Scott Bond, Matt Hardwick and Eddie Halliwell on Mixing duties, Should be a dream combination I hear you say ? Let's find out and see if this lives up to the reputation created by so many top quality previous releases...
The New Gatecrasher CD gets the once over here, will it be as good as previous offerings, or will it break new ground with 3 banging mixes ? Find Out Here
Tracklist
DISC 1 - SCOTT BOND
1. Head Honcho - Walls Of Jericho 2. Vespa 63 - Train Station 3. Innergy - Comet Crashtest 4. Push Vs Globe - Tranceformation (Push Trancendential Vocal Mix) 5. Euphonic - Sai-Ara 6. Exposure - Magic Impulse 7. Dark Suite - Dark Sweet Piano (Frank Trax Vs Organ Remix) 8. Svenson & Gielen - Answer The Question 9. Methods Of Mayhem - Drunk In Chicago (Dark Dub Mix) 10. DJ Atmospherik - Will You Remember 11. DJ Snowman - And Then They Start To Dance (Jam X & De Leons Dumonde Mix) 12. Marco V - Atlanta 02.02.02
DISC 2 - MATT HARDWICK 1. Lustral - Broken (Way Out West Mix) 2. Pulser - Cloudwalking (Beatpushers Mix) 3. Kansai - Rococco 4. Andain - Summer Calling (Josh Gabriel Mix) 5. Nitromethane - Time To Die (Seraque Mix) 6. Sun Decade - I'm Alone (Ronski Speed Mix) 7. Fire & Ice - San Antonia 8. Airwave vs Rising Star - Sunspot (DCML Mix) 9. Neo & Farina - Someone (Vocal Mix) 10. Oceanlab - Sky Falls Down (Armin van Buuren Mix) 11. Lolo - Melody 12. Chicane - Autumn Tactics (Thrillseekers Remix)
DISC 3 - EDDIE HALLIWELL 1. Marco Bailey - Starting Point 2. Plastic Boy - Silver Bath 3. Signum - Second Wave 4. Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar (Marco V Mix) 5. Frank Biazzi - Turbulence 6. Boca - Play With Me (Bellfire Mix) 7. Rank 1 - Awakening (Cosmic Gate Mix) 8. Space Frog - Follow Me (Derb Mix) 9. Planet K - All Systems Go (Systems Mix) 10. Steve Morley - Reincarnations (Jam X & De Leons Dumonde Mix)
CD 1 - Scott Bond
Bondy starts off with CD1 and begins with a slowish tune, `head honcho - walls of jericho` and it's a good way to start off the journey he's about to take us on, and amazingly the second tune is on and 5 minutes have elapsed, I love good introduction tunes like that, really starts off where you want it carried on from, and top mixing as always into the second tune, by popular producer Vespa 63 which when it begins reminds me of 'taiko - silence' with the percussion used, but it soon breaks down into a beautiful atmospheric tune and really relaxes me, with nice progression in the chords, and a soft breakbeat followed by a good bass and this second song really is a feast of allsorts, it has everything and I'm so far very impressed with it, and I soon here Bond mixing in the 3rd song here, which is a newish tune I think, titled 'Innergy - Comet Crashtest' which is once again an instrumental tune with a nice percussion and bassline and continues to build the cd up almost like a liveset if you shut ur eyes and turn it up loud. A nice transition later, and a familiar bassline comes in, that which you can only associate with a 'push' production, this one being in association with 'Globe' and entitled 'Transformation' and thats really what happens, from a pulsating bassline to a lovely soft melody with a gentle percussion which to the ears gives the impression of rolling, and is followed by a typical beat from something in which the Belgian Master is involved with.
Next comes 'Euphonic - Sahara' which doesn't appear to be special but after a couple of minutes and the breakdown turns out to be a really good song for this point in the set, a soft melody and swirling sound on top of it which soon mix into one of my personal favourites on this cd, 'Magic Impuls' by 'Exposure' which is another M.I.K.E alias and has all of the qualities associated with him, the sound in the beat, the melody and the hi-hats on top too, which take us into a beautiful progression of chords and sounds, leaving you gasping for air as they get more and more daring as the tune ends I feel a touch sad, but I shouldn't because the next song that comes in is totally awesome, beautiful soft sounds once again with the first vocal of the cd, sounding like a soft moan at first and not getting a lot different. The tune itself breaks down beautifully with a soft sound which reminds me closest of 'Starparty - I'm in Love' in its softness and with how emotional it sounds, and a familiar bassline comes in that tells me that this is a Frank T.R.A.X. Remix without needing to refer to the cover to check, it's almost Identical to the one he uses a lot now. Following on from the beautiful song is a different kind of sound,` Svenson & Gielen - Answer the Question` asking us if we have faith, and certainly with the quality of track that this duo have brought out in the past, plus the DJ of the cd, I have to say I certainly do :)
A new tune to me comes in next, known as 'Drunk in Chicago' and from the title I'd have to say that you wonder what to expect, and what you get is a really deep sounding track, fairly dark, with a simple kick and effective bassline which leads into a wonderful breakdown with a simple male vocal for a couple of seconds and the tune goes into overdrive, really driving and catchy and I'm sure you'll be humming it like I want to right now. Next up is a semi-hard sounding tune which soon breaks out into a belting uplifting tune as soon as the synths are applied in full effect for our aural pleasure. Next up is the penultimate tune, which is easily recognised as a DuMonde remix, this of `DJ Snowman - And then they start to dance` which has an evil vocal in it backed up by a soft tune which feels like its taking you somewhere and it sure does, into a Marco V tune, Atlanta 020202 which is the perfect ending tune, sounding kind of like Indicator in the sound used but only in touches, and is once again another unique production from Marco, which has been used here to round off the cd in a real nice way.
Overall I loved this cd and it shall remain in my player for the forseeable future, I'll give this one 9/10, simply cos I don't believe in 10/10s until after about 100 listens, and if it is still being played then, I'd up that extra point :)
CD2 - Mixed by Matt Hardwick
The second CD is mixed by up & coming DJ Matt Hardwick who is already gaining a massive reputation around the United Kingdom, so it's time to see what all the fuss is about...
Starting on a really mellow and chilled note, is Lustral - Broken, of which the Way Out West remix is the order of the day. It has a beautiful vocal, a lovely breakbeat in it, and mixed really well into the second tune, which is hard as anyone who mixes breaks will know. That tune is the brand new 'Beatpusher' Remix of Pulsers classic 'Cloudwalking' and in my honest opinion is a great tune, so much so that as I write this review now it is the current [i:Vibes] tune of the week. Incorporating a nice breakbeat into the remix, this has already gained massive support from DJs like Armin Van Buuren and it's really easy to see why, it does not do the original one bit of injustice at all. Up next is another tune being caned by Armin and which when I first heard it when listening to his ASOT Radio show on ID&T Radio gave me shivvers, Rococco by Kansai. It has a beautiful sound which reminds me of the classic tune by Solar Stone - Seven Cities. It's not trying to be really complex here, but it comes out on top of other tunes by being simple yet elegant. I really love this tune and hope it gets a full vinyl release soon.
Next up is another song which has a chilled feeling to it, Summer Calling by Andain. Now it may be a little late for a european summer, but this song posesses all of the qualities to see why it would be best played really loud on a hot day in the height of summer, It has a dreamy vocal and a soft beat and is dream-like. After this the tempo picks up in the fact that a more uplifting tune comes on, which is a nice instrumental and really sounds good after the gentle beginning Mr. Hardwick has incorporated. This is continued with Sun Decade and 'I'm not Alone' which is a beautiful song and I think the same vocalist as in 'Desiderio - Starlight' with a dreammy voice although this is the dub mix so we did not get to hear the full talents, but it was dreammy for the ocassions we did hear it. Following on from this nice note is another coming from the popular duo of Fire & Ice and San Antonio, presumably named after the town in Ibiza but don't quote me on that! The tune is lovely and slow and before I know it the next one is being mixed in, once again with Laurent Varonez behind it, but this time with Armin Van Buuren for Airwave Vs Armin - Sunspot, which is a nice instrumental, really catchy and just what you expect with the talent behind it.
Next is a tune from up & coming Neo & Farina, entitled 'someone' and it is a lovely melodic tune with the ocassional filtered vocal over it which adds to the atmosphere it brings, even here in my bedroom, and the time once again flies as the very popular and really chilled 'Sky Falls Down' by Ocean Lab comes on, which has beautiful vocals which I can't get enough of and a bassline & even a breakbeat section which is wonderfully chilled and I feel totally relaxed upon hearing this. Next up is a new tune to me, entitled 'melody' by Lolo and it's a typical uplifting song, a nice beat, a good sounding synth used and a simple yet progressing bassline before one of the best chilled tunes ever in my opinion comes on, a Thrillseekers remix of Chicanes 'Autumn Tactics' which has a soft tune to it and a beautiful vocal which has been filtered to perfection here.
Overall this is another good cd, not as energetic as the Scott Bond One but with more chilled moments, and If this was summer I'd give it 9/10 but as its chilly October, and I've enjoyed the Bond one more, I'll give it 8.5/10
CD3 - Mixed by Eddie Halliwell
We start off with a very short introduction track from Marc Bailey, which serves the hardest purpose of all, getting the mix off to a good start, and within a minute the familiar yet good sound of Plastic Boy - Silverbath can be heard, it's very easy to tell this tune as it's another M.I.K.E. alias and has everything you'd expect of a tune made by the aforementioned, and before I know it the lovely melody has come and gone, and I'm in the next tune, Signum - Second Wave which is a good melodic tune and although not their finest work in my opinion, is not bad in the slightest. More good mixing follows and we have the fourth tune on the cd already, time seems to be flying, it's a very easily recognisable tune, both by the sounds of the kick and percussion that tell you Marco V, and by the melody itself which is the all time anthem, cafe del mar. A simple remix, it serves the purpose of bringing the tune back to us and still sounds awesome. Next up is a more techno-like tune, by Frank Biazzi and known as 'Turbulance' and it is very clever in the sounds used to give a great effect of Turbulance, definitely a good choice of name for this one.
After this, We get Boca - Play with me, which has a small voiceover bit, and a very percussive heavy beat, sounding almost tin-pot like in the sound it has. As soon as the next transition begins, I can recognise the tune coming in, Awakening by Rank 1, which is the hardish Cosmic Gate Remix. A more tuneful offering than the couple before, it builds up nicely into the sweet breakdown and jumpy tune, and next we get a bit harder, with a Remix by popular Hard Producers - Derb of the alltime classic 'Follow Me' which has a lot of words spoken in a male voice, and the usual Derb magic involved which makes it pulsate and jump and sound totally anyhow, Mixed in very nicely for a long transitional period comes Planet K with 'All Systems Go' which has a lovely uplifting sound to it and a beautiful tune which I'm definitely going to want to hear time and time again. Coming into this is an older tune, and a remix from Jam-X & De Leon of DuMonde fame, for Steve Morley's 'Reincarnations' This has the usual DuMonde philosophy behind it, a Hardish Beat, sweet sounding tune, and heavy bassline, and in my opinion is one of the better tunes on the cd.
I have to say that I have enjoyed this cd, although I did not feel like it was a journey like the Scott Bond one, which is my favourite out of the three. This is still good, and against weaker opposition would be hard to beat, but with the other two on this compilation, I have to rank it last with 8/10 but it is still very good.
Ian
Conclusion:
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