Deejay Goldfinger - Runaway (Original TC Review)

Mastermind Music: Cat. # MMM2005001 

Released November 2005 

Track List: 

A. Runaway (Goldfinger's NRG Factor) (6:52) 

B1. Runaway (Dancefloor Saints Remix) (6:36) 

B2. Runaway (Dancerockaz Remix) (6:32) 

(2010 Update: Fortunately, we didn't get subjected to a surge of crummy hair-metal dance covers. Unfortunately, something even worse did emerge: ironic-hipster dance-rock -complete with ironic mullets. Ugh, I think I'd take a dozen tunes like this one than any more of that.) 

IN BRIEF: Time to grow a mullet. 

In a previous episode of Sykonee Reminisces Euro's Glory Years, I gave props to Deejay Goldfinger for being daring enough to give a whole verse to a rapper. Having personally given up on the genre since the rapper's unceremonious exit, the nostalgia factor in Can’t Stop Me earned the single a rather generous rating despite my complaints of the song very nearly ripping off Somebody's Watchin Me. 

Recently, I was personally contacted by Goldfinger to see if I'd be interested in reviewing his latest single, Runaway. After my initial surprise had passed (after all, we here at TranceCritic have been rejected by others for reviews that were less sarcastic than my Goldfinger one), I accepted the offer. Even if I wasn't particularly fond of Can't Stop Me, I was generously curious if Goldfinger would expand the rapper's role further than a single verse. After all, someone has to lead the charge to spur the eventual retro return of raps in euro dance music. 

However, Runaway doesn't feature any raps at all. This is a good thing, though, since this is a cover of the Bon Jovi hit Runaway. I doubt an MC would suit the theme of that song at- 

Back up a moment there. Did I just type Bon Jovi? As in, hair metal Bon Jovi? You bet. Since modern dance music continues to look to the 80s for inspiration, it was only a matter of time before the most mocked of all musical styles from that decade was tapped as well. The big question is how competently it would be done. 

I was never a big fan of hair metal but you cannot deny its, um, charm. Over-the-top? Certainly, but a great deal of music is. When you turn your brain off and let your hair down, it can be a most fun form of stupid music in decent doses. And no other kind of rock seems to inspire more folks to pull out their best air guitar moves without a care in the world. As such, the form of hard euro dance music Goldfinger is known for is a perfect template to work with, as it is just as equally stupid, fun music in decent doses. 

Sure enough, the rhythm in Runaway is punchy with suitably throbbing bass driving the whole enterprise. What really knocks me over, though, is just how good Felicitas Zoë's singing is. Having grown so accustomed to gals doing poor interpretations of older songs in a dance format (heck, sometimes the lyrics don't even make sense from a girl's mouth, as many times they’re cover songs written by guys), anytime someone not only does a competent job but even raises the song's effectiveness is a welcome, if all too rare, surprise. 

She absolutely nails the essence of Runaway's original lyrics (about a girl who runs away from home, if you hadn't guessed), lending a tragic touch to the feel of it since it comes from a female's mouth. You also get some kooky hair metal guitar licks lurking in the background, which in turn adds to the more playful nature of this slice of euro. I really could have done without the simple synth riffage midway through the song, though, as the sounds used in it just don't quite mesh with the rest of the elements on play. Ah well, that's what the remixes are for, right? 

The Dancefloor Saints provide a remix, and, just in case you didn't know it's by them, they repeat that fact throughout the song. The Saints aren't the first to use such a hokey technique but blatant advertising like this is annoying just the same. As for the remix itself, it's a little more groove-centric, Goldfinger's synth is gone, and you get some additional trancey effects during the chorus, but it remains almost identical to the A-side. The strength remains in Ms. Zoë's lyrics and the background guitars. 

Ah, now this second remix (done by the guys who help produce Goldfinger) is much better. You get hair metal guitars galore, adding to the cheese factor without going too far over the top. With the rhythm a little less throbbing, it complements all that riffage wonderfully. Throw in Ms. Zoë's vocals getting some extra mileage with effects in between the verses and choruses, and you have a nice little bit of clubbing fodder that'll get dancers whipping out air guitar moves in earnest. 

While I've never been a huge fan of dance covers of rock songs, this one outdoes most since it recognizes the strength of its source material and indulges in it gleefully. Unfortunately, because Runaway does tap the original source so heavily, this may also be its biggest drawback. It plays the nostalgia card perhaps a little too hard. The song would definitely get a reaction in a typical Top40 club but I can't see it having much longevity at home. Once you get past those hair metal retro vibes, the song is very standard euro club music. 

Also, I hope this doesn't become a trend. Runaway works better than it really should because Ms. Zoë's vocals are more inspired than most euro cover fare. However, I can see dance covers of hair metal tunes going horribly awry in the wrong hands all too often. 

Score: 6/10 

Written By Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.

Marco V - 200V (Original TC Review)

In Charge: Cat. # ICCD002
Released October 15, 2005

Track List:
1. False Light (7:05)
2. Second Bite (5:16)
3. New Dawn (5:27)
4. No Place For Silence (4:30)
5. Calling The Shots (4:23)
6. More Than A Life Away (3:41)
7. Red Blue Purple (5:21)
8. Stronger Now (3:46)
9. Toys For Humanoids (3:43)
10. Automanual (4:50)
11. A Great Escape (5:56)
12. Terminal 18!! (5:21)
13. C:del*.mp3 (6:55)

Includes a DVD with videos, live footage, and MP3 sets.


(2010 Update:
Marco's career didn't quite take off the way I seemed to indicate it could have. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's fallen off but he definitely doesn't command the same attention he used to. Not that this album was the cause of all that -just a matter of changing tastes and trends, and Marco simply was unable to keep pace.)


IN BRIEF: Sometimes it's best to just do what you're known for.

Whenever I go onto certain trance message boards, I can't help but feel left out of most of the fun. While most of the inhabitants of such boards were going through the second stage of their EDM fandom -the part where you find a particular underground sound and cling to it like glue through thick and thin- I was already well into the third stage of mine -where you start branching off and exploring every other style the music has to offer. The side effect of this is you don't follow your initial pet genre quite as diligently, and many new names the next generation of clubbers are gushing over pass you by. So, although the Fellers, Liebs, and Jam & Spoons warranted my attention, the Buurens, Moors, and Gabriel & Dresdens practically gained fame without me even noticing.

Oh, and the Marco Vs.

Not that Mr. Verkuylen is new altogether, mind. Along with producing partner Benjamin Bates, he's been around since at least '97 under various guises, and Marco's been DJing for much longer than that. However, it was mostly in recent years that he began to get noticed enough to step out from all the pseudonyms and start producing under his own moniker. By providing hard hitting trance when light, fluffy melodies dominated, Marco managed to establish himself as a name to be reckoned with. His go at the immortal Café del Mar by Energy 52 pretty much cemented Marco's place within the upper echelons of the trance community.

However, the man is quite new to me and, despite probably having the odd track of his floating around, this release is my first real foray into V territory. Having heard from pre-release buzz 200V (heh, clever) is a bit of a departure from the style that established Marco, this promises to be interesting.

While I've heard he's normally regarded as tech-trance, the opening pair of songs is anything but. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what to call them. Progressive would be a close estimate but there's nothing proggy about these either. In fact, both False Light and Second Bite bare some semblance to the Underworld of old with their pumping rhythms and murky atmosphere. These attributes are merely there to complement the lyrics to these songs, and it works wonderfully. Elliot Johns especially gives an inspired go on Second Bite with a sort of old punkish warble.

This is something I didn't expect. Well, truthfully, I didn't really know what to expect, but a pair of aggressive, sinister vocal numbers that inspire some of the most deviant actions capable on a dancefloor was certainly one of the most remote. The fact almost everything that gets branded trance these days has become so safe and happy-go-lucky to appeal to as wide an audience as possible (yes, even a lot of tech-trance) makes hearing something as ominous as these two cuts a pleasant surprise.

New Dawn seems to start out in the same direction with the mayhem, moving into breakbeat territory to provide the backbone. This comes as another welcome surprise, but a cautious one as sometimes a producer may stumble if they attempt styles they are not as well known for. Marco doesn't disappoint here, though. Despite some questionable choices in sounds early on (what's that trying to be, a distorted sinewave?), New Dawn re-focuses itself midway through into a pleasant bit of trancey atmosphere with soft pads and simple piano fills, never losing the initial momentum in the process.

Unfortunately, things start to get quite suspect as we move on into No Place For Silence. It starts out promising enough, following the same form as Second Dawn with menacing sounds, lyrics (although these are just loops of the title), and good rhythms. Some two minutes in, a little moody trance riff is introduced and, as the rhythm is effectively brought back, No Place For Silence appears to be another good track. Yet, just as soon as you think it's about to be taken to another level of intensity, the song ends.

Now, maybe I'm just spoiled by songs that start out like this building to something more intense for a few extra minutes but this track feels incredibly short, especially considering the two openers didn't (which is odd since Second Bite isn't that much longer). No Place For Silence comes off as quite a tease, which might have been alright for one track but this happens two more times in the following run of tracks (which alternate between two types, the latter of which I'll get to in a moment). J’ may have bemoaned that one of the best tracks in Politics Of Dancing 2, More Than A Life Away, was so short, but that's really how short the song is! And that, my friends, is a crying shame, as Bates does a wonderful little Karl Hyde impression. Along with the song's driving intensity, it could have been a classic anthem had it just been longer so we could enjoy it more. And Stronger Now, featuring Elliot Johns again, is yet another wonderful little vocal number akin to Second Bite that ends far too soon. These two tracks may not leave quite the gaping hole of energy at the end quite as badly as No Place For Silence, but they certainly feel like wasted potential for not doing more with them. Sure, you can probably find longer versions on the singles, but you're most likely going to come away disappointed when you hear these shorter version on 200V.

What about those other tracks arranged in with these, then? Surely they can feed off the energy the short, intense vocal numbers provided. Eh, not so, sadly. In an effort to broaden his musical techniques, Marco seems determined to dabble in other styles. The results aren't inspiring. Calling The Shots is a bit of march-a-long techno using more of those distorted noises the V-inator is fond of, but it's just annoying to endure. Red Blue Purple starts out promising with some nice trancey pads and arpeggio work, but quickly descends into speed garage idiocy with hollow bass sounds alternating with farty noises. It sounds cool for maybe 16 bars before you realize, as with nearly all speed garage, just how musically bankrupt it really is. And do I really need to go into Toys For Humanoids? It seems Marco wants to try his hand at some funky nu-school breakbeats, but his choice of bass ends up sounding as hopelessly clueless as the Icy Hot Stuntaz.

Having finally gotten past that tedious middle section, we get into something that's far more effective. Automanual is a gimmick-free bit of techno, making use a distorted hoover pitched about as low as it can go for its bottom end and simple bell melodies to provide the hook. It's down, it's dirty, and, dammit, does it ever groove. Old school revival! More like this please.

Or, even better, more stuff like A Great Escape! This is hard trance the way it needs to be done: rhythms with punch, driving hooks with spice, and melodies that don't dawdle on how great they are. Of course, Marco V introduces his main melody in a breakdown but the momentum of the track never dies thanks to all of the little subtleties hiding in the background. When it all comes back, the energy of A Great Escape increases tenfold. It boggles the mind why more trance producers don't do this, as despite the simplicity of this structure, it is still effective. I guess if they did stuff this aggressive, though, their chances of having their material played on A State Of Global Deejays drastically diminishes. Thankfully, Marco V has other plans.

Terminal 18!! takes the grit of Automanual and throws in a simple bit of spacey padwork to complement it. C:del*.mp3 follows suite, allowing for more synthy patches to carry the song than rhythms, but even the nearly malicious use of prolonged stomping builds doesn't dilute the song's effectiveness. These two cuts are nothing fancy but remain miles more effective as dancefloor fodder than any of the more experimental tracks from earlier.

In fact, hearing this current run of tracks, I can see why Marco became so popular with folks who enjoy the harder hitting aspects of this style. He's practically nailed the template, making use of rhythms that don't disappoint and melodies that do invite you into trance. This is the same guy that did the idiotic Red Blue Purple? Most of the music on the opening two-thirds of 200V feels like nothing more than a bad memory compared to where the album finished up.

The whole middle section of 200V is a perfect example of wasted potential, especially considering how good the album started and ended. All the decent songs are far too short to make room for songs that are just bad. I'll applaud Marco V's willingness to experiment in other styles but, as A Great Escape and Terminal 18!! prove, he's far better when he sticks to his strengths.

In all, this release is a very mixed bag. I can see older V fans dismissing it almost instantly aside from the last third, as Marco strays very far from that sound for a good portion of the album. The vocal numbers are quite good but, aside from the first two, they really needed to be longer to make more of an impression. The rest of it is unremarkable with the liberal jumping of genres on hand. Heck, I'd almost be willing to call this an ‘electronica’ album. Indeed, it seems Marco is aiming for a larger crowd than his hard trance fans. Sadly, this might end up being a mistake since the tracks that attempt to appeal to other factions of EDM are just plain bad (well, New Dawn perhaps an exception).


Score: 6/10

ACE TRACKS:
Second Bite
More Than A Life Away
A Great Escape


Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.© All rights reserved.

Cosmic Gate - The Drums (Back2Back Mixes) (Original TC Review)

E-Cutz: Cat. # EC2005/05 

Released September 2005 

Track List: 

A. The Drums (Back2Back Mix) (8:45) 

B. The Drums (Back2Back Dub) (8:45) 

(2010 Update: Straight-forward enough. Typical 'average' release. Cosmic Gate's change of sound was still unanticipated though, so it dates this review somewhat.)

IN BRIEF: Not quite the hard trance version of Little Drummer Boy. 

Cosmic Gate's a funny group for me. Despite their tracks containing elements my personal bias often detests - specifically overlong breakdowns and builds - I've generally enjoyed what I've heard from the duo. Granted, it hasn't been much, but you can't keep tabs on trance without running into your usual suspects like Exploration Of Space or Tomorrow on occasion. Whether it's their interesting sound patches or their crafty use of rhythms, their songs manage to work for me. 

Yeah, that's it. Dem riddims! No matter how gratuitous the breakdowns get, the peaks in Cosmic Gate's work rarely feels anti-climatic because the following rhythmic payoffs are serious movers. Far too many hard trance producers seem to forget this, figuring four-to-the-floor hits with off-beat bass throbs are the way to go. Cosmic Gate knows better, hence their tracks are more memorable than their peers (some nifty hooks at times hasn't hurt either). So, you can imagine I was quite interested in this single from the duo with a title consisting of the most rhythmic of all instruments. 

Apparently, The Drums was the first single made and released when Stefan Bossems and Claus Terhoeven paired up to make some tunes. This recently released Back2Back version is taken from the second volume of a series of DJ mix compilations they produce called, shockingly, Back2Back. 

And things start out quite nicely on this single. With plenty of lead-in rhythm, The Drums has more than enough time to work its grooves. A mild breakdown three minutes later introduces a buzzing sawwave, filling out the aural background without being obtrusive. The energy building in this track is promising. Unfortunately, things slide down after a longer breakdown starts just after the four minute mark; this sucker is a whopping two minutes long! Despite a continuous throbbing beat in the far background, it isn't quite enough to keep the momentum going for such a long downtime. 

Making matters worse is the main hook, which is introduced as the build begins. It's far too simple and lacking enough punch to get you excited for when the peak finally hits. Striking a single note every second beat just isn't going to cut it. The Drums seems to finally get going again a little around a minute after everything comes back together but we're only a few bars away from your obligatory minute-long rhythmic lead-out. 

There's a dub on the B-side of this, which is the exact same song, sans some spoken dialogue in the breakdown. In its absence, you get a long stretch of just the throb of the distant bass. This actually helps in creating better tension than having some gal going on about taking you on a cosmic journey. The anticipation for a hook, or a hi-hat, or anything, absolutely aches for release. It's just a shame the hook is so drab; it can't hope to ever release all that pent up tension. 

I guess the big question on everyone's mind is how does this version compare to the original. I honestly couldn't say, as I've never heard a decent version of the original. After plenty of scouring the net for a sound sample, the best I found was a thirty second snippet of opening rhythm you commonly find at Amazon (and I have my reasons for not using a p2p to find it). From what I could gather, though, the Back2Back version certainly is more energetic, more finely produced, and makes better use of current sounds. In short, everything you'd expect of an '05 remake - a modern shine on a tried and tested track. Cosmic Gate fans will undoubtedly be excited to have a piece of old Gate goodness re-released for the modern times, especially since the original single of The Drums is getting harder and harder to find as time passes on. 

For the rest of us, however, this single may be a bit of a letdown if you were expecting something more along the lines of the duo's more famous work. It isn't all together bad but since this is a remake of Bossems and Terhoeven's earliest efforts, the lack of any kind of innovative or memorable hook shows the pair had yet to nail down a sound that would remain timeless as they would in the coming years.

Score: 6/10 

Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.

Ferry Corsten - Fire (Original TC Review)

Flashover Recordings: Cat. # FLASHCD002 

Released October 28, 2005 

Track List: 

1. Fire (Radio Edit) (3:44) 

2. Fire (Extended) (7:21) 

3. Fire (Flashover Remix) (7:21) 

(2010 Update: Man, confrontational or what? I guess I was itching to let out some of my gripes of Corsten's brand of trance for a while, and went for it here. Not a good review by any stretch -even the snarky attitude here isn't as clever as it hopes to be.) 

IN BRIEF: Give me 80's or give me death (by fire). 

Well, gee, what more can there be said about Ferry Corsten that hasn't been psychoanalyzed to death by scene scrutinizers and would-be historians? As a guy who almost single-handedly popularized an entire musical movement, supplanting nearly every other form of EDM as the premiere genre in the process, his place in history is pretty much guaranteed. I suppose the only debate that still rages regarding Corsten is whether that place will be remembered with reverence or infamy. But screw all that. I'm going to tell where Mr. Corsten stands with me. 

To be blunt, I grew to despise the Corsten style very quickly (so apologies in advance for any snide comments to come, as some habits are hard to break). Not so much the songs themselves (although they'd get a bit loony on occasion) but the way they were used by DJs. I'm sure you all know the drill: pumping rhythm gets you psyched for a minute or two, it recedes to introduce a happy-go-lucky melody for a minute or two, song builds back up for a minute or two, finally accumulating to an energetic climax played out for a minute or two. Vintage Corsten, right? This formula was so successful, nearly every new trance producer (and even a few older ones) shamelessly copied it, right down to the exact same synth patches Corsten used. 

To this day, the formula continues to be milked despite it having overstayed its welcome by a good three years (or six, for some). Worse yet, a great number of DJs ended up hammering these types of tracks endlessly through a night. While such songs make for good peaks in a set, when they are played over and over it creates an annoying stop-go-stop-go-stop-go flatline of momentum. Anytime you feel you get somewhere, you end up taking a few steps back due to killed rhythm. 

Is it fair of me to blame Corsten for this? Probably not, but it was his tracks and remixes that set the atmosphere for many a flatlined party for me, and those boring nights have become fixated with his sound in my psyche. As a result, nearly every time I hear a standard Corsten type of track, such memories come back, and I'm bored of what I hear. It cannot be helped, as that's just the way music and our brains work. Until some good memories are replaced with the bad ones, those Corsten tunes that were overplayed with such redundancy by bad DJs will continue to draw my ire unless something amazing is done with it (looking at the state of trance these days, I do not hold out hope). 

Of course, this has nothing to do with Fire. It's no secret Corsten's changed direction in recent years, moving on from the sounds that made him famous. While many seem to be calling his new style 'electro trance', I personally call it 'using a different preset because the sawwave button is busted'. 

Okay, jokes aside, the newer sound used in Fire is kind of refreshing if you've followed his career. I'd hardly call it trance, as it almost sounds like the kind of stuff you might have heard in the early hi-nrg clubs. The songwriting is stupidly simple, with the main hook repeating throughout as additional twinkly melodies and harsh effects come and go. 

Oh, what's that? You've already heard that hook? Well, sure. Fire is essentially a cover of Duran Duran's Serious, right down to Simon le Bon's opening lyrics being lifted and repeated throughout. I guess I could moan and bitch about how the pillage of the 80's continues unabated, but I like this track just enough to give it a pass. That hook is far too catchy to complain about the big picture right now. 

The Flashover Remix sees Ferry having fixed the sawwave button on his synth, so we get a pretty standard trancey overhaul of Fire. The main hook is subdued in the form of sweeping synths as it gradually builds throughout while all the other elements play out as they did in the original. And, of course, there's a standard breakdown and build, which is inoffensive enough provided it gets used properly in sets (I wouldn't hold my breath) but nothing revolutionary either. Granted, there was a breakdown/build in the original too, but it was much shorter and far less obvious, as there were enough noisy effects going on throughout it that it never felt as though the pacing was thrown off. 

And, to be honest, I think the fact we didn't have to sit through so many of the usual Corsten clichés is what helps this track out more than it really should. Yes, the hook can get a bit annoying if listened to for a while, but it is also perfectly catchy in that you'll find yourself humming it to yourself long after its been played. 

The rest of it sees Corsten sticking to his strengths and foregoing what I always perceived to be his one weakness: the danceable rhythms are still there but the peaks of the song aren't as anticlimactic as a number of his tunes have been in the past (yes, I know I'm in the minority on this one, but who's writing this review -you chowderheads, or me?). 

Although I'm covering the initial CD release of Fire, I thought I'd be generous and also do a quick bonus review of the vinyl-only Ron van den Beuken Remix. Ahem... This remix is sweet! Consisting of hard, driving, German (styled) trance that scrubs away all the goofiness of the original in favor of a sinister atmosphere, there's far more energy to this than the other mixes. Beuken's version is guaranteed to pummel a dancefloor with its aggressive edge. 

If you don't own a turntable (probably many of you) and you want to be honest and legally pay for this remix (probably not as many of you), I highly recommend you pester Mr. Corsten with e-mails to include it in future CD releases of Fire. Until then, I'd say hold off on picking this up, as you'll probably be hearing the original all over the place on radios (underground and popular), clubs, compilations, and passing trendster cars to get your fix in the meanwhile. 

Score: 7/10 

Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.

Various - A Trip In Trance 4: Mixed by Rank 1 (Original TC Review)

HiBias Records: Cat. # HIB-10272
Released Jan 25, 2005

Track List:
1. Inner State - Changes (6:49)
2. Rachael Starr - Till There Was You (Gabriel & Dresden Mix) (6:42)
3. Ridgewalkers - Find (3:03)
4. Alt + F4 - Alt + F4 (6:19)
5. Benjamin Bates - Whole (4:50)
6. Jan Gustafsson - True Fiction (5:48)
7. Ernesto vs Bastian - Dark Side Of The Moon (5:46)
8. Sherrie Lea - No Ordinary Love (Kyau vs Albert Mix) (5:18)
9. Sandler - Theme Song (Sandler Mix) (3:32)
10. Hemstock & Jennings - Passion (John O'Callaghan Remix) (5:18)
11. Precursor - Pulsar (4:49)
12. Kenny Hayes - Daybreaker (Airbase Mix) (5:46)
13. Rank 1 - Beats @ Rank 1 Dotcom (6:00)
14. Jesselyn - Omnia (Tech-trance Mix) (5:03)


(2010 Update:
Kind of sloppy, this. I think this was a case of my so-called 'chatty' stream-of-thought writing getting the best of me but I didn't really take this release seriously. As all those contemporary trance reviews from earlier in the year can attest to, I'd grown quite cynical of the sound, and wasn't expecting much. Folks thought I was utterly daft in giving this the score I did, though were I to review it today, it'd probably earn a 5 or 6. It's still fun in portions.)


IN BRIEF: The true sound of reverb.

When I saw the promo sticker on A Trip In Trance 4 claiming "this is THE only domestic release to feature the true sound of Trance", you just know I got a little twinkle in my eye. The true sound of trance? Really? You mean to tell me everything in the last ten years is forgotten and we are now offered a compilation that contains the true sound of trance, as the name originally was used? No supersaws? No useless vocals? No halting breakdowns? No Corsten pre-sets? Just hypnotic loops, spacey pads, sci-fi samplings, and acid to spare? Hah! I think not.

I can see you are already thinking, “Oh, great. He's just going to use this review to gush over old stuff while bashing new stuff.” Don't worry, my friends. I'm not that petty.

Having accepted the fact the word trance has come to encompass more music than was initially intended, I've just learned to be a little more wary of anything with the genre's title on it. Unlike the old days where you'd know what you'd get with trance in the comp's title, it's gotten riskier for those preferring either mainstream or underground styles. Granted, you can usually tell what a release will have by track lists or label influence, but sometimes you may be tricked into getting something you hadn't intended.

While this series tends to aim for the more underground side of things, A Trip In Trance 4 is still a commercial release, so I wouldn't expect to hear, say, psytekk, on here. However, I do hope to hear more than just a bunch of euro trying to pass itself off as trance. Fortunately, Dutch producers Bennio de Goeij and Piet Bervoets, more commonly known as Rank 1, have been tapped to compile and arrange this edition, a pair that have had enough experience in the game to have an idea of what the true sound of trance is.

As is my tradition when delving into a new release, I plunked the CD into my player, threw on my trusty Sennheiser 580 headphones, cranked the volume to an appropriate level, and lay back on my couch in preparation to be swept up in the sonic assault. And what an assault! Opener Changes by Inner State sounds mellow enough with its Mediterranean atmosphere, but erupts with a wall of reverb so intense, the details are drowned. What kind of crappy mastering-

Less than a minute in, I slapped my head and turned the surround sound on my player off. I'd forgotten modern trance loves to crank the reverb effects to eleven, rendering the need for surround sound obsolete, especially on headphones.

Ah, now I can hear what's going on with Changes. And you know what? This isn't half bad at all. The hooks are simple and succinct, the vocals are rendered unintelligible enough as to not be distracting from the music, and the downtime doesn't dawdle. Then there's that rhythm! Bottom heavy and driving, it gets you grooving wonderfully despite the floaty effects about. Perfect opener, this song is.

We get a perfunctory mix into the next track, as they will mostly be on here. Really, this is more of a compilation than a DJ mix, so I won't be judging Piet's mixing abilities. I'll still be watching for track arrangement, though, so there'd better not be any lost momentum throughout.

The 21st century versions of Jam & Spoon, Gabriel & Dresden, give us another trancified remix of a pop song, this one Rachael Starr's Till There Was You. The sinister, pulsing synth that growls in the background is wonderfully apt to the song's lyrics about a girl who sings about her growing addiction to drugs. Well, it could also be an addiction to love, but I like my interpretation better. It suits the choking depressive sound of the remix. Till There Was You feeds off the initial thrust of Changes nicely with its sparseness, and the little vocal respite of Find by Ridgewalkers (Andy Moor's remix, I am told, but there's not indication of this on the credits) works decently as a follow-up. Only two and a half minutes of the track is used, though, as were quickly heading off into more energetic territory.

Yikes, but is Alt + F4 ever a cookie-cutter trance track. If The KLF had ever made a book called The Manual: How To Have A Number 1 Trance Hit, this track would have been their blueprint. Corsten rhythms? Check. van Dyk pre-sets (the other overused pre-set)? Check. Harmonizing basslines and melodies? Check. By the numbers breakdowns, builds, echo, reverb and pad effects? Check. A unique melody featured after the main elements have played out for a bit to make this track your own? Check.

Still, it isn't really all that bad. As The KLF proved, you can have fun music even in templates, and Alt + F4 is a fun tune thanks to the one unique element on hand, a twinkling little melody at the peak of the song that you really can't take seriously. Which is a good thing, as the next track is about as silly as it gets.

My God, but is that ever a horrid sound! What on earth is that playing, a vocodered accordion? Haha, it’s great! Benjamin Bates' Whole is the perfect antidote in case you felt Alt + F4 was too cliché, as it seems the true sound of trance has gone on to include Discovery era Daft Punk styled house music. Yeah, it's a stupid song, but comes out on here so unrepentantly, Whole sounds pure genius.

A Trip In Trance 4 has already given me some startling surprises, and things just keep getting better as we again move into completely different territory with Jan Gustafsson's True Fiction. If I was ever to refer to a song as epic, this is definitely one. To me, something epic has to be energetic and adventurous without crossing that line into over-the-top theatrics. True Fiction strikes that perfect balance with an invigorating riff, spacey pads, driving rhythm and just enough reverb to give it a grand feeling.

Onto something completely different again now, as the true sound of trance also includes darkwave with a dance beat. Ernesto and Bastian's Dark Side Of The Moon has more melodrama than any trance track than I've heard but then that's always been the draw of darkwave. This is so incredibly over-the-top, though, it actually works. Okay, so Dark Side Of The Moon is about as gothic as an Evanescence song, but it's also another fun track on this compilation that continues to show how diverse this music can get. Can't complain there.

I can complain on this next track, though. I was afraid of this but, given how much fun A Trip In Trance 4 had been up to this point, I'd held out some hope the diversity would continue. Instead, we get a weak Silence imitation with Kyau and Albert's remix of Sherrie Lea's No Ordinary Love. Despite all the fancy little effects, pads, and reverb thrown about to try and give the song substance, the energy in the compilation is drained nearly to nothing. This song is just far too boring with no vibe at all. Sure, Lea does a competent Dido impression here, but Kyau and Albert's material is limper than soggy noodles. This tends to happen, though, when you follow up songs with good rhythms with weaker ones.

From here, the compilation never regains the spontaneity that was so effective on the first half. There are some decent tracks to be had but for a long stretch, nothing seems to regain the energy lost from No Ordinary Love. The wall of arpeggiating reverb in Sandler's Theme Song can't manage it. The Passion of Christ-theme sampling Passion from Hemstock & Jennings can't manage it (does this track remind anyone else of Gouryella, though?). And the two stuttering supersaw anthems in Pulsar and Daybreaker don't manage it, either, although Precursor's track does pull a valiant effort. There's just not enough attention paid to creating energy in the rhythm, figuring all the arpeggiating melodies and reverb will do the trick instead. Maybe if these were the only types of tracks on here, it would work, but we had a long string of songs doing rhythm right to start out and this last batch just can't compete as a result.

For the climax of this release, Rank 1 decide to give their own release of Beats @ Rank 1 Dotcom the special treatment, more or less mixing it in from the very beginning of the intro percussion. This track builds up the rhythms for quite a while, capping off with a little ode to The O.T. Quartet's (Rollo) Hold That Sucker Down before the breakdown. Maybe.

Anyhow, this track is actually quite interesting. Sure, there's a lot of downtime as they build up the tension for their big riff. However, they pull a nifty little delay trick with the reverb on their main hook, spicing up the usual templates far more than the last five tracks managed to do between them all. It marks a return to the reckless approach to trance that was so apparent in the first half, and I'm actually quite intrigued in this compilation again. It's just a shame this comes right at the end, but Piet finishes out with a wonderful little growling slice of techno from Jesselyn to take us out.

And that, my friends, is the true sound of trance to me. Not supersaws, or reverb, or pads, or loops, or acid specifically, but the willingness to experiment with those attributes. As easily as Rank 1 could have just used a standard synth for Beats, they instead tried something unconventional with the reverb trick, and the songs much better for it. Sometimes such experiments fail but the results are always far more memorable than the same ol'.

For a domestic release, A Trip In Trance 4 has its fair share of eccentric takes on your usual trance templates (aside from Alt + F4 of course, but I wonder if this track is actually a piss-take), but the more commercial aspects of it will probably turn away those wanting underground material. Still, despite that tedious stretch of flat-lined momentum near the end, the mainstream audience will undoubtedly get a kick out of this. Just remember to turn your surround sound off before you play it.


Score: 7/10

ACE TRACKS:
Jan Gustafsson - True Fiction
Rank 1 - Beats @ Rank 1 Dotcom


Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.

Electrovoya - Days Like These/ICO (Original TC Review)

Fundamental: Cat. # FUN 521 

Released July 4, 2005 

Track List: 

A: Days Like These (7:38) 

B: ICO (7:45) 

(2010 Update: Holy anecdote, Batman, but hey, it's a breezy read, right? While the group seemed to disappear shortly after this, we definitely would be hearing more about that 'minimal click house' stuff I quipped about in the review.) 

IN BRIEF: Days often forgotten. 

So, I'm just relaxing in my palatial Marpole apartment (can't beat the sound of heavy traffic right out your patio!) on a fine Vancouver summer afternoon when something occurs to me. This fine Vancouver summer afternoon really isn't all that fine at all. You see, us here in the North American northwest have been spoiled rotten these last couple years by unusually great weather. Sure, we've had to deal with forest fires in some areas and drought warnings, almost unheard-of events in a rainforest climate such as ours, but we took it in stride in favor of the sun. 

It couldn't last, though, as it seems our typical weather has returned at the most inappropriate time. We've had spurts of sunshine and heat but for the most part, us poor Vancouverites have had to deal with drizzly rain, overcast skies, and muggy temperatures - or, as we've come to call it, "a typical Vancouver day." Those of us who've lived on the Canadian west coast for long periods of time are quite aware of having sunny days, and we can even recall enjoying having those intense rays of sunlight beating down on us while we lounge around on a beachfront or outdoor park. Yet, once that good weather retreats and we are back into our typical climate, and the exact notion of it fades from our memory.

It's a strange feeling, to say the least, but not unlike listening to Days Like These. Electrovoya seem to be quite new on the block, combining the talents of Greg Murray and Andy Hagerty. I've never heard any of their works prior to this one but they definitely know how to make a good trance record. Days Like These is a pleasant little ditty of bliss, as it really isn't too concerned about slamming you about with over-the-top theatrics. Instead, a simple melody loops throughout, subtly manipulated with effects to gently raise the atmosphere without ever peaking into absurdity. Synth washes complement the track to give it that added feeling of ecstasy washing over you (no, not the drug... well, maybe). 

Damned if I can remember how it sounds seconds after the song ends, though. Days Like These is one of those odd-ball tunes that you enjoy listening to, you remember you enjoyed listening to it, and you know if you ever hear it again, you'll enjoy it just as much, but how did that melody go again? Part of this problem probably has to do with Electrovoya's subtle production. Despite being played throughout without much interruption for breakdowns, builds, bridges, and other bric-a-brac (aside from your standard DJ-friendly intro and outro), the main melody doesn't really leap out at you in any significant way. Of course, this isn't really a bad thing, as it serves as a nice little interlude from whatever ails you during the day. However, unless Days Like These is placed in a minimal click house set (or something similarly unmelodic), chances are the song isn't going to light trance sets on fire anytime soon. 

ICO on the flip has some of the same problems but has an easier time sticking in my mind for one big reason: it surprised me. More old school in sound, this b-side makes good use of acid squelches, galloping string synths, and tough rhythms. The use of a more modern sounding synth for the main hook should appeal to the newer fans of trance, and it fits nicely with all the older sounds, but it doesn't really stick in the mind all that well either. 

Also, there's a halting breakdown used to introduce it but to be honest, this breakdown isn't all that bad. It sounds quite characteristic of most builds at first with layering synths and percussion, but Electrovoya pull a nifty little trick with the big kick build. While it may start as you'd expect, just when you figure it'll peak out, the kick begins to fade instead along with the rest of the building layers, lulling you into a false sense of security before everything, all at once, blasts forth with renewed intensity. I've listened to this a number of times and it still catches me off guard, probably because it so effectively plays against the conventional trance build template I've grown accustomed to. 

So in the end, I enjoyed both these cuts, probably ICO a little more since it appeals to those classic trance sounds I fell in love with early on, but there isn't anything amazingly remarkable about them either. Functional is the best way to describe them, which is what it seems Electrovoya set out to do anyways. Best enjoyed on a typical Vancouver summer day. 

Score: 7/10 

Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.

Deejay Goldfinger - Can't Stop Me (Original TC Review)

Atticus Musikvertrieb: Cat. # AT65024 

Released March 25, 2005 

Track List: 

1. Can't Stop Me (C.I.A. Mix)

2. Can't Stop Me (Club Mix)
3. Can't Stop Me (Deepforces Remix)
4. Can't Stop Me (DJ Goldfinger N-R-G Factor)
5. Can't Stop Me (Doug Laurent Mix)
6. Can't Stop Me (Pop Radio Edit)
7. Can't Stop Me (Dance Radio Edit)


(2010 Update: I was grumpy and depressed when I wrote this, the initial enthusiasm over writing for TranceCritic having waned -reviewing a lot of mediocre euro dance can do that to a guy. In fact, it was the last review I'd write for at least a month and a half. Oddly enough, Deejay Goldfinger liked this write-up enough to send me a promo for his follow-up single. Heh, maybe I should have wrote like a miser more often.)


IN BRIEF: Is there an original idea left in euro?

It's been a while since I could get excited over anything in the euro camp. Most of the attributes of the genre -catchy riffs, fun raps, and innovative sound patches- seem to be all but a distant memory. Most of it went by the wayside towards the end of the 90s, almost disappearing altogether as the anthem trance machine dominated the club scene. Anthem trance had its moment in the spotlight though, and euro's been on a small rise again by making use of trance's successful attributes and applying it to making fun dance music.

And while there have been a few interesting tracks here and there, I've yet to hear anything of the magnitude that made songs from old heavyweights like 2 Unlimited, Snap!, Maxx, and Corona such classics. It's no small wonder labels keep returning to those tracks for updated remixes when most modern acts are lacking in anything creative.

So, I dive into Deejay Goldfinger's Can't Stop Me without high expectations. This opening mix certainly has some decent sounds but once the main vocals starts -more or less repeating the same thing throughout- its similarities to the Michael Jackson-sung chorus of Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watchin’ Me are more than just a little evident.

However, I am absolutely shocked to hear a rap by a male rapper! And by rap, I mean an actual full verse along with typical "can't stop; won't stop" MCing. Aside from Brooklyn Bounce, I haven't heard euro dance music make use of a male rapper in years, which is a shame because the raps were often one of the most fun aspects of that music. Why it was ever taken out, I haven't a clue but I suspect it was partially due to euro's increasing borrowing of ideas from trance that led to it. Trance and rap have never really been all that comfy in each other's presence (although it'd be interesting to see someone attempt it).

Anyhow, despite the surprise raps, this C.I.A. Remix doesn't really have much to offer. Sure, the chorus is catchy but that's more thanks to the original Rockwell hit than anything Goldfinger created.

The Club Mix slows things down a little to lay the rhythm on thicker, with added vocal effects and crowd noises during a few pad bridges; the vibe in the track is more conducive to club atmosphere. Still, the only real strength is the chorus thanks to its catchiness, but do we credit Goldfinger for using it, or Rockwell for creating it? Okay, okay, so it isn't one hundred percent identical to Somebody's Watchin' Me, but only by a note or two. I guess someone's been reading The KLF's The Manual.

The Deepforces Remix gives Can't Stop Me the hardstyle treatment, so expect plenty of throbbing percussion, screaming synths, and false builds that'll milk a moment for as much as they can. Really, it's not that bad of a mix but very functional as far as hardstyle is concerned. The only thing that will let it stand out from the pack is, you guessed it, the Rockwell inspired chorus (usually sung during the breakdowns).

Compared to the other mixes, Goldfinger's own NRG remix is kind of redundant. Sure, he plays with a number of fine effects throughout but nothing interesting is done with the big payoff riffs. It's just standard march-along screeching synths that we've heard plenty of times before; nothing new to see here.

Infusing a little funk into the song is Doug Laurent, thanks to a dirty bassline and breakbeats. It seems he's quite aware of Can't Stop Me's major influence and makes good use of drawing upon it for this mix. But, er, what's with the sound of kids in the background? Is Laurent making a subtle joke here?

The two radio mixes are quite similar, with the dance version making use of the club mix's sound patches, and the pop version attempting to instead sound organic with guitar strums. Both are serviceable but I prefer the dance version, as there's a great deal of variety of sounds happening there to keep things interesting. The pop version relies mostly on weak sounding synthesized acoustic guitars to carry the melody.

However, I wouldn't be surprised to see this song become a minor hit. Somebody's Watchin' Me is a track ingrained in most of the population thanks to the massive radio play it still gets to this day, and hearing a euro song inspired by it will instantly have folks humming along. But because Can't Stop Me doesn't do enough to distinguish itself from Rockwell's original chorus, I can't see this being more than a nostalgic novelty to those who hear it at first, and forgotten less than a year later.

Ah, well. At least the rapper might be making a return to euro. That's worth an extra star alone.

Score: 6/10

Written By Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.

Various - Trance Divas 2 (Original TC Review)

Water Music Records: Cat. # 302 060 535-2
Released March 22, 2005

Track List:
Disc 1
1. Jessy - How Long (Vandoren & Vanhoyland Remix) (8:25)
2. Lange featuring Leah - Don't Think It (Feel It) (7:50)
3. Freeloader - Two Become One (3:39)
4. Skye - Venice Freaks (4:01)
5. ATB - Marrakech (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Synthetic Empire Remix) (9:05)
6. Taybe - Sarah Said (Fragma Remix) (5:16)
7. Antonia - This Night's Forever (4:02)
8. DJ Tatana featuring Jaël - Always On My Mind (Ronski Speed Edit) (3:52)
9. Matanka featuring Sheryl Deane - Near Me (7:02)
10. Marc et Claude featuring Maria Nayler - Free Spirit (7:13)
11. Aven - All I Wanna Do (Ferry Corsten Remix) (9:05)

Disc 2
1. Kyau vs. Albert featuring Julie - Not With You (Ronski Speed Radio Edit) (3:53)
2. Kate Ryan - The Promise You Made (Extended Mix) (5:59)
3. Above & Beyond featuring Zoë Johnston - No One On Earth (Gabriel & Dresden Mix)
4. Michael Splint featuring Sasja - Secrets Broke My Heart (Radio Extended Mix) (4:31)
5. Rock Ryders - Don't You Know (Full On Vocal Mix) (6:40)
6. Sun Decade - I'm Alone (Mirco de Govia Vocal Mix) (7:56)
7. Damae featuring Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking About You (Extended Vocal Mix) (6:41)
8. Galimar - Sunshine On A Rainy Day (Radio Mix) (3:33)
9. Novaspace - Time After Time (Novaspace Mix) (6:05)
10. Van Eyden featuring Susanne Webb - The 1 (Danny Wild vs. Peewee Vocal Remix) (7:08)
11. D:Fuse - Living The Dream (8:58)


(2010 Update:
This could have been a really hilarious review, had I been more confident in my quips at the time. Instead, I kept things rather objective and straight-forward, resulting in yet another wordy, track-by-track, dry review. Man, is it ever painful reading some of these again. Breeze through it for the jokes about vocal trance lyrics.)


IN BRIEF: At times fun, but ultimately unremarkable.

Trance divas. Just say that to yourself for a moment. Trance... divas…

Something about it doesn't quite sound right, does it -don't worry, there's a pretty good reason for it. You see trance, in the traditional sense, isn't something that aims to be the center of attention (we'll ignore the commercialization of it for the moment). When you are in a trance, all you are aware of is yourself; the music helps achieve this state of consciousness. In contrast, divas are the exact opposite. They demand your attention be turned to them because they are the center of the world. And, in most cases, they have the vocal skills to back up their outlandish claims and attitudes, which is why they often get a pass for their behavior.

So, when you try to combine music that lets you focus on yourself with vocals that force you to focus on them, you have a clashing of ideologies where one aspect has to give. In most cases, it's the vocalists that suffer.

Firstly, most trance singers just don't carry the same presence most singers do. For instance, whereas a house diva will belt out her lyrics with just as much soul as a black church choir (indeed, many were raised as such), a trance gal tends to drone along, attempting to either sound ethereal or euphoric, essentially trying to complement the music rather than draw attention from it. Unfortunately, this can lead to another problem.

It seems with most trance that use vocals these days there also has to be big synths to hit you with a rush of energy. When these synths are so loud and pronounced, hogging the spotlight at the peak of climaxes, the poor girl providing lyrics gets so overshadowed that whatever she had to say becomes inconsequential. The whole purpose of the track is no longer the lyrical content but the synth climax. She could either be singing about love or quantum physics; it really wouldn't make a difference.

Now, I'll grant there are a few vocal trance tracks that find a decent equilibrium (most famously the one that spearheaded the whole movement, DJ Tiësto's remix of Silence) but they do remain few and far between. For a form of music that relies more on the melodies than the lyrics, vocal trance is a hit and miss genre if you take it literally.

That all said, Trance Divas is an incredibly misleading title for a compilation. For one thing, you'll find no divas on here. Pretty much all the gals on offer have neither the voice nor the presence of a typical diva. Second of all, not everything here is trance -which is actually fine with me, really. The last thing I'd want to have to endure is two discs worth of poor-man's Silence-es. Sure, a number of these use Ferry Corsten pre-sets as their sound base, but that in itself does not make a track fit into a typical genre. If so, then one of these would actually be heavy metal! (Dont worry; you'll see what I mean).

Anyhow, enough ranting from me, as I have two discs to get through here. As such, this may not be as detailed as most of my reviews but, trust me, if I was that detailed, I'd end up becoming more repetitive than a Daft Punk track.

This first track by Jessy is a perfect example of the trouble with I find with a lot of vocal trance. Most of the lyrics (either about a jalapeno that hasn't quite digested from the day before, or love) are relegated to the opening few minutes. After that, the song focuses almost entirely on a melody introduced in a breakdown for the duration of the track, with a few returns to the two-line chorus. As a slice of moody anthem trance á la Silence, this is actually quite nice but the vocals are hardly needed, and tend to get drowned out when the melody is in play.

Lange and Leah provide a better offering with Don't Think It (Feel It). Leah's singing is suitable for the theme of finding a lost pet (or love), and Lange is smart enough to not overdo it with the main synth melody, finding a nice balance between the two. Okay, there is a pretty useless breakdown a third of the way through to introduce the melody (since when did everything else have to stop just to have melody start in a dance song?) but I can overlook that nitpick as Leah actually gets her second verse on the other side of it. It's a nice change of pace from your typical Silence wanna-be.

Freeloaders' Two Become One, a touching story of two water drops forming into a single drop (or love), may at first glance seem cheesy to trance lovers but might I remind you that not everything on here is trance. Really, this is a euro song, which is a nice change of pace after going through two typical trancers. As such, almost all the emphasis is on vocals and no major hooks at all. Sure, there're some little pianos and string pads, but none of these get major prominence and none are required for a short pop song such as this.

Next up is, um, er... What on earth is this? I think the lyrics have something to do with a race of Mr. Hydes living in Venice (or love) but, with singing this saccharine and what appears to be some sort of brand new genre I'll tentatively call 'happy hardstyle' (and yes, it really is as bad as it sounds), Skye's Venice Freaks is completely skippable. Okay, if they were going for something stupid, I can't really fault it. It doesn't mean I have to like it either.

Fortunately, ATB's Marrakech (with Alex M.O.R.P.H. providing the re-rub here) gives us something a little more grimy to clean us of that cheese. The baseline is a wonderfully grumbling, pulsing sucker that works nicely in setting a sinister mood. Mind, this is still more of a melodic track than a vocal track but when the lyrics are almost rendered unintelligible by effects (my guess is it's about love), you aren't really going to be paying much attention to them in the first place, are you.

Sarah Said by Trybe is also quite a cheesy little thing (well, what did you expect from a Fragma remix?) but it's kind of goofy fun too. The synths suck but I do like the lyrics, with their psuedo-lesbian indulgence. No, I'm serious! This might be a cover of another song but whether this was initially sung by a guy or not does not matter. There's a gal singing here now (and one with a cute voice, I might add) so, when she starts singing about falling in love with a girl named Sarah, what else could it be about?

This next track reminds me quite a bit of many a euro song from back in the glory years of the genre. This Night's Forever is a fairly straightforward dance track that uses a more typical verse/chorus structure, a simple synth riff, and lyrics sung by Antonia that are quite catchy without being annoyingly so. And, when the topic of your song is about the end of the Earth after the suns light has been extinguished as it goes nova (or love), the slightly more moody atmosphere feels quite appropriate.

Ronski Speed gives DJ Tatana and Jaël's Always On My Mind the Silence treatment here but, even in this edit, I just can't get excited about it. Jaël doesn't sound all that interested in singing about having lost something (probably love) and the big, euphoric climax is quite boring. Everything's just on a muddy cruise control, really. Thank god this is just an edit; I'd hate to have to sit through a typical eight minutes of this.

Things are now starting to get into anthem territory with Matanka's Near Me. Featuring the vocal talents of Sheryl Deane (of The Thrillseakers' Synaesthesia fame), the gal holds her own against the peppy synth builds and breakdowns, supplying decent enough oohs and aahs during the fills while singing something about trying to grab a hold of the air around her (or the love around her) when given the chance sparingly. It's just a shame the melody is too hokey to be taken all that serious. Yeah, I know it wants to be an uplifting, euphoric anthem like the great ones of yore, but if you need to use two bloody breakdowns and two bloody builds to hammer the idea home, you are just trying too hard, my friends. Besides, the hook isn't all that interesting. Moving on.

Marc et Claude may have cut their teeth on the harder side of trance but they seem to be getting softer in their old age. Here, they tap the lyrical talents of one Maria Nayler (most famously doing the lyrics for Robert Miles' One & One) to give us a slice of syrupy dance pop with useless breakdowns, builds, and bad synths. On the plus side, Nayler's innocently sweet, soothing vocals are pleasant when she gets a chance to sing about fireflies (or love). Free Spirit is one of the rare instances when the vocalist actually outshines the synths in their competition for attention.

Finishing off the first disc is Aven's All I Wanna Do with Ferry Corsten doing, well, Ferry Corsten. This is pretty much Corsten trance at its most basic really, with a catchy, rhythmic opening that eventually moves into by-the-numbers Corsten breakdowns, builds, synths, and riffs. Fine enough if you are new to it but, having heard it for over half a decade from him and countless copycats without much variation, I'll pass, thank you very much. On the plus side for all you fans of this type of trance, there are hardly any vocals utilized to get in the way of all those bright, finely produced arpeggiating synths. Of what's sung, it may be something about a woman's enjoyment of her vibrator, or about love. Does it really matter? Well, maybe if the Corsten synths weren't so prominent, it might.

Disc two picks up right where disc one left off as Kyau and Albert's Not With You gets yet another useless synthy breakdown less than a minute in. Don't worry, though, as it only lasts half a minute and we are treated to a decent slice of euro on the other side of it for the rest of the track. Julie definitely has a good voice to carry this song about more love.

Kate Ryan seems to have a slowly rising star at the moment and, if The Promise You Made is any indication, it is justifiable. Yet another decent slice of euro, little guitar strums and synth washes make up the musical bulk but plays second fiddle as Ms. Ryan carries this track on the strength of her vocals. A rather mellow song, she doesn't have to belt out anything and is able to nicely croon along to the theme of the devil coming for an unfortunate soul who made a deal with him (or love).

In Gabriel & Dresden's remix of Above & Beyond's No One On Earth, the boys rip off, er, pay tribute to many a classic EyeQ trance track by utilizing that wonderfully sounding distorted pad that producers such as Oliver Lieb and A.C. Boutsen used to great effect back in the day. I don't even mind it being introduced in a standard breakdown, as it really is great to hear on its own. Sadly, Zoë Johnston's vocals leave something to be desired. The theme of it, a serenade to an alien abductor (or just love in general), isn't bad but Johnston just comes off sounding like a poor-woman's Sarah McLachlan. I've heard her do some fine stuff in the past but she completely misses the mark here, sounding woefully off-key I'm afraid. Maybe it's just her lyrics don't quite match up to what Gabriel & Dresden are trying to do in this case. In any event, this one is not a strong vocal outing.

Secrets (Broke My Heart) by Michael Splint is another fun little slice of hi-nrg euro. Tapping Sasja for some vocal duty as she sings about crooked, lying politicians (or just a lying lover), a nice balance between lyrics and synths is met. Okay, the synths aren't all that great sounding, but there's a low-fi quality to them I find quite nostalgic.

Ah, now here's where those metal guitars I mentioned way before, finally make an appearance. Rock Ryders' Don't You Know is pretty much a tame hardstyle track that, I have to admit, is some good stupid fun. All of the lyrics are dealt with in a breakdown, and thusly rendered pretty much a non-issue since the track would work with or without them. No, as with most hardstyle, the following big synth build and peak is the main attraction. With its march-a-long theme you can't take it all that seriously, but when the track has some chunky power chords playing at the beginning and end, I doubt that's really the point. Sure to be a guilty pleasure for many.

For a change of pace from all the love themes (assuming that's what all these previous songs have been about), Sun Decade gives us something a little more, well, serious. I'm Alone seems to be about suicide, of all things. It's not really a topic touched upon by most epic trancers, and for good reason, as epic trance likes to be uplifting rather than introspective. In this sense, I'm Alone works wonderfully as a trance song. Even the requisite clichés like breakdowns and synthy builds don't feel obtrusive. This is probably mostly the work of Mirco de Govia's remix, though, as the man knows how to craft a decent tune.

Damae (of Fragma fame) does a cover of the Londonbeat euro classic I've Been Thinking About You, which isn't too bad at all. I quite like the idea of throwing bits of the original into this instead of just doing a weak dance cover and, coming off the emotional I'm Alone, it's nice to hear something fun. Aside from that, without much deviation from the original there's not much else to comment on. After all, we've all heard it played on our local radios for ages now.

Galimar returns us to euro territory with Sunshine On A Rainy Day, making use of many a supersaw to try and convince us this is actually trance. Who do they think they are kidding? Hey, I don't mind Euro one bit, especially when it's an ode to the good folk of my hometown, Prince Rupert (or just a metaphor for love). But, as I've said before, using a Corsten pre-set does not make your track trance. It just means you've used a Corsten pre-set.

Covering Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time is Novaspace here, doing a rather boring job of it. They only use a couple lines of chorus and repeat them sparingly throughout the track, the rest of it used up by weak synth chords and halting breakdowns. Plenty of rhythm intro and outro, though, for all your DJing needs.

Van Eyden gets Susanne Webb to sing an ode to Neo of The Matrix (or an ode to love) but her vocals aren't really important in this case, as most of this track gets used up with some horribly out-of-tune synths. I guess they were trying to go for something sinister sounding but really missed the target here. No energy is built up during this song, which isn't a good thing considering you have a breakdown mid-way through to allow some more trivial lyrics to play out before returning to the fray. How can they expect to maintain our interest while no rhythm is playing?

Finally, at the end of these two discs, we come to a bit of deep house, of all things. Well, maybe not pure deep house, but it's certainly more that than any kind of trance I've heard, as D:Fuse focuses far more on rhythm and vocals (about a DJ's girlfriend, I think, but maybe not, and no, he doesn't sing them) than melodies. The breakdown is pure vocal and chilled out piano; nothing uplifting or euphoric at all. I can see folks wanting the more energetic trance and euro offered on this compilation being mightily turned off from Living The Dream but it's their loss as this is a nice, mellow track to finish a night off.

And, having come to the end of this compilation, I have to say this has been a relatively middling affair. While some of these were fun in their own right, there really isn't anything on offer that I'd deem memorable either. A few of the hooks did manage to stick but not for very long. I can't see a single one of these tracks being thought of a year from now, much less becoming a classic. Sure, a couple of the more moving trancers may find their way into a DJ's bag but since they are so similar sounding to much of what else is out there, they'll hardly stick out from the pack either.

I will say this, however. It is so refreshing to come across a compilation that has the word 'trance' in the title (even if only half of it could even sparingly be considered trance) and isn't mixed by some DJ -although the diva part would then make more sense if it were. After all, aren't the real divas of the trance world the DJs?


Score: 5/10

ACE TRACKS:
Sun Decade - I'm Alone (Mirco de Govia Vocal Mix)


Written By Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.