ATB - Future Memories

Kontor Records: 2009

Doing all those 'sportsing surveys' hasn't just been a means of maximizing my free time. I also dive deeper into discographies, unearthing nuggets of gold I wouldn't have heard before, and even springing for albums I feel deserve closer looks than a quick witty blurb on a social media site. So far I've done Cypress Hill and New Order, plus eventually Nas and The Roots who're only delayed due to alphabetical stipulations. There's a few items from Killing Joke, Stereolab and Underworld I have interest in as well, but for some darn reason, ATB has beaten all of them to the punch. Is this a dare? A put-on? A joke? Or could it be that I *gasp* actually like Future Memories enough to give it more shine than music of this sort normally would on this blog?

Well, I can honestly and truthfully say, if you want to get another album of Mr. Tanneberger's beyond Movin' Melodies, this is the one you should get, even if you're not a fan of his. By far, it features the most musical diversity, which may not be saying much given the generally narrow lane ATB typically resides, but it's far more than the bulk of his work. Even if you discount the second chill-out CD (which became a permanent feature of his albums from here on out), the main disc dabbles in such daft things like breakbeats. Again, not the sort of science you'd hear out of Hybrid, but for an epic trance guy doing them, these 2-step rhythms are quite fun. And there's four of them! Well, three, Gravity more on a shuffly, smooth tip than the peppy realm What About Us, My Everything, and the titular cut operate in. And heck, one of them doesn't even feature vocals!

Right, so all the singing. It's ATB, mang', the world of McProg and pop trance his chosen domain. Yeah, he could be some standard epic trance producer, and even does show he's perfectly adept at the sound (Luminescence, Terra 260273). When you've cultivated an audience that expects its singalong anthems though, you may as well give them what they want. And, hand on heart, I'll admit I don't mind most of these. Sure, a couple are more cloying than I can take, but nothing made me outright cringe as some of the most banal vocal trance has over the years. It's not like ATB is shooting for some grand gesture of presumptive artistic genius with these tracks. That's what the second CD's for!

I rib, the chill-out stuff quite pleasant in a non-intrusive sort of way. Just creative enough to keep it firmly out of muzak territory, but not so overt it demands your undivided attention. The only questionable moment is a cover of Everything But The Girl's Missing, because the original (or Todd Terry's rub) is so iconic, anything after can't help but come off lesser. Ah well, it wouldn't be a classic ATB album without at least one of those.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: DELERIUM / CONJURE ONE

Ah, Delerium. Some love 'em. Some hate 'em. Some loved 'em before they hated 'em. Some didn't know they existed for a decade before coming to love 'em. A great many more are probably indifferent but know at least one or two of their songs - typically in a remixed fashion. Wherever you stand on their worth, it's undeniable the group - primarily helmed by Bill Leeb, with Rhys Fulber as his frequent fellow muse, and a whole gaggle of lady vocalists in later years, have done much in the worlds of musical scenes most would deem incompatible. Are they really so?

Yes, if you were to take their very earliest industrial and dark ambient records against their most recent ethereal dance-pop outings, you'd wonder how that link ever formed. Or at least I wondered. And with wonder comes an interest in exploring an entire discography. Buckle-up, me buckos, this one's a three decades spanning dive!





























That sure was a dive that felt longer than I anticipated - probably didn't help I took on an additional discography in the process. That'd be like if I'd done all the solo albums of the original Genesis band members along with that band's primary output! Felt like I'd have done Rhys dirty if I didn't include his stuff with Leeb's though: the two remain so synced with each other after all these years, and the two projects were relatively similar overall. Ooh, does this mean I'll be tackling all the other Leeb/Rhys projects out there? Front Line Assembly does have quite the extensive discography too, not to mention other, smaller outings like Synesthasia.

Hhmm, no, I need to listen to something a bit different for a while. How does New Order sound to y'all?

Ferry Corsten - Twice In A Blue Moon (Original TC Review)

Flashover Recordings: 2008

(2016 Update:
Welp, so much for cautious optimism from the Ferry Fan Camps. Not only did he fully completely jump on the arena house bandwagon, but he did so in such a wacky way with Markus Schulz, you wonder if he was having a mid-life crisis regarding his DJ career. I get the reason for that whole New World Punx thing - what better way to capitalize on the ballooning festival market than as a 'supergroup' a la Swedish House Mafia - but man, did the PR for the 'project' ever look ridiculous for a couple of the scene's elder statesmen. Yeah, totally we can hang with the kids at these mega-events - they like cartoon ninjas, right?

That Corsten would abandon trance isn't a surprise though, as everyone with scene clout had to if they wanted to keep their profile high in a changing market. Nor am I surprised that ol' Ferry is inching his way back to trance now that the gravy train has started showing signs of deflating, most notably testing the waters last year with a new Gouryella single. Or maybe this was his plan all along, lure the kids in with modern cheese, then unleash his vintage cheese upon them, the cheese that you do so well. Who knows, though it leaves this album in a weird no-man's land between Corsten's different eras of music making. Does anyone even remember anything off Twice In A Blue Moon?)


IN BRIEF: Back on form, but…

When Ferry Corsten’s newest album - Twice In A Blue Moon - opened with a dull deadmau5 thunk-clap-thunk-clap beat, I instantly feared the worst. Although the famed Dutch producer had been accused of running dry on fresh ideas in recent years (even by our own resident Ferry apologist J’, no less!), you still believed he would never jump on a bandwagon. Yet, here he was, offering up a just-better-than-average mau5 tune with Shelter Me. The plodding rhythm, the bare-bones melodic execution, the bland effects: Zimmerman staples, all. Could it be that Corsten had succumbed to the pressure of following trends, that his days as innovator truly were long gone?

It’s funny. Despite opinions on Corsten’s music being contentiously split between fan and foe, folks seldom disagree on the merit of his ingenuity – after all, he made his name by being a leader in his chosen field. So when he appears to have become a follower, one can’t help but feel saddened by such a notion. You continuously root for the innovators to keep innovating, as they are the ones that push the arts into interesting new directions – even if you don’t personally enjoy it, such artistic evolution still creates a positive reaction in that it spurs discussion. In short, many may not have liked what Corsten did to trance, but damned if they didn’t like talking about it. If he’s become a mere trend-jumper though, then what’s the point in discussion?

All of these musings played out in my head for about the length of time Shelter Me played out in my player; which, despite a half-decent melody somewhere in there, should tell you how interesting the track is. The over-prominent thunk-claps continue into Black Velvet; fortunately, unlike typical deadmau5, Corsten writes a pleasant song featuring a rather inspired vocal outing from Australian singer Julia Messenger (given his years in the profession, you can count on Corsten being a stronger song-writer than the guy wearing a mouse mask). From there, I realized that my initial worries were for naught, as Corsten gets ‘contemporary’ only one other time, with the double-effort in Life - Doorn production (re: boring beats with non-climaxes; very anti-Corsten, really) coupled with whiney male singer.

The rest of this album finds Ferry going more to his popular roots. Aside from one last 80s gasp with the italo-inspired We Belong (which uses elements from the old hit Happy Town by Fun Fun), Twice In A Blue Moon features a good deal of simple euro-trance with energetic beats, the kind of sound many fell in love with when they were discovering the Dutchman at the turn of the century. Whether it’s because he’s grown nostalgic for his glory years or simply decided to provide what his fanbase prefers from him is open to debate. Bottom line is if you’ve been pining for the Corsten of old, you’re going to get a good amount of enjoyment out of this album.

For those who haven’t, however, you may end up approaching Twice In a Blue Moon more cautiously. In going back to the late 90s, there isn’t much here that is groundbreaking either. Corsten’s style has long been of simple punctuality, and the tracks on this CD don’t break rank from that; the melodies are mostly straight-forward and cheery, though hardly standout. Tracks like lead single Radio Crash and Brain Box feature prominent big hooks which will easily lodge in your head, although Brain Box will undoubtedly draw Zombie Nation comparisons (and what’s with that silly big horn blast? I swear I thought it was a semi-truck outside when I first heard it blare out). Meanwhile, he follows a more traditional melodically epic path with Gabriella’s Sky, Shanti, and the titular track, with each of these featuring a different twist on the formula: serviceable break-beats on the first, far-East vocal sampling for the second, and melancholy baroque with the last. These three tracks are easily the best on the album. Oh, and the final ‘outro’ track sounds like one of those piano interludes you might hear on an Enya album – again, whether that’s good or bad will depend on your preference for such musical doodling.

Unfortunately, much like his previous efforts, Corsten’s vocal offerings remain typically generic. Aside from the aforementioned Black Velvet, none of the singers provide anything memorable. Well, Maria Nayler kind of does, in that it has that cool vocoder effect on her voice, but her lyrics are rendered moot by it – she might as well be singing, “I’m blue, da ba dee!” Betsie Larkin, an obscure singer-songwriter from New York City, makes her major debut here with the other lead single, Made Of Love, yet another by-the-book vocal euro-trance cut. For those who can’t get enough of playing sing-a-long while jumping in one spot with their hand in the air, I’m sure this track is heaven – me, I take it as my cue to fuck off to the bar (especially so with the oh-so cliché supersaw breakdown, though thankfully kept brief here).

There isn’t much to fault with Twice In A Blue Moon, but neither is there much to highly recommend either. Aside from a few instances, it comes off like a rose-hued nostalgic trip to Corsten’s memorable years - which, of course, isn’t such a bad thing. However, Ferry’s music has always been generally limited in scope (big, epic, anthems! …umm…), and such limitations remain as apparent as ever.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009. © All rights reserved.

Various - Trance V.oice 2

Beat Buzz Records: 2003

I wanted some trance damn it, but my God was the selection in this particular store ever dismal. I could find my Turbo CDs and maybe a nifty techno album or two, but where was the trance, man? Where was the trance? On compilations with a Balearic beach, or a sunrise, or a sunrise on a Balearic beach, promising the latest and bestest in Ibizan superclub anthems, all tracks that, if I hadn’t already gotten, sure didn’t want, even in a different order.

It was then I realized whatever I’d enjoyed of the genre was truly, definitely gone, with no hope of return or salvation. The only thing left was to accept it full-stop, taking it as good as the cheese could give it. I scanned the shelves for the most overblown, chintzy, gaudy, ridiculous, nonsensical piece of cover art I could find, and hoo boy did I find a doozy! Just… what the Hell is going on here? Happy hardcore would be embarrassed by how cartoony this looks, and don’t get me started on the abomination that’s a double-gendered, two-headed plesiosaur. Too cruel to exist, yet too bizarre to erase from my memory.

And the trance. Oh dear God, the trance. Already you’re thinking we’re in for some rough vocal tripe, but maybe Trance V.oice 2 would present itself like those Trance Divas discs, a mix of the poppy euro fluff with more ‘credible’ examples of the sub-genre. Aw HELL n’aw! If I wanted something like that, I’d have gone with any dozen of generic trance CDs. I wanted the worst of the worst with this sucker, and Trance V.oice 2 fucking delivers!

The first track is DJ Sammy’s Heaven; welp, no sense pussy-footing this excrement. The next two have M.I.K.E.’s stamp on them, a Push remix of Zippora’s See The Sun, plus the collaboration Please Save Me with Sunscreen. If you like the Push sound, you’ll probably enjoy these, but as we’re dealing with radio edits, both tracks are utterly useless as examples of well-crafted trance (no time for subtlety). Fourth track is a lame hard dance cover of Supertramp’s The Logical Song from Solid Solution. Dear lord, just end this already.

No dice, Trance V.oice 2 carrying on with awful supersaws, flaccid pop, and wretched radio edits. As always, the closer vocal trance gets to euro dance, as with Futurz’ Let Your Night Shine Through and Sylver’s The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, the better it gets, but we’re at a pathetically low baseline here, my friends. All hope is gone once Trance V.oice 2 basically gives up on being a trance compilation after dropping a cover of BKS’ I’m In Love With You near the end. And the next track, Velvet Girl’s Promise U Heaven, why that doesn’t even have vocals at all! Zero out of Ten Jan Johnston Heads.

Seriously though, it’s the only decent track on here; once again Lolo provides some class on an awful CD. Respect.

Various - Trance Mission: Leon Bolier & Mike Shiver (Original TC Review)

Cloud 9: 2008

(2016 Update:
Hey look, it's me returning to that 'rip-on-trance' shtick our little website had gained a reputation for. Not that I desired a return to that, but this came out in an off-month, and me being a sucker for any sort of title that brought up old-school flashbacks, figured this might be worth a listen-over. Sure beat giving the boys at Armada another chance, though I can't say this was much better. Listening to this again, it really throws a spotlight on how directionless the trance scene had become by the late '00s, trying and adapting any trendy new sound to stay relevant; heck, I even mentioned as such in this review, though I neglecting bringing up the short-lived '8th note' micro-genre. And Bolier's mix remains the more interesting of the two, the tunes at least trying to come up with an original style, despite some of it full of fail.

I touched on Leon's career trajectory in my update of his debut album Pictures, but what of Mike Shiver? How has he held up? He jumped on that 'trouse' bandwagon along with the rest of them, including producing a track called Trouse. Look, his mix here was already filled with quickly dated trendwhoring tunes, so of course he'd keep doing the deed in the new decade. Guy's got a label to run, radio shows to promote; can't be left behind when there's bank to be made on the festival circuit.)


IN BRIEF: Now I remember...

When we were compiling our annual Worst Of TC list back in January, I was surprised by the outcome. Not the tracks themselves, as they all deserved their place in our Hall of Shame, but whereas my writing compatriots J’ and Will had a slew of dodgy epic trance in their choices, I offered none. At first I figured it had more to do with the odds, as I did review quite a range of music, exposed to material far worse than teeth-rotting trance (especially so in the ‘electro fart’ camps), but when I looked back on what I had covered, I was surprised to find mostly positive reviews of the genre. So then I thought perhaps epic melodic trance as a whole had gotten better, despite the odd sour tomato that makes its way to the top (Anthem, anyone?). Or could it be me? Had I maybe grown beyond gut distaste of this particular scene? Maybe I had achieved that mythical ‘post-jaded’ mindset.

After listening to this new double disc of trance titled Trance Mission, the real answer was given: I was just lucky. But more on that in a bit; first, some background one what exactly it is we have here.

So what we have here is the debut commercial DJ mixes of a pair of producers long time fans of melodic trance should be familiar with: Leon Bolier and Mike Shiver. I suppose the best way to describe their status in the trance echelon is ‘third tier’: both are certainly recognizable names, but neither have produced anything most would instantly be able to recall; also, in just about any popularity poll, they are typically mired in the middle of the pack. Fine if you’re content to remain at such a point in your career, but perhaps they’ve been chomping at the bit to take their careers to the next level, and doing a DJ mix for growing dance music distributor Cloud 9 certainly is a step in the right direction. Let’s find out how their first efforts are then.

Mr. Bolier gets dibs on the first disc, and takes off in fine fashion with Moonbeam’s catchy I Love Mornings. A couple pleasant trancey numbers later, and his mix takes a turn for the poppy. Very poppy. In fact... Heck, y’know friends? This is eurodance! Granted, Lange has always had an ear for that side of dance music, but just listen to what Schössow does in his remix of Beatitude (the peak after Kirsty Hawkshaw’s naff bit of singing). That bouncy hook is straight out of the big book of mid-90s euro; all that’s missing is a white ragga MC. Heh, it’d be quite interesting to see what Bolier would do with this sound if he decided to resurrect it somehow.

Instead, we are quickly courted off to the realms of decent-but-unremarkable progressive trance for a very long stretch. There’s little here I’d call awful (Jennifer Rene’s over-emoting on Invincible aside) but not much that gets the blood stirring either. Trouble is Bolier’s track sequence is quite dry, with too many unnecessary breakdowns lined up one after the other (the one in Extensions is particularly useless, not to mention Wardt’s use of glitchy percussion isn’t nearly as clever as it tries to be; nice moody tone though), with tracks that are timid in ratcheting the energy up after such downtime. About the only two that make standing impressions are Breakfast’s cascading white-noise synths in Dancing In The Moonlight, and Bolier’s own collaboration with Sied van Riel in Malibeer, an effective hard stomper (shame about the track resetting all that built-up energy at the end though).

On the other hand, perhaps this was intentional on Bolier’s part. After all, the track that lifts his set out of this middling funk is his own Ocean Drive Boulevard, an epic anthem that delivers on all fronts. And by following it up with a dark grumbler in Prominent and the energetic First Light from Bart Claessen, you have a final sequence of tracks that literally gallops with gusto towards the finish. It definitely paints his own music in a positive light, but still is a shame he didn’t dive into this material sooner, as Bolier exhibits some fine DJing sense here.

Ultimately, Leon’s a quality DJ when he bangs it out (or indulges in eurodance) but is hobbled by all the mediocre prog trance he seems insistent to play. How does Mike Shiver compare then?

Frankly, not at all, as his CD is quite different. Shiver’s delivered a set that highlights all that has gone wrong with trance this decade: the grotesque breakdowns, the insipid vocals, the melodic tripe, and, more recently, the cringe-worthy attempts at jumping on the ‘electro’ bandwagon.

For instance, what on earth is Sami Saari doing here? His lead hook is so terribly hokey, I can’t help but burst out in laughter at how much of an attitude try-hard it is. Even nu-skool breaks never came up with anything that corny; it’s like the shirtless barstar that wanders into a rave, hooped up on ecstasy and with powder on his nose, hootin’ and hollarin’ over how “phukin phat that shit is” while he tries to hump your girlfriend (and complains about the lack of PLUR when you tell him to fuck off). And Nic Chagall once again shows us how to utterly kill the momentum in a set with a remix of Cause You Know, where his limp rhythms actually have less playing time than all the nonsense he indulges in during his wank breakdowns and builds.

There’s plenty more I could rag on here, but let’s deal with the few positives instead: great bassline in Mat Zo’s remix of Music Is For Rich People; lovely remix of Helsinki Scorchin’ by Michael Cassette (an alias of two guys, for the record); solid beats in Marksun & Brian’s Saterday. These are some great moments, and I feel rather embarrassed for them to be surrounded by so much turgid fairy trance.

How there’s still a market for this Anjuna-like stuff is beyond me. The early lame ‘electro’ excursions aside, little on Shiver's disc sounds like it couldn’t have been produced during the last five years, and this sound’s always been ‘heard one, heard all’; it’s depressingly scared to shake the gravy train. Even the most over-sentimental femme-pop isn’t this sappy (the ultra-produced uplifting synths really lay it on thick). At least Bolier’s disc was mostly self-aware during its cheesier moments; here it’s far too po-faced to be any fun.

As for Mike Shiver: The DJ, there really isn’t much to be said. His set’s perfunctory and lacking in surprises (Saterday being a clear exception); he’s essentially an Anjuna promo-bot, as nothing here stands out from all the other Anjuna/Armada/etc. DJs, although the ‘electro’ at the beginning suggests he’s perhaps recently dipped into the blow as well (and come away none the better for it).

So yes, I was indeed lucky in the year of 2007. Producers like Stephen J. Kroos and DJs like Menno de Jong had me believing the epic melodic side of trance was showing potential redemption in the wider world of club culture, and so long as guys like them continue to push ahead in their own way, it does. With tracks like Prominent and Saterday, Trance Mission itself offers glimpses of such too. However, Bolier and especially Shiver have also shown the genre still has a long way to go before all credibility is restored.

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

Various - Trance Divas 2 (2016 Update)

Water Music Dance: 2005

(Click here to read a bunch of silly metaphors for love.)

So these CDs. I’m not sure why I kept a copy of them. Almost all the dance pop I reviewed for TranceCritic was quickly deleted from my harddrive, yet I still burned me some Trance Divas 2, even printed up the cover art. Considering how expensive ink jet cartridges run, that’s all sorts of daft for a pair of discs containing music I spent more time mocking than enjoying. Did I have some left-over need from my AudioGalaxy days of burning everything I could to CD? Might that desire for a big-yuuge show-off collection have clouded my impeccable musical judgment? Nah, most likely I felt having a back-up copy of Trance Divas 2 prudent for future reference, and as my computer of the time had a whopping 2.3 GB of memory, I sure as shit couldn’t keep it there. Little did I know I’d have to listen to these again for review, eleven years in the future. (holy cow…!)

That old review finds me soapboxing about ‘bad trance vocals’ and how they ruined the genre and a bunch of other dumb-ass nonsense that gives me serious cringes, folding me up into a fetal position of shame. Still, despite the rambling, my point remains that vocal trance – at least as found on Trance Divas 2 - is essentially where euro-dance of the ‘90s evolved to. The fact this compilation has equal shares of pure euro pop fluff with the ‘serious’ anthems from Very Important producers like Above & Beyond, Kyau & Albert, and ATB (*chortle*) only confirms the theory. And lo’, we even hear sprinklings of euro pop’s next evolutionary morph on here, that of the hardstyle knock-off genre ‘hands up’. Haha, I’m right, I win, Sykonee rules! *inexplicably drives off cliff*

Hey, here’s something I never talked about in that original TranceCritic review, the history of Trance Divas, the series! For instance, did you know there was a volume before this compilation came out? ‘Tis true, Water Music Dance releasing a first one just the year prior – how did 2005 Sykonee not mention that? The style of music is mostly the same, ‘serious’ vocal trance anthems mixed in with euro pop parading in eurotrance clothing. Quite a different roster of names in the track list though, including BT, Milk Inc., Matt Darey, Soda Club, Sinéad O'Connor, and Delerium. Yeah, Silence is on there, because of course it would be. Tiësto shows up twice more too, including his remix of Lost Witness’ Did I Dream, and his own track 643 (Love’s On Fire), the latter coming with a rub from… Oliver Lieb? On Trance Divas!? My head hath a’sploded!!

In case you care, a third volume of Trance Divas also made its way to the stores. This features such famous trance producers as Fabio Nobile, Paul Richard, Dutch Agency, Chris Nasty, and Rene Ablaze, and has no entry within Lord Discogs’ archives. Clearly no one wants to admit they own a wretched compilation like Trance Divas 3. Haha, hah.

Various - In Trance We Trust 020: Mike Saint-Jules & Sneijder (CDs 2 & 3)

In Trance We Trust: 2014

So Menno de Jong's mix for this 3CD mega-event Twentieth edition volume of In Trance We Trust turned out better than I expected. I suspect two reasons for that. First, Menno's unabashed enjoyment of the vintage euro-trance stylee came through in his mix, infecting me with his enthusiasm in the process – too often sets like these come off perfunctory hits rinse-outs, but not so much this one. Second, as this is an anniversary release, of course one of these discs would go the throwback route, saving the other two for contemporary takes on trance. I may as well enjoy the CD that shares some attributes of my early rave days, even if I did my darndest to avoid it back then. After all, whatever Mike Saint-Jules and Sneijder have in store will obviously be inferior.

Oh, hi Sagat, what brings you to this review? Wait, what are you-

Sagat: Tiger Genocide!


*several hours later* Oh man, did I ever get some sense knocked into me. A real slap-shocker, just like listening to these remaining two CDs.

I’ll be damned, but both discs mostly pick up right where Mr. De Jong left off. Mind, Saint-Jules’ set does plod for much of its first half, the sort of thunking anthem prog that made some previous In Trance We Trust volumes such a chore to get through. Things get especially dire midway with a pair of tunes that sound like they’re hitching onto recent Dutch house nonsense (of course Richard Durand would be one of the producers). It was all that I feared from these sets.

Then, in an instant, MSJ’s done with it, starts unloading his own brand of hard trance bangers, and holy geez, these are just as much fun as Menno’s offerings. Why are these fun? Logic says I’m supposed to hate these, but damn if I don’t get the feels for these anthems. They’re just so unapologetic, earnest, and don’t give a fuck what those other scenesters think. It doesn’t hurt ol’ Mike keeps his mixes quick, never letting tunes dawdle for longer than they need to – even the breakdowns have something keeping the momentum, serving as lulls rather than full-stop dithering tedium. It’s euro-trance that utilizes its clichés with efficiency, and is all the better for it.

Meanwhile, this Sneijder fella’, hot damn, he’s just relentless with the energy. Even with breakdowns and supersaws and the whole lot, I’m completely on board his set from start to finish. It’s the beats, mang, relentlessly vicious rhythms that make all the requisite euro-trance downtime bearable (I imagine even with a gun to their head, euro-trance DJs would sooner take the bullet in their brain than play a track without a breakdown).

I still wouldn’t recommend In Trance We Trust 020 to anyone uninterested in this scene, but then it’s not trying to win such folk over anyway. These guys are done with appealing to tourists, perfectly content catering to those who never stopped trusting in trance. D’aaww, so sappy. PLUR hugs!

Various - In Trance We Trust 020: Menno de Jong (CD1)

In Trance We Trust: 2014

The folks at Black Hole Recordings had to realize the In Trance We Trust brand was in desperate need of a shake-up. The genre its namesake was based upon had dwindled in clubber interest and market share. Much of the old guard moved onto more lucrative ventures. New singles continuously failed at enticing a new generation into its scene. All that remained were staunch die-hards, those who truly did trust in trance regardless of popularity. It isn’t as massive a group as those found at massive festivals, but at least they were a dedicated bunch, who'd stick with you through the good times and the bad, provided you didn't deviate from what they felt was a purity of their preferred music. What was the label to do then? Try riding the trendy bandwagons in the hopes of remaining relevant, or start catering specifically to a guaranteed, though smaller, following? Speaking of Menno de Jong's career...!

Okay, ol’ Menno hasn’t taken quite the same path, mostly resisting throwing his lot in with noisy electro anthems and dubstep permutations like many of his brethren did. For a chap who seemed primed for a larger career though, he floundered a bit at the turn of this decade, soon after closing up his Intuition Recordings print. Aw, I actually kinda’ liked that label, his Intuition Sessions mix one of the few CDs that got me tentatively giving trance another chance. While it’s no surprise he’d end up at one of the mega-labels, it’s interesting that he’s releasing singles and now offering a set on In Trance We Trust. Their DJ mixes have mostly gone to up-and-comers and relative unknowns for over a decade now, and surely Mr. de Jong has enough scene clout that he need not slum it with sub-labels.

Then again, hitting the big Two-Oh is something to celebrate for any series, so why not have a prominent name at the helm. And as ol’ Menno’s been one of the genre’s resolute ‘old-school’ supporters, it makes good sense having him provide a throwback euro-trance set. There are breakdowns, girly vocals, and oh God is there supersaws. None of these have any chance of being a hit in this day of EDM, and despite production chops at the bleeding edge of modernity, are all recycling the same standard formulae from euro-trance of old.

Yet, I’m strangely fine with this, even enjoying myself most of the time. The energy is relentless, especially in the latter half when tunes absolutely tear (yeah, that’s John Askew for ya’). Menno even provides a rare vocal tune I unashamedly like (Creatures Of The Night), proving the ol’ Law Of Averages I guess. No matter how overwrought, cliché, or sappy this set goes, MdJ kept pulling me back in, anxious to hear what sort of anthem he’d drop next. It’s like he’s paying homage to that scene’s roots (the fun and the wack), and screw whatever recent developments have gone down. Those are sentiments I can respect.

John O'Callaghan - Never Fade Away (Original TC Review)

Armada Digital: 2009

(2014 Update:
John O'Callaghan's kept himself busy in the euro-trance scene, a name often dropped among those who feel he's among a few DJs and producers still keeping the old-school vibe alive, resistant to jumping on the latest electro, anthem house, or hardstyle-in-hiding bandwagon. To this, I have to ask, "Da'fuq!? The Big Sky guy, really? One of the most blatant crossover vocal anthems to emerge in the last half-decade, and you're championing him as one of your saviors of the underground? Have you really grown so desperate?" Chaps like J00F, Lolo, and John Askew, I can see, but not O'Cally, not after this album. Unless he was initially pressured by Armada after signing with them to make such music, which I could totally see happening given the label's ridiculous homogeny at the time.

I guess I shouldn't be too hard on him - after all, I gave him the benefit of the doubt going into this album, having enjoyed Something To Live For. I probably go on a bit too much about that aspect in this review (to say nothing of yet another overlong explanation of a now-pointless rating). And if I'm honest, I've lightened up a little on Big Sky, at least on the lyrical front. The other vocal tunes are still pants though.)


IN BRIEF: After a bigger piece of the vocal trance pie.

It’s not that a writer won’t get hate-mail for negative reviews of popular-but-poor releases – that’s common. Yet, the content of such ‘letters’ oftentimes has an acceptant tone to it, as though the hate-mailer knows the music is of lesser quality but doesn’t care one way or the other. The matter is then quietly dismissed and everyone moves on. Nay, the really controversial reviews are those that are generally accepted as poor, but the reviewer actually likes.

Without getting into the numerous examples of such here at TranceCritic, I’ll just touch upon the one that pertains to this review: John O’Callaghan’s first album, Something To Live For. I liked it. Sure, it was far from a brilliant album, but as a collection of simple, energetic epic trance and bangin’ tech-trance, it was enjoyable. In fact, I found it downright nostalgic, as O’Cally recaptured some of the spirit of the genre’s raise in prominence near the end of the ‘90s. For whatever reason though, a great many folks out there hated it, as poor ol’ John became an unofficial whipping boy of all that’s gone wrong with trance in recent years.

The reason I bring this up is, if anyone here could give O’Callaghan’s latest album - Never Fade Away - a fair shake, it’d probably be me, as I have no previous anti-bias against his work going in. However, what we have on this CD is much different than what was offered on Something To Live For, as O’Cally has promptly abandoned much of his previous sound in favor of something far more financially lucrative.

It’s quite pointless to accuse him of selling out because John knows full well it’s what he’s done. And who can blame him? When the sales of the post-Something… single Big Sky (included here in a ballad version) were far exceeding material like Space & Time, the writing was clearly on the wall: if you want to make it in this industry, produce tracks with vocals. And boy has he ever.

Eight of the twelve tracks on this album feature vocalists, all female. Although a few are fairly known in the scene (Audrey Gallagher, Sarah Howells, Lo-Fi Sugar), they’re all pretty interchangeable, with lyrics consisting of your usual simple couplets regarding love and such. Inoffensive material for the most part, although if the thought of over-emoting choruses sends cold shivers down your spine, you’d best stay well away. Truthfully, there isn’t anything particularly wrong with these choruses – they’re catchy enough that they’ll lodge inside your head as they play, but will promptly fade away shortly after (which makes the title of this album hilariously ironic). There’s very little about these vocal tunes that lift them above the usual euro-trance glut.

And unfortunately, that’s the biggest problem to be had with this album: O’Cally’s complete lack of personality as a producer. Were you to lodge any of these vocal tracks into a Trance Divas compilation, they’d promptly be lost amongst the Mike Shivers, Ronski Speeds, Langes, Above & Beyonds, and any other notable vocal-fluff femme-trance producer. There is absolutely nothing here that makes you say, “This is the John O’Callaghan sound!” Rather, it’s the sound of simple and safe production so a licensing company can come along and pick any one of these tracks for their Euro Vocal Trance Ibiza Voice compilation. This may work to O’Cally’s favor if he ends up sharing compilation duty with the likes of Cascada or Lasgo, but not with his newfound roster-mates at Armada.

There’s one stretch on here where O’Callaghan does exhibit a musical persona, with the blissy three-track run of Out Of Nowhere, Never Fade Away, and Tom Colontonio-collaboration Through The Light. This is perfectly pleasant music, touching on the tranquil Ibizan-tinged trance vibes that makes light-weight fluff such as this a guilty pleasure for many (although Never Fade Away is actually more of a ballad). Granted, it’s just as safe and unsurprising as anything else here, but I challenge even the bitterest trance-cynic out there to not enjoy the sequence of these three songs at some level.

So, with this many perfectly average pop-trance tunes on here, this should earn Never Fade Away a perfectly average 5/10 score –yet, the final grade is actually lower than this, and, perhaps surprisingly, is primarily due to the non-vocal cuts. Aside from the aforementioned Through The Light, these tracks are generic in the worst sense of the word. Heck, Broken is bordering on parody, coming off like a desperate attempt on O’Cally’s part to prove ‘he can stills be tough tech-trancer’; despite a killer hook being hinted at in the breakdown, it just meanders about with dull bangin’ beats. Meanwhile, Liquid Fire and Megalith sound like left-over ideas collaborators Giuseppe Ottaviani and Aly & Fila had for other tracks, while Don’t Look Back is a rehash of the much better Through The Light. Bottom line is if you’ve been listening to trance for even a year, these will sound utterly over-familiar, with O’Cally’s lack of production personality hobbling their appeal more than ever.

Then again, I kind of doubt this album is intended for the veteran trancer. Nay, it’s primarily for the new kids on the scene whom have ‘graduated’ from the likes of Milk Inc., Scooter, and ‘donk’ music. And that’s absolutely fine, especially so since O’Callaghan has specifically targeted this audience anyway. The trouble with his album, however, is in a field with so many others catering to this crowd, plus dozens of similarly-themed compilations readily available any given month, ol’ John hasn’t done anything here to make Never Fade Away stand out – in fact, he’s gone out of his way to sound exactly like every other euro-trance producer out there. If you’re in the market for this particular genre, you’d be better off picking up a random Armada compilation, since O’Callaghan’s simply copying the label’s biggest producers anyway.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009. © All rights reserved.

Various - In Trance We Trust 017: Bobina

In Trance We Trust: 2011

Bobina is Dmitry Almazov, a very important person in the world of Russian trance. Wait, are there any others? I know plenty of Russians have made trance over the years, but beyond the occasional cross-over hit (hi, PPK!), none have made much of an impact on the scene at large. Not Bobina though. He got noticed by a few very important people in the trance scene of Western Europe, and gained enough of a following such that he’s consistently placed high in an online poll many folks used to take seriously. He must have blitzed his homeland for votes, and with no other heroes to support, trance fans of the Motherland dutifully came to his support, a Red Trance Army unlike any seen before. Sort of.

Anyhow, he got a record deal with the all-consuming Black Hole Recordings, and as such got a chance at In Trance We Trust. Unlike the recent string of jocks in this series, Bobina already had some experience in the mix CD realm, so we can expect something with a little more structure despite still being constrained by the same ‘play record label’s latest singles’ politics we always deal with In Trance We Trust now.

The first three tracks are vocal trance. Well f

The first track, Reverie by First State and ‘has some personality’ vocalist Sarah Howells, is kinda fun, only that it’s totally Real McCoy’s classic euro-dance tune Runaway. Whether intentional or not, I haven’t a clue, but you can’t hide that chorus from my expert euro-detection ability (the hook screams mid-‘90s too). The second track has a bored sounding Jan Johnston on it, probably because it was Cosmic Gate originally doing the production. The third track has Hayley Parsons on it, who’s done little singing of note so moving on.

Actually, we don’t get anymore vocals until Bobina’s own You Belong To Me some midway through, and hoo boy is this ever set-up to be the anthem of ITWT017. Most of the tunes before were on a proggy tip, some nice synths and atmosphere created but little in the way of rhythmic momentum. Bobina’s cut practically erupts from there with rolling basslines, ultra supersaw washes and such. Really, it’s copying the ‘big Tiësto vocal remix’ formula, which he does pull off, I must admit.

Some good epic trancers with lovely sounding synths follow (I’m warming up to that T.O.M. fella’), plus some utter wank ones too (oh hi, Carl B). As many of them have halting, overlong breakdowns though, it naturally ruins any musical momentum this set had going for it. *sigh* Nothing changes is this bloody scene, does it.


Bobina’s from Russia. Of course the ‘Red Cyclone’ of the former Soviet Union has something to say about it. What does that big piece of beef, Zangief, think of ITWT017?

Zangief: “Comrade Bobina does the glory of Mother Russia proud, making music for European masses. I prefer the classics, Balakirev and Mussorgsky. Night On Bald Mountain good for wrestling bears in Siberia.”

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.