[iVibes Review] CBM & Johnny Zana – Exakto

It’s another monster of a tune from the Pharmacy music label this week as Cowboy Mike teams up with Johnny Zana for a full on progressive trance explosion with some real bite to it…

There are some exciting sounds coming out of the Pharmacy Music label at the moment with last week label boss Christopher Lawrence opening the 2014 release account with the superb ‘The Dark’. They are back again this week with another beauty in the form of label regular Cowboy mike teaming with relative new boy Johnny Zana for the progressively pounding ‘Exakto’. For those of you new to Johnny Zana, I included, he’s been brought up in San Diego and started with the music back in 1989. He’s been into house but more recently started to flex his trance side a bit more and over the past few years has played alongside Gareth Emery, Tom Colontonio, Above & Beyond and Richard Durrand. ‘CMB’ is an alias Cowboy Mike now uses for his trance productions and you may remember him from his ‘No Way Back’ track on the label in 2011.

The recipe for this collaboration between Johnny and the Cowboy is quite a simple one; inject a pounding beat with some killer bass lines and a hook that will more than grab your attention. It’s a track that builds up the tempo with a ripping bass line and a rock style riff feeding from it. The real hook comes from a sweet little break after you’ve been teased with a little of the main riff. It’s inviting, uplifting but really hard edged when it kicks in with the rest of the track. This one really did grab me and on the whole is exceeding well produced. This is big room, tough and gritty rock edge trance with that touch of uplift.

There is a remix to check out with this release to and I’ts from another label regular in the form of Victor Dinaire. He puts a real kick into his remix, which you will hear with the sharp snap he’s put on the kick drum. The atmosphere has changed for this with a less progressive feel to the build up and more a start stop rhythm, which still works very well. He’s really put big noises into the break beat on the breakdown and added a slight effect to the main riff to give it a different edge to the original. While I prefer the flow of the original this mix is pretty good and worth treating the ear drums to.

Conclusion:
Pharmacy are really treating us to some top notch trance and turning up the release schedule with this being its second of the year so far. There was a time where we only had one a month never mind two within fortnight. While the quantity has increased the quality hasn’t suffered, ‘Exakto’ is another fine example of that and a highlight to what great talent the label has on its books.

http://www.ivibes.nu/index.php?article=7721