Search - Fragma :: Embrace

Great Vocal Trance Album!

Scott Tsukamoto | Henderson, NV USA | 11/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After a hefty wait, America finally gets the second album from the awesome German dance project Fragma! And for all the fans that already bought the album via import, don't worry there are some notable differences between the US version and other versions available! Here's a review of the album track by track:* 1 Embrace Me (Wippenberg Remix) - 4:10 - 10/10 - This remix is definitely a lot better than the original version of the song, although the remix has been edited down, and is not in it's original form :( However, the awesome synths and powerful instrumental breaks make for one killer listen!
* 2 Time And Time Again (Megara Vs DJ Lee) - 4:05 - 10/10 - This remix is very light on vocals, and not much better than the original version. However, it's still an awesome trance number! And like the other mix it's another killer listen!
* 3 Man In The Moon - 2:33 - 10/10 - Have you ever heard Energy 52's Cafe Del Mar?? Have you ever wished they added lyrics to the song? Well If you have then this song is a sure blessing to you! And this song is not available on any other version of "Embrace"!
* 4 How Do You Feel (Cyber Trance Remix) - 4:41 - 10/10 - Like the first two tracks, the remix definitely adds something that wasn't in the original version of the song, and still manages to keep it an awesome song!
* 5 Take This World For Real - 3:51 - 8/10 - Good, but not as good as the first songs on the CD, it still manages to be above average though!
* 6 Just Like A Teardrop - 4:06 - 7/10 - Similar to Take This World For Real, but not quite as good. The album starts to take a dip at this point. But it's still a dance song, only an average dance song.
* 7 Who Needs A Reason - 3:29 - 5/10 - The album's all time low point :( this song tears away from the dance formula to make a slower R'n'B type tune with this song. Better than your average R'n'B song though (but that's not saying much).
* 8 Only You - 3:48 - 8/10 - The album starts to pick up the pace again with this dance number! The beginning is a little too vocoded for my liking, but the synthesizing goes down as the song goes on.
* 9 Why - 4:45 - 8/10 - A different kind of dance song, it's a little more dark sounding, and mellow. Great song to chill to!
* 10 Maybe It's You - 3:25 - 9/10 - I don't know why, but I love this song's main melody! It's a great dance song, and a great song in general!
* 11 Free Your Mind - 4:11 - 7/10 - Great trancy type of song, but it can only be seen as average when compared to other great trance songs.
* 12 Say That You're Here (Riva Remix) - 4:14 - 9/10 - This remix isn't quite as good as the other remixes on the CD, but it's still good. I'd say the original version of the song would've been good enough.Bonus Video Tracks
* 1 Embrace Me - 4:00 - 8/10 - Quicktime Movie - This video is pretty cute, it's pretty much Damae playing with a bunch of baby animals (ie: kittens, puppies, rabbits). With good quality and decent resolution this video is great.
* 2 Time And Time Again - 3:42 - 9/10 - MPEG Video - No real plot. This video is pretty much Damae and some guy. But the video is of better quality, and resolution than the video for Embrace Me.Overall, this album is definitely a neccessity to anyone who is a fan of Fragma, or vocal trance in general! It includes an extra track, the 4 remixes, and 2 videos which weren't seen in all versions of "Embrace", however it did take out a track called "Risk My Soul" :( But this is still a definitive album for most people. Oh and the videos are MUCH better quality than the videos on the first album Toca, and if you like this album you should definitely buy the first album Toca, which features the videos for "Toca's Miracle", "Everytime You Need Me", and "You Are Alive"."

Many Amazing Synthy/Pop Songs from Germany.

andy | Cleveland, OH | 02/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I actually have a German Version of this CD, which came out about a year ago. It's got almost the same songs, except it does not have "Man on the Moon", but has some other song instead.Anyway, this is a great Sophomore album written and produced once again by Fragma's Extremely talented team of Ramon Zenker, J Friese, and D & M Duderstadt. We are Extremely lucky to get this album in US.
The album is as good (If not Better) than their first "Toca" album. The only difference between these albums is that on "Embrace" the Instrumental Trance/Techno tracks that were present on "Toca", are replaced by slower Pop Songs. But don't get me wrong, "Embrace" album still delivers Much Much Synthesizer action, but there are also 2 or 3 Beautiful Pop Songs. Actually all songs on this album are Great, and are potential hits, I don't even know how the guys choose which ones to release as singles.The album is actually Amazing. The songs are Very Beautiful, Emotional and Catchy with Blue-eyed female vocals, and are about Love (Nothing too Deep, but not too stupid either), and on top of that you get Awesome Synthesizers and Trance strings. Plus you get like 4 Mind-Blowing, Out-of-this Worlds Remixes by Wippenberg, Riva, Megara, and Trance Mix. How Awesome is that!?So whether you like Beautiful Pop songs with Angelic, and Beautiful female vocals, or if you like Club/Techno/Trance/Synth or even Chill-Out (there is one track tht's chill out on this CD) music, you must have this album in your collection, SIMPLY MUST.
All Dance/Synth songs on this album could stand on their own, even without synthesizers.So Ramon Zenker and his team prove that they can write a Great Catchy song, and IMO they grow as songwriters on this album.This is Much Much Much More than a Club album. This is an Extremely Well-Crafted and Quality Pop album. If I could give more than 5 stars, I definitely would. Support Fragma, and Buy their albums, we need more music like this nowadays. And I'm Eagerly waiting for more new material from Ramon and his crew, another (3-rd) Fragma album would be Great :)Thank You Very Much, and I hope you enjoy this CD."

A lesser Ian Van Dahl

B. Ackley | Douglasville, GA | 02/17/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I was amazed to find German act Fragma's second album "embrace" recieved a stateside release. Although a hit in Europe, Fragma always paled in comparison to their vocal trance contemporaries Ian Van Dahl, 4 Strings or even Lasgo. While the music is top notch it was the vocal delivery of German singer Damae that left much to be desired. While she only sang a few tracks on Fragma's debut album , here she is the only singer and I think the album suffers as a result.



The US version features remixes of several tracks which works to varying degrees. Opting for remixed versions of "Say that you're here" and "how do you feel" was a wise decision as both tracks lack a certain something in their original forms. "Say that you're here" is whipped into an amazing trance song courtesy of remix team RIVA. Originally remixed for the Japanese market "how do you feel (cyber trance remix" improves on the sluggish original. US execs were also wise to use a trance version of "Embrace me" which was a ballad in its oiginal form. Im a bit perplexed by the remix for "time and time again" which was fine as a single.



The other songs on this album are okay dance songs but didnt really stand out that much. Having heard their music fronted by other vocalists (maria rubia,Coco) on their debut album I really think its Damae's vocals that hurt the project. Overall its an okay relase though and the US version has videos which fans would probably not get to see otherwise."