Tiesto: Elements Of Life

The dutch trance producer Tiesto became active in 1997 as the producer of several series of compilation albums. Following several remixes, he released his first solo album in 2001 and continues to do so today. The album here reviewed, 'Elements Of Life' is the producer's third studio album, released in 2007, reportedly selling an impressive 73,000 units in the first month of release.

Tiesto: Elements Of Life

The album begins with the largely instrumental trance 'Ten Seconds Before Sunrise' track, which throughout its 7 minute runtime evolves through typical trance writing to extended sustained chords which would also serve in an ambient music context. This is followed by 'Everything' featuring Jes which, after an extended drum oriented introduction exhibits a more uptempo trance style which would be welcomed on the dancefloor.

While this album is by no means short of commendable material, the highlights certainly appear in the second half of the album, including all five of the singles released from the album. Tracks such as 'Dance4Life,' which is the most overtly commercial with a note worthy hook and 'Sweet Things' are among some of the finest trance tracks contained within this reviewer's library. 

The album closes with a remix of 'He's A Pirate' from the Disney Film 'Pirates Of The Caribbean,' also released as the first single from the album. This particular track is interesting given its roots in orchestral film music, and very popular film music at that. The track combines elements of Tiesto's signature trance aesthetic with an extended section of orchestral music, creating a very interesting take on the music origionally written by Klaus Badelt. This album comes highly recommended for readers of The Sonic Music Review who are partial to trance music.

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Chicane: The Best Of Chicane

Chicane, the British electronic act, is best known for their material which fuses dance, trance and ambient musics to create a combination of chill out and uptempo material in their various releases. 'The Best Of Chicane' is their 2008 compilation album, celebrating their biggest hits between 1996 and 2008.

Chicane: The Best Of Chicane

The album begins with the band's first ever single, 'Offshore,' released in 2006. This mimics some of Tangerine Dream's more ambient work in its approach, but refines the style and lays idiomatic dance beats under the repeated phrases. Unsurprisingly, this particular track features both in a number of dance and chill out compilations.

Following 'Offshore' comes 'Bruised Water,' a collaboration between Chicane and Natasha Bedingfield. This compilation showcases a number of collaborations which the band have undertaken throughout their career, including their 2006 single 'Stoned In Love' featuring Tom Jones. The album, which contains 18 tracks lasting over an hour, serves as a fitting retrospective for the versatile work produced by Chicane, including a variety of their more commercial dance releases alongside more ambient inspired works such as 'Saltwater.'

The album concludes with possibly the most ambient track of the compilation, 'Early,' clear in its further use of trance/chill out writing. This track lends a sense of tranquility as the album draws to a close and, for fans of ambient music in particular, is well worth a listen even if in isolation from the rest of the album.

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Enigma: MCMXC A.D.

Released in December 1990, the musical project Enigma's debut album quickly soared to the top of the charts to become the most successful album in the Virgin record label's catalogue at the time. The album has since received more than 60 platinum awards worldwide and by 1994 had already sold 14 million units.

Enigma: MCMXC A.D.

The album begins with 'Hello And Welcome' which features the iconic Enigma horn and the spoken voice bidding the listener a good evening, ushering the listener into a "world of music, spirit and meditation." Instantly noticeable is the New Age approach to music and through the spoken vocal part, a parallel spiritualistic motif.

The next track of the album consists of a medley of 'Sadeness,' 'Principals of Lust,' and a reprisal of 'Sadeness' each crossfaded together to create a continuous work. Throughout, dance beats are married with New Age style musical writing and overt sexual overtones from the vocal line. 'Sadeness' was to become the first single release from the album.

A later track, 'Mea Culpa' is written in a similar style to 'Sadeness,' using gregorian chant alongside dance beats and Shakuhatchi (often thought to be a pan pipe) writing, the style which Enigma used extensively throughout the 90's. The track uses lyrics written in french an latin and, in its single release, was titled 'Mea Cupa (Part 2),' referencing 'Sadeness' as part 1.

For its time and even now, this work was groundbreaking and established Enigma as a unique act with a highly unusual writing style which ultimately led to great commercial success.

For a review of Enigma's later greatest hits album, 'Love Sensuality Devotion,' click here.

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Enigma: 'Love Sensuality Devotion - The Greatest Hits'

The Enigma Musical Project is estimated to have sold in excess of 50 million albums and this 2001 greatest hits compilation release 'Love Sensuality Devotion' certainly contains some noteworthy material. The musical project themselves, led by Michel Cretu, is known for the New Age music influenced writing which combines dance and traditional chant elements, a highly original premise at the time of the act's debut.

Enigma: Love Sensuality Devotion

The album begins with the brief reference to the 'Enigma horn' which has featured on every album previous, before introducing 'Turn Around,' which in typical Enigma style combines electronic textures and vocals with world instruments, a strong shuffle beat and not forgetting the use of gregorian chants - a stalwart of the Enigma sound.

The Album continues to include the expected hits such as 'Sadeness Part 1' which was almost a worldwide number 1, alongside some Enigma's lesser known output. The album does however give a clear sense of intelligent design through the 'flow' and continuity throughout. Most of the album fuses New Age elements with Dance music beats which fans will have grown to expect but tracks that veer away from the dance influence, such as 'Principals of Lust' and 'Return To Innocence,' prove to be some of the most rewarding musical experiences of the album, certainly worth of a listen.

For a review of Enigma's debut release, 'MCMXC A.D.,' click here.

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