Loop Guru - Amrita (...All These And The Japanese Soup Warriors) (Original TC Review)

North South: Cat. # GURU 200CD
Released 1995

Track List:
1. Sheikh (3:58)
2. Yayli (7:29)
3. Diwana (5:38)
4. Soulus (4:48)
5. Papasus (6:04)
6. Often Again (5:07)
7. Sun (5:01)
8. Epic Song (4:47)
9. Gianyar (7:45)
10. Fumi (13:32)
11. Plane Shift (6:10)


(2010 Update:
Track-by-track is still a chore to read, but at least the preamble to these reviews was getting better. I was a bit surprised by the resurgence of ethnic sampling in hip techno circles in recent years, though very little of what they did was as vibrant as what we have here. Mind, they are very different scenes.)


IN BRIEF: World samplings from the gurus of loops.

Truth be told, I wasn't a one-genre whore from the get-go. While I may say a great deal of the early 90s euro wave initially sparking my enthusiasm for EDM, there was yet another style I was enjoying along side it, though I didn't make as big of a deal about it -which is kind of strange, really, considering this style is probably one of the most commercially successful worldwide. I guess as a young, rebellious teenager, I almost felt guilty for enjoying the same music my mother did.

Dabbled with as far back as Peter Gabriel, and perhaps even The Beatles, it wasn't until the emergence of such acts like Enigma and Deep Forest that the genre loosely termed 'world beat' gained mainstream notice. The idea of throwing ethnic influences over techno rhythms sparked an amazing wave of producers attempting to cross cultural boundaries with music, a most novel idea considering our enjoyment of rhythms and melodies is one of the few things all of humanity seems to have in common.

However, because of the cultural diversity on this planet, fusing disparate music styles can be trickier than it seems. What may make sense in one part of the world will not necessarily meld fluently with another region. It isn't enough to just take a chanting pygmy sample and stick it with a sitar sample -there needs to be some cohesion between the two. Often the best producers in this field (Delerium, Banco de Gaia, etc.) will take such samples and create rhythms and melodies around them. The bad producers (too many goa trance artists to name) just lump samples on top of each other and hope for the best.

Of course, ask almost any world beat producer what kind of music they make, and they'll immediately claim they produce anything but world beat. I suppose they have a just reason for it. The term world beat (or even worse, world music) is even more ambiguously useless than 'electronica'. What exactly makes a song fall under that category? Certain sounds may be ethnic to one region but not to another. Maybe it's referring to music that isn't region specific, but there are several forms of music like that that don't fall under the umbrella of world beat. Ah, well. Humanity has never been all that good at giving names to music.

Anyhow, as I was saying, world beat held just as much interest to me as nearly any other style of EDM and, over the years, I'd come across some incredible acts in the process. One group that eluded me, though, was Loop Guru.

As a huge fan of Banco de Gaia, I'd often heard of Loop Guru mentioned in conversations of similar artists, sometimes even seeing them appearing together on compilations. I'd been curious, of course, but never really gave it much thought to seek out any of their albums until just recently. Having heard a few offerings of their work on compilations, a part of me feared they'd turn out to be nothing more than a Banco de Gaia-lite. However, after time and time again hearing the praises of the group, I decided to give in and check them out.

Starting out this particular album called Amrita is Sheikh. First thing I notice is this is very sample heavy music, looping over and over and over throughout this song. Mostly utilizing Indian sitars, woodwinds, and chants, not much really happens on this song as things more or less loop for four minutes without much variation. And, unfortunately, the samples used don't mesh all that well either. It doesn't inspire much but the rhythm is fairly energetic, if unwaveringly loop-refic, so I get the impression Loop Guru made this track merely as an opener to the album. At least, I hope this is the case. I'd hate to have to sit through an album of stuff like this. If I wanted that, I'd purchase some bad goa trance.

Yayli brings things more into focus, opening with chants and wails as rhythms gradually build for some two minutes. Once we get settled into alternating looping samples that feed off the tribal energy established, we are treated to quite an infectious track. While most of the guitar and woodwind samples are established early on, there is a great deal of mixing them up throughout so they never get redundantly repetitive as it did in the opener. Strangely, though, once the song ends, a little interlude plays out which sounds like something you might have heard on an old Super Nintendo RPG. At least, it does to me -damned youthful nostalgia.

Diwana does the same trick as heard in Yayli but the samples used are even better! The chant is quite nice, the rhythm more funky, and a haunting flute plays off of Indian pipes wonderfully. There are a bunch of other samples floating about providing texture and gives this track much needed depth that wasn't quite as prevalent as in the first two. Of note, I might add, is aside from some of the rhythms, I've yet to hear much in the way of actual electronic sounds in these tracks. It seems Loop Guru are more interested in using the samples they've come across to do the music for them rather than augmenting them with other hardware. It's ballsy, I have to admit, but Sheikh notwithstanding, it's worked so far. Hopefully it doesn't catch up to them later, though.

We get treated to a bit more of a Western feel rather than the Far East in Soulus, as the samples used here consist mostly of Gregorian chants and orchestral bits. Not too much else gets thrown in, though, as this is a fairly simple, loopy track like Sheikh. Fortunately, the elements in use are more cohesive and Soulus doesn't run out of steam before it's over.

Loop Guru slows things down now with Papasus, a wonderful little grooving number of dubbed out rhythms and simple, subdued melodies (including a sampled voice of Sussan Seihim). I'll admit I have a real weakness for music of this sort (most commonly referred to as ambient dub) but a number of others will find this a bit too noodly for their tastes.

Often Again is a rather mellow excursion of shuffling rhythms, chants of both folksy and Gregorian in nature, and lo-fi flutes that wouldn't sound all that out of place in a Boards Of Canada release. Beyond that, this is still a mostly loopy affair, although the flutes do sound more natural thanks to the longer length of those loops. Also, has anyone noticed those tweeting birds hiding throughout this album so far? I thought it was coming from outside at first but then I remembered that birds don't tweet in the middle of the night.

Loop Guru has managed to lull me into a blissful sense of serenity with these last two tracks but Sun opens up with something a little more paranoid sounding. Then, quite suddenly, brisk, crisp percussion leaps out at you, startling you into alertness again. Good thing too, as Sun is a fun track you wouldn't want to sleep through. Plenty of samples get thrown about here, mostly of an energetic nature to rile you up for a good ol' hippie dance. If I was in a flower field listening to this, or even just an outdoor festival, I could definitely see myself leaving a hacky-sack, drum, or bong circle to get my shake on to this track.
And this next one as well! Epic Song really doesn't have much to offer melodically with all the folksy singing and flutes, but I quite like the rhythm to this one. Much more tribal and less loopy than what else has been on offer with Amrita.

Of course, by this point I'm getting a little cocky about figuring out Loop Guru's tricks, namely making use of a wide assortment of ethnic samples arranged into interesting, even enjoyable songs. And Gianyar starts out just as expected with some peppy rhythms and lo-fi flutes samples. Less than a minute, though, I'm thrown for a 'loop' (hohoho!) when an orchestral sample starts to play, but in reverse! Playing tape loops backwards can be musically disastrous in many instances but it works here. Even better, though, is an additional melancholy eastern flute melody that follows it, and a rousing orchestral sample at peaks. This is some great stuff to listen to, even if the rhythm section barely changes at all from beginning to end.

Fumi is more noodly ambient dub but, unlike Papasus, this one goes for more jazz influences than anything else. At over thirteen minutes long, it does meander at great length between bass guitar, low Eastern woodwinds, and Gregorian chants (always good in a pinch) while sparse percussion bobbles along. It is nice to listen to for a while but, really, it does go on for an almost tedious amount of time if you pay too much attention to it. Best to just zone out while it is playing. Smoke a bowl if that's your game, too.

And, finishing off, we have Plane Shift, a mellow outro of a track that makes use of those always reliable Gregorian chants while Arabian flutes and percussion loop along at a steady pace. Yeah, it doesn't really go anywhere but it's pleasant enough to listen to in any event.

And really, that kind of sums up the whole experience of listening to Amrita; aside from a couple of tracks that create some much needed depth, most of what's on here is more about what Loop Guru can do with their samples rather than creating songs around them. Yet, for all the lack of diversity in each of these tracks, there is an undeniable enjoyment to listening to their music as many of the samples do stick to your mind. This being an earlier example of their work, I'd have to hear some of their more recent work to see if they refined this template more to make their more energetic tracks not quite as, well, loopy.

Incidentally, if you are wondering if they give sample credits here, I believe they do but write them out in such cryptic ways ('astoral music', 'mythical mellowflutes', 'the sound of one hand clapping', 'heavy metal guitar with so many effects that it doesn’t sound heavy, metallic or guitar-like or anything else from our realm of understanding the nature of multidimensional matter transfer', 'a very big fish'), you'd have a hell of a time figuring them all out. Probably how they like it, too.


Score: 7/10

ACE TRACKS:
Diwana
Papasus


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

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

Atticus Musikvertrieb: Cat. # AT65024 

Released March 25, 2005 

Track List: 

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Score: 6/10

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

CJ Stone - Satisfy My Love (Original TC Review)

Bump!: Cat: # BUM03 (12" single)
Released June 9, 2004

Track List: 1. Satisfy My Love (Vocal Edit) (3:32)
2. Satisfy My Love (Radio Mix) (7:08)
3. Satisfy My Love (Original Mix) (3:18)
4. Satisfy My Love (Massimo Nocito Remix) (7:44)
5. Satisfy My Love (DJ Shog Remix) (7:47)
6. Satisfy My Love (Club Mix) (7:20)
7. Satisfy My Love (CJ Stone vs. Shy Bros. Club Mix) (6:26)

(2010 Update:
Definitely the first case of me grinding an ax over a producer, though somewhat tame compared to later reviews. I think it's because my distaste for euro trance hadn't quite reached its breaking point yet, though that definitely wasn't going to last.)

IN BRIEF: Stick to Euro house and leave trance alone, Stone. You just aren't good at it.

I've mentioned before how sometimes I'll hear a track from a producer for the first time and may become an instant fan of that person's work due to the strength of such a track. However, this is a two-way street and there have also been a number of producers I came to thoroughly despise after hearing an offering of their work for the first time.

One such man was CJ Stone. For the reason, let me take you back a couple years.

It was the turn of the millennium and anthem trance was beginning to fade from popular taste. Unfortunately, many producers hadn't seemed to catch on to the trend so the breakdowns, builds, and supersaws kept getting bigger and, of course, more redundant (unless you were new to the scene, of course). This wouldn't have been so bad in my eyes since I could easily ignore it while enjoying the 80s revival but a bit of trouble started when the major labels began to notice sagging sales.

Oh, what to do? I'm sure they cried. Why, the same thing all major labels do when struck dumb with new ideas: rehash old ones.

No matter what anyone says, aside from big beat and hip-hop, the most commercially successful form of EDM was euro house circa 1990-95. The combination of catchy pop melodies, sing-a-long choruses, and infectious energy still resonates to this day, and probably will for many more years to come. Obviously, this was the source to tap into to help rebound sagging sales in the dance arena.

While some acts saw commercial success (Lasgo, Alice Deejay, etc.), it wasn't enough to stop the bleeding. Instead, to commemorate the ten year anniversary of some of their biggest singles of the euro house era (and all time, really), the major labels re-released them with updated remixes.

I was intrigued, to say the least. Euro house was the first EDM genre I dove into completely and utterly. Ask me who some of the acts were and I could list off a dozen without a second's thought. While I moved onto other things eventually, the music still holds a special little place with me.

So, when I heard that the power group Snap! was going to have an update on their smash single Rhythm Is A Dancer (a wonderful little semi-trancer itself), I eagerly checked out who would get the duty for it. Many excellent trance producers had done Snap! remixes in the past (Oliver Lieb, Resistance D, Dance 2 Trance, Rollo & Sister Bliss) so surely they'd get someone just as excellent, right? Right!?

Alright, maybe I shouldn't have expected much from a then unknown to me CJ Stone but I did expect at least a little creativity. Instead, we got a paint-by-numbers supersaw trance anthem with the original's vocals just dumped on top. Maybe it would have been creative when that template was still fresh (like 125 years ago) but it was an utterly lackluster affair and a horrible update on a classic track. I swore off anything to do with CJ Stone from there on out.

Until today.

While as a reviewer I have a large selection to choose from what I'd like to cover, it would be highly unprofessional to only review what I like. It would turn TranceCritic.com into nothing more than a gusher's site, a very boring proposition. So, even if it may not be up my alley, I will give material from producers I'm not particularly fond of a shot. Just as unprofessional of me would be to let personal bias pre-judge what is on this single. While I'm not expecting much (I mean, c'mon; it's euro trance -if anything, it's gotten even more cliché ridden), I'll give anything a fair shake.

Most of the time the first mix on a single is a radio cut (called the Vocal Edit here), often cramming all of the major elements into a serviceable three-to-four minute sound bite. No exception here as we dive right into the meat of Satisfy My Love. There are quite a number of elements to work with here: driving rhythms; melodramatic synth washes; vocodered vocals lodged quite firmly between the realms of Dirty Vegas and Eiffel 65 in their effectiveness; little guitar strums; a rather interesting high-pitched synth lead; and superfluous sputtering supersaws. Oh, and yes there is a breakdown and build but, in a mix this short, it's almost inconsequential. In fact, this whole mix is, really. There's just way too much going on for such short periods of time that nothing gets a chance to settle. Undoubtedly most of these elements will be given more attention in the longer mixes so this one is pretty much ignorable.

The Radio Mix is mainly an instrumental and makes good use of that rather eerie synth lead, introducing it after some standard lead-in and a mild breakdown. Following it up with synth washes and harmonizing, driving rhythms is an effective momentum builder but it is sadly squandered by going back into an even longer breakdown, re-introducing the synth lead again for some reason at an incredibly tedious pace. While the song bumbles along for a bit, that other overused trance cliché -the Corsten synth- bubbles up a bit as a new element and, while it tries to get more intense a little later on, there's just no energy left to this song, almost all of it having dissipated after a rather promising start. Ah, well, it could have been worse; those annoying supersaws could have made an appearance instead (note: this is foreshadow).

Now this Original Mix is much better. Relying on house rhythms, the vocals flow with the song much better. Bouncy synth chords punch through the chorus and the eerie lead is relegated to a supporting role where it actually sounds much more effective. The vocals, really insubstantial fluff in the trancier versions, actually carry a little more weight here. Sure, the content is still kind of silly, but in the more light-hearted rhythms of this mix, their sing-a-long vibe fits quite nicely. The Massimo Nocito Remix mainly retains the same vibe as the original and expands upon it with a few longer stretches focusing on the synth chords, pianos, and mild breakdowns (blissfully none of which completely halt the song dead in its tracks).

DJ Shog gives us a remix that bares hardly any resemblance to either version of Satisfy My Love. In fact, this sounds like a completely different song altogether. A stormer of a hard trancer, the only thing retained is the synth lead, and that just sparingly in a rather useless breakdown midway through the song. Why is it useless? Well, nothing in it really relates back to the rest of the track. As soon as the breakdown finishes a minute and a half later, we're right back into the thick of chunky, guttural acid lines like we'd never left. What's the point in introducing a new melody in a breakdown if you aren't going to make use of it later on? Might as well just skip the breakdown all together and keep the momentum going strong throughout. In all, I get the impression DJ Shog just had this track lying around unreleased and used it for the remix, tagging the synth lead in the breakdown just to tie it into the original somehow. Hey, it's not an uncommon thing to happen in the industry, friends.

The next two mixes -returning to the elements heard in the opening mix- are essentially the same as well, the first retaining the vocals and the second taking them out and adding a little more bump to it. However, they are both ruined by, you guessed it, superfluous supersaws at the peak of builds. Of course, you have to get through two breakdowns and builds to even reach them but, by that point, who'd even be interested in hearing these clichés? For one, the Club Mix's use of them completely overshadows the need for the vocals as you can tell the whole purpose of the track is for that big moment when the supersaws break out at the peak of a second climax. Second, even when you don't have to concern yourself with vocals in the CJ Stone vs. Shy Bros. Club Mix, they come on with such force, pompousness, and arrogance, everyone who's heard such techniques run into the ground in the past (essentially anyone who's been listening to this brand of trance for more than two CDs) will laugh their asses off at how ridiculous their delivery is. Mind, they could be going for over-the-top theatrics but, given how serious the rest of these two mixes present themselves, I highly doubt it. I do like the breakdown three and a half minutes into the second of these two mixes, though -some nice, old trance sounds used there.

In the end, Satisfy My Love works when it's not trying so hard to be a serious trance track and instead opts for pleasant euro pop fluff. Almost all vocal trance tracks should take that hint in the future.

As for CJ Stone, well, I'll give him some due with the housey Original Mix and a somewhat unique synth lead but those supersaws are just trash. I doubted my opinion of him would change much with this release and, considering the same clichés are still here, it's going to remain the same for now. Better luck next time, fella’.

Score: 4/10

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

Various - Influence 2.2: A Hardtrance Experience (Original TC Review)

Hypnotic Records: Cat. # 95452
Released 1995

Track List:
1. Phasis - Welcome (5:52)
2. Phoenixx - The Mongolian Rider (7:48)
3. Analog Communications - Atmospheric Forces
4. Unknown Control - Heaven (6:22)
5. Bionic Crew - Final Entrance (4:35)
6. Retroflex - Family Nightmare (6:26)
7. Monks - Monks Too (6:44)
8. Omnicron - The Bushmen (6:10)
9. Argon X - Little Gamma's Adventure (6:45)
10. Influid - We're Always Behind You (5:40)
11. Influence Megamix V2.0 (8:45)

(2010 Update: Ugly review. I wouldn't be surprised if I turned away a few folks with this one. To save you the trouble of reading it ever again (even if it's for the first time), check out tracks 2,5,6,9, and 10. They're the good ones.)

IN BRIEF: Hard trance cleans up its act a bit.

Influence Recordings started out quite raw and dark in their releases, which actually helped them gain an edge over the blossoming hard trance and techno sound of the early 90s. By drawing upon industrial themes, many of the Influence artists created some true gems that time still hasn't managed to dilute, if anything because many hard trance acts these days don't delve into the sinister side of music as often anymore (unless they think using the Menacing Voice makes their tracks sinister enough -as if), preferring to let the realm of hardcore handle those themes.

While Influence had a raw beginning, even the artists on the label made use of more refined production equipment as the years went by. This second compilation of Influence tracks brought to us by Hypnotic (bless their hearts for bringing it over to us poor North Americans at a domestic price) gives us an inclining of the changing tides. The first Influence compilation from Cleopatra (Hypnotic had yet to be established as the EDM sub-label of Cleopatra when it was released) was quite gritty and menacing. This one has a little more polish on the production side but that distinctive, menacing Influence sound is still lingering.

Opening track Welcome is brought to us by Norman Feller under his Phasis guise. I've enjoyed many of Feller's works but I have to admit this one doesn't quite measure up to his other releases. The foundation is strong, of course, as the use of energetic rhythms and crisp, quick synth melodies does create a good source of punch. And the use of spacey pads midway through to complement the main leads is a welcome addition. So what's the problem here? Hearing the Menacing Voice intoning "Welcome!" way more than is necessary, especially towards the end when you hear it every eight bars, gets pretty redundant soon. Also, to be honest, the leads used aren't really the best I've heard from Feller. Sure, I can't expect the guy to come up with gold every time but it just sounds like he's going through the motions here. Still, Welcome is a serviceable track to begin the compilation with despite the fact it probably won't turn many heads either.

Fortunately, The Mongolian Rider by Phoenixx brings things up to speed. Starting out rather mellow with pads, bubbly effects and a brief vocal chant that will serve as the basis for most of the melody to follow, the song shifts into high gear a minute later with brisk, driving rhythms and a simple, punchy, fuzzy synth. Layers of percussion are gradually added, eventually bringing the opening themes into the fray. One more added melodic bit to harmonize with the pads and vocal is introduced some three minutes later and this track is well under way. Patches get shuffled around, allowing them to alternate between rhythmic and melodic sections as the pace tends to dictate. Really, the arrangement is quite simple, but that was one of the defining trademarks of these early trance tunes coming out of Germany at the time: infectious melodies using a variety of sound sources looping repeatedly to suck you into your mind. It may be simple but it's still highly effective.

The moody, acidy Atmospheric Forces by Analog Communications is a nice follow-up for about three minutes. After that, you start to realize most of the good ideas were used up in the opening of this track. This turn into mediocrity is mainly chalked up to the weak rhythms. Granted, the kick is effective but the rest of the percussion is quite bland. A shame, considering the moody promise hinted at by the start of the track.

Still, at least some of the elements worked. With Unknown Control's Heaven, almost all of the sounds used really don't mix well. The arrangement of them is fine but limp rhythms, weak leads (that sound very under-produced, I might add) and a silly vocal sample fail to grab your attention and hold it. I suppose this could just be a case of a lack of better equipment, as you can hear some decent ideas lurking in the patterns. It's a shame these guys weren't producing in the Cracked Studio Software era, eh?

If Heaven was an example of good arrangements with weak sounds, then Bionic Crew's Final Entrance is just the opposite. With warbly acid lines, spacey pads, and a simple, effective lead, this track starts out quite promising. Unfortunately, not much is really done with it. This isn't so much a problem of meandering too much (like Atmospheric Forces did) but ending a bit short. Okay, perhaps I've been spoiled by a number of trance tracks of various styles averaging the seven minutes mark and am being a bit selfish. After hearing a pair of weaker tracks, though, I wouldn't mind something that hooks me in instantly to go on for a little longer than just four and a half minutes. Ah, well moving on.

We're halfway through this disc now and that trademark sinister Influence sound has only cropped up sparingly. Family Nightmare by Retroflex aims to fix that with a rude awakening of throbbing gabber beats. I know a number of folk out there can't stand these, so you might as well skip past these next two paragraphs.

Okay, the brave (or foolish, depending on whom you ask) still with me? Good. Now, I'm sure you're wondering what a gabber track is doing on a compilation that clearly claims this is a "hardtrance [sic] experience" on the cover. Fact of the matter is when this was released, folks weren't as nitpicky about genres. Especially since trance was still a relatively new kid on the block, the criteria for what was and wasn't trance was considered quite broad. In general, so long as there was an element of entrancing sounds, you could get away with some very diverse compilations.

Family Nightmare makes use of those spacey voice notes that was quite dominate in a lot of early German trance. With a brisk, ominous melody striking in time to the fast, throbbing beats, this track is quite fun actually. A sped-up vocal sample gets thrown in at various points; although I can't quite figure out what it says (animation chips?) it certainly fits the tone of this track. Other fun items of note: a harpsichord-like sound replaces the spacey voice notes at one point, giving the track a tongue-in-cheek epic feeling; as was a common gabber cliché, the song pitches down right to a crawl towards the end before pitching back up to even faster speeds to climax out; the additional "Let's go!" vocal samples are nice little bursts of nitro at the end of rhythmic pauses. Really, the only glaring problem with this track is the use of some sort of low Atari bleeping sound that doesn't always sync up with the rhythm; it can really throw one's attention off and wasn't really needed in my opinion. And, I suppose, this being gabber it isn't going to become a classic track anytime soon, plus I highly doubt this particular track will change the mind of gabber's detractors. Still, it's a rollicking good time so their loss.

If you’re just joining us now after skipping past the last track (sorry if you missed the fun) this track by Monks may put you off yet again. Monks Too is hardly trancey at all. In fact, this is pretty much a fast techno track, and a rather boring one at that. Aside from a fun bit of bass and a tiny bit of experimental sounds that don't get nearly intuitive enough, there's nothing of real interest here. The feeble attempt at any kind of melody with laughable bell tones is just pathetic. Sorry if I just sound harsh here but this track is barely worthy of a being filler. I suppose it is a respite from the intensity of Family Nightmare but surely there was something better in the Influence back catalog that Hypnotic could have used.

I've already covered what goes on with Omnicron's The Bushmen in a previous review so I'll just mention it still fails to raise above the role of filler even after following a track that doesn't even accomplish that. Moving on.

I suppose you're wondering if there is anything worth keeping on this disc by this point now. Aside from a couple decent tracks, there hasn't been much that has really catapulted this compilation to the rating I gave, has there? Well, it seems Hypnotic saved the best for the last.

Little Gamma's Adventure by Argon X is one of those old trance tracks that I absolutely adore. Using a little whispering, echoing effect to start out, it begins dropping in pitch every few bars, bringing out some actual melody. As rhythms are progressively added, you start to realize this is actual the main lead and, once it settles into a much lower pitch, the guttural sounds are quite menacing. It's an ingenious method of introducing a hook but things get better.

As soon as the track seems well under way, a brief breakdown gives way to some paranoid bells and benign synth pads, completely changing the dynamic of this song. Once the main lead is brought back in, it creates a perfect contrast of yin and yang. The aggressive lead taps into your primal senses while the gentle pads tingle those warm emotions nestled inside. If I may be so bold to say it, Little Gamma's Adventure tells an effective little good vs. evil story, with the malignant beginning, leading to the benign second stanza before the two clash midway through. And, while the aggressive lead gets more intense following this confrontation, it is eventually pushed aside by the melodic elements to finish the song off as a pleasant little piano melody plays to finish off, hinting that good does triumph over evil. Not to be outdone, however, a brief return of that menacing riff pokes its head at the very end, leaving an air of uncertainty as the song finishes.

If Little Gamma's Adventure was a clashing of good and evil, Influid's We're Always Behind You dispenses with any notion of hope right off the bat. Produced by one of the early trance powerhouse teams of Ralph Fritsch and Detlef Hastik (best known for their work as Komakino), it sounds like they rip the ominous voices that was in the soundtrack to the Demi Moore movie The Seventh Sign and utilized them to great effect. This creates an incredibly gothic atmosphere as you can picture the thick beats bouncing off the cold granite of giant, cavernous cathedral halls. A creepy vocal sample whispers, "He's here; A finger-touch away. He's always behind you." as brief, intense drum rolls (one thousand bpm, methinks) grind in the background. Not really too interested in being too danceable, We're Always Behind You is quite content to take many pauses to envelope you within its sinister environment. You can literally feel yourself being consumed in murkiness with a good sound system. Adding to the menace is a creepy little melody introduced midway through, something that can have one nervously looking over their shoulder should they let their imagination drift to this foreboding track. It's certain to be a hit with every graver (gothic raver) who comes across it. The last track here is a megamix of assorted Influence hits. Of course, a megamix tends to only be as good as the tracks you are familiar with, relying more on trainspotting moments than anything else. Fortunately, I'm familiar with a large number of these so I quite enjoy it. To give this megamix an extra edge, however, producer Vernon Baur (whom was a partner with Talla 2XLC for a while, actually) throws in a huge assortment of battle tool samples and frenetic beats to keep this sucker in high gear. At some points the kicks are flying everywhere with mayhem as the backing song grooves along. It can get quite hectic but it's fun nonetheless. As for what's included on this megamix, let's see if I can put my trainspotter abilities to their test: Marble Cybos' I'd Rather Get Fucked By A Vibrator, Influid's We're Always Behind You (a bit funny hearing it again so soon, but it's such a good track I don't mind), Vene's Pain, The Postman's Elysium, two I'm not sure of, Phasis' Moonwalk, Reel X's Feels Good, and The Abeyance's Unit 99. Hmm seven out of nine isn't bad.

All in all, this release as a whole seems to be quite typical of most Hypnotic compilations: some great tracks, some decent tracks, and a few forgettable fillers. Of course, the ones worth having do make up for some of the drudge you have to sift through in this case so, if you are interested in some older trance, give it a go. I just wish Hypnotic could have trimmed the fat a little better when compiling this. I'm sure there had to be more in the Influence catalogue that could have made this an excellent compilation.

Score: 7/10

ACE TRACKS:
Argon X - Little Gamma's Adventure
Influid - We're Always Behind You

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

Afrika Bambaataa - Dark Matter Moving At The Speed Of Light (Original TC Review)

Tommy Boy Entertainment: Cat. # TB1601
Released 2004

Track List:
1. Got That Vibe featuring King Kamonzi (4:07)
2. Metal featuring Gary Numan & MC Chatterbox (4:58)
3. Dark Matter featuring King Kamonzi (3:55)
4. Take You Back (3:57)
5. Soul Makossa (5:02)
6. Just A Smoke featuring Mustafa Akbar (3:42)
7. 2137 featuring Alien Ness (3:50)
8. Almighty Ra featuring TC Izlam (5:13)
9. Touch & Go featuring Muriel Fowler (5:40)
10. Shake 'n' Pop Roll featuring Aghi Spirits (5:05)
11. Ain't Takin No Shhh (4:32)
12. Pick Up On This (4:39)
13. No Dope Fiends On The Floor (4:51)
14. Electro Salsa (1:21)
15. B More Shake (1:17)
16. Meet Me At The Party (3:46)
17. Sally featuring King Kamonzi (5:19)
18. Zulu Chant No. 5 (1:14)


(2010 Update:
Still too wordy, but definitely getting better. At least I wasn't nearly as dry as I used to be, managing to throw in recurring jokes in the bulk of reviews, should you be brave enough to sift through it all to find them.)


IN BRIEF: Zulu Nation keeps partying like it's 1980 and 2180.

Respect. It's a wonderful thing to have in the music industry, isn't it? Most bands, singers, and producers gain respect by pioneering a musical standard and sustaining or building upon it in the following years, a most difficult task as numerous happenstances may interfere (products of their time, creative blocks, fads that fade, etc.); one slip up might raise a few eyebrows and another could leave you forgotten for the rest of your career. However, if such musicians can maintain the respect they've earned, they create a dedicated following of fans who will support your artistic endeavors and win critical admiration from your peers.

One such man is Afrika Bambaataa, one of the groundbreaking artists who helped build a fledgling hip-hop scene into something larger. With his group of friends and followers, the Zulu Nation, hip hop and breakbeat music grew into prominence as the entire culture of turntablism, MCing, breakdancing, and graffiti art was cultivated by him and similar minded artists. Even if hip hop and breaks took radical paths away from each other and even mutated into something far removed from its original intents, Bambaataa's influence has never been forgotten and remains an important figure to this day, held with the utmost respect for his accomplishments.

Always one to defy convention, Afrika's sound quite often borrowed heavily from the futuristic sounds that early electronic music pioneers created. As such, he has never come across as dated, in fact light years ahead of your normal players. However, now that technology has allowed hip-hop producers to catch up, does the Godfather of Hip Hop still have what it takes to remain relevant?

Instead of trying to beat the new breed of rappers at their own games of beefing, battles, and one-upmanship, Bambaataa sticks to his strengths of inventive beats (featuring a whole slew of unique producers) and fun, positive lyrics.

Openers Got That Vibe and Metal gives us a taste of the eclecticism we can expect to hear on this release. Egyptian instruments and atmosphere dominate the former with simple breakbeats and bubbly bass rounding out the rest. King Kamonzi provides most of the verses while Bambaataa hangs out in the background with shout-out MCing to pump the listener up. It's a fun little ditty to start out with but the paranoid, new wave sounds of Metal leap out at you in stark contrast. A cover of a Gary Numan song (with Numan actually returning on vocals along with Bambaataa), the electro sounds of digital beats, sci-fi effects, and robotic voices is like leaping into the urban squalor of Bladerunner.

One would think going from ancient Egypt in one song to a choking, future metropolis in the next would throw this album's flow completely out of sync but it doesn't. Why? Because this is the Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture we are listening to here. This kind of willful, contrasting diversity is what we've come to expect from him. What kind of sound will he come up with next? What musical avenue will he take us from here? Of course, Bambaataa doesn't disappoint.

Title track Dark Matter returns us to the streets of the Bronx in the early 80s for its grooves, recalling some of the big funk band sounds (trumpets, early organs, and so on) getting thrown into hip hop beats. King Kamonzi again provides most of the verses of street knowledge while Bambaataa hangs back to get the crowd energized. But not to be outshined on his own album, the Founder of Zulu Nation gets a chance to take center stage in the even funkier Take You Back. He doesn't really do much more than give you crowd hyping chants and shout-outs to the nations of the world but, as always, they are filled with zest and sound great with filtered disco loops and wah guitars slapping about.

The Fort Knox Five have provided the production for most of these tracks so far (the Paul Daley produced Metal excluded) but Bambaataa taps Überzone to help do a cover of Soul Makossa. Mostly an instrumental affair with Bambaataa supplying a wide assortment of backing chants, Überzone's unique blend of digital breakbeats sounds incredible as splashes of guitar and saxophone fill out the rest -a top notch, energetic track all around.

Another funk-fuelled Fort Knox Five-produced party jam in Just A Smoke passes us by and we are plunged back into the future with a pair of electro tracks produced by Sharaz. 2137 provides a utopian outlook by way of self-education as rapped by Alien Ness through a filter effect while the Father of the Electro Funk Sound gives his usual support. Robotic chants of "Afrika Bambaataa" and "Zulu Nation" get thrown in for good measure as the digital bass and beats keep the funk going. Almighty Ra gets a little more paranoid with strangling string pads (most reminiscent of Planet Rock) and thicker breakbeats. Again, robotic chants add to the futuristic soundscapes while bass pulses penetrate the funky rhythms. Both tracks are certain to get the current generation of b-boys at parties busting out their most skilled moves; best to have a chiropractor handy.

Steven Boogie Brown gets to have a turn at providing Bambaataa with the musical backdrop for the next couple tracks. Leaving the future, Brown takes us into the sweaty clubs of the southern states for the setting. Touch & Go may start out sounding like a bit of typical diva freestyle (with Muriel Fowler giving her vocal chords a decent workout) but mid-way through, a filtered disco house loop interrupts the proceedings as Bambaataa joins the party. Soon enough, the beats are laid on thicker and Fowler really cuts loose as the Purveyor of Elaborate Headdresses urges her on enthusiastically. Touches of raw synths fill out the song at the end to finish off this slice of house.

In case all that soul sista’ style in Touch & Go was too much for the guys, Shake 'N' Pop Roll gives the boys a chance to get crunky with it. Droning sirens, breakbeats, and vigorous raps provided by Bambaataa and guest Aghi Spirits hit you hard and fierce, generating a good deal of wild energy for the guys on the floor to get rowdy with (yes, even us white folk).

From here, unfortunately, the grooves lose their steam. The next three tracks, while fun party tracks, just don't have the same kind of diversity the beats on the first half of this album contained. In contrast, they're quite boring and, unfortunately, Bambaataa's crowd hyping MCing doesn't do much to improve them. Even when he gets a little more innovative with content on No Dope Fiends On The Floor, the rhythms are so limp and repetitive, you could skip past it after hearing a mere forty-five seconds worth and not miss much. After these, however, you then have to sit through two interludes that are nothing more than brief drum loops (although B More Shake is a little better). Were these really necessary to include? I wouldn't even consider these battle tools.

At least Meet Me At The Party brings this album back up to speed, even if it's almost four tracks overdue. Another Überzone produced track, we are treated to a little slice of Zapp-influenced funk. Even the Grand Poobah of Funky Vox (okay, I made that one up) is more lyrically diverse than his usual fare here, singing verses and choruses rather than just hyping the crowd. The big question is why couldn't we have had this song five tracks ago instead of stumbling through a bunch of mediocre tunes? The flow of this album would have been far smoother.

Sally is a bit of an oddity. No party vibe here, my friends. Instead, we are given a story about a woman of less than reputable stock. With the grimy, simple beats lying underneath, it's not a very optimistic song, and is extremely stark in contrast to the overall feel of Dark Matter. Sure, there've been a few menacing sounding tracks thrown about such as Metal and Almighty Ra, but they still had an air of keenness to them. Sally is just depressing, which is the point I suppose, but I don't see how it relates to the rest of this album. I guess that's why it was lumped at the very end. Well, not the very end, really. Zulu Chant No. 5 is the last track but it's pretty much self-explanatory, that one.

In the end, you have yourself two-thirds of a great album. The post Shake 'N' Pop Roll string of tracks (Meet Me At The Party excluded) aren't nearly as good as the first half of Dark Matter, but they aren't flat out bad either. Perhaps if the arrangement of the tracks mixed them up a little more, there wouldn't be quite the apparent dip in quality.

Still, Bambaataa has proved (as if he really needed to) he can still provide the party vibe when called upon. The legacy remains intact.


Score: 7/10

ACE TRACKS:
Metal
Soul Makossa
Almighty Ra


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

2 Unlimited - Jump For Joy (Original TC Review)

Popular Records: Cat. # PR2S 3050
Released 1996

Track List:
1. Jump For Joy (Edit) (3:42)
2. Jump For Joy (Digidance Happy Hardcore Edit) (3:19)
3. Jump For Joy (Armand's Dutch Touch Mix) (7:51)
4. Jump For Joy (Itty-Bitty-Boozy-Woozy's Dub 4 Joy) (5:25)
5. MTV Partyzone Megamix (4:55)

(2010 Update:
How can you tell I'm still in "be objective" mode here? The Klubbheads are mentioned, and there's nary a snarky snipe to be had. Seems to be a very rare single now, as the only copy available on Amazon goes for $40. Hah!)

IN BRIEF: One of the biggest euro dance acts attempts to tap into the underground. They nearly succeed, too.

The euro craze of the early 90s was at an end and one of the biggest names of that scene, 2 Unlimited, was splitting up. Before that quite happened, however, they released a greatest hits collection which included a couple new tracks that they had been working on before parting ways. One such track was this little oddity.

After the group had managed to prove they could remain afloat amongst the many imitators with their previous album, it would seem producers Phil Wilde and Jean-Paul de Coster looked back to their roots, where they would tap into the dominate underground rave sounds to use for their mainstream music. The first single to emerge was Do What's Good For Me, a simple, dirtied-up house track that may have drawn a bit of influence from the burgeoning French sound.

Another genre that was set to explode upon the mainstream was trance. Wilde undoubtedly saw potential in the sound and the result was this single: Jump For Joy.

Bear in mind though, that this is by no means anything like the form of trance that actually did go on to achieve mainstream recognition. Rather, this borrows more from the faster eurobeat style of music for its rhythms, a perky form of EDM that seems to be lost somewhere between the lands of euro and happy hardcore. Where the trance influences come into play is with its main lead. Using a sound that was quite dominant in the quicker forms of trance at the time, the synths are filtered, filled with reverb, stuttering, and oscillating with great gusto here.

Still, this is an intended mainstream dance song so you won't get any deep, thought provoking lyrics. Really, with this track's spastic speed, it'd be hard to take seriously anyways. As such, when at one point Ray raps, "Butterflies are moving fast" you can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Was this meant to be tongue-in-cheek? Perhaps. Maybe it's best to just do as Anita says and, "Jump for joy!"

The Klubbheads (going by Digidance here) were tapped for remix duties this time (What!? No X-Out?), giving us an even sillier happy hardcore version for their troubles. As can be expected, everything gets pitched up with infantile organ leads and super fast pianos playing little melodies. I have to admit it does work on a harebrained level, but then that's all happy hardcore ever set out to achieve, wasn't it? It only lasts a little over three minutes anyways so it's not like you have to endure it for long.

In case there is still a lot of leftover sugar in your mouth however, Armand van Helden is here to the rescue to provide us with a bottle of Jack Daniels straight from the ghetto to wash it out with.

Armand's Dutch Touch Mix pretty much gets rid of all the elements of Jump For Joy in favor of booty shaking house rhythms and slight melodies. Only a sample of Anita's voice either saying "Jump" or "Free" in time to the rhythms (amongst some other unintelligible things) keeps this mix tied into the original. Time to grab a fine lady and get wild.

The *deep breath* Itty-Bitty-Boozy-Woozy's Dub 4 Joy mix *exhale* (also done by the Klubbheads) is a fairly minimal affair, at least compared to what's already been offered on this single. Take some stock techno rhythms (the real stuff), add some negligible, looping sounds, and utilize even less of the vocals than Armand did, and you have this mix. It might work as a transitional track in a set but there really isn't much more worth noting.

There's also a megamix included on this single, done by the MTV Partyzone. I'm not really familiar with that program but then I'm Canadian -we had our MuchMusic X-Tendamix and Electric Circus shows to keep us up to date on dance music instead. This megamix tosses in pretty much every single 2 Unlimited hit ever released and crams it all into something of a mess that runs just under five minutes. Some pieces only get brief vocal snippets while others get portions of their main riffs played out in rather disjointed merging of others. It might have worked had they used more time to arrange the tracks better but as far as 2 Unlimited megamixes go, this one doesn't nearly stack up as well to the rest.

As one of the final singles to come from the original lineup, it's a shame this track doesn’t have nearly the catchiness to carry it as many of their earlier hits. Jump For Joy just carries far too much un-mainstream baggage from its eurobeat and trance samplings for it to have made much of an impact.

Except in Japan, perhaps.

Score: 6/10
Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.

2 Unlimited - Do What's Good For Me (Original TC Review)

Popular Records: Cat. # PR2 3008
Released 1996

Track List:
1. Do What's Good For Me (Edit) (3:49)
2. Do What's Good For Me (Extended) (6:03)
3. Do What's Good For Me (Alex Party Remix) (5:06)
4. Do What's Good For Me (X-Out Remix) (5:22)
5. Do What's Good For Me (Aural Pleasure Mix)(8:58)
6. Club Megamix (9:34)


(2010 Update:)
I didn't realize it at the time, but Dobre & Jamez would go on to see some success as Trancesetters. So now you know.)


IN BRIEF: 2 Unlimited go old school.

1996 was a year of transition for many following EDM. Most of the sounds that had defined the early rave era had begun to fade away as newer, improved gear and software replaced it. Genres that had proved immensely popular before were growing stagnant as ideas continuously were recycled with great redundancy, causing many fans of certain niches to search out different styles of music.

Probably the style most heavily affected was euro house. Just a scant two years before, the music was on top of the EDM world, and even making an impact on general music as well in typically anti-electronic regions. However, as with all things that catch onto the mainstream, many imitators began to flood the market as well. Every week there were new acts featuring some bird on choruses, some bloke on rap verses, and producers hiding in their studios providing the musical backdrop. Where innovative takes on the sound once kept it afloat, ideas seemed to dry up towards the end of 1995, and completely burn right out in '96.

Possibly affected the most by this trend was euro powerhouse 2 Unlimited. Not only was this group one of the original acts to bring the euro sound to giant heights of popularity, they also managed to keep themselves relevant in the following years, knocking down almost all of their competition with their always catchy riffs and excellent rhythms -those that did manage to have bigger hit singles than the group never managed to have as many hits as 2 Unlimited did. The Dutch euro act was, without a doubt, one of the best.

Unfortunately, even they could not stop the coming change in popular tastes. Trance music was on her way to overtaking euro as the dominant EDM genre of choice (although the media would attempt the electronica take-over before that) and there would be no place for quirky raps, catchy melodies, and belting divas (at least initially -it seems everything but the raps were eventually integrated into trance anyways, but that’s another topic). What was 2 Unlimited to do?

Go back to their roots, it would seem.

Do What's Good For Me sees Phil Wilde and Jean-Paul de Coster taking away the once glossy polish of their previous albums work and relying on the house sounds that had remained nestled in the underground clubs while euro held the limelight. Sure enough, you have a bouncier rhythm and that high octave string note during the minor builds and fills. Of interesting note, however, is the main riff. Like many of their earlier sounds, this one has an unproduced tone to it. Sure, the actual sound used is quite typical of many early 90's house songs but, even with the most piddling of stereos, you can hear a distinctive distortion to it, especially when it pitches up to higher tones. I'm glad to hear that edge Wilde and de Coster held over their contemporaries with unique sounds for their hooks is still evident even at this late stage of euro's game.

Ray and Anita provide some lyrics that seem to indicate they were also aware of the changing climate of dance music. It's no secret that around this time they were expressing interest in leaving the group to pursue their own careers. I guess this was their subtle way of letting their fans know that they were going to “do what's good for [them]”, and perhaps for the 2 Unlimited legacy as well by going out on top of their game like so many of the best pop acts in history (The Beatles, The Police, etc.) before they fade off into irrelevance and obscurity.

Or maybe I'm reading too deeply into it and Do What's Good For Me really is just a good old fashioned 'take matters into my own hands' 90s rallying call. We may never know.

Visnadi returns on this single to give the track another one of his sexy Alex Party mixes. The structure remains the same but the rhythm makes use of snaps instead of snares to give it a little more punch. And by replacing the main riff with a more subdued take using a deep organ, this mix grooves along nicely.

As usual, Andy 'X-Out' Janssens provides a more dancefloor friendly take as well, doing away with most of the main ingredients to use one of his typically peppier riffs this time with big organ chords.

The Aural Pleasure Mix (done by Dobre & Jamez) is something of a surprise. The way a bubbly bass line slowly emerges as Anita's "If it's good enough" continuously loops with slight echoes is unlike any 2 Unlimited remix or song I've ever heard. Minimal looping layers of percussion and pitch bending acid gradually appear as well and what do you know! We actually have ourselves a trance track here (classic trance that is). Once all the building elements peak midway through, all but the rhythm recedes to allow a deep synth reverb to slide about for a while until all the elements are progressively built back up again. The song peaks once more and fades off with voice echoes and the barest of rhythm. While not anything groundbreaking, the Aural Pleasure Mix certainly strays from the 2 Unlimited norm and would definitely turn heads of trainspotters.

Included on this particular single is a club megamix of 2 Unlimited hits. While there have been countless of these done (heck, it was a 2 Unlimited megamix that initially got me more interested in the group beyond just a few hits), this one easily stands out from the pack.

Why? Simply put, the versions of the songs used here are mostly remixes instead of the better known ones. Get Ready For This gets treated to a more refined house sound by capitalizing on the dreamy chorus; Twilight Zone replaces the familiar Wooo! with a gentler aaah.; Tribal Dance remains the same but the sexier Alex Party Mix of Here I Go gets used instead; The Real Thing's energetic take on the famous Bach organs is retained, mixing quite nicely into the wonderful Automatic Breakbeat of No Limit, capping the megamix off with apocalyptic choirs. All in all, it's a fun collection.

As for the rest of this single, it's a decent enough effort. Had the group not split shortly after this, it would have been interesting to see where their music would have taken them if they followed this more non-mainstream route.

Sadly, the 2 Unlimited legacy was nearing its end after a hugely successful four year run. Their time had passed and, if anything, Do What's Good For Me's back-to-basics mentality is as fitting a way to come full circle.


Score: 8/10


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

2 Unlimited - Here I Go (Original TC Review)

Quality Music & Video: Cat. # QCDS 7122
Released 1995

Track List: 1. Here I Go (Radio Edit) (3:16)
2. Here I Go (X-Out Edit) (3:30)
3. Here I Go (Dub Down Below) (7:36)
4. Here I Go (X-Out In Club) (5:29)
5. Here I Go (Alex Party Remix) (4:40)

(2010 Update:
Kind of a silly review, this. I swear I don't sound that far removed from an over-enthusiastic fanboy, spitting out "ya, will my favorite group accomplished this and this!" -ism throughout. Actually, I think I was just eager to plow through all these 2 Unlimited singles, and didn't give much thought to it. Oh well. At least it's good for a laugh these days.)

IN BRIEF: More dance fun from the Dutch phenomenon.

Pop quiz time:

What do Abba, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, and The Bee Gees all have in common?

Answer: They are in a very small club of musicians that have had at least twelve consecutive top ten singles, a feat that is quite remarkable given the music industry's tendency to see chart topping acts fade soon after their first couple big singles.

With Here I Go, 2 Unlimited became a member of this club. Not too shabby for a four year old act.

How could a mere 'techno' group achieve something hundreds of musicians and producers haven't managed no matter how hard they try? Well, there are several answers to this but the simplest one is this: Phil Wilde, Jean-Paul de Coster, Ray Slijngaard, and Anita Dels stumbled upon (okay, took from The KLF) a formula that would equal chart topping success and managed to keep that formula relevant in the following years -no easy task considering pop music's constantly shifting tastes.

Here I Go is 2 Unlimited during their full euro sound. The raw, ravey riffs are gone, replaced with finely produced synths that are just as unique and catchy but don't leap out as much as before. Instead, we have lyrics that contain more substance than straight-ahead crowd hyping. As usual, the excellent drum programming and embellishing effects that have always given Wilde and de Coster an edge over their many, many competitors of the time are in full effect, adding depth to the tracks already driving energy.

This is definitely one of their most polished songs, and leaps and bounds above the hundreds of imitators. Hmm... I guess they were trying to retain their thunder after many more euro acts began to steal their limelight. The fact Here I Go kept their chart topping streak intact proves they succeeded in this regard. Good work, boys (and girl).

Longtime 2 Unlimited remixer Andy 'X-Out' Janssens gives us a pair of re-rubs on this single. The club mix mellows the song out a little more by using pianos at points and stripping the rhythms down to simpler patterns. The main riff is gone as well, replaced by a stuttering synth harmonizing with string pads playing the same melody. Aside from that, it's essentially the same song. His Dub Down Below mix, however, is remarkably different.

This mix starts out with thick, deep bass rhythms, grumbling along as little effects burble in unison. Layers of percussion are gradually added as vocal snippets from Ray and Anita fill out the edges. High octave string notes and funky, juicy hooks enter the fray nearly two minutes in, continuously building upon loops until a breakdown another two minutes later. Synth washes and pianos mellow things out, allowing Anita to gently sing part of the chorus (really, just the "here I go" part). Once this respite plays out for half a minute, we're right back into the grumbling rhythms earlier established to carry us out.

It's quite interesting to listen to but I'm not so sure it's the most dancefloor friendly remix on here. For that, you have to go with the Alex Party Remix.

If you thought the Dub Down Below mix was deep, then this remix takes you down to pressure crushing depths. By stripping the rhythm to the bare essentials and letting Ray intone, "Now let it flow; Deep down below" throughout as throbbing bass pulses along, you can't help but move your body to this infectious combination. During the main leads, a thick synth played at a very low octave adds to the driving rhythm while a simple little riff harmonizes along. Granted, you aren't going to have any euphoric rushes with this mix but that really isn't the point here. I'd be more inclined to grab a nice lady and do a little bump and grind than raise my arms in adulation if I heard this at a club. Heh, who says euro didn't ever get nasty?

As fine as a pop song Here I Go is, the down and dirty remixes on this single are the real treats to be had. Highly recommended.

Score: 9/10

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

2 Unlimited - No One (Original TC Review)

Quality Music & Video: Cat. # QCDS 7073
Released 1994

Track List:
1. No One (Radio Edit) (3:27)
2. No One (Unlimited RMX Extended) (5:27)
3. No One (X-Out Remix) (6:19)
4. No One (X-Out In Dub Remix) (5:45)
5. No One (Doc Baron Mix) (6:58)
6. No One (The It Goes Underground) (6:36)

(2010 Update:
So it isn't The It, but rather some group called The Allen Street Crew taking on Larry Heard's moniker. Still an unremarkable remix though. Stick to the originals.)

IN BRIEF: Euro gets thoughtful.

2 Unlimited were on top of the euro house movement at the time of this release. Oh, sure, there were a number of one hit wonders floating about in '94 that have created more enduring tracks through time, but none had managed to string together more than a couple hit singles. No One was 2 Unlimited's eleventh in a row and, despite a stark contrast to their earlier hits, the quality of their pop dance music had not diminished one bit.

Leaving behind the more abrasive sounds of their ravey beginnings, producers Phil Wilde and Jean-Paul de Coster seemed to embrace the commercial aspects of euro music to remain relevant in the exploding scene. Thus, this single has a remarkably polished feel to it. The rhythm casually bobs along rather than energizes you and the main riff is barely noticeable, instead allowing the lyrics to carry the song.

And lyrically, this is probably some of 2 Unlimited’s best work. No anthem-like chants by Ray to urge the crowd on with this one. Rather, he is given three verses (normally he only has two) to provide some fairly introspective words. With Anita adding a gentle chorus rather than her usual belting voice, the tone of No One is quite pleasant. I can see why this one was one of the more popular radio hits at the time.

The Unlimited RMX provides the original with a more bouncy rhythm to make it more dancefloor friendly and adds a new riff to the fray to give it some driving energy. However, it is essentially the same song throughout. Even the added fills of Ray and Anitas typical, ah, MCing ('"C'mon, c'mon!", "Yeah-ya!", and so on) don't dilute from the overall pleasant atmosphere of No One.

Andy 'X-Out' Janssens gives the song some thick rhythms to move it along more effectively in his remixes (the dub is practically identical, just with a few less vocal fills). Complementing the heavy bass is, um, a triangle? Hmm, well, the use of a light piece of percussion amongst so many deeper elements does work, I suppose. He also makes use of his own added riff to supplement the main one, although it isn't nearly as catchy.

The last two remixes offered here are also quite similar in structure, which isn't too surprising considering they were both from artists on the old (garage house legend) David Morales label, 80 Proof Music; the first is done by Doc Baron, a name I'm not really familiar with. Stripping things down to the groove, only one line of Anita's chorus is retained and looped throughout as a thick, low-BPM, skittery beat chugs along with a simple old house riff. One of those classic high-octave string notes gets thrown in at points as well and we have a track that is very different than the original.

The second 80 Proof remix of No One is done by The It. Wait a moment... Not The It, as in (another house legend) Larry Heard; aka Mr. Fingers? How about that, eh? As for this remix, it could very well be just a dub version of the Doc Baron Remix, as it places even more emphasis on the thick rhythms and fades back most of the more melodic elements of the remix (of which were quite few to begin with anyways). It's interesting to listen to, and probably highly effective as a transitional track in the deepest of deep house sets, but those looking for something more akin to the original version will undoubtedly be turned off.

In fact, for a single that was quite popular for the radio, I'm surprised none of these remixes were really able to do much with No One aside from giving the song heavier, thicker rhythms. I suppose the lack of any driving big melodies didn't give the remixers much to work with. Such is the price 2 Unlimited had to pay for making a thoughtful song into a chart topper, it seems.

Score: 6/10

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

2 Unlimited - No Limit (Original TC Review)

Quality Music & Video: Cat. # QCDS 7012
Released 1993

Track List:
1. No Limit (Rap Mix) (3:30)
2. No Limit (Extended Mix) (5:42)
3. No Limit (Extended Rap Mix) (5:55)
4. No Limit (Rio & Le Jean Mix) (3:57)
5. No Limit (Automatic Remix) (4:59)
6. No Limit (Automatic Breakbeat) (4:48)

(2010 Update:
The first in a series of 2 Unlimited singles I reviewed for TranceCritic. I knew it was important to fill the website's archives with material quickly, and, being a fan of the group, knew I could churn these out in rapid fashion. I'll admit the euro dance info is very Canadian biased, however.)

IN BRIEF: One of the biggest EDM singles ever. 'Nuff said.

As hard as it may be for the younger generation of EDM lovers to believe, there was a time when dance music had mass appeal even in the typically 'dance sux' realm of North America. Despite grunge music grabbing all the headlines as 'the greatest form of music to emerge in ages' (hmm, whatever happened to that?), another form of music had begun to take stage as well. Not only did it offer a more upbeat spin on music to counter the dreary rock of the time, it also held crazy, catchy synth riffs, diva-esque choruses, and 4/4 rhythms that made them effective for dancing. The populace became enthralled with it, claiming it was the revival of disco's glory years. It held a larger limelight than hip-hop. Music videos for the major hits would routinely circulate on television. Oodles and oodles of compilations flooded the market. Kids in passing cars would blast this form of music from their stereos and sports events would use it to supercharge the spectators. Concerts for some of the music's biggest acts would pack people in by the tens of thousands.

This new music was known as 'techno'.

Okay, the official term for it ten years later became euro (dance, house, etc), partly because the followers of real techno made a big fuss about such a poppy form of music utilizing their precious underground name, but namely because most of it was produced in Europe. However, the fact it is probably the only form of EDM to make such a deep impact into the normally difficult, anti-EDM American pop music charts is a testament to its versatility. No other form of EDM has come close to euro's success in the United States; not trance, and certainly not, er, 'electronica' (whatever that is).

And while purists may bemoan about how it diluted EDM's integrity from that point on, it's best to just ignore them and enjoy euro for what it is: quality pop music with novel synths.

Which leads us to this single.

2 Unlimited's success with their two previous hits (Get Ready For This and Twilight Zone) had made them bonafide stars. They could have easily rested on those laurels since they couldn't possibly top those classic cuts. Could they?

Determined to prove they weren't any one-hit wonder, producers Phil Wilde and Jean-Paul de Coster, rapper Raymond Slijngaard, and singer Anita Dels set out to top their previous efforts. The result? One of the most heavily played EDM tracks in history.

No Limit smashed all kinds of expectations, hitting number one in thirty-five countries. By the time the group had disbanded three years later, over 2.5 million copies worldwide had been sold. Not bad for a sophomore effort.

However, the bigger question is whether this chart-topper still holds up over a decade since it first hit the airwaves. What a silly question. Of course it does.

Wilde and de Coster knew what they were doing when they created this track. The main riff is instantly likeable, leaping out at you with heavy, punchy beats amplifying its effectiveness at clinging to your mind and never letting go. Sure, it can seem redundant after the tenth time it plays in the track (and that's just the shorter Rap Mix version; the extended mixes go on for even longer) but Wilde and de Coster keep it interesting with the percussion in support. It's subtle but when the cymbal crashes are never repeating the same pattern, things remain musically diverse throughout.

However, this wasn't 2 Unlimited's best lyrical effort. Anita is mostly reduced to singing, "No, no" repeatedly during the fills and Ray's "Techno, techno, techno, techno!" fill in the extended mixes has been lambasted by everyone, their dogs, and their dogs' fleas. Still, they knew No Limit's real strength was in its dancefloor (and sports stadium, as things turned out) energy so the lack of anything substantial for lyrics is understandable; folks don't pay as much attention to words when getting their groove on in most cases. I will mention, though, the chorus is quite effective and Ray does seem to take a firm stand when he says, "You try to diss me 'cause I sell out; I'm making techno and I am proud!" It's almost as though he suspected there would be a major backlash to this song (and there was -from purists), but was resolute in his convictions that he was doing what he enjoyed: making music for the masses.

The first three mixes are mostly identical to each other. The Rap Mix is the most commonly heard one, with the Extended Rap Mix adding more space for riff fills, drum fills, and a minor intro. The Extended Mix is the same, just sans Ray's two verses.

The Rio & Le Jean Mix (Wilde and de Coster under pseudonyms) strips things down to a less produced sound. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this was an early test demo. However, it's remarkably effective in making the riffs even punchier, replacing the cymbal crashes with snare snaps instead. In addition, they use a cowbell in the percussion as well! Haha, it's quite amusing hearing that thing clonking in the background as the song plays. Still, this would probably be even more effective on a dancefloor than the Rap Mix thanks to the direct nature of it.

DJ Automatic provides a couple of remixes to this single as well. While his first one is somewhat interesting in its play of the main riff, it kind of lacks in overall focus. There's a real feeling of never gaining any ground throughout. The breakbeat remix, however, is an absolute gem.

Briefly opening up with some breakbeats as a small preview of what's to come, they quickly retreat to allow a nice spacey pad play for a bit. Soon enough, the familiar No Limit riff starts up but, what's this? It isn't quite the same this time. Instead of its usual 4/4 pattern, it gets the breakbeat treatment instead with skillful pauses in the rendition. Once the percussion returns, a heavy kick that pummels you is added and plays wonderfully with this new take on the riff.

Alternating between the riffs and vocal fills keeps the energy going strong until at three minutes in we're treated to an apocalyptic choir fill! Wow, who'd have seen that coming? I love it! On the other side of this fill, the riff gets a little playful with an octave climb for a few measures, followed by the rhythm subsiding back to allow the spacey pads to play as Anita's chorus is sung. Then, the apocalyptic choir returns to end the song off. Haha! Great stuff.

No Limit is definitely a nostalgic trip for those of us who were there when EDM was at heights previously and since never achieved. However, it is certainly a product of its time. While this might have been a huge hit back in the early 90s, I couldn't imagine those thick beats and juicy synths sitting on top of the charts in this day in age. I'm sure many of the newer cats would wonder how something like this could ever have achieved such a following. While it may be a common phrase from us old timers, it suits the situation: You had to have been there.

Score: 8/10

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