George Acosta

Before it was supplanted by the asinine 93 Rock (WHDR-FM), Party 93.1 (WPYM-FM) was one of South Florida's most distinctive radio stations and one of only a handful of dance stations in the country. Like its successor, Party 93.1 was often criticized. Electronic music fans trashed it for pandering to its audience by playing too many bad dance remixes of bad pop songs. But it did have the foresight to invite a few expert DJs for weekly mix shows that featured authentic club-oriented tracks. One of them was veteran Miami producer and DJ George Acosta, who hosted The Lostworld.

Acosta's new mix CD for Ultra Records, The Lostworld, is dedicated to the two years he spent with the station. In its liner notes he reveals that the show's title was inspired by 9/11 and its aftermath, a poignant sentiment that says a lot about Acosta as a DJ. In short, he's unrepentantly dedicated to trance and all of its traditions, from the soaring voices that swoop over its sweetly melodic tracks to the periodic breakdowns (when the beat drops out from under the track, leaving nothing but drum-less keyboards) and drum rolls building to an epiphany.

Oft-criticized and usually written off as passé, trance is still extremely popular: Acosta's The Lostworld often ranked number one against all other South Florida radio shows in its time slot. The Lostworld CD has a few moments that will make even trance fans cringe, especially when Acosta drops Yves Deruyler's extremely unnecessary remix of Underworld's chestnut "Born Slippy." Some tracks are capable of seducing hardened naysayers though, particularly Duende's "Amor de Dios (Jet Set extended remix)," a passion play of layered keyboards and driving beats.