Armin van Buuren - 76 [2003]

Artist(s)
Armin van Buuren
Release title
76
Label name
Armind
Release year
2003

Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
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One of my all-time favourite albums. I am still being blown away by it. Just remembering one single track from it makes me want to listen to the entire thing. Which happened this morning, with Astronauts.

The mood and the style are juuuuust shiver-inducing; the tracks manage to be very different, but they are still cohesive and clearly a part of an album. There's happy, there's sad, there's bittersweet, there's trippy, there's dreamy, there's anthemic, there's techy... The transitions between tracks are incredibly good. There's samples, especially FX, that are being used throughout the album which also gives it that cohesiveness.

It's an album you definitely have to go through in one sitting.



76 has a couple of meanings - the album's length is 76 minutes, 76 is the area code (or something) of Armin's birthplace, and I'm not sure if it's something more, can't find it right now.



And as I'm listening to it now, still blown away by it, I feel the need to write a bit for every track.

Prodemium & Precious

Prodemium is a lovely start to the album. Very trippy and film-like, great introduction to what's about to follow. Precious was initially my favourite, has a great gated melody that really takes you places. Just a great trance track to lose yourself to.

Yet Another Day (ft. Ray Wilson)

Excellent vocals, excellent production behind it - he nailed the mood perfectly (story of this album). Very dark stuff.

Burned With Desire (ft. Justine Suissa)

Cheese. But good one. Feel-good cheese. Sing-along cheese. I love other tracks more, but I can see why this one has stuck.

Blue Fear 2003

We all probably prefer the original Blue Fear, but this does it justice. The original, just feels a bit remastered and redone. Nothing more.

From The Heart (ft. System F)

The heart of the album. Perfect in every way. Makes you sad, in a way. I feel it's one of the most beautiful tracks made, yet what it stands for has been lost in music for some time.

Never Wanted This (ft. Justine Suissa)

Now I prefer this one to Burned With Desire. Lovely vocals, great production which complements the vocals beautifully. So bittersweet, yet you can sing along to it.

Astronauts

I think I've heard that Armin really likes this one. I can hear why. Very understated, but lovely. Relies on the atmosphere and a couple of simple riffs - how did he pull this off I don't know, but it's always been one of my favourites from the album.

Stay
(ft. Krezip)


Underrated. You can dance to it, the vocals are pretty damn good.

Wait For You (Song For The Ocean) (ft. Victoria Horn)

Criminally underrated. What a track! The way it flows, the sounds get very ocean-like - I can't explain what I mean with that, but even the vocals feel like that. Victoria sings absolutely beautifully, one of my favourite vocal performances in trance - and the production goes perfectly with it. Great drive, but even then it feels kind of distant, longing. The melodies are perfect. The mood, again, is what makes it incredible. They really do not make them like this anymore.

Sunburn

This one might feel a bit overshadowed by the rest, but it's a lovely techy trance track, great energy.

Communication (Album Mix)

We all know this one. But to me, this is the weak link. Didn't need to be included, it kind of almost breaks the album's setting. But its classic status is well-earned.

Slipstream (ft. Airwave)

And for the end... A stunner. I can't even write anything about it, I can't describe it. It's just a powerful, amazing track. Two masters at work. Great way to finish the album too, in full-force.
 
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Progrez

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Precious reminds of Alone in the Dark so sad.

I can still hear the old Armin in tracks like Imagine
 
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Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
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He was born in 1976 aswell
Oh yeah, that was one of the meanings behind the album name (I know he said there were multiple - play time and Leiden area code/whatever). How could I forget the birth year, the most obvious one... 😂
 

trancedanne

Senior Member
Aug 11, 2021
530 Posts
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This album has several good tracks Yet another day, Precious, From Another Heart and especially Slipstream. After this album Armin went downhill for each year, he felt he needed to satisfy the idiot commercial radio crowd
 

Hot Tuna

Senior Member
Aug 24, 2020
416 Posts
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142 Paul van Dyk Avenue
'Sunburn' was basically the instrumental version of 'Dust Wav.' if you listen to back to back.

Clearly both out of the same project file, yes. But the pedant in me has to point out that there is both an instrumental version of Dust.Wav ("Dub.Wav"), and a vocal version of Sunburn ("Walk Throught The Fire").

Rumour had it that Sunburn was initially an Armin remix of Tiesto - Flight 643, but I don't know what truth there was behind it.
 
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Atragun91091

Member
Aug 30, 2020
230 Posts
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I'll probably get a little flack for this, but I could never fully get into 76. There are obviously some very good(and underrated) tracks on the album. Yet Another Day, Burned With Desire, Blue Fear 2003, From The Heart, Astronauts and Slipstream to name a few, but I could just never fully get into it. I think it has something to do with the fact that it sounds "dated" Even when I first heard back in 2005.
 
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Progrez

Elite Member
Jun 17, 2022
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From the Heart had a longer sample which was released as an album sampler part 3


He also had a longer version of Slipstream this is the rare version.

 
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Julian Del Agranda

Elite Member
Jul 3, 2020
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It’s not the area code. 076 is Breda, which was a song from Tiesto and Hardwell. They are from Breda. Think you mixed it up.
 
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Progrez

Elite Member
Jun 17, 2022
1,696 Posts
790 Thanked
I'll probably get a little flack for this, but I could never fully get into 76. There are obviously some very good(and underrated) tracks on the album. Yet Another Day, Burned With Desire, Blue Fear 2003, From The Heart, Astronauts and Slipstream to name a few, but I could just never fully get into it. I think it has something to do with the fact that it sounds "dated" Even when I first heard back in 2005.
Nonsense, I personally love the dated sounds. I disagree that they sound dated personally I think modern day tracks sound dated and shit.
 

Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
3,913 Posts
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Listening to this one again, which makes it my most-listened-to album, not just in trance but I believe in general. Still incredible.