ATB - The DJ In the Mix 3

1 rating since posting on Sunday, October 1, 2006
ATB - The DJ In the Mix 3
in Las Vegas
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(submitted by D^3 )

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D^3
D^3
offline 187
***oo
What do you expect? It's ATB for heaven's sake. Safe and Sane Trance Music.
Sometime circa the summer of 1997, a German construction worker named Andre Tanneberger took a vacation with his friends to the Spanish coastal island of Ibiza. The island itself has been known for years as an Iberian getaway where pleasure seekers across the globe come to dance all night long, consume mind altering substances, and listen to top dj's at some of the world's best clubs. The place has been an inspiration for many and Andre was no different. He set out to be a dj under the name ATB.

Now if you're any type of trancer around the time of the pre-millennium, you know who ATB is. His tune 9pm (til I come) featured a plucky little piano tune that coincided with a ukelele chord being played. Along with a catchy (and sultry) female vocal sample of which the song got it's name, the tune became the dance hit of the summer of 1999. Well, it seems that Andre took is well versed in marketing to know that any dj who produces and provides an international system of packaging oneself is sure to become a worldwide hit. Using the same formula he used for 9pm, he cranks out a couple more tracks. Including a cover of fellow Ibiza atendee, Seal's - Killer.

Through this whole process the legendary European sound system Ministry of Sound picks up ATB as a resident and (as marketing requires) a CD mix on the MoS label. The double-cd compilation mix sells by the millions. Conveniently called: The Clubbers Guide to Trance 2000, is indeed the staple cd mix in every trancers speakers. The mix featured several of the year's top anthems which were being played by just about every other jock out there.

Now, in post retorum I look back and listen the MoS and marvel at the poorness of this cd mix. There was literally very little mixing involved. As a fellow trance dj, I own many of the tracks played and even noticed that they were played end-on-end. The few mixes that did prevail, were downright horrible. But in pre/post-Y2K hypes, I certainly wasn't concerned with the mixing then. It was the tracks being played that I enjoyed. It was the buildups, the breakdowns, the anthems, and the remixes that got me. Moreover, it was sequencing and the programming of these tracks that snared millions into thinking that this mix was the greatest trance mix ever.

With that said, and knowing that ATB rarely works outside his perverbial "sphere of influence" I didn't expect much from this new mix. After hearing his subsequent tracks from 9pm, I figured ATB to be nothing more than what he is. He's a trance pop-star who has a strong knack for marketing himself. Now one would think that after 8 years of dj'ing/producing, one would pick up some new tricks. But safely staying the course is what ATB does best. So don't expect much from this new cd mix.

The mix itslef contains several stunning trance anthems including Markus Schultz and Gabriel Dresden's - Without You Near and Hiver & Hammer's mellow epic, Fusion 2006. All of which are programmed and sequenced in excellent fashion. But again, as it was 6 years ago, the mixing is almost non-existant and the mix is reliant on the tracks rather than the mixes. Overall, it's a good listen but nothing spectacular. It's the kind of music you can hand your teenage bother or sister and say, "Hey this is the kind of music I listen to. You should put down that Jessica Simpson shit and listen to this." It's non-offensive, the mixes are non-daring, and the program seems to maintain it's integrity in tempo throughout each cd. ATB also manages to pump his latest track, Summer Rain, into two different versions (the 136 BPM and 132BPM Mix - WTF?)

So all-in-all, I'm glad that I borrowed this cd from the library (if that says anything in itself) rather than blow the $20 cost for the double cd set. Now, I must go clense my ears and listen to some psytrance.

Namaste- - D^3 , posted 10/01/06

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