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"Universal Religion 2008"
Armin Van Buuren
Label: Perfecto/Ultra Records
Release Date: December 4th, 2007
Check out the predecessor to "Universal Religion 2008" with Webjockey Elke Jon’s Rifflist, "Shivers by Armin Van Buuren"
When it gets to be bitter outside, who doesn’t want a little hedonistic slice of hot Ibiza club-heaven, right in their living room? Look no further: Armin Van Buuren offers an album drenched with the sweat of lovely Balearic nights, guaranteed to conjure beaches, sunsets, flashing lights, and the full alphabet of celebrities---just add headphones.
"Universal Religion" is rich with whispering sex-kitten vocals, echoing old-world warbles and seas of rave reverie, with electronic notes ping ponging into a throbbing, trance-dance eternity.
Van Buuren’s work is epic by nature, but it’s not the repetitive haze that his genre description of "trance" conjures. Rather, "Universal Religion" is trippy, in the purest sense of the word; these tunes place the listener on a different plane than the average DJ, where dancing is spiritual and transcendent. Thirty seconds into the first track, Van Buuren’s throbbing bass beats manage to convince that dancing is not only profound and important—it’s VITAL.
Recorded entirely live in the heat of August 2007 at the legendary Amnesia nightclub, "Universal Religion" is a clubbing time-capsule bursting at the seams with spontaneous Van Buuren DJing genius, complete with cheering crowds that complement the cadence of the album beautifully, heightening the intensity of each vortex of sound.
What’s most immediately striking about "Universal Religion" is Van Buuren’s ability to shred genre boundaries, morphing each song into a funky, musical tour through the different facets of dance—trance, electro, minimal, underground, classics and groovy melodies and bass lines—it’s all there, and it’s all fused into one awesome, epic journey of undeniably quality, top-of-the-line dance experience.
If you like Armin Van Buuren, be sure to check out "Elements of Life" by Tiësto, "A Lively Mind by Oakenfold", and "In Between" by Paul Van Dyk.
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