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Graham Gold June Reviews: Pt 2

Author: Graham Gold
Thursday, June 30, 2005
ASTRIX
"TWEAKY"
HOMMEGA

Last track on John Askew's mix on the new Trance Republic CD, and best place to get this is probs via audiojelly.com Superb psy trance from one of the real current leaders of the scene, Astrix is as much a God there as Tiesto is in the more mainstream trance circles. Not of course for the faint hearted, it's a 146bpm rollercoaster of toughness. 4/5

GAVYN MYTCHELL
"VOCODER"
NOYS

Label boss Mike Koglin only sent me his remix, so I haven't heard the original yet, but I am more than happy to be blasting Mike's remix out at every opportunity. The sparse percussion is pretty stand out and fx come in at all the right places, as you would expect from someone of Koglins pedigree. The breakdown kicks, partly cos he reintroduces the kick through it so it doesn't drag, and using just the first part of the main riff at the end through the snare tolls to stab it's way back in. Solid. 5/5

ASTRAL PROJECTION
"1,000,000 YEARS FROM TODAY
TRUST IN TRANCE

Astral Projection have long been at the top of their game. Here they invite you to "Check Out The Power" and power this is certainly something it has bags off. Loads of big moments, lots of those nasty dark sounds and of course the trademark psy trance bass line. More musical than some of their previous releases, this could cross quite a few boundaries. 4/5

ONE MORE ANGEL
"BREATHE" 135BPM
UNKNOWN

Bobina deliver what starts out as a deepish affair, full of intense sweeps and fx. But at 1'30" that's all out of the window. There is small vox pad that gives it a hook, the drop is full of white noise layered humungous pads and out of that comes a brand new sound, which turns it up another notch. 3/5

OREAL
"GOODBYE"
EXCELENT

Oreal are Ron van den Beuken and Martijn de Vries, who should be pretty much known to you already. But it's not the typical RVDB sound at all. This is an altogether much more trancey affair with a nice dreamy main line and strong pads underneath. The percussion however is as fierce as ever and there's load going on in the production stakes. But wait until the big drop at 5 mins as it ain't over till it's over!! 4/5

LANGE VS GARETH EMERY
"X EQUAL 69/THIS IS NEW YORK
LANGE RECORDINGS

Always a treat when there is a new Lange release and this time, he has teamed up with GTR for a strong double sider. X Equals kicks off with strong tough percussion ahead of the rolling bass line. It has an overall techy flava before the trancey elements appear. Nice breakdown with a dirty sidechained bottom end under the sweeter top line. The key thing in "This Is New York" is this little opening medley which just develops as the track goes on with nice key changes , and by 3 mins it has really kicked in to a euphoric killer. And please don't take that to mean cheesy cos it certainly isn't -it's very classy indeed. 5/5 cos they are both strong tracks.



SOLARFACTOR
"GLOBAL GETAWAYS"
BONZAI
Ambient intro leads into solid kicks with submarine drop kinda sounds ahead of a big swirling bottom end synth and it is both these that are the mainstay of the track. They take you into the drop where deep dark pads add to the atmosphere. No big build, but straight back into it. Different-I like it. 3/5


UNDERWATER
"WATER PLANET"
SENTIAL
4 mixes to choose from but for me, Activa's Liquid Globe remix steals it by miles.
This is how I like my trance. Big & beefy with loadsa interesting fx. A real mix of dark
and dirty with bright and sweet sounds. Truly euphoric with one of THOSE breakdowns, this is pretty much guaranteed to rock most joints. 4/5

LUCAS & BELTRAM
"TRUST ME" 130BPM
ANJUNABEATS

More quality music from Anjunabeats, the really crisp stabby percussion and the doubly clean kick immediately stand out. I have this earmarked for early sets,as it's only 130bom, but I am playing it pitched up to 134. This guitar flavoured gem is laden with really effective pads that sound awesome through the drop, an
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