A – Positive

Full disclosure: I think the Anjuna release schedule is a little too busy for it’s own good. Releasing a track per week cheapens the music in the long run. As leaders in the scene, the Anjuna gang should take the ball and slow it down a bit. That said, their comps are unmatched: they take all the best bits and present them to you in one flawless mix. And let’s face it, the tracks are beautifully made. So now, picture yourself having just won the genetic lottery while I check these two out:

 

Anjunabeats Volume 8
mixed by Above & Beyond
Ultra Records [US]
2xCD / MP3
Release date: 07 19 10

Anjunabeats Worldwide 02
mixed by Super 8 & Tab and Mat Zo
Anjunabeats [UK]
2xCD / MP3
Release date: 05 10 10

The Anjunabeats sound is the de facto music for positive vibes, once again proven by the selectors that grace these two releases. "Volume 8" is Above & Beyond‘s annual installment in the series and does it’s best to highlight all the recent action on the label. Once upon a time trance music functioned as a hazy respite into the darkness but this comp is like a lucid trip into an idealistic Utopian future. These tracks gleam with that sonic whitewash prevalent in damn near every Anjuna track out. The music here just makes me feel better. There are newcomers like Arty and Bart Claessen alias Who.Is (click Bart’s link for some killer 8-bit action) who add bright new shades to the Anjunabeats palette along with some remixes of old faves. (While nothing will beat the original ‘Larry Mountains 54’, Dan Stone flips the script on ‘Alt+F4’ and brings the background to the front in a fantastic reworking). A sweet and juicy comp that’s not to be missed. Intense! 8/10

"Worldwide 02" proves strength in variation. Super 8 & Tab kick off Disc One, the slicker of the two. Kyau & Albert’s remix of Bent’s ‘As You Fall’ never gets old and Jer Martin‘s ‘Ten Minutes to Midnight’ is gorgeous. It’s a humid night time ride through city lights with the top down. This is contrasted by Mat Zo‘s deeper and buzzier Disc Two which highlights some of his new work and closes with his remix of the truly inspired ‘Call of Loneliness’ by Reeves (an alias of Andy Duguid). I appreciate the use of Andy along with Ivan Ross look-alike Richard Durand on Disc Two as it shows Anjuna is not intent on only profiling it’s roster (though I never see anyone from the Spinnin Records family on their comps). The placement of Mat Zo’s mix on Disc Two makes the album work better as a whole because it posits that super-shiny trance doesn’t have to be the inevitable outcome to every mix. 8/10

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