Now if ‘Winter’ has you minded of an album that sits at the deeper, darker end of trance’s atmosphere, well, think again. In title as in tone, it categorically spans the spectrum, but on balance, is far more absorbed in spirited elevation than other ethers. For every track with a more peak-time conviction (‘In Madness’ by way of example) there’s two like ‘Winter Gates’ or the recently DJ Mag Money Shot-scooping ‘Golden Leaves’ who chart a melodic course. Likewise, piano-led poignancy like ‘November Rain’ always comes counterweighted by numbers like (lead single) ‘Shine’, ‘Colors’, ‘Ode To The Sun’ and others. As with his disc on last year’s’ Subculture’ compilation (and some might say a debut Cold Blue album in all but name), the release is created & served to flow like a DJ set. (Indeed digital formats include a continuous mix of the album). Notable only by their absence are co-writers & collaborators. All eleven of ‘Winter’s desk-fresh tracks have been produced exclusively and singlehandedly by Cold Blue. A conscious decision from its outset, it’s allowed him the tight reins needed to cast winter not in a new light, but, for him, in the right light.
