Oceanlab - Satelite
Anjunabeats
Catalogue Number: ANJ023
Oceanlab if you didn't know by now are of course legendary trance trio Above & Beyond and
Justine Suissa, (ex Chicane) who is arguably the best female vocalist in the game at the
moment. It could be fair to say many would credit A&B with furthermore being the best producers.
That crown is far more contumacious however. What is less debatable is the quality of Satellite.
The hype surrounding this monster vocal trancer has been like none I’ve seen around a track for
a very long time. The question is, is the hype justified? Well I'd say so!
The track is beautifully uplifting, has a solid kick which keeps it bouncing long into the breakdown
and beyond. Justine's vocal performance for me is right up there, her best since Clear Blue Water
in my opinion. Lyrically this kicks the majority of vocal trance records into touch; it's highly
emotive and wonderfully crafted and executed. The riff isn't something new or innovative but just
proof that this sound can still be fresh, exciting and acceptable to a wide audience of the genre's
purists. It may well be a tried and tested formula, but when it can sound this good, you won't find
me complaining.
On the flip side we have the darker, moodier Markus Schultz Cold harbour remix, definitely one for
the prog heads. For me personally it's not something I’d really go mad for, but it works well for
what it strives to do. The vocals suddenly change from the original of being uplifting, to sultry
and sombre, the power of melody has the ability to shape. This is the key in this remix, the bassline
is my favourite thing about the mix, it's wobbly and undulating, tenacious it never disappears. On a
big system it'll throttle your stomach and leave a bizarre feeling inside. Even if you're just after
the original mix, it's without question that the Schultz mix adds greater depth to the overall
package. Goes to show what a heavyweight release this will be. Co-inside with the fact that Anjuna
beats are currently running a competition to find a remix to go with the two corkers we already have
and you can see the amount this tune is being pushed.
Satellite is scheduled for release sometime in February, and will undoubtedly be Anjunabeats biggest
record to date, the track is already getting plays on Radio 1 courtesy of Judge Jules, and massive
support from the likes of Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren and of course Above & Beyond themselves.
Whether you're gonna get sick of hearing this in a few months time is irrelevant right now, what is
completely relevant however is how good this track is. If it was released now, it'd be a contender
for track of the year. As it stands, it's certainly the best thing to look forward to in 2004.
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Review by Xalno
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