What do you reckon to.....!

no rest for the wicked...or the Louk's of this world it seems! I bet so many of you disagree with the below so please post feedback

DELAYED REVIEWS 2003
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J.T.B - "Transynergy" (Sectioned) SECTIONED 012 [Tune Of The Month]
I don't quite know what it is with Jon The Baptist but lately he seems to have a Midas Touch with production. This one sided beauty is the perfect follow up to Numbskills' previous outing on Sectioned taking things just a little bit softer but with one fantastic melody that will work wonders when dropped. Can't wait to cain the life out of it on air. 10/10

Dumonde - "Human" (Bulletproof) PROOF024
A quality anthem that first surfaced on F8T earlier in the year. Not quite as good as "God Music" but Observer vs DJ Spacecase have come up with one of the best remixes yet making sure this one will stay in DJs record boxes for a pretty healthy amount of time! The other mixes by Hiver + Hammer, Lee Haslam and an original mix are worthy of a mention too. Wicked stuff! 9/10

K.O.T.O - "Blow The Whistle" (GAS Europe) SAG-E 045
I've played the Daniel Maker mix of this tune so much over the last few days im surprised the record hasnt faded. To put it bluntly GAS come up with another cracking release yet again, with one fantastic break, an excellent riff, effected vocal samples telling us all to "Blow that whistle" and all put together in a nice effective way. It's no wonder so many DJs are playing this out. Amazing! 10/10

Rah - "Pole Position / Seven" (Platipus:Euro) EPLAT 005
Platipus Euro have won favour with me so much this year, all four releases have received a high score from me and this one is n't going to be an exception. Both Pole Position and Seven are effective melodic trancers proving that Platipus:Euro certainly know the score for signing up dancefloor friendly "transatlantic" trance! Definitely one to watch!! 9/10

S.O.B Creators - "3 Bad Boys" (Sound Barrier) SOB 004
Concentrating more on Quality rather than Quantity, the Fourth release for the Sound Barrier team comes from S.O.B Creators and both sides are so evil that it wouldn't surprise me if they were posessed by the Devil. Ridiculously hard kick drums, a dirty bass and a whole lot more are the order of the day on this one! The flip "Hardfloor" is the one for me with it's clever sampling of "Scream" by ZX. Mental Release! 9/10

Timeok - "Sparkling Temptation" (Above The Sky) ATS 014
You can't deny that Above The Sky have provided some mighty trancers this year, what with "Equinox" by Shane 54 and "Ultimate Wave" providing some quality uplifting moments. As expected the latest release by Timeok is another belter. Although exceedingly hard to say, the DJ Precision & M.I.D.O.R Six4Eight Remix is the better of the two for me. But only just!! Quality! 9/10

R.M.D vs C+C Music Factory - "Sweat" (Megabop) BOP 034
Reworking the older track from the days when I were Just a nipper playing my Nintendo/Amiga games, Megabop decide to employ the Solution Dee Jays to provide two remixes of "Sweat". In all honesty though I am certainly not a big fan of the Original nor am a fan of any mix of this tune that's appeared yet. However I can't actually say it's a bad production as it's not but I really don't like this at all. If you're into something a little bit different check it. 3/10

Random Project - "Mind Pleasure" (GAS Europe) SAG-E 044
Those GAS Boys come up with yet another treat this month in the form of "Mind Pleasure", to be honest it isn't as good as "Blow The Whistle" for me but still a very nice uplifting track. With mixes provided from both Beppe Barilli and Andrea Montorsi and featuring a Hard Trance riff that will make you smile, it's fair to say that this will be another winner for the team! Noiiice! 9/10

Ian Van Dahl - "I Can't Let You Go (Remixes)" (Freestyle) FS2033
The remixes of Ian Van Dahl's vocal anthem come in the form of a Dave McCullen mix who in all fairness adds even more cheddar to the original than I thought was humanly possible, but on the other side there is an effective little trancer from Ian Knowles. Still nowhere near as good as the P.U.S.H mix and I was hoping for the Marcos mix to be on this vinyl but alas it's not. Check it out all the same though! 5/10

Altitude - "Silence Is Loud" (Platipus) PLAT114
The latest release for the Platipus collective comes from Steve Gibbs, his Altitude guise has thrown up many Amazing productions over the last few years and this one is a deep trancer with a blinding remix from Neo + Farina. Definitely one to look out for and it's good to see so many quality productions from Platipus throughout this year! Nice! 8/10

Visions Of Us Feat Maddie Kitchen - "Mr Goodnight" (Player) 12PLRR005
Although most of the material of a Funky House nature that lands my way usually ends up being made into a frisbee (after i've reviewed and done my reactions of course!) however, there are the odd tunes that make you smile just because of their catchiness and funky basslines. That's exactly what the Original Mix of this track provides. The Mark Knight remix on the flip is a little tougher but still maintains a summery feel to it! 7/10

DJ Phi-Phi - "Magma" (Mackenzie) MAC1113
Mackenzie Music's output has been a bit hit and miss over the last year and on this record you are treated to one side being a nice deep trancer but the main track "Magma" is certainly not one of the better productions to come from this imprint. In all fairness all I can say is stick with "Head Rush" on this one. Not the best I'm afraid! 4/10

DECEMBER REVIEWS 2003
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J K Walker - "Survival" (Active Media) ACM008 [Tune Of The Month]
For the last twelve months, if not longer, i'll admit i've been like a stuck record managing to praise how good this guys productions are, well it's more of the same loopism i'm afraid as the new Active Media track is so lush, that it's the sort of track that screams "PLAY ME NOW!!!". Borrowing a riff from "Valley Of The Shadows" and with one side being floaty and the other hard, both making use of excellent riffs, this should be bought instantly. How does he do it!?! 10/10

Sam Reeve - "D-Fiance" (Redemption) REDEM35
That Sam Reeve is a very clever chappy indeed! Of late he has made so many mental productions on labels such as Retek etc and now he has joined the Redemption stable for this release. I must say this is so energetic that it would give good ol' Linford a run for his money, with fantastic percussion, tough driving synths and an overload of power this is mental and deserves to be huge! To quote the expression..... "Ave 'It!!!!" 10/10

Motorcycle - "As The Rush Comes" (Positiva) 12TIVDJ203
Quite surprisingly a few of my vinyl purchases of late have come from the Positiva imprint, what with the fantastic remixes of B.B.E - "7 Days In 1 Week" and also this wonderful epic track. First surfacing around May this year when I heard Scott Bond play and now with remixes from Markus Schulz, Armin Van Buuren and Above and Beyond, if this vocal trancer does not become huge then I truly will be stunned! 9/10

DJ Ultra + Louk - "Forever" (Ne+Ultra) NPU003
I'm not one of these types who review my own productions and tell you all about how good they are, however, what I will say is this. What started life as a simple Reason file that took only a couple of hours to make has been transformed by Marcos into one of the best anthems of the year for me thanks to this slice of plastic! I would obviously say that though because I wrote it and I'll let you all judge how good or bad it is, but certainly give it a listen and see what you all think! 10/10

JS Ten - "Changes" (Blueprint Audio) BLUEPA007
John Stephens delivers the latest aural onslaught on the Blueprint Audio imprint and what's on offer are two tough trancers with riffs that leave you wide eyed and stunned. J K Walker does the rework for the A side and demonstrates yet again why he is the producer of the year in my opinion with such a nice riff and tough quality arrangement, while the original on side B isn't as tough but still worthy of a spin or thirty! Excellenté! 9/10

Digital DNA - "Stage One" (Everlasting) EVER024-12
I'm still unsure about how to pronounce either of their names but Andreas Kraemer + Thomas Pogdal come up with this blinding trancer under their new alias. Surprisingly for this release but the best side for myself is the B side "Afterdark" which empoloys wonderous synth work and female vocals repeating the title. What follows is a riff that makes you instantaneously leap for the volume to turn it up. And How I love records that make you do that!! 10/10

Zippy - "Crazy People" (Three Shades) TS1
From the word go, this is solid bang bang bang bang and takes no prisoners. However this record does this in such a clever way that you can't help but love "Crazy People". On the flip is the even better "Music Is My Life" which made me consider taking my subwoofer and attatching it to the roof of my house for everyone to hear! Such an energetic record with such a riff that it is really worth checking out. What a promising start to the label! Happy Days! 10/10

Jon Doe featuring M-Experience - "Rock Your Body 2003" (Honeypot) 12HPOT30
Again Jon Doe's name graces my reviews and this is one of his finest productions of the year for me (even though it was made last year?!!). Deciding to rework M-Experience's classic "Rock Your Body" following on from the remixes of it on Redemption (how good were they!!) and featuring all the usual Jon Doe quirks that make his productions so good, as well as a melody that is mind blowing and a Guyver mix on the other side, this is amazing! Buy it now!! 10/10

Numbskulls - "Run Jenji" (2CB) 2CB1
Who or what Jenji is nobody knows, my first suspicions that he was the long lost kangaroo Cousin of Skippy have been shattered. Anyway, this belter of a techno tune comes from Matt + Scott Harris (Organ Donors) under their Numbskulls guise and it is a percussion laden monster. On the flip, man of the moment Chris Liberator works his magic and provides a slammin remake, I can't decide which of the two are the best so the best thing to do is play them both! Excellent 9/10

Dirty Bass - "Leviathon / Sammael" (Dirty Blue) DB002
Causing quite a stir on both the progressive and Techno scene is the Dirty Blue imprint and this release from Dirty Bass demonstrates why. Both "Leviathon" and "Sammael" are quality techno numbers with Leviathon sounding pretty minimal until this huge dirty bassline comes in that rips the speakers apart! To say I was stunned was an understatement and this could easily rival "Murder Was The Bass" for one of the surprising techno tunes of the year! 8/10

T-Man - "The Signal" (Groucho) GRC024
This is the twenty fourth release for Groucho apparently, though i've never seen the other twenty three for some bizzare reason! Anyway, what's on offer are two hard numbers from Y.A.G.O + Pieretti. First up is the Original mix which is seven minutes of madness plus a rave induced break and as expected, the "Mad Mix" unleashes chaos on us all with a dark kick and really moody bass. I like !!! 9/10

Jon The Dentist - "Analogue Storm" (Intensive Music) INTEN013
You would be forgiven for mistaking this track for a Green Martian production which is exactly what I did when I heard it. But Welsh hero Jon comes up with two magnificent trancers that feature the oddest of riffs. Part 1 stands out as being energetic and quirky yet maintaining a slow pace while Part 2 knocks up the pace and takes things to a harder level. Still two excellent productions worth checking for sure. Definitely one for the trancier warm ups! 9/10

NR:32 - "Voltage Controlled Dance" (Seqeuntial Music) SEQ1
Whilst having a conversation about this track earlier with another south west DJ we both agreed that the name of this track implies something extremely hard and nasty is about to devour our eardrums. To my surprise this wasn't the case but what you do get on this record are two fantastic uplifting trancers with the VCM Mix just clenching it for me. The Controlled mix does feature one exceptionally nice break however. Again another promising new label to watch. 8/10

Compound - "Chemical Symptoms" (Resistance) REZ3
After only having three releases so far, yet every single one being blinders, Resistance are definitely a label that's worth watching in 2004. The latest effort from Compound (Jan Van Tassen) is a hard and uplifting trancer that follows up nicely to label launcher "Waverunner". I was quite surprised to see Fast Floor's mix relegated to only the B-Side as his harder rework edges it for me but both tracks are fantastic. Check it out! 10/10

Mclaren - "Don't Stop" (Subway) SUB202
Those Italians provide a seriously boshing Hardstyle track in the form of "Don't Stop" and with two quality mixes to choose from it's no surprise that this will end up being played by a wide variety of Hardstyle DJs. Tough energetic Kick drums and a pounding bassline with Snare rolls on top mean this will end up surprising many more people than you would first believe. Effective stuff for sure!! 8/10

FX Zone - "Synthasia" (Difuse) SE6
I must admit, at the first sight of a Nu-Nrg mix on this one, I was reduced to a salivating wreck. Unfortunately though, their remake doesn't live up to the quality of their previous trance anthems like "Dreamland" or their remix of "Pure Thrust" (how huge!!). Anyway, all is not lost as the Original of this is a mighty fine trancer which has received a severe battering from top names such as Ferry Corsten, Colin Tevendale and Paul Kershaw amongst others. Good Stuff. 7/10

Barry Diston - "Maniac Psycho" (Fidget Hard) FIDH001
Proving his worth as a name you can rely on, Barry's latest track is so hard that wearing head gear is a necessary. Cheesy as that sounds this track really is tough and could easily give the likes of Glazby a run for their money. It still is a wonderful hard house number with gritty percussion and vocals that repeat the tile and of course is definitely worth a play. Another promising start to this subdivision of the ecclectic Fidget label. 8/10

Billy Daniel Bunter + Jon Doe - "Like Raw!" (UK Hard) UKHARD12
"I'm Going To Rock You Like Raw!!!" screams the vocal on this high energy slice of hard trance and that's exactly what happens when the hoover riff that follows kicks in. How anyone can resist dancing to this track after the build up is completely beyond me as it's such a powerful track! "Hard Trancin' It (Session 2)" on the flip caters for Hard Trance fans as well unsurprisingly and is a nice production but nowhere near as good as the A side. Doe and Bunter do it again! 10/10

Riot 303 + Observer - "Alive And Kickin" (eXtension) EXT003-12
Thankfully nothing to do with the simply shocking television show a few years ago, Germany's eXtension imprint delivers this wonderful uplifting trancer from Riot 303 and Observer (who's mix of Human by Dumonde caused mass amounts of dribbling). Both tracks on this vinyl are skillfully crafted wonderful trancers that leave the listener smiling. I have played it many a time on radio and is it any wonder why? Ace!! 9/10

Louk

Run Jenji ....!