Tuesday 24th, October 2006
Richard Durand - Slipping Away
Updated: Tuesday 24th, July 2007
Dutchman Richard Durand has been bubbling under the trance scene for some time now as the producer behind the G-Spott alias, responsible for one of the most infectious and uplifting melodies of all time, ‘N.R.G.’ and the recent ’Vinyl Sessions’ tech trance records which found favour with a broad range of DJs. Now he is really starting to make his mark under the Durand name, with his debut release the fierce electro stormer ‘Make You Scream’ and the recent chunky house remake of Viridian’s ‘Sunhump’ that has been big with the likes of Tiësto and Armin Van Buuren. ‘Slipping Away’ on Holland’s Terminal 4 records, featuring vocals by Anita Kelsey and complete with a Ronald Van Gelderen mix, however looks like it will be his biggest hit yet.
I’ll concentrate on the original mixes first, as there are five (!) of them covering a wide mix of genres. The Original Mix seems like a good place to start. Clocking in at just under 11 minutes, this is quite an epic and is blessed with Anita Kelsey's stunning vocal. It kicks off straight away with a tough kick and a bubbling bass line along with nicely used snippets of the vocal to give it a good atmosphere. The pace builds gradually as extra percussive loops are added and I would describe the overall style of the production as very much like the new-style Tiësto tech trance. After a short break the track kicks back in with some ferocity with great nice raw synths and neat filter effects leading to the main break where the full vocal is unleashed in all its glory. Anita Kelsey's voice is truly beautiful with a wondrously uplifting chorus, before it fires back up again with the original tech-looped elements. It gets rather repetitive after this and the vocal doesn’t make another appearance but this doesn’t detract too much, plus I’m sure this would work wonders on the dancefloor. There is also a Non-Vocal Mix if you’re not a fan of them which revolves around the raw and dirty synth lead, resulting in a great slice of driving tech-trance, given extra atmosphere with small samples of the vocal and a rather lovely break with a subtle yet emotive melody.
If that wasn’t enough there are Tec and Tribal mixes. The Tec mix has a grinding and powerful groove with shuffling percussion, sweet old skool synth stabs and again good use of chopped up vocal. The vocal is again introduced in the break but not in its entirety as the drive kicks back in up to a second break where again the vocal appears again, but again without the chorus. A worthwhile alternative to the original mix as it focuses more on the groove and less on melody and big uplifting chorus if you’re after something a tad darker. The Tribal mix is structured much like the Tec mix but with, you guessed it, more tribal style percussion. Again it has a deliciously nasty groove that contrasts nicely with the angelic vocal. For the hands-in-the-air trance fans out there you’d be pleased to know the 1995 mix fits the bill rather nicely. Why he named the mix this I do not know, 1999 mix would fit it better as it has a very old skool trance sound to it. At ten-and-a-half minutes, this is another epic, beginning in quite techy style with stabbed synths before layers of euphoric trance loveliness take over, building into at ridiculously uplifting production with enormous power, working the tremendous chorus into a hugely anthemic vocal trancer with massive leads, reminiscent of Oceanlab at their best, only without the nonsensical lyrics. Plus the outro is gorgeous. Fantastic stuff!
However, the real money-shot on this release for me is the Ronald Van Gelderen mix. For me, he is maturing into one of the strongest tech-trance producers around and this is good evidence of that. Where once his productions relied on massive breakdowns he has developed more subtly whilst still retaining the same degree of power. This continues his rich vein of form, and is one of his best productions to date. With a dancefloor-shaking bassline, he chops up the vocal to good effect, with good use of vocoder effects and breakbeats to keep the interest levels high during the opening minutes. In the first break he the full vocal, keeping the pace going well by keeping the beat and bass in with only a short beatless segment before returning to the original groove but with a surprising addition – an electric guitar riff. These are starting to pop up in trance records more and more and in the main break, after the chorus, he lets rip with the full riff to superb effect. Along with the original elements this makes for a rockin’ and original track. Good lead out too, perfect for mixing. Awesome!
Conclusion
What a superb release. Richard Durand delivers five brilliant mixes that cover a multitude of dancefloors. If you’re after an anthemic vocal tech-trancer then the original covers that, if you need something a bit darker, then the Tec and Tribal mixes should suit and for the uplifting vocal trance fans the 1995 mix is perfect. If vocals aren’t your bag, then the Non Vocal mix is a great piece of tech-trance with a strong lead. However, for all round style and originality, the Ronald Van Gelderen mix with its rock riffs is just different class. Each mix uses the emotive vocal extremely well resulting in one of the outstanding releases of the year - one minor criticism is that there is no real need for so many mixes, expecially with the Tec and Tribal mixes being so similar. However that is only a small gripe - this deserves to be massive.
Tracklisting
Ronald Van Gelderen Mix 9:07
Original Mix 10:59
Original Non Vocal Mix 8:23
1995 Mix 10:26
Tec Mix 7:30
Tribal Mix 7:44
Related Links
To here a clip of the Original mix visit Durand's myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/richarddurand
http://www.terminal-4.com
Written by:
frombeyond
Updated: Tuesday 24th, July 2007
Dutchman Richard Durand has been bubbling under the trance scene for some time now as the producer behind the G-Spott alias, responsible for one of the most infectious and uplifting melodies of all time, ‘N.R.G.’ and the recent ’Vinyl Sessions’ tech trance records which found favour with a broad range of DJs. Now he is really starting to make his mark under the Durand name, with his debut release the fierce electro stormer ‘Make You Scream’ and the recent chunky house remake of Viridian’s ‘Sunhump’ that has been big with the likes of Tiësto and Armin Van Buuren. ‘Slipping Away’ on Holland’s Terminal 4 records, featuring vocals by Anita Kelsey and complete with a Ronald Van Gelderen mix, however looks like it will be his biggest hit yet.
I’ll concentrate on the original mixes first, as there are five (!) of them covering a wide mix of genres. The Original Mix seems like a good place to start. Clocking in at just under 11 minutes, this is quite an epic and is blessed with Anita Kelsey's stunning vocal. It kicks off straight away with a tough kick and a bubbling bass line along with nicely used snippets of the vocal to give it a good atmosphere. The pace builds gradually as extra percussive loops are added and I would describe the overall style of the production as very much like the new-style Tiësto tech trance. After a short break the track kicks back in with some ferocity with great nice raw synths and neat filter effects leading to the main break where the full vocal is unleashed in all its glory. Anita Kelsey's voice is truly beautiful with a wondrously uplifting chorus, before it fires back up again with the original tech-looped elements. It gets rather repetitive after this and the vocal doesn’t make another appearance but this doesn’t detract too much, plus I’m sure this would work wonders on the dancefloor. There is also a Non-Vocal Mix if you’re not a fan of them which revolves around the raw and dirty synth lead, resulting in a great slice of driving tech-trance, given extra atmosphere with small samples of the vocal and a rather lovely break with a subtle yet emotive melody.
If that wasn’t enough there are Tec and Tribal mixes. The Tec mix has a grinding and powerful groove with shuffling percussion, sweet old skool synth stabs and again good use of chopped up vocal. The vocal is again introduced in the break but not in its entirety as the drive kicks back in up to a second break where again the vocal appears again, but again without the chorus. A worthwhile alternative to the original mix as it focuses more on the groove and less on melody and big uplifting chorus if you’re after something a tad darker. The Tribal mix is structured much like the Tec mix but with, you guessed it, more tribal style percussion. Again it has a deliciously nasty groove that contrasts nicely with the angelic vocal. For the hands-in-the-air trance fans out there you’d be pleased to know the 1995 mix fits the bill rather nicely. Why he named the mix this I do not know, 1999 mix would fit it better as it has a very old skool trance sound to it. At ten-and-a-half minutes, this is another epic, beginning in quite techy style with stabbed synths before layers of euphoric trance loveliness take over, building into at ridiculously uplifting production with enormous power, working the tremendous chorus into a hugely anthemic vocal trancer with massive leads, reminiscent of Oceanlab at their best, only without the nonsensical lyrics. Plus the outro is gorgeous. Fantastic stuff!
However, the real money-shot on this release for me is the Ronald Van Gelderen mix. For me, he is maturing into one of the strongest tech-trance producers around and this is good evidence of that. Where once his productions relied on massive breakdowns he has developed more subtly whilst still retaining the same degree of power. This continues his rich vein of form, and is one of his best productions to date. With a dancefloor-shaking bassline, he chops up the vocal to good effect, with good use of vocoder effects and breakbeats to keep the interest levels high during the opening minutes. In the first break he the full vocal, keeping the pace going well by keeping the beat and bass in with only a short beatless segment before returning to the original groove but with a surprising addition – an electric guitar riff. These are starting to pop up in trance records more and more and in the main break, after the chorus, he lets rip with the full riff to superb effect. Along with the original elements this makes for a rockin’ and original track. Good lead out too, perfect for mixing. Awesome!
Conclusion
What a superb release. Richard Durand delivers five brilliant mixes that cover a multitude of dancefloors. If you’re after an anthemic vocal tech-trancer then the original covers that, if you need something a bit darker, then the Tec and Tribal mixes should suit and for the uplifting vocal trance fans the 1995 mix is perfect. If vocals aren’t your bag, then the Non Vocal mix is a great piece of tech-trance with a strong lead. However, for all round style and originality, the Ronald Van Gelderen mix with its rock riffs is just different class. Each mix uses the emotive vocal extremely well resulting in one of the outstanding releases of the year - one minor criticism is that there is no real need for so many mixes, expecially with the Tec and Tribal mixes being so similar. However that is only a small gripe - this deserves to be massive.
Tracklisting
Ronald Van Gelderen Mix 9:07
Original Mix 10:59
Original Non Vocal Mix 8:23
1995 Mix 10:26
Tec Mix 7:30
Tribal Mix 7:44
Related Links
To here a clip of the Original mix visit Durand's myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/richarddurand
http://www.terminal-4.com
Written by:
frombeyond
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