Customer Reviews

Anjunadeep, Vol. 1

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't bother with the negative reviews, they clearly don't know a zit about EDM.

This album presents the more chilling housy imprint from A&B's Anjunabeats label, named Anjunadeep.

It blends a beautiful mix of progressive, house and trance into a chilling package that works both for when you're having a bbq with friends or when you're warming up the party. A&B themselves have said this is the kind of stuff they will play on the first half of their longer sets slowly building it up into a melodic trance prowess.

With that said, if you're expecting their trademark trance stuff, this is not the right album, look at Anjunabeats instead. On the other hand if you're looking for a beautiful compilation that builds the perfect mood for those chilling times at home or at a party, then look no further than Anjunadeep 01. You'll be in for quite a voyage.

I had high expectations for this album, and it did not disappoint for the most part. Anjunadeep Vol. 1 is a more progressive and slightly darker sound than the Anjunabeats series. the mixing is flawless, and the track selection is pretty decent overall, but it never seems to achieve the crescendo that the Anjunabeats series did. If you are more accustomed to the high energy/intensity sound that you find in the Anjunabeats series, you might be disappointed with this release. If you like a slower, more progressive sound, similar to Markus Schulz, you will like Anjunadeep Vol. 1.

This is not trance. I'm not kidding. Go look up each of these tracks on Beatport. They are listed under progressive house. To the best of my knowledge, nothing on this compilation gets above 130 BPM.

And it's flawless.

I am a bedroom DJ. If you DJ long enough, it becomes difficult to enjoy compilations or live shows. You hear mistakes. You hear ways that mixes could have been better. I am telling you that this is the most perfectly mixed CD compilation I have ever listened to. Markus's Toronto 09 is a close second. I get lost in this mix every time I listen to it.

And, just becuase it's progressive house, doesn't mean it doesn't have high energy. I'll never forget the time I heard Alterimage play Murder Weapon in a club with a massive sound system as part of a warm-up set. You know what? It is a monster tune. So are a lot of these. Komytea, Proff, Dinka, Jaytech, all these guys are staples on the Anjunabeats label. You can't get that kind of sound anywhere else.

I'm not very free with 5 star ratings. This compilation--without a doubt--earns it.

Let me state this off the bat, I am an incredibly discerning listener, so this in no way is a light review.

After listening to electronic music, everything from Dance to Progressive House, for the last 10+ years I can honestly say this is on my top 10 all time favorite albums list. I have no clue as to why the other reviewers gave this album such a low rating and seeing as how I don't usually write too many reviews, I was compelled to let everyone know THIS IS WORTH BUYING. It's a lot more progressive house sounding than their usual trance-progressive trance sound, so perhaps that's why some will be disappointed. But once they grow up out of pure trance, this will be a much more dynamic listen than A&B's other albums; not to detract in any way from its predecessors. Anjunabeats is still CLASSIC and a must for any fan of electronic music. The beauty of A&B however, lies in the fact that with each album they get better and better and continue to progress as artists and djs. Just go back to Anjunbeats Vol. 1 and go through the list and you will see exactly what I mean. Seriously though, don't bother listening to the two other reviewers, and hell, don't even listen to me. Give these tracks a sample for yourself and you'll quickly be blown away.

Happy listening!

As is often the case with a double CD, one CD usually eclipses the other. In this outing CD2 clearly comes out on top; that is, if you prefer melodic, high energy trance over progressive/house trance.

This is not to say CD1 never makes its way into my CD player, for I did like about half the tracks (#5, 7, 8, 9, & 12). But with CD2 I only hit the skip button for the first two tracks (house tracks) and from track 3 on you are treated to some of the best high energy trance of 2009.

As others have noted, this is NOT at all like the Anjunabeats series, which had much more "vocal" trance numbers, but this new series is perfect for donning a good pair of headphones and chilling out. I can almost guarantee you'll be treated to a sonic journey that will leave you hitting the repeat button again and again!

I enjoyed this set from Above & Beyond very much! The first disc is definitely the best. A great mix of slower, progressive sounds, and if you are a fan of Above & Beyond's mixes and material I'd purchase this set for sure.

"Anjunabeats Vol. 6" was definitely their best on that series, and Above & Beyond is on a roll!

Also check out: George Acosta, Christopher Lawrence, TRANCE WORLD 4 (Without a doubt the best of the series mixed by John O' Callaghan!!)

I Love Above and Beyond-finally made it to my first A&B gig last month. They are amazing entertainers. A party is likely to start whenever their music is playing.

So I of course had to preorder this CD-even got Paavo to sign it at his gig. But I wasn't sure I really LIKED it. Seems slower, more down tempo, and less expressive.

That is, until I listened to it in a quiet atmosphere-with a glass of red wine. This is a FANTASTIC compilation-deep and moving-but more on a spiritual level than an Anjunabeats release, which gets the heart and blood pumping.

Perfect accompaniment for studying, relaxing, or talking. The music fills your mind without overpowering it. Another great addition to the huge and growing Anjunabeats label.

I love the Anjunabeats series and was eagerly awaiting this release, but it's been really disappointing. Maybe I just didn't realize what it was going to be, but it's pretty uninteresting. It's not bad, it just doesn't have any hooks and never feels like it goes anywhere, and the beats aren't good enough on their own to be enjoyable. Some of the songs are ok, but nothing exciting. Enjoying the Anjunabeats series is not a guarantee of liking these tracks.

If you like trance, but find some it to be monotonous and too strong at times, then this is for you. It's a few beats slower than the Anjunabeats series, but just as good. I especially enjoyed Jaytech, Komytea, and 16 Bit Lolitas. And the deeper Oceanlab remixes are brilliant. A great start to this series. Looking forward to more!

This is the first (and only, at the time of writing) installment of the label titled albums "Anjunadeep" which signs titles from the more house side of trance. Disc 1 has incredible mixing that never has a flaw, with a good track list as well. Disc 2 is a lot more techy and chunky that treads into the more dangerous territory that you either love or hate. Here's my breakdown:

Disc 1 starts off slow with "Nobody Seems To Care" which is a nice starter that blends perfectly with the next track "Room Service". I fell in love with this track from the moment it dropped into the melodic bassline following the intro. This is seamlessly blended into "Clear Senses" which is a low point of the mix for me as it doesn't really have anything going on. From here the mix picks up a little bit with "9" and makes a perfect fill track for "Life Aquatic" which starts an upward trend out of the steady bassline. From here it hits a climax in "Sundance" which is a lot more of an upbeat track than the others. The mix slows down a bit with "Warm Up" which serves as a filler track to "Deep Orange". This continues back into the bassline trend from the last track but has a nice melody as well. "With You" had me dancing immediately the first time I heard it and is a small climax that mixes well into "Breaking Ties". This remix is very very nice and is a perfect fit for the Anjunadeep label with it's sorrowful tones. This flows into "Synapse Dynamics" which is a massive change from the previous track and climaxes well. The mix goes a little bit more steady with "Metro" which slows down the disc nicely. From here it mixes into "Killer" which is another nice bassline track that continues the motiff. The last track ends the disc nicely with "Vela".

Disc 2 starts off with the ingenious track "Afghanistan" which starts off slow and hits big. This blends wonderfully with the ironically titled "Electro House Is Dead". The vocals actually add a lot to the song and the melody clashes very well with the steady bassline. From here the track goes into "Reckoner" which is a great and horrible song for me. IMO the vocals are terrible, but the melody is wonderful, but that could just be my tastes. This track mixes into "Murder Weapon" which is a brilliant track with a wonderful bassline that fits perfectly with the melody. From here it goes to "Professional Killers" which I am not a fan of but luckily the vocals are gone in this remix, which improves it a little bit. The mix stays on a low point with "Elder" that just doesn't seem to have much going for it besides a cool little hook in the background. The disc digs itself out a little bit with "Civilisation" that has a very nice combination of melodies but still stays on the bassline trend. The mix drops a little with "Glittering Puzzle" which still continues that steady bassline, but rescue is coming! With "Delta" the mix has a massive peak which makes the rest of the album totally worth it. (It's that good :) ) The disc slows down with "On A Good Day" which is actually my least favorite remix of this I have heard because it takes away everything I loved about it. Anyway, from here it changes to "Doormatica" which pulls off an almost cheesy sounding piano riff (that reminds me a lot of "Cocktail Bar") to great effect. This mix moves into "Summer" which is very slow and melodic but hits really big (until the middle of the song when it sounds like an 80's love song without lyrics haha) and brings the mix down from the previous track. The mix ends of well with "Shadow's Movement" which feels much the same as the previous track, and as such finishes out the album with good flow.

Overall the album is lacking severely in diversity in the track list but is saved by some real highlights with "Sundance", "Synapse Dynamics", and "Delta", and also has a saving grace in how wonderfully the album is mixed and how well the tracks flow.

My favorite of the two is definitely disc 1 as it starts with a favorite of mine and has two of the three big highlights on the album. I would definitely recommend this album to a veteran of trance, but definitely not to someone just starting out in the genre.

Track List: 5/10

Track Flow: 8/10

Mixing: 10/10