This is the 32nd CD-release by Danish the Danish power-house label Iboga Records – and this time it’s none other than the second album by Phony Orphants – oh, happy day! P.O. is a Danish producer duo, consisting of Mikkel Dahlgaard (Emok) & Jeppe Ørnkilde and these guys have been progressive stars since the late 1990es… Their debut album Symphony is still regarded as one of the most important progressive trance releases of 2003, and the guys have released countless compilation tracks to much acclaim… After a couple of delays, the oddly named album is finally here… Let’s dig deeper…
This was quite a ride through the many corners of progressive trance… From epic, reverb-soaked progressive grooves, over deep, murky technoid night-time trance to fluffy, uplifting filter-house – in nine easy steps! Oh yeah – this is a cross-over as it gets – potent hybrid trance, beautifully executed by the Orphants…This is a really good album that works both as a journey and as individual tracks! There is not a single bad track here - though I didn’t really connect to a couple of the darker, repetitive tracks… But that’s nitpicking really; coz the quality level is damn high here! What’s also cool about this album is that it doubles as both quality home-entertainment and as a valuable DJ tool… And it sounds fabulous both on low volume, but more importantly also when the volume is cranked to the max… Cool!
The cover art is stylish as always with Iboga, so you really get your money’s worth on this one! That’s right – Iboga continue to distance themselves as the world’s leading record label for progressive trance in its many forms… This is benchmark material and this album is a strong contender for best progressive album of the year. It’s right up there with the Tegma, Jaïa and Beat Bizarre albums… Fans of intelligent hybrid trance should not be without this gem… Enjoy!
3.7/5 (