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More activity is coming from Big Star Records. A name from the past emerges from the shadows and teams up with a popular trance vocalist to create 'Near Me'...
Two years ago Johan Gielen, Michael Parsberg and Sven Maes teamed up to create Matanka and created the fairly hard piece of trance 'Lost In A Dream'. Since then, nothing has been heard from Matanka - until now, that is. They've teamed up with trance vocalist Sheryl Deane to produce 'Near Me', more hard-ish trance with a vocal edge. There are eight, yes eight (8!), different mixes of this track including a Radio Edit, a Full Vocal Mix, remixes by ATN and Airbase plus some Instrumentals. Wow. More variety there than in your average mixed grill, thats for sure! And I'm going to go crazy and review them all, right now.
:: Matanka Feat. Sheryl Deane - Near Me
:: Big Star Records
:: CAOZV003-1
1) Near Me (Radio Edit)
Okay, efficiency is the key here, so I'm going to be very brief with this mix as it's (obviously) just a cut down - at a mere three and a half minutes - version of the Original and Full Vocal mixes. In a nutshell, it goes straight into the big riffs and soaring vocals with a vocal verse to split things up a bit. One for all the radio or mobile disco DJs out there!
2) Near Me (Full Vocal Mix)
The Full Vocal Mix does exactly what it says on the tin. The track is full of vocals :-) . It begins steadily with a good balance made between kick percussion and bass. There are lots of sparkly sounding sfx hits and whooshes which create a happy feeling flowing around the track. Things follow a verse-chorus structure, as you'd expect from a vocal mix such as this. The vocals themselves are pretty clear and understandable, based on love and feeling great, and - coming from someone who isn't too keen on vocals - they sound alright. The parts where Sheryl is just singing long and echoed "Aaahs" are the best sounding vocals - they blend so well with the surrounding sounds that it might as well be a synth playing its own part. As for the actual track itself, the verse sections are fairly uneventful so as to not get in the way of the vocals, but the main and chorus sections are very nice to listen to. Uplifting melodies played by big, crisp trance synths are the order of the day, preserving that happy feeling even more. The track has a 'clubby' essence to it, but it's quite subtle. Vocal trance fans should love this. Non-vocal trance fans should listen to the next few mixes ;-) !
3) Near Me (Original Mix)
The Original Mix of 'Near Me' takes the same form, structure and length as the Full Vocal Mix. The only difference is that there are no sung words, only sung "Aaahs" in key moments during verses and most of the way through the several main sections and choruses - which I like, as the paragraphs above point out! In this mix, you get to hear all the synth and bass synth activity that is present instead of being drawn to the strong vocals. Nice sound, nice blend of singing. Nice.
4) Near Me (Instrumental)
The Instrumental is exactly like the Original Mix, except this time even the sung "Aaaahs" are removed. This time round its pure instrumental action with nothing to divert your attention away from the crisp and tight synths playing a cool variety of melodic parts. You really notice here how all the elements mingle, intertwine and merge - it's all pretty well executed.
5) Near Me (ATN Remix)
It's all change now for this remix by the F&W boys - Lars Frederiksen & Søren Weile - under their ATN alias. The mix begins with a hollow, tube-like bassline rolling along with some quiet but high pitched synth strings in the background, giving off a delicate and airy feeling. You also hear some little sfx hits which I recognise from ATN's last massive track, 'Miss A Day'. The main synthline in this track grows from silence in the breakdown into something coarse and powerful, playing big arpeggios driving the track forward. There are some small vocal sections too - it does well for variety and isn't overdone at all. Basically this is more powerful trance action from ATN, it must be heard!
6) Near Me (Airbase Remix)
Even Airbase has stepped in to do a remix of this track. His interpretation starts off quite mellow with a deep and active bassline providing the rails for some spooky and ghostly sounding sfx. Theres a lot of sfx action in this remix - each section is finished off with some kind of miniature twisted-sfx break. Further into the track, Airbase's big trance synth begin to slowly emerge and end up playing a similar yet noticeably different take to the main melodic elements of 'Near Me'. Vocals work their way into the track as the synths take a back burner for a moment but they return in a different form - stronger, darker and more energetic stabs following the tracks chord progression. Very typical Airbase stuff, which means it also sounds good and makes for an enjoyable track.
7) Near Me (ATN Instrumental)
This one is identical to the ATN Remix, except it is lacking the sung words. It still contains strategically placed "Aahhs", used to good effect. Great track with plenty of ATN flavour.
8) Near Me (Airbase Instrumental)
This one is identical to the Airbase Remix, except without any vocals. Its also approximately twenty seconds longer.
Please note that the audio sample used contains only the Original Mix, ATN Remix and Airbase Remix, in that order, due to the similarities between a lot of the mixes.
Conclusion:
Strength in numbers? Heheh, seriously though - This is a fine effort and comeback from Matanka and theres so much variety here that this should appeal in some way to almost everyone. Personally, I prefer the mixes which aren't vocal based and I'm particularly keen on the ATN Remixes - that strong and uplifting sound is what does it for me.
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