Search - Will Saul :: Balance 015

In Actuality... Insanely Deep

t3chn012 | Colorado | 12/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite some of the negative reviews to trounce the new Balance thus far, it's clear that this album is a serious winner. It is not for the average listener, nor does it resemble a representation style seen in the Balance series thus far - even though most parts of 015 exhibit your standard 4x4 house. It might closest resemble Balance 013 with its sprinkles of downtempo and patient mixing. In actuality, this 3 disc set is seriously addictive and deeper than existentialism. It took a few listens, but the progression throughout the discs makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, if you are looking for late-night-fist-in-the-air-euphori-grooves, - look somewhere else. It's as if one would prefer to leave the dancing to the olive in their martini instead...



It would seem necessary to delve into the discs individually to explain what all the hype is, but words cannot really describe how hypnotic the grooves here are. To try and make it short and sweet, disc one stays somwhere between 110-125 bpm and contains many euphoric yet spacey moments where you'll find yourself getting lost trying to pick out all the individual noise phantoms (My favorites are 'Lets Dance and Freak' and 'Supernovac'). Disc two is closer to a night out on the town, and is thoroughly bubbling with energy without ever boiling over, and even includes some breakbeat/dubstep near the end (My favorites are 'Sequential Circus' and 'Router'). Disc three starts off with some deep dub/reggae in the first third, then moves into house music that keeps a tight grip on its roots and gets chunkier as the disc goes on until the moody finale (My favorites include 'Shreds', 'I Wanna Thank You', and 'Coco Feel and Love Shonk').



Overall, this album has tons of headspace, and keeps showing me something new to hear with each listen. Highly reccomended."

So this is where "Balance" is headed?

D. Bowman | Seattle, WA | 12/05/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I was a big fan of the earlier cd's in the series... balance 002 with Kasey Taylor, and 003 with Bill Hammel had a pulsating, chill yet electric quality. However, the later cds started to get very experimental. Balance 009 offered us our first glimpse of jazzy down tempo beats. By Balance 011-012 you didn't know what you were getting. With a lot of these cds - it takes some time to digest and I did eventually enjoy each but it seemed like the "progressive trance" aspect was slowly dissipating. The electic vibe was still present, but it felt like each artist was trying to redefine the series with new flavors. Which in some cases feels too experimental or "artistic." As someone who enjoyed the previous sets this was a poor choice of direction in my opinion.



Balance 015 has none of the dark and funky qualities that enticed me with the earlier cds. It starts off progressive but blossoms into a weird mix of instruments that never really feel coherent, or pick up a groove that you will have playing in the back of your mind the rest of the day. That pretty much sums it up -- while distinct... Balance 015 is an explosion of different beats, sounds, instruments never really weave together, or stay true to previous cds in the series."

Not what I was expecting

D. Meyer | dallas, tx | 10/22/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've had most of the balance albums and have always really liked them but this one though its not bad its just not what i thought it would be. I knew some of the artists but most of them i never heard and I like some of the tracks Will has produced that are on other mixes so I thought this would be a good deep house mix, but its a little to deep in some parts.



The first cd starts at like 115 bpm or slower now thats all good but the first track The Irresistible Force: Sunstroke its not my cup of tea and the rest of the mix just lacks that deep techy style I like. Now I could see this mix growing on me but as for now not really something Im in to.



The second cd is more techy and even has what sounds like some deeper dub step tracks at the end witch I really like though Im not a dub step fan. I really like how this cd flows from stat to finish just deep and techy with some well placed simple melodies that just make you zone out. I'd give this cd 4.5 stars its by far the best of the three imo.



As for the third and final disc its hard to explain, I don't really know what to call the tracks that start the mix off. The first few tracks are like chill or down tempo but with some having a drum & bass feel to them not loud and brash but deep and smooth. Toward the middle of the mix it gets into house but not the house like disc two more diva/disco feel although some of the song are more on the deeper side and not bad.



This is a very different and unique album that may take some time before you can really get into disc 1 and 3 but disc 2 is spot on if you like deep house and deeper tech-house. It may be hard for people to spend 21 bucks on an album for only one of the three cds but you might like the other cds its just not what Im into."