Paul van Dyk – In Between
Pin ItA place called Cuba and a good three years lie as a secret behind PvD’s ‘In Between‘. This is yet another politically influenced album, since Paul noticed how all the people stayed happily, even after Cuba came to a standstill. One will look out for the heavenly tunes that he has been producing but he has served us with a total vocal package. Collaborating with over seven different artists representing different genres, it will be wrong for us to tag this album as a trance album. This is what was PvD’s intention too, just play some good music out there that no one plays these days. With ‘In Between‘, he has set paradigms of EDM.
The title name ‘In Between‘ is inspired from the globalization issue, the climate changes and growth of PvD as a person himself. Let’s go ahead and decide what Mr. Paul is upto with his new album.
Lo-Fi Sugar’s vocal in "Haunted" is rather straight going, the vocals sound great but sounds mediocre to treat one’s ear. This is an easy going melody but a way PvD may have wanted to start the ‘In Between‘ experience with this soother. Check out the technics of this track. It’s just brilliant.
The most popular and the controversial of the lot, "White Lies" was done after Paul found Jessica’s voice ‘sexy’! But the trancers finding the vocals difficult to absorb, they termed the track pop’ish and cheesy. Thanks to The Berlin Dub Mix which handled both the critics and appreciation, banged in most of the radio shows – a rescuer of "White Lies".
Talk tech, talk "Sabotage", a very extreme tune with acidic reverbs and an entire tech feel. Unmelodic repetitive stuff yet powerful enough to make yourself let loose on the dance floor!
"Complicated"? Not really! Or maybe yes. The breaks sound nice for a while but PvD fails to construct the usual impact with grunge effects. Ashley sustains her beautiful vocals but I wish the music was a bit melodic and deeper. This is a track where the music and vocals have unparallel moods.
"Get back" is PvD’s collaboration with Alex M.O.R.P.H. It goes weak on the melodies and the backdrop. Ashley’s vocals remain sheltered by music nevertheless deeply beautiful and very spacey! With her great soul touching singing I almost feel she is calling me! She saved this track single-handedly. Check out some good bass intro in the end.
PvD gets back to his trancing roots with "Far Away". Vandit’s muse Giuessepe Ottaviani keeps it all uplifting, and just when your hearing peaks up, the track ends. Undoubtly, the first trancer of the album that will get your mood up up uplifting!
What a beauty of a track! The title says "Another Sunday" but it is a very refreshing track! Slow yet hasted tangy bangs lift up the mood and send bursting vibes that end up with some Trancy strumming. The vocals sound a bit housie, also a sample of Probspot’s "Blows My Mind". This is my personal favourite of the album.
"Talk In Grey" sounds very sunny, perhaps another pop product by PvD in this album.
"In Circles" is a strong aspect of ‘In Between‘. This track has a nice bass line, amazing melodies and what we have been waiting for, some good trance music. Cutting edge bass gets broken by very melodic repercussions and then a colossal break down drives the track towards it’s climax! Witness this beauty yourself.
"In Between" is a very mild affair. The title track goes unheard in the whole album and the tune has very subtle feelings to offer.
Back to some Berlin feeling, "Stormy Skies" is adorned by Wayne Jackson’s weary vocal. PvD succeeds to maintain the progression in this track with brilliant Trancing back score music. The melodic gaps support the moody vocals very well. This is another great track in the album.
I might never know the meaning of "Détournement". The track holds one minute of banging bass and another minute of emotional work on the violin sounds. This one is a real quickie with duration of only 2:20 minutes!
Ashley loves "New York City". We love "New York City" too. She also made us love "Amsterdam". The vocals of "New York" are much-much identical to "Amsterdam"! PvD does some good electronic experimenting behind, the sound is peculiar but worth listening. And did I just hear cops coming?
Hard beats and sweet vocals by Lo-Fi Sugar, "Castaway"… Yes this track is a total castaway… Could "La Dolce Vita", be the best track on PvD’s album? This is a brilliant production by Paul as he joins hands with Giuessepe Ottaviani again to craft this breather. The bass line drifts off "Castaway" and matches it’s beats. However, 2:50 minutes is way too less to experience the breaks, bass and running piece of music in this track!
"Let Go" won’t let you go and you will experience some rock influence on this track. Real drumming and light guitars with rocker / songwriter Rea Garvey’s vocal makes this one a total electro-rock package! Electro-Rock? Well let PvD decide that but this musical experiment sounds cool.
The vocal style of "Fall With Me" reminds me of Rammstien. David Byrne is another non-trancer singing for PvD as this experimentation is taken way too far and should I say it is an inapt outro for ‘In Between‘?
Conclusion
PvD is the #1 DJ (according to DJ Mag) and this album did not slide suitably on our expectations. Thanks to him for keeping it alive with a couple of Trancing tunes in this album. He is taking production techniques to another level for sure!
For more info related to Paul van Dyk check out the following links:
www.paulvandyk.com
www.twitter.com/paulvandyk
www.facebook.com/PVD
www.myspace.com/paulvandyk
www.youtube.com/paulvandyk
Reviewed by: Apoorv
