rino Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Sven Vath Touch themes of harlequin, robot, ballet dancer Artist: Sven Vath, Ralf Hildenbeutel Year: 1995 Label: Eye Q Records Format: CD, album Genre: ambient/trance/techno Length: 74:04 Tracklisting: 01. Harlequin's Meditation (B-Zet's remix) 08:48 02. Harlequin Plays Bells (Harlequin Plays Hells Bells-mix by Alter Ego) 06:26 03. Harlequin- The Beauty And The Beast (Underworld remix) 12:53 04. Robot (Hardfloor remix) 08:05 05. The Birth Of Robby (Aural Float mix) 17:42 06. Ballet-Fusion (Speedy J mix) 10:21 07. Ballet-Dancer (B-Zet remix) 09:38 Another one of those old favorites I just recently rediscovered. At first I felt awry about reviewing it on this site, but when I saw that Sven's previous two albums are already here, I went like: "What the hell, not that it can do any harm!". What you have here is a 7 track remix album, with some of the (back in the day) most influental and talented electronic music producers remixing classic tunes from Sven's & Ralf's 1995 classic "The Harlequin- The Robot and The Ballet-Dancer"! Just look at the names involved, and probably the first question that will pop into your mind is: "How bad can this actually be??? ". I consider myself a huge fan of Sven's older work, and for me, the Harlequin release is one of the finest albums I own, regardless of the genre! And this adds itself more than adequately to that masterpiece. Let's do a quick dash through the tracks and see how well this stood the test of time... B-Zet opens up quite nicely with his mellow, and very ambientesque take on Harlequin's Meditation, and then Alter Ego slightly picks up the pace, but still on the downtempo side, with Harlequin Plays Bells. While this remix never impressed me in particular, it really isn't until the third track that this album really shows its true value! As simple as I can put it, Underworlds's remix of Harlequin- The Beauty And The Beast is a classic. While it is pretty repetitve, it somehow stays on the interesting side (think of Underworld's other older tunes like Rez and Dogman Go Woof!), and I must admit it does justice to the original, which was easily the standout on the Harlequin album! Back then Underworld had more tricks in their hat than any great illusionist, and best of all is that they actually pulled them all of! Great track, it really evokes some nice memories! Next one up is a remix by none other then the legendary duo Hardfloor! Yeah, those two circa 1995 were pretty much on the top of their game so you know you can expect only ear candy, spiced up with their trademark acidic synths, on the remix of Robot. Aural Float's remix of The Birth Of Robby could easily be my favorite here. What can you expect from A. Azary + Pascal F.E.O.S. + Gabriel Le Mar? Pure gold? Something like that, yes! This almost 18 minute long sonic journey leaves me speechless, as the music really takes me through loads of moods, atmospheres and dreamy states of mind! They really do expand on the original, giving it an excellent, long and dreamy intro, making the track alltogether more mature than its predecessor. Dare I say, this might be the only remix on the album that actually beats the original. Hard to say, but if there ever was one, it's here! Or is it maybe this one: Speedy J back in the day... What a spontaneous rime, but mr. Paap is one of my all time favorite producers, and the amount of amazing tunes he's produced, ranging from acid house, hardcore, ambient, trance, break beat, techno, hard techno and downtempo, is downright amazing. And oh boy does he deliver here, with his remix of Ballet-Fusion! If you like anything he's done back then, you are bound to love this one. The best part of the track is the slow ambient intro, and then the ambient breakdown towards the track's mid-section! As all of Speed J's work around '95, this is excellent, if not classic. A notch below the previous track, but a monumental piece of music nonetheless! And we close off with another ambient tune by B-Zet; the remix of Ballet-Dance, which is basically a nine and a half minutes long relaxing journey with some beautiful sounds and slow, dreamy melodies building into and fading out of the track. The album ends more or less as it started, meaning great, which really doesn't surprise with all these names involved... To conclude, if you liked "The Harlequin- The Robot And The Ballet-Dancer" this is essential. If you like Sven's early works, this is essential. If you like old school ambient music, which mainly relies on creating atmospheric soundscapes, with no strings attached, and no bullshit, this is essential. Hell, if you at least like old school electronic music, this is essential purchase. Check out the names involved, and try to utter out this isn't an old schooler's wet dream artist arsenal here! If you can find it, and it shouldn't be to hard to find, buy it, and play it when you'll be in your early sixites- and the tears in your eyes are guaranteed. A classic, no. The Harlequin release was one, though. But to complete your essential Sven & Ralf collection, this is a must, and from me it gets a safe and well deserved 9/10! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seraph Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Ummm, yeah, this is the ultimate jewel of Eye Q label, coming after Vath regular album, this remix album is almost as good as the regular one. I won't get into deeper review, all I can say is that this album is A MUST for delicate trance listeners... there is really no problem rino reviewing old school TRANCE lbums, this site is not about Psy Trance only... people should know about all the quality stuff that is around... 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEMO.BOFH Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 One of the best album remix projects that I have ever heard. 10/10 from me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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