Afternoon sushi…

This is the fourth release by the very productive Japanese label Groove Zone Records… I really liked the previous compilations: The smoothness of Back To The Future and the darkish night-time tool Magnetic Storm. Again Taku Yoshihaya has carefully selected these tracks which in his own words are ‘perfect for the morning and afternoon dancefloors under the sun’… So yeah, this looks like a pleasant, uplifting experience… Let’s find out!

I actually have a hard time grading this compilation… I mean, it’s all high-quality progressive trance with melodies en mas – but somehow parts of this seems a little too dull for my taste… Whereas Magnetic Storm focussed on the darker side of progressive trance, this focuses on the lighter sides… And as I’ve mentioned several times, I prefer to take my progressive trance a little edgier than this… However there are also some very fine tracks here… I just wish all of them were fine… It’s hard for me to explain. Luckily we get a bunch of stand-out tracks… And they rock in their own way!

I like the previous Groove Zone compilations over this one though, and I don’t consider this an essential release… The cross-over potential however is huge here – and as such this compilation already has a higher fan-base than anything released within the psychedelic trance scene… So yeah – fans of epic, uplifting progressive trance sprinkled with melodies will dig this… Enjoy!

Favourites: 2, 3(!), 5, 6(!!), 8, 9