Paul Oakenfold
Tranceport
Kinetic/Reprise
There is something to be said about trance music. Specifically, its ability to take the listener to a level of euphoric pleasure, aka trance. Thus we can understand the title placed on the genre. However, Paul Oakenfold takes trance to a new level by sliding in extra beats, heavy melodies, breaks, and catches in such intense fervor that I am always interested and intrigued by the developments. Paul carefully selected every track on this release, and blends them together like a hurricane coming ashore: the intensity can kill you, but curiosity is making you stay. It’s really tough to say when one track ends and the next begins, but that is the true test of a good mix. My personal favorites seem to be the blends from Tilt v. Paul Van Dyk’s “Rendezvous (Quadraphonic Mix)” into Gus Gus’s “Purple (Sasha v. the Light)” and Agnelli + Nelson’s “El Nino (Matt Darey 12” Mix)” into Energy 52’s “Cafe’ Del Mar (Three N One Remix).” I’m still trying to figure out the best time of day to listen to this CD, but so far it hasn’t come out of my CD player long enough for me to make any intelligent decision. I’m in a trance, baby!
