Track List
Disc 1
Tidal Wave
Love You More
Open End Resource
Hold On To You
In My Last Life
Immortal Lover
Your Eyes
End Of All Things
The first time I heard Andrew Bayer I was out for a long run. It was lashing it down with rain, it was cold and my legs felt like jelly. “Signs Of The Fall” crept onto the 2 hour mix I was listening to and that blend of vocals and pounding bass instantly gave me goosebumps and a second wind to keep going through those tough miles. Skip forward 12 months and now on his third solo album, Andrew Bayer’s In My Last Life is a stunningly produced, beautifully written album showcasing this trance DJ’s talent as a producer.
With sprinklings of electro, pop, trance and chillout, Andrew Bayer guides us through a musical journey of emotional highs and lows. The album opens with the serenading voice of Alison May who features heavily on the album. Slow-paced Tidal Wave paves the way for fellow female Ane Brun to showcase her vocal range, beginning with Love You More. From here, the two vocalists complement one another perfectly with 8 tightly composed Andrew Bayer productions.
The entire album is a great showcase of Andrew’s range as a producer and DJ. Personal highlights include Open End Resource and Immortal Lover although in truth, every song is so deliberately placed, so perfectly written it’s hard to pick out just one as the highlight. In its original format, Immortal Lover deserves some recognition though; an intricately written, progressively dark track complemented perfectly by the haunting vocals of Alison May. It’s such a chillingly written song about obsession, love and sacrifice that the euphoric remixes don’t quite capture the same beauty as the original.
Those more familiar with Andrew Bayer’s live sets may not take to his solo album quite so easily. Unlike his sets that include driving bass-lines, euphoric breakdowns and pounding progressive hits, In My Last Life is a much more intimate blend of genres, used to show off the technical prowess of Andrew Bayer’s production skills.
In My Last Life is a stunning achievement and a great showcase for Anjunabeats. The 8 tracks are perfectly written, exquisitely produced and manage to defy typical genre conventions. While the album is rooted in trance origins, it branches out throughout its 50+ minute run time, dipping into so many other styles. There’s elements of chillout, trip hop, electro and progressive house here, all blended together to form a uniquely impressive album. Although some may lament the lack of “pure” trance vibes, In My Last Life transcends beyond that. It’s simply a beautiful album, one that more people should be listening to.
-
- 9/10
9/10