A-Lusion meets Scope DJ – Between Worlds / Reaching Out Review

Posted by Ool on May 4, 2009 in Uncategorized | 3 comments

Not too long after the latest release on Scantraxx Pointless, the A-Lusion & Scope bomber finally opens its bay hatches. Two long-awaited and, as usual, massively hyped tracks from this bigshot meetup recently hit the shelves. When A-Lusion is involved, something about the track is guaranteed to be fresh, and with Scope DJ in the game, there will not be a lack of captivating melodies. Will the good bits break, or will they blend?

On the A-side, we find a track which was already featured on last year’s Qlimax compilation. A sampled man is friendly enough to introduce us to the intro with an effective “One, two yo!” – only to find an indeed captivating little melody, accompanied by rather shallow, unsatisfying kicks. If only things had been mixed up a little on the Qlimax CD and Between Worlds had been given the intro kicks of Trapped’s Solaio mix…

As we proceed towards the break, the bass does deepen and breaks down into a solid buildup. The main melody, then, is actually varied, unlike your standard repeat-the-same-4-bars-8-times-voila-nu$tyle scheme. Probably A-Lusion’s innovative mind at work.

Now Between Worlds may be a captivating, addictive track, but the real gem here is on the B-side. A sweet woman voice telling you she wants to be free – interesting. So far so good. Yet when that reverse bass comes in, you know this track just can’t go wrong anymore. Some bars ahead, the intro melody comes in, voiced by a massive, dry synth. Another layer of delicious crunch is added to the reverse bass, to the point where regular speakers have no idea what to do with it anymore.

The big mystery of Reaching Out, however, is not how the guys managed to create that wonderfull bass – mids, actually. No, the real question at hand is how the hell a break that blatantly cheesy fails to annoy the shit out of me. How a break about love eternal and being in someone’s arms forever fails to send the listener into a Scantraxx-cursing, guns-blazing anti-nustyle frenzy.

Maybe it has something to do with the realization that a brilliant melody and wonderfully deep and again reverse bass are coming up. Maybe it is the image of Onne Witjes humming that stupid song to himself under the shower, thinking of those romantic, melody-ridden days in the studio with Scope. Or maybe it’s how the break reminds our webmaster Moe of oldschool Sonic themes, from back when he didn’t have to worry about the sexy secretary at his boring office job 5 days a week yet.

Whatever the case is, these gentlemen have delivered a near-perfect blend. With a fresh melody in Between Worlds and a crispy kick in Reaching Out, it is a certain amount of innovation and not just the addictive melodies that make you want to come back to this slab of vinyl. One final warning: listen to Reaching Out on a hifi system or proper headphones or you will be severely disappointed.

Tracklist:

• A. A-Lusion meets Scope DJ – Between Worlds
• B. A-Lusion meets Scope DJ – Reaching Out

Verdict: 85/100