To be totally honest, this has not been an easy single to review. So much has already been said about it on the Tastyfresh.com message boards and I hope that this review will stir up some additional discussion. One thing that really does stick out in my mind is that the single could have been more successful with fewer remixes. Coming from me, the producer who has released singles with 6-10 mixes on them for the past several years, this marks a major shift in my own thinking.

The Vitals:

Label: Demulcent/Low-Roof
Genre: Mostly progressive trance and house with some breaks
Number of Tracks: 10
How you can obtain a copy: www.demulcent.com (CD), http://www.lowroof.nl (CD), and www.beatport.com (MP3)

Factor Scores:

• Production Quality: 7.4
• Programming and Arrangement: 6.7
• Entertainment Quality: 7
• Total: 7 – Good

Summary:

Before anything else is said about this release it should be noted as the best single released by a Christian dance label. There are some stellar remixes on this release. This is the first of hopefully several joint releases from Demulcent and Low Roof records. Eight of the ten tracks were commissioned by the two label heads while the final two were chosen as part of a remix contest which evidentially had some stiff competition. All of that said, the single, while strong, has some weak areas. Unfortunately, there is so much to say about this release that I do not have the room I need to say it all. Because of this, I will focus mainly on the true gems of this release.

Factor Scores:

Production Quality: 7.4

There are four remixes on this CD that stick out as exceptionally well produced. All of the levels are just right, the sound is clean and they sound every bit the quality you would expect from any of the major secular labels. Those remixes are Quillroader’s remix, Tresice’s remix, Joel Armstrong’s Grace-A-Holic remix, and Yeshua Cohen’s remix. In all of the other scores, these four consistently stand above the other remixes. The production quality on the remaining 6 mixes is average to good, but none of them stand out like these four do.

Programming & Arrangement: 6.7

The highlight of this release is the Tresice mix. From the start, it is obvious that the remix is focused and intent on getting a crowd moving. It is extremely well structured and makes excellent use of layered synth lines that properly ebb and flow through out the track. It quickly gets you into the meat of the mix, yet is still one of the longest mixes on the disc. Yes, in some ways it is campy trance music, but it is successful on the same level as a Paul van Dyk track would be. It has a memorable hook that really doesn’t exist in the original mix and moves all of the synths into the proper key of the vocals. That key issue is one of the weakest points in both the original and radio edits for the record and one that harmed the release’s overall score. The Tresice mix almost got a perfect score on its own.

Quillroader’s mix is an interesting one. Over all, it is simply traditional power driven trance, but it has two major things going for it. First, it was written more as beatless intro track. It will work out as a nice intro for a set, but yet you could mix into past the beatless intro just fine as the track is fairly long and gives you plenty of time to mix. The second thing going for it is simply a beautiful breakdown about three minutes into the track. This is one of those tracks that moves from chaos to awe in an instant and then back. One downside is that the track is over 10 minutes long. That in itself is not a problem, but the remix could have been shortened.

Joel Armstrong’s mix is another excellent remix as well. It is a mellow, reflective breaks mix. It’s a good enough mix to have made it on Shiloh’s play list in the Fall of 2004, so take that as a hint toward it’s programming and arrangement quality. Everything simply ebbs and flows in a beautiful way. Nothing about this mix seems out of place.

The last mix I really want to talk about at this point is the Yesha Cohen mix. This was one of the contest winners. Next to the Trecise mix, it is the best on the CD. James Holden is the name that comes to my mind when I listen to this mix. It’s that glitchy progressive house sound that Holden has been sporting of late. Lots of granular synthesis sounds, nice shifts from driving to chilled, BT styled chopped vocals. This remix simply demonstrates nothing but technical prowess on the producer’s part. This mix isn’t for everyone, but those who like that glitchy progressive sound it is worth picking up.

Entertainment Quality: 7

The entertainment value of this CD is very consistent. The only low points are the original mix and the radio edit. The original mix is not really all that bad, but it is just barely average. The radio edit, though one needed to exist, should not have existed in this fashion. The production and programming problems just kill the radio mix. Again, the Trecise, Armstrong, Cohen, and Quillroader mixes are the most entertaining and that is due to their consistent production quality and programming. The remaining tracks remixed by Siminz, Timo, Treebeard and hypostatic also make the cut. However, they simply were not as polished as the ones I have discussed in detail.

Total: 7 – Good

Yes, it’s a good single. There are some low points on it that hindered its overall score, but that did not harm it to the point that you should avoid it. In fact, the opposite is true. This is one CD single that just about every trance and progressive house DJ should check out. There are some really stand out tracks and if you would only like to pick those up, head over to Beatport.com and grab them. You will not be disappointed.

Dave’s Take:

To be totally honest, this has not been an easy single to review. So much has already been said about it on the Tastyfresh.com message boards and I hope that this review will stir up some additional discussion. One thing that really does stick out in my mind is that the single could have been more successful with fewer remixes. Coming from me, the producer who has released singles with 6-10 mixes on them for the past several years, this marks a major shift in my own thinking.

It breaks down to this: Demulcent has 10 mixes. 4 of them are not groundbreaking, but they are mind-blowingly good. Then there are 4 remixes that are right around average. The original needs some tweaking and then the radio edit … needs to be put out of its misery (sorry, it just isn’t good). If this single had only been composed of the Quillroader, Tresice, Joel Armstrong and Yesha Cohen remixes, it could have stormed the clubs hard. It really could have been a breakout release for Demulcent that put it solidly on the map. As is, it is a VERY good single, the best to date … even better than the singles I’ve released on my own or through Demulcent however, that is just enough to get a 7 on the Tastyfresh.com review scale. Had the release been just the four tracks I mentioned, it would have been an 8.6.

The difference is this:

7.0 – Good: Good music is well produced, well put together, and fun to listen to. Selections with that score in this range are solid and have no glaring weaknesses, but have a few small things that keep them from being at the top of the charts.

8.6 – Great: Scoring this high indicates extremely high quality. Great music is worthy to be a deejay’s top track or a listener’s favorite album. These selections are usually groundbreaking or extremely popular releases.

Even if you have 10 mixes of a track, that doesn’t mean all 10 should be released. I understand that Demulcent is trying to pack their releases for value. A 10 track CD looks more attractive than a 4 track CD when the price is about the same. They should be commended for this. If the consistency of the remixes had all been the same quality as the Trecise mix for example, the CD would have been even more attractive for the price.

Regardless, this once again shows a consistent trend of improving quality from this new label. Demulcent Records: Keep on keeping on!