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You know how it is, you hear that hard drum loop slam out of the speaker system at enough decibels to make the paint on every car on your street peel off! That’s right, it’s another slammer from The Skywarp boys. Introduction the German duo Callisto on their label. Here’s the review.
Matthias Baumann and Roland Geringer are Callisto, (named after Jupiter’s biggest moon! See, you do learn something new all the time on this site!)
They are a German based duo from the city of Munich and have decided that 2 heads are certainly better than one. They now work together in near perfect harmony in a combined studio after both had been producing music for about eight years. (Releasing tracks under guises such as "Trinity", "Mad-C", and "Alien City")
Meeting in 2003 they’ve decided to bump heads and produce Emotional, uplifting and inspiring music! (So no supermarket lift music here then!)
The question on everyone’s lips now is, have they, with their first outing on one of Germany’s top Hard Trance labels actually succeeded, or will this release leave me Emotional scarred, Downtrodden and totally uninspired that my teeth fall out. (Oh…of course normal hard trance can make your ears fall off!*)
Callisto - Ways (Geoffery Whiteman Remix) 139bpm (Click the sound sample for this tune)
Georg Weiss aka Geoffery Whiteman’s remix is best described as well trodden ground for hard trance! The kicks, loops and huge bass line will come as no surprise to the likes of Dumonde, Mat Silver & Tony Burt and of course, in this case Alphazone listeners. The track opened with a thud, thud of a kick and breaks into a very Marco V filtered acid line to the for mentioned huge bass. Here the song builds, adding layers of Hi Hats and periodically stabbing in the first build sequence. (Which sounds a little odd, even old fashioned in this track) It’s all done very quickly, adding percussion and morphing the build Stabbing sequence in with a powerful Dumonde style supersaw until before you know it, you have a full on effect. (The Alphazone/Dumonde sound in Georg’s work in quite clear with the build sequences striking a chord not dissimilar to Can you Dig it? And the drive of Revelation)
The build sequences dies back down to the periodic stabs from the build, ending with just a hint of the bass in toe. Here a beautifully dark sweeping vox pad floats past your ears. But this pad is short lived, (maybe a little too short) lasting only 30 seconds or so before the tracks main sequence bleeds in.
The power of the main sequence is controlled at first, filtered and hidden behind an added single kick loop. This ends after around ten seconds to allow the main sequence to grow in reverb, a suddenly shifting on a misplaced snare, the track takes flight.
The effect in one of real power but of nothing new! (The track is hugely reminiscent of Dave Joy’s Second Chase (Alphazone Remix) and carries almost the same production quality)
With that said the huge, whooping bass, sounds wonderful on the key changes and will give every Dumonde and Alphazone fan (Especially the latter) a thrill in their funny bones. (Well every bone actually if the bass is turned up and trust in me, that‘s fun!)
Special mention goes to the wonderful break beat section of the tune once the track cools down. Here, the swooping and brooding vox from the break is added over the loops and it’s sounds divine. Serving as a wonderful balance to the second build up which is much harsher/Powerful and faster than the first.
The tracks winds down with the same odd sounding stabs and then some lovely added beeps.
*** And a Half
Callisto - Ways (Original Mix) 139bpm (Check the links section for a sample)
This track takes a very different route than it’s remix on the A. The track starts slow with some real old style uplifting layers and arpeggios that you would normally hear on Chicane tracks, combine with some lovely subtle percussion and sweeping effects. This sets an overall style prescient for the coming tune. Which kicks into gear with a sequenced bass line. Giving the track a lighter feel than the A, but still leaving it a bit more hard edged and driven. Floaty Above & Beyond style sequences are stabbed in and a staggered sequence slowly fades in until the track breaks down to some hi hats. Restarting again with the introduction of a more complex version of the build (Which later become the main sequence) and some thin bass/key changes. Here the track starts to get a little jumbled with so much seeming to be added very quickly, (mostly down to the slow start) but this is remedied when the track slows on the loops and adds a very strong 2 note layer. This cuts the track up and gives it a very warm feeling into an even warmer break down.
You can feel the Chicane influence here. The summer ’slow’ layers of the beginning of the track spring into life with Uplifting strings, plucking arpeggios and a beautifully soft break beat which fits soundly. Running along nicely until the arpeggios rear up into a power driven sequence from almost nowhere! This sound took my a little by surprise on my first listen (Sounding very Icone/Van Gelder like in style) and I believed it sounded out of place. But as the bass changes sound and the added layers of sequences and pads join the track, the warmth returns and adds to a purely wonderful euphoric feeling dispelling the misplacing fears.
The track ends with the same build sequences and some more lovely sweeping beeps and effects.
A welcome surprise for me really.
****
Conclusion:
Overall
The A side is the standard hard trance fair from Whiteman. His style and eagerness to blast to the main theme will appear to all Hard Trance and Skywarp fans alike, but may throw some Trance fans off…most noticeably to the B side. There, Baumann and Geringer of Callisto promised to bring forth Emotional, uplifting and inspiring music to the masses and I believe they have to a certain degree but only a certain degree, because the track isn’t perfect. Coming across like a tourist in London. Not so much lost but not really knowing which direction to take. It’s a Balearic trance track or is it a power trance tune. What it is, is definitely unique, (a fusion of ‘98-99 and today’s Power styles) Emotional and uplifting (two out of three isn’t bad lads) and I’d say well worth a purchase for fans of anjunabeats, Euphonic and Somatic Sense.
* Not medically proven.
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