DJ Banel in the mix

( Iboga , May. 2003 )



1. Double Dragon- Stylophone
2. Echotek- 2 the Moon
3. Fabel- Just Beat It
4. Beat Bizarre- Pop the Question
5. Orion- Pots N Pans
6. Fabel- Mint Drop
7. Filur- All Shine
8. Phony Orphants- Papa Tjango
9. Reefer Decree- Curved Air (Filur Remix)
10. Minilogue- The Breeze

In 1998 DJ Banel (Michael Abel-larsen) co-founded Iboga, one of the world’s leading progressive trance labels together with Emok and Alhad. Moreover, Banel is also a part of the Fabel project, which released tracks on numerous compilations. “Banel in the mix” is a compilation which was compiled and mixed by him.

Starting strong with Double Dragon's Stylphone which slowly gets you into the mood. What I like about this track is the feeling of rapid development. It isn’t static. Echotek is next, with another dark and powerful night track. Stomping, all the way. The 3rd track get you right into business. Again it’s dark, but this time on the groovier side, preparing us for the next one. Same recipe, a bit boring. Previously released on TIP World, Pop the Question (T4) is an utter dancefloor shaker. Intelligent melodic progression, grabbling percussion and sounds that come from nowhere. It’s still Beat Bizarre, but with more BPM this time. Orion continues the full-onish approach. Still dark. The next track (Fabel - Mint Drop, with Banel) doens't mix very well with the previous track. Still, it follows the same formula and does the job on the dancefloor. Here (T7) starts the better part of the CD. Filur commences it with a beautiful sunrise track with some magical tweet-like sounds. Happy and puzzling. Phony Orphants starts after a very good transition. Things get much happier and light, with a funny sample in the middle. Next is a remix for the very well known Reefer Decree track, Curved Air. Very hypnotic, driving percussion, yet it doesn’t capture the experience of the original track. The last track on this CD is also the best. Minilogue is the housey side project of Son Kite. The percussion and the bassline are adjusted to each other perfectly. Spice it up with some Son Kite and walla- sit (or dance), pump up the volume and mellowwww the breeze :)

Recomendation: The first part of the CD is kind of dull, but the second part makes up for it. I didn’t like the mixing style all the time. Although there is definitely a progress and a story, I think the tracks should blend to each other more frequently. However, it seems that the better tracks just mix better. It’s a shame that there are hardly any psytrance mix CDs. Some of the tracks here are superb, and it’s a step in a good direction.
Favorites: 4(!), 7-9, 10(!).

Review by : By Timmy