Lemmiwinks Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 1 Kayenta (6:20) 2 We Came In Peace (Desert Mix) (5:05) 3 Freaks (6:22) 4 Sit Together (5:10) 5 Hello San Francisco (Golden Gate Mix) (6:44) 6 Mr. Cannabis (9:19) 7 P.ower Of A.merican N.atives (5:56) 8 Atlantis (5:10) 9 Remember Exxon Valdez (7:46) 10 Where Is Dag? (6:11) Dance 2 Trance (Jam El Mar from Jam& Spoon and DJ Dag) have a very interesting story: they were one of THE very first artists to make electronic trance music in tha late 80s/ early 90s, and definaltley one of the most influential artists on what was later to become "goatrance". I've heard discussions trying to trace THE first trance track that started it all and some say that it was Dance 2 Trance's We Came in Peace. As a side note it was Jam& Spoon's remix of The Age of Love that was a big hit in the early 90s as well so these guys definatley had a golden touch back then. However you probably know Dance 2 Trance from their commercial sucess Power of American Natives. Yes, this was outplayed on MTV back in the days but keep in mind that the original version was longer and didn't have vocals. So on to the review. Kayenta is an ambient track. Very mystical amosphere, reminds me a bit of TIP's Mystical Experiences. Alas instead of the original verion of We Came in Peace which had a nice catchy melody here we have a remix. Probably that by the time this album was released, We Came in Peace was already outplayed... It is a nice airy track, much in the vein of The Age of Love but since I heard the original version, I'm kindof dissapointed by this one, they completely took away the catchy melody!! Now comes my surpsire: listen to that intro melody in Freaks . Now I don't know if it's just me but it sounds strikingly similar to BotFB's Hippie Crack Pannick . It's almost like the Hippie Crack Panick is a remix of this... very strange. So this track has a pretty freaky spooky feeling to it, definatley the earliest dark trance track I've listened to! Sit Together is more on the lighter side of things, mostly chill-out but sounds a bit cheezy. Again, sadly instead of the original Hello San Francisco we have a remix here that is 100 times worse than the original, especially since the original is one of my top trance track ever! As with We Came in Peace, this was probably already outplayed by the time the album was out hence the remix. The wonderfull melancholic melody was replaced by an dance acid-housy track... it's a real shame they didn't keep the original version Mr Cannabis is probably the first psychedellic dub track ever. Yes, that's WAY before Dub Trees and Hallucinogen's In Dub ... It's a nice track with a reggae sample (I can't make out what it says because of the heave Jamaican accent) and then goes on with a very nice synth line. It still has its value in a chill-out set ourdays! You probably already know Power of American Natives as it has been repeated ad nauseam by commercial music TV and radio stations everywhere. i was lucky enough to get the early pressings with the instrumental version of the track, however infos show that in later pressings (once the track hit commercial success) it was replaced by the vocal version. I can only hope you find an early pressing of the CD... However if we sit back and listen to the track, the production values and progression definatley was revolutionary for the time. I'd compare this to AP's Mahadeva : a brilliant track for it's time but WAY outplayed. Then again, if you're new to the scene, then maybe you don't already know this track? I envy you... Atlantis is a very nice chill-out track, very dreamy. Remember Exxon Valdez really reflects the hippy nature of the time. in case you don't remember/ are too young, Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that sunk spilling tons of oil in the sea and killing a lot of marine wildlife. As you'd probably expect, the general feeling of the track is sad, it has samples of dolphins, but contrary to other dolphin samples in trance tracks these actually sound like the dolphins are suffering! Then later in the track there's a guitar sample (first ever trance track with a guitar sample?) that sounds very melancholic. Like with Aquila's Aqua Divae track, I consider the artists to be geniuses to send such powerfull messages through music only, there isn't a SINGLE lyric in the track, yet you can FEEL everything the artist was trying to tell you. It's a briliant track albeit a bit depressive because of the sad feeling. It also makes me sad because i realize that back then artists actually HAD a message to deliver other than "let's all get high and have a party". In the beginning, trance was MUCH more than just another music genre, it was a way of life, a philosophy... none of that anymore. Now it's just a hip underground form of electronica... On to happier realms with Where is Dag? , it's a very repetitive trance-inducing track with a chicken sample! It's funny and myserious at the same time, I like this one very much as well. Conclusion like the Aquila album I consider this to be one of THE absolute best early trance albums!! Production-wise it's dated but the creativity in there beats the hell out of stuff released these days! 10/10 Lemmiwinks (aka moondancer from older psynews reviews) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaman of sound Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 i gotta get this one!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdzOm Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 i gotta get this one!!! 196623[/snapback] i have this. you wanna buy it ? make me a good offer! im in australia. send email to adz_om@hotmail.com peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmiwinks Posted September 1, 2004 Author Share Posted September 1, 2004 so what do you think of it after all these years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seraph Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 This album is quintessential old school trance album. It belongs on the top shelf of trance culture. Considering the time when it's made, 1992, but most of the tracks are from 90 and 91 and having such clean production for its time makes it one of the milestones in trance genre. This is how it started after acid house at the end of the 80's. From this point trance started to evolve. And we have a very good example of true origins. This album would for sure sound so outdated for many people now, but for me it presents the pure definition of trance. Tracks like WE CAME IN PEACE, FREAKS, POWER OF AMERICAN NATIVES, WHERE IS DAG are perfect trance tracks, with cult value. Ambient tracks KAYENTA, ATLANTIS, MR.CANNABIS flow nicely with the rest of album, making mellow ambient trance atmospheres, with really pleasant soundscapes. 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai-Q Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Yes very fantastic album. But I miss the original mix of Hello San Francisco too. The Remix is not bad, but the original is better. They used the piano part from "Supertramp - Crime of the Century" and made with it a very good Trance song. It is really a pity, that the newer Trance is not more so variable like the old ones. BTW, did you knew that? DJ Dag and Jam Elmar first project called Peyote and later they renamed it to Dance 2 Trance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowball Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 am still looking for the original version of Power of american natives... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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