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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Deadmau5: For Lack Of A Better Name

Joel Zimmerman, better known by his stage name Deadmau5, began his musical career in 2005 with the release of his debut album 'Get Scraped.' Since, he has released four further studio albums, with 'For Lack Of A Better Name' being the fourth studio Deadmau5 album, released in 2009.

Deadmau5: For Lack Of A Better Name

The album begins with 'FML,' which features possibly the most furious and incessant minute of snare drum playing ever to occur outside of rock music. This is soon relegated as house-style synths dominate, eventually subsiding to the famed funeral march at the beginning of 'Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff,' an instrumental version of 'Ghosts 'n' Stuff,' which follows as a separate track. Given that no large passages of vocal material enter until the third track, Deadmau5 shows great skill in creating such interesting house arrangements from largely synthesisers.

The fourth track, 'Hi Friend!,' which features MC Flipside, also released as the first single of the album, shows a greater influence from electro music. This electro style continues into 'Bot,' which combines lowfi drums and additional elements which make it reminiscent to Daft Punk's output, in particular their soundtrack to 'Tron: Legacy,' reviewed here.

Among the later tracks in the album are the title track 'Lack Of A Better Name,' as well as the audibly trance influenced '16th Hour' and 'Strobe,' both over ten minutes long. This album illustrates clearly Deadmau5's versatility as an artist and its critical acclaim is by no means surprising. 

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Subsonic Winter: Scorched Ice

As part of ongoing reviews of works by independent artists alongside established stalwarts of the electronic music tradition, The Sonic Music Review presents a trio of works by Subsonic Winter. Effectively defenestrating any notion of impartiality with great aplomb but satisfying a desire for full disclosure, the artist here featured, Subsonic Winter, is an alias of The Sonic Music Review's cheif writer, Alex Harden.


CMC CW2 by Subsonic Winter

This trio of compositions begins with 'Scorched Ice,' a track which makes no secret of its influence from Tangerine Dream's output from their Independent years. The track begins with an exposition of a recurring theme, set in a dark and breathy timbre which immediately introduces the overriding brooding mood to this track. As the piece develops, additional musical material is added alongside development of the first section. Later, the piece becomes led by harmonic and sequenced material in place of melodic counterpoint, before returning for a final exposition of the primary theme which slowly crossfades into the following track, 'Wind Of Change.'

This second track takes on a more ambient style, taking a lead from Jean Michel Jarre's 'Geometry Of Love Album' (reviewed here). This track fuses a much slower rate of harmonic change and the extended use of sampled strings alongside various synthetic timbres which create a soothing atmosphere which contrasts against its predecessor. Another key element is the soundscape of singing birds and crickets which underpin the majority of the piece.

The third and final track, 'Aquamarine' exhibits a highly optimistic mood in comparison to the other tracks featured. This track also incorporates elements from trance music which is previously unseen. This short portfolio, lasting just over 13 minutes, was created as part of coursework for a degree in Creative Music Technology. If anyone has any comments or questions regarding this work or its conception, please contact the blog.

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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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