Compilations Review Pt. 2

All right, after finally removing the spyware from my computer I am back to finish up my reviews of all the compilations that have come out in the recent months, with the exception of one which came out all the way back in December but I feel compelled to review anyway. If you’re just checking in now, click here for part 1. Again, just to state my rules, I am doing the reviews in no particular order and am including a couple of tracks as YouTube vids. These tracks are the ones that I most enjoyed, or feel most resemble the “feel” or sound of the compilation itself. I highly recommend you guys check some of these out, especially if you’re going on road trips or long flights. Or if you don’t mind reading with music in the background. These aren’t ravey, hard pounding beats – they are more mellow, melodic sounds. Which brings me to my first review of part 2:

Oh Ferry… what are you wearing. Ok let me move past the ridiculous trance DJ cover art that cracks me up almost every time and say this: this is one of the best compilations that has come out in recent years. Boom. I put this up there with Markus Schulz’s Toronto 09 as the 2 best in the past few years, no doubt. Let me start with a concession. Ferry is a very popular, well-renowned DJ and thus is able to do things that other DJs may not be able to. In this case, that means that every single track was exclusive for this compilation. That is a pretty tall order for a two-disc mix but Ferry pulled it off, with each track being brand new, never-before-heard (unless it was on his radio show or live mix). Wow! Talk about keeping a secret. Ferry’s last compilation, Passport to the United States, came out all the way back in 2007, and I would have to say that it was once of the pieces that really got me into trance. I used to listen to it while studying back in freshman year of UCLA, when my mindset was still “techno? nah… I’ll never get into it.” This compilation, along with Tiesto’s ISOS 5, is what is responsible for bringing me all this way, typing this blog post. So Ferry and his compilations hold a special place in my heart.

But I would argue that even with that bias, this compilation is objectively still one of the best out there at the moment (if objectivity exists in any form when it comes to reviewing music). In part one I talked a lot about the importance of maintaining a “sound” emotionally and musically when creating a compilation, and this is exactly what Ferry pulls off flawlessly. Each track seems like it was somehow made as part of an all-night slumber party with all the other producers in the room making theirs at the same time. Either Ferry was very good at explaining what he wanted when asking producers to make tracks for this compilation, or it was total coincidence that they all poured in at once, but the tracks flow together so well, so beautifully, that sometimes it’s hard to imagine that they were made by different people. Ferry has taken somewhat of a deviation from his typical trance-electro party sound and has moved into some sort of progressive and euphoric yet at the same time big-room-fitting groove. In fact, he has been releasing new tracks under his alias Pulse that seem to fit this very mood.

The man had a kid, released an album, and now he is pushing the envelope yet again with Once Upon a Night. Some of the tracks and producers have been rising in the scene since the release, such as “Hartseer” by Bart Claessen, Anton Firtich’s awesome track “Something Wrong”, Arty’s “Hope” (Arty is a rising star from the motherland, oh yeah!), and Yuri Kane’s “Right Back”. Other tracks that I really liked are Amurai’s “Unconditional Love” and the Breakfast remix of BT’s “The Unbreakable”, which is the last track of disc 2. I can’t speak enough about how much I like this compilation, it moves from mellow to intense, playful to serious, and all the tracks just fit together so well without any issues in mixing or key changes that I could detect. Of all the compilations that came out this spring, this is my favorite one by a mile.

Ferry is already collecting tracks for round 2 after completing a massive tour to promote the album; perhaps some of you caught him when he stopped by the Palladium in April.

Next up for review is the next release in the Back 2 Back series from Cosmic Gate. These guys have really risen in the trance world lately (along with the DJ Mag rankings) and have become staples at festivals around the world, including Los Angeles. I have heard very positive reviews of all of their sets, including NYE with Above and Beyond at the Westin Bonaventure. And I must say that I was quite impressed with their set that I downloaded from Miami. Now, just like any other big DJ, Cosmic Gate have a particular niche that they fill and this is well represented by their compilation release. Both discs are fairly old school sounds, in my opinion, bringing trance back to circa 2006. A lot of mellow instrumental tracks on Disc 1 including Blake Jarrell’s beautiful “Galapagos” and Kyau and Albert’s “I Love You” remixed by the Cosmic Gate guys.

Disc 2 picks it up with more of a party vibe, still on more of an old school tip. It starts out with Cosmic Gate’s track “Barra”, which was made especially for this mix, and then jumps into some awesome tracks by DJ Eco (“Staring at the Sea”), Rank1 and Jochen Miller’s “The Great Escape”, now a staple of Armin and Markus’s sets, and Ronski Speed’s bangin comeback “Denva”. Nic and Bossi continue to tread their own path and develop their own sound, characterized by those bongo-like bass bumps always lurking in the background. If you enjoy their darker, harder side, check out Disc 2. If you prefer to take yourself back to sounds a-la 2005 or 06 (think ISOS 5 and 6), check out Disc 1.

Although this compilation doesn’t feature as many exclusives as the other guys, the Cosmic Gate boys still pull off a solid showing, with plenty of skill and time taken to create a nice mix. Perhaps the sound is a bit outdated for my tastes, but those (and there are certainly many) yearning for the good ol’ days of trance will definitely enjoy this compilation.

Another release that made it literally impossible for me to rank these compilations in any order or pick favorites. They are all so damn good in their own way. Gareth Emery released this CD at the end of 2009 to celebrate and mark the beginning of his new Garuda label. Gareth has been making solid tracks for years now, but just recently got a huge bump in cred with his #9 ranking on the DJ Mag top 100 list last year. I can’t wait to see this guy at EDC this year. Bummer they didn’t put him on the main stage. But anyway…

Another 2 disc release that is mostly a club vs. chill separation. Disc 1 features a lot of new (at the time) releases that Gareth had exclusive access too, and showcases what kind of tracks he likes to pick. It flies right out of the gate with an intro mix of UK neighbor Ashley Wallbridge’s Harmonies and then goes into some great sounds exemplifying Gareth’s preference for “simple yet effective dance music” (according to his twitter). It’s not as “chill” or melow as other compilations might be; it goes hard into Sander van Doorn’s “Ninety” and Ali Wilson’s “Boombox” but with gems like Pulser’s “Broken Universe”, I had this CD on repeat for a good amount of time during the cold winter months. Disc 2 is more of a club focus, with some of Gareth’s big tunes from 2009 including his remix of Oceanlab’s “Lonely Girl”, Purple Haze “Bliksem”, and his mashup of “Lethal Industry” and “Stadium 4″. Of course there are also the epic Emery tracks “Metropolis” and “Exposure” on this disc as well. It’s a great party and happens to feature some of my favorite tracks of 2009. Loved hearing these when I saw Emery live in Orange County and… shameless plug… when they just happened to end up on my Best of 2009 Mix.

Again, another fantastic compilation by a trance legend. Definitely a good one to pick up if you want to reminisce on 2009, or check out Gareth Emery’s catchy tune selection. Only thing it’s missing is a little… “On a Good Metropolis Day”! In fact, come to think of it, none of the compilations have this awesome tune. Eh?!

Well, that’s all I’ve got. I can’t possibly rank these in order, but I would put Once Upon a Night and Sound of Garuda at the top of all the others. Feel free to leave your comments on my reviews or your favorites! Use that new comment system!

I’ll be back later this week with a guest mix as well as a post on why EDC is gonna be awesome.

© 2010, M Silin. All rights reserved.