Well, how to start this one? I got this CD, went home and my girlfriend asked: A new DVD? No! Oh please not a new PC Game?!? No! It's a new trance CD! But with unusual and interesting content, artwork and format.

It comes with a beautiful calendar with artwork from German artist Tina Zimmermann for the first half of the year and for the second half designed by Android from Australia, Global Eyes' home base. Tina is well known for her kind of dark but still inviting artwork in contrast to Android whose is from the flashy and colourful kind - nice one!

It also features four postcards, in different combination for each CD, made by artists from all over the globe. In my box including artwork by Sioux Dollman, Gerhard Hillman (both Australia), Alex MC & Sasha Koritov (both Russia).
The heart of this box is definitely the Global Eyes handbook/directory. One can start reading it from both sides. The handbook gives tons of information about the musicians on the CD with useful articles about their career and style. Interviews and features of the visual artists that contributed their work for this project are presented as well as reports of world's biggest Trance Fests such as VooV Experience (Germany), Boom Festival (Portugal) and Solstice (Japan). Articles about philosophy, the roots of Dub music, body piercing, etc. show that there is more than trance music and try to dig deeper into the movement.
The directory is like a "Yellow Pages" guide book for electronic music. One can find contact addresses of nearly all important labels, distributors, radio shows, shops and media contacts worldwide, that have something to do with electronic music in general. Very informative for those working in the bizz but also for travellers doing the whole planet each year.



The CD is pretty modern. It varies from trippy ambient grooves and downtempo breaks to technoid and progressive trance and house. Even some faster and dirty electro beats get their place. If you search for any "classic" psy trance stuff, maybe it will leave you a little bit disappointed. It's more like an overview of all new styles created in past few years.
All things considered this maybe the kind of idea needed in the music industry because it makes no sense just to burn the CD - the other elements are equally important.



copyright: liese &