Tecno Fes, Vol. 2

by Jason Birchmeier Italian dance superstar Gigi d'Agostino didn't become famous in his home country for being innovative, something that becomes quite evident when you sit down and listen to Tecno Fes, Vol. 2 all the way through. After hearing a few of the songs on this album, you'll start to notice the reoccurring motifs. In particular, d'Agostino takes the synthesizer riffs and melodies of late-'90s trance and synthesizes them with the sort of singalong vocoder vocals that Daft Punk made internationally popular on songs like "Around the World" and "One More Time." This becomes most evident on a song like "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)," a remake of the 1985 new wave/Hi-NRG international hit by Dead or Alive. In terms of substance, d'Agostino's cover is a straightforward pop song with a big singalong hook; however, in terms of style, it's a flashy, glamorous trance song intended to sound great on gigantic danceclub sound systems. Another of the more overtly pop songs on this album is "La Passion," arguably the album's other highlight. Overall, this is great mass-market, entry-level dance music for those interested in Euro trance. Anyone who has been around the block, however, will probably find this to be too derivative and obvious.