Somehow, many orthodoxies of deep house were turned on their heads with this fine release. And even veteran listeners, staled by familiar sounds, should be grinning widely as the hissing and crackling during the open seconds of the sultry, fittingly named "Bamboo Mat" play out. What makes this one so special, and indeed one of my tops for 2011, is its masterful balance between the dissonant bass hits and the beautiful harmonics of the ambient sounds coming from flutes, distant sounds of people laughing and talking in merriment, and progression of organic sounding percussion that are delivered with unexpected timing. The tone is quite relaxing, and yet, you are at the same time seduced by the agreeably strong grooves that are as unpretentious as they are original.

"Sparkling Eyes" I can only say is a charming compliment to "Bamboo Mat." Let feelings of wanderlust spread through your body as nuanced bass drum sequences, sharp and bright percussion, and deep, lush chords build tension by establishing a pleasing progression of melodies. More staccato and techy than the hazy and dulcet A-Side, the gravity of "Sparkling Eyes" pulls you towards its darker, galactic stabs. If "Bamboo Mat" is the grounded, tribal-influenced sounds of mingling races, "Sparkling Eyes" is this very world from the perspective of a listener who is sent out of orbit and looking below. This one has a slight melancholy tinge, laced by several layers of pads; and is a nice alternative to drier sounding releases, but would certainly fit snugly in the midst of peak-time music.

More of this, please.

After firstly hearing Prayer For A God in 2004, it became somewhat an obsession of mine for months. As I was still in high school at the time, it was a truly lifting experience to come home each afternoon and flip on the song, while letting the sun’s radiant light from the other side of my room’s window touch everything around me. It left me with the feeling that there was much to experience and live for. Undoubtedly, it was the continuously ascending, ethereal aura of the choirs and the tribal, high-throttle drum works that gave it so much appeal. This is also amazing, because the melodic structure is almost all contained in the layers of nonlyrical vocals, while the synths only add a backing musical component. The dark bassline sitting beneath the singing adds a crucial element of drive that comes off as subtle, but serving well to ground the melody. Moreover, though, I always associated this song with an almost apocalyptic, might-as-well-jump feel. The lead in to the soaring breakdown and the final chord structure (accompanied by acid riffs and an ominous bassline) during the song’s 2-minute collapse/outro leaves you overwhelmed with emotion. When it comes to tech-trance with a proclivity for walking you through one of the most epic storylines an 8-minute piece of music will allow, you can do little wrong with Prayer For A God.

Elevation isn’t as techy as Prayer For A God, so it is more focused on a continuous flowing melodic mainline, but it is similarly as enchanting. Drawn out pads add rich texture while there are several alternating melodies running throughout. Here, we have a delightful uplifter to compliment this celestial EP.

How this album even surpassed the copyright hurdles to see a release is beyond unnerving, given the level of plagiarizing (or, at the extreme least, unabashed lack of creativity) that is present. Let’s count the ways: Exeo is almost an identical arrangement of Alpha 9 - Bliss. The glitchy percussion, generic white noise fills, sidechained saw bassline, and general rhythms of Brave are reminiscent of several Cosmic Gate productions, such as Not Enough Time. And doesn’t “As You Were” sound very Simon Patterson-ish to you, such as his original "Taxi", his remix of Sam Sharp’s “Roundabout”, and several of his other recent productions? Reverie is simply Cosmic Gate - Barra with a vocal on top, including the melody and arrangement. Good thing Cosmic Gate is on the same label as First State then, huh? My Sanctuary rings peculiar familiarities with Bent - As You Fall (Guy J Remix.) The list goes on, and since its release, there have been several videos surfacing around the web which demonstrate this. I strongly invite all potential buyers to look into this before thinking about dropping your hard earned money on this. This album is so poor and so uninspired, it's not worth a rating. A 1/5 would be generous.

At best, this is just a reminder of how austere and hackneyed so many of these new, uh, “progressive” *snicker* trance releases are. I can’t even defend this album on the desperate “good in a club” argument that so many like to use as a crutch when all else fails. Really? In a club? How so? All energy is lost in the consistent blandness. The builds are predictable as hell. Every stereotype about minimal trance is given by its “signals”: dropping that electro bass after each breakdown, filtering white noise on the builds, incoming kick rolls, overdramatic and long breakdowns using the same chord progressions whilst a seductive diva sings out. Jeeees-us Christ. I want to feel music pulsating when I’m out, not banal white noise and the same offbeat sidechained bassline at 128 BPM for two hours. You’re looking for good club music? Oh yes, check out Hybrid’s new album “Disappear Here,” where your money will be well spent. Or go spend it on a classic like “Balance 005” mixed by James Holden. That’s true progressive.

One thing is certain, though: Black Hole did not put its loyal listeners at the front of its concerns this time. Clearly, it wanted to box this one up as an original piece of art and sell it off nonchalantly. Yessir, the same label that brought us the classic sounds of Gabriel & Dresden, BT, Ralphie B, Fictivision, and of course, Tiesto and all his ISOS mixes; now pins First State and Cosmic Gate to send out the same schlock that has been so trendy and “progressive” for the past three years. It’s just another reminder of the sad position of trance music right now. All feeling is lost from these soulless tracks, and it’s up to listeners to make these observations and turn against it. I’m looking forward to the nervous, brow-wiping Black Hole staffers to come on Discogs and trip over each other as they furiously hit the “Disagree” button. Too bad I'll sharply count every "Disagree" as a victory for true trance music. But hey, the blood is on your hands fellas. Hopefully, you’ll listen to a long time fan such as myself and see that your “direction” is not in good standing. Maybe you'll learn from your failures for once. Once mighty, now a sham.

July 2nd: 1 disagree! First victory! Yes! We're making progress, trance fans.

With so many weak attempts at tweaking vocals filling the airwaves these days, it's nice to know that we have one of vocal chopping's original prints clearly standing the test of time. Every syllable causes my body to twitch as the voices crawl beneath my skin, as though they're performing voodoo on me. Suffocating pads and sweeps add a sinister, sort of gritty and industrial backdrop, with the help of a grainy bassline; yet the crisp vocals sound so eerily playful in the foreground. Masterpiece.

This is certainly going to be a difficult point to sell, especially for many of the trance listeners who have grown weary, or even cynical, about the direction of so-called “uplifting trance.” As a die-hard trance fan since the early 2000s, who spends countless days seeking out the best trance has to offer, I have so many times tried to distance myself from the cliched, cluttered, and sometimes artificial universe that has become of “uplifting trance” in search of another entrancing form of music. Then, once in a while there are these kinds of artists who rekindle the spirit.

Still, Mirrors to me is like a reincarnation of the melancholic sound of melodic trance that has come about through the works of trance musical wizards such as Airwave, Darren Tate, Mesh, or Fictivision. One of the most similar tracks I can think of coming in this same vein as Mirrors would have to be Robert Nickson - Spiral from 2004. The relationship is similar in that the feeling is profound despite its simplicity, and the progression assumes the listener is patient though engaged. Still, when the all the melodies reach their steep climb to the peak, the wait is worth it. So, here we have a deep and floaty piece, and the flow of the song is derived from the graceful changes in each of the melodies’ notes. There are lush ambient sounds during much of the breakdown, but what really sends me into orbit is at 4:43 when a soulful pad coasts in and lifts the atmosphere. The melodies sound so bliss when they’re stacked on top of each other.

In my sincerest opinion, Mirrors is one of the most humble, yet rewarding, pieces of trance that I’ve stumbled across in the last several years. There is nothing grandiose about it; nothing that tries to demand all the attention and glamour with ultra epic sounds. Instead, whenever I listen to these 7 minutes of melodic fluid, I feel as though I’m hearing something that was done for the sake of purely good music. Just damn good music, like any genre, without the stale perks or gimmicks. Back to basics, and not even in the production sense, just in the sense of what music is all about.

Hybrid once again demonstrate their true might as remixers in this release . The fittingly named "Claustrophobic" Remix generates a severe heart-racing psychological thriller for those daring enough to listen. The whole track sounds so dark and intense, with a progression that only pulls you further and further into this state of entrapment as it plods along. This becomes especially apparent when a deep whisper in the breakdown is distorted to create this suffocating effect, unleashing this shocking paradox between "love" and what could be something much more extreme. Reverse psychology at its finest. The tempo and arrangement of the breakbeat is in flawless groove with the vocals, backed by a grinding bassline and other distorted ambient effects that lift the emotions to a fever pitch. The remix really sucks me in, making me feel sort of claustrophobic myself and wanting to hit against the walls to escape! What a trip! It is disturbingly beautiful.

Let's talk about River, a tune which I believe exemplifies the utmost standards of uplifting trance using today's technology. With this technology, does it throw in huge, glamorous effects that leave you agape? The chances are high that, no, it will leave you with no such things. River is by and large a tune that succeeds without the gimmicks and cliches that I feel were putting uplifting trance in an awkwardly unappealing state in 2009. Instead of forcing in the typical melody-to-end-all-melodies kind of approach, with epic strings, heart-tugging pianos, or any other "techniques" to artificially bring forth feelings, these Finnish men trust that we're intelligent enough to feel the song rising and move our emotions in subtler ways. River is sincerely one of the deepest of the deep for uplifting trance, and all the while, it never comes off as weak sounding. The level of atmosphere and the impact of the confident bassline engages the listener for the just the right length of time before seamlessly unhinging the beat from the main groove, leaving us with a spacious and lush breakdown. A gorgeous melody moves in very coolly, backed by some percussion works and organic melodic elements that we can only imagine were inspired by visions of a winding river paralleled by abundant vegetation deep within some exotic forest. This is what I consider intelligent trance music and it should not be overlooked, hence a reason I felt the need to review this amazing track. As an aside, I promoted this tune very heavily in 2009, probably making it to my top 5 of my most recommended trancers of 2009.

Mistaken was always a track that left a nice impression on me, but it was only until more recently that I have come to really appreciate its offerings. The Fictivision Mix is a delightful experience through pure, deep trance. This was also, to my knowledge, the last time Bart Van Wissen (who has produced several high quality deep house and progressive trance tracks under his own name) used his Fictivision alias. It was a favorite of Armin Van Buuren's back in 2005, when he would frequently mashup the instrumental (and with good reason) with the melting vocals of Behind Silence by A-Force & Yahel. One of the more standout features of the Fictivision Mix is an airy riff, beginning at 1:51, strumming off a haunting chord that has this immensely startling effect, especially because it's backdropped by humble, tingly bells that play continuously prior to this moment. Speaking plainly, it's one of those songs that really gets my imagination rolling. And as usual with most Fictivision songs, the central melody tends to morph over time, before reverting back to its original sound towards the end. This is usually done by either swapping the synth instruments or changing the chords all together. Nevertheless, it's always mood altering. I make reference to this effect in his collaboration with C-Quence under the song "Symbols", where there is a progression of one of the song's many melodies. It is also subtly done in his tracks "Outpost" and "Out of Orbit", so it's not necessarily apparent the first few times you listen.

The Mindsensation Mix, by a producer also known as Leon Bolier, tends to use very much of the same melodies as in the Fictivision Mix, only that they sound considerably thinner and more generic with the supersaws. It's not a bad version at all, but just kind of unremarkable. There are some hard-hitting builds that make for a more upfront experience, but melodically, it sounds weak and much less atmospheric compared to Bart's monster. There are better Leon Bolier productions.

Um... yeah... So, with releases such as this one cluttering the ITWT catalog in recent months, I'm left wondering just what they're doing over at A&R when they're signing tracks. Gliding paper airlines from their office chairs into trash bins? Playing catch? I honestly haven't a clue, but somebody's not paying attention.

Production wise, this is a very, hmm, "creative" release, to be generous. There are lots of bizarre tech-influenced twists that still must have been challenging to devise, to be fair. But production talent should hardly be reason enough to pick up a track. So what is going on? Even a nice orchestral break, sitting beneath a darkish guitar melody, comes in and tries to validate the rest of what is going on in both the Original and 2nd Mixes. Unfortunately, there is so much randomness about the mixes that there's just nothing particularly consistent happening. There aren't many suspenseful drops or builds to clue you in on what is coming up next, because everything keeps shifting around. I suppose they were going for an audience that would be less tuned to knee-jerk builds and climaxes. Fine, but on that premise, there's still just no rhyme or reason to the overall progression. Only the Lost Stories Remix keeps the flow somewhat more consistent. But then suddenly the track dissolves from a 4/4 trance beat to a breakbeat with rock instrumentals?? What is happening? I appreciate the idea that guys are trying to be different, but really, I'm just bewildered in general by the progressions of these tracks. In short: Random and ultimately not musically interesting enough.