Progressive trance seems to be enjoying something of a mini renaissance recently, with various DJs starting to dabble in this wonderful genre. For a long time, the sound has existed as a part of something larger: either at the beginning of a big trance set or as an after-thought at the end of a progressive one. But when DJs take the time to give the music due care and attention, you are reminded once again just how enjoyable it can be. Progressive trance doesn’t appear that much, but when it does, it really has the ability to entertain.

Anjunadeep is a sub-label of Anjunabeats and the first Anjunadeep compilation, mixed by label heads Above and Beyond, quickly found itself on high rotation in my collection. It had an endearingly joyous quality, but in spite of the name it’s about as ‘deep’ as a puddle.

Anjunadeep 02, however, is a slightly different beast. While it is still melodic and joyous, it also has a more purposeful, driving energy that the original compilation was missing. There are two mixes; the first mixed by James Grant, the brother of Above and Beyond’s Jono Grant, and the second by Australia’s very own Jaytech.

If the compilation has two distinct parts to it, then so too does the first disc. Having listened to this mix repeatedly, the first half of it just doesn’t seem to gel. It forgoes the obligatory ‘intro’ track, opting instead for a luscious little number created by Jaytech and Grant themselves. So far, so good…but from here things go somewhat awry.

Individually the tracks featured at the front end of the first disc are all decent tunes; some of them are actually excellent, such as the tremendous Disco Belle by Paul Keeley, but as a unit they lack cohesion. The phrase ‘a team of stars does not make a star team’ springs to mind. The difference between the tunes themselves is sometimes so great that the mixing seems hurried and jarring. The mix accelerates from mellow house to fairly up-tempo trance in less than seven tracks. It sounds as if Grant wasn’t really sure how he should open this compilation.

But then suddenly he finds his feet, and from the brilliant Kilimanjaro onwards it’s a totally different story. James moves from trance to a deeper progressive sound and suddenly the mix takes on an effortlessly seamless feel. The music finds rhythm and a pace that is pleasing to listen to, but just as importantly, would also work on a dancefloor.

A true highlight of this deeper sound is the 16 Bit Lolitas’ brilliant reworking of their Murder Weapon, this time called Re-Murdered. It’s almost as if climbing Kilimanjaro took so much effort, but once the peak was reached, walking down the other side is a complete doddle. The music right across the first disc is excellent, just played in a strange order.

In contrast, the programming on the second disc is exemplary, with Jaytech creating a true musical journey through his take on progressive trance. The mix starts off light and ethereal, but by the time Marcus Schossow’s London arrives he is well and truly hitting his straps. This reviewer knew Jaytech as a producer long before hearing him DJ and his own track In The Jungle – which arrives at the midway mark – proves that his talent as a producer is alive and kicking; possibly stronger than ever before.

One of the real strengths of progressive trance is its ability to have wonderful build-ups coupled with a driving energy, without ever relying on purely cranking up the speed as far as it can go. Jaytech’s choice of tracks highlights this brilliantly. Whereas the second half of James’ mix features deeper progressive tracks with elements of trance, Jaytech’s has opted for lighter ‘trance’ tunes with a progressive feel about them. It might sound like an insignificant distinction, but once you’ve listened to the mix a few times you’ll understand what I mean. My major criticism of this disc is that I find it very difficult to listen to it without wanting to get up and head out to hear the music played live.

Recently sets by Sasha, John ‘00’ Fleming, Above and Beyond, Sasha Le Monnier and now James Grant and Jaytech have signalled that DJs are starting to experiment once more with versions of progressive outside of the minimal or deeper house spectrums. Whilst Anjunadeep is still on the lighter side of progressive trance, this mix is definitely a step in the right direction for the label.

Anjunadeep 02 is out now on Anjunabeats; check out the tracklisting below.

Disc One: James Grant
1. Jaytech & James Grant – Moth
2. Hernan Cerbello – Reach Your Soul
3. Jody Wisternoff – Lassoo
4. Oliver Smith – Sunday
5. Paul Keeley – Disco Belle
6. Jamie Matrix – Rotation
7. Solarity – Diophantine
8. Michael Cassette – Kilimanjaro
9. 16 Bit Lolitas – Singularity
10.Daniel Portman – Elder (Peter Horrevorts Remix)
11. 16 Bit Lolitas – Re-Murdered
12. BT – Flaming June 2010 (Jaytech & James Grant Mix)
13. Monakhov & Que – Hola
14. Solarity – Red (Redder Mix)

Disc Two: Jaytech
1. 16 Bit Lolitas – Cold Energy
2. Paul Keeley – Cloud 9
3. Dave Horne – Q.E.D.
4. Boom Jinx & Andrew Bayer – By All Means
5. Marcus Schossow pres. 1985 – London
6. Jaytech – In The Jungle
7. Jamie Matrix – Gold Rush
8. Roddy Reynaert – Fellowcraft
9. Sergey Tkachev – Alien & Butterfly
10. Boom Jinx & Andrew Bayer – To The Six (Martin Roth Remix)
11. Hydroform – Shine (Andrew Bennett & Rico Soarez Mix)
12. Tom Fall – Cubic
13. Jaytech – Ozone
14. Solarity – DNA