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First State – Changing Lanes Album Reviewed

Artist: First State
Title: Changing Lanes
Label: Black Hole Recordings
Released Date: June 21st 2010
Reviewed by Carolina Galli

By the end of 2009, Sander van Dien began working on what would be his debut solo album and originated First State’s ‘Changing Lanes’. Its primary taste was the instant club-hit ‘Brave’ that features Sarah Howells, released in a pack including the Original Mix and remixes by Jonas Steur and Myon & Shane54 vocal and dub remix. Second single, ‘Cape Point’, originally produced as an exclusive track for the Cosmic Gate “Back 2 Back” compilation, was such a tremendous success that was released as a single in February.

The magnificent ‘My Sanctuary’ was chosen by Richard Durand to be the opening tune for In Search Of Sunrise 8, one of the most anticipated and critically acclaimed trance compilations in the scene made famous by the hands of Tiesto. That track reached number one spot in the trance charts and stood firm for four consecutive weeks in the Beatport Top 10.

In April, the tech-trance stormer ‘As You Were’ grabbed its place at Audiojelly top 10 downloads chart as its psychedelic base line received massive support from elite DJs and fans all over. Another strong collaboration with the powerful vocals of Sarah Howells, ‘Reverie’, is the next single to be released.

01. My Sanctuary
A stunning intro with a smooth piano melody and soft whispers slowly lead you to some funky loops that have a wooden feel to them. It truly seems you’re entering another dimension as the progression takes place with all the atmospheric effects that sustain the out worldly vibe of this opening track, which perfectly sets the mood of the whole album.

02. Exeo
The lead melody is a powerful guitar synth, with reverb filters and delays that give an exciting depth feeling to it and that will definitely leave you humming for hours. Layers of crispy loops and interesting white noises portray a beautiful progression to the breakdown, as you are drifted away by the pan effect on the speakers combined with the dreamy flavour played in the background. Low-paced progressive trance at its best form!

03. Surrounds Me
The hard kick, a crunchy loop and the deep base line are the elements that set darker undertone of this vocal tune. The piano melody comes in to glow the right spots, only to shine completely in the breakdown alongside the velvety pads. Air guitar strings gently emerge on the background, boosting the beautiful voice of Elliot Johns.

04. Cape Point
With a rolling percussion and a funky psychedelic loop, this tune revives the classic old school vibe. Crusty effects, spot-on crashes and airy pads are all perfectly set within the timeline to create a progression that paves the way for the astonishing leading melody take over our mind and guide us through a journey back to the 80s synth-driven beats. Undeniably, one of the strongest tracks of the album.

05. Cross The Line
A simple yet effective guitar string sample nourishes the main lead, together with a systematic kick drum and some synths that give a real nice uplifting touch to this track. The breakdown is filled with a dazzling piano melody right after Relyk (the new alias of Kyler England) borrows her angelic vocals to the melodic lyrics, which will certainly get stuck in your head.

06. Mojave
A prevailing non-linear baseline and an enthusiastic arpeggiated synth composition set the mood of this darker progressive tune. A fun looping kick sets is the one to blame as you unconsciously start bouncing your head up and down to the contagious dancing beats. The sound cleverly fades away into the silence with a delightful combo of delay effect and low-pass filter, giving way to a thoughtful breakdown that blends a soothing piano melody and windy pads with airy effects that delivers yet another uplifting bomber.

07. Reverie
A rolling loop with snappy effects and a heavy stomping baseline paint the beautiful scenario through the lovely vocal whispers and atmospheric impressions. Heavenly vocals by Sarah Howells appear once again to empower those captivating lyrics, which are layered upon a striking uplifting piano loop. This melody takes a deeper approach when First State delivers it in a contagious hands-in-the-air break that will completely sweep you off your feet. Technique surprisingly

08. Butterfly Effect
A heaving techy synth paves the way for a stimulating baseline to drop in and set the bar even higher as the keys of choice apply a slightly haunting sensation. Its rotating crispy loop in conjunction with a leading stirring keyboard melody, which only grows bigger in the break, adds up a spicy essence to this unquestionably dance floor uplifting trippy smasher.

09. Breathe On Me
Using a scenic triad for the opening loop, the instrumental elements are thoughtfully constructed to keep an unfussy blend for the upcoming lyrics to get comfortably placed upon it as Elliot Johns shows again his distinctive vocal abilities. This time, however, the tune has a darker twist endorsed by some dirty effects and a fat and thick baseline, which combined, evidence how indie-rock has influenced this tune, especially in the startling breakdown.

10. Brave
The first single off the album, released last year, is a powerful trance tune that brings once again the vocal talent of Sarah Howells. The First State’s trademark majestic pads appear here to enhance the magical feeling of this tune, backed by some dirty noises and techy loops. The valuable instrumental base keeps a simple composition, carrying an occasional keyboard melody, perfectly suiting those catchy and meaningful lyrics.

11. Primate
Prevailing revolving loops modulate the leading metallic melody and draw the path for the non-flat prominent baseline to dig deeper as the effects add a juicy rawness to this tech-driven hypnotic opus. The break expands the joy with a magnetic arrangement of its pads. As a crash stops all the instruments leaving a further silence to guide you through the break, it is just as quickly filled with a powerful and solid synth, which weights its supremacy with reverb and delays effects until the the main beats come full circle once again to mark the high-paced pounds.

12. As You Were
This 138-bpm trance track emerges with a powerful heavy kick. The hard techy intro gradually builds up with a fun combination of what appears to be an announcement or a call in the background with some female voice. Then, there’s a vocal snippet bursting into the scene with a great synth construction alongside a melody that smoothly leads to the break.

The piano that follows is a beautiful breeze, perfectly contrasting with those hard leading beats. It makes you put your hands in the air, waving to the sound of that magic melody that drives you through the breakdown, while you follow those carefully layered sounds until the hard beats drop again. This scene-setting uplifting trance was the tune chosen to wrap up this terrific album that will definitely leave you begging for more.

CONCLUSION
‘Changing Lanes’ offers you a unique blend of quality EDM, with a brilliant fusion of indie rock & pop vocals and handpicked electronic elements that deliver a unique taste of what First State’s groundbreaking magical sound. This album is a must-have for any music lover’s collection. If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, you’re wasting time.

Tracklist:
01. My Sanctuary
02. Exeo
03. Surrounds Me
04. Cape Point
05. Cross The Line
06. Mojave
07. Reverie
08. Butterfly Effect
09. Breathe On Me
10. Brave
11. Primate
12. As You Were

GRAB IT NOW ON:
Beatport
Beatport (Extended Versions)
iTunes
Audiojelly
Trackdown
Amazon
Armada Downloads
Blackholeshop