Nyana

DJ Tiesto breaks out his sunniest wax for Nyana, a 2-CD romp through bright melodies and immense rhythms. Revered in the world’s dance clubs for his marathon live sets, Tiesto is noted as well for remixes of songs that brilliantly use ethereal female voices to achieve giant peaks of trance bliss, like Delerium’s "Silence" . He uses the trick here on disc 1 with Conjure One’s "Tears from the Moon" featuring Sinead O’Connor’s familiar whispering scream. It’s a highlight, along with Planisphere’s epic "Totem." Disc 2 eases back from the big highs and lows, but still offers happy thumps via tracks like "Remember (Summer Sun)" and a schizophrenic collaboration with Filterheadz on a remix of the Roc Project’s Never. While Tiesto may never be as good on a mix record as he is in a club, Nyana provides an ideal summer party starter, as well as an effective pick-me-up on grey weather days. --Matthew Cooke