Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Mark Otten - Tranquility
2. Solid Globe - Sahara
3. Whirlpool - Under the Sun (Solar Stone Remix)
4. Three Drives - Signs From the Universe
5. Airwave - Lady Blue (Original Beat).
6. Kyau vs Albert - Velvet Morning (Aalto Remix)
7. Fictivision vs Phynn - Escape (Phynn Mix)
8. Perpetuous Dreamner - Future Funland (Astura Remix)
9. Active Sight - The Search for Freedom
10. Super 8 - Alba
11. Oceanlab - Satellite (Original Above & Beyond Remix)
12. Robert Nickson - Spiral
13. Armin van Buuren feat. Justine Suissa - Burned With Desire (Rising Star Remix)

Disc 2:

1. Perry O'Neil - Kubik
2. Valentino - Flying (Sultan & The Greek Remix)
3. Michael Burnes - The Ambience
4. Peter Martin presents Anthanasia - Perfect Wave
5. St. John vs. Locust - Mind Circles (Perry O'Neil Remix)
6. Remy & Roland Klinkenberg - Fearless
7. Solar Stone vs. Scott Bond - Naked Angel
8. M.I.K.E. presents Fascinated - Totally Fascinated
9. Mono - Rise
10. Envio - Time To Say Goodbye (Passiva Mix)
11. True Form - Forbidden Colors
12. Artic Quest - Offbeat
13. Terry Bones vs. Fred Baker present Water Planet - Introspection (John Askew Mix)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34823 in Music
• Released on: 2004-05-04
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

From Amazon.com
Back behind the decks after 2003's self-produced 76, Armin Van Buuren's 2-disc A State of Trance 2004 jumps back into giant thumps and epic dance textures. 76 had a relatively soft touch, in tune with the DJ's often-stated admiration for the music of Jean-Michel Jarre, but this mix is peak-heavy, designed to leave a dance floor light-headed and dreamy. Set loose with a crate full of wax once again, he lets the high end do the work, then judiciously drops massive beats to rattle your sub-woofers. Disc 1's "Signs From The Universe" uses the strategy especially well, with a swarming keyboard build that gets swallowed by a dark, rumbling rhythm. Van Buuren goes velvety smooth on disc 2, but doesn't forget the need for contrast; "Totally Fascinated" is darkly subterranean in parts, yet balanced by the song's sensual keyboard lift. While there's nothing groundbreaking here by any means, Van Buuren's approach makes for perfect sunny day music before nightfall brings out the heavier, more sinister spinners. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

A truly amazing trance compilation!
This is without a doubt one of my favorite trance CDs. I have
always liked Armin's mixes, and he really does a wonderful
coherent mix, especially in the first disc.

The mixing is simply superb! I always turn up the bass
on my music system a notch especially when "Under the Sun"
starts, the beginning of the song is just amazing. Of-course,
my favorite Oceanlab is there with Justine Suissa at the vocals.
Satellite is such a beautiful song, I just love it. I also
love Fictivision's Escape... which follows another of my
favorites, Velvet Morning.

This is truly a great trance album, I personally think Armin
deserves a pat on the back for his effort. I keep this CD right
next to my other 3 favorites, "A Trip in Trance", volumes 1-3.
Nicely done, Armin, can't wait for your next release!

The reason why Armin is my #1 DJ.
Armin van Buuren has lived in a very fast-paced ride to fame since his 1995 trance blueprint Blue Fear, which demonstrated a new direction in trance and even a broad effect on the entire electronic dance music genre. With this mix record, Armin takes tracks that have done the very same thing to EDM and presented them in a very coherent, smooth and very dance-able album. He re-exposes artists like Envio, Phynn, Oceanlab and M.I.K.E. in a way that makes them (and the tracks that Armin uses) completely fresh once again. Expert in track selection, mixing and presentation, this album is just a single piece of evidence in a long line of proof that Armin deserves his spot at the top.

Good, but Armin has so much more to offer.
This album is good, but I feel that Armin's radio mix on the "Essential Mix" is more representative of what he can do. If you get a chance to hear that, you will be amazed at how Armin can take some really hard-hitting tracks and still manage to keep the energy building.

This CD is still very, very good; and the reviewer who only gave this the one star is way out of order. Oceanlab is one of the weaker/fluffy tracks IMHO for what is otherwise a solid trance mix. You gotta listen to these albums many times before you really start to get into them. But when you do, you'll be hooked.