Artist: James Holden
Title: Balance 005
Label: EQ Grey
By: Chloe Harris | 29 September 2003
Tracklist:

• Disk 1
• Disk 2

1. The MFA - The Difference It Makes (Original Mix)
2. Meta.83 - Metalgroove EP: Antrieb
3. Jake Fairley - Oshawa
4. Zeta Reticula - Tool 1
5. Petter - All Together
6. Baby Ford & The Ifach Collective - Bad Friday
7. Zeta Reticula - Tool 3
8. Avus - Real
9. DJ ESP - No Future EP: No Future (Soundburnt Mix)
10. Jase From Outta Space feat. Claire - Do What You Want (Infusion’s Sky Mix)
11. Nathan Fake - Outhouse (Fluffy Mix]
12. Nathan Fake - Outhouse (Original Mix)
13. FortDax - Fortune Telling Fish, Curled to Suggest Home
14. PQM - You Are Sleeping (PQM Meets Luke Chable Vocal Pass)
15. Petter - These Days (Instrumental) **
16. Herrmann & Kleine - Leaving You Behind (Without Knowing Where To Go)
    **Includes Beats of Baby Ford & The Ifach Collective - Bad Friday

1. Meek - Happy (Original Mix)
2. Meerkat - Colours (JH Re-Edit)
3. Avus - Your Body (Original Mix)
4. Scape One - PFX Tokyo
5. FC Kahuna - Hayling (Kosmas Epsilon mix)
6. Holden - The Wheel (Pass 1)
7. Kotai + Mo - Black Acid Pt 1
8. Epsilon 9 - Lifeformation (Infirnal Machine Mix)
9. Carl A. Finlow - Ghetto Server
10. Gill Norris - Forme
11. Ficta - Eli
12. Petter - Tone Diary
13. Form & Function - Wonderland (Original Mix)
14. Meta.83 - Metalgroove EP: End Titles

James Holden "Balance 005"

James Holden is a name that has stood out in the progressive community for many years. His timeless productions and remixes have been widely accepted and pushed by the heavyweights to the listeners alike. He has created his own sound of melodic and driving beats, dubbed sounds and hypnotic grooves. His DJ sets range from the heaviest techno to the deepest trance and also the mellowest atmospheres of watery ambience. James Holden is an individual leading a new generation of sound. Balance 005 presented by EQ, and mixed and compiled by James Holden is a step in a new direction and a new sound.

The MFA opens the journey with 'The Difference It Makes'. Backward sounds and a nice groove move in time to the chirping flutter of cut up twisted vocals, whilst a funky bassline kicks into Metas 83’s 'Metalgroove'. Watery effects, and bouncy sounds fall into a beautiful synth by Jake Fairy as 'Oshawa' slowly breathes while filters warp the sound into a thick thumping of electro and elastic clips, courtesy of Zeta Reticula’s 'Tool 1'. Placed perfectly to break it down, this track leads into the kick of Petter's 'All Together' in one mesmerizing orchestral fury of sound. A computer voice rhymes in as the swirling symphony slows down, dirty acid funk falling victim to layers of a reverbed bed made byBaby Ford & The Ifach Collective. 'Bad Friday' is a short dark bubbly dream that creeps up on 'Tool 3' by Zeta Reticula; another short clip of quirky sounds that float straight into the low electro house of Avus, who's track 'Real' adds depth to the mix. Synths rise in, techno drums taking us through a glimpse of DJ ESP's 'No Future', a gritty piece of music that lends itself well to the menace being created. Acid lines and a smooth yet angst edged vocal provided Claire Skies, mixed in with Jase From Outta Space's progressive funk lightens the mood and soothes the edges as Infusion’s remix of 'Do What You Want' takes this into the sky and drops us the new track from newcomer Nathan Fake. Nathan's dreamy but dreary harmonies slow down into the mellow 'Fluffy Mix' of 'Outhouse'.

A rumbling kick from the 'Original Mix' punches in. A bassline so heavy it’s meant to tear clubs up. Strings loom in, and change ever so slightly tickling and teasing the beats. A slow drop off into 'Fortune Telling Fish', an ambient escape of delayed vocals and flickering sounds by Fort Dax carries us to 'You Are Sleeping' by PQM kicks in with a loud roar, bursting as Luke Chable's added bass takes the track to another dimension. Samples and effects, liquid bass, and trippy melodies rip into the broken synths of Petter once again. A song with experimental imagery and warm beauty, 'These Days' floats on top of Baby Ford’s beats. Hermann & Kleine’s scratchy break beats and carnival sounds wind down, as 'Leaving You Behind' leads to the delicate, but dramatic ending of the first disc.

A sinister electro bassline rips into disc two. Meek starts us out with a new spin on an older techno sound. A woman’s seductive vocal moves though 'Happy'. Rippling drops of 'Colours' by Meerkat collapse from the beats, and fade away into the latin spaced funky dip of 'Your Body' by Avus, sliding into Scape One's 'PFX Tokyo' which washes over, covering the previous track, before floating straight into a driving remix of FC Kahuna's 'Hayling'. Kosmas Epsilon's mix has a distinct build up, with delays, effects and sweeping guitar licks. Lowering into another acid fury, techno bleeps, and crazed drums wind us into 'The Wheel'. Holden creates a new sound, layered with Kotai & Mo’s lush pad washes. 'Black Acid' is fused with 'Liformation' by Epsilon 9 and takes off into a spiraling trancy synth line. The bass consumes the music, and takes us deep into the bleepy computer sounds of Carl A. Finlow's 'Ghetto Server', which is one nasty slice of electro.

Sharp synths, and tight dark stabs delve deep down, are fall into the cloudy synths crafted by Gill Norris. 'Forme' has a plucked raindrop sound, with peaceful tones, and lucid effects. The soundtrack to an imaginary place that leads into a darker, more techno influenced place. A darkness where Ficta's 'Eli' inhabits, it's huge rush of rich bass, a lush sweeping pad and sprinkled noise, topples over house beats in remarkable fashion. This soon fades out, as a guitar sound starts to fall in, and 'Tone Diary' by Petter breaks in. Form & Function’s blissful techno moves us toward the end, as 'Wonderland' is an uplifting slice of sound, with it’s many key changes and colorful transitions keeping the mood upbeat, leading into the melancholic 'End Titles', a dreamy backdrop to a starlit sky, and the fading tones of disc two.

James Holden is a new kind of musician. He’s a DJ, a producer, a composer and listener. This brilliant cd is a step in a new direction; an eclectic mix of different sounds, different genres and material by new talent. A blend of house and techno, electro and downtempo sounds, all wrapped up together in one melting pot by James. This is a stunning mix from a diverse musical mind, for a musical listener, and will not disappoint anytime you choose to listen to it.