Artist: Delerium
Title: Truly
Label: Nettwerk Productions
By: Alexander Wolf | 19 February 2004
Tracklist:

• Infusion Mix
• Signum Mix
• Wise Buddah Club Mix
• Brother Brown Mix

Delerium "Truly"

Delerium’s next major single issued from their Chimera album is seeing release in the form of Truly. The support for the track has been widespread, as the varied selection of mixes span several styles and caters to multiple tastes. With its appealing lyrics and vocal contribution from Nerina Pallot, Truly looks to match the success of Derlerium’s popular After All, from the summer of 2003.

By far the remix with the most awareness is the Signum Club Mix. It has been garnering buzz since the early fall-season of 2003. Ronald Hagen & Pascal Minnaard, collectively Signum, produce a storming trance mix that has justly caught the attention of major dj’s such as Armin van Buuren on his A State of Trance brodcast. The Signum Club Mix is a triumph in that it effortlessly marries the vocal with the classic Signum sound. That is, a throbbing, pounding synths with energy and kick to spare. The vocal is integrated flawlessly, and comes off as being both powerful and urgent.

The remix from Infusion is additionally of a high quality. In what could be described as characteristic Infusion styling, especially for its bassline, the remix is fresh-sounding and progressive. There are many swirling tech effects and vocal loop distortions set in place, which create a funky house sound for the track. Still, as good as the production itself is, the instrumentation does not flow terribly well when joined with the vocal. It would be less of an issue if the vocal was scaled back, but instead it is present throughout much of the lengthy nine and a half minute running time.

The Wise Buddah Club Mix is easily the least interesting track of the single. The production is by the numbers and is not inventive. Some listeners, however, may enjoy this mix on the basis that it remains the most faithful to the original Delerium production. The Wise Buddah Radio Mix fares better, as it is more compact and will function well for mainstream radio. It is non-threateningly satisfactory, as it stays eerily similar to the original album version. The major fault in the Wise Buddah mixes is that they are so typical that they fail to evoke anything in the listener. The vocal still sounds emotional, but the instrumentation backing it fails to deliever.

Brother Brown offer up deep, darker mixes. The Dub is stronger of the two mixes from Brother Brown, as it allows for the slick composition to shine through. Of all the tracks on the Truly single release, these are the most relaxed and restrained. They have a haunting quality about them, and with the sparingly used vocal treatment it comes together fittingly. Although unassuming, the Brother Brown offerings will likely grow on you over time.

On the merit of renditions from two sizzling acts, in Signum and Infusion, Delerium’s Truly should find success in its maxi-cd single release. With its expansive tracklisting, there is simply something worthwhile for almost any fan of electronic music. As the lyric goes, “Any witness to the world will tell.”