[i:Vibes] Armin van Buuren - Imagine [Armada]

» Tune of the week: Temple One - Our Destination
» Classic of the week: Paul van Dyk - For An Angel
» Album of the month: Chicane - Nevertheless

iwc,corum,fake rolex for sale,cartier,montblanc,piaget,fake rolex for sale,rolex datejust,longines,rolex masterpiece,replica tag heuer,rolex yachtmaster,jaeger lecoultre,rolex,hublot,faker rolex for sale,tag heuer,rolex explorer,richard mille

ç¥´ personal
Username:	Password:	Autologin
Not a registered user? Click >here< to register now. It's free, you get access to all features and can win great prizes!

Search:

Main Menu

Interactive

Info

Essential audio

Armin van Buuren - Imagine [Armada]

00:25 - July 9, 2008

by Watts

'Imagine', the hotly anticipated 3rd album from this years #1 DJ in the world - Armin van Buuren...

:: Armin van Buuren - Imagine
:: Armada
:: ARMA120

Busy producer and world class DJ Armin van Buuren has spent over a decade reaching his current position. This latest - his 3rd - album, 'Imagine', is the result of 2 years work for the man. An emotional, love driven 11 track showcase is what you're in store for, featuring input from a whole host of artists starting with Armin's brother on guitar through a range of vocalists: Jennifer Rene, Cathy Burton, Audrey Gallagher, Vera Ostrova and Sharon den Adel.

Armin has been backing up the release of this album with a number of 9 hour 'Armin Only' sets across the globe, including shows in Romania, Australia, Toronto, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Imagine Tracklist
01. Imagine
02. Going Wrong (with DJ Shah Feat. Chris Jones)
03. Unforgivable (Feat. Jaren)
04. Face To Face
05. Hold On To Me (Feat. Audrey Gallagher)
06. In & Out Of Love (Feat. Sharon den Adel)
07. Never Say Never (Feat. Jacqueline Govaert)
08. Rain (Feat. Cathy Burton)
09. What If (Feat. Vera Ostrova)
10. Fine Without You (Feat. Jennifer Rene)
11. Intricacy

The album kicks off with a serene intro of synth, which switches over into a grand, orchestral motion featuring a piano, heavy strings and soon even more elements of the orchestra. This is spiced up by the pretty cool usage of an electric guitar (say hi to Armin's brother, Eller!). All of this eventually drops off into some tantalizing bass and the title track - 'Imagine' - of the album kicks off. Trancey at heart, it uses the bass to drive it forward in a very compelling fashion, a piano as the perfect melodic accompaniment and a layer of icey synths to balance the whole affair. It achieves a wholesome sound and it's easy to see why this is the leading track for the album.

Another one of the released singles is 'Going Wrong'. Armin worked with DJ Shah and the vocals were provided by Chris Jones. Male vocals are always hit or miss and in this case, they really work. DJ Shah's balaeric Ibizian influence can be clearly heard too. This piece comes alive though after the first vocal breakdown where all the instruments group together, you're hit by some tear jerking chord changes and the vocals are ramped into top gear. Proper 'feel good' vocal trance.

'Unforgivable' features vocals by Jaren. There's a distinct mood change here as the thick vocal tones are backed by a well defined bassline and a mysterious sounding synth presence which lurks in the background. This is compounded by the sampled and chopped up vox fx which are used to break up the verses.

'Face To Face' is one of the few instrumental tracks on the album. It feels pacey and beneath the lead piano (mmm!), it has deep and dark undertones thanks to some grade A subtle pads. This one is really, really appealling to me and I'd love to see it as a single release.

Track 5 sees Audrey Gallagher get to work on the vocal heavy 'Hold On To Me', a funky, bass driven number with a tinge of electro on the side.

'In & Out Of Love' is where Sharon den Adel gets to sing, this time in a totally different style of track. It's a breakbeat piece featuring very prominent bass and of course well defined and very addictive rhythms. The vocals are a highlight here - haunting, full of feeling and very well sung, they remind me of a vocal trance track from the past year or so, which I can't put my finger on. Hmmm...

More genre hopping here in 'never Say Never' - Jacqueline Govaert takes the vocal reigns in a track which eventually turns out to be on the techy side of things. Driven by percussion, this is broadened with the use of a stabby synth rhythm and lots of spooky vocal fx.

Notes from the ghost of classic trance here as Cathy Burton's vocal contribution is used to complement a track which sounds very much like 4 String's tracks of old, oin the form of track 8, 'Rain'. Even with its classic sounds, simple and catchy hooks and very basic vocal structure, you may find this one sticking in your mind very easily.

'What If' is the most progressive styled track on the entire album and I'm glad that it was kept in this restricted proportion. It plods along nicely enough though and has a slightly housey edge to it thanks to the synth used for the chord changes.

Jennifer Rene puts in the final vocal performance on the album in 'Fine Without You'. It has a very 'rock song' kind of feel thanks to the bassy, rhythm guitar used to fuel the track, not to mention the prominent vocal work, of which there is a fairly significant amount. This lightened rise in pace and movement is needed though in preparation of the final track...

...'Intricacy', which sees Armin working with none other than Sean Tyas. Quite a combination, I think! This shows immediately - masses of energy burst from the pounding kick and fiery bassline. You can sense the Tyas power in the giant synths that rise from within the breakdown and you can also sense the feeling and emotion that Armin injects from the inspired chord progressions and piano melodies. Such an unlikely collaboration but one with astounding results and an awesome, *awesome* note on which to finish off a rather brilliant album!

Conclusion:
A very enjoyable album from the world's #1 DJ. Covering a wide range of trancey sub-genres, a whole host of vocal niches and some experimental sound combinations, I think this album should appeal strongly to the majority of trance lovers out there.