Following on from the success of the first instalment of White Label Euphoria last year, John 00 Fleming is back with a second instalment of more upfront tracks that have just reached the dancefloor! Read on for a review…

Track listing is as follows:
CD 1:
‘00’ Intro
1. Mandrake - Universal Soul
2. Saiko-Pod - Phutures [Atmos Remix]
3. Greed - I See You [Minilogue Version]
4. Human Blue - Street Pilot
5. Tkac & Haverlik - Tyra [Original Mix]
6. Revelation - Just Be Dub To Me [Revelation Remix]
7. Airwave - I Want To Believe
8. John 00 Fleming - Le Voyage
9. Supakane - The Theme From Supakane
10. Orga - Laptrancer
11. P.O.S. - Amnesiac
12. Choci Vs Dirtsnob - The Future [AR52 Remix]
13. Ofra Haza - Love Song [M.I.K.E Vs Zigi Remix]
14. Lolo - Extended Horizon
15. Sonorous - Protonic [Original Mix]
16. AR52 - Timegate

CD 2:
‘00’ Intro
1. James Harcourt - Diaspora [Luke Fair Mix]
2. Human Blue - Virtual Turnaround
3. Buds Not Bombs Feat. Irina - Deleido [Infusion Vocal Exorcism Mix]
4. Ron Land - Space Lab
5. Castor & Pollux - Serenity [JF Sebastian Remix]
6. Cloak & Dagger - The Boat [Original Mix]
7. Alien Project - DJ Where Are You [John 00 Fleming Edit]
8. Holden & Thompson - Nothing ['93 Returning Mix]
9. Astral Projection - Chaos
10. Darren Tate vs Mike Koglin - Now Is The Time
11. The Digital Blonde - Gothica
12. Electric Universe - Transmission
13. Astrix & Domestic - Massive Activity
14. Shpongle - The Seventh Revelation
‘00’ Outro

Like many fans of the first White Label Euphoria and John’s original Euphoria release, Progressive, I was looking forward to hearing this one. This CD is different to John’s previous releases though, it is actually mixed all on computer, which came as a surprise to many! Most compilations are nowadays mixed on computer, but many DJs were still sticking to turntables and not going down the computer route, but times have changed! It allowed John to be more creative with the mixing, looping parts, adding parts of one track over another which would normally be impossible with just vinyl and CD. There were also a couple of surprises on the CD, looking at a couple of tracks I was initially surprised with them being on there, Revelation – Just Be Dub To Me surprised me… but enough of looking at the tracklisting, lets see what it sounds like!

As you put on CD1, the intro immediately hits you, and there’s a full 4 minutes before a beat comes in! It builds the CD up nicely, starts off at a steady pace of around 127 BPM, with some nice melodic progressive tracks, like Greed – I See You, building up pace slowly with each track. Although it was a surprise to see Revelation on there, it fits in nicely with the flow of the CD, it isn’t going to hit you in the face… you are just going to sit back and enjoy! As one of John’s own tracks comes in “Le Voyage” you can start to feel the trance side taking over… it’s like you have just got into a club and the DJ is warming up for what is to come. This track was created shortly after he did the remix of “Café Del Mar” and you will recognise many of the familiar sounds from it, the track builds up well after a long breakdown, with a very electronic feeling synth sound, and as the beat kicks back in you feel like you want to be on the dancefloor! Next up is the vocal version of “Theme From Supakane” a new track from John’s trance band “Supakane”. This track is very different, featuring both male and female vocals, the male vocals being dark, but the female vocals lift the track up and give it a euphoric flavour, making a very interesting and almost unique track that adds more variation to the CD. The CD continues to build, now at around 134BPM and the tracks get more and more uplifting, bringing in elements of a variety of trance flavours. POS – Amnesiac is a great example of one of those trance tracks that manages to stay in the boxes of all the big name trance DJs, with the catchy riff and a non-cheesy melody, it’s found a home in all the big name trance DJs playlists. As the CD comes near to an end, John can’t help but throw in more trance monsters at us, tracks like “Lolo – Extended Horizon” and an awesome track from MIKE, “Ofra Haza – Love Song”. The final climaxes with a release from John’s own label, J00F recordings, “AR52 – Timegate” a lush track from two very talented producers from Finland! The breakdown is mixed into a chilled version of the track with added phasing effects, as it fades out to the end of the CD!

Onto CD2, another intro blends into the opening track, “James Harcourt – Diaspora” immediately this feels like a darker affair, the pace begins faster at 133BPM, but the tracks are darker and deeper, closer to what you would experience if you go to see John DJ in a club. Onto track 3, Infusions remix of “Buds Not Bombs Feat. Irina – Deleido” this is possibly my favourite track from the whole CD, a rolling bassline and a dark, haunting vocal, it’s a very powerful track! The CD progresses nicely, with dark tracks and haunting vocals, and progresses to psy-trance with the John 00 Fleming edit of “Alien Project - DJ Where Are You”, a track which John edited to make more dance floor friendly! The pace picks up more, as one of my favourite tracks “Holden & Thompson – Nothing” seeps through the speakers, it’s another of those tracks with appeal to a variety of DJs from Sasha to Armin! It has been around a long time but was still not released when this CD came out, so I guess it can still just about qualify for “White Label”! Next up is another one of my favourites, “Astral Projection – Chaos” a very powerful psy track, with sweeping strings and an evil bassline! Soon familiar bass drums kick in and “Digital Blonde – Gothica” hits you with force! Digital Blonde is one of John’s favourite trance producers, and has featured 4 tracks on his last 2 euphoria compilations, and when he consistently produces tracks like this, its not hard to see why! The simple melody is catchy, and the track brings together several elements of various genres. It’s far from your average trance track! The CD continues to get faster and darker, moving into more of the darker psy-trance that is heavily featured in John’s djing sets. As the last track mixes in, “Shpongle - The Seventh Revelation” you can immediately sense the goa/psy influence, it’s a very dark and twisted track, yet still very enjoyable to listen to! It makes a great end to the CD with the evil vocal sounds and twisted synth noises, it’s a cleverly constructed track that builds on you, and as it comes to the end it blends into another ‘00’ outro with the voice announcing “you have just experienced the story of white label” And what an experience it was!

Overall I really enjoyed the two CDs, they both gave 2 different sides to trance, the first being the more euphoric/uplifting side, the second being a darker side with elements of psy and goa trance! It’s great to hear a CD in such a series as euphoria that doesn’t feel at all commercial, and it feels like an experience given to you direct from the DJ. The tracks were all hunted down by John and the tracklisting has obviously been thoroughly thought through, and it really does shine through. I was a little sceptical at first when I heard it was going to be mixed on computer, but the results are great. The mixing is smooth, and you will notice parts of songs are layered in ways that would not be possible with just turntables. There was one disappointment, however, it is noticeable throughout most of the first CD and some of the second CD that there is very little stereo separation and the sound is virtually mono. This was apparently due to a fault made by the engineer during the final mastering process once the compilation was finished by John. That aside, it’s a great CD, providing variety and a lot of tracks you won’t see on the shelves for a long time, a must buy for any prog/trance fan!

Conclusion:
Very good compilation, containing something from all genres!! Recommended...