Lost Tribe - The Distant Voices E.P.

Skip the overhyped anthem "Gamemaster" and head straight for "Angel", Darey did good work with crafting this soothing trancy breaks number which still does the trick even today. "My Soul" is the other track of choice here, very similar to "Gamemaster" but it has some distinctive features that seperates it from the latter. The first is the construction of the track which feels less anthemic and it's mostly because it skips the "massive" breakdown with the ever so pretentious speech, and the most crucial feature is that it does not have the ripped off riff nicked from Quench's 1993 classic "Dreams".

Matt Darey's "Distant Voices EP" under the alias Lost Tribe is a staple release of the late 90's trance movement producing two of the biggest hits of the era. "Angel", which was featured on Sasha & John Digweed's Northern Exposure 2, is a soaring breakbeat number with soothing vocals, heavenly washing synths, and a blissful piano melody that will transport anyone to heaven instantly. "Gamemaster", which was featured on Paul Oakenfold's groundbreaking Tranceport, is just good trance music with a killer groove (though I don't care much for the cheesy monolouge). The Four Four Mix of "Angel" is the same song except with a four four beat, while "My Soul" is very similar to "Gamemaster" (and actually sounds very similar to Matt Darey's 99 Mix of the track). Either way, the original mixes of both "Angel" and "Gamemaster" alone make the release worth owning, and both are certainly deserving of their lofty reputations as timeless late 90's trance hits.