The remixed edition of Ferry's superb third artist album features every track from the original with its own interpretation from a selection of quality producers like Rafael Frost, Solarstone and Lange...

I had to double check that the original was indeed Ferry's third artist album because if you've just heard the first two you may well have wondered what was going on with the third. His first artist album 'Right Of Way' was a debut with a total change of influence and style to what you would normally hear from Ferry. He'd gone all electro with the sound to create a 'electro-trance' style that was very different to other Trance around at the time. This was 2003 and the follow up to that debut 'L.E.F' still had that hint of electro flavour but had evolved slightly into a different sound. When his third artist album was first announced you didn’t know what to expect, more electro, House, Tecnho, Electro-Techno? Thankfully, it was a return to the Trance sound that we all know Ferry can produce so devilish well, although the style had obviously moved on from the early productions, the melodies and uplifting qualities were all there it abundances.

This then, is the remixed edition. A format that has become very popular with artists this year putting their original works in the hands of a third party to create something special. This one started off with a good base as 'Twice In A Blue Moon' was a fantastic album with each track having something about it. You will have heard the thunderous 'Radio Crash' which was one of the first singles to be released from the album. The 'fiddled with' edition is here along with the other eleven tracks from Ferry's third LP.

Release Date: OUT NOW!

TRACKLIST

01. Shelter Me (Rafaël Frost Remix)
02. Black Velvet (DJ Mind & Jerry Ropero Remix)
03. We Belong (Lange Remix)
04. Gabriella’s Sky (Solarstone Remix)
05. Made Of Love (Heatbeat Remix)
06. Radio Crash (Ummet Ozcan Remix)
07. Twice In A Blue Moon (DJ Eco Remix)
08. Feel You (Ashley Wallbridge Remix)
09. Life (Patrick Plaice Remix)
10. Brain Box (Marlo Remix)
11. Shanti (Sied Van Riel Remix)
12. Brain Box (Markus Schulz Remix)

The choice of artists chosen for this remix edition of one of Ferry’s best albums in years, if indeed they were hand picked that way, is top class. Each has their own individual style when it comes to producing and with a great base to work from each track has blossomed into a quality slice of audio.

Rafael Frost has been on of my favourite artists this year with his superb releases on Flashover and it’s not a surprise to see him remixing a Ferry track. Shelter Me is the track he’s chosen to rework with the result being a toughed edge trance affair using the classic hard hitting sounds Rafael puts into his productions. The melody in here is superb and starts early on in the track built up by atmospheric chords in the background. The break is where the melody comes right into action with an ever changing sound on the keys that builds up an electric bass line when the beat comes thundering back in. It’s not much changed from the original but one thing I found with the remixes are that they build on the melody and inject their own flavour into the ear.

DJ Mind & Jerry Ropero are a pair I have not heard before, or at least know it was them when I heard them. The track is Black Velvet and is a trippy vocal affair with a progressive feel all the way through the mix. The progressive edge is lead right from the start with the main focus being a bubbling bass line with short bursts of robotic bars feeding in the first glimpse of the vocal. The use of the vocal in here does come across a bit robotic and has an effect on it to offer some sharpness. The bass line cuts out for a moment in the short break while a siren style build drops it back it. Onto top of that is a nice chord of bars that leads up to the main break on the track. You will find the melody right in there to be big, bright and energetic with a huge build up and then a drop back into the bubbling bass line.

Most remixes by Lange give you the feeling its going to be good without even hearing it such is his tendency to knock together a good one. The tin sound on the build up soon warms itself up building backing synth that comes from nowhere right to the forefront. Just on the edge of the peak it cuts and in slams a riff to rip your ears off. It’s a classic Lange sound from start to finish but keeps the high tempo the vocal offered the original. Bright bursts of sound sweep in on the lead up and by the time the main vocal comes in to drop the melody those burst remain as the beat cuts and vocal plays. Smooth strings and a leading chord really make the breakdown a joy to the ear. It’s possibly not the uplifting style of the original but a big room sound that’s got huge appeal with it.

The soft melodic style that Solarstone can have with his productions are perfectly suited to Gabriella’s Sky. His fusion of smooth progressive build ups and an epic string of keys in the melody make this remix stand out. I don’t know weather it’s the female harmonics that litter the track or different melodies packed into this mix that make it that make it so good. All the elements blended together have come up with a classic Solarstone sound that is a pure delight to listen to. Put this mix next to Heatbeat’s bouncy remix of Made of Love which puts the vocal to good use and comes out with an uplifting piece of driving Trance that drops an organ style backing lead on the build. It’s after that when the main melody starts to form with huge sweeping synths and delightful chords dropping underneath. The euphoric build is complete when a softly kicked drum roll brings the track by into the beat and leads off with short dirty chord that’s only there for a moment before it drops the uplifting keys in to finish off.

Ummet Ozcan gets things a little big aggressive with his interpretation of Radio Crash which was one of the first singles Ferry released from the album. All the sounds are there but he has gone for a tribal style beat to begin with. It really suits the sound of the original and thrust that came from that huge boom off the bass. Driving techy chords stutter in with electric riffs breaking in on every off beat. This mix is all about the rhythm with the beat and sounds that accompany it. There is a brief moment where things get a little melodic on the beak with a nice uplifting chord.

DJ Eco puts thing back on track with his remake of the original title track from the album Twice In A Blue Moon. The crisp main beat drops along with an off kick drum that adds a nice touch. The mood is very deep and dark at first with a grumbling bass line shakes the speakers around a little. The leading melodies are very edgy and electronically gritty with the tone that they come across. It’s taken the original’s high pitched sounds and just notched it up a little bit. Things get touched down a little with Ashley Wallbridge’s remix of the vocal melodic track that is Feel You. The formula is quite simple with the remix leading with a big chord changing synth from start to finish. It touches down on the tone in parts when the vocal sweeps in and uplifting keys float over the top. The short piano break in the middle and main vocal that follows it should fit all your down tempo needs here.

Patrick Place remix seems to fuse together a house beat and a techno lead while somehow sliding in the original track’s elements and pattern. It’s the sound here that’s the different on the lead with wet sounding percussion in the undergrowth. That big sounding riff that pumps in takes over the building chord that stabs its way in at first. MarLo captures the energy that is waiting to burst out and explode in ‘Brain Box’ with a building beat that’s hard and crisp. The ‘Flat Eric’ type of sound in here works really well over the original’s gripping melody. It’s all over the bass line that gets your attention with things cutting slightly on occasions to build back up again. It may be a short mix but it’s full of driving sounds that will entertain the ear.

The final two mixes on the album come from San Van Riel and Markus Schulz who have put together two storming remixes. Shanti starts off with a drowned out beat but you feel things start to get heated from the beginning of it. It’s all about the opening bass line that’s deep and aggressive with spacey chords stabbing in to a whirlpool of build up. There is a great sequence of strings on the build up in here and the use of the harmonic vocal is top draw giving a different feeling on the track that you would have thought by the way it opened. It al gets a little euphoric on the melody when things build to a peak and the beat comes in, minus the aggressive bass line that started things off. That soon starts to pulsate back in as the track goes on before it comes sweeping back in again as things build back down. Markus has gone for the big sweeping melody in here with lots of synth build ups and atmospheric tail offs to create a very big sound. Its focus is more on the uplifting style of sythn and is not as aggressive on the bass line as the earlier Marlo mix.

Conclusion:
With each mix in here is a different sound to the originals but the one thing they seem to link together with is that they all keep the main feature that made the original mixes so great. Instead of re-inventing the wheel as you can find with some remixes they have merely put a different tyre on. It's a superb album with not one bad mix on it and an essential for those wanting more diversity from the original release by Ferry. It's a sign that the trend for releasing remix edition of artist albums will not just be a flash in the pan.