The Vitals:

Label: YoYo Records
Genre: Psy-Trance
Number of Tracks: 4
How to Obtain: shop.bne.co.il

Factor Scores:

Production Quality: 7.2
Programming and Arrangement: 6.8
Entertainment Quality: 7.0
Total: 7.0 – Good

Carl’s Take:

The intro for the Time Lock remix builds up slowly into a nice thumping bass and beat. It would make a great set starter or middle ramp. I think this track can be more appreciated from a producer's point of view with a set of headphones on. The placement of sounds and scapes with in the stereo spectrum is nice; everything is where it should be and has its own place. The use of reverb and non-reverb alike is well done, letting certain melodies sit back in the mix while others stand out in your face. The sweet female and male vocals both in the track and vocoder used in the middle section of this track give that nice space/trance feel where the track slows down for a breath, only to build up to an amazing melody. The drums are solid and varied throughout this track, giving no chance for your thoughts to venture off elsewhere. I really enjoyed this track.

The Echotek remix builds into drums and bass. It's not as hard hitting but has more of a mellow feel to it. The vocals—which are deeply reverbed and delayed in the back ground—add most of the melody, with stabs and distorted guitar loops. Vocodered vox make up most of the rest of the melody until the last quarter of the track when a very delicious melody is introduced with a nice analogue stab bouncing around over the top. Once again. I think it is appreciated more with headphones on, but pumping it at a gig will do it justice. Due to the more mellow approach, it’s a track you can loose yourself in, especially with the vocals allowing you to relax and just enjoy.

There is definitely more machine to the Mo Shic remix than the first two remixes. Once again, it is more of a track that you lose your thoughts in, rather than being hard-hitting. This track features flowing melodies, vocal and melody stabs, deep reverb and delays on the vox, and terrific build-ups and drops. Spinning at a rave, at a club, or at home, this track will fit into your set.

I do have to say that the radio mix of the original track interested me the most. The slightly distorted but understandable vocals appealed to me, the melodies flowed in and out, and the use of stabs and effects kept me interested. The build-ups and drops to the mix give it live feel. This track feels more like I was listening to a whole band along of the style of The Killers gone "space age." The tempo is much faster and upbeat.

Overall, the remixes were pretty similar in style and placement. Not to many new elements that were highly noticeable were introduced. Although I really enjoyed each track separately, if you'd put this release in your CD player and walk away, you would have really to stop and listen to each track to see if it was the next version. The original stood out, but I would have liked to see a few more styles on the EP. All in all, however, this release is quite enjoyable.