Customer Reviews

Renaissance America 1

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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."

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.

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-

Where do I begin! First let me start by saying that this is an "import quality" trance mix. (Those of you that are knowledgeable with this type of music should know what I mean when I say that.) I can't recall ever buying a "domestic" trance mix CD that stood anywhere near as tall as the best "import" trance mix CD's. That is until now! This CD is absolutely stunning! It's a blinder the whole way through! It stands right up there with ANY Sasha and John Digweed CD! (Those people reading this right now should know exactly who these two gentlemen are, and you should also know that they are THE trance and progressive house DJ's that all others are measured against! If you don't know this then this CD probably isn't for you...Go buy a Bee Gees album! ) If you like your trance and progressive house to be complex, deep and underground, like "the man like" and Diggers spins it, then don't waste any time...BUY THIS CD! But if you are looking for Eurorepetitiouspopcheesetrance, like on a Cream or Gatecrasher compilation, then you are looking in the wrong place! This is THE REAL DEAL!

Dave Seaman typifies what the Renaissance collection is all about: tasteful, clean and beautifully mixed. His CDs are class-A products and are a pleasure to listen to everytime. The tracks are not just the catchy tunes of the day, but classics that transcend time -- a sign of a true artist who understands the artform and takes it upon himself to uphold a high level of quality.

if you like progressive trance, this album should be at the top of your "CD's to buy" list - Just to give you backround, I own almost all the Global Underground series, worship BT, and dislike a lot of Oakenfold stuff (except Tranceport which is exceptionally good) because it's too cheesy - okay, with that said, this album is clean, elegant, soothing and energizing all at once. His mixes approach Sasha and Digweed subtlety and the tracks are gorgeous. it ends with that sample of "calling your name" which is perfect - a really really great album - get his Global Underground set also because it is every bit as good as the Sasha's San Fran and Ibizia - dare I say it? i like Seaman more!

I absolutely love this mix. Some people are dismissing it as geared toward an American audience but I dismiss them because it's a stupid thing to say about a DJ. A dj's ultimate job is to make people happy by mixing others tracks together to create a journey unlike any other. Too often this is not done because some dj's will use tracks that you've have on ten other mixes, that's one of the strong points of this cd, it has some familiar tunes, (Godspeed by BT and Under the Water by Brother Brown) but Seaman also throws in some tracks that I don't have on anything else that are simply fantastic (Voices by Desert and The Flow by Laguna Seca). This cd is a must have for all trance/progressive music lovers whether you're American, European or Martian.

This is perhaps Seaman's worst mix. Some great tracks are here but the mix as a whole does not really work. It starts and ends well (the first 5 and the last 2 are nice) but the whole middle section is boring. those middle tracks are there just for atmosphere; they are really no good by themselves. It is this middle portion that kind of ruins the whole mix. Get Seaman's GUs (both are good) and/or his Renaissance Awakening mix.

Please don't be turned off by the title of this review because indeed this is an excellent CD. Seaman takes us for an awesome journey into the house world, beginning with BT (always an excellent choice) and Under the Water which has wonderful vocals through the break beats of both Twin Town and Escape and ends up fabulously with the haunting ballad of Taylor in Anomaly - Calling your Name (Sasha ends his GU SF Disc 1 with this track and both Seaman and Sasha end with this track for good reason). I consider this a fine piece of work by Seaman. If you are new to the scene this is an excellent introduction to some great music. However, if you want a truly awesome CD set I would highly recommend Seaman's Global Underground set from Buenos Aires. The GU set gives Seaman a little more leeway in terms of music collection and is a must have for anyone who loves House. New to the scene go for this CD, been around then pay the extra $4 and get the GU Seaman.

i've been enjoying the mixing stylings of dave seaman since the first time i heard him on the 'RENAISSANCE' series. however, this time the music blows me away (especially track #6). throughout the disc, just when you think he can't take you any higher --- BOOM! he does it again. keep up the good work.