DJ Choose - Saw Sessions Vol 1

2009 has been another busy year for Copenhagen-based producer Lasse Steen Hessel, better known by hard trance fans as DJ Choose, with a string of hard, techno-infused trance releases and remixes. The first installment of the Saw Sessions is a four track EP which sees Choose again focusing on the sounds for which he’s become renowned.
 
The first track Saw Blade wastes no time in getting going courtesy of a chugging kick, lots of hissing percs and dark effects setting the tone. A brief electro melody heralds the arrival of the chunky bass, while the briefest of vocal samples on repeat adds to the atmosphere. A raw electro melody with lots of reverb gradually takes centre stage, when at the main break he unleashes wave after wave of warm melodic synths, with the powerful electro melody quickly coming back in, keeping the tempo up before a meaty saw-blade like hook then cuts into it, wreaking a path of havoc. 
 
The original mix of Saw Dust again has a crisp, pounding kick but there’s fewer effects with more emphasis on the driving bassline and surging electro melody. The uplifting side emerges much earlier than the A-side, suggesting Choose is heading into trancier territory. This is confirmed in the mid-section with the huge break, using atmospheric pads front and centre, with the waspish electro riff coming in over the top. The reemergence of the kick re-injects the hard edge.
 
The PHATT remix of Saw Dust uses a filthy electro-plated hook and more organic kick to give a more filtered feel. The bassline is nicely tweaked with a harsh 303 feel to it, but retains much of the original melody. After the break the wave of synths has that classic hands in the air hard trance feel to it.
 
Hot on the heels of his own vocal anthem Time (vocal trance tune of the year), Armada’s man of the moment Irishman (John) Paul Webster delivers a belter of a remix. Using a banging kick and dark elements, he adds a low, wobbling techno edge that transforms into a dirty, belching bassline that’d wake the dead! The melodic bits are held in reserve much longer than the original, and he takes no prisoner slamming in the monster electro riffs and dark techno kick.