Seven minor keys against three majors: that is the emotional split of 'Spirit Sounds of Trance Episode 159', and it says more about how the compilation feels than any genre tag. Daniel Preston's 'Sun' opens in F minor, a restrained entry at 128 BPM that Soundropper's 'Feel Again' immediately softens by turning into E-flat major. It is the first patch of light on a record that rations them: only 'Arpstorm' — the shortest cut at 3:13, Emmy Skyer's remix for Southside (AUS), in A major at 140 — and the closer return to that side of the spectrum.
The bulk of the landscape lives in minor territory and in the 138-140 band. A minor shows up twice, on JJ Garcia's 'Whispers' and on 'Beyond the Horizon' by Sky Sound and Noisestalgia, which at 8:27 is the longest track and the one that takes the most room to unfold its melancholy. Between them, A-flat minor (SouthDreamer's 'Golden Summer'), D minor (Skilsara's remix of Misha Vorobjev's 'Magic Carpet') and B minor (Dj Xboy's 'Mono No Aware') keep darkening the record's midsection without touching the tempo.
A familiar voice in E minor
'Freedom' pairs Henrik Nilsson with Jan Johnston, and here the tonal map gains historical weight: the English singer is the voice of BT's 'Remember', recorded for Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto label and co-wrote songs on 'Reflections', Paul van Dyk's Grammy-nominated album. Her E minor at 140 BPM works as the emotional climax of the upper stretch.
Then comes the exit: POINoir's 'Nefertari', in its Intro Mix, drops to 115 BPM and resolves into B-flat major. After seven tracks chained between 138 and 140, that 25-beat descent with a turn to the major mode reads like dawn after the night: the episode does not end on a peak, it dissolves. Few trance compilations allow themselves to close by surrendering tempo; this one turns that into its most expressive gesture.
Sources: Wikipedia
