George Acosta feat Truth - Mellodrama
http://www.fiveamrecords.co.uk/
Catalogue Number: FAM041
Gareth Emery's FiveAM label is close becoming my favourite trance label around at the moment, with a slew of quality new releases arising of late. This one comes courtesy of one of America's biggest trance DJs, teaming up with an act I've previously unheard of presumably providing the vocal input, however don't quote me on that. Three remixers on the case this time...
The original is quite a smooth progressive piece, smattered with floaty pads and various other trancey sounds. The vocals are pretty much the main focus of the track and are used prominently throughout, with little else about the track standing out. Thankfully the vocals themselves are lovely; hardly singalong material but nonetheless sublime, emotive, mellodramatic & kind on the eardrums. Admittedly this version took a few listens before sinking in, given its fairly basic & hook-less nature, but has grown on me somewhat. Less one for the clubs i'd think, more for chilling out to.
Emery himself takes the wheel for the first remix offering, upping the pace a fair bit whilst still keeping things in the progressive trance field. A tough bassline drives things forward without any significant chordchanges, as a subtle little synth similar to the one in 'Bouncebackability' occupies the top end alongside the vocals. The vocals are used in their entirity again, with a few chopped up bits dotted around to great effect. Throughout most of the track's first half, a haunting pad plays in the background, giving it a dark atmospheric feel which compliments the vocals nicely. In the break, this pad is brought to the forefront and provides an absolutely gorgeous accompaniment to the vocal chorus, resulting in one of the most emotional sounding moments I can ever recall hearing in a piece of trance like this! Then instead of tarnishing the mood with a big climactic peak, the track returns powerfully yet modestly to it's sublime & driving base for the remainder of the duration.
Bobina have delivered two remixes; the 'Bobina Drumma remix' for the vinyl release, and the 'Bobina Double Drumma Dub' on digital download (holy alliteration obliteration batman). Aside from the obvious reduction of vocal content in the dub mix, both are pretty much the same track. It lies somewhere between the original & Emery mixes, feeling alot fuller and bouncier than the former yet not quite as driving or engaging as the latter. Production-wise it's the most solid of the lot, with a brilliantly crafted groove & lots of cleverly incorporated effects & variations. Both mixes contain bits of the vocal cut up & splashed around to great effect, and the track works well both with and without the main set. I can imagine this being used at the peak stage of more prog-orientated sets & rocking the dancefloor quite nicely.
Finally the Motu remix. The most uptempo of the lot, and pretty damn good if you ignore the slightly minor fact that IT HAS NO BLOODY BASSLINE. Whether it works well enough on a club system to not need one I don't know, but at home on headphones it resulted in quite an uncomfortable listen. So much so I opened the thing up in FL Studio and re-rendered it with my own bassline on it... the final result sounded pretty phat if i do say so myself :cool and i'd upload the re-edit here if it weren't for dubious legal issues preventing me. With any luck I'll feature it in a mix sometime. Anyway overlooking that, we have a very deep, dark aggressive trance affair here, with the emotional feel of the other mixes being exchanged for one more mysterious & haunting. The vocals are used more sparingly than in any of the other mixes; more as a sound effect than anything with substance. Overall a nice alternative to the preceeding more fluffy versions.
To sum up, this is a brilliant all-round release, all mixes of high quality & covering a nice range of styles. The Gareth Emery mix is sure to be the most popular with its stunning breakdown, but all are quality and well worth the listen.
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Review by rj
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