Search - Above & Beyond :: Anjunabeats Volume 8

Completely and utterley BAD ASS!!!!

OhioTranceAddict513 | 07/20/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to honestly say that 90% of pure talent in the Trance genre belongs to the Anjunabeats Label! I've always said that Armin was the best dj in trance music and he is, but his talents only go so far compared to the Above&Beyond tri-fecta! Let's not stop there, everyone signed onto the Anjunabeats label is completely in-tune to what I want to hear when I listen to Trance! Nuff Said about that, and as for this AnjunaBeats 8, I just finished listening to both disks with no interuptions and in my opinion this installment is by far the best yet! I would recommend this 8th installment and anything with anjunabeats name on it to anyone that loves music as much as I do....."

Big!

Stochastic | New York, NY | 07/28/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I keep waiting for Anjuna-music to go out of style, for people to get bored with the uplifting stuff, but they never do. The reason they never do, is because Jono, Tony, and Paavo are constantly working hard, pushing the boundaries of what is technologically possible with music.



Not only are these guys great musicians, but they are superb businessmen. These days, they spend more time managing two labels than they really do touring or producing. The great thing about this mix, and virtually all their mixes, is that Above and Beyond know the music, and they outsource the production to the likes of Andrew Bayer and Arty and Mat Zo.



Let's start there--you're listening to the second disc, and what's that? It sounds like Halcyon + On + On from Orbital back in 1994. That's Andrew Bayer, one of the sharpest and most competent new producers on the scene, though if I have my facts straight, Bayer was once one half of Signalrunners with Alan Nimmo, the duo that produced the monster "Meet Me In Montauk." Meanwhile, the prolific Arty, who remixes anything that isn't nailed down, has a sound that is at home in both uplifting and progressive settings; "The Wonder" might be my favorite track in the compilation.



On Volume 7, Above and Beyond were a little too clever by half--they spent a lot of effort building the energy, and the first disc was almost entirely progressive house. Volume 8 is a lot more aggressive, with a lot more really big songs, including some that I predict will go down as dance floor classics ("Mercy," by Super8 & Tab feat. Jan Burton is one), the kind of songs where you flip the line input to phono and let the crowd sing it out.



I'm telling everyone I know to buy it, and if they're not, I'm buying it for them. It's hard to top Anjunabeats Volume 6, but I think this might have done it; it's their best work yet."

Another outstanding entry to the Anjunabeats series

A. Murali | Old Bridge, New Jersey | 07/25/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As you may have expected the eighth edition of the Anjunabeats series is another stellar compilation of progressive trance tracks with a lot of melody and pumping beats. Starting with the fifth volume, they became two disc sets with the first disc showcasing lighter progressive trance with BMPs of between 129 and 133, whereas the 2nd disc stays true to progressive trance roots with BMPs ranging from 133-140BPM. In Volumes 5-8, I've always preferred the 1st disc because the beats are less calculated and less predictable, and the tracks are practically avant garde compared to the tracks used on disc 2. The first disc really is the one that shines in my opinion, and this is true even with Volume 8. Disc 2 is an excellent disc I could listen to all day don't get me wrong, but disc 1 has the tracks to remember. Highly recommended for a trance fan at any level, very easy listen and gets you moving quick! I was making a list of my favorite tracks on each disc for this review but realized I was using basically every song. Excellent mix!"