Markus Schulz – Toronto ’09
Pin ItSlathering his addictive bass line catalog from his annual compilations, world’s #8 DJ, Markus Schulz has just released ‘Toronto ’09‘. The compilation is based on the melodic sensitivities of his favourite city, Toronto. This is yet another geographically inspired compilation, a trend some DJs have been religiously following while compiling their favourite melodies.
Knowing what his previous installments like ‘Ibiza 06‘, ‘Amsterdam 08‘ have demonstrated, it’s not a hard guess what ‘Toronto ’09‘ will bring to our ears. We divulge in some listening and come back mind blown, where the advanced sounds have stomped breakthrough impressions on our minds.
The compilation accounts some brilliant wave of freshness from ClAud9, Tritonal & Moonbeam, Rex Mundi, Arnej, Mr. Pit, Umek & Beltek and Wippenberg, Danilo Ercole, Element One, and many more able names.
Disc 1
"Queensquay And Jarvis" by Dino is the Disc 1 opener where some ambient pads come in the play and we hear some female vocal residues. This tune gives a chilling start and as Thomas Sagstad comes with "Backfire", we can already feel the music warming up.
The first biggie hits up in the form of "Rain" by ClAud9, which comes in a stylish Coldharbour Rework. The synthesized vocals emerge after a tingy play of electro synths. Some lighting sounds add to the mood and the melancholic robotic vocals sound two-pitched, giving a sudden elevation to the listening and we can hear male chopped vox effects as the tune continues.
Karnak vs. Dymos present "Travail", which are heavily backed by a hovering bass line and slow melodic inputs.
The rather odd and unexpected force of Tritonal & Moonbeam with Christna Soto gives us a serene tune, "Crash Into Reason". The bleak synthage and mushy composure of this track just melts you.
"Scorpion" is a sensational production by Rex Mundi with a calming bass line and a progression that charges up.
Up next in the lineage, we have Arnej with "Tomorrow Never Comes". Dancy, moody and a great synth line to groove you off, but don’t forget how violin-ish synths hit up in the break down. Hold your drink and dance to it!
Tenishia’s "Everything", which gets a dub interpretation from Tim Grube, does a quiet pass because of its subtle nature. Guitars get backed with some synths and sound nice!
Skytech lines up for "Cardboard Box" which is highly electronic and nu-age, note the pileup of electronic synths in the break down. And then, the tune just gets groovilicious!
The impressive music of Mr. Pit comes into action with "The Cube". The big lead synth work and tranquilized progression keep the trails of this melody going.
"Nothing At All" comes from the hands of Rex Mundi and intense vocals of Susana, we welcome her back. This interesting collaboration has resulted in a bass line monster that has top destructive qualities and we love it.
As the mood has it, Max Gueli offers "Remember The Silence", which has a dancy scope to it.
Hard electro synths workout on Vicky Fee’s vocals as Adiva backs them with great melody, which are definitely bound to capture the moment through its beautiful melody.
Omnia joins in with "Stick In Monday"; this one’s pretty different from the subtle ones we have been hearing in the Disc. The inclusion of twinkling synths and chopped vocals with the bass line reminds of an Andy Moor production. Fantastic, anyway!
Disc 2
A dark and low-pitched melody starts with almost feeble and distorted synths aligned to give a feel as if there’s a peculiar synth coming from a dark hall. These loops are backed by melodic pads and further get supported by a groovy synth work. The track’s deep progressive nature is given a slight melodic backup. That’s Dakota (Markus Schulz) for you.
Umek & Beltek with their remix of "Is It" by Wippenberg throw something that has slightly dry mellow-ish builds.
The next track "Sin City" by Dakota brings a work of amalgamated synth work with straight lays and are pretty emerged as it climaxes.
Next is a shocker with a massive tech touch up – "Hold Control", the brainchild of Rowald Stein is potentially dangerous for any dance floor and can drive you bonkers with its swirling synth-age.
We all know the changed style of Mike Foyle in "Bittersweet Nightshade", which comes in a Coldharbour variant by Markus Schulz – bettering it up further.
The never-failing, ever-impressing Mr. Pit’s vocal magic is a touchy production as traces of his "Shana’s" vocals can be easily made out. The vocals cannot be interpreted linguistically, but what you will hear may tell you a thousand tales behind it. My personal favourite of the album that has an amazing flow!
Danilo Ercole’s "Harbour" is trance-rooted and an authentic trancer with very identical synth work, yet it has its own feel to it.
"Dance 2 Trances – Power of American Natives (Markus Schulz Return To Coldharbour Remix)", comes handy on the dance floor with pop-ish vocals, quite revolutionary! This might give a breather in terms of variety on the track list.
Project MC (yes, it’s our own M.I.K.E.) brings up a harmonic trancer with a silky flow and minor peaks, offering a bass line to support it all.
"Sound Of Flight" by Michael Calderone & Christopher Reddick may sound Balearic and Progressive at the same time due to the presence of guitars and rhythmic backups.
For the ones who are into male vocals, "Eliana" by Khaz & Boris M.D. would soothe you, with a worked on wavy bass line. Total mood-setter!
As the compilation reaches its end, "South Haven" will give you everything you want from this release – melody, progression and a dark yet dancy atmosphere, Element One style!
The lightly-titled "Pyjamaparty" by Barnes & Heatcliff is a mixture of synths together and weird sounding hooks.
The last biggie of this compilation is set off by Arnej’s "Dust In The Wind", showcasing his trademark, movie-styled production with a very soft, subtle synth line that brings us to a slightly uplifting end.
Verdict
You may not hear hardcore trancers in this one, but Markus has definitely tried to stick to his roots by featuring some really warm, dark and melodic sounds. The compilation benchmarks the nu-age progressively styled music, that’d confuse you between trance and House. How should we say? Give it a go!
8/10
For more info related to Markus Schulz check out the following links:
www.markusschulz.com
www.twitter.com/MarkusSchulz
www.facebook.com/markusschulz
www.youtube.com/markusschulz
