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

Fundamental: Cat. # FUN 521 

Released July 4, 2005 

Track List: 

A: Days Like These (7:38) 

B: ICO (7:45) 

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

IN BRIEF: Days often forgotten. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Score: 7/10 

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

Various - Techno Nights - Ambient Dawn (Original TC Review)

EMI Recordings: Cat. # 724383598229
Released 1995

TRACK LIST:
Disc 1
1. The Shamen - Destination Eschaton (Hardfloor Vocal Mix)
2. David Holmes - Minus 61 In Detroit
3. The Chemical Brothers - Leave Home
4. Dave Clarke - Winter (Armani Mix)
5. Red Snapper - Hot Flush
6. The Sabres Of Paradise - Smokebelch II (Beatless Mix)
7. DJ Hell - Sprung Aus Den Wolken
8. Plastikman - FUK
9. Moby - Go (Woodtick Mix)
10. 808 State - Pacific 707
11. N-Joi - Papillon
12. EON - Spice
13. Bizarre Inc. - Playing With Knives (Quadrant Mix)
14. Inner City - Big Fun
15. The Grid - Texas Cowboy
16. Adamski - NRG
17. The Prodigy - Weather Experience
18. Yello - S.A.X.

Disc 2
1. Orbital -Lush
2. Enigma - Age Of Loneliness (Carly’s Song)
3. William Orbit - Water From A Vine Leaf
4. Sven Väth - L'Esperanza
5. Phillip Glass - Labyrinth
6. Jam & Spoon - Hispanos In Space
7. The Age Of Love - The Age Of Love (Jam & Spoon Remix)
8. The Black Dog - Raxmus
9. Carl Craig - Landcruising
10. Aphex Twin - Donkey Rhubarb
11. Scanner - Mass Observation (Crackdown Mix)
12. Apollo 440 - Film Me And Finish Me Off
13. Björk - One Day (Sabres Of Paradise Mix)
14. The Orb - Oxbow Lakes
15. A Man Called Adam - Barefoot In The Head
16. The Beloved - The Sun Rising
17. Coldcut - Autumn Leaves
18. Vangelis - Love Theme From Bladerunner
19. Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)


(2010 Update:
That long break I took in 2005 must have did some good, as my writing had definitely gotten better, at least in the preamble and conclusion portions. Even the track-by-track stuff isn't too bad, kept quite brief considering how many tunes there are here. I also recall I felt we were selling TranceCritic's opportunities short if we didn't get as many major names into the archives as soon as possible, hence reviewing this particular release. It seemed like a quick and easy way to get some potential web search results. Heh, it didn't quite work out that way though.)


IN BRIEF: As diverse a compilation as I've ever heard.

The term 'electronica' never sat well with a large number of electronic music fans. The fact the music had been around since the 70s begged the question why, after two decades of distancing itself from all things entirely electronically produced, the rock media suddenly felt the need to join the pack in the mid-90s by creating an entirely new term.

There are probably a number of reasons I could detail here but I'll just address the one that pertains to this release. Fact of the matter is electronic music is hardly the simple 'ndds ndds ndds' cliché most rock circles would have you believe. While the more mainstream forms certainly do this, there are several forms that do not. So many, in fact, that their respective followings were growing far larger than isolated raves and clubnights could contain. Electronic music was diversifying, and the mainstream was catching on.

So what was the rock media to do? Their last big movement, grunge, had sputtered out from overexposure. Nothing seemed ready to take its place and all these other forms of music were making inroads. They did the only thing they could: bite the bullet and finally accept EDM as a legitimate form of music, only calling it a name they made themselves in the hopes of still being a trendsetter. 'Electronica' caught on briefly with the press, but not enough with the public to stick and was more or less forgotten as folks still used the old 'techno' tag instead (which is fine by me, as at least it's usually 20% accurate when talking about EDM). It's quite amusing to still see the rock media cling to the 'electronica' name when talking about new electronic music releases, as though they just couldn't accept the fact their term didn't catch on; they, the trendsetters of music culture!

Anyhow, electronic music was now finally being accepted as something legitimate for the music crowd (despite the fact 2 Unlimited alone had number one hits in several countries already) thanks to the boundaries being pushed by several eclectic producers and acts within the field. No longer regulated to dirty warehouses and gay clubs, music makers were realizing the potential of sequencers and synthesizers.

This compilation reads almost like a who's who of the electronic music world of 1995, and is easily a testament to the music's only limit being one's imagination. Separated into two discs -one featuring more rhythmic tracks, the other more melodic- Techno Nights - Ambient Dawn makes a strong case against all the naysayers that claim all EDM sounds the same.

Okay, so maybe The Shamen's Destination Eschaton isn't the best example to show how diverse it can be. All the elements that get mocked seem to be present: fey vocals, limp 4/4 rhythms, and fruity melodies. Hey, I'm not gay bashing here, just telling it as it sounds. Sadly, even Hardfloor's chunky acid build can't eliminate the glaring stereotypes present. I suspect it may be a clever ploy on the compilers' part though, as the next song showcases that other techno cliché: repetition. However, David Holmes' Minus 61 In Detroit shows off just how effective gradual builds through repeating riffs and layering percussion can be once everything peaks out.

Having gotten the main stereotypes out of the way, we start to get into some of the more interesting tracks. The Chemical Brothers' Leave Home is an excellent example of why they became the rock media's darlings, as their distorted guitar samplings from early in their career would be a natural bridge. But why follow it up with perhaps one of the poorer examples of hard techno in Dave Clarke's Winter? The beats are fine but, man, are those bird noises ever hokey. Couldn't they find a better track? I enjoy a good ol' bosh session as much as the next guy but not when the sounds are this bad.

If Winter showed off how fake electronic music can sound, Red Snapper's Hot Flush does just the opposite. Okay, so Red Snapper actually uses real instruments since they are more of a jam band than your typical one or two man techno crew buried behind racks of gear -the fact they use any gear gets them lumped into the EDM camp though. However, you wouldn't know it from this track, especially with a saxophone wailing along.

Taking a break from the danceable tunes is the childlike bliss of Smokebelch II by The Sabres Of Paradise. Content to hang out on cloud nine, this little slice of heaven has probably served as a pleasant comedown favorite for many clubbers. As such, it's with wonderful irony to have DJ Hell's Sprung Aus Den Wolken come next on this compilation, dragging you back to the depths of the underground with a no-holds barred pummeling hardcore track. The riff is unapologetically grimy, the beats fiercely distorted, and the hellish sounds are in full effect. Bwahahaha! Oh, pardon me...

Keeping things down and dirty is Plastikman's funky FUK and Moby's Go. Huh? Moby down and dirty? When it's the rarer Woodtick Mix, you bet. The only thing retained of his seminal original is the vocal samples. The rest is taken up by thumping rhythms and distorted synths.

Okay, time for another break from the intense tracks and 808 State's lush, jazzy Pacific 707 is a suitable respite. Unlike Hot Flush, who's jazz elements overwhelmed it and made it stick out like a black sheep, Pacific 707 makes good use of its jazz influence to meld it with electronics so nothing seems out of place. When that saxophone croons over sweeping pads and funky bass lines, it takes you floating over an ocean-washed beach as the sun rises over the horizon in the morning.

N-Joi's Papillon is fairly typical of most techno from the mid-90s in that the sounds and arrangements are interesting but eventually go nowhere in particular. It isn't that it's a bad song but considering just how unique every other song has been on this compilation thus far, you'd be pretty hard pressed to remember exactly how it went later on. Fortunately, EON's Spice comes correct by making use of the tried and true tradition of pilfering old sci-fi flicks for samples (Peter Hyam's Dune, just in case the title wasn't a dead giveaway) and creating a thumping bit of sound-effect drenched techno. Mind, the hoover riff that alternates with a trancey riff sounds horribly dated now but don't let that turn you off from the rest.

Not to be outdone by all the techno on hand, house gets a moment to shine with the next pair of tracks. While Bizarre Inc.'s Playing With Knives is best described as a collage of various house tracks, Inner City's Big Fun stands out with an irresistible bassline, catchy vocals, and an embellishing piano to finish off.

Now things start to delve into more quirky territory on this disc. The Grid's Texas Cowboy is hardly what I'd call conventional techno with its country influenced melodies. Fortunately, it doesn't get bogged down in novelty (like, er, nearly every other EDM song that tried it) so it works fine enough. Adamski's NRG, though, is so filled with goofy sounds and samples, the fun, funky house track underneath tends to either get buried or overlooked. And then we have Experience-era Prodigy, which would have been unique in itself (no one else managed to emulate the hyper-fast breakbeat sound Howlett spearheaded) but Weather Experience was an odd track even for The Prodigy; it wasn't very often you'd hear ambient intros or hip hop rhythms from them in those days. And finally, we have a track from Yello (more commonly known as the Oh Yeah guys), a group that, despite making electronic music, never felt constrained by standards as evidenced by the salsa influenced S.A.X. Truly, an odd, if eclectic, quartet of songs to finish the first disc off.

However, just in case you are still feeling a bit of groove in your system, the Ambient Dawn disc opens with Orbital's Lush, a fairly dancey track that's main feature is a flute melody played throughout. The rest is more or less Orbital styled techno.

Enigma, William Orbit, and of all people, Sven Väth, bring us a run of the more meditative aspects of EDM. The latter two are quite indicative of where BT-styled trance would be headed in the years to come. As such, these offerings are far simpler in their delivery than the overblown varieties to be had lately.

Moving on to the more noodly aspects of ambient music, classical composer Phillip Glass makes use of minimal synth arrangements in the avant-garde Labyrinth. While it sounds interesting for a while, the song meanders far too much. The rare ambient track Hispanos In Space from Jam & Spoon fares better, even if the EQing on it seems odd. The only element that really jumps out is a Spanish guitar periodically strumming throughout. The rest of the song, from singing conquistadors to spacey pads, is heavily subdued and distant sounding, as though Jam & Spoon only allowed the reverb past the mixdown. It's an interesting experiment but I can't see anyone other than dedicated fans of ambient getting into this.

Just in case the last two tracks had you dozing a bit, the energetic Age Of Love will snap you back to attention. A radio edit of the original Jam & Spoon remix (so no drawn out lead-in or grating acid noises), the song leaps right into the sweeping vocal build and climax that still has ravers reaching for the lasers once it peaks out.

Still, this is supposed to be the chill out disc between the two so we dive right back into slower BPM territory with The Black Dog's Raxmus. After a THC-drenched intro, trip-hop rhythms dominate this dubby affair. Not to be outdone, electro gets a chance to show off how mellow it can be as well in Carl Craig's Landcruising. While there is some tempo to this track, the blissy pad work keeps things on a gentle cruise control.

Diving headfirst into more experimental territory is Aphex Twin's Donkey Rhubarb, an incredibly odd track that has a decent song lurking somewhere underneath all the glitchy noises and faux-steel drum sounds. James' music is often praised, and for good reason, but if you are new to the Twin, this isn't the song to start with.

A ho-hum track with Scanner passes by without much notice but segues quite nicely into Apollo 440's Film Me And Finish Me Off. The bass is instantly catchy and various elements such as flutes and high-note guitar strums harmonize wonderfully to create a vivid portrait of the disposable nature of Hollywood. Think Depeche Mode with more bump to it.

The Sabres Of Paradise give Björk a little re-rub on her song One Day, essentially stripping away all musical elements to allow the Icelandic singer to carry the song on the strength of her voice alone, with a thick, meandering beat providing a little tempo. It's still more experimental territory though, so some folks may be thrown for a loop. The Orb keeps us in this region with Oxbow Lakes, a track that starts out ordinary enough with a little piano melody but soon descends into dubby, submerged electronics bubbling to the surface from the depths of soundwaves.

Okay, you say, enough with the experimental tracks. How about some nice songs that you can easily get into? The next pair of tracks should be right up your alley then, as A Man Called Adam and The Beloved provide some dreamy examples of after-hours house. Oh, and in case you are wondering why the vocal sample in The Sun Rising sounds so familiar, it's because it's the same one Orbital would go on to use in their track Belfast (the original being from Hildegard Of Bingen of Hyperion Records).

R&B and jazz influences dominate in Coldcut's Autumn Leaves as organic sounds and samples are used to give this track a Hollywood production quality. Different percussion elements are used as needed, drawing from both hip hop and jazz roots, as soulful lyrics are sung with subdued passion. Although sampling is evident, it is woven with such skill that the song sounds as though it was performed with live instruments inside a smoky jazz hall. Perhaps the only drawback is the lack of any electronic elements (although some of the percussion uses a few, minor filters) but then that's kind of the point of this track.

And, just as with the first disc, we come to the end of the second disc with a pair of musicians that aren't normally associated with your typical electronic music producers. It's a bit sad that many kids these days don't even know who Vangelis or Brian Eno are but these guys are some of the pioneers of ambient music (heck, Eno was the one who coined the term) and, as such, are deserved to be put on this compilation with the more well known artists. After all, Eno's An Ending (Ascent) is probably one of the most perfect pieces of music to end any collection of songs with.

Looking at the track list on this release ten years since it was first released, it's amazing to see how many of the acts on here turned out. It reads as a veritable who's who of the EDM world these days but, for its time, a great number of these acts were either brand spanking new or even obscure. Who in their right mind could predict Moby, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, or William Orbit (with Madonna) going on to dominate the music charts the way they did just from judging their material here? Who could have foreseen DJ Hell going on to spearhead an 80s revival just from listening to his gabber offering here? Who'd have thought dynamic producers such as Red Snapper, Adamski, Apollo 440, and The Grid would fall off the way they did shortly after?

Still, for as dynamic a line-up this compilation contains, there are some glaring problems to be had.

First and foremost, while I applaud the desire to make a compilation showcasing the wide range EDM encompasses, there is simply way too much covered here without much logical flow between tracks. As a result, things tend to sound disjointed when playing through. It can be quite jarring to be listening to one style of music for a couple songs only to be thrust into something completely different with the next few.

Second and middlemost, these are not all well-known songs from these acts. While some of them wouldn't make their more memorable music until later, some of the track selections still seem odd for the time this compilation was made. Weather Experience for The Prodigy instead of their Jilted material? FUK instead of Spastik for Plastikman? Oxbow Lakes from the more experimental Orbus Terrarum Orb album? I'll grant it's quite wonderful to see some real rarities like Jam & Spoon's Hispanos In Space get attention but if you're making a compilation of EDM showing off as many artists as possible, wouldn't you want to include stronger material than some of the tracks selected?

Third and rearmost, a number of these songs are cut short. Some aren't as bad as others, of course, but hearing only a couple minutes of, say, Orbital's Lush or The Orb's Oxbow Lakes begs the question why bother including these songs at all. I understand in order to cram thirty-seven tracks onto two discs some editing on the length of tracks would need to be made. However, if one is already familiar with a track, to hear it end sooner than normally expected can leave a souring effect on the rest of the release. I sometimes get the impression this is more of a sampler release than a commercial one.

And really, perhaps that's all one should treat this compilation as: a sampler of the wider world of electronic music. Chances are if you have already immersed yourself into EDM, you won't find much more here than what you'd already own in one form or another. However, if you are just starting to branch out by all means give Techno Nights - Ambient Dawn a go. It's best treated as a crash course in electronic music as the variety present here is immense. While there are still stereotypes to be had, they are by no means to rule.


Score: 6/10

ACE TRACKS:
David Holmes - Minus 61 In Detroit
Apollo 440 - Film Me And Finish Me Off
Coldcut - Autumn Leaves


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

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.