Joni Ljungqvist is no stranger to Enhanced as he follows a string of superb remixes and originals on the label, and warms us up for his imminent return with Bakke under their Bakke & Joni guise; who were responsible for the huge 'Bali' release a couple of years ago.
Listening to this EP it is clear to hear how much Joni's production has come along; crisp, tight and packed full of the wonderful melodies and chords that has made him such a favourite of the trance scene and a staple in the musical diets of the likes of Armin van Buuren, Tiesto and Markus Schulz.
The title track, Lighthouses and Shorelines demonstrates what this young guy is all about; groovy melodic trance, but also sees him move towards a more uplifting take on his usual style. This is definitely a stand out track for any set, perfect to bridge the gap between progressive and uplifting trance and most importantly, set the dancefloor alight!
On the flip; although it can't really be called a b side, is the fantastic Linger; a track Will Holland used on his recent Digitally Enhanced Volume Two album. From the off the track rolls and rolls, it's just impossible to ignore the groove, and added to that is a classic Ljungqvist hypnotic lead that sucks you in for the full 7 minutes!
A stand out release from JPL!
Joni Ljungqvist from Sweden is a producer with quite an impressive discography. He had his big breakthrough in 2005 when his People I Used To Know was featured on Tiesto's In Search of Sunrise 4. This was not his last appearance on this famous compilation series as he had a track featured on #5 and #7 as well. Joni is no stranger to
Enhanced Recordings. He did a remix of Will Holland's Timeless and collaborated with Terje Bakke on the track Bali. The followup to Bali is also on its way. He is now debuting with a solo project on Enhanced and that would be under his
JPL guise. First track is the title of this ep, Lighthouses and Shorelines. The second track is Linger which featured on Digitally Enhanced Volume 2.
My ReviewThe A-side aka
Lighthouses & Shorelines reminds me of Joni's older LNQ productions. I simply love every single bit of this production. The unique kick resembles some of the punchiness that Airwave incorporates in his kick drums and it still has a more soft progressive oriented edge. The dreamy Joni pads, as we know them, are doing a fine job and the dreamy synths has that fantastic signature of his, without sounding used or already-tried-and-tested. The bpm-meter is only showing 130 and yet this is as uplifting as something running at 140. Uplifting, melodic, progressive, groovy and probably one of the best tunes I have heard this year.
Linger is a special track. Only Will Holland and Joni himself has played this before the release of the Digitally Enhanced Volume 2, where it was featured on. It is one of those tunes that sounds extremely simple but yet it holds some extraordinary qualities. It has a sweet groovy basslines, some crisp percussion and rolling melody backed up by some floaty pads.
VerdictThis is where I am supposed to both rate it and come up with some constructive feedback but honestly, I find that both productions are spot on. I really do not know if there is anything that should have been done differently. Both tunes are equally good and the release gets a
9/10. I will round things off by saying Joni Ljungqvist is back!!
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