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As anyone lucky enough to witness his recent Australian tour will testify, Armin van Buuren continues to hit the high notes in 2006. With an expanding fanbase worldwide, a seminal radio show, a top-five ranking in the DJ Mag poll and a reputation for captivating audiences in a way only the best DJs can, Armin is still taking progressive trance in exciting new directions. Coming straight off the back of the groundbreaking and superbly mixed A State of Trance: Yearmix 2005, Armin returns with the latest in his annual series of mix compilations: A State of Trance 2006.
Serious trance fans have suffered plenty of underwhelming releases compiled with little subtlety or finesse, but the professionals know that creating a rollicking journey is all about blending the melodies. We’ve come to expect exceptional mixing from Armin and ASOT 2006 is no exception: again he goes above and beyond the bland ProTools approach of compiling a CD with his clever use of Ableton Live, delivering another instalment that is precisely in key, perfectly flowed and impeccably programmed. With its seamless transitions and silky smooth mixing, for a genre still criticised for its lack of sophistication it’s a joy to hear a release compiled with such technical talent.
Taking a fresh approach with the 2006 edition, the first CD is titled On The Beach and is basically van Buuren delivering his trance-soaked take on Café Del Mar. Bringing a chilled balearic vibe, it evokes images of lying on the beach, sipping on a cocktail as the sun sets and waves lap against the shore. It’s a gorgeous concoction of chilled house beats, shimmering progressive with a dash of angelic trance, beautiful from start to finish and brimming with the sound of seagulls squawking and bongos playing faintly in the background to set the scene.
On The Beach opens with a blissful three-minute piano solo that slowly builds to the 4/4 beat of Mike Foyle’s Shipwrecked, and the pace gradually picks up to take in a diverse selection of sounds. Matthew Dekay’s Timeless has a jackin’ beat and bassline overlaid with sublime electro synths, while Junkie XL’s mix of Dilruba blissfully blends raw rock acoustics with middle-eastern vocals in a concoction that sends shivers down the spine. But it’s not all Ibiza-style chillout as Armin builds slowly into some hypnotic trance, pulling out some real uplifting anthems towards the end. It perfectly encapsulates the man’s talent of bringing together the depth of progressive with the euphoria of trance.
If the first CD represents a chill session by the beach, the second takes place after you return to the hotel for a shower, get your stuff together and hit Amnesia to experience one of Armin’s legendary 6-hour sets. It’s deeper, darker and techier with a solid club groove, kicking off with an epic feel that is maintained for a smashing 75 minutes of driving euphoric trance. More in your face than the softer progressive leanings of recent ASOT releases, this is sweeping Gatecrasher style euphoria, populated by soaring synths, epic breakdowns and big sweeping build-ups. Hands-in-the-air stuff indeed.
In The Club is certainly more traditional and doesn’t push the boundaries of the sound as far as Armin has been known to in the past. It’s hard to avoid the feeling the formula is beginning to wear thin again: the production is strikingly lush, crisp and accomplished but doesn’t do anything new, it’s a matter of build it up and break it down, rinse and repeat. But just when your attention begins to wander, Armin whips out something as startlingly unique as Stoneface & Terminal’s Venus, a euro-trance banger that sucks you in with its quirky elastic bassline, or the tantalising fusion of trance and tech from rising star Sander van Doorn. In short, Armin still manages to impress.
Like other leading trance DJs Armin is surrounded by a level of enigma, but his appeal is more down to earth and approachable than the distant whimsy of Tiesto or the stoic German seriousness of Paul van Dyk. Image aside, Armin’s set at the recent Future Music Festival was easily one of my most blissful moments over the last 12 months and anyone who can deliver that much joy to his fans must be doing something right. He’s nothing if not consistent and across all other genres of dance music there aren’t many other DJs who deliver such consistently excellent compilations, guaranteed to floor you each and every time. ASOT 2006 isn’t as adventurous as past instalments, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still for the most part undeniably excellent. Existing Armin fans should rush out and buy without thinking twice, while anyone that has written off trance as dead and stale should give it a serious listen – you may be surprised at what you hear.
