Abakus – We Share The Same Dreams

Abakus's sophmore effort is a crystal clear, polished and refined take on the progressive house genre, but with the sensibilities of a downtempo producer. Nothing cheesy or gimmicky here - just pure class throughout. Although not normally a huge fan of this genre, this was one of my favorite releases of 2008. I am still listening to it regularly, a sign of its longevity, something most tech house and progressive releases lack. An obviously gifted musician is at work here, and I am waiting with anticipation for his 3rd full length. Abakus, great job, you've created what I consider a staple of the genre!

Abakus' debut album That Much Closer To The Sun was in my opinion the greatest summer album ever made. It was summer in a can, that you could just put into your CD player and it would warm you up no matter how cold. The follow up to such a great album was always going to be difficult and I almost didn't get it when I heard people talking about it as too clubby and not chilled anough. I wanted to see for myself though & I am glad I did, it is very nice follow up album, it's very summery and for the most part pretty chilled.

I am very happy to have gotten this album. It is a great summer CD and I know that come May I will be playing this a lot. Even now in January when I listen to it it feels like it is summer already. Don't be put off by people talking about this album as if it is some clubby nightmare from Ibiza. Only 2 tracks even come to close to that description and they are not that bad, just a bit dull or out of place. The rest are beautifully chilled out summery tracks that I'm sure most people who enjoyed the first album would enjoy. Expect it to be a little more upbeat, not quite as amazing but still like summer in a bowl.

I think "We Share The Same Dreams" stands well in comparison with the previous "That Much Closer To The Sun". It's true that this one is a bit more housey in general, but it still has great atmospheres and melodies - the magic is not gone :). The albums are similar in that both have many great songs and many not so great ones, but no bad ones.

After browsing through the songs on both albums, I can't really decide which one's better. However, my absolute favourite Abakus tune is on this one: "Opal Fountain". Simply beautiful.

[edit] After listening even more to both albums, I can conclude that "That Much Closer To The Sun" is on the whole slightly better than "We Share The Same Dreams", but both are absolutely worth owning, let alone listening.

Abakus first release “That Much Closer To The Sun” on Liquid Sound Design was an absolute masterpiece and in my opinion it remains one of the best electronic albums of all times. Deep soundscapes, incredibly beautiful and melodic experimental beats, it floated really nice giving you that mystical feeling, always begging for more. I still, after 4 years of listening, find this album totally exiting and fresh.

“We Share The Same Dreams” has none of that. Although different and leaning more on the progressive house side, it sounds like it was made years before his first release. After raising the bar so high on his first, the difference in quality between the two releases is very obvious and very disappointing.

If you are new to his music, go listen to "That Much Closer To The Sun", don’t bother with this release.