DJ Tiësto – Magik Five: Heaven Beyond

Fiji into Cryptomnesia is something no one would do on a studio mix, he's mixing it as in a liveset bringing the beat from Cryptomnesia slightly back in. You can hear the absolute joy in that transition of making the CD.

What more to say. Peak Tiësto collections which make you dream away. captainsteve summarized it perfectly here below. This series gets better with the years as fast consuming trance and edm house gets only released.

Magik 5 heralds another step in the evolution of the Magik series (and arguably trance in general) with an updated sound that tends much more towards stadium trance. That being said it is a hugely enjoyable mix and this is in my top 3 Magik mixes of the series (close competitor with Magik 3 & 1).

Tiesto kicks off with the anthemic Eternity produced with AvB under their Alibi alias that oozes with stadium dutch trance sound and very much updates the tone from balearic trance of the last two editions in the series. In an energetic opening it moves into this editions Allure release (and it seems the Magik series is just a vehicle for this alias sometimes) but the eternal No More Tears cannot be justifiably attacked, excellent slice of trance. Keeping some of the tribal beat going is Tiesto with in his Kamaya Painters suit with Benno de Goeji with the lesser known Cryptomnesia which is a lovely brooding synth number before the brooding, hugely popular Fiji gets a rinse. Twilight up next with a lesser known gem that adds to the spiralling tribal synth theme which mixes into a lovely piece of trance with all the hallmarks of a 90s classic which transitions from the tribal themes into anthem territory. We are then treated to Fire & Ice, Yahel and Airwave in rapid succession, but with good mixing and careful track selection it doesn't sound gratuitous and instead powerfully carries the middle of the mix. After the dizzying heights of the stunning Alone In The Dark, we move into an offering from Chant with DJ Sakin on the knobs with a lange-esque mix that keeps up the energy, before an abrupt transition into Deniro, a Chris Cowie (X-Cabs) alias, which sounds exactly like a Chris Cowie track, brooding, deep and powerful. Tiesto dips back into tribal-laden tech-trance with DJ Merlyn and Mario Piu, before the crescendo ending that surely needs no introduction: Oliver Lieb, Transa and Airwave. Balls-to-the-wall stuff that smashes the ending out the park.

I would say this is the tribal sibling to the balearic Magik 3 and the progressive Magik 1. Hugely enjoyable, some absolute bangers coupled with some deeper cuts. Tribal beats haven't aged perhaps as well as balearic, but this is a landmark mix in the history of trance music and not to be missed. 5/5.

Top tracks:

Airwave - Alone In The Dark
Allure - We Ran At Dawn
Transa - Supernova

IMO, the best of the Magik CDs. I know Six: Amsterdam is the popular choice but nothing beats the story that's being told on this disc. He's constantly switching up the sounds and it's flat-out unpredictable. Yet everything transitions nicely. If the remix of "Sweet Images" doesn't move you in some way, you don't have a soul! Trance at its best.

This CD must be one of the most underestimated mix-CDs ever released. The tracklist is excellent with killers like 'Airwave', 'Cryptomnesia', 'Eternity' and 'Alone in the Dark'. As being released in the beginning of 2000, it was overshadowed by the releases of 'Magik Six: Live in Amsterdam' and 'In Search of Sunrise 2', two of the greatest CD's ever relased.

Yet, as mentioned in the beginning, the tracklist - also the mixing - is perfect; simply Tiësto at his best.