Customer Reviews

Anjunabeats Volume 8

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to honestly say that 90% of pure talent in the Trance genre belongs to the Anjunabeats Label! I've always said that Armin was the best dj in trance music and he is, but his talents only go so far compared to the Above&Beyond tri-fecta! Let's not stop there, everyone signed onto the Anjunabeats label is completely in-tune to what I want to hear when I listen to Trance! Nuff Said about that, and as for this AnjunaBeats 8, I just finished listening to both disks with no interuptions and in my opinion this installment is by far the best yet! I would recommend this 8th installment and anything with anjunabeats name on it to anyone that loves music as much as I do.....

I have purchased nearly every release from the Anjunabeats Label and they just keep getting better!

Hot on the tail of equally fantastic Anjunabeats Worldwide Vol. 2 comes this absolutely stunning release mixed by Above & Beyond. There is literally not a bad song on here. I love them all.

This compilation relies much less on vocal trance pieces. At first, I thought that I wasn't going to like it because of this. But after a 2nd listen, I am completely hooked.

It is great to see Daniel Kandi back in action on this compilation. We are actually blessed with two of his pieces and Piece of Me is particularly dance worthy.

The Mat Zo Dub mix of Lange and Emma Hewitt's Live Forever is also not to be missed. Nor is the Gareth Emery/Metropolis remix of the Classic Oceanlab tune "On a Good Day".

Above and Beyond are without a doubt some of the most talented (and underrated) Trance DJs on the scene today. While not nearly as "showy" as AVB, their mixing skills are in my opinion, better. A live A&B show promises hours of uplifting and melodic trance. Little Flash-LOTS of substance.

If you are even remotely interested in electronic dance music-get this CD. At $14.99-it is a true bargain.

To be quite honest, uplifting trance of this sort is not my all time favorite genre. I usually prefer progressive house, dubstep, psy trance, and others. That being said, I love this CD. It's just feel good music that brings a smile to your face. I needed this departure from the somber tone of Kryptic Minds I was listening to earlier (Don't get me wrong, I still love that type of deep and dark dubstep).

I always seem to know what I'm getting myself into with any Anjunabeats compilation, a quality trance compilation, filled with one powerful song after another. Its almost like jumping down a never-ending chasm, I always expect the best from the Anjunabeats label and its producing and mixing efforts of Above & Beyond.....It has been about 3 - 4 months since I have had this outstanding album and let me say that I believe so strongly in A & B's compilations that I always buy 2 copies.....Countless times I have appreciated the sounds emanating from each of the songs. Each song is powerful in its own right, and feels like you're on an adventure, and its always from song to song a very different experience.

Thing called Love is done in collaboration with Richard Bedford who delivers stunning vocals.
Daniel Kandi and Adam Nickey serve up great tracks with Anjuna style melodies; and the always outstanding Super 8 and Tab do not disappoint ( who by the way have their own artist album just weeks away). Tracks by Andrew Bayer and Arty are truly excitng and demand a listen....Lot of new producers on this CD, don't pass it by, its a another winner from Anjunabeats -- CD of the month in my opinion!!!!!

I keep waiting for Anjuna-music to go out of style, for people to get bored with the uplifting stuff, but they never do. The reason they never do, is because Jono, Tony, and Paavo are constantly working hard, pushing the boundaries of what is technologically possible with music.

Not only are these guys great musicians, but they are superb businessmen. These days, they spend more time managing two labels than they really do touring or producing. The great thing about this mix, and virtually all their mixes, is that Above and Beyond know the music, and they outsource the production to the likes of Andrew Bayer and Arty and Mat Zo.

Let's start there--you're listening to the second disc, and what's that? It sounds like Halcyon + On + On from Orbital back in 1994. That's Andrew Bayer, one of the sharpest and most competent new producers on the scene, though if I have my facts straight, Bayer was once one half of Signalrunners with Alan Nimmo, the duo that produced the monster "Meet Me In Montauk." Meanwhile, the prolific Arty, who remixes anything that isn't nailed down, has a sound that is at home in both uplifting and progressive settings; "The Wonder" might be my favorite track in the compilation.

On Volume 7, Above and Beyond were a little too clever by half--they spent a lot of effort building the energy, and the first disc was almost entirely progressive house. Volume 8 is a lot more aggressive, with a lot more really big songs, including some that I predict will go down as dance floor classics ("Mercy," by Super8 & Tab feat. Jan Burton is one), the kind of songs where you flip the line input to phono and let the crowd sing it out.

I'm telling everyone I know to buy it, and if they're not, I'm buying it for them. It's hard to top Anjunabeats Volume 6, but I think this might have done it; it's their best work yet.

As you may have expected the eighth edition of the Anjunabeats series is another stellar compilation of progressive trance tracks with a lot of melody and pumping beats. Starting with the fifth volume, they became two disc sets with the first disc showcasing lighter progressive trance with BMPs of between 129 and 133, whereas the 2nd disc stays true to progressive trance roots with BMPs ranging from 133-140BPM. In Volumes 5-8, I've always preferred the 1st disc because the beats are less calculated and less predictable, and the tracks are practically avant garde compared to the tracks used on disc 2. The first disc really is the one that shines in my opinion, and this is true even with Volume 8. Disc 2 is an excellent disc I could listen to all day don't get me wrong, but disc 1 has the tracks to remember. Highly recommended for a trance fan at any level, very easy listen and gets you moving quick! I was making a list of my favorite tracks on each disc for this review but realized I was using basically every song. Excellent mix!

Wow! I had to listen to this many times before it finally stuck. I think at first I was turned off by the male vocal tracks (I'm usually in to female vocals) but after hearing them live in Seattle, I actually love the vocal tracks more. There's something about a crowd reacting to certain elements of songs that makes them more meaningful and in this case, better. I think I played this alnbm non stop for 2 weeks after their show. My favorite track by far is 7 Skies "Sushi". If you play that on a nice stereo system it totally kicks about two minutes in and I can't get enough of that track. Other standouts include "Mercy", "Anphonic", "Black is the new Yellow", and to be honest, all of CD 2. Buy this for sure. It's the best trance compilation album of the year.

I had to pick up this album after hearing their Anjubeats 7. I also have a TON of A&B's podcast in my blackberry phone, as much as my memory card can withstand. So I have about 18hrs or so of their selection in music. That being said, this album was definitely showing A&B's gold standard in spinning and producing quality trance. What differentiates this from the Anjubeats 7 I think is that this cd didn't have many of the Club Banger Hits. And that's not the say that the tracklisting was anywhere lacking but this seems like a cd that shows more of A&B without the need for the heavy hitting bits and byte. A great cd for a scenic summer drive through a long journey, this album will stay in my car forever. I think where Anjubeats 7 takes you through a great and fantastic journey through an ambient trance party. This cd shows a little bit more of the soft and subtle, something you would get at the AFTERPARTY or a drive on your way home. Do I prefer the big songs and the HitBangers? Sure.... But does the lack take away from this CD? Absolutely not. It doesn't have all the big tracks like the ones you hear on their Podcast, but its still a wonderful cd that shows the very essence of this group and what view as being trance.

I will start by saying I purchased the MP3 version the first day It came out. Up to date, I have not stopped dancing to it even though my feet are already swallowed...

When it comes to the best of the best you can only find it with Above and Beyond and there Anjunabeats compilations. I am obsessed with trance and progressive, Armin Van Buuren may be the greatest DJ out there but nothing comes close when you got Armin times three. With a two disc compilation of the best anjunabeats artist you cant get nothing better. This CD uplifts my everyday activities, every song can be played at anytime within the day. This is the best Anjunabeats compilation yet.