Art of Trance

Tales of the Unexpected is a 26-track, two-disc club mix by the Art of Trance, also known as producer and label head Simon Berry. Largely comprised of all-new material specially commissioned for this set to celebrate his Platipus label's 12th anniversary, Tales of the Unexpected is billed as the beginning of a new chapter and artistic direction for the venerable electronic label. Indeed, the first disc is a pleasant and somewhat surprising change for the largely trance-oriented label; rather than the usual downtempo grooves and space rock explorations, the first disc is a propulsive, danceable club-style DJ set that pumps along at a mellow midtempo for 76 minutes, centered around a brilliant, nearly psychedelic nine-minute restructuring of Terry Grant's "I'll Kill You" by Luke Chable, which sounds like a mythical collaboration between New York house legend Todd Terry and digital dub wizard the Mad Professor, all hypnotic beats and heavily echoed, mind-bending effects. The second disc is somewhat closer to the usual Platipus Records sound, but the more propulsive beats remain at the fore. If this is indeed a new direction, it's a potentially fruitful one. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide