Deep Forest - Essence Of The Forest

Sony Music: 2003

Several folks enjoyed Deep Forest's take on world beat when they first emerged, but as the duo edged further from Western beats and deeper into local traditions, general interest in their output significantly dwindled. Add me to that group, and I was one of the few out there that actually enjoyed Boheme, scattershot faults and all. When Comparsa came out though, it came off a hodgepodge of any culture Mouquet and Sanchez were influenced by on their last tour, yet sounding like nothing at all. Granted, I didn't give it more than a cursory listen, as my ears had drifted away from the pop side of world beat, finding fresher sounds from Banco de Gaia and the like. I hadn't paid attention to a Deep Forest production since that lacklustre impression.

Then Essence Of The Forest came out. Hm, a greatest hits collection sounds interesting, and there's even updated remixes of all the selected tunes from Deep Forest. Wow, they'd released two albums since Comparsa? I guess it wouldn't hurt to pick this up. It'd be interesting to hear what they'd been up to, and maybe I'd been too hard on Comparsa. After all, this collection features the best cuts from their albums, right? Eh, I'm not sure.

Obviously Sweet Lullaby's the first track, and the lead single off Boheme - Marta's Song - goes second. After that though, the music culled from the first two albums turns weird. Deep Forest gets two more tracks updated, Desert Walk and Night Bird. The former, I can see, as it was a pleasant downtempo tune, but I found White Whisper, Savana Dance, and the titular cut more memorable than Night Bird. And to be blunt, most of the selections chosen from Boheme were tunes I've never liked. The dark, mysterious gypsy songs Gathering, Bohemian Ballet, and Cafe Europa, those were ace! Instead, we get Lament and Freedom Cry because... why? They're different from those other tunes? Meh, oh well, at least Twosome's on here.

What of the other tracks then? Honestly, given the selections from the first two, I've no idea whether they're the cream of the crop off their respective albums. What I can say is those not familiar with Music Detected will be stunned at the change of sound, with a major focus on R&B, funk, and soul. Getting blunty with it again, it's a total clash with the world beat throughout Essence Of The Forest, as all the tracks are mixed among each other. Some of it's good, for sure, and neat to hear Deep Forest stretching out, but incredibly out of place sitting beside African pygmies and Bulgarian gypsies (not to mention the mish-mash of cultures from Comparsa).

I wouldn’t bother with Essence Of The Forest if you’re looking for more Sweet Lullabys (although you do get two versions on here!). It’s a better pick-up if you’re only curious of their output since their debut without actually listening to the other albums.

BT - ESCM

Reprise Records: 1997

The inlay of BT’s sophomore album ESCM has the following printed out: “This recording is best suited to a nice pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones.” Really? They’re good cans, but c’mon, those were the Dre Beats of the day - more of a fashion statement, especially within the DJ world. My Sennheiser HD650s are leaps and bounds better than the Sony model. Okay, that model didn’t hit the streets for half a decade after this CD came out, but what of the Sennheiser HD580s? They’d been around since ’93, and were considered the audiophile standard for headphones in the mid-hundreds price range. And BT’s saying even those won’t do with his album? Fuck you, Rick Berman.

Whoops, sorry. I’ve had Plinkett-isms stuck in my head lately. Still, a memorable bit from those Star Wars reviews at RedLetterMedia was producer Rick “Berman” going on about how CG technology allowed Lucas to create movies that are “so dense, [with] so much going on all the time.” Gee, sounds like someone else abusing technological capabilities, don’t it.

But hey, credit due where it’s deserved. Mr. Transeau created many sound effects himself, and as we’re dealing with ‘90s BT, the results aren’t as superfluous as his later efforts would end up. Case in point: Orbitus Teranium, a bare-bone bit of breakbeat supplemented with stutter and glitch effects at various points. In some ways, it’s nothing but a showcase of this technology, but as it capably serves the rhythmic momentum, it works. Most of the effects BT uses throughout ESCM are in this vein, and I’ve no problem with it, so long as the music it’s supporting can stand on its own. And that’s where ol’ Brian sometimes fumbles.

BT displays many influences and inspirations, but his songwriting can’t keep up. Opener Firewater is a perfect example, for the most part a solid “I can Enigma too” slice of world beat. Yet, at the back end of the track, BT suddenly chirps in with singing of his own, accompanied by folksy acoustic guitar strums and… wait, is this the same song? And… it’s already over. What was the point of that? Other instances crop up that are nothing but doodly bits of orchestral swells or piano tinkering because, hey, BT can play such music, but doesn’t know how to write a regular song around them. Then there’s Solar Plexus, the ‘rocktronica’ track even the most ardent BT fan scratches their head over. It’s nothing more than Mr. Transeau going “I can Trent Reznor too”, but what would Nine Inch Nails fans say about it? “Fuck you, Rick Transeau.”

Still, enjoyment outweighs the frustration. Flaming June’s a bona-fide classic, Jan Johnston’s contributions are pleasant enough, and early BT-Breaks are skill, three cuts of which we get. ESCM is considered a flawed gem, and perhaps BT realized this, using a mock-up of the 2001 Monolith for cover art. Or maybe he couldn’t clear the rights to the original as an image, resorting to a phonylith instead.

Petar Dundov - Escapements

Music Man Records: 2008

Why's this so difficult? Petar Dundov makes trance. Not epic, anthem, fluffy, unicorn, euro cheddar trance; just simple, old school trance. Why do so many folks deny it? Are they afraid his tunes will suddenly turn bad if they're tagged to a genre of music that's been horribly raped in the mud? What an idiotic assumption, but it sure seems like it the way Dundov's trance will get called anything but trance. Melodic techno, hypnotic minimal... just not trance. God, it's like saying Kerri Chandler doesn't make house music because David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia have sullied that genre’s legacy. There's room for both, commercial and classic, so why not take trance back to its roots?

Then again, maybe the world of electronic music wasn't ready for a return of classic trance in 2008. And it's not like Dundov intended to make a statement of some kind with this album. He cites the same influences that many original trance producers did – classical synth composers of the seventies – and by stripping his production of so much modern excess and fashionable fluff, the results are simple and hypnotic. Certainly it helps that many of the sounds he uses have a vintage tone to them, as though plucked from keyboards of yesteryear. It's techno without the maximal aggression or minimal wank, music that could easily rub shoulders with other tracks on an old Harthouse compilation; y'know, trance.

Okay, okay, Escapements isn't all trance; in fact only a few tracks could be labeled as such. For the most part, this is a techno album that often dips into space synth and the like. She In Purple is a dead ringer for ‘80s stylin’ cool electro-groove, while Anja’s Theme and Kanon harkens back to the minimalist experimentation many ‘70s keyboard wibblers indulged in. Meanwhile, influences from Detroit crop up on Rain, Oasis, and Waterfall, working a slow, grooving build to a futuristic motif. They are arranged much in the vein of classic Laurent Garnier, though rather subdued in comparison.

Distant Shores and Sparkling Stars though... they’re classic trance through and through. Cascading synth washes, hypnotic loops, subtle arps, stuttered hooks, and rhythms just groovy enough to hook you into a TAZ as it plays through. Mark Reeder would approve.

I guess the pertinent question is, if Escapements sounds like something that could have been produced in the early ‘90s, is there any reason to get this in the here and now? Well, if you fancy that vintage vibe, it’s a no-brainer. As Dundov’s production has a nice, crisp modern sheen to it, nothing sounds dated, and hypnotic, melodic techno (trance!) always had a futuristic vibe going for it. If you’re curious why old-old schoolers are always going on about how trance was so much better back in the day, don’t hesitate to scope Dundov out. Even if it’s unwittingly, he’s one of the few producers out there that can take the name back to credibility.

Madonna - Erotica

Sire: 1992

Madonna is Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, a very important person in the world of pop. She was among a handful of artists of the ‘80s instrumental in bringing dance music back to the mainstream, thanks in large part to several memorable and provocative videos MTV gleefully had in rotation. Of course, it was dressed up as synth-pop and such, but club culture knew it was just disco in new clothing. Ol’ Madge knew it too, as her career often flirts with the best of contemporary beats for mainstream consumption. At the turn of the ‘90s, however, many pop stars of the previous decade were floundering, unable to keep pace with what folks wanted. Even Madonna was coming off dated, but unlike her peers, she held a savvy for the music business few could compete with. Re-invention was called for, but into what? The answer was two-fold: erotic cinema and underground clubs.

S&M culture was, um, penetrating the mainstream consciousness, hit movies and music like Basic Instinct and Enigma’s Sadeness impossible to ignore. Ms. Ciccone took notice and re-imagined her sex appeal, going from pop-punk pixie with a dash of virgin-whore to full-on sex vamp dominatrix. The general audience wasn’t quite ready for that, outcries of her scandalous behavior turning folks away from her latest efforts (even more so). For Madonna, however, it was still a success, in that if her art couldn’t remain in the mainstream, at least her name did, which was more than could be said for her ‘80s peers.

Meanwhile, her musical career held strong with those that never turned their back on her. By diving deep into the realm of chugging house and New Jack Swing, Madonna found a comfortable home with a new breed of club culture revolving around alternate lifestyles and fetish wear. Shep Pettiborne, a DJ and remixer of several similar dance-pop acts, was tasked with giving Ms. Ciccone the beats needed for maximum eroticism while still keeping one foot close to the edge of the mainstream should anyone curious about descending into those S&M basements choose to do so. Erotica, Deeper And Deeper, Fever, Bye Bye Baby, and Thief Of Hearts are about as solid of tunes as you can expect with the players involved. This whole album is remarkably consistent, seldom straying from its sexy, provocative tone. You of course have to include a couple ballads, but even tracks like Rain, Bad Girl, and In This Life are fine offerings.

Erotica won’t receive plaudits from purists (does anything of hers?), but it’s hard to deny the album succeeds in providing strong clubs rhythms with smart, seductive vocals. If you need an example of how miserably this can fail, just look at any of Madonna’s recent output. It worked here though, likely because Ms. Ciccone didn’t have her eyes squarely set on mainstream acceptance. By willingly diving into the warm latex embrace of this underground world, she came out with one of the best albums of her career.

Various - Erol Alkan Presents: One Louder

Muzik Magazine: 2003

I'm surprised Erol Alkan's career never blew up beyond underground darling. Of course, his refusal to hop on the production wagon until recently probably hurt, but ol’ Erol’s brand of bangers and mash-ups was popular with both the discerning punter and slop-drunk clubber, sets finding that sweet spot of commercial familiarity and underground obscurity. Still, what started as an exercise in cleverness quickly descended into bad gimmickry, and as one of the driving forces of the mash-up scene, Mr. Alkan unfortunately got tied at the hip with it.

It was easy to fall sway to that scene though, as it presented something quite refreshing in that oh-so fun year of 2003. DJ mixes were, for the most part, tediously predictable, so it blindsided many when jocks started raiding glories of dancefloors past, rinsing them out almost seamlessly with music of the present. Okay, the '80s revival was in full swing at that point too, so finding the links wasn't difficult; however, to hear classics not as retro radio fodder, but as vital components of contemporary nights out was magnificent.

Getting back to Mr. Alkan, One Louder isn't his official first commercial DJ mix (that honor going to A Bugged Out Mix). Rather, it was a freebie given away with Muzik Magazine, who were all up on his jock back then. One Louder itself was a short-lived club night that Alkan attended, pushing this particular style of genre mash-up before it ever got popular. In lieu winning their Breakout Artist Award that year, Muzik finally convinced him to release a mix CD, which he decided to dedicate to that club night.

Free magazine CDs are often hit or miss, typically hitting the “eh, 'tis fine” mark. Not this time out. One Louder is exceptionally good, almost too good for a freebie. It has a solid start with the always welcome disco punk classic Make It Happen from Playgroup, but not three tracks in we're treated to Duran Duran's Girls On Film of all things. Duran Duran? In 2003!? You bet, care of the Night Version that made the tune club friendly back in the ‘80s, in no way sounding out of place on this mix. And the choice material keeps coming fast and furious.

Codec & Flexor show a little club swagger with Crazy Girls. Goldfrapp’s Train and Benassi’s Satisfaction get mashed together. Goldrun’s remix of Grand Popo Football Club’s Men Are Not Nice Guys will get your gurn on. A string of thrashy techno calls back those crazy times when guys like Vitalic were thrilling and new. And, if all that wasn’t enough bedlam, Alkan closes out with a freakbeat punk cover of Harder Better Faster Stronger, an utterly mental and ace way to end a set on.

Despite One Louder being an old free CD, it’s still worth dropping down some cash if you happen upon it in a used store. It’s about as much club-trash fun you can have in a mere hour.

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

BMG Music Canada: 1993

I’ve made no secret of my love of the Shaolin crew. It was the Wu that opened my ears proper-like to the possibilities of hip-hop ingenuity, but even before then I had a level of respect for the odd tune I heard from the group. It took a while to catch on though, in no small part because my teenage years were spent on the West Coast. True, the Canadian West Coast, but G-Funk ruled my peers’ Discmans, thus I seldom gave anything East Coast notice. Oh, those wacky years when regional distances mattered.

So I entered the temple that RZA built and began digesting whatever Wu material I could. Problem was I came a tad late, thus my early Wu consumption was almost all post-Forever material. And while there were still a few solid releases under the Wu flag at the turn of the century, it paled compared to the pre-Forever era. It was a while before I bothered checking it out though, largely the fault of a CD called The RZA Hits, essentially a collection of the best cuts from those early albums. “Why should I get Enter The 36 Chambers,” I thought, “when half the album’s already on The RZA Hits?” Man, bring out the Australian boot, ‘cause I deserve an extra punishing kick for that one.

Fact is every cut off here could have ended up on The RZA Hits. That’s how bloody good this album is. Rowdy bangers (Bring Da Ruckus, Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit), posse anthems (Protect Ya Neck, Da Mystery Of Chessboxin’, Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber), introspective moments (C.R.E.A.M., Can It Be All So Simple Then) or individual showcases (Method Man, Clan In Da Front, Shame On A Nigga… kind of), this album’s got everything one can hope out of a hip-hop release. But hey, you should already know that. Even if you haven’t heard any of these cuts (!!), you’ve at least heard about its classic status within the hip-hop canon. Two decades on, it hasn’t lost its shine.

Or rather, none of the raw, unvarnished grit has worn away. As the Wu were still very much of the street at this point, there’s no fine studio polish or immaculate production here. The RZA made do with what he had and got ridiculous mileage out of the bare-bones drum kits and samplers. It of course helps to have eight outstanding MCs (Masta Killa’s only here for one verse) on hand spitting fire throughout. Enter The Wu-Tang was already an incredibly unique and distinctive sounding record in ’93, thus it’s more remarkable each MC is just as unique and distinctive as well. I’ll deal with them when I come to their solo albums though. In the meanwhile, you get on Enter The Wu-Tang, as it’s one of about ten rap albums you’re supposed to have even if you’re not much of a fan of hip-hop.

(As an aside, this is also my one-hundredth review since writing them again. Celebrating in style!)

Komakino - Energy Trancemission

Hypnotic: 1996

During my first year of following ‘techno’, I was at least aware of trance. The second CD I ever owned had that Jam & Spoon remix of Age Of Love on it, and the occasional euro-dance disc I picked up in following years would have a crossover hit like Dance 2 Trance’s Take A Freefall. It took a while before I realized the genre was something entirely separate though, and even when I did, my allegiance seldom strayed from my initial passion. Yet, euro was growing stale, and I started hearing sounds from fellow dance-enthusiasts that was similar but rawer - more underground, the only thing linking them together a Music Research seal on the jewel cases.

When I went on a shopping expedition to Vancouver, I searched for CDs with that seal. The first one I spotted had a bizarre cover of a woman in face paint, her tongue sticking out with a cap of (presumably) ecstasy on the tip. I bought the CD blind, threw it on at another shop while demoing high-end headphones (I had a lot of money at the time), and within the first minute of the first track, came to a startling conclusion: euro-dance was dead to me; Komakino had killed it.

Outface was my first proper exposure to hard German trance, and you couldn’t ask for a better example of the genre: blistering beats, stuttering voice-pads, piano hooks, and even “motherfucking breakbeats!” Under various aliases, Ralph Fritch and Detlef Hastik were highly instrumental in the development of the sound, but none more so than their live gig name of Komakino. It’s almost a shame the only full-length they released under the guise, Energy Trancemission, is little more than a collection of their prior work, but they’d amassed enough choice material to warrant a retrospective even in ’96.

Suitably, it kicks off with Outface, but then takes a backtrack to their hard-techno rave roots with Law & Order, Dark Zone, and the trancier Frogs In Space. Even in the latter two you can hear the tropes that would come to define the hard trance of the mid-90s.

It was with the driving melodies that got Komakino the most attention though, and the middle of the album features the biggest hits of that era: Feel The Melodee, Beyond Your Dreams, and Controlling Transmission, which they released as Final Fantasy. They are, without a doubt, hard German trance at its best. Energetic rhythms, acid, and memorable melodies that either send you floating on ecstasy or take you on epic adventures (no, not High Adventure, that was Sunbeam… which, erm, Komakino co-produced). The back end to the album features a few B-Sides to those tunes, solid cuts as well but not a touch on them.

I’ve no doubt Energy Trancemission will come off dated and silly to ravers weaned on post-2000 hard dance, but back in the day, this was hot shit! Snigger all you like, I don my Nostalgia Headphones for Komakino with no shame.

DJ Shadow - Endtroducing.....

Mo Wax: 1996

Speaking of record buying, here's the album that turned the quirky obsession into art. Not to say sampling obscure music hadn't been done before, but DJ Shadow's debut album Endtroducing..... changed the way many regarded the craft. Producers used to raid whatever they could, either snagging super-catchy hooks from musicians past or creating ultra-dense sound collages. Then laws put a clamp on it, and super-sampling went quiet for a while, a single loop about the only prominent type of sample anyone could afford anymore. DJ Shadow proved you could still create amazing music even within those restrictions.

More than just a classic album of sampling, DJ Shadow got the wider public intrigued by the concept of instrumental, melodic hip-hop. This was around the same time the sub-genre illbient was gaining traction, thanks in large part to DJ Spooky’s work (and yes, it’s perfectly fine if you’ve gotten the two mixed up). Though Mr. Davis’ sound skewed closer to trip-hop, the melancholic overtones of Endtroducing..... made the connection too tempting for journalists to ignore, always eager to start promoting a hot new trend. And hey, some of those hip-hop kids could become interested in ‘electronica’ if he appears on compilations and Amp rotation.

Even more than that, Endtroducing..... sold the romanticism of vinyl digging. Where did ol’ Josh find these records for samples? How did such moving pieces of musical artifacts go unnoticed for so long? The two chaps on the cover, what unique treasures might they be holding? Gee, if I started digging for vinyl, might I unearth something forgotten yet astounding? Damn it, I gotta get to the record shop pronto before some other bloke snags that rare northern soul pressing! I could be the next DJ Shadow!

So in the end, it was a perfect storm of circumstance that propelled Endtroducing..... into classic status. And yes, the music on hand was more than enough to back it up. The opening piano loop in Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt instantly worms its way into your ears, then to have it joined by a smooth hip-hop break, ethereal vocal, and additional niceness (funk guitar lick! scratches! vibraphones?), you realize you’re in for a sonic treat. The elements in play seem so simple, yet form a cohesion that is sublime.

And DJ Shadow pulls it off again and again. The Number Song and Mutual Slump are furious funk jams. Changeling and What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 4 taps into acid jazz’s wells such that it’d make the Ninja Tune squad weak in the knees. Organ Donor gives the ol’ Hammond a proper showcase. Midnight In A Perfect World... you should already know how bliss this cut is. Even the few interludes and skits add to the overall package, welcome respites and teases of the choice tunes on hand.

In the end, Endtroducing..... isn’t so much about raiding the past for personal glory in the present, but about celebrating that which was unduly neglected from before.

The Sonic Voyagers - Endless Mission

April Records: 1995

I’ve made many blind purchases over the years - it’s one of the few true rushes a music buyer enjoys, possibly only exceeded when that blind purchase goes beyond expectations. In The Sonic Voyagers’ case, however, I had little expectation, as the duo was utterly unknown to me. Klonker Clicke? Steve Law? Nope, never heard of these guys. The little promo sticker on the wrap claimed they were “ambient wizards from Australia”, and I couldn’t help but be drawn in by the charming mid-‘90s CG art. By the way, what the hell is that thing on the right? A rocket? A sex toy?

Anyhow, I went in expecting something like Namlook space ambient drone, probably because that was the sound I was most familiar with at the time. Imagine my disappointment when I heard things like beats, acid, and the like. It sounded cool, sure, but wasn’t what I hoped for, and Endless Mission wound up way off in the recesses of my collection. Occasionally it’d get a play to see if something might hook me, but that initial let down dogged the CD for much longer than it should have. It’s so nice to grow older and more mature when it comes to listening habits.

There was one track off here that was as I’d expected, Alone In The Icy Blackness: dark, ominous, spacious, with a subtle pulsing bit of acid running through to keep the journey moving, even if there’s nothing to see but desolate and bleak emptiness. The main attraction, however, is Endless Mission, Parts 1 and 2, clocking in at over thirty minutes between the two. Best I can describe them is ‘dark space electro’, each constantly shifting and morphing like a live PA jam - so, Namlookian in that sense. The bouncing beat in Part 2 is particularly fun, mostly a pulsing throb of acid bass, occasionally joined by a proper kick or sudden bleep. Very good walking music, though be careful if out and about, as you might get distracted trying to figure out what that chopped up voice is saying throughout.

Also, the acid work is skill, despite not being a prominent feature. I’m assuming Klonker Clicke is behind most of it, as it’s actually a one-off alias of acid techno producer Voiteck Andersen, used only for this release. Mind, Steve Law may have done the work too, as he’s more known for his psy trance alias Zen Paradox. Who knows at this point, but they did have some good chemistry.

Only two other primary track here, Beyond The Infinite and Nightmare In Electro-Dub Land. Both are brisk acid workouts, with the former sticking more to techno’s pace and the latter inexplicitly doing gabber. Heh, no, it’s electro, of that pounding nu-Detroit type. Again, hardly the sound I was expecting, nor inclined to hear when I bought Endless Mission. Now that I’ve come to appreciate it though, I wish there’d been more from The Sonic Voyagers.

Tiësto - Elements Of Life (Original TC Review)

Ultra Records: 2007

(2013 Update:
Proving the old adage it's never so bad that it can't get worse, it's the last album Tiësto produced during his trance era. Oh, if folks only knew what was to come. I suppose he should be given some credit for attempting to branch out into 'minimal' (yes, 2007 Sykonee, that really was what passed for the sound that year), but his old fans totally rejected it and true minimal heads pointed and laughed. Small wonder Mr. Verwest threw up his hands and abandoned all remaining credibility, fleeing to the welcoming embrace of pure commercialized cheese. Hey, at least he finally broke America in a proper fashion that way.

Oh, and I don't know why I was so hard on Bright Morningstar. It's actually one of the better tunes off here. Yeah yeah, I could be an insufferable twat back then, but Tiësto's a goofy twat, so there's synergy.)


IN BRIEF: That’s it?

Having accomplished so much this decade, it’s hard to imagine Mr. Tijs Verwest could achieve more, but the Dutch superstar DJ rarely backs down from a challenge: popularity polls, stadium gigs, Olympics, even Disneyland have been conquered. As a result though, his actual musical output has become secondary to all these large achievements, and folks are far more interested in what his Next Big Stunt will be instead. Sponsorship of Microsoft’s inevitable iPod knock-off? An entire clothing and cologne line? The first DJ to play on the moon? It places quite the expectation upon him to deliver what his hype demands.

Even so, although it may be unfair to judge Tijs’ music in this context, you cannot escape the fact the name Tiësto has come to represent dance music excess. And like many similar pop stars, he is counted upon to deliver on those grounds - as an example, Madonna always seems to make a comeback every time she returns to her dance-pop strengths after periods of unwanted artistic indulgence. Fans put stars in their positions because they deliver what the fans want, and few are going to buy a new Tiësto album if he doesn’t deliver big trance-pop moments with theatrics to spare.

It is therefore with a surprising lack of such bombast Mr. Verwest has delivered his third album titled Elements Of Life. Oh, not in the hype department: his PR machine has done plenty there. Rather, the music contained on here is decidedly lacking in execution. Far too much sounds like going through the motions, and repeated listens reveal less and less each time.

The first couple tracks get things on the right foot, mind. Opener Ten Minutes Before Sunrise is a pretty piece of mellow trance, and sets the mood nicely. Follow-up Everything builds upon that with a groovy rhythm and catchy vocal hooks by Jes Brieden of Motorcycle fame. Once again, she supplies thinly disguised lyrics about being on ecstasy (“Everything sounds better/Everything looks brighter/Everything tastes better/Everything you do feels better”) ...heh, maybe. It could just as easily be about love, but c’mon! Why wouldn’t she go for drug innuendo again when that was one of the biggest charms of As The Rush Comes?

When Mr. Verwest tries a stab at ‘minimal’ though is where things begin to sound suspect. Yes, those are apostrophes around the word, so Do You Feel Me and Carpe Noctrum really aren’t minimal, despite Tiësto’s claims to the contrary. Try deep house for the former, super-simple techno for the latter, and both lacking the nuances minimal proper is known for. Still, though they scream of trend jumping, they’re satisfactory offerings nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Elements Of Life seems to completely run out of interesting ideas from here on out.

Skipping Driving To Heaven since it has ‘filler’ written all over it (it abruptly ends after a rote looping synth build), we enter the BT section of Elements Of Life. Now, there was lots of excited talk about having Mr. Transeau collaborate with Mr. Verwest on this album, many figuring BT’s epic musical masterpieces from the past would influence the Dutch DJ’s sonic palette. Sadly, we get ‘pop’ BT instead: great production but predictable melodies, many of which amount to little and are forgotten shortly after. It’s like the most MOR of euro-dance with far more studio work done than is necessary. Sweet Things does have a catchy chorus, mind, but little else. Meanwhile Bright Morningstar is just a step above filler, and Break My Fall with BT himself on vocal duties could have been any number of toss-off euro-dance fluff pieces from the mid-90s.

And then there’s In The Dark, the lead single with a bunch of hullabaloo over it as Tiësto’s big attempt to grab the holy grail of dance music: breaking America. According to him, this is the kind of track U2 would produce if they made dance music. Um, no, Tijs. U2 already made dance music, it was called Discoteque, remember? And this sounds nothing like Discoteque. In The Dark is like any other regular euro pop trance tune, but with more of the ‘emo singer’ spin on it that’s becoming common in dance lately. And he’s genuinely calling this ‘rocktronic’? A term that’s more of a chin-stroker’s joke to describe electronic music with rock overtones? (LCD Soundsystem, Infadels, Primal Scream... this is ‘rocktronic’, if such an official term ever existed) I thought his buzzword jumping was already laughable with ‘minimal’ - this is beyond comical.

If you’ve resisted becoming cynical to this album up to this point, the final stretch will break even the most dedicated fanboy. Dance4Life - Tiësto’s cheap Faithless knock-off - may have had good intentions when he made it, but like so many pop stars doing charity, the sincerity of it is severely questioned when he pumps so much money into concerts dedicated to himself. And the title track itself? It’s ridiculous bombast, looping a Bach melody with different synth patches until the melody itself is distorted beyond anything listenable - Spinal Tap would have been proud, as Tiësto certainly seems to be trying to crank the effects to eleven.

It doesn’t bode well for the album when the bonus track, He’s A Pirate, is one of the more enjoyable songs to be heard, as that’s a rather average trance tune to begin with (though I do admit I kind of enjoy music where the buckles swash). Does Tiësto figure his name is big enough that he can get away with only the most basic tenets of dance music and shift oodles of units? He may be famous, but not that famous.

Maybe his touring schedule doesn’t leave him enough time to concentrate on his studio work anymore. Maybe he’s guessing the only way to break America is to dumb down his formula. Or maybe even he too realizes that his music will always be secondary to his stunts now that his star has gotten so big, and there is no reason to put much effort into it when the simplest will suffice.

Whatever the reason, Elements Of Life is ultimately a mediocre dance release. There are moments that will entertain but all too often the end results are anti-climatic and stale. Save your money and go see his concerts instead for your Tiësto-endorsed entertainment.