Review: Markus Schulz – Do you dream?

One of the most anticipated albums of the year for me turned out to be an unexpected surprise. Here’s my rundown:

01. Alpha state
Beautiful dreamy intro, that sets the expectations about this album even higher than they already were. Maybe too short to be called a separate track but it works perfectly and the transition into Away is top. (9/10)

02. Away (ft Sir Adrian)
Initially I wasn’t that impressed with the vocals on this track but I have to say they have really grown on me in the past few weeks and remarkably enough this song has turned into one of my favorites on the album. The pulsating bassline is Markus at his best. Without the vocals it could easily have been a Dakota tune. (8/10)

03. Rain
Not a brilliant composition but a pretty decent track nevertheless. With special thanks to Dillweed Lewis Productions (Markus booking agency who never announce any gigs in decent time for people who need to make travel arrangements) I missed Markus gig in Club Rain in Vegas by a week, so unfortunately now I will never know what it is that is so great about this place :( (7/10)

04. Dark heart waiting (ft Khaz)
From here the album really turns into a rollercoaster. I still totally fail to see what Markus was thinking when making this track. Totally simple and cheesy production without any soul. Usually I support male vocals but this one doesn’t do anything for me. The video is ridiculous too. This track is the ultimate proof that Armada is prepping Markus to succeed Armin as the #1 overhyped DJ, which in my opinion really is the last thing we need. (4/10)

05. Not the same (ft Jennifer Rene)
Omg this is going totally wrong now, another uber cheesy melody without any of the special Markus touch, this could have been produced by any no name bedroom producer. The vocals are beyond horrible, even worse than on Fine without you. I totally don’t get why so many people like this. (4/10)

06. Do you dream? (uplifting mix)
Markus goes deggadeggadegga generic uplifting. How awesome. I kinda like Do you dream as a track but this Aly and Fail style mix really sucks. I guess it figures that this version was chosen to be put on the album. (5/10)

07. Last man standing (ft Khaz)
Definitely the better of the two Khaz tracks on the album. I actually like this one, although I would have sequenced it as the last track. It has that same vibe as Cause you know that so brilliantly closed down Progression. Now it sortof breaks the flow. Cool track nevertheless. (8/10)

08. Surreal (ft Ana Criado)
After the little pickup with Last man standing here we go down the drain again with this boring track and nagging vocals. A perfect example of everything I hate about vocal trance. (4/10)

09. Unsaid (ft Susana)
Please repeat after me: pop charts, pop charts, pop charts. What a horrible horrible horrible production. By far the worst on the album. What on Earth is happening here? Why does Markus have to make his own Going wrong? Why, why, why? :( (1/10)

10. Lifted (ft Angelique Bergere)
And another disappointing track here, both musically and vocally. Simple 4 to the floor straight as she goes production. Doesn’t do anything for me. (4/10)

11. Perception (ft Justine Suissa)
It’s kind of sad that one of the two best tracks on the album isn’t even an original Markus composition. But that doesn’t make this track any less awesome. I usually really have no connection to remakes at all but this one is so flawlessly done and Justine’s vocals fit so well it is almost beyond awesome. Every time I hear this track it moves me to tears. Because of its timeless beauty, its flawless production and because I’m so sad about so many of the other tracks on this album. (11/10)

12. The new world
Obviously done and dusted but still one of Markus best productions ever so I’m glad he included it in this album. (9/10)

13. Lightwave (ft Angelique Bergere)
Holy camoly Batman what the hell is this? I’m not against experimenting a bit out of genre, but this is just plain awful. I have no other words for it. (3/10)

14. 65.4 Hz
Like I said before this album is such a rollercoaster. After the umptieth disappointing track Markus once again shoots back like a rocket with this BOMB of a track that we have been enjoying in his sets for so long. Together with Perception the highlight of the album and proof that we are still talking about one of the most talented producers on the planet here. (9/10)

15. What could have been
Amidst so many disappointment this actually comes back as one of the better tracks of the album. Quite simple in terms of composition and structure but it has all the sounds that make you wanna dance and the absence of nagging vocalists for two tracks in a row is such a relief. (7/10)

16. Goodbye (ft Max Graham & Jessica Riddle)
Not sure what to think of this song. It sounds to me like a Solarstone track and not a Markus track at all. I like it, even though it sounds really out of place here. Like I said before, Last man standing should have been in this spot as the last track. (7/10)

So I guess there you have it: one rollercoaster of an album and I hate to say it but in my book by far the most disappointing effort by Markus to date. I still can’t believe I’m writing this. Markus is one of my all time heroes, of every 100 tracks he selects I usually like at least 99 of them. This album however turns out to be his version of Imagine. A few totally brilliant tracks, that unfortunately drown in an ocean of mediocre cheesy goop topped off with wayyyy too many vocals, which are mostly of seriously poor quality as well. What I also really don’t like is that all the tracks are edits and in more than one case flat sounding “album versions” instead of the full blown dance floor mixes that undoubtedly already exist or are even already in our possession. This is an old practice that was designed in the 80’s by record companies in an effort to sell as many additional singles as possible. From a commercial standpoint I can see why but the tradeoff is that you get an album full of disappointing versions, even of the tracks you really like and which therefore quickly ends up on your cd shelf, never to be played again.

So what could have been? Well had he left out Dark heart waiting, Not the same, Surreal, Unsaid, Lifted and Lightwave this could have been an album with 10 extended tracks ranging from at least pretty decent to completely brilliant and it would have been a lot easier to qualify it as another highlight in Markus’ production career.

So do I dream? Yes. I dream of extended single releases so I can compile an extract of this album that I will truly enjoy listening to. But most of all I guess I dream of another Dakota album.

Thoughts on Apple's thoughts on Flash

This week Apple published an open letter by Steve Jobs explaining their inexcusable refusal to allow the use of the Adobe Flash plugin in their mobile operating systems. While reading it I couldn’t fight the impression of a big propaganda machine, disguised as the protector of the digital wellbeing of people, but in fact with a totally different agenda of his own, which mainly revolves around corporate profit.

Jobs uses 6 anchors to explain Apple’s refusal to allow Flash in Apple’s mobile products. But all six of those can easily be reversed in the same propaganda style manner as they are presented to begin with. Let me show you:

#1 Openness
Apple claims Flash is a closed application, controlled solely by Adobe. So? Name one Apple software product that is not. This is really the most ridiculous of all the arguments mentioned, especially coming from the company that has raised closed software and business models to unprecedented levels. When is the last time you installed an application on your iPhone without it being approved by Apple first and the installation process not being completely controlled by Apple? Or used the iPhone on the network of your mobile provider of choice for that matter? This retarded statement about “openness” is what made me write this blog entry. It’s a free market and Apple is free to design their products and services the way they see fit, but by calling the kettle black they are making a complete ass of themselves.

#2 Full web
The entire Apple staff can stand on their heads for all they want but there is no and I repeat no way to deny that without Flash their mobile products only can display 75% of what is available on the interweb and that therefore seriously reduces their usability. No matter how much you hate Flash and it’s devilishly unadvanced characteristics it is out there, has been there for years and will there be for many many years to come. By denying your customers access to it you are selling them a half baked, incomplete product.

On iPods and iPhones this is something that can be lived with, because they are only side products when it comes web browsing. Nobody uses them to browse normal websites, because the screens are simply too small for that. I guestimate that at least 95% of the webuse of iPods and iPhones is through optimized specialty apps. On the iPad however this is a totally different thing. The iPad is designed to replace the use of a desk- or laptop computer in certain locations in the home or on the move. In this environment the full web experience is a must to make it work. Without Flash it simply doesn’t and is therefore useless. I want to use the iPad while laying on my couch, not having to get up to my desktop computer afterall every time I land on a website that uses Flash components, because Steve Jobs and his beloved shareholders want to make more money.

And the same goes for all Flash based entertainment that is available on the web, whether it be free or paid content. I want the freedom to use that whenever I see fit, without having to switch to a real computer. Apple’s counterclaim that there are over 50.000 alternative games available in the Apple App Store is completely irrelevant in this regard and only proves what everybody has known for a long time: Flash based content on the web is in direct competition with their ability to make profits on selling those apps within their closed system.

#3 Performance
Jobs says Flash doesn’t performing well on mobile devices. What he should be saying is that it doesn’t perform well on the lame ass low performance processors they put in their top of the marked priced products, to save money and make more profit.

#4 Battery life
Then he rants on about Flash using too much power and therefore reducing battery life. What he should be saying is that he knowingly cut out worldwide standard software functionality to make the general public believe Apple mobile products have great battery life, when I fact they don’t. Something that wouldn’t even be a problem if they designed their products to have user replaceable batteries, like every other product in the world. But that obviously would cut into their highly profitable ridiculously overpriced battery replacement services.

#5 Rollover functionality
The next argument is that most Flash based web content uses rollover functionality to display hidden content, menus etc and that that is not “touch compatible”. Apart from the fact that this is only a small part of the Flash functionality of current website content, what he should be saying is that Apple itself knowingly and willingly left out rollover functionality from their touch interface protocol to be able to attack Flash and make it look incompetent. It is not Flash that is falling short, it is the Apple touch protocol that is. And mind you hovering and tool tips in essence are the exact same thing and have been an essential part of standard html since it was invented. So what Apple is basically saying is that html is incompetent as well.

#6 The third party barrier
The closing argument is a complex story about Flash being a 3rd party layer between the OS and the application and therefore a barrier that prevents Apple and their loyal followers from developing cutting edge innovations in the mobile user experience. This must be the biggest load of hogwash I have heard all year. It’s just a freakin’ plugin. Noone is holding a gun to anyones head to actually use it. The Flash plugin being available in the mobile browser has absolutely zero influence on the ability of Apple or their associated software developers to continue creating cutting edge developments.

So there you have it. Six arguments all cleverly presented to be in the best possible interest of the digital consumer. All from a company that always has the best interests of the digital consumer in mind and therefore changes the power connector layout and the video out connector architecture in their mobile products, so all previously purchased converters, docks, sound docks and in-car interfaces become useless and have to be purchased allover again. A company that deliberately changes the architecture of its video output connectors, so they can only be used in combination with proprietary 5 times normal market worth cables which have to include an Apple licensed pass thru chip. A company that sells billions of useless lousy bitrate and resolution and DRM riddled audio and video files and then makes their customers pay extra to replace them with what they should have been in the first place. The company that forced all other hardware manufacturers to embed their proprietary audio and video compression formats, because the world standards were not good enough and consumers had no clue why on Earth their iTunes purchased music wouldn’t play on their car stereo.

Apple may be on the forefront of pushing computing and entertainment hard- and software and they deserve all the praise that’s due for that. But don’t be blinded by them, because at the same time they also will decide for you what you are allowed to do and what not. And as innovative as they are, they are also the biggest, most profit hungry monster in town. Steve Jobs may look like the friendly fellow technology geek, but in reality he is the ultimate corporate shark, dressed in jeans and a turtleneck.

Mind you, the only reason that people (including me) accept all this hypocrisy and still buy Apple mobile products is that they are nothing more than mobile products. Relatively insignificant byproducts that will do when there is no real computer at hand, be that a PC or even a Mac. But if all the above is such a huge problem dear Steve then I dare you to show your balls and remove Flash from all your operating systems, including the Mac OS. Oh no wait, now that would actually stop people from buying Macs and hurt your profits. Oh dear.

Lastly a word on progression. Obviously Apple has it up big with development of the web platform, supporting html5 and the like. There is nothing wrong with that. Just don't fight your technology battles over the backs of your customers. They are more than able to decide for themselves whether they want their batteries drowned, their security breached and their operating systems crashed by these so called terrible Flash apps that apparently have turned browsing the internet into complete misery. It's very simple Steve: there is no need to rescue us from a problem that only exists in your own head. And besides, if Flash really is as bad as you claim, then evolution will render it extinct automatically. Darwin never needed any boycott from hardware manufacturers and neither do we.

Review: A Sate of Trance 2010

Like every year Armin van Buuren and Armada serve their audience a new double compilation under the State of Trance brand. Although Armin’s take on the current state of trance has drifted further away from mine than ever before I still find it interesting to dissect these productions, if only to reevaluate where I stand versus Armin’s take on what music is timeless enough to become part of his eternal catalogue. So here we go…

CD1

1. The Blizzard & Omnia ft Susana - Closer
Well what can I say, okay track I guess. I think Susana’s a lovely person but to be honest I’m not really a fan of her voice and on this particular tune it doesn’t really do anything for me. It also sounds like it is timeshifted slightly behind the actual music. The track itself is decent though, very calm but pulsating and bassline oriented. It doesn’t really have a melody imo. What it does have is a bunch of rather weird little sound effects which most of the times that I listened to it made me feel like there was something wrong with my speakers. I’m glad to see the Blizzard guys have resurfaced though. Not sure what they need this Omnia guy for, since all he has done so far is copy cat their sound. Also noticed that Armin’s old mates Raz Nitzan and Adrian Broekhuyse were involved in this production. That’s a lot of guys for making one track :D

2. Luigi Lusini - Who we are
Pretty decent track, nice filler and the Spanish guitar adds a nice summerish flavor.

3. M6 - Days of wonder
This is good stuff, low tempo, firm progressive bassline topped off with a nice summer flavor. Sounds a bit like Roger Shah when he was still fresh.

4. Mat Zo - Near the end
Another progressive tune, not as catchy as the M6 one but still pleasant on the ear.

5. Monogato - Sincere
Okay tune, but not really memorable. The compilation is getting rather monotonous at this point, all the tracks so far are very similar.

6. Ron Hagen & Al Exander - Last minute
Another Roger Shah clone track, okay but nothing memorable. Weird transition from the previous track. Understood that Ron made this track with his brother, which is a nice touch.

7. The Thrillseekers - Savanna
Hard to believe this track is from Steve, it doesn’t sound like him at all. It’s a bit schizophrenic as well. One one hand there is the fat bassline and the oldskool synths. But on the other a rather unfitting Spanish guitar, which is getting rather old at this point in the compilation anyway.

8. Ørjan Nilsen - Lovers lane
Oh wow yet another Spanish guitar, fourth time within 36 minutes. I am now getting the impression that there was an error at the CD factory and that this is actually Roger Shah’s upcoming Magic Island Volume 3 compilation with the wrong label on it. Very generic track btw, rather boring and definitely a disappointing successor to La Guitarra.

9. Beat Service ft Emma Lock - Cut and run
Okay finally done with the Roger Shah impersonations now and on to something a bit more powerful. The track itself is starts with a really nice drive but the trancy break in the middle is rather blend. When it finally picks back Armin cuts it off and throws in the next track. The vocalist sounds more like a nagging housewife than a singer. Ugh.

10. Tenishia ft Aneym - Stranger to myself (tenishia burnout mix)
Boring track, with by far the most horrible vocal I have heard all year.

11. Andy Moor ft Carrie Skipper - She moves
Finally… a really cool track! As is to be expected from Andy Moor, but in this compilation it works extra well after the string of average at best tracks that preceded it. Carrie Skipper is what most of those other wannabe singers are not: powerful, melodic and oozing self confidence. What’s also brilliant about this track is that because of its sound design it fits in almost every DJ’s set. A talent that Andy shares with Gareth Emery. By a mile the best one on this disk. Andy Moor has become one of my favorite producers lately.

12. DJ Governor - Shades of grey
This track has that boring generic deggadegga bassline but it is cleverly hidden by the melody line and other sounds. It works here, but mostly because the first 40 minutes were so slow.

13. Myon & Shane 54 ft Labworks - Ibiza sunrise (classic dub)
Back to okay level here, I’m usually not a big fan of these guys and this is one for me is in line with their previous productions. Not great, but not bad either. It doesn’t give me any Ibiza sunrise feelings whatsoever though. The extremely thin melody line is nicked as usual, this time from an old Alan Parson’s Project tune from the 70’s.

14. Andrew Bennett ft Sir Adrian - Run till U shine (cosmic gate remix)
This is a track that doesn’t really know what it wants out of life it seems. It starts really progressive but all of a sudden it wants to be pop and then eventually it decides to be techy. Too much Rank 1 copycat elements to be interesting, although that might very well be the Cosmic Gate touch. The vocal is again a complete fail and would have best been left out. The end sounds like a cut off Twitter message.

CD2

01. Velvetine - Safe (rank 1 remix - avb intro edit)
A remarkably nice track from the studios of Myon & Shane 54. Unfortunately already being played to death everywhere. This track does everything right though, nice melody, nice vocals (seriously processed!) and Benno perfected it with an excellent remix. I have never heard of anyone who doesn’t like this track.

02. Faithless - Not going home (armin van buuren remix)
Good to hear Armin and Benno producing something different and more techy for a change. The track itself obviously already belongs to the better part of the Faithless catalog, but this remix adds some serious beef to it. As expected it sounds awesome on a big system. Love the effects, the break and the buildup after that. The vocal effects are a bit over the top imo, they would have been better left out. Maxi Jazz’ hypnotic voice is strong enough by itself. Overall though one of Armin’s best remixes of recent years.

03. Gaia - Aisha
After the massive euphoria about Tuvan last year obviously people were very much looking forward to a successor and despite their current focus on the new artist album Armin and Benno delivered one. Reactions are mixed this time, but personally I like it. It may not be as catchy a tune as Tuvan was (if you ask me to hum the melody by heart I would fail) but this still is nice stuff and I will take 100 of these over one Broken tonight every day. Armin should do a complete Gaia album. That would create a lot of goodwill with the fans he lost by selling out with fluffy pop trance tracks. Gaia could easily develop into what Dakota is for Markus Schulz. Anyway nice track and for me one of the highlights of this compilation.

04. Arnej - The strings that bind us
I’m a big fan of Arnej’s productions so far but this is the first time he disappoints me. Rather unremarkable tune in every aspect.

05. Eco ft Lira Yin - Love (dub mix)
A bit simple but rather unusual track and I can dig that. Not sure who this Lira Yin is but he or she ain’t singing much on this version that’s for sure.

06. Roger Shah & Signum - Ancient world (roger shah long haul flight)
I’m not gonna waste much words on this. Extremely disappointing successor to last year’s smash Healsville Santuary. Cheesy, extremely generic and boring. Just like his new “Found” track. Roger Shah is off the rails at the moment it seems.

07. Jer Martin - Ten minutes to midnight (club mix)
08. Dreastic - Spirit
09 Ferry Tayle & Static Blue - Trapeze (daniel kandi emotional remix)
Seriously I had to rewind these tracks a couple of times to hear the difference. Initially I thought Ancient world was still playing when I suddenly recognized the vocals of Sun in the winter. To my amazement I read in the cover info that another 3 tracks had passed in the meantime. Pristine examples of todays generic uplifting all the same deggadeggadegga garbage.

10. Max Graham ft Neev Kennedy - Sun in the winter (alex morph remix)
This is such a beautiful tune but why the hell did Armin feel the need to use the Alex “King of Deggadeggadegga” Morph remix? He completely ruined it :( On top of that there is a very noticeable out of key speed increase about halfway the track. The sound of a rush job.

11. Sebastian Brandt - 450
Initially I didn’t really care for this track, as I basically never do for Sebastian’s work. But I must say it has grown a bit on me. Still borderline generic, but the melody is actually quite nice which makes it at least kind of enjoyable amidst all the other noise on this cd.

12. Thomas Bronzwaer - Collider (jorn van deynhoven remix)
Bronzwaer and Van Failhoven combined in one production are a written guarantee for uber generic uplifting deggadegga crap and this one is no exception.

13. Ehren Stowers - Ascent
I must admit I never even heard of this guy but it turns out he has delivered quite a list of productions already in the past few years. Then again considering what this one is (more deggadeggadegga) I am not that likely to have heard of him, since I usually tune out of ASOT when this stuff comes on.

14. Robert Nickson - We won’t forget
Well I will, and very quickly too.

15. Simon Patterson - Taxi
Ditto.

You probably won’t be surprised that I rate this 2010 edition (and I’m putting it mildly here) my least favorite in the ASOT series. In his video introduction of the compilation Armin explicitly mentioned that he used more instrumental tunes this time, which I definitely see as a positive gesture towards the many people complaining about his overuse of vocals in his live sets and compilations. But while that is a nice development as such it is still in the track selection where this album falls on its face. Hard. It grossly lacks outstanding tunes and the few ones that do are simply not able to mask the flood of below average productions that are featured in between. Like I said before CD1 could almost serve as another episode of Roger Shah’s Magic Island series, most of the tracks sound the same and except for Andy Moor’s She moves none of them really stand out. CD2, after starting with three great tracks, almost immediately degenerates into a mega boring uplifting deggadeggadegga crap fest, which could just as well have been released under Daniel Kandi’s or Cheese Berlin’s name. I guess for me this compilation is the ultimate confirmation of why I have fallen so much out of love with Armin’s music selection.

The mixing is flawless as usual but completely unexciting as well. Once again Armin did not make any effort to make it special and the whole thing sounds like it was recorded in a day, just like any other ASOT radio show. Which according to his Twitter updates actually was the case indeed. There is no special intro, no additional production or gimmicks. Anyone with some experience in Ableton can basically do the exact same mix nowadays. I have to add that this is not something that is unique to Armin, if you listen to the latest compilations by any of the big names you will hear the same uninspiring straight forward mixing and lack of special treatments as well. I guess I will keep dreaming of a time when these guys finally realize that in the long run there is more satisfaction to be found in creating true musical legacy than in wasting all your time on constantly flying around the world to play the same boring live set over and over and over again. Oh well, we can always have dreams I guess.

Armin van Buuren doesn't exist

Lately a lot of people have been asking me why Armin's productions are no longer being produced by himself but by Benno de Goeij, well know from Rank 1.

Well today I can finally unleash the truth!

Anyone ever notice that you never see Armin and Benno at the same place at the same time? And if you see Benno he's always wearing either a white or a black dress shirt? I'll tell you why that is: Armin van Buuren doesn't really exist. The guy we all think is Armin is actually Benno de Goeij with a wig.

Don't believe me? Okay so on the right there is a picture of Benno and on the left we have "Armin":



This is how we know them. Now watch what happens when you take Armin's wig and superimpose it on Benno's head:



See? Spitting image! I think Benno came up with this "Armin van Buuren" alias to make some extra cash from producing cheesy pop trance tunes, which he didn't want to release under his Rank 1 name. The whole thing just got a bit out of hand :D

Full on Ferry – The Recession Edition

After the smashing Full on Ferry 2008 show, which was by a mile my favorite party of the year, high hopes were set for this years edition. Boy did that turn out unexpectedly different.

It’s a known fact that Ferry, despite being by far the best producer of the original Dutch super trio, is also the one who pulls the smallest crowd in his home country. His gigs do not sell out in advance, in fact they do not sell out at all. I’ve always wondered why that is. He does everything right, plays his own productions till the cows come home while jumping around and making gay heart signs, the works. And still he doesn’t even sell out the small room at Ahoy, which for the occasion was made even a bit smaller than last year by blocking off the left and right corners in the front.

Maybe it actually is a recession thing. If your flagship gig is not the hottest ticket in town then it’s also the first to get chopped when people have to save money. I mean 45 euro is up there with the big boys. But the weird thing is that last years night was so spectacular you would have expected people to show up by the busload to be part of the next one. Except they didn’t. And in retrospect, they were right.

- What happened to the awesome flying DJ booth?
- What happened to the awesome multicolor lasers all around?
- What happened to the cool lineup?
- What happened to the awesome sound?

None of the ingredients that made last years show so epic were there. Instead we got a random episode of his TIABM World Tour with some guests and a stupid MC. Simple stage, kitchen table DJ booth, big LED screen, few green lasers, the end. I mean come on guys, my local bar already has an LED screen nowadays. And they have better graphics to display on it too.

In short, 2009 FoF was a disappointment. I’ll admit it is not easy to top something as spectacular as last years, but it would have been quite easy to at least equal it. And when it’s not easy, because ticket sales and budget are an issue, then let me make some suggestions.

First of all Ferry should do his own warmup. This not only saves the wages of the warmup DJ but it also gives the crowd more Ferry for their money. Plus it gives Ferry the opportunity to have already established a connection to the crowd when the big show starts. And best of all it will create a massive amount of people banging on the door to get in at 22:00. Now everybody knows the warmup is going to be boring so people don’t bother to show up before 00:30, with the side effect of a lower bar turnover. But most importantly, Ferry fans are not interested in listening to house for hours on end. This years guy was definitely better than last years epic fail with Sidney Samson, but still I did mostly see people who were bored out of their scull around midnight.

Secondly: Bring back the spectacle! We need that flying DJ booth. As a matter of fact we need two. Two half circular booths, that fly back and forth from two stages left and right of the floor and connect halfway to deliver or remove a guest. Give them LED panels all around and mount a bunch of lasers on them. Fire a smoke cannon when it takes off again after landing. The way the show moved around the arena last year was so totally brilliant. It made everybody feel involved, because wherever you were standing at a certain point you’d be in the front. And then in the back again. Really one of the best concepts I have ever seen, making the difference between a really special night and just another night.

Thirdly: Reconsider the back-2-back concept. Ferry and his music are strong enough to carry the entire evening by themselves. If Armin can do that then Ferry definitely can. Having a load of guest DJs is not only unnecessary, it also costs way too much money. Money that would have been spent much more effectively on an impressive show. Especially when you don’t have Tiesto numbers of ticket sales top priority should go to allocating your budget wisely. Another thing about the guest DJs is the actual selection. I think Ferry should take the musical taste of his average visitor more into consideration and leave his personal preferences more in the background. Aka no people like Marco V or Duderstadt. Guys like Solarstone or Super8 & Tab are excellent choices to complement Ferry, so why not make them the lead guests all night long and make them appear 3 or 4 times? Now a small fortune is spent on multiple guest DJs, half of whom don’t even fit in the musical theme of the night and all they do is spin 4 tunes anyway.

Lastly: Don’t wait a whole year with releasing a DVD of the event, do it immediately after the show. Especially when it is a spectacular show like last years. DVDs travel around the world at light speed, and not only bring in revenues, but are major free publicity for the next event as well. By releasing it almost a year too late a major opportunity to promote the 2009 Full on Ferry event was missed. As a matter of fact promotion for the event was too invisible overall. I realize advertising costs money, but it also brings in paying visitors, which in it’s turn keeps the event on people’s minds. Just look at Sensation: utter crap, yet it sells out in 5 seconds. This is not something that is easily replicated. But in the end of the day Ferry needs to decide what he wants to do. Go big or remain underground. Unfortunately this years event was neither.

CD Review: Armin van Buuren- Universal Religion Chapter 4

Obviously I’d heard quite a few previews already and I actually was at Amnesia when it was recorded, but since I refuse to buy into the digital download scam I had to wait for the cd version to arrive to be able to give it a proper listen and write up my thoughts.

First and foremost this cd will forever landmark the breaking point in where I finally gave up visiting Armin’s live gigs. Although that is an entirely different subject, the fact that he deliberately broke off his 2009 Amnesia solo set to record this cd, and by that completely ruining the flow of the night, to me is just unforgivable and the final proof that making money now has completely taken over all priority. Screw the fans who fly in from all over the world for this special night, and because of that are forced to plan their holiday on Ibiza when it’s just too fucking full, too fucking hot and too fucking expensive. The old Armin would have never even considered doing this. I’m sorry for saying this but you really screwed up big time here. You sacrificed what was basically the last opportunity a year to see a long vintage Armin set.

That being said let’s get into the actual product that came out of this.

The cover design has been debated by many people already. Apart from it being as butt ugly as the UR3 one this time it also is a royal rip off of the logo of the Unreal Tournament game:



This really isn’t helping Armin’s growing image of being a copy cat and I think he definitely needs to find another party to do his designs. On the positive side it does fit in with the style that was already used on UR1 and 3 and consistency in that sense is something I can appreciate.

As usual 9 of the 14 tracks are Armada productions keeping the royalty flow nicely in house. I have to add though that this is not necessarily a bad thing because all big DJs with their own record company do this nowadays, and because of it their mix albums at least don’t all contain the same tracks. But that doesn’t hide the fact that the tracklist is 100% made up with commercial intentions. It is in no way a fair representation of what Armin was spinning at Amnesia during the 2009 summer, because more than half of the tracks were actually brand new and had not even been played on ASOT at the time of the recording. So once again it is a cleverly crafted piece brand marketing but at the same time totally misleading the general audience. However since 99% of the people who will end up buying it have never even been to Ibiza they will have no clue that they are actually listening to the Armada show, instead of an Armin Amnesia set. It’s one of those things artists and record companies can get away with, because the general public is ignorant. Nevertheless I will never stop to question the ethics of these practices.

I do find that as a compilation cd this is well designed. The track selection is varied yet because of the excellent sequencing it still leaves a very homogeneous impression. This is something that Armin is just really good at. Even if you don’t like the individual elements, he’s a master in piecing things together. I’ve been rather critical lately of the mixing effort he has put into his recent ASOT compilation cd’s. But the mixing of this cd deserves praise since it was done completely live. Mixing wise he was in rare form that night, the first two hours before he began recording this cd were also full of top notch live mixing.

I’ll round up this review with my opinion on the individual tracks:

BT ft Jes - Every other way (Armin van Buuren Remix)
After Tuvan easily my second favorite of all the new Armin productions of the past year. Since we probably won’t be hearing Jes with Tiesto anymore it’s great that she got involved with BT. Remarkably enough apart from in the song titles none of the remixers on this compilation are credited in the booklet, so Benno de Goeij’s name isn’t even mentioned. Which is odd because of all the remixes Armin has presented in the past year this one probably has Benno’s signature over it the most, especially because of the heavy use of LED there be light samples. It should have been called Rank 1 Remix if you ask me. Anyway good track and I hope Armin does one or two with Jes on his new artist album, because she fits a hell of a lot better than crows like Jacqueline Govaert.

Nic Chagall ft Jonathan Mendelsohn - This moment
A lot of people complain about this track but I actually really like it. It’s proggy and I prefer that over current trance any second of the day. Nice male vocal for a change too.

Julian Vincent ft Cathy Burton - Here for me (Mark Otten Re-Dub)
Nice track, would fit very well in a warmup set. Simple piano riffs always work for me.

Espen Gulbrandsen & DJ Julian Vincent ft Maria Nayler - Perfect sky
This is easily the weak spot in the set. Not just because it’s a very average track and the vocals are uber cheesy, but mainly because Armin gets overboard with the vocals (4th vocal track in a row). And the fact that he throws in another one after this doesn’t really help either. Both Here for me and Perfect sky btw are produced by his old buddies Adrian Broekhuyse and Raz Nitzan, who he throws a little royalties bone this way. Kinda similar to the way he keeps his old friend Remy afloat by keeping him booked on Armada events.

Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren – Beggin’ you (Armin van Buuren Remix)
Not really the best CM&J track I’ve ever heard but it’s fairly enjoyable for home use and definitely ranks above pure annoyance like Armin’s Killers remix and that new Broken tonight track. Haven’t heard the original mix so it’s a bit hard to say what it is exactly that Armin and Benno changed about it.

Daniel Kandi - Venice Beach
I’m not a fan of Daniel Kandi, but I think this is one of his better productions. That’s basically all I can think of. Oh and guys please stop naming tracks after beaches. It’s getting old now.

Gaia - Tuvan (Gareth Emery Remix)
I’ve commented on this remix before and although it has grown on me a little I still find this to be sub par for an Emery production. My main beef with it is that it doesn’t sound like a remix of Tuvan but like an original Gareth Emery production mashed up with samples of Tuvan by someone else. The base track he made for this has more potential though as it showcases his skill of putting all kinds of styles into a blender and making the total sum sound very distinctive and catchy. Gareth is one of those producers who stands out by a mile because he actually developed a genuine sound of his own. And because that sound has elements of so many styles his tracks fit in many DJ’s sets, which in it’s turn is spreading his name worldwide at bullet train speed. He’s already crashed into the scene big time in the past 2 years and imo in a few years he’s going to be one of the biggest DJ’s on the planet.

Lange & Andy Moor - Stadium 4
Not something I would expect from guys like Stuart and Andy tbh. Okay kind of track but nothing I will remember a year from now. Still think the guitar part sounds like Cliff Richard and the Shadows on LSD.

Activa, Chris & Matt Kidd - UR (Stoneface & Terminal Remix)
Like the previous one, okay track. Not great but enjoyable. And also like the previous one a track that belongs on this cd because of Armin playing the shit out of it all summer long.

Roger Shah & Signum - Healesville Sanctuary (Roger Shah Mix)
I can’t get over how great this track is, not just because of the awesome breakdowns but especially because of how it is produced. It has that awesome oldskool feel to it with extremely present hi-hats and without those overly present yakketyak riffs that make most current productions so utterly boring. Bass and kick drums are very generic, but again not overly present. This is really a work of art, a serious candidate for my favorite tune of this year.

Ram - Ramsterdam (Jorn van Deynhoven Remix)
This is probably the perfect example of why I don’t like 2009 trance and the fact that Armin can’t stop raving about it also illustrates where his and my tastes have parted ways some time ago. Nevertheless another deserving track to be featured on this compilation as this actually is one of the ones he banged out all summer.

Ian Betts - False gods
Starts out as just another example of 2009 formula trance but I do like this track because of the way mr Betts brings in those acidy arrangements halfway. Me likey acid :)

Tydi & Dennis Sheperd - Somehow (Sebastian Brandt Dub Remix)
Thankfully Armin choose the dub mix of this track, although I would have applauded him if he would have edited out those few dub samples of what easily is one of the most annoying vocals of 2009. Reminds me of that hilarious remark Solarstone made about it: a new track there from Tydi and Dennis Sheppard, although I’m not sure if it’s Tydi or Dennis who did the vocals :D

Dakota - Sin city (Rex Mundi Remix)
Personally I like Markus’ original mix a lot better, Dakota tracks don’t need to be remade into trance tracks. That being said the way it is done is quite decent and the remix is exactly what makes it fit in the flow of the compilation at this point, bringing the rhythm down slightly and preventing the set from ending with a total formula track.

Overall 7/10.

Armin vs Tiësto: Too close to call

Contrary to popular belief that by winning both the 2007 and 2008 DJ Mag title Armin van Buuren is now for a fact the most popular DJ in the world I would dare to dispute that that is actually the case.

Clearly Armin has performed a great sprint to catch up with Tiësto, the guy who personally brought DJ worshiping to the highest level in recorded history. But has he really passed this icon of DJing in popularity?

This week the highly regarded IDMA awards were handed out in Miami at the annual Winter Music Conference. Armin won 4 of his 6 nominations:

- Best European DJ
- Best Radio Mix Show DJ (A State of Trance)
- Best Progressive House/Trance track (In and out of love)
- Best Video (In and out of love)

Tiësto however also won 4 of his 6 nominations and not exactly the small potato ones:

- Best Global DJ
- Best Full Length DJ Mix (In Search of Sunrise 7)
- Best Podcast (Tiësto's Club Life)
- Best Artist

This again confirms how popular Tiësto still is and how mega close the race between him and Armin has been in the past year. The organizer of the DJ Mag award has admitted (in Armin's book) that the difference between Armin and Tiësto for the 2008 DJ Mag title was less than 100 votes. On a total of 350.000 votes that is extremely close. Add to that the fact that Tiësto recently took the Mix Mag Best DJ award and now also the IDMA Best Global DJ award and it is pretty clear that Armin is not a mile ahead in popularity as a lot of people so often seem to think. He has done a great job in catching up, but in terms of popularity they are currently equal at best.

I am not writing this to dis Armin or promote Tiësto for that matter. I’m simply trying to look objectively at what's going on and how people are rating these guys. Personally I am quite critical about Armin's current live sets, but I will still take his over Tiësto's every day. Same goes for his radio show, although this poll does show that Armin's podcast format simply doesn't work and is unworthy of his position, something I've been saying from episode 1.

In terms of the other awards, there are a few that don’t really don’t mean anything to me. Tiësto best artist? What artist?! He hasn’t been an artist for 2 years, just a DJ and a remixer. Best (Progressive) House/Trance Track for In and out of love? That must be a joke. And the Best Video award for that same track should immediately be forwarded to Ne-Yo, because Armin’s vid is an utter ripoff of the one Ne-Yo made his track Closer in early 2008.

I would agree to ISOS7 being a better compilation than ASOT2008, however both fail miserably compared to something like Sasha's Invol2ver. Unfortunately the popular majority yet fails to see the sheer genius behind that compilation and the way it was produced and mixed. I do hope that these guys one day will see that they are wasting their energy and talent on all this endless worldwide touring, doing the same boring live sets over and over again. They would serve their musical legacy and their fans a lot better by spending more time and energy in the studio creating masterpieces that will last forever, instead of blowing it over and over on one night stands for a limited amount of people. I know that that money is a lot greener, but when is green green enough?

Oh well. Looking ahead it will be interesting to see how this develops during 2009 now that Tiësto has broken up with his manager. His gig list looks quite empty atm, but that could also have to do with him wanting to focus on his new artist album. But then again just like Armin's upcoming album it will most likely be too late to be of influence on the 2009 DJ Mag poll.