And so the Red Force saga continues with another tasty release. Last month Dreas vs. Jared Knapp - Mixed Emotions saw a release and just today the brilliant Avenger - Pegasus became available as an exclusive on Audiojelly. This time Red Force introduces a Seventh Heaven which is a project by Alan James Stott hailing from the UK. Despite his obvious talent he has not had his big breakthrough yet. Some might remember the two tracks Sanctuary and Calling You - two tracks that were produced by by Mike Koglin and Seventh Heaven and released on Koglin's "VS" album back in 2006. Alan later remixed Mike Koglin's classic track On My Way which was quite a production. There are rumors of Alan working on an album right now, but for now we will have to do with his brand new track Dolphins which comes with quite a remix package! Remixes comes from the German superduo Stoneface & Terminal. A guy who did an astonishing remix of Mixed Emotions, Alex Robert from Sweden. An American who is no stranger to Red Force is Adymus who serves another remix for the label.
The Review
I am so very pleased to finally see a release from Alan. He has a limited amount of tracks in his catalogue and available at the stores but the tunes I have heard from him have been outstanding. He has a great way with melodies and I somehow feel he has already signature of his own. In this Original Mix the build-up seems quite standard. Fear not cause what is coming is worth the 55 seconds of waiting. He transites from the intro part into the the next stage with a snare-roll and some kind of filter or fx sound, and then, right there you have it - he drops a heavenly synth. From there he takes you through stunning breakdowns and massive peaks all filled with melodies. I also have to mention that I love the percussive loop that backs up the melody layer, it has a tick tack sound to it and works really well.
Next up is a remix by Stoneface & Terminal. Steve Bolger aka Redstar displayed a couple of exclusive Red Force tunes in a guest mix on Trance Around The World back in September 2008. Some might remember this remix from that 30 min set of his. This tune has a classic Stoneface & Terminal sound to it. It reminds me of some of the productions they did with Alex M.O.R.P.H. and some of their early original productions as well. The bottom-end is bangin' and has their trademark sound. The tune builds into a monster, introducing some killer stabs on the way. They worked up the melody and added a true euphoric feel to it.
Adymus remixed Shadowrider - Blue Horizon in early 2008. Lately he impressed with his massive single Kaleidoscope Eyes / Luminous Beings. He has proven how diverse he can be and this new remix just further supports that. This remix actually suffers from severe schizophrenia, but in a good way. It starts out with some tight and quite hard electro drums. Suddenly a rather trancey melody starts to build its way up. The way it rises just sounds incredible. He adds a crisp electro bassline and suddenly the melody fades. This is the point where a huge BSOD-like electro riff sets in injecting a heavy club sound. The melody from earlier starts to build again using the same pattern, which leads us to the break. The breakdown consists of a mish mash of lush trance and electro blends. From that he takes one into an universe of electro sounds with a hint of progressive house elements and trancey melodies. Red Force have released a few experimental remixes in its time but this is by far the best so far!
Last up is a remix that sticks to a progressive trance theme. Alex Robert plays well with the melodies from the original and the main break contains loads of piano accompanied by melodies. What stands out is the rolling bass which forms a unique hook line. It is hard to describe what genre it belongs to (if any) but I would guess this would probably be the winner among the progressive trance fans.
The Verdict
Without knowing I am certain that the boys behind Red Force are really proud to present this single. I think they have every reason to be proud as this is probably their strongest single so far. The original is a stunning melodic piece. The Stoneface & Terminal version is taking us a few years back and still has a far from outdated sound. Alex Robert delivers a progressive interpretation. Even though Red Force are dedicated to the more upbeat and trancey sound they aren't afraid of experimenting with sounds. We have seen this before with some of Robert Burians works. Adymus has put the icing on the cake with his remix and it is amazing how well he has pulled it off. I am not too fond of the Alex Robert remix but that aside I think this release deserves a 9/10.
Release Date: 04.05.2009
Websites:
http://www.redforce-recordings.com
http://www.stoneface-terminal.de
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/redforcerecordings
http://www.myspace.com/alanseventhheaven
http://www.myspace.com/stonefaceandterminal
http://www.myspace.com/adymus
http://www.myspace.com/alexrobertmusic
Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_Heaven_(musician)
Preview samples:
http://www.junodownload.com/ppps/produc ... 148-02.htm
