From the same label which brought you Sarah Mclachlan, DJ Tiesto and others, comes one of the stars of the moment, Noel Sanger, in this superb double compilation album which follows on from the first Summerbreeze from DJ Tiesto

Noel Sanger recently exploded across the world with his remix of Jan Johnston's Flesh, titled the Noel Sanger 5am Mix,

Tracklist

Disc: 1
1. Gpal - Ocean Of Blue
2. Noel Sanger - Kali Ma
3. Lexicon Avenue - Why R U Here
4. Stryke - Perfect Love
5. Fitalic - No Way Out
6. Noel Sanger Feat. Dauby - My Prayer
7. Biogenesis - Bodhi's Dream (21st Century Fux Remix)
8. Noel Sanger - Trapped
9. Oko Tek - White Light
10. Mike Hiratzka - Homage
11. Chris Lake - Santiago De Cuba

Disc: 2
1. Prophecy - Daydreaming (Noel Sanger Breaks Remix)
2. Atnarko - Hypnotisin'
3. Stryke - All That Remains (Noel Sanger's Ritual Object Mix)
4. Barraka - Song To The Siren (Filterheadz Undercurrent Vocal Mix)
5. Memnon - In This Moment
6. Ben Camp - Syndrome
7. Pete Lazonby - Wavespeech (Tilt's Mainline Remix)
8. Allen & Healy - Head Over Heels (Yum Yum Remix)
9. Penton & Duran - Controlfactor (Noel Sanger Breakz Remix)
10. Trigger - Bring Me Back (Black Dove Remix)

To summarize the 2 discs before we begin, all I can is that each disc represents a different atmosphere and direction, seemingly giving the listener a separate perspective of Noel's music perceptions and a feel for the various sounds which Noel as a DJ stands for.

The second in the summerbreeze series after SummerBreeze 1 was mixed by DJ Tiesto, whom Noel admits has had a strong influence on his music, the first disc brings upon an interesting opening, coming across with a female tainted vocal production by the name of Gpal, which would strike some as being quite different from most of the compilations to date that usually start off dark and dubby.

We go from tainted female vocals to some very interesting male vocalist on a speech run in his track "Kali Ma" pounding along nicely to some progressive bass action. So far well and mediocre drawing a bit of interest from my ears.

Lexicon Avenue is a name which a lot of you may be familiar with in recent months having seen support from DJs such as John Digweed, Satoshi Tomiie, Carl Cox, and featured on more than just a few compilations this year. "Why R U Here" released on Saw Recordings over the summer is a sign that the progressive sound is still hugely popular. The rhythmic almost house-like track is trademark of Lexicon Avenue and represents a slight change from the first 2 tracks, but still, nothing spectacular is noticed.

The next track comes from rising star Stryke, a US based artist who has recently been releasing a few tracks under the guise and having some support from the big guys such as Oakenfold and it comes through as a superb transitional track and puts some oomph into the disc which was somewhat lacking in the first several tracks. Nice melodies, nice bass sequencing and some fantastic mixing push the pace up to better levels.

Fitalic's "No Way Out" a track which from the same producer as "Virus" and "Kanesha" also out this year comes traversing across and this track would appeal to those fans of James Holden, Sasha et al with its groovy melodies and its balancing act between the trance and house genres. One of the cooler more sublime tracks of the album, which then leads us to one of Noel's own productions.

"My Prayer", which features the vocal talents of Dauby aka Noel Sanger's wife is a nice clubby track tinted with vocals which you may like or you may hate, depending on which side of the vocal trance spectrum you are on, otherwise this is relatively good production from Noel.

The next 2 tracks, Biogenesis and Noel's other track on disc 1 "Trapped" are a great blend of mixing and cool progressive trance, building into the nice crescendo of the first disc and giving some new impressions towards the disc. Initially, my impression was that the opening tracks of the first CD would lead to a primarily vocal trance based compilation but these 2 show promising signs of different music.

Oko Tek, the act which saw releases through Bedrock, Choo Choo and Music Now in the past appears in this compilation as the next track with their superb White Light, a superb tumbling progressive monster. The almost hypnotic track brings up subtle melodics, atmospheric vibes and moody bass which makes it one of the stronger tracks on the first disc.

With the penultimate "Homage" carrying on with the superb progression which has been made more obvious towards the latter half of the CD by the elusive Mike Hiratzka, we end with my personal pick of the bunch of the first disc. "Santiago de Cuba" has been one of Lost Language Recordings' highlights of the year with its beautiful percussions and synths and a truly summery feel, whilst keeping the progressive fans happy. Definitely a great way to finish off the CD, but do not be misled, the 2nd CD is not more of the same.

From the first track, you already get the feeling that there is more to offer than just trance and progression as Noel Sanger's own "breakbeat" mix of Prophecy's "Daydreaming", an awesome blend of nuskool breaks and trance as we get something of the Hybrid, BT or Way Out West types. A groovy track which gets you in the mood on the dance floors and shows that this sound is definitely in this year.

An oddly named act 'Atnarko' which brings in more of an interesting electro sound to complement Daydreaming comes up next, but does bring in some degree of disappointment as the pace is slowed somewhat and the mood which was set in the first track is lost slightly, but I overlook that fact and wait for more to come.

We have Stryke come up again with a track "All That Remains" which shows up with Noel's own 'Ritual Object Mix', a teasing track which seems to set a different mood from that of Daydreaming and gives signs that a somewhat dubbier sound to come.

But soon comes a track which many will be familiar with, in one shape or form. Barakka's Song to the Siren, a remake of a remake of a sample..... or something of that order, also released on Lost Language earlier this year and features some smooth female vocals which if you have not heard by now then you might as well be sleeping. The Filterheadz Mix, from one of the remixers of the moment bring on a more chunkier techier version than the original, but a top track nonetheless.

More vocal action from current Dave Seaman favourites Memnon, who have been pretty strong for the past several years, and this one represents the sound of the moment in my opinion. A beautiful track which brings on elements from both sides of dance music and the vocals from Julie Mays (The same vocalist who was featured on their previous "Eclipse" production) put together a cool trancey yet sublime track.

Ben Camp, the producer who has been on top form this year puts in Syndrome, which will be greatly appreciated by both progressive as well as trance fans with a simple, nothing fancy production which stick straight to the point and delivers its sound straight to the ears.

Since Sasha & Digweed mixed Northern Exposure 1, one of the greatest tracks in my books has been "Wavespeech", from 'missing in action' production Pete Lazonby. Although it was the Junior Vasquez Mix which represents this song, the Tilt Mix from Parks & Wilson put in the current progressive sound is still not a mix to be overlooked. Bubbling progressive rhythms and only the most minute signs of the original melody, this is where the peak of the 2nd disc stands and is soon followed by yet another big name at the moment.

Allen & Healy, 2 producers who have had a great deal of support this year with a remix by Yum Yum (who interestingly enough remixed Pete Lazonby's other famous "Sacred Cycles" a number of years ago) come forward next with a brilliant track which gets my pick for one of the top tracks of the compilation. Superb melodies and a somewhat addictive sound is what this track is all about.

Noel then finishes off with Penton & Duran as the penultimate track, offering a bit more of the breaks we noticed at the beginning of the CD but this is quickly changed into more progressive trance and ends off with Trigger's "Bring Me Back". Smooth progressive grooves and trancey synths put a nice finish to the CD with a superb break which I can only describe as breathtaking...

The mixing is definitely up to top tier level and the track selection is excellent, putting this compilation near the top of the progressive trance compilations of 2002. Superb atmospheric feel and rhythm grooves symbolize this top notch album, and represent the sound that Noel Sanger aims to present. Although there are moments of doubt in the compilation, the overall feel comes through strongly in my opinion.

Giving this compilation a good 8/10

Released in November on Nettwerk Recordings.

Does it compare to Tiesto's Summerbreeze? You decide yourself

http://www.nettwerk.com

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