Addicted to music

André Tanneberger, better known to all as ATB, broke onto the scene 10 years ago with his single, simply titled 'Dance'. He has come a long way since then, and has just recently completed his third US tour. He is arguably widely recognised as a respected and established dance musician and music producer.

ATB has just won two awards at the 2003 DJ Meeting, namely: 'Best National Producer' and 'Best National DJ'.

About the title of his latest offering, 'Addicted to Music', the 30-year-old André reckons: "I am addicted to music. The album title was a deliberate choice. When I produce an album, the most important thing is diversity. An album should not be boring; you need to incorporate different music styles throughout the record. Quite often that’s not easy on a dance album…" He's just so brilliant at what he does!

And diverse this album is… The 13 tracks range from soulful, to gently uplifting, to trippy-trance, to melancholic, building up to one or two energy-fuelled numbers. Great diversity! It manages to take you quite far as well… Whether you like it or not, you will unconsciously find your head bobbing along to some of the beats, as I did. While to others one just simply seems to be enveloped in the vocals, while the rhythmic beats seem to flow over you. The tracks on the disk seem to be arranged in a way that alternates energetic, then passive, then catchy (yet it somehow flows harmoniously) — thus managing to avoid any feeling of monotony.

I think that what plays a large part in setting this particular album apart from the rest is Canadian vocalist Roberta Carter Harrison's emotional contribution. She has a really unusual strong, yet gentle, soulful voice, and oh, so full of emotion. Then in comes Tanneberger. It gives the disk and overall ‘feel’ it otherwise would not have had.

It's quite fast-paced right from the beginning and could be interpreted as quite 'trippy'... but in a harmonious way. I think ATB's collaboration with Harrison is great. It adds an even more enjoyable dimension to his music. It must be said — the man's got mixing skills!

This album is funky, dramatic (at times), trippy and hauntingly catchy. Just when you get caught up in it, his mixing skill comes and upliftingly whisks you away! I love it, I love it, I love it!!