[i:Vibes] Andain - Beautiful Things [BlackHole Recordings UK]

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Andain - Beautiful Things [BlackHole Recordings UK]

13:05 - December 21, 2003

by DJLifeAndDeath

Ah. Yes.....The big one. This is the massive tune championed by many a DJ, if not to mention the main man of the hour Tiesto himself.
Andain is the Brain Child idea of the US masters Josh Gabriel & Dave Dresden (featuring Mavie Marcos on vocals and Guitar master David Penner). With masters being the term.............

Almost every thing these two touch now-a-days is hot property, with huge remixes for massive artists like Annie Lennox, Britney Spears and Madonna, Nalin and Kane and of course 4 Strings already under their belt and they've also been show casing their undoubtedly talent on Motorcycle's When the Rush Comes. (Watch for the UK mixes of this beauty on Positiva, Jan 26th 2004!) Signed through US label Nettwork and sister label Blackhole this track is now on UK shores and causing manic panic in it's wake!

Andain-Beautiful Things
Blackhole Records UK
BHUK-010

A Side: Andain - Beautiful Things (Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged Mix)
This is it!!! The slow building and deep housed style track that's blowing DJ's out of the Water! First off this is pioneering trance/progressive making. Epic is size, scale and structure.
This track is almost split into three sections. The first section opens with that slow build and wonderful snippets of vocals, delayed to an almost introless vocal release. Mavie Marcos just busts in and releases a vocal performance from the get go, that is a (pun intended) Beautiful Thing.
It's haunting, yet very catchy and really drives the song up 1 or 2 gears. One thing that you do notice here is the stunning yet simple deep bass that contrasts to the high angelic vocals. Half way through the first verse the track shows it's full potential as a unplugged mix and breaks out into the strum of an acoustic guitar. Wow what a pick up and an effect this has. The first verse plods along nicely until the pace once again drops, along with the guitar, leaving us back with the beats, the bass and the delayed vocals of the build. (The delay here really stirs the emotions. Making the song sound so powerful, emotionally) The second section continues in the vain of the first with the second verse breaking in and straight back into the strum. But this time the song apexes into a powerful breakdown towards more guitar work. The three section. Show piecing strumming, slide work and plucking over laired with the main sequence and bass lines. The break of this song is just how a break should be done. Slow to start building powerfully using the female vocals to build up and up, to power it's way to the bass line and a slow synth line, all done with the smallest snare and amount of delay. This is the truly epic element of the tune when it sweeps you off your feet and moves along in progressive fashion. The main sequence line is deep and dark but so uplifting that the song makes it's own unique energy, drifting off to at least three minutes of US roots deep dub stuff. Once that is over with we get a break down and an encore, reducing to the now infectious bass and vocal reprise. Stunning!

B Side: Andain - Beautiful Things (Josh Gabriel Mix)

The flip see's an altogether different affair. First off it much faster in pace, settling for the normal trance fair of 139 bpm. It's also a much looped affair too. Coming across as a very Jan Driver inspire track. After the build and a vocal intro which cuts up a silent gap, we are driven in with tech beats laced with looped sequences and a chunky bass line .(Both mingled together) Good energy!
It's a great dancer, moving along at a deceptively quick pace and creating a swoofy side to side motion that can just pull you in and start you dancing almost on auto pilot. The little looped sequence from the beginning stays with us but comes to the fore front as the song smoothes out to it and the lead vocals, creating a fluid break. This again is where the strength of the song lies. In this version even more so than the A, as the sequence mutates into a flange and joins a strings sequence and excellent looped driven break-beat. What an awesome section, the vocal being looped now to join the sequence and blowing back to the original build section completely seamlessly. The looped vocal fades after around a minute and we are left with the same sequence coming down to beats and then standard kicks, rounding off a more clubby showing.
This isn't a work of art like the A side but it is a wonderful filler. A tune that you could bang in to a set to get the floor pumping and even get a bit of a Sing-a-long going.

Conclusion:
Andain's Beautiful Things is a master piece and if you ask any true trance and dance lover they would tell you, that this is as close to the best 2003 has to offer. The A side, without being the best song to dance to, is a real journey of emotion and a true gem of EPIC proportions. It's my pick of the two sides, with the B side ending up, not so much a disappointment be just simply out shown by the A. Again though, it will depend on your stance. If vocal trance / progressive (maybe even deep house) is your thing the A is a must, if looped dancey mayhem from the depths of Dancevalley Heaven is your thing, then you need not look any further than the B, which is one of the best in that field. The A side can't be recommended enough. If you've not heard it yet, get from under the rock your under and be amazed!!