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-- A State Of Trance 2008 In Store's September 29
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Isn't the proper terminology "at the beach" rather than "on the beach" ???

//grammar & spelling police

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Originally posted by Azz3D Isn't the proper terminology "at the beach" rather than "on the beach" ??? //grammar & spelling police

Actually, if the beach refers to the sand, then if one is lying on said sand, it is perfectly acceptable to say "on the beach".

//the department of auditing and accountabliity for the grammar and spelling police.

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Originally posted by broiler I have been a big fan of EDM since '97, I'm not a DJ or producer, and I usually just buy compilations. Since that time, I have always followed DJs by buying the albums and going to the clubs. In the past few years I have become very dismayed by the commercial aspect of the 'Superstar DJ'. I do understand that the DJ is the face of the music, but at what point is it disingenuous to praise the guy who is selecting the tracks to be played? Why is Armin on the cover, and why is he getting the praise and accolades when it is the producers who have put in the time and energy to make the music? I am not trying to slight the work of Armin et. al, but I just don't understand why people think he's god, when he just programs the music. Why is he getting very rich off of (mostly) other people's music? What I think triggered this post is the ASOT cover, which clearly markets Armin as the artist and purveyor, and I think it does so on a less than honest level. Maybe this is not appropriate for this forum, and if so, I apologize. I think a lot of these guys literally laugh their way to the bank.

i can see your point there for sure, and what annoys me most is that the common buyer of these cd's actually thinks that armin produced all these tracks... its not something you can blame the top jocks for i guess... but what can u do about it, its just the way it is .

that said, i liked cd 1 , pretty cool tracks. Expected a lot more of cd 2 but it was disappointing. Especially the new kandi tune (although still the best track of cd 2), the new thomas bronzwear tune (which are both not on par with their previous stuff) and the simon bostock remix of "the last time", which is imho the worst remix of the package and goes totally nowhere. CD 1 is really good actually

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Originally posted by FCB_Fanatic I'm reaching ... but you're too far away

Half a world away?

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Originally posted by Ted Promo I'll be honest: First disc was ok. There was about 30 minutes of sidechaining schulztrance that was listenable. Keeping in mind that the sidechaining was tremendous. 30 minutes of straight sidechaining. All of the vocal tracks were pants. Every last vocal track sucked except for 'Lost' on the second disc, but the second disc was wretched. It was once again epic track after epic track with two breakdowns per track. There were some nice melodies scattered about, but completely overshadowed by awful set building and tepid vocals. Didn't make it through more than half of the second disc. 1st disc gets a 5/10 and 2nd disc gets a 2/10. This is about the only time I check up on Armin every year (dunno why I keep doing it, mainly for lulz I guess), glad I'm not missing much still.

I hear the term "sidechaining" a lot, but I am never quite sure what exactly it is... have any examples, like in a song I might know?

the kick (most likely) is used to cut the volume of the bass or other sounds at the moment the kick is heard, so u get this ducking, up-and-down sounding sound when the 4x4 beat is going on and a wide open sound without the kick.

its commonly used nowadays because its easy to cover up the fact that you are weak at mixing kick and bass properly

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Originally posted by Sykonee Half a world away?

you know where Belgium lies???

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Originally posted by Mr Game+Watch I hear the term "sidechaining" a lot, but I am never quite sure what exactly it is... have any examples, like in a song I might know?

Here's an excellent example of sidechain abuse:

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Originally posted by Ted Promo I'll be honest: First disc was ok. There was about 30 minutes of sidechaining schulztrance that was listenable. Keeping in mind that the sidechaining was tremendous. 30 minutes of straight sidechaining. All of the vocal tracks were pants. Every last vocal track sucked except for 'Lost' on the second disc, but the second disc was wretched. It was once again epic track after epic track with two breakdowns per track. There were some nice melodies scattered about, but completely overshadowed by awful set building and tepid vocals. Didn't make it through more than half of the second disc. 1st disc gets a 5/10 and 2nd disc gets a 2/10. This is about the only time I check up on Armin every year (dunno why I keep doing it, mainly for lulz I guess), glad I'm not missing much still.

...yeah, sounds like an ASOT release. I think the 2006 edition marked the point in which there was such a dramatic difference in quality between both discs, with the 2007 installment being a more severe example when the division was between 'listenable' and 'virtually unlistenable.'

I hope there isn't an equivalent of the essentially nine minute monstrosity that was 'Who Will Find Me,' found on last year's installment.

And yes, save for the handful of ASOT episodes I skim through on the DI repeat feature, this is the only time of the year in which I sit down to take an extended gaze as to what he's been up to, and it seems like very little of interest has been happening over the past couple of years.

If these annual mix comps are meant to reflect the cream of the crop (admittedly including some material deliberately kept under the radar), can you imagine how awful the material that didn't make the cut must be?

The first thing that comes to mind listening to the first CD : is it mixed ? Cause I can't hear any transitions, only trainwecks ...

So we're at the point where Armin should get some advices from Ti�sto regarding mixing and beatmatching ?

lol give me one decent example of total crap mixing on cd 1, i cant hear it, and btw its done in ableton live so i wonder what cd u have been listening

there aren't enough drugs in the world to make me able to enjoy that tracklist

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Originally posted by Stino lol give me one decent example of total crap mixing on cd 1, i cant hear it, and btw its done in ableton live so i wonder what cd u have been listening

Hmmmm imo when all tracks are mixed into each other for an average of 5-10 s, resulting in minimal beatmatching, sudden transitions and/or rough breaks between tracks, I think this can be called "not so good mixing", at least.

To be more specific as you asked, just listen again to Punta del Este (great track btw) and see how it goes into Serendipity ... I don't know, maybe he was in a hurry

Regarding track selection, I'm slightly disappointed after 2 listens, there are some nice tracks on this cd, but nothing huge. I was expecting more, especially from the guys of The Blizzard, Ohmna and Benya, who are among my favorite producers.

well i like the fast transitions, i think the tracks fit pretty well with each other which makes it possible to do this fast transitions without making it sound odd. THis means that armin did a good job selecting the tracks and the order of it.

The only moment I thought was really sick was the transition into Fake Awake Blizzard Remix and it was only sick for about 2 minutes
I wish I they released the unmixed version of fake awake the blizzard remix the other songs were formulaic trance and quite boring
not nearly as exciting as ASOT 2006 which is by far Armin's Best Work
Best Trance Compilation of All Time IMHO is ISOS 4 I love the dark atmosphere and all of the tracks fit together so well I never get tired of it
I want more deep trance dammit!

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Originally posted by Funkesthesiac69 not nearly as exciting as ASOT 2006 which is by far Armin's Best Work

How much of his work have you actually heard?

i can see where this thread is heading for, ... pff... i think - to join the 'discussion' of good vs. bad mixing techniques on the cd's - that fast transistions are good on albums like this because i'm not bothered listening to build-ups of 2 tot 3 minutes before the track actually 'starts' (melody, break, action!)... in live mixing you don't have much choice (well actually you do, but i wont complicate matters here) but on a cd to enjoy at home, the fast transitions together with the edited tracks are fine (at least in my humble opinion). don't forget that armin was probably (although i'm not quite sure on this point) only there to "create" the tracklist and then some company mixed the tracks so that it fits the cd-length and stuff like that, ...

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Originally posted by Mr.Mystery How much of his work have you actually heard?

I listened to all of his cd's and singles I would say maybe that ASOT 2006 CD 2 is pretty good but is not undisputably his best, maybe The Boundaries of Imagination is the best CD he has done considering it was in 1998, what Magik 6 was for Tiesto Boundaries of Imagination was for Armin Van Buuren

I think armin is a much better producer than tiesto (blue fear, rising star-star theme (rising star is one of his aliases).
ASOT 2004 is also up there because both albums are awesome but ASOT 2006 CD 2 is my favorite
I love the build up

Armin's track selection these days is not that great compared to some trance DJs (Andy Moor for example)

The best trance right now is embodied by tracks like

Beauty Hides in the Deep (Blizzard Remix)
Groove Delorean in Kiev (T.A.M.A.S. Mashup)
Fallen Tides (Mat Zo Vocal Remix)
Daydream (Lemon & Einar K Progressive Remix)
Cressida-No More Lies
Rob De Lacey-Starlight(Sonic Element Remix)

And perhaps my favorite track of all time
is
David West-Make You Mine

to give u an idea of my taste, most of what I listen to besides trance consider the music of: Hernan Cattaneo, Steve porter, Desyn Masiello, Carl Cox, Miguel Migs, Jaytech..etc
Progressive Trance is my favorite tho thats probably why I like Andy Moor so much

Mr. Sam's - Cygnes is based on Claud9 - D Lake, so here's "D Lake" song This one is performed by computer, so now you know from where these vocals comes from


http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=MMRP2piy100

I love Stino's unabashed fanboyism.

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Originally posted by UWM I love Stino's unabashed fanboyism.

i love your typical reaction too...

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Originally posted by UWM I love Stino's unabashed fanboyism.

based on what? i gave a pretty critical opinion about this album actually, i just dont mind this way of mixing. But i appreciate the fact that u keep trying to find posts to bash me, moron

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Originally posted by NoisyNeil but on a cd to enjoy at home, the fast transitions together with the edited tracks are fine (at least in my humble opinion)

Well, I understand your point. I think a good track selection is one thing, but a good flow overall is another. In this case, I think the flow is pretty poor, and I disagree with Stino on the fact that all the tracks fit well together, meaning 'easy' transitions ... except one or two maybe (like bittersweet nightshade into amazon dawn for example)

I think this is a recurring problem with Armin recent efforts, his last Universal Religion compilation being the perfect example (ok it was a recorded liveset so ...). Imo it all began with ASOT 06 cd2 ... at least a half of the tracks selected where some of my favorites of the moment, but the mixing/editing were totally ruining them

Thought this was a pretty good ASOT, better than years past.

Thomas Bronzwaer - Certitude, on CD 2 is a freggin tune

Deff on Par with ASOT 2004 and 2006

Good job Armin!

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