Buenos Aires

With the Global Underground series, one never quite knows what to expect from each succeeding release. Each volume features a certain degree of trance motifs and usually an even greater degree of progressive house sounds with the occasional inclusion of other musical styles. Dave Seaman's Global Underground: Buenos Aires contribution stands alongside the best volumes in this lengthy series of double CDs that delicately handle the balance between the emotive extremities of trance and the propulsive energy of progressive house. Like a great DJ should, Seaman keeps the beats pumping while carefully tweaking the mood and tempo of his set, producing small peaks at just the right moments without getting too carried away with excessive intensity. His resulting mix moves across different planes of sound, starting sublime, climbing slowly, reaching a number of near climaxes, and ultimately reaching a moment of aural elation before posthumously taking a few minutes to come down. Does this formula sound familiar? Sure, it's the makings of a great progressive house/trance set, and Seaman gets it right for the most part. There are some moments near the end of each set when his track selection becomes a bit questionable, but even these moments when one wonders whether the superstar DJ has gone too far or not far enough that his true brilliance shines; nothing is predictable or generic. Opening up the first disc with Francois Kevorkian's remix of Underworld's "Jumbo" and Timo Maas and Ian Wilkie's "Twin Town" is an absolutely brilliant choice by Seaman, instantly establishing a lush mood from which he can only build. Once it all ends, one cannot find many weak moments in Seaman's set. The earth-shattering climax during "Nipple Fish" may be a bit too much for it's own good, and Seaman could possibly end each set with a climatic moment rather than use the final track for a somewhat anti-climatic moment of ease, but relative to any other DJ-mix album on the market, very few compare to the beginning to end consistency of his set. ~ Jason Birchmeier|