[i:Vibes] Hard-Trance X-Plosion Vol. 27 - Compiled & Mixed by Normen Paris [Reality Bites]

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Hard-Trance X-Plosion Vol. 27 - Compiled & Mixed by Normen Paris [Reality Bites]

15:29 - March 26, 2006

by Dreej

The twenty-seventh edition of this German compilation series includes a 15-track mix including tunes by artists like Cosmic Gate, Signum and Stoneface & Terminal, plus a special second disc with a selection of originals and remixes by Normen Paris... Head in for a review.

The first edition of the Hardtrance X-plosion series was released 11 years ago, including classic tunes like Yves Deruyter - 'Calling Earth' and Legend B's 'Lost In Love'. Since then, the compilation has gone a long way. Edition 25 and 26 were compiled and mixed by Swiss DJ Dave Joy, and now Normen Flaskamp aka Normen Paris steps up to provide his edition.

CD1 - Mixed by Normen Paris

The opening tune is a production by Normen Paris himself called 'Ahead', provided in a harsh remix by Nostrum. It's filled with contrasts: subtle, smooth layers of melody are all that appears at first sight, but soon they start getting hand in hand with a very mean beast of a bassline and arrays of bass-filled percussion, banging on throughout the rest of the tune. A fast transition takes us into Cosmic Gate's rework of their classic 'The Drums', which is a techy and above all very raw experience with its typical grinding bassline, various rusty intermezzo's and continusouly repeating melodies.

While the first two tunes can be easily typified as hardtrance, this is not quite the case with Signum's 'In Your Face'. It's more of a blend of tech and trance, kind of getting rid of the raw, hard feeling that was created with the first two tracks. With Wippenberg's 'Earth', we're starting to regain some of the pace. This is quite the driving production with its wicked percussion, but the main best thing about it is a whiny yet massively infectious riff which keeps on re-appearing after various melodic interludes.
Up next, after a rather smooth mix, is a somewhat older remix by the highly acclaimed Stoneface & Terminal duo. They have reworked the Ohm Boys' 'Down Under' to a mysterious yet overly banging dancefloor buster, filled with big stabbing slices of synth and some cool melodic variations.

'Sansibar' is a melodic production with a thick bassline by one half of Cosmic Gate, released somewhere in 2005. This is one example of the fact that a lot of tunes on this compilation can't really be called fresh anymore, which ís kind of a prerequisite on a mix-CD in my opinion. Again, some of the rapidness that was created during earlier tunes is being washed away a bit again by the cheesily titled 'Roll The Mellowdrumz'. It's a very straight-forward techy tune, driven onwards by a tiny melodic hook and simple layers of darkish sounding synth.
Up next is Adam Sheridan's 'Lektrik', a very trancy tune released back in 2003 (!) with a superbly infectious main hook.

Again, I just have to accentuate that the structure of this CD is odd, to say the least. It goes from hardtrance back to uplifting trance, then for it to build up again to the uber-harsh 'Overdrive Your Speakers' remixed by Ampire. It's a typical Scot Project'ish tune, kind of like the stuff we used to hear on the Overdose label. The next track, Frank Helmedach and Sandra Flynn's 'A.S.A.P.', could have been left out easily I think: it doesn't add anything with its standard structure. Neither does Van Nilson's 'Trance E Motion', being a very thin track with a main riff that seems like it was copied from Walt & Feliz' 'Endless', less a few notes. Luckily, Normen Paris' own interpretation of 'Night In Motion' gets things straight again. It's a very elevating, airy trancer with a nicely crafted uplifting melody.

The last three tunes all lean towards the uplifting-trance side of things. Signum's take on Kenny Hayes' 'Daybreaker' is a solid tech-filled trance tune, while A.C.'s 'Estatica' implements slick broken beats, good melodies and a typical, fuzzy trancy percussion. 'Remembrance' by Satellite closes things off in a rather standard way, not standing out from most of today's trance.

Tracklist:

01. Normen Paris - Ahead (Nostrum Remix)
02. Cosmic gate - The Drums 2005 (B2B Mix)
03. Signum - In Your Face
04. Wippenberg - Earth
05. Ohm Boys - Down Under (Stoneface & Terminal Remix)
06. Nic Chagall - Sansibar (Extended Mix)
07. Dj Nutz - Roll The Mellowdrum
08. Adam Sheridan - Lektrik (Inside Out Mix)
09. Dj Dready-2 - Overdrive Your Speakers (Ampire Remix)
10. Frank Helmedach & Sandra Flynn - A.S.A.P. (Sandra Flynn Remix)
11. Van Nilson - Trance E Motion (Trance Force Mix)
12. Nostrum & FK - Night In Motion (NP's Harmonize Mix)
13. Kenny Hayes - Daybreaker (Signum Remix)
14. A.C. - Estatica (Serenade Remix)
15. Satellite - Remembrance

CD2 - Special Normen Paris EP (Best Productions & Remixes)

This bonus CD includes a selection of Norman Paris productions and remixes. On offer are tracks under his trancy Aviation alias, as well as multiple harder tunes and some stuff that falls somewhere in between genres. Quite the nice addition!

Tracklist:

01. Normen Paris - Ahead (Original Mix)
02. Normen Paris - Fallen Angel (Deep Trance Mix)
03. Normen Paris - Your Life (Original Mix)
04. Aviation - Outshine (Original Mix(
05. Nostrum & Frank Kuenne - Fallin' (Aviation Vocal Mix)
06. Black Spider - Heart Of The Sun (Normen Paris Remix)
07. No Name - No Title (Normen Paris Remix)

Conclusion:
This compilation has two massive problems coming with it: first of all, only four out of the 15 tunes on CD1 can be typified as hardtrance, which doesn't correspond with the title at all. Secondly, it seems like the tracklisting is upside-down, structure-wise. In my opinion, it would have been better to put both 'Sansibar' and 'Overdrive Your Speakers' near the first two tunes, then to reverse the tracklist and have a nicely structured compilation. The way it is now just does not really build up well.
On the positive side of things, the mixing is nice most of the time, apart from some really fast transitions. Plus, judging from the title and cover, it looks like this release tries to market itself as a more commercial thing for the bigger public, and in that context it is a rather nice introduction to different sides of the trance genre.