Mixed by Blutonium Boy
Hardstyle: European Hard Trance
Neurodisc Records
Trance is everywhere it seems, and an endless number of small bands feed the system leading to the irony of most DJs outranking any band. Why is this? Well, it’s easy enough to create this music with drum machines, synthesizers, cheap software and powerful home computers. The barrier to entry is extremely low, and while fortune is far from assured, it’s pretty cool if your stuff gets picked up by a Big Name.
So who’s a big name? I’ve not heard of Blutonium Boy, but it IS a great moniker, and he does a pretty good job with the material selected here. Interestingly, quite a few of the tracks are credited to other DJs, which feeds my suspicion that there are only six or so trance tunes, and everybody just goes around redoing what has gone before. No matter, grab a glow stick and your silvery metallic shirt, and rave to the sound. While the whole assemblage is strongly oriented toward bass-heavy material, a few cuts like “Power To Da People” grasp at that higher, soaring sound that seems to underlie the entire genre.
This is a two disc set, and for reasons of economy, the label only sent one disc for review (maybe the other one went to WonkaVision, I’ll drop them a note and see). What I miss is that typical female vocal, the one that always flies so high over the rave scene, and which originally turned me on to the sound. I have a suspicion one woman does all those songs, or maybe she’s a midi voice, and shared by the in crowd on IRC. At any rate, I like her, and perhaps she is hiding on the other disc. Or, maybe she doesn’t do Hard Euro Trance for contractual reasons. Well, that’s ok. There’s plenty to like without her. And, Blutonium Boy does a yeoman’s job of assembling music that’s interesting, distracting and enjoyable. Now SHAKE IT!
Neurodisc: http://www.neurodisc.com
