Submitted by Chrissie on 3rd July, 07:17PM

Two iconic Melbourne dj’s have collaborated with the well-known label VinylPusher to present Trance Level 1. Jewelz and Papa Smurf have been established within the trance/hard dance seen for over 10 years leaving their imprint upon clubs, wowing audiences with mint track selections and playing alongside each other regularly. Each dj has mixed a disc, escalating from tech house, to tech trance, to banging vocal trance delivering it well to kick off the new cd series. This is the first time VinylPusher have strayed away from their usual house/electro/tech zones, possibly due to the return of trance into the mainstream scene, and it will be interesting to see how this trend progresses as the genre becomes more popular.

The first disc showcases Jewelz; one of Melbourne most loved and respected dj’s who unquestionably performs her duties with the flawless consistency and excellence of an international top ten dj. Although she is well known for her hardstyle background, we see Jewelz step out from her comfort zone and open her disc with pitched-up techy house. The tracks build well and compose a set that gains more oomph as it develops, especially when we get to Ernesto & Bastian’s track Thrill (which is misprinted with an incorrect artist on the tracklist). Jewelz always manages to pluck great tracks with similar elements from different genres to include into her mixes, and we see her demonstrate this on her disc. Each track compliments the preceding one, and Jewelz mixes them with dynamic finesse, however the momentum gets lost at times with flat songs that don’t seem to go anywhere. Two bombs on her disc are Sander van Doorn’s remix of Yanou’s track King of My Castle, as well as Mojado’s Kaktus. Overall it’s a promising offering that embraces a big tech sound that’s hot at the moment.

Next up is Papa Smurf’s selection, which energetically kicks off with Ronald van Gelderen’s Dirty Rocker and continues with Jewelz’s techy feel. Papa Smurf has dominated several local clubs in Melbourne on a weekly basis, feeding his fans the same quality week in and out. The faster pace suits his tracks which are tech trance stormers that incorporate vocals and breakdowns with tough, banging climaxes. He mixes tightly and skillfully, continuing the quality exuded from Jewelz’s disc, and it is obvious that the two aren’t using software to mix (hooray!). Although dated, he drops well known tunes such as Richard Durand’s remix of Flight 643 by Tiesto, John O’Callaghan’s Big Sky, Joop’s The Future, and Fred Baker vs Greg Nash’s track Lunar Eclipse. Papa Smurf chooses the right tracks and places them in an excellent order, creating a lively peak that will definitely get listeners moving.

Its fantastic to see local dj’s push their sounds and abilities out into the current CD world, which hopefully will appreciate and enjoy the 2 disc tech-stylings. I commend VinylPusher for trying something new, because this is the style that’s grabbing the attention of dance fans at the moment. Regardless of the fact that some songs aren’t brand new, it is evident that the dj’s can bring them back and create something fresh and exciting.