The Vitals:

Label: BTU Recordings
Genre: Trance
Number of Tracks: 10
How to Obtain: www.trackitdown.net, www.audiojelly.com, www.play-digital.com, www.snocap.com.

Factor Scores:

Production Quality: 8.5
Programming and Arrangement: 8.5
Entertainment Quality: 9.0
Total: 8.7 – Great

Dunamis' Take:

Bringing the Underground, Volume 1 is one of BTU Recordings' first mix albums to hit the scene, bringing some of the best tracks of BTU. This truly brings the underground trance scene with nice blends of different styles of trance, including tech, progressive, and psy. When listening to this release, I felt I was taken on a journey. Excellent mixing and placement of tracks. Some of my favorites include Jacksin's "Freezer Spoon Mix" of "Interstate Traveler", "Simplex", and Fitzpatrick's "Flashback".

The production quality of this release is up to par with most releases in trance today. These are well-written songs. When I hear a BTU production, I know that it’s quality; these guys been in the scene for years. On the arrangement end of the spectrum, they keep this on the minimum, tech side of trance. There are lots of acid-like and edgy sounds throughout the tracks. Everything was spot on with this release. The only reason that I wouldn't give a perfect score on these categories is that there could always be room for improvement. Some spots in the songs could have used some spice or been kicked up a notch. But again my favorite tracks made the mix memorable for me.

Overall, the entertainment quality was great. It was a professional mix. As I mentioned before, it was like I was on a journey. The whole mix passed, and I wanted more of it. Being a fan of the more melodic and epic trance, this mix gained a fan of techy side of trance. If you like tech, progressive, and psy trance, you need to pick up this mix. In fact, pick up any of these guys' tracks also. You can expect some of the best trance and house that Birmingham has to offer. Be on the lookout for more BTU and BTU Recordings. They're gonna be big.

Tracklist:
Mandamus - oneel
To Russia With Love - AlexB
Interstate Traveller (Jacksin's Freezer Spoon Mix) - Fitzpatrick
Sleep Walking - Fitzpatrick
5 AM CDT (oneel's Daylight Savings Mix) - AlexB
Simplex - Jacksin & Anthony Paul
How Bad Do You Want It - oneel
Pressure (Jacksin's Release Mix) - Liquefaction
Flashback - Fitzpatrick
Unbound (Jacksin's Silica Mix) - Liquefaction