The album title may be very fitting given the duo of Aly & Fila's birthplace and this may be one artist album that could get overlooked this summer. Not so on i:Vibes because we've heard it and its bloody good...

With the generous serving of trance albums due for touchdown this summer Aly & Fila’s debut collection may be one that gets overlooked. Having had a taste of the fresh LP, from the duo that brought you vocal gems like their remixed version of FKN’s ‘Why’ featuring Jahala and the same vocalist for their collaboration with FKN called ‘How Long’, the sounds are increasingly promising. The guys are from Egypt, not a place you would pin point to have a bubbling trance scene but these guys are two of the finest exports of it. No doubt over how well their past material got received as it has been championed by the finest electronic talents within trance and electronica. I would say in my view, ‘Why’ was the record that got me looking into Aly & Fila a bit deeper and wanting to hear more. Their first release though, came back on Euphoric in 2003 with ‘Eye of Horus’, a track you may need to remind yourself as it worth dusting off the sleeve for. Things for the pair only really took off in 2007 with releases like ‘A Dream of Peace’ and in 2008 with ‘Lost language’. Their debut album then may be a little overdue but it’s worth the wait and is all new material with only ‘Khepera’ being featured that has been released already.

RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!

TRACKLIST

1. Medellin (vs. Activa)
2. Crowe It Will Be Ok (feat. Katherine)
3. My Mind Is With You (feat. Denise Rivera)
4. Rosaires
5. Listening (feat. Josie)
6. Menes
7. Still (feat. Sue McLaren)
8. Perfect Red (vs. Bjorn Akesson)
9. I Can Hear You (feat. Sue McLaren)
10. Without You (The Never Knowing) (vs. Philippe El Sisi feat. Senadee)
11. Paradise (feat. Tiff Lacey)
12. Khepera
13. Sandgroper
14. Breeze (feat. Jass)
15. Rising Sun

If you have yet to hear a Aly & Fila track and like trance music then this album is the perfect place to start. It’s one that’s full of different influences, some you might know, others appear a little more subtle, but both which have resulted in an album that deserves every praise given to it. Let me just start with the opening track ‘Medellin’, which collaborates with UK trance star ‘Activa’ who has got an artist album under his belt to. The track has a bit of each others style but for me reminds me of early Paul van Dyk productions with the lush chords and bubbling rolling melodies dipped in behind it. The cynical may say it has been ripped off, fair point maybe, but it’s just taken a formula that works and added a new touch to it. The track does set a bright mood for the album, which on a whole switches across a few moods as it’s got plenty of variety the whole way through. It’s all trance though, nothing out of style to raise an eyebrow up here.

The vocal influence within the album is very strong. Katherine Crowe puts the vocal magic to ‘It Will Be Ok’, a delightfully soft touched trancer that whispers in the melodies and uses a filter to drop the tone changes in. It’s a different feeling to the second vocal offering from Denise Rivera on ‘My Mind Is With You’ which takes the energy level up a few notches with the intro bass line riff then sweeps back into delicate chords and sweeping atmospherics using the vocal as the hook. My favourite vocal anthem on the album goes to Rosie’s emotional uplifting chords on ‘Listening’ which is driven by a striking guitar chord that starts the track, and then remains through its entirety to great effect. The way the sound layers up onto of that building, chord changing riff is very sweet to the ear. The vocal just drives the emotional feel through the track and I’m not surprised this has just been the first single taken since the album’s release. The vocal offerings are not done with those, we have two vocal collaborations featuring Sue McLaren on the smooth chilled ballad ‘Still’, which throws in a nice relaxing moment early in the album to, then contrasting over to ‘I Can Hear You’. The track is full of punch from the word go, heavy and impacting beat, good snap on the kick and a double vocal feel with the main lyrics spread over the top of a harmonic vocal sweep behind it. A great effect, enhanced even more when the vocal breaks into a sweep of its own. The breakdown uses that vocal drive and drops in a nicely worked string, built up rolling beat and drops a very melody that zips over the surface. The final two vocal offerings come from the familiar name of Tiff Lacey, who provides the perfect vocal chord to go with the chilled out piano key softly keyed through this chilled number they call ‘Paradise’. ‘Breeze’ starts off as its going to be another chilled affair using Jess as the vocal drive but following a short sweeping intro the synth’s start to circle and beat starts to pump up unloading a bursting uplifting string and backing chord. It does as the name suggest, picks up the breeze from the gentle gust and throws it up into gale!

Half vocal, half instrumental then ‘Rising Sun’ is. The title track of which is a real cracker. The main hook for it gets delivered early into the production and surrounds what is a very atmospheric and cinematic breakdown uses an epic string that’s bound to ruffle the feathers a little. A track in here that will have already done so and even more to is ’Khepera’. The way it builds up, the feel you get from the way the track bubbles up and lets fly with drum rolls fill the audio senses with delight. Weather it be the string that leads the track or the backing pads that fizz from tone to tone the whole percussion, beats and everything in-between here just feel right. The main melody is what will grab your attention, with a mixture of an oriental guitar string and uplifting sythn sounds doing the business. It’s a superb piece of uplifting, energetic trance that may not be new, but one that the guys did no wrong by including in on their debut album. ‘Menes’ provides another highlight within this outstanding album with its builds and breakdown. Very powerful and driving the whole way through it packs in energy by the bucket load and fires you a shot direct to the eardrum. There are lighter moments on the instrumental side with the soothing chord changes in Rosaires. Contrast that to the ruff and rugged sound the guys feed into ‘Sandgroper’ but even with its ruff rippling riff tearing through the track the beats remain on a par. Strinking the uploading note is the collaboration with Bjorn Akesson, who you may remember from the hugely powerful ‘Flavour Park’. ‘Perfect Red’ is a little bit of that uplifting recipe fed in with a blended piano over the top and atmospheric breakdowns. The blend between the two is just right though. Now, for the final track I’ve left out until the end ‘Without You’, which collaborates with Philippe El Sisi and briefly features Senadee, is the one track that does have some added influence to it. Although at this moment I can’t quite put my ear on it, the uplifting melody they have burst into this track is for sure nicked from another well known (well known I’m sure, just temporarily forgotten) forgotten trance record. Goes with the name really, without that they would have never created Without You.

Conclusion:
Quite a debut artist album this one and one which we are sure to see quite a few singles taken from it. That’s a good thing as the short cuts in here will leave you itching for more. We can only await the remixes to be born from the originals but before they arrive, just enjoy those originals as they are quite superb!