Originally Posted by Pots
Thanks Si, i got my copy in the post today, had it on on my way to work with a bit of a soft head :s but anyway here goes:
the first track, around 1.03, the sound is really messy, the kicks aren't in line and/or the kicks from the two tracks dont complement each other well. At first i wondered my walkman was skipping, or if the headphones were lagging it up somehow, but it sounds the same on my hi-fi. To be honest I think the first track is poor full stop, im not a fan of weak claps that begin the mix. If it were my mix, I would be starting it on the vocal 'in the beginning' of the second track, or in fact just start with In Control. Although it does mix quite with the second tune, you seem to rush through the first 2 tracks. In Control is an absolutely amazing tune, very atmospheric, if it were me i would start with that.
Sorry to keep on a negative note but im sure you prefer to hear my real opinion than licking your arse. Mixing into Ti Ta TNT (4), im not keen on the way you can only faintly make the vocal in the background when its approaching. I prefer a real 'in-your-face' type of mixing, which i feel suits the agressiveness of the music. I would have the vocal a lot lot louder, maybe even cut to it a couple of times? Dunno how that would sound, might be wank, but i would prefer to hear the vocal controlling the passage. Also with this track, ive heard technoboy play a mix of it on a set ive got (live @ NRJ Extravadance) which is different to the two versions of the track on the vinyl. It wouldnt be suited to the pace of the mix this early, but the riff in my opinion is far superior, and if i knew what this mix was i would use it instead, probably later on in the mix.
Mix into 5 is brilliant, first really impressive mix of the CD. I'd be interested to hear if you agree with the points above actually because seeing how they're so early in the mix, being the perfectionist i know you are, i wouldve expected you to scrap it and start fresh if you knew something had gone wrong. Anyway back to the mix. Going into 6, i was expecting to hear some more cutting, especially as since your last CD, you said you really liked Danielle Mondello's style of cutting. I like the way 5 hangs around underneath 6 until the 'stereo' vocal snippet. Very clever & skillfully done there. That is the kind of planning that make your CDs stand out. I would like to see you match that kind of thoughtful planning with a more agressive mixing style - cutting is the main thing i would add. I know it can be too much at times, and you could argue you shouldnt mess around with such fresh new tunes, since the crowd wont actually know what they 'should' sound like anyway!
Here's Johnny- quality.
9 - brilliant. I love this simple kind of techno-hardstyle without too much of a riff. And especially the bass pops at the end of some bars - stop/start rhythm that really is the heart of what hardstyle is all about for me.
mix into 10 is quite hectic, i dont think hardstyle lends itself to this kind of mix - i feel it ends up sounding too 'busy'. But nice work with bringing 'i am the master' underneath it all again. I presume you're working with 3 decks cos you are doing some amazingly quick changeovers. If you're on two- take that as a massive compliment obviously!
10 into 11 is **** genius.
during 12 - where does that 'relax' vocal come from??!?!?! again brilliant work there! I love it. im not that keen on the riff in track 13 itself though!
14: the vocal is a bit annoying actually but i can overlook that cos the beat is so cool when it comes in! again the start/stop thing rules me every time i hear it. The riff isnt all that great again, ive heard that synth in a lot of hardstyle and its quite flimsy i find.
15: now we're talking ;) a classic hardstyle track.
16- good. again i find some of these riffs thin, but i think they sound much more impressive in a club environment so it doesnt effect it too much. The vocal and the beat are enough to carry it. One thing i do hate though it FX from early hardstyle tracks - like the one that comes in around 3 minutes into 16, which is blatently lifted straight from something else. You could say its a little wink to the history of the sound and the tracks that have influenced current ones, but i just think its very lazy for producers, and would purposely avoid tracks that contain recycled FX/percussion. Anyone that has run so far out of ideas that they reuse old sounds is not good enough for me. Even with technoyboy/guis who have made millions of different tunes you rarely hear the same noise twice, and i instantly ignore any tracks that use identical synths because they just sound like bad versions of the original tunes. (sorry for going off on one- this is a comment about the scene in general, not just that track!)
17 - not bad, sounds like mclaren - monoid though (same bassline)
18 - is brilliant, one the few brain ovulation remixes that doesnt sound like it was made in 5 minutes!
19 - made me scrunch my face up when i first heard the bassline so it must be good! A very good track to end on, definitely the most energetic track on there, would explode a club no doubt.
Overall i'd give it a 7, above average but not your best, and really ut only because you have set the bar so high with previous CDs. I will definitely be listening again, and i'll let you know if my opinion changes on any of it. Some very nice touches like i said, just none of it really jumped out and bit me in the face like hardstyle sometimes does. Hope all this criticism is helpful old chum, cheers for sending me a copy. Peace.
