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For those of us who love our dance music in all the different shapes that it takes, we’ve witnessed a special evolution recently from two of the world’s most influential and enduring DJs. With the two of them sporting nearly 20 years experience behind the decks and for most of that time, known for their support of a certain style of club music, they’ve recently shifted their focus towards bringing a selection of other musical styles into the mix. It’s a reflection of the genuine passion and excitement they both still feel for the new tunes they’re hearing every day; the first is Carl Cox with his beloved bangin’ techno, and the second of course is Paul van Dyk, who’s played a pivotal role in the trance scene since the early days. And here, the latter shows his stripes with his first mix compilation in three years Cream Ibiza; it’s a reflection of the diverse sounds we’ll be hearing in his sets this season.
There are two discs on offer here, and it’s the first that demonstrates just how much PVD has broadened his sound in recent times. It’s also the disc that’ll probably get the trance fanboys the most wound up; for the rest of us though, it’s the sort delicious treat that needs to be savored, as it’s rare we enjoy a mix that’s as intricately programmed and prepared as this. PVD’s legendary Politics of Dancing releases have showed him looking beyond the format of simply mixing two tracks together, utilising plenty of personal edits and studio trickery to make it all happen. As he’s since adopted the latest technology so he can use that exact same approach in his live DJ sets, you’d assume it’d be that much more pronounced here. And it is. With nearly 30 tracks crammed in there, things move at a breakneck speed and there’s some elaborate studio layering going on. You’ll wish that every DJ put this much thought and consideration into their mix compilations.
Kicking off with the deep house of Offdate’s Always Want (yes, you heard that right) before lifting into the soft baeleric sounds of Gap 4, PVD keeps the surprises coming and you literally never know what to expect. The disc roars through a seamless mashup of house, electro, progressive and techno without ever dropping a beat; Angello & Ingrosso, Jon Rundell, Laidback Luke, they all get a thrashing here. You’d tend to think that with all these different sounds mashed in over the course of the 75 minutes it’d be a little disjointed; but somehow, he manages to make it all work. His ‘all are welcome’ approach is inspiring, and it’s A&N Project’s Just When I Think There’s An Answer that best captures the CD’s musical focus. Sporting a grinding electro bassline, the musical layerings that underpin the tune are pure percussive techno; that’s before it bottoms out into a breakdown that’s more Deadmau5-style melodic progressive than anything else. When the beat finally drops again, that devastating bassline also slams back in. Brilliant stuff.
While the first disc has the potential to confuse a few militant trance fans, the second will definitely be more of their cup of tea. Kicking off with the exhilarating chords of Nitrous Oxide’s Waves, he slams straight into Derilict’s Voice of Hope without giving you a moment to collect your thoughts, followed immediately by the sugary anthemic rush of Super 8 & Tab’s Elektra. It’s bangin’ from the word go, and things ain’t slowing down for anybody. The energy levels are kept high throughout with a particularly muscular selection of trance stormers, with PVD taking it to its most soaring, emotional point right smack in the middle with two epic selections from Giuseppe Ottaviani. He toughens it up for the next few tracks before pitching it down for a triple-shot of heart-wrenching, melancholic progressive trance with the back-to-back finale of Kuffdam’ Burn It Up, Alex M.O.R.P.H’s Spirit and PVD’s own amazing remix of Jon O’Bir’s Ways & Means. For all intents and purposes, this is Politics of Dancing mk 3.
Cream Ibiza is PVD’s most ambitious mix compilation yet, and it can boast a level of polish that puts it on par with his Politics of Dancing CDs. More importantly though, it counts as his statement to the dance music world: there’s too much exciting music out there for PVD to ever restrict himself to a single sound, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten the glory of a sweeping buildup. Cream Ibiza is a reflection of how dynamic PVD’s approach is, and it’s the sound of a man who’s still inspired by what he’s doing after nearly 20 years in the game. One of the best compilations to hit the shelves this year, and worthy of the PVD legacy.
Check out the tracklisting…
Disc One:
1. Offdate – Always Want
2. Gap4 – Royal Flush
3. Marc Vedo – Fast Track
4. Terranova & Leeds – This Is What You Need
5. Supersub & Bas Thomas feat. Stanford – Get Down (Club Mix)
6. Carnival Junkie – After Dark
7. Dj Simi & Marotta – My House (David Tort Mix), with South Beach – Kid Chris
8. Steve Mulder – Electronik
9. Angello & Ingrosso – 555
10.Dero – i Retro
11.Tattoo Detectives – Il Saltu Fuori (with Funkagenda – What The Fuck)
12.Bob Sinclar pres. Fireball – What I Want (with Solar Sun – Underground Tel Aviv)
13.Solar Sun – Underground Tel Aviv (Sharp & Smoth Back 2 Drums Mix)
14.Dirty South & Paul Harris feat. Rudy – Better Day (TV Rock Remix) (with Lange vs. Gareth Emery – Another You Another Me)
15.A&N Project – Just When I Think There’s An Answer
16.Gareth Wyn & The Viceroy – La Galeria
17.Jon Rundell – Taking Time (with Phunk Investigation vs. Mephisto – State Of Mind (Darkness Mix)
18.Houseplayerz – Hipnotize
19.Dinka – The Temptation
20.EDX – Premiumline
21.Steve Angello & Laidback Luke – Be (Masi & Mello Re-Work Mix) (with R-Tem – Met-R)
22.T-Rek – Fuck House
23.TuneBrothers – Dirty Nasty (Micha Moor Remix) 24.Paul van Dyk feat. Ashley Tomberlin – New York City (Cream Ibiza Nights Mix)
Disc Two
1. Nitrous Oxide – Waves
2. Derelict – Voice of Hope
3. Super8 & Tab – Elektra
4. Technosquirrels – Love Comes First (Styrofoamkid Remix) (with Paul van Dyk – Let Go (PvD Instrumental))
5. David Shaw – Digital Prostitute (Flash Brothers Remix)
6. Tom Colontonio – Xtreme Tactics
7. Majai – Phoria (Elevation Remix)
8. Jose Amnesia – Follow Me (Giuseppe Ottaviani Mix)
9. Giuseppe Ottaviani – No More Alone
10.Paul Webster – Engaged
11.Paul Trainer – Totally
12.Mekk – Resistance
13.Reaves & Ahorn – Shifting Lives (with Robbie Riviera – Back To Zero)
14.Stoneface & Terminal – Pictures
15.DJ Dazzle – Chaos Theory
16.Kaskade & Deadmau5 – Move For Me (Instrumental Mix)
17.Kuffdam – Burn It Up
18.Alex M.O.R.P.H. – Spirit (Dub Mix)
19.Jon O’Bir – Ways & Means (Paul van Dyk Mix)
And check out this footage of PVD getting to work at Cream in Ibiza last year…
tranzmanniac says...
While i'm not the biggest fan of disc 1 the reviewer got it right it has the same level of complexity excitement and energy as he put into disc 2 it is a brilliant compliation definately worth buying not just a listen. I loved disc 2. As a trance addict it was a brilliant mix of tracks and the whole flow of the disc is magic.
Meester says...
Angy, nice review! I have had a listen a few times now, and whilst the first disc loses me about midaway for a bit, it is an inspiring, flowing piece of music (the whole thing I mean) that is programmed to perfection. The second disc is absolutely smashing. I'm loving the sounds and agree with your review completely!
Richierich5381 says...
Just keeps getting better and better with each listen - such a complex piece of artistry. Possibly suffers by being a Cream branded mix which comes with it's own following and preconceptions (and critics regardless of the content.) Arguably one of the mixes of the year - and one of the most balanced in some time. It is funny although not altogether surprising how well Carl Cox and PvD are pulling off deep house and electro....nice work Angy.
write my name says...
Good to see T-Rek getting a bit of a global release. As a genre slut, I like the variety.