V/A - Classic Trax (Mixed by Guy Sebbag)

[Lemmiwinks]

1 Sequential - Prophet (6:39)

2 LDC - Plasma (6:45)

3 X - The Beginning Of The End (4:00)

4 Sven Van Hees - Emotional Rehabilitation (5:49)

5 Microbots - Cosmic Evolution (5:33)

6 LDC - Parses (5:38)

7 Siamese Twins -A Proper Cup Of Coffee (6:11)

8 Abfart - Come Into My Life (7:29)

9 Deltraxx -The Source (6:27)

10 Hole In One - Yoga Session (6:27)

11 Ramin Vol. 1 - Reality (5:31)

12 Remake - Blade Runner (6:02)

 

In case you didn't know, Guy Sebbag was one of the first pioneers in the israeli trance scene together with the guys from Astral Projection (actually they used to form a group together called SFX). With this comp he decided to make a collection of his favorite tracks from the very early trance days (all tracks here were made between 1990 and 1993). So for any trance historian like myself this is pure gold!! But people new to scene should be warned, early trance was VERY different from what we call trance today. Most of it sounds closer to what we'd call chill-out today and not much of it is danceable by today's terms, nor is it very energetic. Still, for people who like the style it is a dream!

 

The comp starts off with Sequential which is actually one of Pete Namlook's side projects. It is a great downtempo track, starts off like ambient, then picks up a little, then come some dreamy pads and some discrete 303 lines in the background. How could I miss out on such a great track? Anyway, after a look on discogs I see that their album was actually re-released in 2008, it's great to see such great quality music gets a second chance

 

Then comes LDC - Plasma which picks up the pace some more, this is very much in line with stuff released on Eye Q records at the time and for a reason, it is one of Torsten Fenslau's projects which was one of the gods of early trance and resident DJ at the Dorian Gray in Frankfurt. So sad that his career came to an abrupt ending with his death in a car accident in 1993...

 

The X next with a darkish feel. Of course, as dark as it would get back then which is a very different kind of dark compared to today's stuf).

 

Sven Van Hess up next, this is a name that will probably ring some bells to some Belgians since he played a major role in the late 80s/ early 90s Belgian underground scene with a radio show called Liaisons Dangereuses. Interestingly enough, he's still producing music today although I haven't heard his new stuff. Well this track is kindof in between acid techno and classic trance but I must say it is one that I like less here.

 

Then comes Microbots - Cosmic Evolution. I don't know why but for some reason this is THE track that appears the most on classic trance tribute comps, I don't understand why cause IMO there was MUCH better stuff produced at the time.

 

LDC come again with another track with again the typical german classic trance feel, but also with some oriental voices added, giving it a bit of a goatrance feeling.

 

Siamese Twins up next which actually made a bit of a comeback around 1998 with a re-release from a well-known goatrance label Hadshot Haheizar. It takes a while to unwind but then around 2:30 you understand why it was re-released years later: it has a GREAT melody that still isn't old IMO.

 

Abfart next which takes us into the world of more wierd trance, some twisted 303 lines and some more conventional padding. I don't really like this one, but it's wierd enough to catch your attention lol Interestingly enough, Abfart is a collaboration between Torsten Fenslau and Nosie Katzmann which later on made a career by being the writer of most well-known eurodance hits from the mid 90s (Captain Hollywood Project, Culture Beat, DJ Bobo etc.). Interesting to see that he also made more underground stuff

 

Deltraxx next which is another side-project by Pete Namlook, this time with an interesting tribal track which turns pretty darkish halfway.

 

Hole in One up next with one of the first anthems of trance. Back then trance was all about pads and slow hypnotic progressions, so having a melody hook with a lot of staying power in a track is a bit of a surprise to me. Great track, too bad it has become forgotten by time. Oh and would it surprise you to discover that the artist was Dutch? Interesting to see that already then the Dutch were making anthem trance.

 

Ramin up next which you might know better for his Afrotrance project. This track also has a tribal hypnotic feeling to it but sounds closer to New Beat than trance IMO.

 

The closer is Remake - Blade Runner which is - you guessed it - a remix of the Blade Runner theme And I know from some people who were into the trance scene from the beginning that this was a major hit back then.

 

THE GOOD If you're a collector then this is pure gold!!! Also, if you miss the classic trance sound, this is pure gold as well

 

THE BAD Obviously it sounds very outdated by today's standards, I couldn't imagine playing this in a dance set today (although it still has its value in the chill-out room IMO)

 

CONCLUSION Comps like this are any trance historian's dream. And, unlike most such classic comps this one still sounds interesting today even if it's outdated. The fact that it was compiled in 1998 probably has something to do with it 4/5

[Darkarbiter]

Sounds like something I might be interested in. It's worth noting cosmic baby also did a remix of the blade runner theme.

[Lemmiwinks]

It's worth noting cosmic baby also did a remix of the blade runner theme.

 

yes but that was 2 years AFTER the version on this comp

[Vorlon]

That's truly a great compilation. no where else you can find a quality full dj mix from the '91-'92 parties in goa!!

sure tracks aren't fast and energetic like goatrance started to be circa 95 but they have a trippy factor to them which made those parties so good, something innocent that will never return.