|
|
|
| |
| |
 BUY + LISTEN |
DJ MICRO - TECH-MIX 5 (SYSTEM RECORDINGS) |
| |
There might be a better, less trite word out there, but “sizzling” just fits so well in trying to capture the stunning trance work of DJ Micro in one word. It’s a serious tribute to Micro’s ability as a DJ that he can bring together a selection of tracks by other artists (though this does include one Micro original, “The World Around Me,” which certainly reflects his tastes in trance) and create a mix that’s so distinctive and representative of his personality. Not that the other artists get shorted, or anything. Every track is distinguishable as its own personality, but with a Micro mix, the whole is the ultimate. The work of art pulled together from an excellent batch of trance tunes demonstrates DJ Micro’s deft work behind the turntables. “Tech-Mix 5” is another solid addition to the Micro canon and has all the requisite Micro mix traits. Big beats give some sleek muscle to the propulsion of these standout trance tracks, pushing them forward with drive, energy and thickness. Buzzing, sometimes fuzzing, melodies have a taut strength to match the efforts of the beats; Micro doesn’t skimp and you can never accuse his music of being thick or too ethereal. And the melodies are so big, potent and uplifting, it’s almost as though Micro’s contributions to the trance genre have updated and redefined the meaning of uplifting melodic trance. While I think I’d hesitate to label it pure epic trance, his work certainly has the potency and soaring heartlift of epic. The textures are another strong aspect of the music Micro mixes. Thick, thick, thick. That’s another word besides sizzling that comes to mind in attempting to use words to convey the lush power of Micro’s sets. Powerhouse beats, infectious grooves, thick melody lines are all woven into stunning texture work. Another great thing about what Micro has done here (and on other mixes as well; he’s a solid DJ) is the way there can be a certain progressiveness to his music but without making you wait too long for the payoff. Imminent, inevitable crescendo provides a captivating arc that unifies a DJ Micro mix into more than just a collection of trance tunes. Rather, it is a new, whole work constructed from individual works to become something greater than the sum of its parts. Micro’s music is good from start to finish; there’s no real filler. But the goodness does keep escalating higher and higher until, before you know it, you’re being launched to beyond the infinite. Massive and gorgeous. -- review by Kristofer Upjohn
DJ Micro’s first two Tech-Mix installments, both released on Moonshine, perfectly represented the melodic, driving sounds of raves in and around ’98 and ’99. However, where those mixes encompassed a range of sounds from breaks to tech to trance, Micro’s subsequent mixes have been almost wholly trance-based and, as such, less satisfying. While capably put together, Tech-Mix 5 (with Micro, like so many other former Moonshine DJs, now finding a home on System Recordings) is still unrepentantly trance, but that fact should please enthusiasts of the genre to no end. An upfront, anthem-oriented mix, Tech Mix 5 boasts tracks by trance mainstays like Dutchman Johan Gielan, Montreal-based monsters Second Sun with “The Spell,” Joshua Ryan and Texas’s D:Fuse with “Everything With You.” Further fill out that trance checklist with the requisite big synths of “Massive Motion” by M.I.K.E. and the euphoric female vocals on Lost Witness’s “Home,” featuring Tiff Lacey. The mix shines most when Micro keeps things tough and tight with solid mixes, and there are more than a few blazingly good ones on this CD, and devoid of deadening breakdowns. The old Tech-Mix CDs were better that way, but anyone looking for a made-in-America alternative to Tiësto will still dig Micro’s Tech-Mix 5 big time. djmicro.com, systemrecordings.com-- review by Yuri Wuensch
|
| |
|
 |
|
