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Commander Tom - Attention! - 23-Jul-09 01:45 PM
The more cynically minded might use this release as proof that even Commander Tom needs to pay the bills! That would be harsh though. Yes, it’s a complete departure from tracks like ‘Are Am Eye’ and ‘The Vulcan’, and yes it’s glossy and has female vocals, but the Original Club Mix version is actually a very good example of the acceptable face of commercial trance.

The Original Club Mix errs towards the filtered electro side of club trance. The vocals are pretty simple and repeated throughout the lifetime of the record, but are superbly executed. Clearly Commander Tom bought a considerable amount of studio experience to this track. The result is a slamming and most definitely very cool track that will reach the parts previous Commander Tom releases never could. Also look out for the excellent sleek and futuristic accompanying promo video for this track.

The Steve Murano mix is somewhat a stripped down cut up affair (despite having a higher beats per minute), and feels quite disjointed. The F Remix is a meaty hard dance affair, but like practically every record from that genre it suffers from a cheap and obvious production and sounds too thrashy.

This may well be a world away from the tribal acid hard trance that Commander Tom was famed for on the exceptional Noom record label, but thankfully it’s also a world away from that truly dreadful ‘I Can’t Sleep’ record that he later released as well. Give it a go, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Sven Väth - An Accident In Paradise (Remixes) - 10-Jul-09 02:02 AM
Not only was Sven Väth at the top of his game when he recorded the title track for his debut ‘solo’ album (Ralf Hildenbeutel was practically ever present whenever Sven Väth was in a recording studio back then), but each of the remixers on this release produced some of their finest work to date.

The original mix is as per the album version. It’s an urgent and dramatic in your face ballet influenced dark had trancer with a mischievous hard acid line that sounds like a space monsters stomach suffering from a very bad dose of cosmic indigestion. The beats thump away with fist pumping percussion and twists and turns. The production is topped of with dark breathy occasional vocals and intense symphonic stabs. This track demands your attention and won’t let go of you until you’ve been rendered a shivering emotional wreck in the corner of a very dark and uncomfortable room.

The Lenny Dee & John Selway remix actually ups the ante on the original, by taking a sparser, more film score emotive and even harder approach. After the lush opening string arrangement, no nonsense beats thrash down with occasional stuttering. Cleverly they keep the best bits from the original (practically all of it!), but somehow or another manage to make it more fist clenching. This sublime version flits effortlessly between hard as nails and soft and floaty – a rare feat indeed.

As you’d expect, the Spicelab remix sits firmly in the ‘liquid monster trance’ fold. Again, this remix doesn’t stray too far from the original, but gives it a more futuristic and spacey feel. You’ll recognise a lot of the usual Oliver Lieb production techniques and samples, but he adds a slippery almost out of control set of synths to the proceedings and even introduced some of his own eastern inspired melodic chords. This has a wonderful clean and almost idyllic sheen to it, and is indeed the smoothest of all the versions.

The William Orbit and Spooky remix starts rather inauspiciously, remaining true to the intricate minimalist sound that Spooky were pioneering at the time. It takes a more thoughtful and looped tribal approach but cleverly retains the baseline from the original as it builds layers of sounds. Compared to the other mixes, this is the most progressive in terms of structure and the classiest in terms of execution, particularly the drawn out new age violin strings in the second half. This won’t ignite dancefloors quite like the other versions, but builds momentum superbly, and makes for compelling home listening.

Rarely has there ever been a 12” packed with such a fine set of remixes as this.

DJ Tiësto - Urban Train - 25-Jun-09 04:02 AM
Whatever else Tiesto does, musically speaking Suburban Train will always mark the pinnacle of his career and for many clubbers this will remain one of the greatest tracks ever.

In truth this probably owes a lot to ICE 794 by HH (aka Hardy Heller) but improves on that record by introducing a standard of production that left all others floundering in its wake.

The Original Mix is not unlike a train journey itself, all be it one that knows no bounds. It starts off with tight kick beats and an off beat bass line with brassy synth stabs resembling a train starting off and gains momentum. Even Richie Hawtin was impressed with this intro when he reviewed it in DJ Magazine. The track picks up edgy electroised synth licks before the emergence of lush pads up to the first breakdown, and what an enormous breakdown it is. At this point, this particular train lifts itself off the man made rail tracks it has been industriously travelling upon and instead glides up to the heavens into the beautiful unknown. The result is a massive breakdown off such emotional intensity that it would reduce even the most hardened football hooligan to tears! The track then picks up again, as the train seems to perform a gracefull landing on some more train tracks, albeit still glidding along upto the heavens, and storms off at full pelt with the added urgency of even more emotive melodies until the second smaller breakdown. The track then draws to a close by stripping back as the train reaches its destination with all passengers suitably refreshed for the challenges that lie ahead.

Since this record was released, its reputation has continued to grow and must surely stake a claim as one of the greatest trance records of all time.

Albert Vorne - A Leaden Day - 24-Sep-08 03:38 PM
This release is a real treat for all those who take their euro trance seriously.

The Original Mix heads straight off into rolling/rattling punchy beats with the top end tightly filtered right off. Ominous soundscapes creep in until it strips itself down to dark flopping and occasional eerie though playful keys as it progressively becomes more industrial. After the teasing break it develops powerful clinically classical sweeps.

The remix features stark tapping beats which start to shuffle and pump as it develops an increasingly busy hypnotic groove until the quiet but building break. From here on euro chords emerge and take over, giving this remix a more euphoric feel than the Original Mix.

Surprisingly the Original Mix is closer to the dark ominous sound that you might normally associate with Dirk Dierickx, whereas the remix is somewhat more club oriented.

One of the best, if indeed not the very finest release on Platipus:Euro.

A word of caution though about this CD Single. It lifts the tracks of the ‘Best Of Platipus:Euro’ compilation, and hence does not feature the full length versions. Opt for the 12” version instead.

Various - Remix EP - 15-May-07 10:44 AM
The Acrid Abeyance remix of Ab-Chic makes an essential must have for any self respecting hard acid trance acolyte. Even by Noom standards, this track is special. The track begins with an ominous landscaped synthesizer drawl that runs throughout. The beats are of this tribal variety and the acid at first lacking, but slowly builds its way in. An excellent groove is injected through the expert use of hissing hi-hats, but its the acid that steals the show. The 303s become over more present and higher pitched as the track becomes progressively more serious. This must be akin to facing up to the knowledge that the day of judgement is upon us and knowing that youre going to burn - its that powerful! Fear not though, because salvation is on hand through the 303s which by the end have tweaked themselves to acid heaven, which is where youll be by the end of it all as well.

All the tracks on here will satisfy anybody who is into their Noom, but Ab-Chic (Acrid Abeyance Remix) exists in an elite division that includes the likes of Acperience 1 by Hardfloor and Access by Misjah & Tim.

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