If you've been anywhere near a nightclub in the last few months ( yes, the parking lot counts ) , then you've certainly heard the electronic instrumental dance cut "Sandstorm." Insistent and persistent, you can almost feel the wind whipping up the sand and the grains blowing across your face for almost four minutes. An extended mix of "Sandstorm" ( the JS16 Remix ) will have you running for cover on the dance floor. Darude ( also known as Ville Virtanen from Finland ) , the man responsible for that club classic, has more where that came from as you can hear on this full-length disc. Blending elements of house, trance, and happy hardcore on Before The Storm ( Neo/Groovilicious ) , Darude takes high energy dance music higher and higher on tracks such as "Feel The Beat" ( in both regular and remixed versions ) , "Let The Music Take Control," and "Drums Of New York," and crosses the "Finnish" line ahead of the pack.

Itaal Shur is a busy man. The Grammy-winning songwriter ( co-wrote Santana's "Supernatural" ) , performer and producer has been a force in the dance music world for a number of years. Milk and Honey: 10 Hits To Bliss ( Wave ) , the long-awaited follow-up to his 1998 Big Muff disc finds Shur mining the same grooves over the course of the ten songs he wrote ( or co-wrote ) for this disc. Unfortunately, nothing really stands out as memorable here. DJ booth are overflowing with similar sounding tunes, and Shuur needs to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Perhaps the forthcoming remixes, by Francois K among others, will do the trick and achieve "bliss" or "hit" status.