Emma Hewitt - Colours

This release includes a few mixes including a rather outstanding production in the "Album Version" with great vocals and a sombre feel. However I will not review this, the "Strings & Vocals Mix" or the "Armin Van Buuren Radio Edit", lets get stuck into the serious stuff :)

Top Track
Armin Van Buuren Remix - Score 9/10
Armin Van Buuren Remix Dub - Score 8/10
This mix starts off with a solid beat and bassline before some gritty percussion gets introduced and a chopped vocal line bring real groove. From here the track builds in a restrained way and gently leads you to the europhic break featuring a really clear beautiful vocal section surrounding in choirs, guitars and magic!! When you have a quality vocal to work with then it is important that you let it do the work and Armin has really nailed this and continues to prove why he is at the top of the game with an epic build up from the breakdown and drops the beat to create the kind of dancefloor moment that people go clubbing for. The track is well tempered and keeps the sombre tone of the original, something that makes it a perfect match for the vocal.

The Dub is almost identical to the Remix with the main vocal being absent and some extra rhythmical vocal tones through the breakdown... I feel it is just a little flat with the vocal as the vocal added an extra dimension to the track. Still a great production though and can easily stand on it's own.

Jerome Isma-Ae Remix - Score 7/10
Jerome Isma-Ae Dub Mix - Score 5/10
Right from the outset the bass grabs your attention and the subtle fx groove is perfectly set up for the dirty electro percussion to provide a gentle lift just before the vocal comes and smacks you across the face!! Starting with a huge intro like this is brave, but as it grows and grows it snaps into a deep grinding affair, almost minimal in approach.... but this has attitude. The breakdown crashes into before you are subjected to an almost psychedelic experience with sounds swirling around as the bassline line ebbs and the dirty gritty synths build the tension again... and snap you are back to that deep groove again. A deep affair with some nice highlights.

Like with the Armin Van Buuren remixes the dub mix is almost 100% identical, except in this case the track becomes so minimal that I feel it is a bit harder to like.

As a full package this is a good release and it is nice to hear some fresh vocals that impress enough to make me want to hear more from Emma Hewitt.