Search - Nick Warren :: Shanghai (Dlx)

Nick Warren...Sultan of All DJ's

CloudMan | Vancouver, BC | 02/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Nick Warren play a live set at a dreary club called Axis and Radius in Scottsdale, Arizona a few months back. The electronica scene in Arizona is horrible, but it was so great to listen to a true master at work for a change. By the end of the night, he was so hammered from all the free drinks that the management were hitting him with. However, no matter how intoxicated he got...he still was flawless. I can't say enough about this guy's talent and electronica collection.



What does this album's review have to do with Nick Warren's random set that night? Well nothing really, but to drive home a point. The guy is amazing even when he doesn't try to bring the house down. Global Underground 028:Shanghai is a product of Nick Warren when he is sober, concentrating, and putting in his full effort and talent. A scary thought.



This 2 disc set is enjoyable when listening to any particular track solely, but the brilliance of his musical journey comes through when the entire set is listened to from track 1 of disc 1 to the final track on disc 2. With most Global Underground compilations, I usually favor one disc heavily over the other, but I love both of these discs.



Global Underground 028:Shanghai is not a pure progressive trance album. Many other reviewers seem to think everything is progressive trance or progressive house. Sorry, but they are wrong. The selected tracks encompass indie-rock influenced vocal tracks to sweetly melodic deep house to raging acid. This variety of electronica genres is part of this compilation's charm and Nick Warren's secret for being the most dynamic DJ of all time.



Disc 1 gets 5/5 stars. Disc 2, 4.5/5 stars."

F-ing fantastic.

Trevor C. Cook | Ramstein, Germany | 04/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To be frank, I find Global Underground to be a most conceited and over-rated series. Nearly every installment gets massive publicity, good reviews by majority, and probably flies off the shelves upon initial release. I myself own upwards of a dozen GU albums, ranging from Sasha to Digweed to Deep Dish to Danny Howells to Nick Warren to James Lavelle, and the other day I had an epiphany: I only listen to the Warren mixes.



Budapest is hard and in your face. Amsterdam, dreamy and smooth. Reykjavik was mellow and downbeat, with a half-cup of chill, and two teaspoons of surrealistic melody lightly sauteed with a pinch of funk. Original and unbalanced, it's a great listen. Shanghai, however, is better. Much better. Shanghai is f-ing fantastic. DJ Esau's "Fat Cat" sets the tone instantly, and remarkably, Warren manages to include a diverse array of sounds while remaining true to that first taste. It's upbeat, classy, and light on its feet without being oppressive and predictable. There are of course highs and lows throughout the album, but compared to every other GU, and even his previous work, Warren's latest is remarkbly controlled and balanced throughout. Like a forced-induction automobile engine, Warren hits his sonic plateau and keeps it level from then on out, offering you something superb no matter where you are on the album. It's brilliant.



I don't claim to be the definitive word on electronic music, and can only really state my opinion. But hundreds of dollars in albums later, the only ones I play repeatedly, the only ones that continue to excite me with each listen, and the only ones I actually recommend to friends and family who don't listen to electronic music, are those by Briton Nick Warren. Can't wait to hear Paris."

A Breath of Fresh Air for Global Underground

LexAffection | Philadelphia, PA USA | 01/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"And it really couldn't have come at any better a time for the Global Underground series & label, because a lot of people were disheartened with Moscow, Barcelona & Romania, Singapore and Miami. Some even disliked Los Angeles and Toronto. I am not expressing my opinions in this review regarding any of the aforementioned albums, only stating the impressions I have gotten from the trance/house community in general.



Now, enter: Old Faithful. Nick Warren is an amazing musical alchemist, and has been given apt opportunity to display this quality on his Prague, Brazil, Budapest, Amsterdam and Reykjavik releases. Some claim the GU market is becoming saturated with Warren mixes, that the Warren Well has been tapped dry; I sympathize, to some extent, with these remarks - I think his Paris release should be what Reykjavik was supposed to be; his last, as far as GU is concerned. GU seems to fall back on his brilliance and stability too often in order to promote their series. I would like to see Warren expand and do some other projects outside of W.O.W. and Back to Mine. Anyway, on to Shanghai.



This is a mix that I am especially grateful to own. From the start, Warren establishes a superbly atmospheric consistency; on Reykjavik, for example, this atmosphere was "bubbly chilled out dub, but tranced over". On this release, there seems to be a "polished, glistening and magical touch" to the songs as they cycle through. The only track I will bother to mention specifically (because they are all great selections, and naming every high point of this mix would be arduous indeed) is the very first track on the first CD, SJ Esau's "Fat Cat". Hands down, the best opening track of any GU I've ever heard. Listen to it. It sets the tone for the following twenty-two tracks.



Not surprisingly, the subtlety with which Warren makes his transitions is almost astonishing from hypnotic valley to pulsating peak and back again. One minute, you'll find yourself gazing complacently, completely caught up in some devious backdrop harmonic line. The next minute, you'll find your leg involuntarily bounching up and down as you've hit a musical crest without even realizing it. Truly amazing.



I think with each Global Underground release, Nick Warren has become more and more polished. Prague and Budapest seem rudimentary when compared to Reykjavik and Shanghai in terms of production and track selection - and that's saying a lot. Shanghai is a very logical (if completely different, atmospherically) progression from the ethereal smoothness of Reykjavik; it sort of reminds me of Digweed's Hong Kong in this regard: Both albums can be considered both relatively chilled out and at once hard-hitting without running into a rut along the way. Both are just *polished* pieces of art. For the avid progressive trance fanatic, dismayed with recent releases or not, Shanghai is your breath of fresh air. Enjoy it, in all its magical sweetness.



This is, in my mind, one of the few essential Global Underground Series releases to date.



~Lex"