BT's Movement in Still Life is incredible. Hip Hop, Rock, Female Vocals, some of the best beats I've heard all wrapped into my favorite all time Trance Album.
Above and Beyonds Tristate and Sirens of the Sea are two excellent Vocal Trance
@Nocturnal, it's not a remix. Above and Beyond ARE Oceanlab (Just the Above & Beyond trio + Singer).
Just as Gabriel and Dresden ARE Motorcycle.
Way out West, both Way Out West and Don't Look Now albums are classics.
Gabriel and Dresden's 2006 album has some of more fun, unique vocal trance.
All Hybrid Albums, I love them all. Wider Angle has the most female vocals. Morning Sci-Fi is mostly male vocals. I Choose Noise kinda of a mix. Overall, all their albums are amazing.
While I like all of them, including Tiesto, Van Burren or whatever. But for me, when it comes to mastery over Trance genre, being the best producers with interesting music and with the most skill: BT and Hybrid remain unmatched by anyone in the last 5 years. Always someone new out there proclaimed as the new prodigy and yet I still find BT's first album IMA to be better than anything I've heard in a while. Hybrid's Wider Angle is the same, nothing comes close to either of these two producers.
This is why I haven't bought much new trance lately, I just don't see much progression in this genre or the same level of skill as past producers.
Been told Arnej Secerkadic, proclaimed by Van Burren is the next dude to watch. I listen, and think, yeah this blows ass in comparison to Hybrid. Overrated. Then it's Darren Tate, again dissapointing, his stuff sounds GENERIC, and UNIMAGINATIVE. Thought James Holden would do some stuff, his Balance 005 album was interesting, good Vocal Trance, but again disappoints with nothing new or interesting, just good mix sets, big freaking deal. Trance needs more good imaginative producers, too much of the same stuff. Feel too many of the let's do some tutorial of fruity loops on Youtube, yay I'm a producer. I don't know much about producing, but I know when I hear a half assed, unimaginative effort. While Above and Beyond have some interesting stuff, I feel they are not talented or skilled. Just good at making some popular, danceable, likable tunes. Nothing interesting or unique to speak of. Gabriel and Dresden did some interesting stuff, but they remained to simplistic for my taste, I want more complexity, new sounds and they don't push that evelope, EVER. I just have to keep waiting and then be awed when Hybrid and BT come out with new material. BT's Binary Universe was just crap my pants this is incredible.
And we need more cool beats. Why do excellent beats have to be regulated to a few progressive/vocal trance artists but majority Goa/Psych? I mean c'mon, I think Gabriel and Dresden use the same EXACT beats in every freaking song. It's so monotonous and BORING. Van Burren's State of Trance Albums, I swear is just over an hour of the same boring beat non-stop. You can flip from State of Trance 2005, 2006 and 2007 seamlessly back and forth, and discover, it's the same exact monotonous beat. Nothing interesting ever.
Well that's my suggestion for Vocal Trance.
