Closing a record with an 'Intro Mix' is almost a structural joke: episode 158 of the Spirit Sounds Of Trance Recordings series ends where others would begin, and that circular gesture says a lot about how the full journey is built.
The way in is Martin Bakfly's 'Turbo', the shortest cut on the program: 4:20 at 138 BPM in A major, more launch ramp than anthem. The first jolt arrives immediately with The Hunter's 'The Second Blue', which jumps to 146 BPM and turns to F minor — an early warning that this episode has no intention of staying flat. Evil Shadow's 'Huaxia' answers by dropping back to 138, but takes 8:47 — the most generous runtime on the record — to unfold without hurry.
The middle stretch belongs to Masaru Hinaiji, the only name that appears twice. First with 'Memories', in A major, and three slots later with Elissandro's remix of 'Ours': eight and a half minutes that work as the emotional heart of the journey. It's no accident that the Japanese producer carries that weight: according to his profile at Abora Recordings, the Iwata-born artist studied piano for nine years and builds his trance from that foundation, with previous signings on labels like Pulsar Recordings. Right before the remix, 'Here' by Iberian and Eliara sets the speed ceiling of the whole episode: 147 BPM in B-flat major.
From there the record turns toward the light. Thrust n Haze's 'Ultrasonic' holds 140 before Andre Wildenhues' 'Breathing the Sun' opens the penultimate chapter: 8:44 at 138 BPM, the second-longest cut, pure unfolding. And then Betibwe's 'Tierra Del Sol' — a regular name in the label's catalog, per Beatport — closes in E minor as an Intro Mix, as if episode 158 weren't ending but leaving the door open for 159. In a series that already stacks tribute editions and themed episodes, that open ending is no oversight: it's consistency.
Sources: Beatport · Abora Recordings
