08.06
Well since spring was the season of all sorts of compilation releases (see my reviews here and here), late summer and fall seems to be the season for album releases. Lots of new artist and remix albums coming out soon from some of my favorite trance DJs out there. I’m hoping to see some envelope pushing from the big trance guys, not just re-hashing of the same old. So far, however, it seems to be heading in that direction so let me hash through just a few of the big players with, of course, solid YouTube evidence. Loving the customizable aspect ratios – makes my posts look a lot better.
Armin van Buuren – Mirage (Release: September 10, 2010)
One of the people from whom I am especially looking for some new direction is Armin van Buuren whose last album, in my opinion, was a bit stagnant. It had some good tracks but that was mostly a result of good remixers; he ended up relying on remixes of the majority of his album tracks during his livesets (i.e. TAO 2008). This time though, it looks like he’s got something else cooking…
This is seriously a complete double rainbow across the sky – a track of epic proportions. Trance masters Ferry Corsten and Armin teamed up to create a track and the result is an epic banger that has an old school feel. Those people who are clamoring for trance to return back to the old sound will hopefully be pleased by this one – it’s got an early 2000′s feel to it but at the same time, of course, a new spin. A lot of tracks are coming out in this style – putting a rework or remake on a classic, including one of my recent favorites – Tiesto’s 2010 remix of Just Be which I featured on my latest DJ mix.
Armin’s new album Mirage has some good tracks and of course some cheesy vocal tracks which will most likely, again, be remixed to sound a lot more epic and hard. But overall I am pleased with what I have heard so far. I highly recommend checking out some of the latest A State of Trance shows which feature live music from Ibiza – the last one, number 468, had an hour from Amnesia with 2 of Armin’s new tracks. You can also download the Armin van Buuren EDC set to hear his excellent work in “Full Focus” and “Aisha” under his Gaia alias. But tracks are excellent, techy, and tickle my fancy quite nicely.
Gareth Emery – Northern Lights (Release: September 2010)
Ah yes, the chipper English chap Gareth Emery will be coming out with a new album just in time for the DJ Mag top 100 proceedings. Good call on his part because after joining the ranks of the top 10, he may even be going up this year! A lot of competition at the top. Anyway, Gareth’s sound is one that I embrace and love, and so I can’t wait to hear his new album. I have already sung praises for his compilation – The Sound of Garuda, and now to really bolster the content of his label he is coming out with an entire album. Very nice.
I am not sure what to say about the first track. It’s definitely got the Gareth Emery sound – a nice simple tone and his trademark beat. The vocals match the track well and it sounds great. On the other hand, it’s not really anything new. This is very similar to Gareth’s music which came out last year and the year before (reminds me a lot of Metropolis, for example). The video itself is very frustrating to me. Trance DJs seem to contract out the same exact team to do these videos whose creative process goes “Hmm should we try something new? Nah. Let’s go with a girl or guy finding another girl or guy at a dance club while the DJ plays in the background.” I can seriously name about 10 videos with this plot line. Let’s come up with something new people!!!
Ultimately, I’m not going to sit here and completely rail on this. It’s understandable that DJs must make vocal tracks that are memorable and catchy so fans can sing along. It’s also understandable that this is the first track of the album to get people hooked on it that might not be 100% Gareth Emery fans quite yet.
So my final conclusion is that I will reserve judgment until I hear some of the other songs in September. Hoping for a good showing from the man who has delivered some excellent sets this year.
Markus Schulz – Do You Dream (already released)
Well although this is after the fact, I must say something about this new album. I remember back at Avalon on Memorial Day weekend when Markus was playing, 90% of his visuals were the album name scrolling in the background. Ok pretty lame but it got the job done – I was down to check it out as soon as it came out. The album is pretty damn good. I remember in Markus’ blog posts he always said “I won’t let you guys down” to all the people who were hating on him for his first single, which was uplifting and somewhat cheesy.
Well Markus was absolutely right – a lot of tracks there that just stunned me. In my opinion, Markus is heads and shoulders above Gareth and Armin in terms of production – he’s got a unique style, doesn’t pander to cheesy vocals (most of the time), and has a great blend of instrumental as well as vocal tracks. His second single was his remake of a classic – Cass & Slide’s “Perception” with Justine Suissa on vocals. Epic track, along with 65.4 Hz – an instrumental track that is mindblowing when played live. I highly recommend everybody check out this album, whether you’re a trance fan or not. It’s got something for everybody, with the intro track heavily influenced by Pink Floyd!
Tiesto – Kaleidoscope (Remixed) (Release date: September 2010)
Oh boy. By now everyone has surely noticed my infatuation with Tiesto so I’ll keep my words short because I know Rob wants to write an entire post on each track on this album alone. Lots of goodies on here, looking forward to remixes by some of my favorite producers: Ali Wilson, Nic Chagall, Jonas Sternberg, and of course Tiesto. My favorite remix that I have heard so far off of this album would have to be Ferry’s treatment of Kaleidoscope. Unfortunately I can’t make it to Nocturnal Festival this year to hear him play so I’m hoping he’ll be back soon to play at Avalon or perhaps Circus.
Honorable Mention: Sander van Doorn – Dusk til Doorn (Release date: August 16th, 2010)
This is technically a new compilation by Sander but the man has been releasing hit after hit after hit so the honorable mention goes to the fact that he has been releasing QUALITY tracks nonstop for the past couple of years. Starting with Bliksem, which was played by just about everybody, Sander has released a couple of new tracks lately – Reach out, Hymn 2.0, and Daddy Rock. Each one is a tech trance stormer with the typical Sander sound – some bass kicks and great melodies. Cheesy vocals definitely not included.
Hmm I suppose this might be a good time to mention how excited I am to see Sander play at Avalon in just two weeks where he will debut his 2010 Dusk til Doorn show, just 5 days after the release of this compilation. Looking forward to hearing a lot of his new tracks live as well as some of the old classics. Fingers crossed for King of My Castle (SVD Remix) and perhaps some Control Freak. Hope to see you all there!
Other Honorables
I just don’t have the time or interest to profile every album coming out but I must mention some of the up-and-comers: Leon Bolier releases “Phantasma” August 31st and First State just released “Changing Lanes” in June.
Please feel free to comment on any of these albums or any other ones coming out soon!
That about sums up what’s been going on in the album world lately. Definitely looking forward to all the new tunes and hopefully catching any and all of these guys on tour.
© 2010, M Silin. All rights reserved.
