Ayla (Ayla Remixes - Ayla)

Member Name: samredmore

Product:	Ayla Remixes - Ayla
Date:	26/07/01 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant track, Modern classic

Disadvantages: None

In October 1998, a trance track called "Ayla", by Ayla was released on Additive records. Written and produced by I. Kunzi, "Ayla" was a hugely successful underground tune, being played at clubs throughout Europe. In the summer of 1999, commercial success was achieved with remixes from the likes of Veracocha, DJ Tandu and DJ Taucher.

The 1999 remixes were released on 20th July, on one of the biggest dance record labels, Positiva. Positiva are responsible for classics such as Binary Finary - "1998" and Spiller - "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", but have also been known to bring out some incredibly poor tunes as well, for example, The Vengaboys selection of dairy products and numerous Alice Deejay 'tracks'. The Ayla remixes are Positiva's 117th release, which just goes to show how big a record label they are. At the time of writing this op, Positiva have 157 records in their back catalogue, with their latest offering being the new track from Spiller - "Cry Baby".

On the A-side of the 12" vinyl copy, are the remixes by Veracocha and DJ Tandu.
You may also know Veracocha as the DJs/Producers, Ferry Corsten (System F, Gouryella, Transa) and Vincent De Moor, who was responsible for one of last year's biggest tracks, "Fly Away". If you haven't heard of them, they are both big European trance DJs and well-respected producers.
If you've ever heard "Carte Blanche" by Veracocha, you'll be instantly familiar with the first mix on this side, which, funnily enough, is the Veracocha remix. This mix has a feel to it typical of European trance.
It is about 6 minutes long, which, for a trance record, is quite short, with many trance tracks exceeding ten minutes in length (usually they are more progressive than this one though).
It starts off with just beats and builds up with more cymbals being added as the track goes on, like most t
rance tracks really. A piano tune comes in pretty early, and a short breakdown follows soon after. The tune is the same as on the original "Ayla", and is quite uplifting. This tune carries on for a bit until the track reaches the main breakdown. This breakdown has just a few simple chords to begin with but then builds up with the piano coming back in and more and more being added to it. The track builds up when the beats come back in until everything is going, beats, tune, cymbals, all sound effects and so on. This tune then gradually breaks down to just beats at the end of the track.
A good thing about this mix and something I have noticed with most tracks by Ferry Corsten is the way they are quite easy to mix. Because this mix just has a strong beat at the start and end, it is quite easy to mix in and out of, as there is never too much going on. I find that if a track has lots of noises going from the start, it is difficult to mix in, as it is very noticeable when you bring it into a track. An example of a difficult track to mix due to it having too much going on at the start is "Strange World" by Push.
This mix is quite catchy, but I feel is a bit cheesy as well. If you've heard any of Ferry Corsten's work in the past and liked that, you'll probably like this mix as well, but I personally feel it is not the best of the three mixes.
I would give this mix 7/10.

The second mix on side A is the DJ Tandu mix. I had never heard of DJ Tandu before buying this record, and have not seen his name anywhere since. If anyone can give me some information on him, I'd be most grateful.
This mix is 6.5 minutes long, which, as I said earlier in this op, is quite short for a trance record.
It has a different feel to it to the Veracocha remix, with it being a little less cheesy. The track starts off with just beats, but is accompanied by what sounds like bongos and, unfortunately in my view, has a be
at that sounds similar to that of Storm's "Storm". This mix is a little less uplifting than the Veracocha remix, but still has the same tune. There is quite a short breakdown quite early on, after which the tune begins to come into the track. The main breakdown follows soon after and starts off very quiet, with the tune gradually getting louder and louder. The beats then come back in as the track reaches its peak. The tune breaks down a bit as the track reaches another breakdown, when the tune comes back in. This tune then continues to near the end of the track, when it returns to having just the same beats as at the start.
As with the Veracocha mix, this mix is not bad, but I don't think it's brilliant and wouldn't purchase the record for it.
I would give this mix 6/10.

Anybody who has read this far on this op must surely be close to falling asleep, so I decided to add in a small quiz to keep your mind occupied :

Q: There are three different mixes on this record; the Veracocha, DJ Tandu and DJ Taucher mixes. I have bought this record, but neither the Veracocha or DJ Tandu mixes were my favourite mix and wouldn't have warranted my purchase of it. Which mix do I consider to be the best mix and the reason I bought the record?

A: The DJ Taucher mix.

------------- End of questions --------------

That's right, situated on the AA side of this record is the little gem known as the DJ Taucher remix.
Again DJ Taucher is a DJ I have not heard of other than for this track, and so would be grateful for any information anyone could give me on him.
This mix is 7.5 minutes long, which is more the length you might expect from a trance track. This is a much more depressing mix than the other two mixes, but happens to be one of my favourite tracks of all time.
Right from start to end, it is a track oozing with quality. The track starts off with a crash of thunder (I thin
k) and the tune then starts playing. It is quite a depressing tune and loops four times before a beat comes in. This beat goes on for four blocks of 16 beats with more and more being added as it builds up. There is another crash of thunder before the bass line comes in. This carries on building, with a drum roll being added as it builds up to the breakdown, which starts with a big crash of thunder. There is then a vocal saying "Ayla" and a spine tingling tune comes in. As with the build up to the first breakdown, this tune continues building as the beat kicks back in with more and more being added each bar. The track then reaches the main breakdown, which is quite long. At this breakdown, the tune carries on for a while, breaking down bit by bit. The main tune, which is featured on the other mixes, then starts to come into the track, building up more and more as it goes on. A drum roll then starts as the track continues to build. This drum roll then gets quicker and quicker until everything cuts out for a moment before the beats, bass line, tune and all come in. This tune continues up to a mini breakdown, after the track gradually starts to break down, with the tune and the like being filtered out as the track reaches its end. The beats then stop, the vocal saying "Ayla" plays once more and the track ends with a final crash of thunder.
Whilst the track has no beats at the start, it is not too difficult to mix in as you simply skip the start and start mixing from when the beats come in. Also, at the end of the track, because the track breaks down gradually, it is quite easy to mix something in as one track will be building up whilst the other is breaking down.
The only complaints I can think of about this mix are:
1) It is very quick, thus meaning I have to play it at about -4% in order to mix it with other tracks. This is not good.
2) Whilst the A-side runs at 33 rpm, the AA-side runs at 45 rpm and, as I said in my &qu
ot;Bel Amour" op, this can be confusing for people as stupid as me.

Other than these slight complaints, there really is nothing bad I can say about this mix, which is already considered to be a classic by many people.
I would give this mix 10/10.

Thank you for taking the time to read my op.

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