Welcome everyone to March of 2013! We’re about a third of the way into the trance year right now, and we’re just starting to heat up in preparation for spring and summer songs, mixes, and tours. We’ve got plenty of big names ahead for later this year, but for now, we celebrate our second big milestone this year. A month ago we saw the 10th anniversary of A State of Trance Compilations. Now we’re celebrating the 10th release of the Anjunabeats Compilation Series. The Anjunabeats discs have been used to showcase and highlight the best of Anjunabeats (with a little bit of Anjunadeep), and has given us songs such as Razorfish, Hi-Jack, Meet Me in Montauk, Irufushi, and many more. It is the de facto compilation for anything even remotely related to Anjunabeats, and remains the highlight for A&B and trance fans alike.

There are a few labels that can be worthy of a description such as “storied.” I’d argue that Lost Language and Platipus are some older labels that carry this title, releasing some of the best trance music that has ever been (or ever will be) recorded. For some of the more recent labels, Armind fit this bill (at least up until the last year), and so does (or perhaps did) Anjunabeats. Simplistic logo with the ever-ending array of rainbow colors means that even if you never listen to this style of trance, you’ve definitely seen and recognized their logo countless times.

Anjunabeats Volumes, then, are the cream of the crop: highlighting the best songs to be released on this label for the year. While I started listening to these volumes later than Markus’ City Series or ASOT, they nonetheless have become a yearly staple, perhaps even a ritual of sorts, as this compilation no doubt has tunes that define the mainstream trance (perhaps moreso electronic) genre for the rest of the year.

Volume 9 last year had a split personality, which in turned generated split reviews. The first disc was…softer, I guess, which tunes such as “You’ve Got To Go” and “Symmetry.” The second disc kicked things up a notch, with superb tunes from Andrew Bayer and Mat Zo. It even included one of the best, less appreciated tracks in my opinion: Contrast from Sunny Lax. It has a really nice mid-2000s vibe to it. But while it didn’t do as well as the prior compilations, I still think that by itself it was a solid effort by the trio.

But on to Volume 10. The cover is unique. A bit weird with their heads, but I like it. It’s definitely grown on me, and with the physical copy even more-so. Anjunabeats covers are suppose to be a bit perspective shifting in my opinion, and this doesn’t disappoint. As usual, the compilations are a mix of many unreleased tracks with a handful of either released or already played tracks. Now, when the tracklist was announced, I made a quick run-down of the tracks and talked about released/unreleased. I dive into that deeper later, but the basic premise is that by the time this Volume 10 dropped, 14 songs had already been released. Some of them (such as Isla Margarita) have been out for 5 months. Will this compromise the listening experience? Can Volume 10, held back 4 months from the normal release date in the midst of a visible shift of style in the Anjunabeat camp, hold its own? Or does the shift from trance to “Group Therapy” mark the end of a great era?

Let’s go to Disc 1:

1. Above & Beyond – Small Moments (8.5/10)

It seems that Above & Beyond are now intent to providing us with a couple minute classical piano and/or string intro to our first CD now; contrast this was “Alquimia” from Parker & Hanson to kick off Volume 8 or even “Small Step On the Other Side” from Volume 4. I’m not necessarily complaining, as I enjoyed “Tokyo” from 2011. We get something perhaps a bit softer initially on Volume 10. Yes, this was the song that they used on one of their DJ Mag videos from last year. Yes, they gave it away for free on Facebook. That doesn’t detract from the song’s entrapment of your senses. The piano teases us to begin with: a few notes and chords with a pulsing synth lightly in the background, building up to our main melody. It’s a bit repetitive, and perhaps it goes on for a bit too long before really starting to kick in our backing beat for “Animus,” but I can’t fault Above & Beyond here: they know how to make an intro.

2. Soundprank – Animus (7.5/10)

Right off the bat, there is one thing that is apparent: Above & Beyond haven’t forgot how to actually transition between songs, making a nice switch to Soundprank’s new track, “Animus.” It’s become clear after hearing this song a few times that this isn’t your old Soundprank sound, the one that gave us “Cloudsound” and “The Time Machine” on Anjunadeep. Soundprank seems to be following Jaytech’s latest trends, going from the Deeper House sounds that defined them for years towards the “trouse” sounds of Anjunabeats.

The breakdown teases the main beat, hidden by the soft touch of a piano, and when it does kick in (it’s a bit of a buildup), boy what a beat. The synth is a bit dirty, the drums a bit high, the cymbal lightly going in the background. It’s a superb club song. Unfortunately, since Volume 5 when the 2 CD structure was introduced, CD1 has always been the softer of the two, and, well, this is the complete opposite of what one would expect following the piano intro we were given. We’ll see this issue throughout the compilation: the mixing is great but tainted by flow issues.

3. Sunny Lax – Isla Margarita (6/10)

Another smooth transition to Sunny Lax. I will preface by saying that I was blown away last year when I heard “Contrast.” Despite it being on CD2, it really captured that mid-2000s trance style that I’ve always had a soft side for. I was disappointed, as well, that it took forever for Anjunabeats to even consider releasing the Remixes for it.

Then we have Isla Margarita. The first glaring issue is that the song has been out now for about 5 months (I’ll take later about exclusivity). Which wouldn’t necessarily be an issue, except there’s nothing special about the song. It’s not bad: the beat is groovy, a hint of the feeling one would get laying in the beach during the summer. But it sounds un-inspiring. It’s a carbon imprint of any Trance 2.0 song with a bit of Sunny Lax’s touch. So it’s got a smoother beat and the drums aren’t too over powering, but when you compare this to “Out of this World” or even “P.U.M.A.,” it becomes one of those “Spot The Differences” puzzles where it’s obvious that the sun is present in one frame and gone in the next. At least it’s a bit more CD1-ish than “Animus.”

4. Audien – Wayfarer (5.5/10)



We first heard this song on TATW450/ABGT001 as the intro by Above & Beyond in their set. While I haven’t been a huge fan of Audien’s work in the past (I scored “Keep This Memory” as a 6/10 last year on ASOT 2012), there have been some surprises: “People Do Not Change” for instance.

However, Wayfarer suffers the same fate as “Isla Margarita” if not more-so: repetitive trance 2.0 with the quick hitting synth that fades into the background almost immediately. It’s basically “Eventide” repacked for 2013, with the breakdown designed to do what was done in the early 2000’s: have everyone stop dancing and put their arms up in the air. While that hasn’t changed in the mainstream trance world for the past 15 years, I at least enjoyed a more melodic break rather than “let’s just keep our main beat going without the drums.”

5. Mike Shiver – Ohh (6.5/10)

Ohh have times changed. If you’re looking for the Mike Shiver that composed those timeless Garden State Mixes of “Clear Blue Water” or “Make U Mine,” or even if you wanted something like “Feelings,” you won’t find that here. On the opposite hand, it’s a bit smoother and relaxing than “Still Here.”

I do like the vocal “Oooo” in the background, and the composition of this song is nicely layered at all levels. And while Above & Beyond have definitely tweaked their flow after the first few songs, we start to notice the trend of the same style synth-work in the same-style beat. Let me be clear: I have no problems with this “Group Therapy” sound. There are many songs that I enjoy both as a single and in a mix. But, like any genre, artists should feel free to explore the boundaries. Dip their feet into the deep end of a swimming pool. But so far, it seems that Mike Shiver, Audien, Sunny Lax, Nitrous Oxide, etc. have been content at keeping all the songs within this narrow-scope of what defines “Trance 2.0,” and I truly believe that it’s because that’s what is currently selling and not because this style of music doesn’t have anything else to offer.

Still, it’s a better effort than Audien and the double breakdown is nice.

6. Above & Beyond featuring Zoe Johnston – Alchemy (Above & Beyond Club Mix) (6.5/10)

The transition here was quicker than what I may have liked, but it worked in the context of the songs. Unfortunately we start to have flow issues again, with a darker beat underlying our track now instead of the more euphoric one we’ve had the past few tracks.

We also have the issue of this song being 4 months old as a release at this point (6+ being played on TATW and in sets). Further, I do think that the Redemption Mix by Myon & Shane54 is a bit nicer and would have matched in this compilation feel so far rather than A&B’s Club Mix. But this is their compilation, so moving on.

This song fits the mold of many A&B songs from Group Therapy: catchy beat, Zoe Johnston lyrics, and something that people will sing along to in a club. “How can it be that you love her..?” The trouble is, I’m having a hard time loving the Club Mix of this song. With the remixes that have been released so far from Group Therapy, the Club Mixes have gone from “This is what I’ve been waiting for: a proper club rendition” to “Ehhh, I’ll stick with the original, thank you.” It correlates, perhaps, with their change in style over the past few years.

Regardless, I still prefer the Original, but if I had to choose, Myon & Shane54’s touch would have been better here. The beat here’s a bit too dark and over-bearing after hearing “Ohh” from Mike Shiver. The synth work is A&B 2.0, which means the breakdown is less breakdown and more chorus of the song. It works, but I’m just not feeling it within the current mix so far.

7. Jaytech – Inception (6/10)



Speaking of Soundprank’s changing sound, we first hear this new “Anjunabeats-style” Jaytech straight from our transition with the immediate over-powering spin-up of the synth. Likewise, we hear a bit of the big-room trance elements (the classic pitching-up) in the background as we start off. The breakdown, while cliche, still has a great beat going to it; again like Soundprank a great club song if you’re into this style of electronic music. However, coming out of the break we hear that pitchup again, which ruins an otherwise pretty good song.

Which brings me back to my final comparison between Jaytech and Soundprank: they’ve both created sublime Anjunadeep tracks in the past, turned to the Anjunabeats side of things within the last year. While Soundprank has been able to make it work, I much prefer Jaytech’s interpretation of Deep House rather than this “Trouse” movement. Even his mixing on the Anjunadeep series were still more pleasing than “Multiverse” and now “Inception.” Again, they aren’t bad, but when you know what the artist is capable of and fails to even meet that in a different style, it’s a bit disheartening.

8. Boom Jinx, Maor Levi & Ashley Tomberlin – When You Loved Me (7/10)

Talk about high expectations. We have Boom Jinx (“Remember September” and “To The Six”), Maor Levi (“Reflect” and “Illumina”), and Ashley Tomberlin (vocals to “New York City” by PvD and “Can’t Sleep”) all on one track. In theory, this should be a superb track that defines this side of the compilation.

“Scratch the surface…I was just beneath your skin.” The vocals start early in tis song with not much of a beat buildup, just barely supporting Ashley’s voice (which is superb as always). The breakdown is definitely more in-tune with a trance breakdown rather than the ones we’ve been hearing earlier in the CD, with the light guitar carrying Ashley’s voice softly in the background. Everything is magnificent so far until we get to the buildup back to the main beat: the over-done pitching up, which carries into the main beat as well. Unfortunately, this is where the song starts to falter: I think trying to mix Boom Jinx’s house elements with Maor Levi’s house elements starts a feud in the main beat that one just can’t ignore. It clashes around too much, and when it does end, we go straight away into Oliver Smith’s new song.

So, ultimately, while in theory this should define the CD, it’s really only the first half that does anything meaningful.

9. Oliver Smith – Pressure (6.5/10)

“Progress” was a great end to CD1 of Volume 9 a few years ago, but the sounds he used then are noticeably absent in his new song “Pressure.” The bass synth in the background works double time to pulsate the song along, rising up only to quickly breakdown once again. And then once we get there, the breakdown’s only purpose is to serve as solely a buildup back to our main beat once again. It’s a different style of flow from our Boom Jinx + Maor Levi song, and follow’s more of the path set by Audien and Co. earlier in this mix: trance with house elements that doesn’t push any boundaries. Which means even if you ignore all of Oliver Smith’s work in the past and just wanted to compare this song to last compilation’s “Progress,” you’ll still be disappointed, much in the same way if you tried to compare Sunny Lax over the past two years. I would have even preferred something like “Under The Wire” here, despite it having no business in the mix.

10. Ronski Speed & Syntrobic featuring Renee Stahl – Pink Skye (8.5/10)

The flow is a bit better here as we go into our third vocal of the night. On the positive note, this side isn’t littered with vocal tracks like ASOT 2013 was a month ago. The synth work in our intro beat is again at double-time, but it’s a bit quieter, a bit less overpowering that what we’ve heard so far in this mix. The breakdown is a combination of soft, vocal strings from Renee on top of a angelic piano and drums. It’s less of a stereotypical trance (or even trance 2.0) breakdown, and more of a pause from the main beat. It follows a more progressive house style of track here, and even when we get back to the main beat, not much as changed (unlike in our Boom Jinx + Maor Levi song). In fact, my only complaint is that this should have been earlier in the mix: it’s way too relaxing of a progressive song to be placed this late in the mix.

11. Above & Beyond – Walter White (6.5/10)

Remember when I said there were issues with Above & Beyond’s flow in this mix? This is a prime example. Contrast the beautiful progressive, melodic sounds from Ronski Speed to Above & Beyond’s style of electronic music these days. I rather have put this back-to-back with Alchemy.

Speaking of Above & Beyond, this is it: their new single. First teased in clubs throughout the past summer, the whole world got a taste of it during the countdown clock for TATW450 and ABGT001. We were treated to the full song (sans name) during their live set in India. Now we have a name: the famous Breaking Bad character Walter White.

It’s an interesting choice for the single; not sure the connection yet between the TV show and this song. Combine this with Above & Beyond recently confirming they are “knees-deep” on their next album, I expect this to ultimately be the first released single. But let’s go to the song itself: we build up in classic A&B fashion slowly pitching up to…well, a sort of disastrous clash between trance, house, and dare I say bro-step or trip hop? Can’t tell yet, but it’s really pushing their current view of the electronic scene, even more-so than Group Therapy. If Tri-State was their pinnacle trance album for ages and Group Therapy was their attempt at bringing Trance with house elements to the masses, than their next album must be their hope for defining trouse on the mainstream scene.

But I can’t fault the song entirely, because when we get to the breakdown…oh man, does it have the hint of the classic Above & Beyond most of us fell in love with. It really is a splendid melody of synths and vocal “oos.” It’s what saves the song, too, because as soon as it ends, we get back to the pulsing hits of trance 2.0, the style that they’ve been trying to push as a trio on their listeners and Anjunabeats label. If you’re a fan of the style, then you’ll definitely enjoy the second half of this song. After a few listens, it has definitely grown on me, but I can’t get over the intro part of the song before the breakdown: it ruins what otherwise could have been a great house/whatever this is song. Will this be a defining song for A&B for the future? Only time will tell.

12. Kyau & Albert – Glühwürmchen (5/10)

So if my German is half-way decent, the song title translates to “glow-worm,” or as we call them in the states: fireflies. But this is no Mike Foyle song, nor is it Kyau & Albert’s style of “Are You Fine?” and “Made of Sun.” It’s more of a filler song here. A bit happier of a beat than Walter White. A bit more wide-range pulsing synths in the background on top of a decent beat. The main synths, though, sound a bit off. Not sure if it’s a mixing issue or what. There’s not much to say about this track, though, because there’s not much to this track. It lacks any noticeable shifts or breakdown, and it fails to inspire any sort of emotional response and lacks depth.

13. Maor Levi – Holding On (6/10)

Our second (but not final) taste of Maor Levi on this side of the CD. On the plus side, the transition and flow from K&A was flawless, and the more up-tempo and up-beat grooves here match what we just heard a few minutes ago.

The main beat is interrupted as we having the backing pitch-up back to our main beat complete with bass and drums. I think the biggest issue here is the song is trying to invoke some euphoric, bouncing crowd response as best it can, but unfortunately it‘s more apt of an image to picture a 13-year-old attempting to pole vault for the first time in his/her life on the Olympic stage. With again no real noticeable breakdown, Above & Beyond should have taken a page from ASOT 2013 and made this song 2-3 minutes max (intro, break, beat, transition) rather than letting this repetitive song continue for so long.

14. Ost & Meyer – Here We Go (5/10)

Our transition is a bit rougher here, and we’re back to more of a club beat found in “Alchemy” rather than the past few, more uplifting songs. Not sure how I feel about this duo: their current body of work hasn’t impressed me so far. “Britanica” was average, “Safari” was a filler track. This track follows the same sort of pattern here. Basic buildups, lack of any true breakdown, their style of synth working furiously in the background trying to build up crowd momentum. But for a song called “Here We Go,” one where you’d want to incite excitement, momentum, and a feeling of accomplishment, by the time the song ends I feel like I’ve accomplished none of that. Instead I’ve just been listening to a song that drags itself along through two minor breakdowns, which is unfortunate because I thought it would have been (or should have been) a one-and-down sort of song. Regrettably no.

15. Above & Beyond – Liquid Love (Maor Levi Club Mix) (6.5/10)

This is our first of two songs on this album where we have Tri-State Above & Beyond re-touched with a Trance 2013 style by some Anjunabeats member. First on tonight’s menu: Richard Bedford who “waits for you my love.”

We start off with a heavy industrial-sounding backing beat, which kinda clashes with Ost & Meyer’s work in “Here We Go.” After our first verse, if you will, the primary beat washes over us. Listening to it, you wonder if Maor Levi actually even made the song: it sounds nothing like the two we’ve heard so far. In facts, it’s more in tune with Above & Beyond’s “Walter White” style of electronic music.

The breakdown, and yes there is one this time around, is finally where we hear Maor’s touch. The mixing, however, favours the beat itself rather than the vocals a bit too much, I fear. That, or I finally need to buy a new stereo system. But we go out back to the same sort of A&B-type beat that has been done before.

Will it work in a club? Yes. Do most of today’s ABGT fans even know what Tri-State is or was for the trance community? Probably not. Does it match the original or even Tounge of God remix? Not even close. But Richard Bedford is still a great vocalist. And the tastes of the original “Liquid Love” sprinkled throughout the song means that it isn’t a complete failure (save for the annoying pitchup 5 minutes in…I still don’t know why this hasn’t died out yet).

I’ll talk about this later, but it’s one of those songs where you’d enjoy more if you’ve:

Never heard of Above & Beyond Never heard of Maor Levi Never knew that this was a remix of a classic Tri-State song.

So, we’ve finished our first disc:

Disc 1 Average: 6.5/10

Overall, it was an above-average compilation as a whole. There are a few standout tracks, but most of the songs fell within a 5-7/10 range. There weren’t any complete failures, but then again, there wasn’t anything remarkably special about this side as a whole.

Turning Heads:

Ronski Speed & Syntrobic featuring Renee Stahl – Pink Skye: Sure, it’s definitely progressive house and not trance by any means, but compared to some of the stuff that Ronski Speed has put out more recently, I actually really enjoyed this song. Even if we want to classify this in the “Trance 2.0” or “Trouse” side of things, this is what I mean when I said that this genre has many more things to offer listeners than what has been explored so far by the likes of Mike Shiver, Above & Beyond, Audien, etc.

Above & Beyond – Small Moments: This should tell you everything about this album right here, when the top-rated song (tied with “Pink Skye”) is nothing more than a piano intro to the album.

Transitions – Yes, there were a few slight hiccups, but when it’s all said and done, Above & Beyond pulled through on the more “laid back” CD. This makes Armin’s work on ASOT 2013 look like it was done by a middle school DJ sliding between songs on an iPad app.

Run-down Assembly Line:

Kyau & Albert – Glühwürmchen: For something as inspiring and peaceful as watching fireflies float around above the grass on a warm summer’s night, this song was anything but.

Ost & Meyer – Here We Go: A filler track with the same style that Ost & Meyer have used in the past few years. Again, it’s not bad, but they’ve failed to “wow” me with any of their songs so far. “Here We Go” is no different.

Producers switching from Anjunadeep to Anjunabeats: It’s always a risky move when switching labels where the style of music is different. It can work: talented producers can apply themselves across an array of styles and still produce quality work (see how Andrew Bayer has changed and evolved over time, and his new CD looks absolutely outstanding). Unfortunately, Soundprank and Jaytech couldn’t emulate Andrew’s success. Soundprank might have at least had a pretty good beat going on with a few cliche trouse elements, but Jaytech took that cookie-cutter pattern to the next level. It’s a shame, really, when you compare these bodies of work to what they’ve produced before.

Flow: Like we saw with Armin on ASOT2013, I was a bit disappointed with the flow of this album. Sure, it might not be themed as “On The Beach,” but it doesn’t give a DJ the free pass to constantly switch between uplifting progressive to trouse to house and back again. It would have been nice to see a bit better work on the song placement, and for a group that’s been together for 13 years in the scene, I would have wanted to see better.

On to Disc 2!

1. Andrew Bayer – England (8/10)

Also like last volume, we start off a bit…funkier? It’s a new Andrew Bayer track, one that we first heard from his TATW450 set. Interestingly, this won’t be on his second artist album coming up next month (If It Were You, We’d Never Leave). Regardless, the work highlights the housier side of Bayer’s range to start with up until the breakdown, which is reminiscent of his earlier Signalrunner’s breakdowns: simple, clean, melodic. Andrew Bayer reminds me a lot of Mat Zo: they both have an incredible range of talent across multiple genres, and unlike what we saw with Soundprank and Jaytech earlier, they usually get a home run every time they put up a new song to bat.

England is no different. It’s got Andrew Bayer’s hands all over it: his synth work, his melody, his glitch edits. Perhaps the only downside is the use of the synth pitch up a little over halfway through. It’s less “intro-ey” than CD1, but it makes a big splash to start off the clubier side of the compilation.

2. Norin & Rad – Aldo (6.5/10)

I still can’t figure out this duo yet. They make superb trance stunners like “The Gift.” Then they make “Pistol Whip” and earn the nickname “Norin & Bad” for their TATW450 set. While this song definitely isn’t in line with their earlier trance work, it’s not as nail-bent on delivering a trouse experience as “Five Finger Death Punch.” You can even spot the trance influences in the breakdown. It actually flows nicely from Andrew Bayer’s intro. Sure, it’s got “trouse” written all over it, but compared to some of their more recent releases on Anjunabeats, I’m actually fine with this one. Decent melody, good beat, ok pitch-up….it works strangely.

3. Genix – Stateside (7.5/10)

Our second geography song so far this side, this song is more along the lines of a toned down “Destinations” than, say, “Nytra.” Being that their past few releases have been a bit heavier on the house incorporation, we actually have a really nice tune here to continue pushing our second compilation forward. It’s not as “funky” as the first few tracks, and ultimately might be seen more as a filler, but it’s a nice one though. It‘s definitely more in-tune with the trance/house that I like seeing on ABGT, and Genix in this case doesn’t disappoint. Of course, I am swayed by the piano throughout, so there’s that to consider. The only downside is it does suffer from being a bit repetitive near the end, one of the drawbacks on relying on only 15 songs to fit a compilation side of a CD: you have to ensure the songs don’t become to dragged out. And while A&B have done a good job for the most part so far this compilation, there have been a few songs sneak through.

4. Nitrous Oxide presents N2O – K.O. (6/10)

I was honestly happy with “iPeople” last year for some reason. It combined a few of the trance 2.0 elements that I do enjoy into a catchy club tune. We don’t quite get the same satisfaction here, however. The starting beat is a nice transition from “Stateside,” but is a bit too housey for my taste. The breakdown suffers the same fate, taking a line from the book of CD1’s earlier songs: synth with minimal drum backing; less breakdown, more drum break.

Oh look, another pitch-up from the breakdown back to our main beat. Color me surprised. I really hoped this would have died out already; apparently it’s still a thing. One element that I’m not enjoying. Random thought: the one trance element/style I did wish we could have back again? Whatever you call what Kirsty Hawkshaw and Tenishia accomplished with “Reasons To Forgive” and “Outsiders.” Those two songs are just exalting.

Back to the song. The ending beat isn’t anything inspiring, and for a song that wants a knock-out, it ended up with a backhand slap.

5. Super8 & Tab – L.A. (10/10)

A quick transition, but everything moves faster in the City of Angels. But then we get our main beat. Wow wow wow. If you would of told me this was a Super8 & Tab track from 2013, I would have called you delusional. I honestly expected more of their recent trouse stuff: think “Teardrops” or even “Fiesta.” But no, our third geography track in 5 songs is an absolute beauty. Our main beat and breakdown remind me of some of their older works, ones I thought they had forgotten about.

Then the main beat kicking in not through some pitchup, but a buildup of drums and stutters. It works. The production of the song is outstanding, well layered on all levels of synths, drums, and bass. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Super8 & Tab on this album, but it definitely wasn’t this. This trance masterpiece just exceeded anything I would have remotely considered possible by them this year.

Someone needs to send a memo to Super8 & Tab: this is the type of track that belongs on ASOT, and “Teardrops” is the type of track that belongs on the new Anjunabeats Volume styles, not vice versa. But keep making songs like this Super8 & Tab, because right now, this is definitely in my Top 5 tunes of the year.

6. ilan Bluestone – Sinai (9/10)

“ooooooooo….” Bluestone is back. The followup to his hit “Capetown.” And boy, does it deliver. So far on this side, we’ve definitely got a nicer flow than on our first CD, and “Sinai” comes off nicely from “L.A.”

Our breakdown is the beats and backing, un-intelligible vocals that ilan is known for. A great piano and breakdown leading up to our main beat. Compared with Capetown, this song is definitely a bit more clubbier and a bit housier than “Capetown,” but unlike a few earlier tracks on this Compilation, this song is one you’ll want to move up and down to in a club. My only fear is that Bluestone will continue this same style. ilan, if you’re reading, please be more like Ali Wilson (incorporating those African vocals and style of tracks every so often in your songs) and less like Andrew Rayel, who seems to be intent on riding on his style for the foreseeable future. But if we get this style of music on ABGT and Anjuanbeats Volumes over the next few years, I won’t be complaining.

7. 7 Skies vs. Nitrous Oxide – Right On (7/10)

We’ve got a very quick, dirtier transition to this collaboration, and for the first time, our flow seems to be a bit off. But that doesn’t stop us from enjoying the track. 7 Skies‘ influence is definitely more noticeable on here than Nitrous Oxide, but it’s not bad overall. Again, it’s within the realms of this newer style of Anjunabeats, but it lacks the annoying heavy pulsing in/out synths whatever you want to call them, and completely avoids the cliche pitch-up from a breakdown. Again, it’s not going to be anything memorable here, but whereas it started out rough, it works as a great transitioning tune throughout our compilation.

8. Arty – Believe In Me (Instrumental) (5.5/10)

Anjunabeats Volume 8 saw the excellent “Rush” and the superb “The Wonder.” Volume 9 saw the great summer anthem “Kate” and the bit controversial followup to “Rebound” collab. with Mat Zo: “Mozart.”

Arty’s been a bit of a mystery to me lately. His earlier works were superb, propelling him into the trance spotlight at such a young age. But the Russian decided to start doing more and more electro and housey stuff, and honestly most of his works sounded to be copy/pasted rather than inspired at any level like his works from 5 years ago. So we got songs such as “Open Space,” the style I wasn’t really particularly found of. However, the past year or so we’ve seen Arty go back to his trancier roots while keeping some of these house elements in his music. His collab with Paul van Dyk on “The Ocean,” “Must Be The Love” with BT, and even “Nehalennia” with Armin van Buuren have all been excellent tracks.

WIth this song, you can definitely tell it’s Arty with his signature synths. And while undoubtedly we’ll see an unnecessary vocal on it within 5 months, for now though we’re treated to the instrumental mix. The main drum beat to bring in and exit the song sounds a lot like the one used in “Kate.” Overall, the main beat is sort of promising, but it doesn’t really deliver as Arty’s works have for the past year or so. Ultimately what we can deduce from this is that Arty needs to stick with collaboration duties only, as when left alone in the studio, he starts to go back towards this house addiction.

9. Above & Beyond – Black Room Boy (Above & Beyond Club Mix) (6.5/10)

We actually have a pretty decent transition into Black Room Boy, but the styles are a bit too far off to really make it work at any excellent caliber. We start off not with an intro beat, but more of an intro/breakdown. “You’re a Black Room Boy…” We’ve got our very last single from Group Therapy, an album where Above & Beyond have been pumping out Club Mixes for almost 3 years. So if you were a fan of “Prelude,” sorry to disappoint. However, that does mean that their next single, “Walter White,” should lead the way for their next artist album.

But we just ended our intro-breakdown, and we see the style of Above & Beyond that was hinted with on “Alchemy” but fully explored with “Walter White:” this industrial, pulsing deep synth hit in the background that overpowers the vocals. “When push comes to shove,” Above & Beyond seem to be going with what pleases their fans, and I guess this style does.

I prefer the original a lot more here, and honestly was surprised it took them this long to make a club mix of the song. Unfortunately, I wish they would have made it earlier while they were still experimenting with their Trance 2.0 style (think “Thing Called Love” and “Every Little Beat”). However, we’re still treated a pretty good breakdown with the main chorus reigning throughout.

Then we exit the breakdown, and surprise surprise. “It’s the same old scene:” our friend pitch-shift-up-synth. So overall, our main beat is a bit over-powering and starting to be redundant and repetitive from this trio. Time to change up the style.

10. Eximinds – Revolved (5.5/10)

Another sub-par pitching transition and another iffy song selection choice. On the positive note, the intro beat isn’t really over-powering in the synth department, but it isn’t as joyous or euphoric as we saw from earlier songs from Maor Levi and Ronski Speed. The vocal hits are a bit out of place as well. We don’t really get that much of a break in our song, which wouldn’t be bad, but cliches of cliches to get us back to our main melody, which decides to throw in those ridiculous quick 1/4 note stops/pauses. Fine if we’re listening to dubstep, brostep, trip hop, maybe even dnb. But we aren’t.

All this is coming from someone who made “Still Remember” a few years ago. Apparently, Eximinds forgot how to create melodic trance and decided to revolve around this house-infusion style of music. Shame, because at least before they created something that was worth remembering a month later.

11. Above & Beyond – Home (Genix Remix) (7.5/10)

This is Take 2 of our “How much can we destroy classic Above & Beyond tracks?” We saw Maor Levi just sideswipe Liquid Love into a thousand pieces, but while the original Home was perhaps more hop and pop than trance, the A&B Club Mix definitely kept people interested for a while. Perhaps maybe not one of the most requested older songs from Above & Beyond, but it’s still up there.

So we get Genix now on remix duties. Our rhythm to start us off is a bit heavier than “Revolved,” but it works when it comes to similar styles. The remix definitely is this fusion of trance and house as expected, incorporating at times elements from the original song other than just a vocal overlay, but it’s not the overpowering synths that we saw on “Liquid Love” by Maor Levi. In fact, it’s pretty much in line with what I enjoy hearing on ABGT every week. Genix knows this isn’t a replacement to the Original or even Club Mix of the song, but since he “needs a place where [this song] belongs,” he made a pretty good update for 2013 to put on the compilation here. Personally, I rather have seen this and “Liquid Love” trade spaces, as this definitely has a more CD1 vibe to it.

After we exit our breakdown, it’s definitely a stereotypical sound from Genix and Trouse, but it works. Overall, it may not be the best mix of “Home” (Tony’s Deep or Club), but it certainly not the worse (was never a fan of Wippenberg’s take on it).

12. Ronski Speed – Sanity Dub (Exclusive Volume 10 Mix) (7/10)

Our second Ronski Speed tonight. The change from “Home” wasn’t as rough as a few songs before, but we still have issues with the flow of the music here. It’s definitely a bit more high-tempo here than “Home,” but for CD2, that should be expected.

Our main beat into the breakdown isn’t anything major; nothing really standsout. The piano in the breakdown was a nice touch, especially since it falls back on a “true trance” breakdown, cutting out the heavy synth-backing beat and drums. It might not be as relaxing or soothing as “Pink Skye,” but it’s got a nice vibe to it. I’m also fine with the soft buildup to exit the breakdown back into our main melody, which is more piano-based than heavy (or even light) synthesized-based.

It’s no “Pink Skye,” but true to its name, I maintain my sanity throughout the song and don’t feel like shredding the CD when I’m done. I also noticed that the song was almost 6 minutes long. It definitely did not feel like that at all. Kudos to Ronski Speed here.

13. Lange vs. Genix – Immersion (6/10)

Eh, another build-up transition into a more “trance 2.0” style song, reminiscent of “Wayfarer” from CD1. The overpowering pulse synths, the uninspired drumbeat. We continue to a transition where we think it will be solo piano….but no, we add quickly back in our synths and drums. I’m a bit sad here, then. Genix has actually been doing well so far on CD2; maybe not 10/10, but at least good compared to the rest of the compilation. Lange? Well, he’s produced some superb work on Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep in the past, and his “Harmonic Motion” album spawned off some great singles and remixes.

The quality that they’ve produced in the past, however, isn’t apparent on this song at all. It feels bland. It feels recycled and re-used from the Anjunabeats 2.0 Tools CD. The piano in the background saves it from being a complete waste of 5 minutes, but the only thing one is immersed in after listening to this song is apathy.

14. Mike Koglin vs. 7 Skies – Vision (5.5/10)

Another weird transition from the trio into a song that not only has been out for a while now (surprise!), but also would have done better near the beginning of the CD, surrounded by Aldo and England.

Sadly, while it’s still a nice breakdown, that might be the only great thing about the song. It suffers the same fate that our previous collaboration faced: uninspired trouse beats, good breakdowns, and nothing much to offer the listener or collaboration. Except this time, we get that pitch-up back to our main beat, which more or less ruins any euphoric feeling I felt from the breakdown. It also goes on for a bit too long and becomes repetitive, predictable, and boring. They’ve both have done greater work in the past; why settle for mediocracy like this lack of vision?

15. Bart Claessen & Raz Nitzan presents Who.Is – Only Totally (9/10)

This duo was first teased to us with ISOS8, with a track simply names “We.Are.” I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of it at first, but it definitely grew on me as something that reminded me of how trance sounded like 7-8 years ago in a few style circles.

It’s definitely a bit softer of a song than we’ve heard on this CD so far, so it’s odd that not only is it on CD2, but that it closes out CD2 no less. Not complaining though, because it captures all the qualities of “We.Are” and then some. I almost even completely ignored that slight pitchup in the background to lead to our breakdown and then back out again. Almost. That’s probably the only negative with the track. Otherwise, this duo really have taken “We.Are” and improved on it. Sure, it’s probably more progressive house than progressive trance, but it’s still got a great beat, isn’t overpowering at any level, and is a nice soothing way to end our journey tonight. Like, totally dude.

So, there you have it: Disc 2.

Disc 2 Average: 7.1/10

So we see on this side a bit better of flow perhaps than CD1, but definitely a wider range of superb to mediocre songs.

10 Year Masterpiece:

Super8 & Tab – L.A.: This is the Super8 & Tab that most of us fell in love with. If they keep this up, I might even overlook their past few releases all-together.

ilan Bluestone – Sinai: It’s hard to follow-up when your first solo song is as big of a hit as “Capetown,” but Bluestone found a way. Just remember to take Kayne West’s advice given to him by 50 Cent: “Go ahead, switch the style up. And if they hate then let ’em hate and watch the money pile up.”

Bart Claessen & Raz Nitzan presents Who.Is – Only Totally: They took “We.Are” and made it better against all odds, save for a pitch.

Off-Key:

Arty – Believe In Me (Instrumental): Isn’t necessarily a “bad” track by any means, but his more recent work has been better in the form of a collaboration.



Eximinds – Revolved: They took a beautifully crafted uplifting trance sound that they used to have and turned it into this.

Mike Koglin vs. 7 Skies – Vision: For two producers with a long list of superb works, this song failed to even live up to its name, let alone my standards.

Anjunabeats Volume 10 Average: 6.8/10

So there we go. The 10th anniversary of Anjunabeats Compilations. Overall, I have to say that it had its hits and misses. Transitions were there sometimes but off and rushed the next. The flow was good and then it wasn’t. CD2 songs were played on CD1 and vice versa. And for an all-star team of producers, there were a fair number of repetitive, sin virtus et absque inspiratione tracks. However, there were a few dimes there, and there wasn’t anything completely horrendous that made me want to chuck the CD out the window (I’m looking at you Armin and W&W). But moving on now to the FAQ!

Let’s go back to your introduction. You were disappointed in the number of already played and released songs. How does this compare historically?

Glad you asked. What I decided to do was look at Anjunabeats Volume One through Ten. I looked at all the tracks on the album and compared the tracks’ release date with the album release date. I then compiled a % Exclusive score based on how many of the tracks on the album were “exclusive,” i.e. not been released yet. This does not include, however, tracks that may have been played on a radio show or live set prior to the compilation release.

First, a graph showing percent exclusive:



As you can tell, Volume One was completely released tracks. This is due to Above & Beyond starting around 2000 as a group but not releasing a compilation until 2003. Their next few albums started to increase the exclusivity, but it wasn’t until 2007 with Volume 5 that we really started to see them hit their stride with new songs. Perhaps this coincides with their continual increase in the mainstage of trance along with the release of their first artist album the year before? Bigger recognition will grant you better access with promoters and artists wanting to sign away initial rights to songs.

But I think this highlights the problem with Volume 10. While earlier volumes were superb despite their low exclusivity, for the last 6 years we’ve been treated with around 70% average new tracks on an album. Then we get Volume 10 which just pushes it above 50%, and even then some of the so-called “exclusives” have been on the radio for a while. I think this is where the disappointment comes into play, and why perhaps at first glance I was saddened by the tracklist.

Another view of the number of tracks with released/exclusives:

Notice how their highest exclusive coincided with the shift from one disc to two. In addition, the number of already released tracks for Volume 10 is greater than the total number of tracks in Volume One!

Finally, a percent released view:

Again, Volume 10 brings us to the older era of Anjunabeats Volumes. I wish I could say the same about their music.

But all of this doesn’t really highlight one of the larger problems: the released tracks on this volume have been out for months now, some even 4+. That’s unacceptable in a compilation that is suppose to define the newer, upcoming hits.

Where do you place this on your Anjunabeats list?

I actually don’t really feel qualified to rank these (if someone else is up to the challenge, I welcome your input). I guess I’ve never been as invested (or as long invested) as ASOT, Markus’ City Series, and of course ISOS. For me, those three have been the defining compilations since I started listening to trance. And while I had heard of A&B during these years, I never really got into them (save a few years ago).

However, I’m a personal fan of Volume One and Volume Four. One for it’s classic hits and flow. Four because it’s the perfect soundtrack to put on for a long night’s drive (seriously, listen to Illumina by Maor Levi when you’re tired; it’s heavenly).

I will admit there were some bright spots in CD2 for both Volume 8 and Volume 9. Particularly Arty’s The Wonder (one of his best in my opinion) and Kate, Who.Is’ We.Are, Andrew Bayer’s Keep Your Secrets, Sunny Lax’s Contrast, Mat Zo’s work on CD2/Volume 9, and Sky Falls Away mashup (Sky Falls Down is one of my favorites from OceanLab).

What made you happy?

After the past few years of listening to Armin van Buuren’s UR and ASOT Compilations, it’s refreshing to hear good transitions again. Sure, they weren’t all perfect, but they were definitely smoother than ASOT2013.

Song lengths for the most part. I rather have 15 songs on a side where we have time to build up and explore the melody than 18 songs that are rushed into a 2-3 minute package.

Beats. There are definitely some catchy tunes on this album perfect for the road or the club, regardless if you approve of Above & Beyond’s newer musical direction.

What made you sad?

No Mat Zo. He appeared 4 different times alone on Volume 9. Granted, he has an artist album being released later this year, but normally that would mean that he has tracks ready to go for the album. Plus, Andrew Bayer has his second artist album coming up in a month or so, and he got tracks on the album. To even add to my confusion, while some tracks definitely wouldn’t fit Anjunabeats Volume 10 (Caller ID, for example), others (such as Hurricane) would be a perfect fit.

got tracks on the album. To even add to my confusion, while some tracks definitely wouldn’t fit Anjunabeats Volume 10 (Caller ID, for example), others (such as Hurricane) would be a perfect fit. No real new Above & Beyond. All we got from them was an intro they’ve given out for free and played to death, some Trance 2.0 versions of classics that shouldn’t have been touched, and another full replay of a song that they’ve put in their own radio show intro. I expected a bit more from them, seeing that there are still IDs out there from sets with their touch on it and the rumors of an artist album scheduled for late this year or next (hence the push to Anjunabeats Volumes in the Spring).

The same artists over and over and over. NO, 7 Skies, Genix, Maor Levi, etc. I understand the Volumes showcase Anjunabeats and even Anjunadeep artists, but I do know you have a bit more than what was showcased on this compilation. It especially hurts when they can’t consistently deliver.

I still think that there are way too many released tracks that appeared on this album, and the ones that did didn’t deserve to be on here.

Some of the album flow (perhaps more evident in the first CD) was a bit off. It definitely seemed to jump around a bit more than Volume 9, and is no where close to their first five or so releases.

What did you think of the new Above & Beyond style?

Eh, I’m still back and forth on it. Nothing will beat their old sound / style to me, personally, but I recognize artists change over time. Sometimes, the sound differences are drastic and appeal to completely different audiences. On rare occasions, their new work might even surpass their older singles.

While that’s not the case here, there are a few things I still can appreciate here. First, they still know how to create club mixes for the masses. The scene has changed, and they still want to compete. I can’t fault them for that. I might not like it or agree with it, but then again I’m not in the business of music.

Second is they still know how to create catchy lyrics. Black Room Boy and Alchemy may not receive the same, insane popularity as Sun & Moon, but they’ll still great songs to sing along with, even if you aren’t a fan.

Third, and perhaps most comforting to me is they still know how to create a sublime trance breakdown. I hope to see the same level of quality, if not better, on their next album as we heard from Walter White on this CD.

What’s in store for the next ten years of Anjunabeats?

I’m anticipating that Above & Beyond will continue with this style of music for the next five or so years, slight adjustments along the way. Eventually they’ll move onto something else by the end of this decade. Anjunabeats as a label has been and will continue to transition from a premier trance label to an all-inclusive electronic label (think of Andrew Bayer’s new album and some of Mat Zo’s future works, including dubstep, all under this brand name). Whether it will retain it’s “premiership” remains to be seen. Part of me, however, wishes they would spin off a new label and keep Anjunabeats pure trance. However, they have too much invested (as of now) in the name to do so. Although GT001 (Group Therapy 001) might not be bad for a new label name…

As a side, Armin van Buuren and Armind have the same issue right now. Armind is incorporating more trouse and big room noise into its releases, which is saddening considering the superb trance that has been released by the little angel. Further, whereas Armin might be playing a bit more and more outside of trance in his radioshows, he has way to much invested in the ASOT name (perhaps even more than TATW was to A&B) to even consider changing it. Which is why I still appreciate and respect (although it saddens me) Tiesto when he decided to move to progressive and electro house in the mainstream: he kept the same radioshow name (eh), but started a new label after leaving Black Hole, got rid of his trance aliases (aka Allure), and fully disclosed his transition to this different style of electronic music. Was I happy about it? No. But at least he kept his trance music intact.

Anyway, the last thing that I see with Anjunabeats is this trend of single-releases only unless it deserves a remix. Not too thrilled on this, as I always enjoy getting an Original + Remix(es) package in one go.



Would you recommend this album?

Let’s clear something up first. If you’re a fan of Markus’ deep techno, progressive house, and/or big room trance style, this isn’t the compilation for you. The psychedelic, high beat sounds of Goa or Psy-trance? Ditto. Uplifting? Stick with Blue Soho. Even fans of ‘mainstream trance’ found on radioshows such as ASOT might find a few songs away from their normal, preferred style.

Are there songs on here that will be or have been popular outside of ABGT? Absolutely. Sinai is a great followup by Bluestone, the new Who.Is deserves more airtime, and Super8 & Tab really surprised me with L.A. But, if we’re judging this compilation as a whole, it’s going to appeal most to its intended audience: fans of Above & Beyond’s current style of music, whether we call this “Trance 2.0” or “Group Therapy” or “Trouse.” By current, I mean of course their song selections within the past year or so. If you still keep a copy of Volume One on your nightstand, this isn’t going to be the Album of the Year.

However, if you are one of those who do enjoy this style of electronic music, then yes, I would recommend this album. Sure, it has its hiccups. It could have been smoother at times on song selection. A&B could have gone with a few more exclusives. But, by and large, it’s not a bad way to spend two hours. In fact, I’d almost urge those wanting to take a listen to do so without looking at track names or artists: you’ll be more likely, I think, to appreciate the sounds being played rather than shaking your head at how far the artists have changed from their original sound (some better, most worst).