Remix albums can be strange beasts. In much the same manner as live albums can be with rock music, you often find yourself wondering why these things exist. Wringing more cash from the music-buying public is one thing, but flogging a dead horse is another. Fortunately, this set of remixes takes OceanLab’s superb debut release from last year Sirens of the Sea to another level, and spread over two discs, there is loads to sink your teeth into.

Featuring the combined talents of trance maestros Above & Beyond and angelic vocalist Justine Suissa, OceanLab have pretty much established the sonic template over the past few years for euphoric, melodic trance with ethereal female vocals. This set basically presents the original album in a more club-friendly form, together with a few classic OceanLab remixes from years gone by. Talents on display include Ferry Corsten, Gareth Emery and 16 Bit Lolitas, while Above & Beyond throw in a few of their own remixes as well.

The first disc starts with a Jaytech remix of If I Could Fly, which twists the original into a tech-infused gem, while the Michael Cassette boys lend their rolling 80s synths to a shimmering take on Come Home, and rising star Andy Duguid puts a driving beat below On The Beach. Gareth Emery ups the tempo with his perfectly executed version of Lonely Girl, a killer remix that drags the original kicking and screaming onto the dancefloor. Above & Beyond’s club mixes of On A Good Day and Miracle are disappointingly ordinary, with their hands-in-the-air, trance-by-numbers framework making them sound like the boys knocked them off in five minutes.

Disc two kicks off in style with Andrew Bayer turning Secret into a pulsating progressive monster, and 16 Bit Lolitas provide a gorgeously layered re-work of On A Good Day. Michael Cassette deliver the goods again with a glowing remix of Miracle, which is something of a standout track that bounces along in all its retro-synth glory. The second interpretation of Breaking Ties comes courtesy of the Duderstadt brothers, which wraps some moody trance around some surging electro. At the end of the disc, Satellite and Armin van Buuren’s remix of Sky Falls Down round things off in epic style, two tracks that are essential listening for any trance music aficionado, and while they aren’t actually on the original Sirens of the Sea album, their inclusion here demonstrates just how awesome Above & Beyond can be when they hit the mark.

All up, this is a solid collection with some really special moments. Above & Beyond always nail it with their Anjunabeats compilations, and the quality control is certainly maintained here, although interestingly, the standout mixes all seem to come from people other than Above & Beyond, which maybe suggests the boys are too close to the original versions to come up with truly inspiring remixes.

While a couple of the mixes come across as a bit old-school, with their huge breakdowns, overall this release won’t disappoint. If you learn anything from it, it’ll be the realisation that Justine Suissa has the most perfectly suited voice for trance music. As a companion to the original album, it works, presenting the tracks in a different light. I’d grab a copy of the original first, explore that, and then delve into this, to fully appreciate the beauty of OceanLab.