Dash Berlin – United Destination 2011
Pin ItDash Berlin is one of today’s fastest rising stars. Love him or hate him, the man simply can’t be ignored. His debut album ‘The New Daylight‘ was somewhat hit and miss with some people, there’s a lot of vocal trance and what some people call ‘pop trance’. ‘United Destination 2011‘ however isn’t poppy at all, though there are quite a lot of vocals featured. As many vocals as there may be, Dash Berlin has opted for a harder (I use that term loosely) uplifting sound for this fantastic compilation, rather than music similar to that in his first album (he has a second album in the making).
Now Armada pumps out a lot of music, so you could be excused for thinking this is just another mediocre compilation so they can say they’re releasing something. I’m going to ask you to take that thought, and throw it away. Dash Berlin has done a brilliant job capturing what trance music is all about.
As you would expect it to, the first disc starts off at a fairly low BPM with "Super8 & Tab feat. Julie Thompson – My Enemy (Rank 1 Remix)" but picks up as pretty soon when we’re graced with Dash Berlin’s own remix of Filo & Peri’s gloriously emotional vocal track "This Night" featuring the angel voice of Audrey Gallagher.
A dreamy, emotion filled feeling carries on throughout. Alex M.O.R.P.H.’s remix of "Ridgewalkers feat. El – Find" with its haunting vocals on top of a fairly relaxed track blend seamlessly with M6′s super enjoyable "Fair & Square (Alexander Popov Remix)".
My personal favourite track of disc one is without a doubt Dash Berlin’s own "Earth Hour", an instrumental track with a long emotional break down followed by the sound of a classic big room synth. "Earth Hour" was made because Dash Berlin supports the cause Earth Hour, where by people switch off their lights for one hour on the last Saturday of every March to help raise awareness for global warming. It’s certainly a track that makes you think, you’ll know what I mean when you listen to it.
The second disc starts off very emotional, tugging away at the heart strings once again. The uplifting sound certainly seemed to be the theme throughout. From vocal tracks such as First State’s "Reverie (Dash Berlin Remix)" to the instrumental, fast paced, energy packed "Insigma – Open Our Eyes (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix)". Towards the last 4 or 5 tracks the pace picks up a lot, there’s an electrifying atmosphere that continues right to the very end!
The only poor track is "Morning Parade – A&E (Dash Berlin Remix)", a remix of an indie-rock track which in my opinion just doesn’t fit in with the rest of the album.
Verdict:
Overall Dash Berlin has put together a strong compilation that’s thoroughly enjoyable to listen to. Everything about this mix, from the song choice, to song placement, to the pace of the album screams trance. The mixing is also second to none. No track out stays its welcome, so you won’t find yourself skipping through the odd song.
If you know and love Dash Berlin then it’s a no brainer, buy it! Even if you don’t like his productions, I urge you to at least listen to some previews. You might be surprised!
8/10
For more info related to Dash Berlin check out the following links:
www.dashberlin.com
www.twitter.com/dashberlin
www.facebook.com/dashberlinofficial1
www.myspace.com/dashberlin
Reviewed by: Matt Lees
Good review! I actually really enjoy Dash Berlins vocal trance vibe. Some of the hidebound traditionalist trance listeners can hate his music all they want. Just leaves more tickets open for me =D