Music Review: Trance Trax Vol 3 [Hooj Choons]

Dance music aficionados will know Hooj Choons as the 90s label behind huge tunes (pun intended) like JX ‘Son of a Gun’ and Hyper Go Go ‘High’ In fact the label discography features countless classics which continue to this day. The term ‘trance’ has long been synonymous with Hooj Choons but we’re not talking about Gatecrasher era Judge Jules trance (not to say that’s a bad thing), rather a more refined version of the somewhat fluid genre closer to the early 90s style (think Jam & Spoon, Cygnus X & Push).

This lengthy blurb is to set up this review for the latest mixed artist comp from Hooj Choons entitled ‘Trance Trax vol 3’ which- as mentioned above, refers to ‘trance’ in the broadest sense, not just ‘bangers.’ There is no shortage of high energy tunes on here, just a different kind, not so abrasive. Jaydee of ‘Plastic Dreams’ fame pops up with a dark, moody number that fizzles with late night energy, Ben Gomori takes on the prog house classic ‘Love Stimulation’ by HEO, injecting a fresh dose of liveliness into those sparkling keys and  Fort Romeau closes the compilation with a deep but vibrant take on Pete Lazonby’s ‘Sacred Cycles.’

It’s worth noting that the folks at Juno Download place this album in the Techno category, again, another incredibly fluid genre. You don’t have to like Trance, Techno or Prog House to appreciate what a great album this is, just listen, forget the tags and categories, and enjoy https://www.junodownload.com/products/trance-trax-vol-3/6088175-02/