Customer Reviews

Anjunabeats 7 (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

From the first track I was worried. Uh oh, guys--what are you doing? Yes, the first disc of a 2-disc compilation is usually lighter in touch. But this starts out very light, very very light--the first track almost has a disco feel. It takes a long time to get going. And then I heard Solarity's "Terminal 6."

What a track. I own a remix of it, the Incognet remix, which is almost unrecognizable from the original version. It's the perfect crossover track to get things revved up. And then comes the lovely Dirty Vegas remix.

The thing you need to know about Anjunabeats 7 is that it takes patience, lots of patience. There are no cheap thrills here, just great music. If you watch the DVD, you will see what Above and Beyond is all about--they are all about making great music, and they are obsessed with the perfect chord. It was hard to forgive them for including the low-energy, wimpy Dennis Shepherd remix of Mount Everest, one of the biggest, most grandiose Anjunabeats tracks out there. But I had to.

Disc two is significantly more aggressive. But it is important to point out that there are no tricks or traps to get you wiggling in your seat. This is music, my friends, not blips and bleeps. Trance has taken a turn for the weird in the last year or two, with the rise of folks like Sander Van Doorn who do not actually produce music; they produce sounds, sounds that are great to dance to, but which are not music. Trance has gone tech, and even Tiesto has followed them off the cliff with Louder Than Boom. Anjunabeats is just about the only good uplifting stuff left, along with Activa and a few others.

On Disc Two you have to tolerate a less-than-ideal remix of Aurora (which I suppose is okay, given they put the original version on Trance Nation), but the mix gets high energy, and fast, with tracks like "Wanderlust" from Lange and "Moon Dust" from Nitrous Oxide and Adam Nickey, with a bass line that has shades of the former's "Magenta." And the last track from Cold Blue climaxes the whole thing in just the right spot, at the end.

This is masterfully done, but it took several hours of listening to appreciate it. There aren't as many catchy melodies as 6, but overall there is a more consistent sound.

Five big, fat stars.

if you want the definition of Trance this is it! Pure Ambient Trance! The melodies will carry you away into a dream state as the tracks meld perfectly with each other. I think Tiesto better give the name up for his In search of Sunrise series to Above & Beyond becuase they have the feel for what and where Trance is today right here and now! I love this and the Video that is also included was a great bonus! I have watched all the A&B TV Episodes and think they topped themselves with this one! The only one thing that has nothing to do with this CD is that A&B are long over do for another artist album! Get this NOW!

At the time of writing, I've listened to Anjunabeats 4, 5, 6, 7, and 100 as well as Anjunadeep and this is easily my favorite of the six. The first disc is littered with huge tracks that send chills up your spine, and the second is a wonderfully downtempo mix that makes for very easy listening. Here is my breakdown:

Disc 1 starts with "Pink Houses" which is a light starter piece that is a perfect opener. This gives way to "Milano" which continues the feel of the mix with a great bassline and a wonderful swirling melody. The next track "To The Six" blends amazingly well and is a very downtempo track that is a perfect fit for this section. "Pacific" is the next track up, and signifies a low point in the mix for me. It feels out of place from the rest of the mix, but don't worry "Terminal 6" is up next. This track is a huge turning point on the album, and is a massive peak for the album. This flows into "Tonight" and slows the mix down a bit, but has a very nice melody throughout the track. This track fades very lightly away in favor of the next track "Call of Loneliness" which focuses on a great melody and pumping beat. "Cadence" is the next track up which fades out the melodic side of things a bit, and turns the mix more techy. Next up is "Safe" which has a very haunting vocal and an interesting emotional feel to it. This transitions over to the next track, "Mount Everest" which is my favorite transition on the mix. The track another massive peak for the disc and is almost my favorite for the album. This fades into the incredibly elegant and simple "Green Line". This track is very simple but sounds amazing all the same. Next up is "Anjunabeach" which sounds very very similar to "Buzz" under their Tranquility Base guise, but is a good addition to the mix. This fades out to a great remix of Paper Jet, which was the opener on Anjunabeats 6. This makes a perfect track to open for my favorite song of the album "Nuclear Fusion." This blends an amazing bassline with a piano hook that is one of the best I've ever heard, and makes a perfect finisher for disc 1.

Disc 2 starts out very mild with "Autumn". It's a great melody and has a very haunting quality that is very suiting to start the album. "Misgrey" is next up and continues the downtempo trend but also has a very nice climax. With "Aurora", the mix takes a turn towards the melodic, and in my opinion is the first true highlight of the disc. This moves seamlessly into "Default" which is an absolutely genius track and provides the first peak of the mix. The mix comes down a bit with "Everywhere You Are" which is the only vocal track on the disc. And since they only had one vocal on this mix, I'm very glad it was this one as it adds a very emotional high point. The disc comes back up with another peak in "Irifushi" and is a very energetic and pumping track. "30 Degrees At Midnight" continues the upbeat trend, but is much less energetic than the previous track and is a perfect transition to "Wanderlust". This track takes that upbeat feel and turns it very dark, which is actually quickly turned around again with "Moon Dust" which is another uplifting track. From here, the mix peaks with "Callista" which is a very energetic and emotional track. Next up is "Venice Beach" which keeps the emotional trend going and continues the peak phase of the mix. "Eclipse" brings the pace down and focuses on the techy aspects of the song which makes it a perfect track for this part of the disc. The next track, "Fahrenheit" brings back the uplifting sound and transitions into the aptly named and final song "Downhill", which climaxes the entire album to great effect.

Overall, I very highly recommend this album if you like the trance sound within the last couple of years. Disc 1 is easily my favorite of the 2, and ranks in my top 5 favorite mixes of all time.

Track List: 9/10
Track Flow: 9/10
Mixing: 10/10

Once again Above & Beyond's Anjunabeats doesn't disappoint. If you like deep, flowing trance type music you will like this CD. The bonus DVD is basically shots of Above & Beyond on tour with them talking into the camera to me it was pretty worthless, no real information no format just random tapings. I bought the CD/DVD set to see the DVD instead of waiting several days for it to arrive I should have bought it on Amazon MP3. I gave it 4 stars because of the DVD the Music deserves 5.

As with any Above and Beyond release, this trio of producers and DJs always satisfy my desire for the best trance/dance compilation. It is without a doubt an essential addition to any electronic music library. Above and Beyond and their Ajunabeats affiliation never disappoints and that holds for Vols. 1 - 7. For Volume 7, they have assembled the amazing jaytech, one of the best producers/DJ's I have ever seen live. The track Milano from Boom Jinx and Jaytech is just one of the very powerful songs on disc 1. Oliver Smith, Mat Zo and Above and Beyond's Ajunabeach left me awestruck. This entire cd contains layered strong melodies combined with very srong riffs that stay in your head long after your first listen.

Volume 7 comes full circle, with every synth, bassline and drums, and the vocal remix of Dirty Vegas, "Tonight", is a testament to the talent of Above and Beyond's effectiveness as producers and remix genius. I look forward to Tri-State 2, words can not describe how I felt when I listened to Tri-State. With Volume 7, breakdowns still carry the momentum of the tracks on disc 2, with Daniel Kandi, Sunny Lax, Dan Stone and Nitrous Oxide.

Congratulations and thanks to A & B for Volume 7, Above and Beyond always delivers. Do not hesitate to purchase this excellent 2 disc/DVD.....Anjunabeats 7 carries with it a strong element of emotion.

If I could give this release 10 stars I would...just another solid release by Above and Beyond. They are world class djs and this compilation demonstrates that. It is an epic journey from start to finish.

This is a very good release with a lot of fresh great tracks! My favorite artists are here and it's great to see some new stuff from Mike Koglin. I don't have any favorite tracks yet as I have just listened to this as a gapless mix. There aren't many tracks that stand out so far, but the top track everyone is talking about is "Anjunabeach".

The bonus dvd is good if you are really into "Above & Beyond". It is a documentary of what it's like for them on tour. It's pretty short but a good bonus. There is also a music video for "Lonely Girl" that is pretty good too.

The packaging is great and looks very nice in my collection. I'm a big fan of Egypt and it's culture/history and that is one of the reasons the album cover stands out to me.

This is a great release and I recommend you give it a spin! My current top album now is "Sirens of the Sea (Remixed)" by OceanLab with various other artists. Despite the new Anjunabeats release, Sirens of the Sea is still going to be my most listened to soundtrack.

If you're looking for a fantastic trance experience, you can't go wrong with this one. Very gentle take-offs accompanied by long, ultra-cool glides, Above and Beyond does it again. Disc 1 has some seriously classy music-telling. Disc 2 is the icing, however.

When I first listened to both CDs all the way through, to be honest, I was a little less than blown away. I only really noticed 2, maybe 3 tracks per CD that really stood out from the rest. It took a couple of listens to really get a good impression. Some albums are just that way it seems. Anyways..

In this album, as is normally the case with the Anjunabeats collection, CD1 is the more progressive and melodic of the two discs. It starts off with kind of a slow, jazzy track, and then jumps into song #2 with a nice track called "Milano" by Boom Jinx and Jaytech. Track 4 "Pacific" by Oliver Smith is also pretty sweet. It keeps the same creamy, mellow pace and then drops into track 6 "Tonight" by Dirty Vegas, remixed by Above and Beyond (Probably the best track on the entire album). "Safe" by Velvetine is pretty good, but there really aren't a whole lot of great tracks after that. There are a few forgettable tracks here, but overall it is well paced, and well mixed. I give CD1 3 stars, but since "Tonight" is on this disc, it gets an extra 1/2 a star :)

At first, CD2 really didn't seem to stand out to me for some reason, until I reached "Eclipse" by Activa pres. Solar movement (track 12), a great track which is near the end. After a few more listens, CD2 not only started to sound better, but began to outshine CD1. CD2 starts off strong and keeps a high intensity pace throughout the whole disc. After a few listens, it would be easier to name off the tracks that did NOT seem to fit in the overall theme of CD2. The thing that stands out about this disc is not so much the individual tracks, but the track placement and selection. Its pretty amazing what they do with the build, and overall pace, especially towards the beginning, and then again toward the end. Thats not to say that there aren't some great tracks like "Misgrey" by Sunny Lax, "Irufushi" by Super8 & Tab, or "Eclipse" by Activa pres. Solar movement. Once again, there are some forgettable tracks on the second disc, but less than CD1. I give CD2 4 stars.

All in all, its a great album that may take a couple of listens to appreciate fully.

I have Armin Van Buuren's A State of Trance 2008, A&B Anjubeats vol 8, PVD's Politic of Dancing 1 and 2, Tiesto in Search of the Sunrise 6 and 7.

And I will tell you by far, this cd is my most coveted and favorite among all these. I download many of their podcast, I listen to A&B when I drive, party, study. Hell even my ringtones have are snippets of their songs. But this by far is the most impressive fantastic cd I have ever purchased. Its a true journey. Some of my friends ask why buy their cd's when you can just download and listen to all their podcast for free? Why because sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due.... You make beautiful music that uplifts and inspires, you need to be rewarded and give credit where credit is due. I bought this cd and will continue buying their other cds because I simply love their music, so when you pick this up. Don't just consider yourself a fan, consider yourself A PATRON of the Arts.