Home Reviews REVIEW: Chicane - Thousand Mile Stare out now on Armada Music
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REVIEW: Chicane - Thousand Mile Stare out now on Armada Music



Chicane is songwriter and producer Nick Bracegirdle from a small village in Buckinghamshire. Despite being responsible for some of clublands biggest anthems over the past decade Nick is not a DJ. His songwriting and production talents have been the reason why legendary artists like Bryan Adams, Sir Tom Jones, Cher, Owl City, have had their name coupled with his.

Chicane is a live band. Performing all over the globe, they bring what is a spectacular live show to the stage; anyone who has seen them will testify to the fun of hearing new and old material in a live format. 

Now Chicane present the brand new album Thousand Mile Stare that is  already performing amazingly well in the various download portals and album charts.


Nick Bracegirdle says about it ‘No matter what I do, what style or genre, it’s always going to have that Chicane sound’. 



                                              
Dimitri Kechagias review: One of the finest names in the Electronic Dance Music scene is of course Chicane and the superb mastermind of the band Nick Bracegirdle. Who doesn't remember unforgettable Balearic classics such as Offshore, Sunstroke, Autumn Tactics or the vocal trance anthems Don't Give UP and Saltwater. Personally whenever it happens to hear them in a club, daytime radio or in a shopping mall I always feel the same excitement about them and I can stop myself from closing my eyes, shutting out the real world  and start daydreaming of being in the seaside tasting the salty seawater. The news that Chicane are back with an album was one of the hottest topics in  many EDM social media spaces and now finally the album is out reaching the hearts and souls of many humans worldwide and I guess all the people will feel the same completion  and deep satisfaction that I felt when I finished listening this masterpiece. The release of the album   Thousand Mile Stare  on Armada Music in the Netherlands that is the Best Global Dance Label according to IDMA awards in Miami  is perfectly timed for the summer season that gets  closer. Chicane once again produced an album that will become the soundtrack of this and future summer  holidays with 12 EDM jewels that will find their goal straight away and that is to speak to our hearts and make us feel the warmth of being alive and life full and why not to inspire  us a bit  as well.  Lets take this journey track by track and note down the first thoughts for each of them.  The most inspiring way to start this sonic adventure is the fantastic  Hljóp that was  recorded partly in Iceland and features the Icelandic band, Vigri. Orchestral classical music theme and ethereal vocals along with great piano theme are the finest elements to create the finest emotional intro for the album. It actually make the statement from the start by reassuring the listener that Chicane are back with a "Chicanish"  sounding album.  The Nothing Song is warm progressive house meets trance track with bubbly beats, great progression of melodies, ethnic style vocals in its heartfelt breakdown and dreamy Balearic guitar and piano themes. Just try to set the alarm with this track and I'm sure that your morning wake up moments will get a totally different meaning.   Windbreaks is another cinematic ambient piece with classical music theme, choral opera like vocals and strong piano melody. Breaks style beats beneath them adds that sense of wind movement. The title track of the album Thousand Mile Stare is another very strong emotional track that starts with a sensual ambient intro and slowly the main synthy lead appears that brings to your  mind trance classics from the past. He uses a lovely laid back balearic prog trance beat that works really nicely with this synthy lead to carry you away in brand new mind pathways.  Chicane collaborate with the talented singer  Kate Walsh for the after the summer/late night lounge track Playing Fields. Her magical voice works so beautifully with the delicate sounds that Nick once again choose to use in order to create what is about to become a future Cafe del Mar style classic. For the majestic Sólarupprás collaborates once again with  Vigri from Iceland and the result is another exceptional moment for the album. It starts with an excellent ambient intro but soon it turns into a "Chicanish" danceable piece of prog trance with  house and electro elements. Chicane's single Going Deep is included in two different versions.  The Moogmonkey Rework Mix is an upfront epic prog house rework of it with great euphoric relentless played piano theme, driving basslines  and the big dramatic synths of the original  that will bring in your mind a hot night in Ibiza for sure. It resembles in many ways Offshore and is a version that many TV stations would love to use as soundbed in their shows. Can you remember the feelings you got and the relaxation you felt while you were staring at your Goldfish? Nick manage so beautifully to capture that moment in a dreamy ambient track with hair raising exotic vocals, piano, strings, harps and warm atmosphere. Flotsum & Jetsum is an upbeat moment of the album as it is an upfront progressive trance track that flows and floats so nicely with electro and housey touches as well. Great to warm up your audience with it and start your dj set in the finest possible way. Super Mouflon is a playful laidback electro house track that its stand out element is the very strong electronic synthy main lead melody and the  impressive ethnic sounding male vocal in its breakdown. The album includes the original mix of the hit single  Going Deep that Chicane deliver what someone can describe as a futuristic Ibiza club anthem that combines  epic prog house slamming beats with trance influences and ethereal chorus voices with surprising and contrasting in a way rap vocals. Going Deep is an ironic view on the glamorous and leaving in the fast lane Ibiza lifestyle.  As you can expect Nick finishes his Chicane album in the best possible way with the cinematic and very lyrical Fin de Jours. Thousand Mile Stare echoes previous works by Chicane and includes all the ingredients  that established Chicane as one of the most loveable EDM projects.  Of course the influences of current popular styles like electro house or prog house is evident but combined beautifully with those adored Chicanish sounds. Chicane music is here to give us the strength to put together the pieces of the puzzle of who we really are and look at ourselves without distortions. This album is a chance to reconnect us with emotions, feelings and remind us that music is once again the key to a better life. You will feel touched, moved, inspired, changed, and rejuvenated as well by these compositions of an album that sets to become one of the finest EDM albums of 2012.


                                                     


1.Chicane & Vigri - Hljóp (Original Mix) (05:12)
2.Chicane - The Nothing Song (Original Mix) (06:16)
3.Chicane - Windbreaks (Original Mix) (05:12)
4.Chicane - Thousand Mile Stare (Original Mix) (07:01)
5.Chicane feat. Kate Walsh - Playing Fields (Original Mix) (05:22)
6.Chicane & Vigri - Sólarupprás (Original Mix) (04:46)
7.Chicane - Going Deep (Moogmonkey Rework Mix) (07:35)
8.Chicane - Goldfish (Original Mix) (03:41)
9.Chicane - Flotsum & Jetsum (Original Mix) (06:38)
10.Chicane - Super Mouflon (Original Mix) (05:00)
11.Chicane - Going Deep (Original Mix) (07:12)
12.Chicane - Fin de Jours


You can Buy at Armada Shop & Beatport & itunes