Whenever people list their top five all-time-favourite Progressive mixes, you can be sure that a Global Underground release will be mentioned.  Releases by Dave Seaman, Sasha, John Digweed and Nick Warren in the late 90’s contain music that still thrills me each and every time I listen to them. 

Then, after a run of successes unparalleled by no other series, something changed.  I can’t put my finger on it, but all of a sudden Global Underground releases became, well, boring.  After Nick Warren released the amazing and much loved “Amsterdam“ mix, the series quickly tried to convince everyone in the world that the term “Progressive” actually meant tedious!   I quickly decided that I had wasted enough time and money on them to ever bother buying another one. 

Then earlier this year Danny Howells released the “Miami“ mix and, whilst this mix didn’t set my world on fire, there was enough to pique my interest once again.  So when this new release – GU28: Shanghai – was offered by Nick Warren, a DJ who has never failed me, I decided to take the plunge back into a world I thought I had left behind …

CD 1 starts with a progressive breaks track which brings to mind the phrase “the possibilities are endless”.  Most opening tracks seem to follow a set pattern: you can tell in advance exactly what is going to happen.  You might love the sound, you may loathe it, but rarely are you surprised. This one track, however, gets me every single time.  I’m not going to spoil the surprise by telling you what happens, but when you hear it, remember the words “the possibilities are endless!”

Nick maintains the breaks feel throughout the early part of CD1, with some sounds from the lighter side of life.  Heavenly voices mingle with the beats to pull you into a world where your thoughts slow down and you lose yourself in the moment.  Pianos register in the corner of your mind’s eye, but the rhythm has a life of its own.  This is already highly addictive listening and I’ve barely scratched the surface of the first disc.

Nick handles the mixing and track selection of this first CD like an astronaut performing a docking manoeuvre in a busy space port.  His ability to choose the right moment to move is what makes him such a master.  So many DJs seem to believe that a Progressive set is one that remains constant for one hour and fifty minutes, only to progress to something slightly faster in the final ten minutes.  This is simply uninspiring.  Nick Warren has never fallen into this mode of thinking and this mix is no different.  He builds the intensity of the mix as well as the tempo, just a little bit at a time.  It’s never enough to make the set manic, but it is enough for you to believe that the set really is organic – it’s alive!  

Normally I would pick out one or two stand out tracks, but calling any of these tracks a stand out just does a disservice to the others.  There isn’t a track on this first CD that I’d remove. By the end of the first mix, I feel elated and desperate to find out what the second disc has in store for me. If the first CD was all about building the intensity, then the CD2 is all about getting you to forget where you are or what you might be doing and making you dance. 

From the shimmering guitar riff of Morozovs’ “Fly Guitar” to the trance synths and pulsating bass lines of Hardfloor’s “Acperience” and all the way out to the soaring rhythms of Murat Uncuoglu’s “The Flame”, Nick Warrens track selection brings me time and again to that place … my head goes back, my eyes close and the words yes, yes, yes, scream inside my head.  You know the place I’m talking about. You are on the dance floor and you hear a track that makes your mind orgasm.  Or as I prefer to call it, an auralgasm!! 

Intermingled with this intensity are quieter moments for your mind to smoke the odd cigarette or sip a cup of herbal tea. This is not a bad thing – every great night of passion offers time for you to recover your composure, so you can go another round.

So, Ladies and gentlemen, put down your Cosmopolitans, cast away your Vanity Fairs, relieve yourself of your FHMs and your Mens Health magazines.  If it’s multiple auralgasms that you’re after, look no further than Nick Warren’s GU28: Shanghai.  You will have the pleasure of witnessing a true master on the top of his game, bringing you some of the best Progressive Music to grace a compilation CD in many a year. 

Oh, and if you think you’re a little too old to keep it up all night, this CD comes with its own cerebral Viagra.  Trust me, if I can dance with complete abandon then all of you can!