John '00' Flemming VS M.I.K.E. - Dame Blanche
J00F
Catalogue Number: J00F23
Gone are the days of Tiesto and Corsten in partnership, but the ideals behind dream team
producer collaborations still reigns on. In the world of trance super producers you don’t
get much bigger than M.I.K.E. one of the genres veterans. John himself needs little
introduction, and first class production and quality optimises Flemmings studio qualities.
That is without mentioning the fact that he is label owner and superstar DJ. Such a
combining of great forces creates high expectations, and Dame Blanche does not disappoint.
The two mixes on this vinyl are testament to that, one from John himself, and current JOOF
label flavour of the month, Miika Kuisma.
A: John ‘00’ Flemming mix
For pure peak time hedonism head straight for this mix, powerful beats in typically crisp
JOOF fashion draws us into the opening stages. The intro is a wash with niggling synth
lines, swirling pads and infectious high synth strings layered over the spiky bassline.
The use of FX in this track is superb and it has a brilliantly polished feel to it,
production of the highest order. Whilst trance in 2004 has been accused as being rather
samey and an Anjunabeats style dominating the soundscape, Dame Blanche comes as a breath
of fresh air. In truth, what the JOOF label has been doing all year offers a modern, yet
unformulaic approach to trance, and that is commendable. Once we arrive at the break, on
first listen you know something special is only just around the corner, but first the
quagmire of dark strings and pads must be negotiated before the beast of the highly
portamento-d riff emerges from the darkness like a blinding search light. There’s little
to comment on once it drops, fairly standard faire in terms of structure, but in originality
within the constraints of the genre it all sounds really tasty. It’s come rather late in
the day for 2004, but certainly one of the tracks of the year for me.
B: Miika Kuisma remix
As purveyors of the new dark and dirty side to a modern trance JOOF’s man of the moment
has to be this exciting Fin. Helsinki isn’t renowned for churning out top trance producers,
but there’s been a Finnish insurgence in 2004. Reference points for this remix would be the
intensely dark yet uplifting Sonic Kiss and Twisted, with a similar approach taken to his
interpretation of Dame Blanche. This is a slightly more laid back affair to the John ‘00’
Flemming mix, with a hint of electro in the way that the break beats are incorporated into
the middle section of the track. It plods along at a nice pace with a deep rolling bassline,
the contrasting effect of dark meets light is clearly in evidence as the melody on the surface
is much happier and brighter sounding than the underside. This would make a really appropriate
set builder, which in normally reviewing spiel means it doesn’t really do much. In fairness,
I don’t think it strives to do a lot. The emphasis isn’t on the big riff like with Flemming’s
interpretation. Squelchy, bumpy and chunky trance with a twist is served up, and executed
extremely well, a nice alternative to the flipside of the vinyl.
All in all, this is an essential purchase for the end of the year, expect to be big for
sometime to come. JOOF’s now 23rd release is arguably one of the strongest, and that is
high praise against a back catalogue which would stand up against any of the major league
trance labels today.
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Review by Xalno
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