First out is a melodic, really beautiful morning trance track. Sort of progressive trance in a bit harder way than usual. Totally trippy, drifting vibe, which reminds me a little bit of Blue Planet Corporation. Fantastic track and the best one on this album in my opinion. Track 2 goes darker, still with a mystic, floating vibe. Some how it reminds me a bit of that melancholic vibe we got in a lot of hard trance releases in the beginning of the 90’s. The beats we get here are really pumping. Very melodic, drifting, sort of old school trance. Track 3 goes really deep. It continues those floating, atmospheric soundscapes. This one is also really melodic, but goes deeper and more trippy. Track 4 starts slow and builds up. I really like the drift on this one. You also get some kind of electro sounds in there. Some of it might sound a bit too fluffy to some people, but I think it sounds pretty deep and trippy. Nice, hard, progressive trance. Track 5 is another deep, drifting progressive trance track. This sounds a bit slower and more stumping. Still quite melodic with atmospheric, fluffy sounds. This one builds up too, and becomes pretty massive after a while. Track 6 has some kind of electro sounds again, in the beginning. This one sounds a bit like progressive house music, with some pretty fluffy, light melodies. To me this one goes a bit over the top and can easily sound a bit boring. Track 7 goes the same melodic direction, but much more trancey. Totally atmospheric, floating vibe all the way through. No rough sounds, just beautiful floating vibes and drifting beats. Track 8 starts really nice and melodic. This track goes a bit more relaxed. Totally melodic, but not in a cheesy way. Pretty groovy too, with a happy, slow, stumping vibe. Track 9 is a short track lasting for a couple of minutes. This is just a relaxing slow track, perfect for those who like his ambient project called Healer. The last track we get on this album sounds a bit more experimental. Here we get less of those atmospheric, fluffy vibes, and it goes over to a more hard pushing rough style. Pretty intense rhythms, which gives me some kind of techno feeling. It builds up, and after a while we are back in those totally melodic, floating soundscapes again. On this album you will definitely find some of the best trance tracks 12 Moons has produced so far. In my ears, several of these tracks sounds better than most of the tracks he has released on various compilations. His sound is also pretty different from most other artists these days, so check it out if you are after some trippy, melodic trance. PKS (trance-net.com, NO)
2. "Ovation" - start off with a nice bassdrum that builds up
slowly with a smooth pad. i like the low cutted hihat work there. the
synth pads with the synth chord make it very groovy. 3. "Pilot" - dark pads like electricity starts off this track.
bassline making the groove and a slim high cutted bassdrum. let me guess
- progressive track? this one is a bit more psychedelic then the other
2 track i heard. 4. "The collective" - nice opening for this track very dramatic.
5. "Without Within" - this time harmonic chords making the opening. low cutted basslines making the groove for the start of the kickdrum. resumed by the low volumed hihat thats climbing up. another good usage of a mid cutted synth chords. very nice hihat filtered by a good reverb. another leads making the groove till the end. good but not enought interesting imo. 6. "Ananokki" - again nice line opening building up till the bassdrum getting in. nice groove line. continuing slowly with nice pads that making the main melody. again reminding me the old days of 99' with an exellent sound. nice sad melodies coming in. a nice bassline switch makes it groovier, going on like this in the same direction till the end. 7. Small adventures" - nice sample "where are we ?" making a dramatic entry again long till the bassdrum climbes up. nice snair-works. several other snares coming in in a different style everytime.nice pad making it very happy and uplifting. interesting synth touches making the track even more atmospheric and so on till the end. 8. "Hato" - nice slowly building up start. i know this technique.... i know, "progressive" . ok the style is pretty much the same like some of the other tracks i heard till now in this album. it started to sound interesting again when the climbing pad from the pro-53 alike getting in there. more atmospheric pad and synth chords making a nice melody. this track it more darker then the others. nice dramatic razor pads cutting in making it dark and interesting. nice track. 9. "Interlude" - melodic line opening this session. with a
reversed suspension folowing with some vocal. 10. "Flair" - are we in the jungle ? nice animal sound making the opening with nice snairloop in the background nice build up very long, like a set opener track. its a faster track with more agressivnes in it. welcome to the "flare" smart agressive tune that may also be dramatic atmospheric and happy at the same time. a line of conga loops making it flowing folowing with 2 lead thats making a nice groove to dive into. a short brake and here we go again. would be nice to hear this track in a Live show. somewhere in the middle s wonderfull happy and uplifting melodic line is coming in and with the leads coming back it make a great hamonic groovy track. defintely the best track in the album. all in all a great album for some tracks are more for hearing in the house, beach, pool party - wherever you would like to make a happy atmosphere. some track would work wonderfull on the dancefloor in the night and in day time perfectly fits to my case. Favorites: 1, 2, 4 (!), 7, 10(!!!). Arie Molecular (Molecular Project, IL)
Dj Slater (Tribal Vision / Chaishop.com, Czech Rep.)
Rakete (Mushroom Magazine, DE) Most trance-artists also produce ambient… And often artist albums are equipped with one or two downbeat/ambient tracks at the end of the album… But seldom do trance-artists release both a trance album AND an ambient album simultaneously… But that’s just what Gothenburg-based Swedish producer Michael Andresen has done… Healer is his ambient moniker, and 12 Moons is his trance moniker… Under the 12 Moons alias, Mr. Andresen has released an impressive 9 EPs and no less than 19 tracks on compilations on such respected labels as Dragonfly, Transient, Spiral Trax, Hadshot and Flying Rhino to name but a few… Now he’s out with his debut-album on Greek label Candyflip… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Aaah... Just listen to that smooth intro - Fluffy, light-as-a-feather, floating, twirling synth melodies… Whistles, bells… Prepare to enter the harmonic, melodic trance universe of 12 Moons… After the initial dream-like atmosphere, the track slowly starts to build and after a couple of minutes, a nice crisp proggy bassline is released…But proggy in the cleanest, most well-polished manner and with the floating melodies still playing along… Decent track… #02: As the tracks on the CD are nicely mixed into each other, we seamlessly float straight into ‘Ovation’… This is as close to Balearic-euphoric-Ibiza trance as it gets… to be honest, sometimes I’m not sure if I’m listening to 12 Moons or ATB here… It’s fluffy, it’s melodic – and I’m afraid that parts of it are a little too boring for my taste… #03: Alright, we’re starting to shake that clubby feeling now… First it continues in the same path as the predecessors, but soon a deeper, proggier sound is introduced… Nice… Very nice percussion work here and I especially like the overall fast-paced-tribal touch this track has – while still maintaining the album-theme: Uplifting, euphoric, melodic morning trance… Tasty! #04: Very simple, but very atmospheric intro… The basis is just two synth cords… The pace has quickened now, and the groovy bassline is accompanied by some distant human choir… Again, the Ibiza-touch is very much present, but as long as it’s accompanied by some deep, progressive beats and a touch of psy I’m happy… And that extra touch comes through clever use of hi-hats and nifty little acid-twirls… Sweet track! #05: And we go even deeper now… More talented use of percussion, reverbs and cut beats in this slooooowly building tune… I like the “underplayed” FX (sorry, not a sound-technician, so I can’t explain it better)… A progressive stomper, with just enough simple, old-school melodies to make it retro-cool… #06: Electro-melody intro… Floating, organic soundscapes in the background… And a funky-ass bassline… I’m not sure I like the electro-bit, but I definitely dig the overall groove of this track… Reminds me of Saiko-Pod at certain places… However, it goes too much in circles and ends up too repetitive for my taste… Decent track… #07: “Where are we? I’m not sure…” Percussion-based track here – snares, congas, claves… Kinda tribal progressive trance, spiced up by melodic synths and a tad lower b.p.m…. Very groovy, very laid-back… Delicious! #08: Woow – holy smokes, what a cool intro… A very cool synth effect creates a wicked melody… Nice… Later we get a kinda “distorted” bassline and some basic grooves alongside it… This is the darkest track on the album for sure – but it still has melodic bits… Quite a few of them actually… Such a cool combo… I dig! #09: A taste of Mr. Andresen’s skills as a chill-out producer… Way too short though for a review – good thing that we get a full album of ambient on the Healer-album (released simultaneously with this album – also on Candyflip… ~Review coming soon~)… #10: The journey track… It’s time for some serious experimentation… Cicadas, roars from a lion… Oh, we’re definitely in the jungle now baby… Repetitive tribal congas – slowly becoming faster, and suddenly turning into a drum-machine… Straight from nature into the studio – clever! The beats are much faster now and somewhat colder – metallic even… More percussion and subtle acid lines are added to create a very energetic, techo’ish feel… Halfway through, the beats are going in a more tribal, yet still progressive direction and some of the well-known floating melodies are introduced again… And finally the track fades out to the sound of the jungle again… Wow, what a journey… Sweet, sweet track! Phew, what a ride... A journey even… This is best enjoyed as a whole… What we get here are a bunch of diverse tracks – yet they are all bound together by a common denominator: the unique sound of 12 Moons… At times it’s super-light, melodic and fluffy – and later on it’s deep, darkish, progressive trance… This album was mastered by the talented Son Kite guys, and their progressive fingerprints are all over this baby… A sign of quality in my book… The cover-art by Micky Noise (Wizzy Noise) is also sweet, and appropriate for the music… Also, it’s nice to listen to an album that isn’t riddled with voice-samples… The music speaks for itself here… There are a couple of tracks that are just too boring for my taste, but they are more than counter-balanced by the many wonderful tracks on this album… Recommended to anyone who likes uplifting, melodic trance – with a distinctive progressive edge! 8/10 Favourites: 3, 4 (!), 7, 8 (!), 10 (!) Deathposture (DK)
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