OUT Activa - Movement: One (Mix compilation) [Black Hole Recordings]

[Freezer]

CD2:

1. Activa - I Wanted You - works very nice as an opener, melody a bit simplistic, but fine 7/10
2. Brandt Hoff - Where Is My Soul - no real melody, but nic relaxed flow 6,5/10
3. Aeon Shift - Breathe You In - similar to first track 6,5/!10
4. Marcos - Odyssey - another nice comeback, just like Pulser, realy nice, rather spacey track 7/10
5. Sunda & ByDesign - Pillars 6,5/10
6. Lostly - Way Back Home - soft vocal track, way too sweet compared to the rest, while still good 6/10
7. Allan Morrow - Strobe 6,5/10
8. Maria Healy - Midnight Oil 7/10
9. Julian Del Agranda - El Sueño (Movement Edit) - a bit more simplistic and relaxed, to be honest I prefer A New World and Sentimentos. They had strong and complex melodies, while this is way too simple, but I like the beat, maybe the best beat of the compi...overally 6,5/10
10. Activa - Formentera - cool trippy track 7/10
11. Aerium pres. Avalon 62 - Eneabba - wow the melody is something different here, I really dig it, one of the standout melodies there 7/10
12. Activa & John Dopping - A Future Memory (Activa’s Origins Mix) - already well known track, the melody is super-catchy 8/10
13. The Noble Six - Moon That Never Sets - I usually dig this guy a lot, but this melody is way too strange and loud, not a big fan of the sound while the idea is quite good, the mastering is strange, sounds muffled 6/10
14. Enigma State - Waiting For You - I prefer original, which is more melodic, this is rather hypnotic, but yeah, its quite cool and trippy 7/10 (original 8,5/10)
15. Factoria - Sculptured (Activa Outro Rework) - and there we go, the best and most standout track of this compi. Peak time trancer, holy cow I love this a lot 9/10

There is not a bad track, not even an average one. Actually even the worst track out of the compilation is still pretty good, which is very rare...
On the other hand, there are not so many standout tracks just like on Pure Trance or so. Overally its very complex and samy-ish sounding compilation.

The already released singles by Slipstream, Definitions or Andre Maier are much stronger than the ones on this compi.
Its just like Rob said, I need a track for the compilation, give me something fast...but the quality of the previous releases are not there. Remember the massive Subterfuge, there is no track like this sadly...

 

[Julian Del Agranda]

Ha, you rate mine higher than LJR? Haha.

The movement edit of mine is sort of a dub edit. The original has a full on melody and more oldschool beats. Will be released later

 

[A.Brindiss]

Ha, you rate mine higher than LJR? Haha.

The movement edit of mine is sort of a dub edit. The original has a full on melody and more oldschool beats. Will be released later

Waiting for it, the edit falls short for me, the track has some potential

 

[Hensmon]

2 listens now and really liking it. Some of the melodies are just awesome too. Will probably give it around 5 goes before leaving review.

Will say that this is the best Trance compilation I heard in a long long time. Massive congrats to Activa for putting this together.

 

[Julian Del Agranda]

Oh a little scoop btw. The original version of my track will be premiered soon in the next Trancefix Radio Episode. It will be a special "Julian Del Agranda" themed one!

While the movement version in the mix is a bit dubby, slightly darker, with the acids and the main synth only used as a tease, the original version will reveil the full melody, with different and more oldschool beats and sounds. It's leaning more towards the commercial trance sound from 2000. Curious what you people make out of that one! This original version will be released later on Borderline as well.

 

[Juna]

Woaha the Avalon 62 track is very good. I cannot wait to listen to the full Movements experience, I have been waiting so long for this one, but I completely forgot the release date was this month. Let's go!

 

[Mikey]

Some nice stuff on this comp! Been on my Spotify for the last few days I really like Øna - Øna actually! and Evolution, Twilight, El Sueño and Formentera are also fond favourites from this

 

[Exodom]

Amazing, amazing compilation. I couldn’t be happier with what I am hearing. So many good tracks that I am sure I will be voting for at the end of the year. CD2 is one of the best I heard in ages.

 

[Motion]

Fantastic compilation. Many names I do not recognize and enjoyed. Do we know if it’s a annual series he is starting?

 

[Jetflag]

Fantastic compilation. Many names I do not recognize and enjoyed. Do we know if it’s a annual series he is starting?

That’s the plan, but it depends like all such things a bit on the success rate.

 

[DazTC]

My CD finally arrived today. I wanted to hold off and listen to it properly rather than just check out the digital download. Can only comment on CD1 as of yet with it just finishing right now, but have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the whole mix there from beginning to end...it really felt like a proper journey and I already messaged Rob going so far as to say it's the best CD I've bought since the glory days themselves.

There wasn't a single track where I felt the urge to skip past or anything. Just closed my eyes and enjoyed the trip. You can really tell there's been a lot of effort and love gone into all of this!

I was on the fence about even buying it as someone who's mainly stuck in the past, but it's certainly exceeded any expectation I had. Looking forward to Disc 2 later tonight

 

[No Return]

8/10 compilation. The Coredata tracks kick ass and many others will be top 10 contenders come end of year. The first 5 tracks of CD1 are all doing it for me. Activa is bringing quality back to Mainstream trance again.

 

[Peenuts]

Had a couple of listens over the past few weeks to let it sink in. Some thoughts on the mixes. The first mix I liked quite a lot, more so than the second one.

Disc 1:

Really liked the first half of this mix. Mid-tempo prog trance probably my most favoured style. Luke Terry's Muon particularly right up my alley, with its subtle arpeggios and serene pad-like melody. Chris Johnson's These Days with its infectious groove really got me moving in my seat - harks back to early 2000s underground prog trance stuff with its ethereal breakdowns and techy, hypnotic climaxes. It transitions well into the Activa rework of Inspire with some dreamy, plucky goodness.

Tracks in the second half of the mix not as impressive as the first half, but overall there is enough variety I think to keep the flow going. All We Have by Definitions sounds promising with its haunting vocals and chord stabs. Activa's Twilight is another highlight towards the end. Its subdued, dreamy and hypnotic style setting it apart from most over-the-top modern uplifters.

4/5. Great, definitely worth revisiting from time to time.

Disc 2:

Found the first half of the second mix to be quite samey. Only the middle section from El Sueno to A Future Memory made an impression on me. I don't mean to automatically shower praise on some of the producers I know who are on here, but El Sueno and Eneabba were the two highlights for me. Eneabba had a really captivating melody that got me hooked on first listen. The simple melody in El Sueno works really well with the off-beat bassline, definitely getting big 90s trance vibes from this. Expected a bit more from Marcos and Lostly, but nonetheless respectable tracks. Formentera also caught my ear for its pulsating acid lines, not an amazing track on its own, but helped spice things up in the middle of the mix. Had hoped for a few more techy/non-melodic tunes in the mix to give it a bit more variety.

3/5. Perhaps one to revisit if I am in a specific mood for this style of uplifting.

Hope Activa makes this a yearly compilation or at least a series to continue. The Borderline sound might be niche, but as evidenced by the reception here, there is a definite, passionate fanbase for the more mature-sounding trance sound.

 

[m_st]

I am not the biggest fan of Borderline or Activas sound as it lacks soul but this was honestly a very good attempt at bringing some quality back to the mainstream Trance scene. It’s something I would listen to again and in a club setting happily. My criticism is that everything sounds the same in relation to theme and mood. No darkness or rawness or atmospheric or out of the box, for the most part. I would like to see further versions expand into more unknown names found in the nu-trance scene.

 

[Enlusion]

Took a listen to this. As a compilation it sounds coherent, but there are too many fillers, it lacks emotions. Sounds like people didn't really care much to take their time and produce better music with memorable melodies. This way Rob had to choose the best from the average.

Here are the tracks I liked:
Coredata — Geometric
Sunda — Mirage (I'd have even signed this on Forescape, that's how you produce Trance, a standout track of the compilation for me)
Enigma State — Waiting for You

 

[Uplifted]

Last weekend I've had a unique opportunity to be present at the Movement: One album launch event and meet a lot of amazing producers from Borderline and other labels, including Activa, @EnigmaState , Slipstream (aka Atlantis, the creator of "Fiji"), Factoria, Lostly, Allan Morrow, John Dopping (aka Definitions), Grant Trowbridge, Chris Johnson, both Aeon Shift guys, Glynn Alan, and some others artists, such as the legendary Jon O'Bir, Oliver Cattley (Tranceform Recordings owner) and Riot Knight from Regenerate Records.

Activa opened his set with @Coredata - GeoMetric (which I instantly recognized by its similarity to Art Of Trance style) and finished with an amazing new ID which is posted below.
Overall it was an amazing set, filled with album tracks, ID's and some Borderline stuff.

Activa dropping "Slipstream - Lagrange Point", which is most likely my favourite tune from the album


Activa dropping "Definitions & Char - All We Have", another gem from Movement: One


Activa finishing his set with that new ID


Uploading some more videos to my YT channel now.

 

[Perpetuous dreamer]

This compilation was class. As modern compilations go it’s one of the best we had in ages. Coredata tracks are the clear winners in my view. Wish I could have gone to the event, but too expensive to travel up from London on the train.

 

[Propeller]

Yeah, this is one of the best compilations in ages. Lots of tracks that I shall be purchasing. The aim was to recreate the feel of classic compilations. And to a degree they succeeded. There was enough variety to make it stand out head and shoulders above pretty much all modern compilations. However there wasn't enough variety in sounds and styles to make it rival the ones of old. Too many tracks had the same kick/bassline/vibe for my liking. However, I'm being very picky here. This is a great effort featuring some great tracks. Hope the series will continue.

 

[Jetflag]

Last weekend I've had a unique opportunity to be present at the Movement: One album launch event and meet a lot of amazing producers from Borderline and other labels, including Activa, @EnigmaState , Slipstream (aka Atlantis, the creator of "Fiji"), Factoria, Lostly, Allan Morrow, John Dopping (aka Definitions), Grant Trowbridge, Chris Johnson, both Aeon Shift guys, Glynn Alan, and some others artists, such as the legendary Jon O'Bir, Oliver Cattley (Tranceform Recordings owner) and Riot Knight from Regenerate Records.

Activa opened his set with @Coredata - GeoMetric (which I instantly recognized by its similarity to Art Of Trance style) and finished with an amazing new ID which is posted below.
Overall it was an amazing set, filled with album tracks, ID's and some Borderline stuff.

View attachment 1644

Activa dropping "Slipstream - Lagrange Point", which is most likely my favourite tune from the album


Activa dropping "Definitions & Char - All We Have", another gem from Movement: One


Activa finishing his set with that new ID


Uploading some more videos to my YT channel now.

@Uplifted

question: do you mind if I use some of that footage for a videoclip?

 

[Uplifted]

question: do you mind if I use some of that footage for a videoclip?

Sure, no problem