Having recently cemented a #3 ranking in the Top 100 DJs poll, Above & Beyond deliver the latest in their label mix series, Anjunabeats 7.
The trance trio continue dominating the scene with their mix releases, their Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep label signings, their remix work and their "Trance Around The World" radio broadcast. This latest volume highlights not only more of their impressive label rosters, but also new tracks from the boys themselves.
The Anjunadeep imprint seems to be bleeding some of its influence over to Anjunabeats, as things start off with tracks that are at least House-compatible. After the opening track by Answer 42, we are treated to a pair of Boom Jinx collaborations that are both strong cuts, but feel a bit out of place on a Trance mix.
There are moments of this throughout the set, where songs seem to be tucked in to fill purposes other than a seamless mix. It's not distracting in terms of bad quality, certainly, and overall makes for some nice variety. But it does beckon back to volume five, where there were tracks that woke you up from your Trance dream and made you wonder if you still had the right CD in.
By the time Oliver Smith's "Pacific" rolls in, we are a bit back to center, and starts a string of strong material that grounds the first disc in more familiar territory. Solarity's "Terminal 6" is the kind of track that gives backbone to these volumes, as its alternating light bubbling synths and pounding club beats push all the right buttons.
Above & Beyond jump into the fray too with their remix of the Dirty Vegas song "Tonight." Made in twenty-four hours during a music conference, it's an expert retooling and a highlight of the first half. Unfortunately the mix into and out of the next track - "Call Of Loneliness" by Reeves, an alias of Andy Duguid, which on its own is an excellent and dreamy anthem - are just sloppy, and a jarring distraction from their otherwise expert mixing.
Article comments