiring to casual happeners and met with annoyance from his hardline trance fans. Still, Armin knows if he wants to be held in higher regard outside his core niche, he’s going to have to step up his game. So, no more Mr. Happy Exuberant Nice Guy. With the grim determination of a DJ on a mission to bring trance back to its nostalgic highs, Armin presents to us the latest collection of the best trance music his radio show has to offer.

Well, one theory for the awful cover image at least.

Anyhow, here we are with Armin’s latest edition of his annual A State Of Trance series. As usual, there are plenty of complaints from listeners of his radio show that there are too many tracks which have been played to death. I’m still befuddled by this complaint; unless you are an extreme Armin fanboy that has got to have everything Armin puts out, this release really isn’t for the dedicated radio listener. Rather, the aim here is simple: compile the standouts from the program for those who don’t listen to it much (or, like me, at all), thus giving Armin the necessary promotion in places that are not the interweb - namely, music stores where money can be made. Fortunately for the non-radio listener and non-downloader, there are plenty of new, exclusive, unreleased tracks to be had in this edition, so if fresh material is what you’re after, you’ll get some bang for your buck.

Following similar themes set by previous editions, 2006 divides the selection of tunes between two different types of sets. Last year, Armin didn’t know if his audience would get the idea, so he gave the discs idiot-proof titles of Light and Dark. He seems to show a little more faith in his fans this year though, going for the slightly more descriptive titles At The Beach and In The Club. Since it’s the first disc here, let us start with the beachy music.

And Mike Foyle’s Shipwrecked is as fine an opener for such a theme as any. Pleasant piano melodies, seaside sound effects, and warm pads make up the bulk, with simple rhythms keeping the pace on easy cruise control. This is quite the blissy offering, easily putting me into a trancey, tranquil sense of waterfront calm.

...Only to be promptly taken out of it by the questionable guitar work in White Sand. I can kind of hear what DJ Shah was shooting for with this track, that of a loungey Mediterranean mood. Unfortunately it comes across as mere noodly finger plucking, without any kind of proper attention paid to stringing together a cohesive harmony. It’s like a poor-man’s Michael Brook with a dance beat.

We quickly leave these seaside tunes though, entering a stretch of moody vocal prog numbers, each followed by a charming instrumental to complement them. These are all quite nice to listen to, keeping the mood on a gradual climb with each track sounding unique from the previous without losing that all important flow. Although the tracks never quite lift beyond a few minor emotional peaks (most notably Junkie XL’s remix of Niyaz’ Dilruba and the Whiteroom remix of Zirenz’ Edge Of Space), they are effective in drawing you into a pleasant trance. It’s just as nice as background music as it is something you can absorb yourself into.

Once Jody Wisternoff’s Cold Drink, Hot Girl changes the general tone of this mix to something a little more groovey, Armin sees fit to gently ease us out of our blissy tenure with the ethereal setting of One With Sanctuary from Incolumis. No apparent hook to be had with this track; just gentle pad work with appropriate rhythms. Definitely a nice capper to this pleasant little disc.

Ack, but Armin decides to keep going. I’ve complained about him throwing on additional tracks at the end of a set when the lead-up to it suggests he’s wrapping up, just because it comes off as milking a CD’s length for all its worth even if you’ve said all that needs to be said. Still, his choice of add-ons isn’t too bad this time out. Even if Envio’s For You has the unfortunate distinction of being ‘one track too many’, it’s a decent track regardless.

Overall though, At The Beach certainly manages to create the atmosphere Armin’s title shoots for. Although a couple tracks feel out of place (I suspect the Karen Overton one may just be PR plugging, but that’s a rant for another review), none of them really detract from the overall tone set-up by Shipwrecked and, more or less, is brought to its natural conclusion at the end. It’s not a revolutionary mix, but works within its confines and should make for a nice summer soundtrack.

As for the second disc...

Shit...

My friends, this is awful!

Damned near every single fucking song does the exact same thing! I just need to provide a link to Fable’s Above for a description (2015 Edit: whoops, that link no longer exists!), and let that repeat itself. If you’re too lazy to actually click the link, here’s the gist of how it goes from start to finish: intro and outro beats matched; minor melody; breakdown, build, soaring uplifting melody, jump in the air with your fist pumping, supposedly cheering Armin on for selecting the ‘choon’; repeat. That’s it. The repetitive redundancy this disc contains isn’t that far removed from that found in hardstyle mixes. The energy is completely flatlined from the get-go, at no point ever seeming to lead anywhere other than just one breakdown after the other, and the predictability of it gets old fast. Were I to implement my Patent Pending Trance Drinking Game to this disc, I’d leave with a very tortured liver.

It’s not that all the individual songs on display here are bad examples of epic trance; put into a better set with more room to stand out, any one of them would probably be good peak time moments. However, Armin’s arrangement and mixing is so utterly bland, the tracks never get a chance to show any kind of personality, which is a far cry from the flavour to be had in the first disc. The beats are simply aligned, the keys properly matched, and that’s it. A robot could do the same job. Say, maybe that’s what gives with the blank look in Armin’s face on the cover: he’s been replaced by an android!

There are a couple points where this mix seems to break the mold, however slightly, but not always for the better. Highlights include: the better than average melody in DJ Governor’s Red Woods; some quirky synthy delights to be found in Stoneface & Terminal’s Venus; the SUPREMEsaw synths of Thomas Bronzwaer’s Shadow World (though that just may be familiarity sparking my interest, since I’ve already heard it on Phynn’s recent DJ mix for the In Trance We Trust series). Lowlights include: both Kyau vs. Albert tracks, who’s blend of bland adult contemporary songwriting with trance beats seems to kill just about every show of momentum; Armin’s own laughable Sail.

Actually, since he gives his own new anthem the spotlight at the end, I may as well give it the review spotlight as well. It’s as though Armin, still trying to create that one classic that will be played forever and ever, took a look at every single major hit in the past and fused them all together. The melody is super-stupidly simple, pretty much hitting single notes on every beat and played with just about every kind of sound you’ve heard in epic trance. You get bleepy synths that made PPK’s ResuRection the smash it was; you get plinky pianos that made Children the hit it was; happy-go-lucky rhythms which are vintage Ferry Corsten; and, of course supersaw breakdowns, sure to bring back Rank 1 memories. And that’s just the first fucking half! I’ll admit I have a soft spot for the voice pads, but Armin kills it with a horribly distorted synth sound in a second breakdown, which reminds me of TiĆ«sto’s take on Adagio For Strings in sound, and The fucking Launch in ‘melody’, of all damned things. To complete the idiocy of trance clichĆ©s, he brings in stuttery supersaws alongside the distorted synth once the beat returns. What is this, epic trance meets hardstyle? Christ... Either this is meant to be a ‘tribute’ to the Glory Years of epic trance that totally missed the mark, or a very, very sick joke.

I honestly don’t know how anyone can take Armin seriously after this. At The Beach showed some promise, but In The Club destroys it in an instant with its tiresome re-hashing. In Armin’s mind, 1999 is still going strong, and I suppose with the continuous influx of new kids to the scene, he’ll be able to live off of that vibe for a long while still. He’s apparently made his bed with the Glory Years, and you can either join in with his never-ending ride or go elsewhere. Of course, once you’ve moved past that introductory stage A State Of Trance seems custom made for, you usually will.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2006. All rights reserved.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Ferry Corsten - Passport: United States Of America (Original TC Review)

Ultra Records: 2007

(2014 Update:
Was I ever prophetic with my quip of "blink and you'll miss it",
Passport folding after this one, only the second in the series. Not sure why Corsten canned it so quickly. Maybe it didn't do the business he'd hoped, or it was simply a short-term flirtation with a concept. Whatever the case, he established his Once Upon A Night series a few years after this, which is now up to its fourth volume and remains his regular DJ Mix CD franchise. As far as I can tell though, it receives even less notice than Passport did, but then most of his fans follow his Corsten Countdown radio shows anyway.

As for this CD, I think I was a bit too hard on the euro-trance offerings in the second half of the CD. While I maintain they weren't doing much new for the time, compared to where the genre's gone, these are perfectly enjoyable pieces of melodic fluff. Guess I was still in my 'anti epic-trance' grumble-mode when I wrote this, though at least more diplomatic and detailed in explaining such sentiments compared to my 2006 writings. That said, I doubt I'll be throwing this one on again for a
very long time. Why should I, when I have all those In Trance We Trust CDs from the same period? Hah-hah... ha!)


IN BRIEF: Workmanlike in every regard.

For a guy who almost single-handily propelled trance music into public consciousness, Ferry Corsten remained relatively humble. His Trance Nation series helped established the genre as the soundtrack for a generation of clubbers, yet he never overreached his ability, quite content remaining in a comfortable, competent niche. This may in part have to do with the fact he’s largely considered himself a producer first and a DJ second, so the desire to earn the accolades of the DJing elite never became a focus of his career.

With that in mind, most of his mix compilations in recent years haven’t been met with the same amount of fanfare as his musical peers. This new series, Passport, is as indicative of this as anything. Already out for a month, America has a feeling of ‘blink, and you’ll miss it’ about. There are a number of contributing factors for this, but let’s deal with the most important one here: the music.

Straight up, this is a remarkably monotonous collection of music considering Corsten’s name is attached to it. Whether it’s trance or nu-electro, the guy can always be counted on for party rockers, and such moments are few on this release. Divided into two, the first half leaves the impression he’s mellowed out, proggin’ up his sound like many of the older trance jocks did when they shifted genres. Not that he’s ever played this style before, but it certainly isn’t what he’s known for, and to dedicate a large portion of this DJ mix to it is surprising.

Let me be clear, though: this isn’t prog like Bedrock or Global Underground - more like the lightweight stuff Gabriel & Dresden popularized a few years back, and really has no official designation [it does now! –2014 Syk]. It’s too sluggish to be trance, too unfunky to be house, and too pap to be prog proper. So it remains in prog limbo, derided as McProg and jumped on by epic trance jocks when they want to play something ‘deep’.

But deep it is not. Unremarkable rhythms, trite poppy vocals, and scant melodies are to be found instead. Solarstone’s Late Summer Fields is nice enough and Mind One’s Hurt Of Intention has a rather catchy chorus, but most of these tracks plod along, with Nic Chagall’s remix of Wippenberg’s Promisedland being the worst offender. I swear the Cosmic Gate member is on a one-man mission to turn prog into a lifeless parody of itself.

If the mix didn’t grab your attention for most of the opening chunk, then Megashira definitely will. It contains a hook that is so hideous, it’s stoopid-good; like an amped-up hoover synth. I can see why Corsten would want to use this, as it sounds like the kind of thing he might have made himself lately.

From there, Corsten segues into trancier tunes. The good news is the atmosphere of Passport does turn more pleasant; the bad news is the set barely picks up at all. This isn’t so much a case of laid-back vibes keeping things mellow - which would be fine - but rather Corsten’s track selection and arrangement is middling: predictable melodies, perfunctory mixing, oodles of reverb and breakdowns. The same ol’ story with most trance these days, really. If you’re new to it all or still cling to 2001 nostalgia, you’ll love it; for everyone else, it’ll sound all too familiar.

Actually, very familiar in two cases. The new Flashover remix of Insolation is the obvious example but Casey Keyworth’s The Sunlight (as Breakfast) is the startling one. During the two-minute breakdown/build - amongst a wash of reverb effects - a backing synth pad plays a nice melody that strikes an uncanny resemblance to Robert Nickson’s Spiral of three years ago. Supposedly they were both written around the same time and the similarity is entirely coincidental, but fact of the matter is Spiral has had bigger exposure in that time, whereas The Sunlight only now has seen an official release on Ferry’s label. That’s how the ball bounces in the music business though.

As for the rest of Passport, there are a few fine moments: Corsten’s contributions shine compared to the rest, proving he’s still better at this sound than everyone that has copied him since; and Joni Ljungqvist (aka: JPL) continues to show promise at making trance that is actually trance-inducing. Beyond that, there’s very little else of note.

Now, don’t take my indifferent tone to mean this is a bad release. Ferry maintains an amiable tone to the proceedings, making Passport at least an agreeable listen. However, if you’re looking for something that will knock your socks off with energy or sweep you away in euphoria (much less be mesmerized by actual DJ technique), you’ve come to the wrong CD. This is a mix that doesn’t reach far, quite content to let the tracks on Ferry’s label be the centerpieces (of which about a third makes up the tracklist), complemented with a few well-known tunes to pad it out with the filler. Sadly, judging by the offerings on America, the current crop of Flashover Recordings probably won’t be much remembered a couple years down the road, lost in the annual pile of melodic trance glut.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2007. © All rights reserved

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Tiƫsto - Nyana

Nettwerk America: 2003

Say what you want about TiĆ«sto’s career trajectory – no, go ahead, its fun! - but for a brief while in the early '00s, it seemed the Dutch icon was poised at breaking into the mainstream with critical credibility intact. To do so though, a bit of reinvention was required, taking his first steps in distancing himself from the euro-trance that had defined much of his musical output. After all, single-CD sets were fine for anthem rinse-outs, but TiĆ«sto are serious DJ now, so he needs two discs spotlighting his muse. And what better way to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you are serious DJ than by playing serious techno bollocks, opening with the same track Hawtin began Sound Of The Third Season, no less!

He pulls it off. I'm serious! The opening stretch of Nyana is one of the best CD1 starts I've heard from Mr. Verwest, plus I can't help giggling at the thought of his traditional 'cracker fanbase utterly aghast at all the techno, perplexed over what happened their trance hero (oh, if only I had a time-machine to show them what was to come...). True, there's little here Adam Beyer would tremble over, but for a Dutch trance DJ taking a step into the unforgiving underground, Tiƫsto handles himself well. The rhythms are kept brisk with momentum on a steady climb, and getting Oliver Lieb (The Ambush's Acapulco) and L-Vee (Planisphere's Totem) as some of your peak tech-trance bangers for this section is mint!

Then he fucks it all up with Darren Tate and Jono Grant’s collaboration Let The Light Shine In, as cheeseball a chedder-trance track as cheese trance could cheese out in 2003. There’s no reason for such an abrupt change in tone either, other than TiĆ«sto had a pile of vocal tunes to cram into this two-discer somewhere. What, the Indoor disc wasn’t good enough for Cor Fifneman’s Venus or Conjure One’s Tears From The Moon? Damning things further is Outdoor returning to the tech-trance business with Ton T.B.’s Electronic Malfunction regardless, rendering the middle portion of CD1 a pointless diversion. That said, I still like Tijs’ remix of Venus, despite serving no purpose in the context of this mix.

As for CD2, this one’s famous for having three huge, gigantic, massive, McProg anthems on it – Hell, these tracks practically helped kick-off that sub-genre! Of course, I’m talking about Andain’s Beautiful Things, Motorcycle’s As The Rush Comes (tunes that Gabriel & Dresden never topped), and Holden’s Nothing (93 Returning Mix). And with that said, do you even care about the rest of the CD? There’s a few nice tunes scattered between, and the final stretch of Balearic trance vibes is charming enough, but come on, we all know what folks remember most about Nyana to this day.

That’s right, the techno! It makes one wonder where TiĆ«sto’s career could have gone had he dared remaining on that path instead. Cue Bizarro World scene of Mr. Verwest playing Bergheim and Circo Loco.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Markus Schulz - Miami '05

Armada Music: 2005

This is it, isn’t it? The peak of this particular sub-genre of progressive trance? I already know how Markus Schulz’ story goes after this one, to say nothing of McProg as a whole. TiĆ«sto’s In Search Of Sunrise 5 caught me off guard with how classy it treated the music – Hell, that Mr. Verwest jumped on the Schulz sound period – but there aren’t any other DJs that rinsed out the ‘classic’ Coldharbour sound who I should be checking out, right? Schulz being the King of his mountain, anyone else just can’t compare, true? Please tell me I shouldn’t also be digging into Anjunabeats circa. 2005 to find out – I feel dirty enough already retroactively enjoying McProg as I do now, and I don’t want to futilely search for more if it’s all downhill from Miami ‘05.

I mean, these two CDs have nearly everything I could hope for with these tentative explorations of the lambasted genre, and very little of the things that came to annoy me. It’s already a given we’re getting plenty of those tasty grumbly basslines and twinkly melodies I’ve developed the softest of spots for. I still can’t explain how or why it happened. Maybe it’s the lack of a constant barrage of slavering trance-crackers on web-forums championing it as the greatest music since Xpander (that tune’s practically the genre’s progenitor, come to think of it). Make no mistake, there still isn’t that much substance to this style of prog-trance, and if I re-listened to Miami ‘05 over and over as I typically did with most trance for review ten years past, almost certainly the empty shell within the shiny faƧade of a surface would reveal itself. Damn though, is it fun music for an occasional dip.

Miami ‘05 wouldn’t be any good if it was just one sound all the way through, and the bits of variety Schulz throws in (re: promoted singles from Coldharbour) are mostly welcome. As usual, I can bin the vocal cuts, but there are only three offenders on CD1, and even Interstate’s I Found You is given a nice rub from Lemon8. Side-chaining also makes its annoying entry here, Hammer & Bennett’s Baltic Sea being the worst offender (cool percussion though!), but like the vocal cuts, they’re few and far between, and don’t detract from the whole. Also, that Electro Hairspray track’s horribly muddy, practically a parody of the very sound Schulz is promoting on these mixes. Still, props for making it his only contribution to this mix – giving the new cats a chance to shine!

Speaking of, quite a few one-offs like Aronek, Jagermaestro, Yilmaz Altanhan, and Sundawner mix things up with usual suspects like ƖzgĆ¼r Can, Mike Foyle, and Jose Amnesia. Should it come as any surprise these relative unknowns have the most interesting tracks here? And breaks! There’s trancey breaks on Miami ‘05! Good trancey breaks! Oh, Schulz, you’re spoiling me here. Can I go back in time and join your Cult? Well, maybe not.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Soliquid - Music Is For Rich People

Captured Digital: 2007

Soliquid, or DĆ”vid BiczĆ³k to the European Empire, seemed like a guy that could do no wrong in the trance-slash-progressive scene of the late ‘00s. Already a favorite with the traditional Anjunabeat ‘crackers, he even got playlisted by the likes of Digweed and Hybrid (!), highly respected names regardless of what folks thought of the current state of their careers. A strong assortment of singles, including his biggest hit in Music Is For Rich People, built anticipation for a debut album, which dropped in 2009 as Transportation. And then Soliquid dropped from the face of Lord Discog’s existence. No follow-up singles, a few remix credits reaching no further than 2010, and that’s all Mr. BiczĆ³k wrote. The business side of music must have soured him severely to abandon it so; or maybe he settled down with a family.

I recall being intrigued enough by a few of his tracks to hunt down the single for Music If For Rich People, and even intended to review it for TranceCritic. Upon finding it though, I discovered it was already a year old, which might as well be a hundred where singles in music journalism are concernted. Off to the dusty corners of a burned disc it thusly went. Shame I didn't review it, as perhaps the ol' TC bump could have inspired Mr. BiczĆ³k to keep producing to this day, our voice having enough sway to- ahahaha! Oh, that's funny.

Anyhow, the original version of Musical People Of Richness is one hell of a bangin’ track. I’m astounded such a hard piece of trance didn’t chase away all those progressive house jocks who picked up Soliquid’s other singles, but then Mr. BiczĆ³k did claim to have diversity as part of his manifesto. Even this cut’s got plenty going for it: fierce-as-fuck rhythms, electro dressings, twinkly breakdown, and a glitch-laden build. Good stuff.

The remixes got more attention though, especially so the Mat Zo Remix, one of that guy’s earliest works. It has all the hallmarks of latter-era McProg, and I remain stunned that I’m still digging those grumbly basslines and twinkly melodies; or maybe Mr. Zo’s reputation is well deserved and he crafted an excellent example of the sound. Meanwhile, Cerf & Mistika provide a rub that checks traditional prog-house boxes, though has the whiff of Armada blandness about it. At the other end is the Sunny Lax Remix, doing your bog-standard epic-uplifting-melodic Anjunabeats eurotrance that’s fun to hear on its own, but is just pants in most sets. Still, I’m sure the Anjuna kids would kill for a return to this sound from their favored label. Oh, and BiczĆ³k does an epic-uplifting-melodic remix of his own under his BĆ«lmondo guise, but who cares about that when there’s the kick-ass original?

If you missed this EP before and have a minor hankering for trance of 2007, Music Is For Rich People’s definitely worth a look back on. It hints at a promising lengthy career that sadly never materialized.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Markus Schulz - Coldharbour Sessions 2004

Armada Music: 2004

An ear turning cynical isn’t difficult upon realizing the Grand Armada Marketing Plan. By 2004, Armin was pushing his brand from internet darling to global domination, but he’s a savvy one, that van Buuren. He couldn’t corner every potential market with just his own, preferred style of epic, uplifting trance. Why, some folks actually considered it cheesy, unserious music! They wanted something deeper, of more substance and nuanced; groovy like progressive house, but not the dark, minimalist tribal stuff Digweed and his brethren were pushing as the ‘nu-prog’. Fortunately for Armin, there was a chap who had no problem promoting a style of prog that could act as that branch, offering deeper rhythms folks with ‘matured’ tastes craved, but retaining enough melodic hookiness such that they need not wander into the untested waters of tech-house. That man was Peter Martin, also known as Anthanasia.

Okay, it’s really Markus Schulz, but damn, Perfect Wave shows up again on this Coldharbour Sessions mix, possibly making it the biggest McProg anthem of all time – the genre’s Age Of Love, so to speak. Well, maybe not.

Anyhow, this was Mr. Schulz’ proper opening statement with his new direction of sound, after remaining stuck in the underground years prior. Following this DJ mix, he’d establish his own Coldharbour Recordings (an offshoot of Armada, naturally), cultivating his accessible form of prog, thus winning him a legion of cultish fans to this day; the Grand Armada Marketing Plan unfolds. Alright, enough cynicism from me, as I must admit I didn’t pick this up for another one of my retrospective projects. Nay, I bought it because, um... I’m kinda growing fond of this sound.

I wasn’t against it back in the day, but all the related aggressive promotion caused a dismissive knee-jerk reaction from me. A decade later though, no one’s promoting this sound anymore, so it’s easier taking the music on its own merits. And yes, all the criticisms one can levy against McProg are here, although as we’re in the genre’s infancy, very little comes off too clichĆ©. The low, grumbly basslines are ever present (especially in any of Schulz’ Coldharbour Remixes), occasionally some sap seeps in (almost always whenever a vocal comes about ...fuck Satellite, no matter the remix), and ol’ Markus nearly succumbs to ‘breakdown overload’ with the opening of Disc 2; beyond that, however, there’s little I can find fault with on Coldharbour Sessions 2004 within its own merits.

Heck, a couple tunes even bring late-‘90s prog-house to light (Junk Science’s Jataka, Luke Chabel’s remix of Matsumoto & DJ Yoshi’s Dreamer), while others offer themselves as pleasant Balearic or vocal numbers (wow, Elevation’s Somewhere’s harrowing). Perfect Wave aside, many familiar tunes are remixed to fit Schulz’ style, finding its groove early and maintaining it throughout. Despite lacking much in challenging music, it’s all perfectly pleasant, deep-trance vibes, and none too stale at this early stage. Coldharbour Sessions 2004 definitely deserves some props for that ten years on. Still, Schulz ain’t no Chris Fortier.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Various - In Trance We Trust 019: Kris O'Neil

In Trance We Trust: 2012

Well, at least I didn’t have to endure a breakdown until two minutes this time, but there it is once again. God almighty, when will this trope- oh, it’s already back to the beats. Well, good then. But I bet this opener will come to a full stop for a standard build-up and- wait, it’s already doing the build-up? Without a pause? Holy cow, and it drops right after the peak; no dawdling, just hitting that anthem instantly. Okay, that wasn’t so bad, but it was just a one-off, I’m sure. The rest of this disc will- oh, wow! The entire first half of this mix has tracks like that.

I’ll grant some builds go a tad long (Cosmic Gate just can’t help themselves), but there’s no sense of momentum lost - just bangin’ tune after bangin’ tune, many with a hooky anthem and hard rhythms. Hm, and snares or claps on every beat, no less; rather like hard house come to think of it. Hey, this isn’t trance at all, it’s anthem house!

Right, so I should have expected it from a 2012 mix CD, as tons of DJs jumped on that genre’s recent resurgence (and stop calling it retarded names like ‘trouse’ or Trance 2.0). I can totally see the euro-trance faithful hating Kris O’Neil’s offering to the In Trance We Trust series, signifying yet another example of the scene they reverently coddled turning to sounds more popular to a general audience. Yeah, well, them’s the breaks, kids. Now you know how the old-old schoolers felt when the Dutch sounds ya’ll loved started dominating trance many moons ago. Stings, don’t it.

Anyhow, Mr. O’Neil’s quick mixes (average of four minutes per track!) of tunes that keep the energy escalating does peter out by the midway mark, after which he indulges in some tepid vocal cuts (dear Lord, that Wanrooy track with Blake Lewis is hokey), and tech bangers for the end. A couple are okay, but can’t match the unabashed stupid-fun the first half of the CD offered, which was more than could be said for so many other volumes.

Thus, that’s the last of the In Trance We Trust series, perhaps period. ITWT019 was released a year-and-a-half ago, and though the label still comes out with the odd single, there hasn't been word on a twentieth volume hitting stores any time soon, digi or not. Gee, I know the whole mix CD market’s got little appeal to most young punters out there, but surely a mega-label like Black Hole Recordings sees some merit in maintaining In Trance We Trust. Did Kris O’Neil’s offering tank that bad to kill it off? Or was the inclusion of so much anthem house a sign that In Trance We Trust no longer trusts in trance?


If this really is the end, then it’s only fitting to have In Trance We Trust put to pasture. Let ‘em have it, guys!

Gen: “Zan’ei!”

M. Bison: “Psycho Crusher!”

Akuma: “Shun Goku Satsu.






Dan: “Chouhatsu Densetsu!








Thursday, December 19, 2013

Various - In Trance We Trust 018: Marc Simz

In Trance We Trust: 2011

I've gone on about how bad some of these In Trance We Trusts are, but they haven't been dreadful-bad or anything. Despite many stretches of misery, unoriginality, or boredom, I can at least get through them with some decent tunes along the way. This one though... Oh God, this one...

Not even ninety seconds in, and I’m hit with a full-stop breakdown. What the fuck was the point of those limp opening beats then? You didn’t mix from anything, Mr. Simz. Either start your set with proper rhythmic build to hook me in, or don’t bother at all – use an ‘ambient intro’ if you’re going this route. Fine, the main track is nice as an opener, but the next track after that has another full-stop breakdown. And the one after that. And after, and after, and practically through the whole bloody CD. So much for set flow. Here’s the start of a new tune, it stops, here’s your dithering breakdown and build, thump-thump, and moving on. And dear lord do these breakdowns ever go on. It’s like the worst of DJ Scot Project, but with plodding prog beats rather than pounding hard trance.

And I thought I’d heard some wretched ‘melodies’ in such breakdowns before. Saint X’ Gabriel has to rank up there with the most overblown Dutch synths victimizing my ears, made even more hilarious by the ‘minimal’ bloopiness that forms the rhythmic backbone. Give me the good ol’ days where Dutch anthems were just supersaw nonsense. Wow, how I miss those alre-

Ah, fack me, I didn’t mean for you to actually include those sort of tunes at the end, Marc! Virtual Vault’s really getting his System-F on with Freedom, Simz teams up with Geert Huinink for an orchestral breakdown-build that lasts nearly three fucking minutes, and Juventa’s As You Are is, well, about typical for the classic Anjunabeats sound. Guess it was alright for what it is, but not after such a pathetically structured set such as this one.

Man, even some of the tunes I kinda like have things working against them. Fefelove & Abramasi’s Try To Catch A Goldfish has strong, spacey trance elements in play, but are undone by a distorted low-end drowning everything out. Ruby & Tony’s Praya kinda tickles my ‘dumb-fun’ centres with its anthem and chopped up McProg vocals, but it don’t last long enough.

Ugh. In Trance We Trust 018 is a total turkey. I can’t imagine the series getting worse after this, but there is still one more to go. Courage, Sykonee...


Is this the worst CD of this reviewing project? Let’s ask the worst Street Fighter, Dan Hibiki, if it’s so.

Dan: “Hey now, don’t be like that. I’ve proven myself in the fighting arena, as I’m sure Marc Simz has proven himself in the DJ arena. In fact, I don’t even need to listen to this to know it’s the strongest CD of them all. Yahoo! Am I right, Jimmy?”

Blanka: “Aaroohoaahoo! (You go, Friend Dan!)”





Monday, December 16, 2013

Various - In Trance We Trust 016: DJ Observer & Daniel Heatcliff

In Trance We Trust: 2010

Hey, I know this Heatcliff guy! True, it's only just recently that I know him, on account he's had a track on but two volumes of In Trance We Trust ago, but it's something familiar. As I recall, it was also one of the better tunes off whichever mix that was (geez, it wasn’t that long ago – are these so interchangeable?). Don’t know anything about this DJ Observer dude though. According to the liner notes they’d been producing together for about half a decade, starting out with remixes for Gareth Emery (when he wasn’t so crap) and ...Robbie Rivera? Uh... *scurries to corner, rocking* It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright...

I’m not sure how the Misters Heatcliff and Observer go about their DJing, but judging by the arrangement of their set for In Trance We Trust 016, a suspected pattern emerges: one handles the instrumental cuts, the other shows love to vocal tunes. Oh God, are there vocals on the CD. Nearly every other song’s got some tart going on about something, and the first couple gals are annoyingly grating. Hannah Ray apparently got her break providing pipes on Armin van Buuren’s Mirage album, so I can give her some slack in not knowing how to handle vocal trance singing yet (and it’s not like Observer and Heatcliff give her anything interesting to work with). Not sure about Antonia Lucas though, as Lord Discogs may have her mixed in with another Antonia Lucas who sang on house records back in the ‘90s. Get your shit sorted, oh Lord!

After that bit of pain in the early going, things go prog-dull, plodding beats and uninteresting hooks one after the other. Matters aren’t helped when Observer and Heatcliff can’t even get figure out where they want to take their set, jamming in standard slices of euro-trance (Mastteo Marini’s Cosmic Place, their own Fall Call Right Back) in the middle before getting back to the trite McProg fluff.

Speaking of such, I must admit some enjoyment in First State’s Cross The Line near the end. Maybe it’s the better-than-average beats, or maybe vocalist Relyk shows more grace in her delivery than the gals at other points, but it did put a silly grin on my face. Following it with some interesting tech-numbers and an energetic offering from another pair going by T.O.M. & Tommygoff (Callisto Air seems like it learned from the Corsten Book of big-dumb-fun trance), I was almost saddened to have ITWT016 end when it did. Almost.


As luck would have it, Alpha 3 features a pair of fighters who you often face together, Juli & Juni, member of M. Bison’s elite super-soldier force known as The Dolls. What do they think of this CD?

Juni: Commencing audio sampling. Source indicates BPMs of 133 average, with error of 23% due to unfamiliarity of sound.

Juli: Low frequency ranges effective at stimulating left frontal cortex, left parietal cortex, and right cerebellum. High frequency ranges possibly intended for non-human enjoyment.




Friday, December 13, 2013

Various - In Trance We Trust 014: Daniel Wanrooy

In Trance We Trust: 2009

The good news is the compression production is behind us – oh, the wonders of sonic dynamics and space between the beats, crystal clarity and not a trace of mud in earsight. The bad news is we’re entering the ‘generic vocalist’ era of trance now, with two such indistinguishable gals gracing us with their non-presence in the first few tracks of In Trance We Trust 014 no less. Okay, tons of vocal trance since even the ‘90s suffered from this; at least Black Hole Recordings had enough clout in hiring ladies with some personality. JES may have always sung from the back of her throat as though she was about to have a wonderful bowel movement, but she stood out as someone unique. Melissa Mathes sounds almost identical to Susie (4) in this CD though, and it only gets worse after this one (Lord help me, there’s still five more discs to get through).

Anyhow, Daniel Wanrooy. He’d already been DJing on the side during his days as one-half of Progression (they of multiple progressive trance singles you’ve heard but probably can’t remember), so he’d been active for a while before striking out solo. Having his chance at an In Trance We Trust volume was a good start in getting his name out there, but he fails to do much of note with his effort. The opening is the usual smattering of pleasant Balearic numbers and McProg vocal cuts, then he heads down the god-awful anthem road with tracks containing breakdowns and builds that go on far too long and seldom offer a memorable payoff (holy cow, is that Topher Jones cut ever pointless). It’s just like Carl B’s mix, but at least with better sound design.

Things got interesting with some strong tech-beats in Daniel Heatcliff’s Phoenix. Yeah, it abuses the breakdowns too, but when the tune’s on, it’s on! It definitely regained my attention in this mix, and I was engrossed in where it would go next when… Oh dear, those vocals, they’re awful. This whole track is awful. Who the fuck is this, and why is it so familiar? *checks tracklist* Fack me, Richard Durand! Not that twat again, I thought I was done with you. We’re getting this shoved in our face just because he had that album out too, aren’t we.

Wanrooy seemingly corrects this atrocity by offering up more tech bangers to finish, but it isn’t enough to save INWT014 from being a middling affair. Kinda like most of his music, sadly.


It feels like ol’ Daniel’s always been around, yet never made much of a mark. Adon’s been around since the very first Street Fighter, but do you remember him from any of the games?

Adon: “What kind of introduction is that? I’m the ‘God Of Muay Thai’, and you want me to review European trance music? I ought to snap your spine for such disrespect! Get out of here, I’ve a date with destiny by defeating the man with the ‘Ten’ symbol on his back.”




Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Various - In Trance We Trust 012: Johan Gielen

In Trance We Trust: 2007

After years in the underground, Belgian Johan Gielan seemed poised to break out into super-stardom along with those Dutch trance chaps. A popular production alias (Airscape), plenty of side-projects, remixes, and collaborations to flood the market with, and even a part of TiĆ«sto’s inner circle when Mr. Verwest still had his hand in many things Black Hole Recordings related. Yet he never could reach that next level, at best relegated to second-tier status in the euro-trance pantheon. All things considered, it wasn't such a bad place to be throughout the '00s, but not for a guy who easily stood toe-to-toe with the big boys at that decade's start.

He’d done all that he could to stay relevant; that is, bandwagon jump at every opportunity. Oh yeah, he definitely got in on some of that electro house shizz, dragging the genre with him into the In Trance We Trust series. It’s odd even having Gielen helm another volume years after he did 004, given the label’s tendency of offering it to up-and-comers. The liner notes claim he was brought in to properly take the series into this uncharted realm of electro, which is funny since hardly anyone in the euro-trance scene even liked those farty sounds soiling their uplifting melodies.

In fact, I’m not even sure Gielen’s fond of them either. He only uses a couple such tracks at the beginning (which instantly ruins the pleasant Balearic mood set by opener Sex On The Beach from 8 Wonders), and much later care of the Wippenberg Remix of Super8 & Tab’s Needs To Feel (wow, did Wippenberg ever suck at electro). His set’s all over the place too, tracks jumping in tone with little care towards flow.

I guess there’s a decent moment in the middle when things get proper euro-trancey, but methinks he’s just attempting to build up his own track, Magnetic, as the centrepiece, going so far as to use TiĆ«sto’s Elements Of Life as the lead-in. Hell, they even share similar orchestral aesthetics. Sorry, Johan, you’ll never be ol’ Tijs, especially at that late stage. Also, it’s rather sad that, with tons of familiar trance names on ITWT012 (Steur, Ottoviani, Kyau & Albert, Vincent de Moor), that the utterly unknown Ryan Blair trumps all them with Flapjack. Shame the guy only released the one single.


Gielen’s effort makes me think of a poor man’s TiĆ«sto. How appropriate then, that we get Charlie (the poor man’s Guile) as our guest reviewer.

Charlie: “I’ve not much to offer in the way of musical analysis, but I can point out the technical attributes of this mix. Most of the transitions are functional, which I assume is what one expects of these mix CDs. I believe a DJ in this field is also expected to ‘maintain momentum’, which this one fails to do on numerous occasions, the rhythmic section often dropping out entirely. Research shows people enjoy dancing to this music, but reduced pacing confirms a tactical deficiency on the DJ’s part.”


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Tiƫsto - In Search Of Sunrise 5: Los Angeles

Songbird: 2006

This was supposed to be In Trance We Trust 009, featuring Mark Norman. The bill of sale enclosed with my delivery claims this should be ITWT009. Even the barcode sticker on the back of the jewel case informs this should be ITWT009. Clearly, this is not ITWT009. It's TiĆ«sto’s In Search Of Sunrise 5, a series that still falls under the Black Hole Recordings umbrella, but has nothing to do with the In Trance We Trust sub-label. I may as well review this regardless.

For a Mark Norman DJ mix, this sucks. No, wait, I haven't a clue what a Mark Norman DJ mix sounds like. If anything, at least where CD2 of this release is concerned, it sounds like a Markus Schulz set, a total bandwagon jump of twinkly McProg on Mr. Verwest's part. Ah, the Los Angeles tag makes sense now, likely suggesting this genre was wholly an American thing. Of course, using Miami as a setting would totally tip his hand, so here’s the West Coast instead. It’s also an excellent collection of the sound, all the big players bringing their spritely melodies, deep atmospherics, and grumbly basslines to the game (Alex Stealthy, Ozgur Can, Super8 & Tab, Global Experience, Jonas Steur, etc.). There’s not a duff cut in this mix, everything moving along with class.

In fact, I’m having a hard time believing this was all TiĆ«sto’s doing. I’ve never heard such a smooth-flowing mix from the man. Always there’re those moments that leave you scratching your head. CD1 has a perfect example, the inclusion of Fonzerelli’s Moonlight Party early on, a single instance of electro house in a double-disc release where it has no place at all. It serves no context, and is utterly forgotten about by the end. Yeah, it’s that Basic Perspective cut totally stealing the show on CD1 doing that, rendering all those vocal cuts to the dustbin of forgotten hyped singles – I’m looking at you, Karen Overton.

Anyhow, In Search Of Sunrise 5 is definitely worth your attention if you’ve fond memories of this era of progressive trance. I personally didn’t, but listening to CD2 here, I’m warming up to it, like feeling the first rays of a sunrise. Wow, what sap.


Since this mix comes from a different branch of Black Hole Recordings, here’s a guest reviewer from another Capcom fighting game: Roy Bromwell, the “Strong-Armed American” of Rival Schools.

Roy: “I’ve no time for this nonsense. There's a football game coming up I gotta practice for. Hmph, it’s just because I’m American, isn’t it - that I know about everything here. You’re right, but this trance stuff? It’s not being played by an American, just some guy from Europe. Belgium, right? Tiffany’s into this stuff though, go ask her.”

Tiffany: “I get to review music? Oh, what fun! I looooovvveee Teesteo and his songs. I once went to a party, and there were lights, and glowsticks. Amazing! So’s this CD. So fun singing that JES song! Hey, where’re you going?”




Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Tiƫsto - In Search Of Sunrise 7: Asia (Original TC Review)

Songbird: 2008

(2013 Update:
In Search Of Sunrise was TiĆ«sto’s series, of that no one can debate. Doesn't matter if you figured it was a good series or not, when you thought of DJ mix CDs from the Dutch icon, you thought of this one. Hell, he even named numerous remixes of his after it, almost as a means of cross-promotion. So while it wasn't in the realm of implausibility he'd move on from it, you sure didn't think Black Hole would be so presumptuous that they could carry on In Search Of Sunrise with an even doofier twat afterwards. Way to ruin the legacy, Black Hole.

Re-listening to the collection of pure uplifting trance vibes of CD2, I wonder if Mr. Verwest had already planned his musical change of direction that was soon to follow. It almost comes off as one last hurrah for his long-time faithful, a sort of "This be the last time ya'll gonna eat off my trance plate, bitches!" If you've never liked the vocals in his mixes, it's definitely the best (and only)
In Search Of Sunrise disc you're likely to find.)

IN BRIEF: In search of consistency.

Although TiĆ«sto’s never hidden the fact he is an ambitious individual, it would seem he’s no longer satisfied with conquering specific locales like Los Angeles and Ibiza. No sir, now he aims to make his mark on a continental level, and settling with nothing less than the biggest continent on the planet: Asia. At this rate, subsequent releases of In Search Of Sunrise will probably be subtitled Earth, Sol (now there’s a concept, searching for sunrise on the sun!), Andromeda, and finally Sloan Great Wall.

All joking aside, the Asia tag affixed to the seventh edition of Mr. Verwest’s annual DJ mix doesn’t have much to do with this release, as the continent's various cultures - from the Middle East to Siberia to Indonesia to nearly everything in between - aren't touched upon. Rather, this is still very much Ibizan in nature, with your usual plethora of acoustic guitars, poppy vocals, and melodic-driven dance beats. And although one could probably conjure some vague Far-Eastern imagery at various points, there’s only one track that seems to directly draw influence from the continent (the sitar use in Get Lifted). As it turns out, the main reason provided by the man himself for the subtitle was he happened to be touring through Thailand when he compiled this - so Thailand would be more accurate, although with so few actual ethnic aesthetics contained on this double-disc, it could just as easily have been subtitled Turkmenistan.

Specifically, My Hotel Suite In Thailand is the locale - and the first disc of this release certainly does sound like a bedroom mix, as there isn’t much of a theme or structure to the set. TiĆ«sto seems to have rounded up a number of his current favorite summery vocal and prog house cuts and arranged them in quite an erratic fashion. We jump from Balearic house to girly prog to instrumental tunes to folksy male vocalists to... you get the idea. Each mini-segment, mostly lasting a couple songs, bares scant resemblance to a previous one, with transitions into the next that are usually abrupt and jarring. TiĆ«sto’s mixing has long been quite noticeable and telegraphed, but he can often hide his technical limitations with at least agreeable set flow; however, with even this lacking, CD1 comes off as a mish-mash of mostly randomly selected tunes plunked in to fill up seventy minutes of playing time.

It doesn’t help some of the songs aren’t that good to begin with, TiĆ«sto’s own remix of Cary Brothers being the worst offender - the lyrics and music don’t mesh at all and it's an unfortunate waste of an otherwise good bassline. Plus, having the set end with yet another Christian “Will Shed Tears For Sunrise” Burns guest vocal reinforces the fact over-emotional male singers in dance music does no favors for the genre’s credibility. Overall, despite strong tracks from Three Drives and 16 Bit Lolita’s (as Kamui and Dokmai, in a very obvious attempt on their part to help Mr. Verwest add some legitimate Eastern Asia attributes to this release) that are worth your attention, CD1's rushed feeling creates a lack of polish you’d expect from a high-profile name the likes of Mr. Verwest holds.

Oddly enough, the opposite holds true for the second disc. Here, the music is divided into two sections: current-sounding trance at the start, and classic epic trance afterwards. There isn’t much of a theme to this set either, but by sticking to a very specific style, the flow is stronger, especially so in the second half. In fact, the biggest highlight of ISOS7 is this ‘return to the roots’ section.

Although CD2 starts promisingly with a nice intro (the intro and outro tracks that bookend each CD, and are produced by Daniel Joaquin and Javier Rodriguez, are quite lovely) and a nifty little number from Zoo Brazil, it quickly descends into a trudge through overproduced, side-chaining, plodding music. Yet, just as you figure it can’t get any more wrought with Carl B’s cloying Just A Thought, all that is significantly scaled back into something far more, well, simple - and this is a good thing! Kimito Lopez’ Melkweg isn’t interested in assaulting your senses with vertigo-inducing side-chain washes or overdosing with ultra-melodies; nay, just a good groove, pleasing melody, and trancey backdrops. It completely changes the tone of the set, leading us through a string of one solid track after the other. The melodies are strong and to the point, easily outclassing Carl B’s effort; in comparison, Just A Thought comes off like a hyper-sensitive child desperately seeking attention, screaming “oh please please PLEASE love my super-wonderful mega-melody!"

And yes, by playing simpler trance tracks that get back to the basics rather than bumping and clawing at each other to be THE set highlight, the rest of CD2 does take on a pure trance-inducing attribute. Each song has the strength to stand on its own, yet expertly feeds off the previous one to maintain the energy; even the breakdowns and builds are tastefully executed, seldom coming off excessive (although Casa Grande does teeter close to the edge). Granted, even this section has some problems with transitions but the strength of the music helps gloss such quibbles away.

Ultimately though, this latest edition of the ISOS series is once again one disc too many. If you were to take the highlights from the first CD and couple it with much of the second half of CD2, you’d have an incredibly solid set of summery energetic progressive trance vibes. As it is, however, you have to wade through a bunch of overbearing mediocrity and sketchy arrangements to get to the good stuff. This still may be worth a pick-up on the cheap but with chances being only the last third getting consistent play-through down the road, you’d be better off just buying your top picks individually instead.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Markus Schulz - Ibiza '06 (Original TC Review)


Moist Music: 2006

(2013 Update:
Are these the same CDs? Yeah, the problems I bring up in this bloat of an old review (1500 words - you've been warned) are there, but they aren't as big of a deal as I remember them. Was I really so burned out on trance that year? Perhaps, as McProg truly
was stale by the end of '06. It's not much of a surprise almost all the jocks, including Schulz, were moving on to other things within the year. Yet after hearing Ibiza '06 out of that context, in the here and now, I find there's a lot more to enjoy than I initially gave it credit for. Maybe that's all it takes, eh? Let an overplayed genre of music sit fallow for a few years, then return to it with fresh ears and (hopefully) matured insight. Then, and only then, can you properly take the music on its own merits, not weighed down by excessive marketing but as the original producers intended. Yeah...

Nah, this stuff's honestly just of higher quality than all the side-chaining, electro, 8th notes, and noise that followed in McProg's wake. If anything,
Ibiza '06 can be regarded as the genre's last gasp of glory. If you enjoyed the stuff but passed this by because of genre fatigue when it first hit the streets, maybe take another look. After all, it's not like you're gonna be getting anything new in this style.)

IN BRIEF: Pleasant atmosphere, but little else.

We passed an anniversary of sorts this last week. Prior to November 2005, TranceCritic was still a relatively low-key review site with a small but consistent reader-base. We’d cause a stir here and there with some of our more opinionated reviews, but nothing drastic. That all changed though, when one of our writers, Cobalt, gave a less-than-favorable review on the debut artist album from Miami-based DJ Markus Schulz.

The aftermath of this review resulted in a slew of hate mail from Schulz’ loyal, dedicated, almost cult-like fanbase, a flaming the likes we’ve yet to see since. Of course, for a fledgling site such as ours, that kind of publicity did wonders to increase our profile, and in a weird sort of way, we owe some thanks to The Cult Of Schulz for that. Therefore, it seems fitting we should sit here with a new release from Mr. Schulz a year later, this time in the form of a DJ mix.

Much has happened in clubland this past year, and Schulz’ profile has diminished during this time. For a DJ who was apparently on the road to superstar status, this comes as a bit of a shock. After all, he’d done everything required to be amongst the big players: solid underground reputation; unique accessible style of music; popular internet radio show; cult-like fanbase to preach the Gospel of Schulz everywhere they went. What went wrong?

Two things, by my eyes. Firstly, the aforementioned debut album tanked at a point when a solid release would have cemented his status in clubland. It chased away his underground following and was met with apathy from casual folks, leaving only his newer fans to enjoy the results. Naturally, he continued pandering to this new fanbase, but it lead to the second problem: popular tastes were rapidly changing. His brand of feather-light prog was wearing thin by the end of 2005, especially with dirty tech the burgeoning hot sound. All the hype surrounding Schulz’ rising star faded away, the Swedish House Mafia now the topic of discussion.

It’s safe to say all the momentum his career had been building significantly slowed down this year. Obviously, he still has plenty of tour dates and the Cult of Schulz remains as loyal as ever, but one gets the impression he’s reached a crossroad in his musical direction. Should he carry on with his ‘McProg’ sound that helped him gain all that momentum in the first place, even though it has grown stale? Or might it be best to search new avenues, taking his old ideas along with him?

Ibiza ‘06 is this year’s annual mix from the Schulzer, representing the sort of music he played at his residency on the island this past summer. Additionally, he’s decided to showcase mostly new talent here rather than make a mix with obvious anthems, which as the head of a label (Coldharbour, d’uh) is always smart business practice. If Markus has moved on or stayed the course, we should find our answer here. Into the player goes Disc 1.

And judging from the opening chunk of tracks, Schulz is still playing his ‘twinkle’ prog (heh, there’s a million-and-one terms for it). If you still haven’t heard of it, McProg tends to have heavy grooves, airy sweeping effects, and, the clincher, little melodies that sound like they were sampled from ballerina toy boxes. It makes for pleasant music but doesn’t have the depth of other forms of prog. The fact most of it is similarly arranged like epic trance (lots of long unnecessary breakdowns and builds) has caused many of the progressive elite to disown the sound altogether. Still, it is charming music when handled well.

And Markus does handle this sound very well for the first half of disc one. Benya’s Mimas may have you rolling your eyes, mind, but after that we are taken into some nice, grooving tracks with deep, immersive soundscapes. Progresia and Francis Blaid offer synthy hooks as well in their tracks for those who like something to hum along to.

Addictive brings the rhythmic intensity up, and it seems this mix is ready to be taken to the next level. Then, the breakdown hits; and, God, is it awful. Seriously, that wailing... guitar, is it? Who knows, but it’s terribly hokey (but probably will be a smash anyway) and the complementing trancey hooks in the build are so rote, it kills the mood in an instant. A shame, because Monakhov’s follow-up Feels Lonely is an interesting track, with a nifty grumbling bassline. It certainly would have segued better from Mystery than Addictive.

From here, this mix goes absolutely nowhere. Oh, there’s some nice sounding tracks to be had - Benz & MD’s Turning The Curves is a wonderful euphoric trancer, and Technology & Computer is a decent groover - but Markus seems interested in showcasing songs rather than making any kind of thematic set. If there is a theme, it’s the running amiable atmosphere these tracks provide. Unfortunately, many of them contain lackluster hooks, most of which you’ll forget after the disc finishes. Well, maybe Chuck Luis’ Collision will be remembered, but only because it’s such a laughable try-hard.

Most telling though, is the second half doesn’t contain any of Schulz’ trademark sound. It would appear he’s moving into standard van Buuren styled trance, although with a thicker groove and slightly less emphasis on the uplift. How does this affect discero numero deux, then?

By going all trance, it would seem, but don’t run away just yet. Ormatie establishes a deep atmosphere, and Joonas Hahmo brings us the groove with a charming hook, which opens the second CD promisingly.

Some pleasant deep tracks go by, including a little bit of twinkle in Glimmer if you still crave it, but these are just warm-ups for YearZero, which is vintage Andy Moor: chopped-up vocals, angelic pads, twinkly melodies, and body-movin’ rhythms. Well, Orkidea has a hand in this track too, but folks will be thinking Moor all the way here. He might have become predictable as fuck, but Andy’s style does work, and YearZero makes for a nice peak in this mix. Achems [sic?] Razor from Kenneth Thomas works nicely as a follow-up, with a simple, pounding lead and mechanical sound effects.

Markus pulls a surprise in throwing down some techno from Roland Klinkenberg, which for a moment made me think we were going to see a completely unexpected tangent from the Schulzer. Alas, it’s not to be, but it does change the focus of this mix, leading us into deeper pastures where lots of floaty pads and minor melodies dominate. It’s an utter bore though, with rudimentary hooks, placid rhythms, and very little sticking in your mind. Sure, I enjoy some atmospheric soundscapes in my trance, but when it’s done in a DJ set, it had better lead to something, and none of these tracks do. It’s just track after track of similarly arranged tunes, and no interesting flow at all.

Even more damning is the fact the final stretch suffers from ‘too-many-breakdowns’ syndrome. This isn’t an energetic set to begin with, so you’d think excessive breakdowns wouldn’t be a problem. Yet by the time Markus’ own First Time hits, it’s become annoyingly predictable. A couple of interesting sounds will briefly draw your attention (Sassot’s Where It All Began probably the best of the lot), but most of it will fade from your memory by the end. Altogether, not a remarkable finish.

It is quite clear Markus has shifted his musical focus, as much of his old sound is absent. While I respect his decision to change, he could have chosen something better than what we have here. Instead of a unique, if simple, form of prog, Schulz seems to have been converted to the Armada trance sound, and most of Ibiza ‘06 follows their manifesto: airy, melodic trance without an original idea in it that hasn’t been aped from the year 2001. In this regard, Markus just sounds like a slightly slowed-down mellow Armin, which isn’t going to do him any favors if he wants to make a bigger name for himself.

Ultimately, there’s very little on Ibiza ‘06 that distinguishes Schulz from the Armada pack. There’s a bit more emphasis on groove and atmosphere, but it’s still Armin’s style of trance, which has been stale for ages. Markus doesn’t bring anything new to the table here, and if he continues down this road, he’s going to be stuck in van Buuren’s shadow for a long time to come.

Things I've Talked About

...txt 10 Records 16 Bit Lolita's 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 Play Records 2 Unlimited 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 20xx Update 2562 3 Loop Music 302 Acid 36 3FORCE 3six Recordings 4AD 6 x 6 Records 75 Ark 7L & Esoteric 808 State A Perfect Circle A Positive Life A-Wave a.r.t.less A&M Records A&R Records Abandoned Communities Abasi Above and Beyond abstract AC/DC Ace Trace Ace Tracks Playlists Ace Ventura acid acid house acid jazz acid techno acoustic Acroplane Recordings Adam Beyer Adam Ellis Adam Freeland Adham Shaikh ADNY Adrian Younge adult contemporary Advanced UFO Phantom Aegri Somnia AEI Music Aes Dana Afgin Afrika Bambaataa Afro-house Afterhours Agoria Aidan Casserly Aira Mitsuki Airwaves Ajana Records Ajna AK1200 Akshan album Aldrin Alex Smoke Alex Theory Alice In Chains Alien Community Alien Project Alio Die All Saints Alpha Wave Movement Alphabet Zoo Alphaxone Altar Records Alter Ego alternative rock Alucidnation Ambelion Ambidextrous ambient ambient dub ambient techno Ambient World Ambientium Ametsub Amon Amarth Amon Tobin Amplexus Anabolic Frolic Anatolya Andrea Parker Andrew Heath Androcell Anduin Andy C anecdotes Aniplex Anjunabeats Annibale Records Anodize Another Fine Day Antendex anthem house Anthony Paul Kerby Anthony Rother Anti-Social Network Anzio Green Aoide Aphasia Records Aphex Twin Apócrýphos Apollo Apollo 440 Apple Records April Records Aqua Aquarellist Aquascape Aquasky Aquila Arcade Architects Of Existence Archives Arcturus arena rock Arista Armada Armin van Buuren Arpatle Artifact303 Arts & Crafts ASC Ashtech Asia Asian Dub Foundation Astral Engineering Astral Projection Astral Waves Astralwerks AstroPilot AstroPilot Music Asura Asylum Records ATB ATCO Records Atlantic Atlantis atmospheric jungle Atom Heart Atomic Hooligan Atomine Elektrine Atrium Carceri Attic Attoya Audiobulb Records Audion AuroraX Autechre Autistici Autumn Of Communion Auxilary Auxiliary Avantgarde Avatar Records Aveparthe Avicii Axiom Axs Axtone Records Aythar B.G. The Prince Of Rap B°TONG B12 Babygrande Balance Balanced Records Balearic ballad Bålsam Banco de Gaia Bandulu Barker & Baumecker Battle Axe Records battle-rap Bauri Beastie Boys Beat Buzz Records Beat Pharmacy Beatbox Machinery Beats & Pieces bebop Beck Bedouin Soundclash Bedrock Records Beechwood Music Benny Benassi Bent Benz Street US Berlin-School Beto Narme Beyond bhangra Bicep big beat Big Boi Big Dada Recordings Big L Big Life Bill Hamel Bill Laswell Bill Leeb BIlly Idol BineMusic BioMetal Biophon Records Biosphere Bipolar Music BKS Black Hole Recordings black metal black rebel motorcycle club Black Swan Sounds Blanco Y Negro Blasterjaxx Bleep Blend Blood Music Blow Up Blue Amazon Blue Hour Blue Ɩyster Cult blues blues rock Bluescreen Bluetech BMG Boards Of Canada Bob Dylan Bob Marley Bobina Bogdan Raczynzki Bombay Records Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Boney M Bong Load Records Bonobo Bonzai Boogie Down Productions Booka Shade Botchit & Scarper Bows Boxed Boys Noize Boysnoize Records BPitch Control braindance Brandt Brauer Frick Brasil & The Gallowbrothers Band breakbeats breakcore breaks Brian Eno Brian Wilson Brick Records Britpop Brodinski broken beat Brooklyn Music Ltd Bryan Adams BT Bubble Buffalo Springfield Bulk Recordings Burial Burned CDs Bursak Records Bush Busta Rhymes Buttertones bvdub C.I.A. Calibre calypso Canibus Canned Resistor Capitol Records Capsula Captain Hollywood Project Captured Digital Carbon Based Lifeforms Caribou Carl B Carl Craig Carlos Ferreira Carol C Caroline Records Carpe Sonum Novum Carpe Sonum Records Castroe Casual Cat Sun CD-Maximum Ceephax Acid Crew Celestial Dragon Records Cell Celtic Centaspike Cevin Fisher Cheb i Sabbah Cheeky Records chemical breaks Chihei Hatakeyama Children Of The Bong chill out chill-out chiptune Chris Duckenfield Chris Fortier Chris Korda Chris Liebing Chris Sheppard Chris Witoski Christmas Christopher Lawrence Chromeo Chronos Chrysalis Ciaran Byrne cinematic soundscapes Circle of Pines Circular Ciro Berenguer Cirrus Cities Last Broadcast City Of Angels CJ Stone Claptone classic house classic rock classical Claude Young Clear Label Records Clementz Cleopatra Cloud 9 Club Culture Club Cutz Club Tools Cocoon Recordings Cold Spring Coldcut Coldplay coldwave Colette collagist Columbia Com.Pact Records Coma Eye comedy Compilation Comrie Smith Congo Natty Conjure One Connect.Ohm conscious Control Music Convextion Cooking Vinyl Cor Fijneman Corderoy Cosmic Gate Cosmic Replicant Cosmo Cocktail Cosmos Studios Cottonbelly Council Estate Electronics Council Of Nine Counter Records country country rock Covert Operations Recordings Craig Padilla Craig Richards Crazy Horse Cream Creamfields Creedence Clearwater Revival Crockett's Theme Crosby Stills And Nash Crossing Mind Crosstown Rebels crunk Cryo Chamber Cryobiosis Cryogenic Weekend Cryostasis Crystal Moon Cube Guys Culture Beat Curb Records Current Curve cut'n'paste CYAN Cyan Music Cyber Productions CyberOctave Cyclic Law Cygna Cypher 7 Cypress Hill Cyril Secq Czarface D-Bridge D-Fuse D-Topia Entertainment Daar Dacru Records Daddy G Daft Punk Dag Rosenqvist Damian Lazarus Damon Albarn Damon Wild Dan Terminus Dan The Automator Dance 2 Trance Dance Pool Dance With The Dead dancehall Daniel Heatcliff Daniel Lentz Daniel Pemberton Daniel Wanrooy Danny Howells Danny Tenaglia Dao Da Noize Daphni dark ambient dark disco dark psy darkcore darkside darkstep darksynth darkwave Darla Records Darren Emerson Darren McClure Darren Nye DAT Records Databloem dataObscura David Alvarado David Bickley David Bridie David Cordero David Guetta David Morley DDR De-tuned Dead Coast Dead Melodies Deadmau5 Death Grips death metal Death Row Records Decimal Deconstruction Dedicated Deejay Goldfinger Deep Dish Deep Forest deep house Deeply Rooted House Deepwater Black Deetron Def Jam Recordings Del Tha Funkee Homosapien Delerium Delsin Deltron 3030 Denshi Danshi Depeche Mode Der Dritte Raum Derek Carr Detroit Deviant Records Devin Underwood Devroka Deysn Masiello DFA DGC diametric. Dido Dieselboy Different DigiCube Dillinja Dirk Serries dirty house Dirty South Dirty Vegas Dis Fig disco Disco Gecko disco house Disco Pinata Records disco punk Discover (label) Disky Disques Dreyfus Distant System Distinct'ive Breaks Disturbance Divination DJ 3000 DJ Brian DJ Craze DJ Dag DJ Dan DJ Dean DJ Gonzalo DJ Heather DJ John Kelley DJ John Storm DJ Merlin DJ Mix DJ Moe Sticky DJ Observer DJ Premier DJ Q-Bert DJ Shadow DJ Soul Slinger DJ-Kicks Djen Ajakan Shean DJMag DMC DMC Records Doc Scott Dogon Dogwhistle Dooflex Doom Poets Dopplereffekt Dossier Dousk downtempo dowtempo Dr. Alban Dr. Atmo Dr. Dre Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show Dr. Octagon Dragon Quest dream house dream pop DreamWorks Records Drexciya drill 'n' bass Dronarivm drone Dronny Darko drum 'n' bass DrumNBassArena drumstep drunken review dub Dub Pistols dub techno Dub Trees Dubfire dubstep Dubtribe Sound System DuMonde Dune Dusted Dyadik Dynatron E-Mantra E-Z Rollers Eardream Music Earth Earth Nation Earthling Eastcoast Eastcost Eastern Dub Tactik EastWest Eastworld Eat Static EBM Echodub Ed Rush & Optical Editions EG EDM World Weekly News Ektoplazm Electric Universe electro Electro House Electro Sun electro-funk electro-pop electroclash Electronic Dance Essentials Electronic Music Guide Electrovoya Elektra Elektrolux em:t EMC update EMI Emiliana Torrini Eminem Emmerichk Emperor Norton Empire enCAPSULAte Encym Engine Recordings Enigma Enmarta Ensiferum Enya EP Epic epic trance EQ Recordings Equal Stones Erased Tapes Records Eric Borgo Erik Vee Erol Alkan Escape Esko Barba Esoteric Reactive Espacio Cielo ethereal Etic Etnica Etnoscope Euphoria euro dance eurodance eurotrance Eurythmics Eve Records Everlast Ewan Pearson Exitab experimental Eye Q Records Ezdanitoff F Communications Fabric Facture Fade Records Faex Optim Faint Faithless Falcon Reekon Fallen False Mirror fanfic Fantastisizer Fantasy Enhancing faru Fatboy Slim Fax +49-69/450464 Fear Factory Fedde Le Grand Fehrplay Feist Fektive Records Felix da Housecat Fennesz Ferry Corsten FFRR Fictivision field recordings Filter filters Final Fantasy Firescope Five AM FjƤder Flashover Recordings Floating Points Flowers For Bodysnatchers Flowjob Fluke Fluxion Flying Lotus folk Fontana footwork Force Intel Fountain Music Four Tet FPU Frame Francis M Gri Frank Bretschneider Frankie Bones Frankie Knuckles Frans de Waard Fred Everything freestyle French house Front Line Assembly Frou Frou fsoldigital.com Fugees full-on Fun Factory funk future garage Future Sound Of London Futuregrapher futurepop g-funk G-Prod gabber Gabriel Le Mar Gaither Music Group Galaktlan Galati Gang Starr gangsta garage Gareth Davis Gary Martin Gas Gasoline Alley Records Gee Street Geffen Records Gel-Sol Genesis Geometry Combat George Issakidis Gerald Donald Get Physical Music ghetto Ghostface Killah Ghostly International Glacial Movements Records glam Gliese 581C glitch Glitch Hop Global Communication Global Underground Globular goa trance Goasia God Body Disconnect Gorillaz gospel Gost goth Grammy Awards Gravediggaz Green Bay Wax Green Day Grey Area Greytone Gridlock grime Groove Armada Groove Corporation Grooverider grunge Guru Gustaf Hidlebrand Gusto Records GZA H:U:M H2O Records Haddaway Halgrath happy hardcore hard house hard rock hard techno hard trance hardcore Hardfloor Hardly Art hardstyle Harlequins Enigma Harmless Harmonic 33 Harmonic Resonance Recordings Harold Budd Harthouse Harthouse Mannheim Hawtin Headphone Hearts Of Space Hed Kandi Hefty Records Helen Marnie Hell Hercules And Love Affair HernĆ”n CattĆ”neo Hexstatic Hi-Bias Records Hic Sunt Leones Hide And Sequence Hiero Emperium Hieroglyphics High Contrast High Note Records Higher Ground Higher Intelligence Agency Hilyard hip-hop hip-house hipno Hollywood Burns Home Normal Honest Jon's Records Hooj Choons Hope Records horrorcore Hospital Records Hot Chip Hotflush Recordings house Howie B Huey Lewis & The News Human Blue Humanoid Hybrid Hybrid Leisureland Hymen Records Hyperdub Hypertrophy Hypnotic Hypnoxock I Awake I-Cube i! Records I.F. I.F.O.R. I.R.S. Records Iboga Records Icarus Music Ice Cube Ice H2o Records ICE MC IDM Iempamo Ignis Fatum Igorrr Ikjoyce illbient ILUITEQ Imogen Heap Imperial Dancefloor Imploded View In Charge In Trance We Trust Incoming Incubus Indica Records indie rock Indisc Industrial Infastructure New York Infected Mushroom Infinite Guitar influence records Infonet Inhmost Ink Midget Inner Ocean Records Innovative Leisure Records Insane Clown Posse Inspectah Deck Instinct Ambient Instra-Mental Intellitronic Bubble Inter-Modo Interchill Records Internal International Deejays Gigolo Interscope Records Intimate Productions Intuition Recordings ISBA Music Entertainment Ishkur Ishq Island Def Jam Music Group Island Records Islands Of Light Italians Do It Better italo disco italo house Item Caligo J-pop Jack Moss Jackpot Jacob Newman Jafu Jake Stephenson Jam and Spoon Jam El Mar James Blake James Holden James Horner James Lavelle James Murray James Zabiela Jamie Jones Jamie Myerson Jamie Principle Jamiroquai Javelin Ltd. 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