Compilations Reviews Pt. 1

So during this winter and spring, a lot of trance compilations were released and I thought I would finally post my thoughts about these. A while ago I posted some previews to get everyone stoked about these; well finally all have been released, and then some, so it’s time for a review. I thought about ranking them or giving them scores, but to be honest I liked all of the compilations. They each had their pluses and minuses but it would be very difficult to rank them one against another. It’s obvious that each artist took their time in compiling them, and although I can give you my top three, each one got better the more I listened to it in the car.

I will be doing 2 parts because there are so many and each review will be followed with a youtube or 2 of tracks that particularly tickled my fancy on each compilation. So here we go, in no particular order:

Another entry from ATB in the DJ in the Mix series that has been going on for quite some time now. This release does not stray much from the traditional ATB sound and would certainly please any fan of such. The sound I would describe here is very melodic, very progressive. Disc 1 is fairly mellow and features progressive house hits such as Arty’s Gentle Touch and Simon Patterson’s Different Feeling. ATB’s compilation didn’t have many exclusive tracks but it certainly had a lot of his favorites from touring over the summer, which is obvious in his inclusion of Meet Me In Montauk by the Signalrunners. Disc 2 speeds things up a bit with some trancier tracks by Cold Blue, Akesson, and of course ATB himself. Overall, each CD is fairly mellow and I highly recommend this compilation for those who like to relax and listen to very melodic music. Also I would like to take this time to express my disappointment with his absence at EDC; I’m going both days this year and I was kinda hoping for a little trance relief on Friday. Oh well, I suppose I’ll manage…

PS: As a bonus, CD 3 of this compilation is a mix of some classic trance tunes; a good way to get in touch with the history of this music.

Another pretty much annual installment in compilations comes from Armin van Buuren with his annual A State of Trance release. Still playing off that really clever title eh? Nothing new in terms of concept here – the first CD as always is a “beach” cd with more mellow sounds, while the second CD is a “club” cd with faster, harder tracks. Armin’s compilations always bug me a little bit because unlike others, he really doesn’t seem to take as much time with mixing. Some tracks mix together really well, but others sound out of tune or just aren’t mixed very much at all, instead going from stopping one to starting the other. That is the case here and it is sometimes annoying compared to other compilations, where the DJs really seem to take the time and even have the producers change keys or drum patterns on their tracks so they fit in better with the compilation. That being said, Armin certainly had a lot of exclusive material here. My favorites include my current top producer Orjan Nilsen with Lover’s Lane as well as Shades of Grey under his DJ Governor alias. Armin has also created another track under his Gaia alias, a follow up to his mega-tech-hit Tuvan last year. Aisha is yet another awesome track, and it’s featured on CD 2 along with his excellent remix of Faithless and Sebastian Brandt’s anthem to ASOT 450 titled “450″. Overall, I found the “beach” CD to be a little boring with little progression, although it does have some nice guitar sounds and might actually be good to play at the beach in the background. The “club” CD, just like last year, impressed me more, however this time it progresses almost too much, starting out with Arnej and Velvetine but ending with Simon Patterson’s extremely hard track called “Taxi”. Almost like a sped up version of an ASOT radio episode. Overall, some great tracks from Armin as always (I’m sure producers are dying to send him their best material) but as far as delivery, I was not very impressed.

Markus Schulz set the bar EXTREMELY high last year with his Toronto compilation. I mean, that thing blew most other compilations out of the water completely. Markus prides himself on working very closely with the artists featured on his compilations, often asking them to tweak tracks to make them flow better. The Toronto compilation had that in spades, with each CD sounding as if it was one coherent track; almost no mixing can be heard. Las Vegas, the follow up, was missing some of that on CD 1. CD 2 however completely made up for it. It’s mixed together well and features a 100% Markus sound – dark, bass driven trance. It’s got great tracks from Arnej, Tydi, and my personal favorite – Ummet Ozcan’s Next Phase. Everything flows together nicely and just like Toronto brought us Nothing at All and set off a whole year of my addiction to that track (and was played by most trance DJs for all of 2009), this compilation brings us Max Graham’s comeback hit Sun in the Winter, which has already gotten tons of airplay from DJs all over. Disc 1, which like I said was not mixed as well, also has some great tracks including one from LA locals Norin and Rad, as well as more Arnej material (Ping Pong is a great track) and Rex Mundi’s Opera of the Northern Ocean, which is a great melodic track. Overall another great showing from Markus but Toronto just set the bar so high that Las Vegas didn’t quite get there. It could have used some more exclusive tracks, especially ones from Markus (like the Dakota ones on the first compilation) and some better mixing on Disc 1.

Some of you may not know, but the ISOS series was Tiesto’s mix compilation on the Black Hole label. This year, with Tiesto’s new twists and turns in his sound, he has left to create his own label, leaving a… black hole… at his former label which he started in the 90′s. Well that hole has been filled with Tiesto’s protege Richard Durand, who has taken over the In Search of Sunrise compilation series. And a fine job he has done. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I knew Richard was under a lot of pressure to follow up with a compilation after Tiesto has put out 7 extremely impressive In Search of Sunrise releases. ISOS 8 continues the summery, beachy feel that Tiesto sought on his albums quite well. I think the strongest thing going for Durand’s compilation is the “feel” or “sound” he holds consistent throughout. Along with Ferry Corsten, I thought he did the best job out of all the compilations being reviewed of sticking with a particular “sound”. Unfortunately it’s hard to describe but I would go with beachy progressive vocal trance. I know, that’s not giving much at all but it’s the best I can do. Check out the tracks below for an idea of what I’m talking about. The tracks have more European flavor than most compilations (and this is confirmed by the list of producers – Beltek, Zoo Brazil, Ben Preston, etc.) but there are definitely some gems on there. My favorites include Durand’s own collaboration with Jes titled “NYC”, Tom Cloud’s “The Darkest Star” and Zoo Brazil ft. Rasmus Kellerman – “There is Hope”. A lot of fantastic vocal tracks on this compilation, so if that’s your thing definitely check it out. The only downside is a lack of progression – it starts and ends at the same place, but that place is good. This is my top recommendation for a drive along the beach.

That’s all for now. In part 2 I will have Ferry Corsten, Cosmic Gate, and better-late-than-never Gareth Emery’s review as well.

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