Ministry of Sound's Trance Nation America

Ministry Of Sound (Series), Various Artists - Dance & DJ - Trance, Jimmy Van M | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 27, 2000)
• Original Release Date: June 27, 2000
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Ultra Records
• ASIN: B00004TSDL
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,012 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #36 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Trance

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Get 2 U - Sylvane

2. Milk (Rabbit In The Moon Remix) - Garbage

3. Body & Mind (Hyperion Remix) - Inkfish

4. Dreaming - BT7

5. Moments Of Space - Odessi

6. Subtle Thrust - Purple & Lunar

7. Indica (Vocal Mix) - Pink Bomb

8. Anomaly (Calling Your Name) - Libra Presents Taylor

9. Pumpin (Bluefish Remix) - Novy Vs. Eniac

10. Xenophobe - Taylor

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Opera (Beckett's Phantoms Only Mix) - Cass/Slide

2. Bollar I Rymden - David Roiseux

3. Klein Aber Doctor (Slipstream Original Mix) - Atmos

4. Feathers (Humate's Flying High Mix) - Spicelab

5. Dive Into The Deep - Revolt

6. Way Of Love - Jericho

7. Darker ([e-mail]) - Brancaccio & Aisher

8. Repercussion (Funk Fuction's Melody Mix) - Science Dept.

9. Impact (Christian Smith & John Selway Remix) - Dark Palace

10. Madness (Timo Maas Remix) - Kee Mo

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The first U.S. release from the influential U.K. label/dance-music collective Ministry of Sound, Trance Nation America taps the DJ talents of both U.S. coasts in the form of L.A.'s Taylor and New York's Jimmy Van M, two immensely popular mixologists who make good use of this high-profile, double-CD gig. The first disc is Taylor's show, and he wastes no time showing off the anthemic, Christopher Lawrence-esque trance that West Coast DJ's have come to specialize in. Taylor's particular bent is more elegant than most, though, successfully evoking a gentle vibe early in the set with Rabbit in the Moon's floating remix of Garbage's "Milk," and a patient, teasing version of BT's "Dreaming." He definitely does indulge his more primal rhythmic inclinations elsewhere, throwing down the gauntlet with an expertly transitioned Hyperion remix of Inkfish's "Body and Mind," and later, an incredible rendering of his own cranked-up, dance-floor thrill-ride, "Xenophobe." Jimmy Van M's mix on the second disc hovers even more delicately above the turntables, though with a darker, more minor-key vibe that illuminates the stylistic differences that arise regionally in U.S. electronic music. An overt sense of melodic repetition drives the first part of JVM's mix, exemplified in Revolt's "Dive into the Deep," and while his mix gets heavier as it goes, he never leaves that sense of delicacy completely behind. Both mixes display a mystifying ability to explore a huge amount of electronic territory, moving easily between differing rhythms and smoothing over distracting edges. In fact, Ministry of Sound, Taylor, and Jimmy Van M all succeed not only in showing trance's elastic, diverse nature, they also somehow convey the idea that while the U.S. continues to be fertile ground for DJ talent, its regional musical dialects are all still basically derived from the same beat-driven language. --Matthew Cooke

Product Description

First part of a new series from the hugely popular UK label, Ministry Of Sound, mixed by Taylor and Jimmy Van M. 2000 release. Slimline double jewel case housed in a slipcase.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deep Satisfying Set, July 2, 2000

By 

"leafynowhere" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ministry of Sound's Trance Nation America (Audio CD)

The track listing posted barely resembles what actually made it on to the two-disc set (or at least as far as I can tell from squinting at the retina-frying orange packaging) but don't let that deter you from trying out Trance Nation America. This is quite a change from some of the import Ministry of Sound selections, which tend to go for a K-Tel approach with lots of big anthems given a perfunctory mix by someone like ATB or Matt Darey. Instead both disks offer deep, immersive mixes with quite a bit of unfamiliar material.

Taylor's mix is the prettier of the two, with tracks like the Evolution mix of BT's "Dreaming," Rabbit In The Moon's hypnotic spin on Garbage's "Milk" and the classic "Anomaly" by Libra featuring Taylor. Taylor manages to conjure up beautiful, seductive atmospheres without getting cheesy. Among the highlights of Taylor's disk is the superb Odessi track "Moments In Space" with its maddeningly calm female voice providing an unavoidable hook.

Van M's set is the deeper side, with contributions from Oliver Lieb, Danny Howells, and Cass & Slide and their dolphin chorus.

Trance enthusiasts who like their music deep and propulsive will find this a great set to add to their collection.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MOS eschews the cheese in its choice of U.S. dj's, December 15, 2000

By 

Douglas A. Greenberg (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ministry of Sound's Trance Nation America (Audio CD)

In Great Britain, some of the best-selling trance compilations of the past few years have been the Ministry of Sound's "Trance Nation" mixes, partly because these have favored the build-and-breaks, "hands in the air" anthems associated with Ferry Corsten, Matt Darey, and other popular producer/dj's. Certainly some of these tunes are catchy and fun, but too many in a mix invariably leads to an overall impression of saminess, commercialism, and even (dare I say it?) cheesiness.

Given this background, it was surprising, and pleasantly so, when MOS selected two talented young progressive trance dj's to mix their American volume in the "Trance Nation" series. The results definitely are worthy of two thumbs up.

In cd one, Los Angeles dj Taylor spins a fine, varied set of trance and progressive house, highlighted by Pink Bomb's hypnotically beautiful "Indica," a tune that's a few years old but which really has never received its propers as being one of the finest trance tracks ever released. Taylor's own "Xenophobe" represents a first-rate example of the darkish trance sound that has come into its own during 2000, perhaps as a reaction to the overly "uplifting" feel associated with the epic trance fad of 1998-1999. Taylor also includes two tracks that at first glance might evoke reactions on the part of devoted trance fans of, "Oh, no, not again": these are BT's "Dreaming" and Libra Presents Taylor's "Anomaly (Calling Your Name)." Both have been immensely popular to the point where perhaps it's time to place them in the back of the record box, at least for a while. However, Taylor wisely includes remixes that emphasize musical texture and beat over melody, a strategy which works splendidly within the overall flow of the mix.

The second mix by New York-based Jimmy Van M is a bit deeper, darker, and less anthemic overall, a pattern that complements Taylor's cd effectively. The set begins perhaps a bit too slowly, with a lengthy version of Cass/Slide's "Opera," complete with its trademark whale sounds. This is followed by a series of similarly low-key tracks culminating with a melodically subtle and highly rhythmic piece by Oliver Lieb, here in his Spicelab persona.

It's twenty-five minutes into the set before the pace really begins to pick up via the wonderfully catchy yet completely non-cheesy "Dive into the Deep" by Revolt. With its pulsating melody and infectious dance beat, this is a great track to play for friends who are curious about trance but who clearly are not ready for Cass/Slide or Brancaccio & Asher.

The remainder of the mix remains on this higher plane of musical energy, highlighted by hynotically dark, deep, and haunting tracks like Jericho's "Way of Love," Brancaccio & Asher's "Darker," a gorgeous remix by Lucien Foorte (aka Funk Function) of Science Department's "Repercussion," and the Timo Maas remix of Kee Mo's "Madness." The set concludes with an "oldie but goodie," i.e., Oliver Lieb in his LSG incarnation offering the wonderfully classic "Hidden Sun of Venus."

Overall, it's terrific to see the release of a quality set of progressive house and trance for a U.S. audience that overall remains sadly unaware of the joys that these musical genres have to offer. To those who have heard or read about "the new trance" and are curious as to what it's all about, I recommend it highly.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot more from our nation's top progressive DJ's..., July 6, 2000

By 

Dan Aeberhard - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ministry of Sound's Trance Nation America (Audio CD)

America's two top progressive DJ/Producers, Taylor and Jimmy Van M, serve up an album of 100%, pure, unadulterated progressive trance. In the vein of Sasha and John Digweed's ultra-progressive house/trance sound, these turntable masters show us why they're Sasha and Digweed's favorite US DJ's. Like a demon out of hell, the sounds on this album scream out at your soul with a passion and a precision rarely heard in american compilations. Even DJ DFuse, who I believe is close to Taylor and Van M's level, cannot pound out the mix like these two. Their own tracks (Taylor's "Calling Your Name", "Xenophobe", and Jimmy's "More" which is not on this cd) show us their ability at creating classic trance anthems that have been heard worldwide for years, played by the biggest DJ's known to man, from Oakenfold to Sasha to Van Dyk. Now with this compilation, we finally have an answer to Sandra Collins, Kimball Collins, Christopher Lawrence, and the other "top-tier" US DJ's compilations, which really are second-rate when compared to TRANCE NATION AMERICA.

From beggening to end, pure progressive excellence.