Renaissance America 1

Dave Seaman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 1999)
• Original Release Date: July 13, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Max Music
• ASIN: B00000JMWR
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,175 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Godspeed [Hybrid Remix]

2. Under the Water [Starecase Remix]

3. Rainmaker

4. Forsaken

5. The Flow [Nalin & Kane Remix]

6. Voices

7. Twin Town

8. Escape

9. Run

10. Unity [Helsinki Sunday 6am Mix]

11. Anomaty [Albion Mix]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous introduction to trance and progressive house, August 1, 1999

By 

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

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Renaissance America 1 (Audio CD)

When I saw that Renaissance was going to begin a series of cd mixes for American audiences, I expected something along the lines of Paul Oakenfold's "Tranceport," i.e., a string of "anthems" aimed at whetting the appetites of rock-saturated American listeners for some new, cutting-edge electronic music. "Tranceport" is a fine cd, but for people who have followed trance and progressive house for any length of time, its track list seems a bit tired and overplayed, indeed.

This mix by Dave Seaman surprised me--it's fresh and vibrant, and chock filled with new tracks that I've either heard only rarely or else not at all previously. Bravo! Seaman has not condescended to some image of an unsophisticated American audience in any way--this mix is energetic, powerful, and not at all "top forty" in its composition. In short, it's terrific, and especially at the price at which it's being offered at Amazon. com, it's one U.S. listeners "cannot afford to miss."

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seaman delivers an intricate, airy set!, January 31, 2000

By 

"philippio" (Middletown, Connecticut United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Renaissance America 1 (Audio CD)

Starting out really strong with a Hybrid remix of BT's Godspeed was candy to my ears! I think this mix is better than the original. Slowing it down a bit into Brother Brown's Under the Water, Seaman shows his ability to seamlessly fuse varying genres of electronica. The female vocals sound like Bjork. I don't know whether there will be more Renaissance America cd's but this first one is a very European mix which I prefer. After listening to these first two songs, I felt like the set was too ambient but this is not the case. Seaman pulls in Rainmaker's Novocaine which raises the bpm's but still maintains that airy, floating sensation that I think Dave was aiming for. Laguna Seca's "Flow" is probably the housiest of all the tracks. The female vocals are very uplifting and dominate over the beat which emanates and fills you. Cascade's "Escape" is a trancy, trippy track which sounds stretched out over a strong beat. Seaman then moves on to the smoothest of all the songs which is Ecando's "Run." There is a strong vocal sample which sounds a lot like Enigma. The mix is called Helsinki Sunday 6 am mix and it's ambient, powerful and definitely something that sounds fresh at 6 am! Ending crisp with Libra's Anomaly (Albion Mix), Seaman has put together an amazing, inspirational set. If you want to play it at a party, don't start with this one but play it in the afterhours to fulfill your guests' aural desires! If you like it, also consider Seaman's Global Underground Buenos Aires set. The mixing is of the same quality but the tracks are housier.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars practically essential for energetic trance fans, December 19, 2000

By 

Richard Diaz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Renaissance America 1 (Audio CD)

It's been a year and, sitting on the edge of 2000, we're still on the first volume of the Renaissance America - but oh, what a crowd pleasin' set it is, courtesy of Dave Seaman. Forgoing the atmospheric builds marking his Global Underground excursions, Seaman fires out an exciting, energetic string of tracks without resorting to the huge trance-choons of 1999.

BT and Hybrid are of course some of the bigger names in trance, and their collaboration on "Godspeed" is appropriately spot-on, merging polished production with deep-bass undertones. Of the endless mixes "Under the Water" has flooded dance with, the Starecase cut that follows does a fab job of injecting life to the dreary vocals.

Seaman's ability to string several driven numbers without devolving into high-speed nonsense ultimately makes this a winner; juggling just enough squelch or breakbeat (Highland's "Forsaken") or melody to keep you tuned in. In fact, it almost ends too soon, with the last three tracks easing the throttle or dipping somber (Orkidea's "Unity") before ending on that DJ-popular closer "Anomaly." Regardless, practically essential for trance fans. Grade: A-