inthemix | Music News | OceanLab

Take trance heavyweights Above & Beyond, add well known trance vocalist Justine Suissa, and you get Oceanlab – whose latest album release Sirens of the Sea makes for a beautiful, subtle trance chillout album. The tracks here would fit snugly amongst others on perhaps Tiesto’s In Search of Sunrise compilations.

Sirens of the Sea offers listeners trance, but in a very subtle and mellow form; one perfect for beachside cocktails. At sunset. In Ibiza, perhaps. Tracks such as the opener Just Listen contain the uplifting, building melodies and swelling instrumentals – subtleties that trance lovers listen for but others may not pick up. Combined with Justine Suissa’s melancholy vocals, the track sets the tone for an album full of pure, relaxing trance bliss.

Though it may not be fast paced enough for fans of Above & Beyond’s usual club style, a few cheeky tweaks here and there could easily translate these tracks for the dancefloor. On a Good Day, for example, is almost there. We’ve already seen the club possibilities of this album with Above & Beyond’s remix of Miracle (the possible dance anthem for climate change?), which draws similarities to past hit Good for Me.

I Am What I Am has a much slower, resigned tone, while Ashes could lead you to thinking you’re listening to your dad’s Enya CD by mistake. There’s no doubting Justine Suissa’s voice is perfect for trance, however that distinctiveness also means some tracks are quite similar-sounding. An album you get more out of each time you listen, Sirens of the Sea seems to be the trance world’s take on the chillout album genre. It won’t get you pumped for partying at night, but it’ll sure aid in a soothing recovery the next day.