As it so happens, Jochen's interpretation of India seems to take us to the tropical, southern coasts of India, where the opaque, dark green jungles meet a narrow band of beach before the vast Indian Ocean reaches the land. That is, as opposed to some bustling city center in India, I interpret the song as musing about a more mysterious and desolate landscape, brimming with untainted wildlife, clear water, and white sand peppered with driftwood. Or so the musical elements would say, if this were translated to our visual imaginations.

In terms of tech-trance, India is a far more melodic instance of this brand of trance music. It certainly breaks away from any potential accusations of appearing generic, mainly because the theme was so well structured by different elements that adhere to the song's name. Arguably, everything from the bongos, to the pads, to the eventual supersaw lead in the breakdown carry an exotic weight to them without seeming too cliché in the references to the geography. The main melody has a very techy arrangement, but never seems to catch on as seeming too anthemic. My take: people looking for a hard-edge epic anthem may be slightly disappointed, though melodic trance fans will certainly appreciate the great attention to details. After all, good music is good music, so whatever one calls it, India is above-the-fray material.

The Miller Dub of India sounds just as the name suggests. The melody, like vocals, is essentially dubbed out, which means it teases you almost the entire time. Versus the original version, this gives the impression of the song tending to sound more erratic and less free-flowing. But because I give preference to the original, I emphasize that version more in the review.

NOTES: "Jochen Miller" is the alias used by Dutch music producer Jochen van der Steijn.