John O’Callaghan – Never Fade Away
Pin ItLook who’s back with delicious trance candies? It’s the Irish Trance Master, John O’Callaghan with a casket of beauties in his brand-new artist album: ‘Never Fade Away‘. This is his second artist album, which is quite a benchmark as a trance producer, we say. Inclusion of ‘in’ vocalists and collaborations with the hottest producers reaffirms the fact that trance music is going the right way – all equalized vocally, melodically and dancy.
The album saw its release on highly respected label – Armada on 11th May, 2009. ‘Never Fade Away‘ encompasses 12 pure JOC melodic insights with some known names like Jaren, Audrey Gallaghar, Aly & Fila, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Sarah Howells and many more greats.
"Find Yourself" (feat. Sarah Howells)
The first track of the album – which has already been accepted globally after its Cosmic Gate remix notched an anthemic status. The original does not lag behind with its rock influenced vocals and melodic guitars. Sarah Howells is much responsible maintaining an unstable vocal pitch that gives this tune a new high. Leave alone John who keeps the melodic decibels a low-key affair and elusive. The brooding melody, for a moment, would take you to the summer mood as the heart-felt vocals touch you.
"Surreal" (feat. Jaren)
JOC and Jaren may sound like a dream come true to many of us and why not? It has Jaren’s amazing vocals backing JOC’s sheer brilliance that makes this one a true class. I find Jaren’s singing pretty matured comparing to other vocalists in this album, it is perhaps because of her varied singing practices, we get to experience a hushy and moody vocal start up. She goes full power with her vocal chords and we face a dim break down that brings back the fuzzy bass line and JOC customized synth in full play. We have no complaints with this one, great music!
"Take It All Away" (feat. Audrey Gallagher)
If JOC & Jaren can be a dream collab for us, then JOC + Audrey Gallaghar is an eye opener (the good ol’ "Big Sky"). Our human tendencies would think all greedy about this one to be another "Big Sky". The plucky synth work and a rapid arrangement of kicks pave way for Audrey’s vocals, which start calmly. All of a sudden the vocals take a passionate turn and we feel as if the "Big Sky" moment is back. All in all, this one is quite different from the 2007 anthem. Note how John builds up a big room synth in this one. Impressive!
"Liquid Fire" (with Giuseppe Ottaviani)
Two big names come together to create the ‘Never Fade Away‘ experience but I get more Vandit vibes from this one, since Mr. Ottaviani’s style can be easily traced in this one. Check the pressured and electro synthage in the break down.
"Out Of Nowhere" (feat. Josie)
This is a tune that marks the variety of this album. John O’Callaghan is known for his noisy and rich-in-synth productions. "Out Of Nowhere" is something different that features Josie – new vocalist on the circuit whose voice is getting contagious in our sweet dance music society. Her vocals have poise and maturity that form the amorous mood of this track. JOC seems to put a salient effort into the track’s harmonic melody that can be noticed in the sub vox. Play this one for your love!
"Never Fade Away" (feat. Lo-Fi Sugar)
Now this one is a massive orchestral effort by John and Lo-Fi Sugar. I can close my eyes and see an orchestral troupe performing before me, with the vocalist standing in between giving out the best live performance of her life. Dreams apart, this one is a soother and an intensely beautiful production. Lo-Fi Sugar’s vocals get celestial and sound like a lullaby. Leave me dreaming to this one.
"Through The Light" (with Tom Colontonio)
"Through The Light" sets as my personal favourite of the album. A very heavenly production from the duo – John O’Callaghan & Tom Colontoino. Soothing vocal touch-ups with a tubular synth work registers deep into my mind. The synth plays as if left in traces, running simultaneously with the non-verbal vox, which are angelic in nature. At the 5:36 mark, a pleasant drive-away of these tubular synths can be heard, which sets me off to a lost melodic sojourn.
"Broken"
The tune sounds more like a Joint Operations Center work than a John O’Callaghan tune, as some destructive elements show up in the tune. It is raw and the kicks roll in and fade out letting in a massive break down of the same tingling synth that builds up and swings its way through. You can also hear a monstrous male vox in between, which gives this track a lighter mood and asks us to dance. Definitely a dance floor scorcher!
"Every Lesson Learned" (feat. Lo-Fi Sugar)
This is a second Lo-Fi Sugar and JOC collab on the Disc and it weighs more on the vocal side. Lo-Fi Sugar’s vocals are at their best in this Disc. I just wish that JOC could have given this one an alternate treatment, rather than implementing his signature style. This is because we have seen better work with the same and other vocalists in this album. The melody somewhere betrays the vocals, the beautiful vocals I must say!
"Don’t Look Back"
"Don’t Look Back" brings back my Trancing spirits and lets me concentrate on the melody more. The intellectual sequencing of synths boil down to an epic break down at the 3:13 mark. It’s almost like hearing the same loop over and over with added vox that are hard to interpret. But the very flavour of this tune lies in the hypnotic patterns used. More dance for you!
"Megalithic" (with Aly & Fila)
A collab very high on our expectations that didn’t take off well. It lacks the Aly & Fila energy, and you cannot believe how monotonous it gets at one point. However, you can still feel the historic vibrations this one lends out as a pacy tune.
"Big Sky (Acoustic Mix)" (feat. Audrey Gallagher)
Now it must have taken something to turn a blaring monster into a sleep-inducing beauty. We can talk about Audrey’s lingering vocal practices in this one, but the pianos are here to pacify the overall effect on us. Call it the chill-out or the acoustic version of "Big Sky" – we all know this one is a legend.
Conclusion
‘Never Fade Away‘ will be known to churn out some unforgettable tunes of 2009, count "Find Yourself", "Out Of Nowhere", "Never Fade Away", and "Through The Light" as the main highlights of the Disc. John O’Callaghan has proved his mettle by lining up an array of vocally charged up tracks and his trancy technics before his fans. His skills and variety form a base for both dance floor to in-the-bedroom listening. This Disc has everything you can ask for.
9/10!
For more info related to John O’Callaghan check out the following links:
www.johnocallaghan.net
www.twitter.com/jocofficial
www.facebook.com/johnocallaghanofficial
www.myspace.com/johnocallaghan
www.youtube.com/johnocallaghan
Reviewed by: Apoorv
