Global Underground 004: Oslo (CD2)

Oslo is one of the more stylistically unruly early Global Underground releases, but CD2 is the half that sits most naturally inside The Mix Archive.

Bedrock’s “Forbidden Zone” opens the disc before Cruzeman, Atlantic Ocean and Taucher move it into firmer trance territory. Astral Projection and Eve take the closing stretch further towards Goa without completely losing the progressive pacing underneath.

Compared with the drum & bass-heavy opening stretch of CD1, the second disc gives a clearer picture of the direction Oakenfold was moving in during 1997: still eclectic, still willing to move between styles, but increasingly drawn towards the trance sound that would become central to his sets over the following years.