Acen - Close Your Eyes ('XXX' Mix) / Close Your Eyes (Vitamin 'E' Mix)

Both remixes contain some nice soothing\melodic moments. The one in 'Remix I' is built upon a sample from 'Here Comes the Sun' song by The Beatles and features George Harrison singing and playing acoustic guitar. Don't know where the samples for the one in 'Remix II' come from, but for some reason it reminds me of DJ Shadow's 'Midnight In A Perfect World' track.
It's a pity those melodic parts are so short.

As for the Rave, the beats are cool on both sides, but the bass -( The bassline on both remixes is very simple and uncreative. Very disappointing.

The bass in the second half of "Remix II (The Sequel)" is total crap! It nearly ruins a whole song!

If one tune encapsulates the genius of Acen for me, then "Close Your Eyes (XXX Mix)" is the one. I have never come accross another hardcore track which appears to squeeze a whole "rave" into it's 7 minute running time.
With it's energetic start to warm you up. "Close Your Eyes (XXX Mix)" then builds up in intensity with mentasmic rave stabs, Jim Morrison/Public Enemy samples and rolling breakbeats (NWA's "Straight Out Of Compton"???). Then then the "rush" hits you near the end with these almost heavenly synths and exclamations of "ECSTACY!!!".
For a non-drug user to feel such feelings of elation when hearing this track, just goes to show the sheer brilliance of Acen's compositions. Throwaway, rave-crap??? Not a chance!

What can you say about this track? This track just says 'Dreamscape and seriously good times'. Probably one tune Ill never ever get bored of hearing. Everyone talks about the Beatles sample but for me the killer line has always been the Jim Morrison [Doors]line....."Just close your eyes....go insane". Godammn this track STULL makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.11/10

A track that measures up after more than a decade. Delicate beats, infused with deft samples and a haunting little voice over.
Optikonfusion is indeed the one you want. Without the Beatles sample, this is less than half the song. An early 90s lesson in stealing loops and some sampling mayhem is what you should expect from Acen, and with this release they deliver in a big way. If your copy does not contain the Beatles sample, seek one that does.

Bottom line: Copies labeled (Optikonfusion!) are the original, as Acen intended, with the Beatles sample (which adds a lot to the track, IMO). Copies labeled (Optikonfision!)!! have the Beatles sample edited out, and are utter butchery. The Acen album "75 Minutes" contains the edited version.

And by the way, the whole "legal", "illegal" thing is not really accurate. Acen samples so many different things that if you made a completely legal un-copyright-infringing version you'd be left with jack shit.