Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: PAUL VAN DYK

For a time, Mister Mattias Paul stradled between two worlds within trance's domain, somehow existing at the crossroad between UK progressive elite and Dutch ultra-melodic bombast. It made him one of the scene's most popular producers and DJs, one I even fell sway to in his late '90s / early '00s heyday. As my interests wandered elsewhere, I lost touch with Paul van Dyk's output, but that didn't mean I hadn't kept tabs. Hell, some of TranceCritic's earliest internet infamy involved his projects! Still, his career trajectory didn't seem to be one I wanted to follow, so let him be.

Then he had his near-fatal stage accident, which I can't say personally shook me or anything, but did 'reconnect' me after a fashion, as shortly after, I heard he'd 'reconnected' with trance music as well. Well that's interesting, thought I, but was I really that curious to hear such a comeback? Not initially, but every so often, I'd replay some of his old music from 45 RPM and Seven Ways, leaving me to wonder, did I do myself a disservice in dismissing so much of his discography? Like, I hadn't heard Out There And Back since it came out, and never even gave Reflections a chance. Hmm, albums both new and old I should be checking out? Sounds like a prime candidate for a 'sportsing survey' to me!





















Looking back on this, I'm surprised how many times I name-dropped ATB. Is it because I did a survey of him as well, so he's just the freshest in my mind in referencing popular eurotrance producers? Maybe, though I noticed the Wonky Angle dude was making similar comparisons too. Not to mention Paul and Andre seemed to occupy the same space within DJMag's poll, no matter how high or low they placed. Methinks the two Germans should collaborate. I'm serious!

As for who's next, I'm going back to a poll on Mastodon before deciding. I've a good feeling I know who'll win it, but then I was totally wrong in who'd win in the last one. No way I could have predicted Cypress Hill and Paul van Dyk would tie!

Spicelab - Spice Is A Fulltime Occupation

Harthouse/Solieb Digital: 1994/2014

The writing was on the wall. Hard acid techno that marked much of Oliver Lieb's early Spicelab work was quickly coming off dated, new sounds and genre cross-pollination emerging within the halls of Harthouse. You could either start dabbling in the more experimental side of techno, or hop on the trance bandwagon gaining momentum about Frankfurt. Well, Lieb already had established an alias for that, called L.S.G., so the experimental side it would be. Like, he'd been pushing that as Spicelab already, at least as far as you could while blistering out the 303 action at 160bpm. Some tracks though, like Quicksand, showed he could do more with the project than sci-fi pulp bosh. Eh, that's just not what the label wants from him? Okay, fine, let's take Spicelab into proper trance territory too.

Thus we have Spice Is A Fulltime Occupation, the in-between EP released during this transition. You can definitely hear stray elements of older Spicelab still lurking, but it's clear ol' Oliver was evolving his sound into the progressive house DJ friendly material as heard in his L.S.G. material (to say nothing about singles from A Day On Our Planet). Changing tides and all that.

Retaining the pulp vibe is opener Pigs In Spice, a nod to the Muppet skit, no doubt. Eh, you say it's actually Pyrospice that's the opener? That can't be right, this Bandcamp remaster I got clearly shows Pigs In Spice as track one, Pyrospice the third. Ah, the original vinyl had them switched around, that's it. Well, I'm gonna' go with how they're sequenced for the re-issue – I assume it's the order Mr. Lieb prefers it.

And right Pigs In Spice should the be opener, Lieb stretching his experimental side much in the same manner as the Quicksand EP. While not so chill as that track went, this one isn't in much hurry to lay the beats out either, letting Oliver's usual array of sci-fi synths, space opera choirs, and bleepy electronics play out. Brisk hi-hats and cymbal crashes seems to impart a sense of urgency in the track, but the soft pitter-patter of the beat never lets Pigs In Spice ratchet up into higher gear. Besides, that's for the titular centre-piece.

Yeah, if you thought Amorph was dope but just a little too boshy for a trance cut, Spice Is A Fulltime Occupation refines everything into peak classic trance perfection. The beats are fast, but not stupidly so. The acid is subtle, serving as the rhythmic propellant the little TB-303 machine always intended it to be. And the synths. My God, the synths! Epic and grand in all the best ways sci-fi pulp ever envisioned.

Pyrospice can only be something of a comedown following that. Well, in vibes, if not in tempo, getting right back to the hyper-fast techno of older Spicelab. Yeah, it's basically more of the hard acid bosh, though a bit more intuitive compared to some of Lieb's other hard acid bosh. It got a synth breakdown, yo'!

Public Energy - Slumber / Velocity

Probe Records: 1994/2021

Not just the name of a Speedy J album, Jochem Paap used the 'Public Energy' alias as a means of releasing additional singles on Probe Records, the Plus 8 spin-off featuring techno of a harder bent. This was just something many producers used to do, wanting their stylistically different tracks separate from their main projects. Come to think of it, it still happens, though mostly in niche ways – in contemporary over-saturated scenes, if you have an alias that catches on, you gotta' ride that as much as you can, no matter how much you think your lo-fi acid ambient-core track clashes with your lolli-trap hyper-hands cut.

Still, there was a fair bit of distance between the more traditional takes on Detroit techno Jochem was doing as Speedy J (just ignore Pull Over ...please?) and the boshier stuff offered as Public Energy. It wasn't a lengthy divergence, mind, releasing just one record before he got sucked into that whole Artificial Intelligence business with Warp Records, steering his career path into 'serious' music making for a good portion of the '90s. Yet while in the midst of his Ginger and G Spot era, Mr. Paap saw fit to release another Public Energy record with Probe Records. The allure for making something for the true underground heads, flailing away at 4am in a sweaty warehouse, was just too much to resist, I guess. But hey, at least he eventually said nuts to all the 'proper' ways of doing techno, going for the jugular on the regular.

And even here, Jochem goes about doing bosh in a slightly smarter way than what his fellow Dutchmen would. Side A Slumber still features those over-driven gabber beats, but teased and held back, echoing and percolating among themselves for a long lead-in, punchy acid soon joining the intense rhythmic action. Then... what's this? Light, sinewy synth pads? Is... is Slumber turning into a trance track? No, not really, but in being coupled with these beats, it does impart a hypnotic feel.

B-side cut Velocity is a bit more traditional for full-throttle techno, and might even be credibly considered hard trance of the era. It's certainly got a bit of an Oliver Lieb vibe going for it, and features all the requisite synth breakdowns and acid climaxes you'd expect of the genre. If you've ever felt forlorn that Speedy J didn't embrace more trance back when, Velocity will certainly be a treat for your ears.

The Bandcamp re-issue throws in a bonus track, P.A., which originally appeared on The Silcon Ghetto EP Vol. 1 from Daniel Bell's short-lived Accelerate label. Yes, even more short-lived than Probe Records. It, too, is also quite boshy, but in a total Detroit minimalist way, making it an effective tool for your DJing needs, but that's about it. You really wouldn't expect any less from sharing vinyl space with DB-X. Kind of clashes with the original single, but eh, isn't the whole point of digital re-issues rescuing wayward tracks on defunct labels?

Spicelab - Quicksand EP

Harthouse/Solieb Digital: 1992/2013

I've held off buying Oliver Lieb Bandcamp remasters for far too long. Always that niggling hope though, that maybe, just maybe, he'd release a hard copy version of his early singles across various aliases, gathering them into a compilation, as done with his L.S.G. works. And I suppose there's still a chance it will happen, but really, if it hasn't happened by now, chances are it never will ...and watch me get proven wrong by this summer.

Anyhow, the early Spicelab singles remained highest on my 'Want' list, so naturally they were the first I sprung for. The Quicksand EP in particular was a unique item in the Spicelab canon, as the titular track is among the first tunes Mr. Lieb released on the downbeat. Perhaps not as notable overall since he'd release the ambient-leaning Constellation on Recycle Or Die the following year, but for a producer who was mostly making blistering, raw acid and techno, Quicksand is a significant step in Oliver's musical evolution.

I already touched on the track as it appeared on the Harthouse Dark Hearts, Vol. 1 compilation, but I may as well re-iterate. Maintaining that experimental sci-fi bent Spicelab often enjoyed, this one opens with lengthy, spaced-out synths gliding and sliding along sine waves, all the while someone hurriedly rushes up a flight of hallway stairs. Man, I can feel my calves getting a work-out just listening to this!

Seriously though, Quicksand has most of the hallmarks of a typical trance tune of the era, just played in a far more chill way, the groove a steady, soft rhythm while all sorts of electronic sounds bubble about. It's an extremely slow build getting to a point where everything's in play, and even then, it doesn't make a big fuss about it, simply cruising along for the track's duration. For those used to the harder side of Spicelab – heck, Harthouse in general – this had to be quite the ear-opener. Small wonder it was tapped for label retrospective consideration.

On the flip, however, is where you'll find the bangers. Amorph is probably the most famous of the lot, an early example of Oliver steering German trance music into the acid techno of the day. It starts out typically of the genre in '92: noisy noises, simple rave riffs, and speedy 150 BPM beats. At the two-minute mark though, those distinct Lieb space synths emerge, flying along with simple pitch bends and squiggly electronics, sending the track into outer orbit. There were examples of these sounds in the debut Spicelab EP, but never used to this effect. The cheeky 'gabber' beats towards the end are just silly fun.

The third track on this EP is called 56387. It's got an annoying hook that sounds like a cyborg strangling a synthesizer. It's mostly just boshy acid techno with some ol' school German trance choir pads. It's not as interesting as the rest of this EP. It was just the style at the time.

Various - In Trance We Trust 021: Adam Ellis

In Trance We Trust: 2016

In all seriousness, why am I still collecting this series? Let me recap a moment. I first got Phynn's set (ITWT 011) because it looked like an interesting item to review for TranceCritic. I got a pile of others after relaunching this blog because I thought it'd make for a fun little gimmick week, what with all the guest review spots from Street Fighter Alpha 3 characters. I needn't carry on with that though, as clearly it ran its course with no other characters left to do guest reviews (no, Dahlsim doesn't count; nor the Final Fight guys, including Guy). I could have just left it there, but something drew me back, to the point I'm now looking to complete the full In Trance We Trust set, even the Nordic Editions. Is it the touristy cover-art? An actual, shameful enjoyment of Dutch eurotrance? Still paying back on a lost bet or dare?

I suspect the idea of this label has somehow taken hold, a concept that, in theory, I should enjoy. I've always preferred the harder, faster side of trance music since its earliest German days, but not so hard it falls into over-the-top parody. As promoted, In Trance We Trust is supposed to hit that sweet spot, and many of its earlier releases actually delivered what I'd hoped to hear, sporadically enough to entice me further despite the low batting average. It's like a TV series with a kick-ass theme song making you think you're in for a dope show, and perhaps has a couple classic episodes, but is mostly a lot of crummy acting with repetitive, cliche plots. Or voting conservative thinking this time their fiscal policies will sort things out instead of fuck everything up worse.

Anyhow, In Trance We Trust 021. It's pretty much agreed that Menno de Jong's relaunch of the label was successful, but could that momentum be maintained? In the label's tradition of tapping up-and-coming talent for a little spotlight shine, Englishman Adam Ellis takes the reigns of this bold new era in the label's history and basically delivers more of the same of what ITWT 020 gave, except condensed down to a single CD. There's the pummelling beats and strident anthems and never-ending breakdowns, but eh, about what I was expecting anyway. The set feels a bit front-loaded with vocal tunes, but is balanced out with some of the hardest modern eurotrance I've ever heard (which isn't much, to be honest).

I've seen this sound sometimes referred to as 'steroid trance', which is apt. It sure sounds like an ultra-beefy version of what the genre was like at the turn of the century. Like, Michelin Man bulky, or Macho Man Randy Savage at the end of his WCW run. Certainly not the lean, mean trance of the '90s, much like the Macho Man of his WWF run. Gosh, does that make early '00s trance NWO Randy Savage? Still capable and talented, but often overshadowed by all the egos in the surrounding environment.

Various - Welcome To The Technodrome Vol. 4

ZYX Music: 1995

I can't be sure, because sifting through ZYX Music's immense discography is like staring at a European phone book, but I think Welcome To The Technodrome is the first compilation series the label attached the nascent 'techno' tag to its archives. Yes, even beating out their main series, Techno Trax, by a couple years. Considering only four volumes were released though, it pleads the question why this one never caught on like others. Ah, my lovelies, that's because this is a tie-in with a short-lived sub-label of ZYX, dubbed Techno Drome International.

Their brief history is a little more interesting, springing up to champion the hot sounds of 'industrial techno' coming out of Dorcheim, Germany. This included acts like Robotiko Rejekto, Recall IV, and Pluuto. It petered out by '92 though, only two Welcome To The Technodrome volumes making it to store shelves in that time. Yet for some reason, ZYX continued the series, capitalizing on any brand recognition to flood the market with CDs. By '93's Vol. 3, you had names like Ramirez, Bronski Beat, Microbots, and 2 Unlimited taking up disc space. Which finally brings us to Welcome To The Technodrome Vol. 4, the last of them, released in '95 when the brand's original 'industrial techno' ethos was a forgotten footnote.

*Phew* All that word count getting the history out of the way. Good thing this double-discer has little worth talking about otherwise. I picked this up at the same time as Techno Trax Vol. 12, both sitting together on a used-shop rack, and there's small surprise why, nearly identical in style and tone as they are. There's a few repeats – Liquid Bass' In Full Effect, Alien Factory's This Is Not A Daydream, Paranoia X' Party Program - but it sure feels like more. Way to milk those licenses, ZYX.

Mo-Do kicks the compilation off, if you needed a reminder of just how ubiquitous Eins, Zwei, Polizei was in mid-'90s Europa. Following that, you get some hard acid (Ben, Ben And No Ben's Rotes Harr), a German trance tune that sounds like it's aping the melody from some synth-pop ditty, muddy standard trance in Submerge's Oblivion, and some straight-bosh 'ardcore from DJ Metz's Hey, We Want Some. Elsewhere, things get silly with Josh's Der Säbeltanz, a tune that might find you hilariously balancing a bunch of plates on poles while riding a unicycle. When it isn't going full happy hardcore, CD2 offers more German trance of varying quality, a couple worth a listen, but most well left in the past.

Which makes me wonder: why do I judge these jams so critically now? Had I somehow stumbled upon Welcome To The Technodrome Vol. 4 when it was new, and my exposure to such music was so fresh and so clean, might I have better things to say of it today? I cannot deny Teenage Sykonee would have been all over this back when, but Lord help him if he didn't outgrow silly nonsense like Moneypenny's Que Sera, Sera too.

Various - Splash!

Raum Records: 1995

Gander at some names in the tracklist: Laurent Garnier, Biosphere, Pete Lazonby, Josh Wink, Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, Blake Baxter. That’s seven bona-fide legends of techno and trance on a double-disc compilation, all for an easy-breezy five bones off my back. And hey, Sunbeam, Doug Laurent, Scooter, and Joe T. Vannelli also show up, so maybe there’s some fun Euro cheese floating about too. Can’t see how such tonal clash can make for a consistent playback, but perhaps this Splash! compilation has an amazing gameplan, with plenty of unknown producers rounding things out into a cohesive whole. Price is worth a purchase just to find out. Right, about the only thing that interested me was the Mark Bell Remix of Novelty Waves, but there’s gotta’ be a few more worth the piddly investment. Sure, a few…

But what is Splash! in the first place? This comes care of Raum Records, yet another German dance label that sprung up in the wake of the collapsed Berlin Wall. Their biggest claim to fame is the _00% Underground compilation series, while releasing singles from such luminaries like Estelle, Marc Noise, C.O. Injection, Robotnico, and Insane (4). Ah, hmm… so Raum Records didn’t amount to much at all. Far as I can tell, Splash! was released to kick the label off with hot acts and spiffy advertising – literally making a splash on the German techno ‘underground’. They had the right idea, just none of the important licensing to make it happen.

For all the class names I listed above, it seems Raum Records got the most forgettable material from them. Carl Cox’s rub of Garnier’s Astral Dreams is just bog-standard euro techno. van Dyk’s go at Voices In Harmony is a useless radio edit. I have no idea how German trancers Sunbeam got their hands on Lazonby’s Wave Speech, and Bell’s take on Biosphere was completely disappointing for yours truly. Baxter’s Reach Out is at least an agreeable go at deep Detroit house, and it’s interesting hearing Winks’ Meditation Will Manifest, essentially his stab at a Spastik type of techno builder. Did it really need to be over fourteen minutes though? Small wonder it seldom saw compilation duty (R & S Records being stingy with it may have contributed, begging the question how Raum Records secured the rights for this release).

The rest of Splash! pretty much contains the standard acid and German trance of the era, with few of the charms the successful labels offered. Scooter does a remix for Ultra-Sonic’s Check Your Head, and with so much rubbish surrounding him, Baxxter’s “posse” shouts are somehow enjoyable. Holofonic Dream from Deanna Troi (yes, really) uses pad synths that reminded me of Morpheus 7, which makes sense given it’s the same guy (Ufuk Yildirim), Jeyênne’s Japanese Train has a vocal sample that sounds like a pisstake on Dance 2 Trance, and Groovemaster K. tries his hand at Soliloquy House. Everything else? Forget it. Not even worth a two-spot. Find yourself a Ravermeister CD instead.

Various - Tunnel Trance Force Vol. 30 (2016 Update)

Tunnel Records: 2004

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review.)


So these CDs. Or singular CD, if I’m honest, having lost Disc 1 some time ago. Right, I ‘technically’ never had Tunnel Trance Force 30 in the first place, as this was a ‘special request’ review from TranceCritic’s ‘man in charge’, the chap who early-on always got us poor ‘writers’ promoting contemporary hard ‘trance’. Fool, only old-school hard trance is worthy of my ears, but sure, I did the deed; with increasing levels of ludicrous hyperbole should you brave all them words and stuff. Since I resided on the West Coast though, and he on the East Coast, the only means of music request procurement entailed digital transfers via internet tube connection. Yeah yeah, big surprise TC’s ‘promos’ weren’t always ‘legal’, but when you’re scraping from the ‘bottom’, some ‘corners’ had to be ‘cut’. I’m in a very ‘apostrophatic’ mood this afternoon.

Anyway, I burned the two mixes to CDr, listened to them a couple times, got that review out, then figured I’d never play them again, collecting dust on a spindle of forgotten burns. Then along comes a better computer into my life, with actual storage capacity. And I thinks to myself all those forgotten burns on a dusty spindle, I may as well shove ‘em on this newer-fangled technology, despite odds of a replay being a shade above zero. Is there a cure for OCD yet?

Strangely, my CD1 burn of Tunnel Trance Force 30 disappeared on me, and I have no idea of how that happened. It’s not like I ever brought these out for a casual play …at least, not to any sober recollection of mine. Shame, because I might have even enjoyed disc one a bit, what with a few of the better hard trance names included on there (Cosmic Gate, DuMonde, Kindervater, Marc Et Claude). Wait a minute… *re-reads original TranceCritic review* Nope, I was wrong – I’d definitely still dislike it.

That still leaves us with CD2 though, titled 30.2 Mix. Cannot deny there’s some initial fun having all these hard trance and pseudo-hardstyle bosh tracks assaulting my ears, but yeah, the gimmick wears old fast, and I’ve checked out after that lone decent cut in Power To The People. Breakbeats, man, is there no genre they can’t make better?

When I first discovered Tunnel Trance Force had hit its thirtieth volume, I couldn’t help but marvel at its durability. 2005 Sykonee, you hadn’t seen anything yet, the series lasting all the way to a seventy-first edition before it folded in 2014. Holy cow, I had no clue hard trance of this sort was even being made for that long with any consistency! Yeah, it actually wasn’t, Tunnel Trance Force succumbing to the ‘big room’ anthem house schlock so many trance companies tried adapting into their repertoire to stay relevant. Seems such bandwagon hopping was met with incredible ‘resistance’ though, dedicated followers none too pleased, effectively ending Tunnel Trance Force with indignant shame. I LOL’d.

Various - Trance 2001: A Trance Odyssey

Hypnotic: 1995

Possibly the best compilation Hypnotic put out in their early years, and I’m not just saying that because of the pretty nebula on the cover. Okay, that’s part of the reason too, but I do have stronger reasons for this assessment. For one thing, it’s a Music Research tie-in, so aces already. However, Trance 2001: A Trance Odyssey is a tad different from all the other Hypnotic CDs peddling singles from Talla 2XCL’s label that could. This one mostly eschews the obvious tracks and classic German trance anthems of the day, delivering a collection of b-sides from the heavy hitters of Suck Me Plasma, all in service of the spaced-out, ‘eye on the future’ theme presented in the title’s concept. Or, y’know, I’m reading too much into this, the linking theme just a coincidence, and Trance 2001 was Hypnotic simply shoveling more licensed product out into stores as quickly as they could. Either wouldn’t surprise me but I’d like to give the benefit of the doubt in this situation. Hypnotic’s early material did have a sense of someone behind the desk giving a care.

As usual, many familiar names show up for Trance 2001: A Trance Odyssey: Komakino, Sunbeam, Aqualite, D-Lay, Cenobyte, Urban Trance Plant. Even if you know these acts though, odds are these tunes aren’t as recognizable compared to their main singles (refer to previous Music Research reviews). For instance, Komakino isn’t here as Komakino, but as Final Fantasy, though admittedly their most popular track under the alias in Controlling Transmission. And what a hum-dinger she be, by g’ar: blistering acid, vintage German piano riffs, gated choir pads, and tasty tck-tck-tck hi-hats. Aqualite’s moody Wavemaker was another modestly successful track, though not nearly as much as Outback. Same can be said for D-Lay’s peppy bleepy Desire, Sunbeam’s space pulp-adventure tune Energy, Cenobyte’s brisk, minimalist acid builder Tales From The A-Side, and Retroflex’s ultra-chipper happy hardcore Feel The Vibes. Wait, what’s happy hardcore doing in a trance compilation? Accommodating itself rather well, if I’m honest. I can’t believe it either.

In fact, there are a few happy hardcore acts here peddling the serious side of their muses. Overdog’s Cloudy has a nearly three-minute long building intro, going from ambient to chugging hard dance while maintaining a flowing trance vibe throughout. J’N’M Trax’ Human Inspirations features a great minor-key melody for such a simple boshing track, and Urban Trance Plant’s Ready To Flow is… um, well, has a pretty dope climax.

Finally, for you obscuritists out there, one-off act Spice & Dune finish Trance 2001 with another mint bit of high-octane space acid on Time Traveler. Only… it’s called Snapshot here. Why? Turns out “Spice”, or Patrick Wintter, worked in tandem with several producers, including one Mario Hammer as Snapshot, which Hypnotic must have erroneously tagged here. Those names seem familiar? They should, both going on to larger success as Hiver & Hammer. Such humble beginnings here for Mr. Hiver, closing out one of Hypnotic’s best CDs.

Various - Trance Traxx 2

Ouragan: 1995

The first trance compilation I owned, this one. Yeah, those Music Research showcases converted me, but for a year prior my allegiance to the trance camps wavered between the euro-dance armies. I definitely knew there was this neat genre out there, having also recently purchased albums from Dance 2 Trance and Jam & Spoon. Come to think of it, seeing a J&S cut on this CD was also an initial lure, the name ‘Jam El Mar’ quickly burning into my brain as someone to keep tabs on for dance tunes that tickled my earholes (B.G. Prince Of Rap hits helped bridge that gap). Super ‘90s CGI art didn’t hurt either.

As a proper foray to the world of trance, this was a decent introduction. The Jam & Spoon track on here is their twelve-minute classic anthem Follow Me, almost a microcosm of the various attributes the genre offered in its early years. It’s got the spacey, hypnotic start, the clap-along building middle, the big PLUR-gooey breakdown, and the blistering hard, acid race to the finish. Jam’s vintage sawwave synth pitch-bends are undoubtedly dated, but surely have achieved retro charm by now. Other ‘back-in-the-day’ highlights include Vernon’s chord-heavy Wonderer, Emmanual Top’s “black polished chrome” acid trip Turkish Bazar, and Atlantic Ocean’s spritely, bouncy Waterfall.

Wait, that last one’s house, isn’t it? You bet. In fact, the early portions of Trance Traxx 2 features a Crossover Part, highlighting tunes that kinda’-sorta’ fit the trance ethos, if not being the genre itself. This includes The Ethics’ La Luna (“beat of the drum, bang; beat of the drum, bang-bang!”), Nox Alba’s Mambo White (so Balearic!), and The O.T. Quartet’s Hold That Sucker Down (Builds Like A Skyscraper Mix). Yeah, this glorious slice of early Rollo at his Rolloiest could be considered trance, but folks were still calling this sound ‘anthem house’, or ‘progressive house’. Hey, whichever floats your boat.

The reason for such a section on this CD is Trance Traxx 2 offers itself as something of a minor-concept mix, with distinct parts fitting for a traditional journey set. There’s an Overture intro, which includes Suburban Knight’s The Art Of Stalking - yes, a Detroit techno guy opens a trance compilation! The middle path, titled The Awakening Part, goes through the various trance tunes Atoll Music was looking to peddle, while the final sprint christens itself as The Speed Part (it’s definitely that). Finally, a brief Ambient Outro featuring Moby’s Myopia, and a call-back to the intro to end off. Holy cow, even modern trance CDs don’t go that far with their concepts. Trance Traxx 2 must be mint, right?

Yeah, no. I’ve spotlighted all the good tunes, but the other half of this CD’s filled with generic toss-off and unremarkable no-namers (Klima? Speed Limit? Shape Shifter? DJ Eric?? Mobydic!?). And that ‘mix’ I mentioned? Barely existent, some tracks completely ending before the next begins. Trance Traxx 2 had so much potential, but is instead relegated to the bin of forgotten ‘90s CDs.

Various - Trance To Planet X: Influence 3.3 (2016 Update)

Hypnotic: 1996

(Click here to read a bunch of words, words, and oh my God why are there so many words!?)

So this CD. Can I talk in one-fifth the words used compared to my first Trance To Planet X review? Holy cow, I used up two-hundred words just detailing the first track alone. Two-hundred, with two zeroes after the two! I don’t think I could talk up Phasis’ (Norman Feller!) Visitations to such a degree now even if I tried. Okay, if I was forced at gun point by some insane old-school TranceCritic fan, who felt we betrayed our original ethos in abandoning such tediously drawn-out reviews after a while, then I probably could. I wouldn’t enjoy it though, nosiree. Also, does such a person exist in this reality? I know it seems everything has at least some micro-insane fandom attached to it now, but surely not of Early TranceCritic writings. Surely… not…

I mentioned Trance To Planet X was the last of the Hypnotic’s Influence Records showcases, a shame because there was still a few more tracks in that library worth tapping for a fourth CD. Yes, despite the fact Omnicron’s The Bushmen was used twice between this compilation and the previous Influence 2.2. C’mon, Hypnotic, why no love for Komatsu’s Input Transformer? On the other hand, if I’m to judge Hypnotic’s catalog numbers correctly, it seems their partnership with Music Research and all their sub-labels was about at an end following Trance To Planet X. I spot no further cover art fronting the label’s iconic seal, and about the only further significant release of any Music Research material is the 3CD extravaganza/back-catalog dump of Musik Non Stop. A couple ‘albums’ of Komakino and Sunbeam material later, and that’s all she wrote for Hypnotic’s association with Talla 2XLC’s print. That Outloud Records partnership, on the other hand…

For anyone fearful of wading through two-hundred plus words per track in that old review, but would still enjoy a quick summation of what’s on Trance To Planet X, here we go. This is harder trance as only the Germans could do back in the mid-‘90s, with a whole lot of acid throughout. Sometimes an epic, spritely hook comes in, such as in Wave Shaping Age’s bleepy World In Trouble, Cyberjam’s funky Alphaflight and Morten’s spacey Hypnotizing. Other tracks forego anything resembling a hook, simply assaulting you with pummeling pulsing acid (Dermatologist’s Jupiter (Omm To The Stars)), chunky muddy bosh (Analog Communications’ Wave Generator) or ear-blistering noise (Artificial Flavor’s Deep Noizer). Audio Science shows you can have clever programming with your hyper-fast acid action in the eleven-minute long Sunstroke, while Judge S.’ Brainstorm is a fun bit of space-pulp gabber. Such an epic hook in that one!

Hey, that’s so much better to read, so let me end this all on another wonderful anecdote. Okay, more a factoid than anything. I let it known that Trance Europe 2.0 was a ‘trance-formative’ (*such groan*) compilation for yours truly, but I also bought this one alongside it. For some reason though, this one didn’t sink in quite so completely. Needed more Komakino, is what!

Various - Trance Sessions

Shadow Records: 2002

This CD doesn’t make sense. Not one small bit of sense. Barely a smidge of sanity is associated with it. How does Shadow Records, a label that built its reputation on trip-hop, jazzdance, and leftfield techno, throw its hat into the big ol’ trance-tastic PLUR-poodle? Trance Sessions isn’t some coy, smirking title, where trance is but a concept for exploring the hypnotic potential of deep spliff jams. Nay, this is full-blown, hands-in-the-air, gurn-off-your-face trance, with the gated pads and the acid lines and the supersaws and the off-beat basslines and the trite vo- no, wait, there are no vocals here. Okay, point to you, Shadow Records.

That still doesn’t explain why a label that broke DJ Krush and Ninja Tune to an American audience palled about with the trance scene. Heck, wasn’t their parent label, Instinct, still in operation anyway? They’d released some trancey material back in the early ‘90s, so why not again if they’re so intent on putting out a little trance? No, wait, Instinct was dabbling in indie rock at the time – that’d be an utterly bizarre clash of scenes right there. And while big-time trance money was being made by the British superclubs and globetrotting DJs, it wasn’t that popular in the States; plus the scene was in the midst of a recession as 2001 drew to a close. Ultimately, my best conjecture is, in accordance with Shadow’s other [Style] Sessions series of compilations, the label felt it only appropriate in giving the popular clubbing music a chance. They even went all-in with the concept, getting a continuous mix from Shawn Francis, and even inserting a tiny glowstick into the spine of the clear jewel case. Because if you’re gonna’ cheese out, you may as well own it full-stop, right?

Actually, Trance Sessions gets off on a surprisingly solid start. Things kick off with Afterhours from Alphazone. No, not the supersaw hard trance mongers everyone loved in the mid-‘00s; this one’s a solo project from a Brian Castro. His track’s also rather old-school, with floating Balearic vibes, gated choir pads, and the like. Two more remarkably old-school tracks for the time follow, from a chap by the name of Bluescreen (one Anthony Voitek… more on him at a later date). Explore has a minimalist MFS vibe going for it, while Razor gets all agro with a muted acid hook. Fourth cut Avalanche from Sentinel gets (then) current with a progressive trance tune that would have fit snuggly in an early Global Underground mix. Trance Sessions is shaping up as a nifty under-the-radar collection of trance.

Then it goes completely off the rails. Boshy tracks playing one after the other, hard crossfade slam negating any sense of flow, and tunes that just aren’t that good or memorable. Jan Dexter’s Believe sounds especially cheap compared to the stronger opening salvo. Cannot deny Masters Of Balance’s Long Way Home gets some Sash! charm going for it, but it’s not enough to rescue an abysmal back-end to Trance Sessions. Shame.

Various - Trance On Earth: European Electronic Dreams

Hypnotic: 1995

Cleopatra Records set itself as a purveyor of most things industrial and goth, raiding the lands of Europa in search of distribution deals for American shores. Among these labels was Zoth Ommog, one of the seminal prints of Germany’s EBM scene, which is all kinds of bizarre when you consider trance tastemaker Talla 2XLC founded the print as an early part of his larger Music Research empire. He kept the ravey stuff on different sub-labels though, which Cleopatra must have had equal access to thanks to the Zoth Ommog deal, hence their early stabs at the ‘trance compilation’ market. I assume it worked out reasonably well for them (Hell, I bought two!), enough to establish this spin-off print Hypnotic, where they could distribute all that ecstasy-driven club music without alienating their harder, morose followers of the cybernetic revolution. Or whatever it was the gothic EBM crowds identified themselves as in the early ‘90s.

I’m almost certain this is information I’ve discussed in previous reviews, but I bring it up again to put Trance On Earth: European Electronic Dreams into perspective, this little CD among the first in launching Hypnotic. Most of the earliest Hypnotic releases were album re-issues for the likes of Ynos (Komakino), Synaesthesia (Frontline Assembly/Delerium), and Norman (Terry Lee Brown, Jr.), but with so many acts on Suck Me Plasma only doing the EP deed, the label instead brought them over via a tsunami of trance and ambient compilations. If you think what I have in my collection is a bit much, check out the entire Hypnotic catalog from 1996 alone.

As one of the first Hypnotic trance compilations, Trance On Earth is also either one of the best, or one of the most redundant, depending on how many other Hypnotic CDs you have. The Suck Me Plasma pickings were plumb for these initial discs though, many big hits of German hard trance finding their way here. Sunbeam’s two breakout singles make the cut, and though I’ve got a whole LP of early Sunbeam, I’ve no problem hearing Outside World or High Adventure again. Komakino’s ultra-uplifting Feel The Melodee (Technoclub Mix) is also on here, as is another of those seminal ‘galloping choir pad’ trance anthems in Aqualite’s Outback. Really, Trance On Earth is primarily made up of such tunes, including D-Lay’s The Dreamer, plus one-offers Infusion Impulse’s Paralyser and Lesamis’ No More Worry, though only D-Lay’s tune holds its own against the aforementioned classics.

Filling out the hind-sighted ‘redundant’ portions of Trance On Earth are Semisphere’s acid-drenched Raveaktiv, Cenobyte’s sinister Destination, and D-Lay’s ultra PLUR-gooey Don’t Stop The Motion, all which appeared in some fashion on the latter 3CD Hypnotic release Musik Non Stop. The remaining stand-alone is closer Tuna from Norman, sounding more stripped back, minimalist, and groovy compared to all the hard trance on here. It’s almost as though Mr. Feller’s coming up with a fresh new genre, combining house and techno, a ‘garage-tek’ thing, if you will. Nah, that’ll never catch on.

Various - Trance Europe 2.0

Cleopatra: 1994

I’ve mentioned this CD in passing before, how it was a transformative disc in the development of my musical tastes. Why, you might even say it was… trance-morphing! Or even- no, that’s all I got. Obviously timing was a critical factor, Trance Europe 2.0 finding its way to my ears just as I grew bored of generic euro dance of the day. Here was something a bit similar (all those hard German beats!), but with an edge to it; trippier, energetic, delicious acid sounds and galloping choir pads. The general lack of vocals didn’t hurt either, Teenage Sykonee having grown quite tired of trite pop lyrics.

Still, plenty CDs of the mid-‘90s could have given me a similar knowledge drop; heck, this wasn’t even my first collection of trance. What Trance Europe 2.0 did, however, was convince my impressionable young mind of what trance could be, what sort of scene the genre was cultivating across the Atlantic. You mean to say this spacey, hypnotic dance music is enjoyed by bizarre, hedonistic individuals painting themselves in elaborate costumes while consuming mind-bending love drugs? Holy shit, screw the guido clubs ‘techno’ was catering to, sign me up for that! While Sven Väth’s parties at Omen were reportedly of similar stock, I doubt Cleopatra had that in mind, rather going with the ‘techno-goth’ theme many of their early CDs ran with. You do you, Cleo’.

All of which has little bearing on whether Trance Europe 2.0 is worth your time here in the dire year of 2016 (God, just end it already). Probably not, most of the memorable tunes easily found elsewhere. Komakino’s big breakout hit Outface (G60 Mix) kicks things off, but the exact same track kicked off their album Energy Trancemission too. Beyond Your Dreams is also on here, another track from the Outface single. Their Final Fantasy alias also crops up with the track Sometimes, a blistering slice of German acid. And in case that wasn’t enough Fritsch and Hastik action, they also get a producer’s credit on the Shorty Bone cut Trancemission. Oh man, this track’s bonkers, hard trance with a clunky, tribal techno rhythm; sounds like an early Influid tune.

A few tracks on the obscure side round things out. Tranceformer was more known for cheese-ball vocal tunes, but their instrumental b-sides were surprisingly decent in their simplicity, two of which grace Trance Europe 2.0 (Hypnotized and Magic Mushrooms). Morpheus 7 had but one single, the fluffy, happy cut Follow Me Into My World (Orgy-Nal) receiving the nod here. Ravesign by Vector was also a one-off, yet got a little more compilation duty than others (including an appearance on a Techno Trax, apparently). Sweep! was more of a rave-house guy, but Glowflow is trancey enough for this CD. And Norman Feller makes a requisite appearance with old-timey track Drift Away from his Trance-House single. And yes, I adore all these tunes! It wouldn’t be such a seminal, taste-changing CD for yours truly if I didn't, yo’.

Various - Muzik Presents Trance Classics

Muzik Magazine: 2002

Yet another trance classics CD, but wait, not all is as it seems! This was a free CD from Muzik Magazine, whom at this late point in the rag’s lifespan was among the UK’s biggest shittalkers regarding the genre. They believed in trance, once upon a time, singing the praises of the hypnotic, melodic side of techno back when so few other prints gave it attention. They promoted the hell out of Dragonfly Records, Platipus Records, Hook Records, and maybe even a mainland Europe label or two. They wrote charming articles regarding the ‘ABCs Of Trance’, and shot a critical eye in the direction of the ‘Crasher Kids phenomenon, sensing the ensuing rot that would bloat the scene to ridiculous levels of caricature. As the year 2002 came to a close, Muzik Magazine realized the battle was lost, their once underdog genre now an entirely different beast, filled with laser-soaked gurning punters with no recollection or care of trance’s history prior to the year 1998. They only had small measures of joy taking snarky potshots at the latest bit of bilge floating about their office for review.

No, wait, that’s not right. In this very same issue, they respectfully give props to Lasgo, marking them as one of the frontline shock-troopers of ‘ecstasy pop’; aka: vocal trance. They just can’t deny the kids like it, eh? Damn it though, they outta’ learn some of that history, so here’s a cheeky free disc of ‘proper’ trance classics that they can listen to while reading up on that Lasgo interview. Clever bastards.

Right, of course all that above is supposition, though makes for a fun little narrative when put in context of Muzik’s history. What more likely happened is Trance Classics comes from an aborted project that was intended for storewide distribution. Remember that [Genre] Muzik Classics series? In conjunction with Beechwood Records, the magazine released a few volumes highlighting the best/important tracks of major genres/scenes, including techno, d’n’b, and, erm, ‘Ibiza’. It wouldn’t surprise me if they had a Trance Muzik Classics in the works before cutting ties with the dodgy print, but man, what to do with all those licensed tunes you got? Save ‘em for later, I guess; maybe a free CD down the road.

As Trance Classics was curated by a British magazine, you’re damn right this is su-u-u-per biased to their homegrown talents. Simon Berry gets three tracks alone (you know which ones), while Enervate and 1998 (Binary Finary Remix) make their requisite appearances. Germany does get a look in with Metal Master’s Spectrum (Hoffmann and Väth), plus Paul van Dyk’s rub of Qattara’s Come With Me. At the harder end of the trance stadium, a lesser-known Chris Cowie hit crops up with X-Cabs’ Infectious, while Trade anthems Shinny from Elevator and Are Am Eye? from Commander Tom round things out. And finally, no Dutch nonsense, which makes this Trance Classics a zillion times better than ten volumes of A State Of Trance Classics.

Various - Techno Trax Vol. 12

ZYX Music: 1994

Techno Trax was one of ZYX Music's premier compilation series in the '90s. Okay, I don't know if that's true, but I can confirm it was one of their most prolific, especially in the first half of the decade. This Vol. 12 came out when the series was but a mere three years old, and while its output was significantly cut back following 1994, it persevered into the new millennium. Took a couple evolutions to get there though, becoming Techno Traxx (with two x’s!) as the year 2000 drew close, then morphing into Techno Traxx – Step Into The Future going forward, finally ending in 2002. Including a megamix spin-off series, and various ‘Best Of...” additions, not to mention a dedicated entry into ZYX’s massive The World Of... series, and I’d say you have a proper successful collection of compilations on your hands. Well, you’d have to ask old-school folks from mainland Europe if that’s the case. I have no idea if Techno Trax was indeed a smash, or it was just a means for ZYX to churn out quick, cheap CDs into the market.

I imagine it was reasonably popular though, the series often featuring ‘techno’ hits of the day while staying just a foot within the underground. It’s early entries mostly contained classic rave tracks from acts like Altern 8, The Overlords, The Prodigy, L.A. Style, and, um, 2 Unlimited. Soon Techno Trax was also licensing out records from Suck Me Plasma, getting in on that burgeoning German trance thing as hardcore rave turned into goofy, happy offshoots. Once trance became the genre du jour of Europe, the series almost exclusively focused on that instead, their only actual techno pretty much the hard acid stuff. Not that Techno Trax ever had much traditional techno to begin with. Hell, the only such case on this particular double-discer is Love Inc.’s R.E.S.P.E.C.T., an early Wolfgang Voigt cut. Speaking of another ‘humble beginnings’ name on here, Robert Babicz shows up as Acid Warrior, doing acid techno in Acid Bites. ACIIEEEDDD!

Anyhow, it’s at this crossroads between techno-rave and German trance that we find Vol. 12. Some of the Techno Trax old guard show up with tunes, like The Prodigy’s Voodoo People and Moby’s Feeling So Real, but neither would appear in the series again. Meanwhile, names like Komakino, Jam & Spoon, Alien Factory, Paranoia X, DJ Tom & Norman, Acrid Abeyance, Legend B, and Nostrum should spark the synapses of anyone familiar with hard trance of the time. Can’t say all the tracks here are mint examples of the German sound though, no matter how many punchy, minor key melodies tickle my ears.

In fact, this whole compilation is kinda’ rubbish, and it’s all the happy hardcore’s fault. Whether ultra-lame covers of pop hits or super sap bilge, I just can’t stand this stuff. Only two tracks transcend the nasty cheese into tasty-cheese: Mark ‘Oh’s Love Song, and the hilariously ridiculous Rotterduck from Assi, another Komakino alias. He-he, wheee, squeaky toy!

Various - Slinky Presents: Superclub DJ's - John Kelly

Slinky Music: 2001

Just so we’re clear, this isn’t DJ John Kelley, the Moontribe member rinsing out at West American desert raves. No no, this is DJ John Kelly. It’s all in the pronunciation, see, that slight inflection that differentiates UK dialects and Californian slang. Go on, say it aloud. What, you still can't tell the difference? Whatever, it took nearly two bloody years to finally made that callback gag, and ain't no way I'm letting it go to waste with this one opportunity. This is what's called humor, people!

Also humorous is the notion of the Slinky brand, truly a testament to the bloated scene that was British superclubs at the turn of the century. It's understandable that institutions like Gatecrasher, Renaissance, and Cream would have enough market clout to promote their own DJ sponsored CDs, t-shirts, fanzines, and other paraphernalia. Slinky though? Was there really so much money floating about that any club night pulling a few thousand punters could have global reach? Even way off on these shores of the far West, you'd find Slinky CDs clogging up shelf space, always sitting there, stupid expensive from import fees, trying to pass itself as on par with the big boys of the era. Little on those mixes looked appealing though, whatever hits of the day the same ol' anthems rinsed out on other prestigious mixes. God, even calling Gatecrasher 'prestigious' feels dirty, but compared to Slinky, it seems apt.

Fortunately (?), after the megaclub scene crashed, so did Slinky as a super promotion, their label folding and several of their releases easily found in clear-out bins for a soft fiver. Even then their CDs didn't look worth the investment, but seeing a double-disc from DJ John Kelley was enough enticement for a purchase. Wait, when did he ever play superclubs in the UK? Oh, wait, this is DJ John Kelly. Who’s he now?

Just kidding. Mr. Kelly paid his dues on the British DJ circuit throughout the '90s, often rubbing shoulders with all the big names and famous jocks while flooding the market with mixtapes. He definitely deserved a spot at a superclub, though it seems after Slinky's brand collapsed, so did ol' John's output, Lord Discogs finding little trace of his material these past ten years. So he either retired, or has gone deep underground. I'd do a search but chances are I'd come across his American doppelganger instead.

Oh, this 2CD mix? Eh, there's not much worth getting detailed about. CD1 is hard dance, at that weird crossroad point where NRG had faded but hardstyle hadn't quite taken off yet, and very little flow between tracks throughout the bosh. Utterly skippable, though hearing Picotto's Komodo again was nice. CD2 goes proggier, and builds well for a good while before getting stupid with novelty tracks, though hearing Minimalistix' Struggle For Pleasure again was nice. Mr. Kelly sounds more comfortable mixing these tracks, but most of his chosen tunes are forgettable. Yes, even that useless Tiësto remix of Innocente.

Various - In Trance We Trust 009: DJ Mark Norman

In Trance We Trust: 2004

The boys that built Black Hole Recordings and all their various offshoots were growing up, starting their first tentative steps as successful stars outside the safe embrace of familiar family. Erm, only one was successful, but then Mr. Verwest’s always been a driven individual, capable of taking root anywhere he so chose. Not so much the others though, but as the likes of Fijneman and Helsloot had drifted from the In Trance We Trust print, it was time for a new generation to take up the mantle (though after veteran Ton T.B. gets his kick at the can, ‘natch). Fresh blood, rising stars, innovative outlo- AHAHAHA! Oh, that last one’s rich. All the latest crop of producers did was recycle the old tricks and put a fresh coat of paint on it, but hey, it’s not like kids discovering trance for the first time knew any better.

Whatever. I have to talk about Mark Norman, one of these supposed new stars of the future. He – or rather still they (Mark de Jong left the duo a few years back) had already released a few singles on the short-lived label Silver Premium, finding a new home with Magik Muzik when that one folded, and have remained within the Black Hole Recordings family to this day. Norman Lenden only releases sporadic singles now, but for a short while in the mid-‘00s, the Mark Norman brand was a hot product emerging in euro-trance’s re-shuffling of movers and shakers, a force for the harder side of the scene that wouldn't follow turncoat trends like hardstyle or electro house. And then he did when festival paydays became the norm. So it goes.

In Trance We Trust 009’s another mix that surprised me, and not just because I got the proper CD this time. I’m already familiar with Mark Norman’s style of music from his (their) productions, and given the annoyingly repetitive era of eurotrance this was released, was expecting something similar to Helsloot’s last mix or even Phynn’s set for ITWT011 - some good tunes, but mostly tedium and another fuckton of breakdowns.

And while that’s kinda’ holds true for ITWT009, there’s far more consistent energy in Mark Norman’s chosen weapons of rinse-out. This set goes for the hard anthemage from the opening, and doesn’t let the pedal off until the laser leaves the aluminum. Okay, I can vibe to this, absolutely. Even the breakdowns seldom kill the set’s momentum, and the only outright cheese moment is the obligatory Tiësto promotion, Love Comes Again. Gotta’ pay respects to the label’s Godfather.

Today’s guest review spot was supposed to be Sakura, but she’s late as usual. Mm, who else hasn’t had reviewed one of these yet? Hey, Birdie, what do you think of Mark Norman’s In Trance We Trust mix?

Birdie: Prefer some UK garage ‘n’ grime m’self, mate.






Wait, didn’t you die before either of- *oof!*


Sakura: Sorry, sorry I’m late! I thought I saw Ryu on the way, and…

Various - Rave Power

ZYX Music: 1997

Signs Of Adulthood #1523: splurging on an old 3CD collection for exactly one track out of thirty-nine. It’s a frivolous use of one's money, not like when you're younger and are forced to carefully consider what you'll use up limited funds on (er, in the pre-MP3 era of long, long ago at least). What's that? “Responsibility?” Oh hohoho, that's a laugh – adults blow large sums of cash on the most pointless of things, just because they have the means to. Of course, matters aren't helped by seductive online outlets like Amazon and eBay, where rockin' deals for old, gimmicky things lure you in, tempting your youthful nostalgia centres like so much Beanie Baby fluff.

Fortunately, I didn't have to break the bank in acquiring the one tune off here that eluded me for years, Gary D.'s Timewarp, among the best hard German trance cuts ever released. It features all the vintage sounds that made the genre so much fun: multi-tap voice pads leads, minor-key piano hooks, driving acid basslines, and relentless rhythmic energy to spare. Even the compilers knew this was their money track, giving Gary D. top billing on the small list of artists advertised on the cover (seriously, that cover!). Bizarrely though, Timewarp is dumped all the way on CD3, sharing disc space with such forgotten names like Charlie Lownoise & Mental Theo, Dan Dizko, and Afrowax. Oh dear, this one of those ultra-dodgy compilations, isn't it. Yeah, sure is.

The origins of Rave Power are mostly lost at this late date. As this came from German mega-label ZYX Music, my best guess is the compilation was a stab at style-biting Sub Terranean’s highly successful Rave Mission series. It must have been a failure though, as no subsequent editions were made. Matters weren’t helped that, at three CDs in length, this is one erratic collection of tunes.

For sure most of the sounds representing German rave are here: hard acid, hard trance, happy hardcore, and some techno too. I honestly don’t know much about the candy-raver stuff, and it’s weird seeing such music sharing track lists with bona-fide classics of the era. Gander at these tracks: Commander Tom’s Are Am Eye, B.B.E.’s Seven Days & One Week, DJ Quicksilver’s Free, Chicane’s Sunstroke and that Three ‘N One Remix of Cafe Del Mar, appearing here just before it blew up huge in UK clubland. Their sequence throughout makes no sense though, often shoved between hardcore and forgettable house music, including two atrocious covers of Daft Punk’s biggest hits.

Rave Power likely had a very specific audience in mind, the sort of doe-eyed young raver taking their first steps into the wild underground. There was plenty to discover, and these 3CDs served as a handy introduction, even if there’s no structure to this mess. Clearly Rave Power now only holds interest for those with nostalgic ties to the era (or retro-fashionable candy kids). Makes me wonder how I’d have reacted if I’d discovered this new. I wonder... wonder... wonder...

Sunbeam - Out Of Reality

Hypnotic: 1997

Even for the cheesier side of hard German trance, Sunbeam were a class of cheese all on their own. That’s not a knock on them though, at least from my perspective, for theirs was a fun cheese, fully in the know and unabashed with their earnestness. Along with Komakino, they helped set the standard for old-school hard trance, especially on singles Outside World and High Adventure. And even though Sunbeam’s early work was way under-produced, it’s a credit to their craft that they found strong hooks and memorable samples such that their tunes remained in discussion while so many better tunes by stronger acts fell by the wayside.

Okay, Sunbeam also features an attribute I’ll totally school-girl squee over: voice pad leads, especially with a multi-tap delay as they do in High Adventure. Obviously if you don’t care for them, we’re done here. No, wait, come back! Let me sell you on them some. I promise this won’t be boring.

See, there’s a timeless charm to them, like how modern space synth can sound exactly the same as its ‘80s lineage and remain all the better for it. It’s retro-futurism now, crafted with space and sci-fi in mind but coming off dated in our modern times - tell me you don’t feel like hopping into a Flash Gordon ship on High Adventure (even if the sample comes from Conan The Barbarian). Unless as a deliberate throwback, no one makes trance like this anymore, which is fine as there was little more that could be done with the formula. It's now an artifact of a bygone era, ripe for hipster reinvention (dear God, I hope not...).

Wait, there’s an actual review an actual album I’m supposed to do? Not sure what else I can say about Out Of Reality. Hypnotic had the rights to most of Sunbeam's early Suck Me Plasma singles and knocked this collection out around the time the duo gained exposure with an updated, (then) modern take on hard trance. Even for a 1997 CD, the tunes were sounding old, weak when stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the anthems of the day. That wouldn't be so bad if Hypnotic marketed Out Of Reality as a retrospective (or consolidated the tracks for a 'classics' collection of sorts), but I see no indication of that; rather, it was a quick way of capitalizing on Sunbeam's growing popularity.

Naturally, Outside World and High Adventure are here, including marginally different remixes each, plus a third remix of Outside World that sounds like a mash-up of the two. That's five tracks dedicated to two songs on a ten track CD. Yeah, overkill those anthems! The rest are rudimentary early trance tunes, though La Musique (C'est Notre Drogue), one of the B-sides to Outside World, tickles my fancy proper-like. Oddly, Are We Out Of Reality?, from which this album takes its title from, wasn't even originally released as a Sunbeam single, but a short-lived alias of Iron Wobble. Not that it's much different from the rest.