Tag Archives: trance

Midweek Music: Avicii, Ferry Corsten, Wyclef Jean, Delta Heavy & More!

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Between July 4th & Labor Day, people check blogs less, they vacation more & need tunes to move to. For the summer, instead of doing music at night, I’ve decided to try something different. I’m going to try and put together a weekly set of tracks, most new, but the occasional oldie/goodie, for you, my faithful readers. Let me know if it’s a good idea.  Ferry Corsten remains one of my most favorite DJs, though he rarely gets to spin the music I love him for. Even though when he headlines mainstages, he does a lot of electro house & progressive, in my mind, he will always be a pure trance DJ. With this release and his recent new Gouryella track, it’s as if he has been reading my mind. The break at 3:19 is one of the best in the world and has been for years. This is a staple in his sets across Europe, but I’ve definitely been privileged enough to hear it on our shores on more than one occasion.  Mixmag premiered one of the better remixes of Giorgio Moroder’s new track “74 is the new 24.” Yes, that’s actually the name of the track, he’s really getting down and funky at 74. The tune has some interesting little guitars and some “I clearly listen to Daft Punk” vocoding effects which are totally welcome. It’s got a vintage, funky feel, while keeping the energy up in a 90’s dance kind of way. Kris Menace & Lifelike have grabbed my attention with this track, so y’all should keep an eye on them with me.
 Avicii is back, and he brought Wyclef Jean & Matisyahu with him. It’s a strange departure for Avicii and I wonder who wanted this deal to come together most out of the trio. Matisyahu & Wyclef Jean drop perfectly capable/dope rhymes, and the reggae vibes on this are strong. Avicii brings in the bluegrass & country influences from his previous work, as you can hear in the builds and lead up to the chorus. This is definitely a step in a new direction so definitely let me know if it’s something you’re feeling.   Bringing the energy down entirely is Glo. This downtempo/chill artist has studied at the School of Burial and we’re all better for it. I cannot get enough of this kind of sound. Do not play this for people on drugs, but if you’re sad, you just got dumped, or if you’re just walking in the rain, this is your jam. I know it’s mine, and if you want more, check out glo’s album saknad here. The list of tracks is fantastic, and it will get you through.  Last but certainly not least, Delta Heavy‘s got a new jam that’s out July 17th. This is no bullshit Drum & Bass. Classic, perfect Delta Heavy, like only he can be. Delta Heavy is able to use female rock vocals in a way I don’t think anyone else in the space besides Flux Pavilion can touch. And now I want to see a Delta Heavy/Flux Pavilion b2b set.

That’s it folks, leave a comment if you liked this format & want to see it again, or if I should get back to a track a day. I live to serve.

Midnight Music: Yoji Biomehanika – Wake Up To Reality [Hard Dance]

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Yoji Biomehanika – Wake Up To Reality

Well, this one sure takes me back. Yoji Biomehanika is a hard house/hard dance DJ you’ve probably never heard of, and plays music harder than anything you’ve ever heard. I’m serious, this guy headlined Sensation Black, back when hard trance & hard dance were still genres of music people listened to. For the faint of heart, you’ll want to fast-forward through the first 60 seconds to get to the good part. Yoji, while super heavy & frenetic, can create the most beautiful, trance-inducing hard vibes, unlike anything you’ve heard from a DJ that hails from America, Australia or Europe. Japan has some of the craziest dance music out there, and Yoji has led that charge. I’ve been jamming out to this guy for almost 10 years. The vibe he creates can only be described as “rave in Neo-Tokyo.” There are very few DJs that can keep the energy up like he can, and to celebrate his glorious return, I’m going to be peppering my blog with Yoji related posts this week. If you can’t handle it, run & hide. If you’re as excited for this as I am, his album dropped literally 48hrs ago and you can grab it here and here.

Mix Of The Weekend: Above & Beyond – Ferry Corsten’s Guest Mix

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Ferry Corsten - Above & Beyond Guest MixFerry is one of the greatest trance legends still innovating & still climbing. Up there with PVD, Tiesto (before the fall) & Armin, he’s been consistently generating dope trance since before I graduated from high school. This quick 30min mix he did for Above & Beyond is framing his latest EP, of which was my soundtrack for the month if you missed it. The mix is a refreshingly non-anthem trance set, with one unidentified track that I now can’t wait to identify. If it’s snowing where you are, hopefully this helps you warm up a bit.

Music I’ve Forgotten About: Jurgen Vries feat. CMC – The Opera Song (Brave New World)

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Holy crap this song. I totally forgot this existed until this classic trance post that showed up on my RSS feed. This classic trance JAM is proof of what we all used to listen to when you had to go to Virgin Records or Tower to listen to tracks off a CD from the UK or Holland that costs $19.99 for some reason. This is the era where we really had no idea what we were doing when it came to dance music videos. But then again, trance like this was seen as the real “anthem” end of the genre. So both ends of this seem crazy enough to mash together. While this reboot-looking video has enough stupid in it to explain my point, I want to note to all the younglings, this is what big room sounded like before proglectro & dubstep. And yes, it was silly as fuck. This was main-room Ministry of Sound ish. Granted, the bass was a little higher than on the wack YouTube rip, but you get my point. Be glad you live in the future. And don’t make me bust out the shitty acid house or happy hardcore to make my point. (via Stoney Roads)

Earworm Of The Month: Ferry Corsten ft. Haris – Back To Paradise (Flashover Mix)

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Ferry Corsten - Back To ParadiseSometimes a track stays with you for a little while. Sometimes, you go back to a track and you find more to like about it. This is one of those tracks. Ferry Corsten has been in the trance game longer than the term EDM has existed. This original track, featuring the soaring vocal work of Haris. These kind of euphoric vibes & soulful lyrics don’t come along very often, and when they do, they’re usually saccharine or idiotic. The build is powerful, with a drop a friend of mine labeled as shockingly chill. I couldn’t agree more, and I hope this starts reminding people that breaks can sound like that. No need for the trouse or trancelectro that we’ve become used to. It can just be smooth, joyful & rambling on, like the morning sun. This is a must listen and Ferry deserves your undivided attention for this.

Midnight Music: BT – Somnambulist (Mark Norman Remix)

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This one took me surprise, during a friend’s live set. This scintillating remix of BT’s Somnambulist is quite good. BT’s a tough artist to remix as he’s one of the best composers in the industry, hands down. When someone can pull this kind of feeling into a BT tune, I couldn’t be more happy about it. This kind of build isn’t something we hear at trance shows anymore. Any trance track that makes you wait 4min 30sec to give you what you want is my kind of trance. It’s a dope build, a better break, and it’s getting harder and harder to find this kind of stuff. As the track is from 2011, it’s retro enough. Here’s to hoping this kind of sound comes back shortly, as I know that many of us have been waiting for quite some time.

Ferry Drops Euphoric Trance & We Love Him For It!

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Ferry Corsten feat. Haris - Back To Paradise (Flashover Mix)This is the kind of music that I feel like we really should be listening to all the time. If you’ve seen a Bill & Ted movie, this is my Wyld Stallions vibe. This is the music that brings peace to the world, if we’d only just all listen to it. Specifically the 2:30 & on build. This kind of extended euphoric, driving, yet modern trance sound is exactly what I think 2015 needs. I can’t wait to hear what the rest of this EP sounds like, and I am terribly sorry for sleeping on this one. This is weeks old, and I really should’ve been on top of it. This track is everything right with dance music at the moment. Sink your teeth in and show some love to Ferry. He is one of the best. Bomp this track loud and you’ll see why I think so.

Midnight Music: Tycoos feat. Igor Surazakov – Back To The Past (Emotional Mix) [Trance]

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I’m not sure how to describe this appropriately. Is, there a word for both gorgeous & “causes weeping” together? It ends far too soon, but it straddles the line between hard trance & dream trance in a way I’ve not heard in years. These two guys out of Russia did a fantastic job on this track, and it needs to be picked up by ASOT or FSOE immediately. I’m hoping tracks like these push the needle back towards this style of trance, as opposed to the nu trance, trouse & trance 2.0 that is filtering through. This is a deeply soothing sound, hypnotic, and quite pure trance sounding. This is what a lot of the trance classics people have been waiting for, and the break is super fulfilling.

Ten Questions With Terry Gotham: Shogun

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(In case you haven’t heard, Shogun’s new album is tremendous & he was able to answer a couple of questions for ElectronicNightLife. Enjoy!)

1. How was 2014 for DJ Shogun? Any cool stories or crazy experiences? It was a busy year for me, mostly finishing the album was my main focus. I bought my lambo, and ate Blowfish for the first time!

2. What made you stop and do a full length album this year? How long has this been in the making? It’s been in the making for four years. After so many singles and remixes, I wanted to put my main focus on making my album as good as possible so it felt right to really give people something special like an album.

3. Skyfire was such a massive favorite for so many trance fans in 2011/2012. Do you have a favorite memory or performance associated with that song after it became the huge hit that it deserved to be? I did my first sit down in Buenos Aires, Argentina with Skyfire. There was a crowd of 15-20k that all sat down and jumped up during the breakdown of Skyfire. That was an awesome sight to see.

4. Are you ever mistaken as a foreigner even though you’re an American DJ? Have you ever dealt with discrimination on the road or trying to make it? I’m pretty Americanized so I don’t run into discrimination that often. But I’ve had it happen once or twice, because even though I’m an American, I look Asian. It’s not a big deal though and it’s rare, a lot of my fans come to my shows are Asians so it’s all love.

5. You’ve mentioned that one of your influences is The Prodigy in interviews. Have you ever thought about remixing a Prodigy track? They are a big influence, I’d like to do a massive remix for ‘Firestarter’.

6. Do you feel it’s still necessary for producers to have training or experience playing conventional instruments? I think it always helps to get the creative juices flowing, but it’s not necessary. The most important thing is how to translate what you hear in your head to a song.

7. How does it feel to be a Beatport #1 with Dragon ft. Adara? It’s incredible, Dragon is a very personal track to me and the title of my album so seeing it doing so well is an amazing feeling!

8. Do you have a favorite size of party? Some DJs really like small events, while others crave the stadiums.I like both festivals and clubs, they are both special and I like a balance between them. Festivals are amazing to play at but I like the intimate vibe of clubs.

9. If I could wave my hands and pay for a national tour with you as a headliner, who would you have as your opening act(s)? Prodigy!

10. You’ve been in the trance game for a while now, how has it changed in your eyes? Any thoughts on what to expect from Trance in 2015? It’s become a lot more progressive and big roomish. I hear a lot of influence in different genres like electro house, but I think it’s a good thing to have some changes. Trance in 2015 will be big, and always here to stay.

Bonus: Favorite Trance Track or DJ Mix of the year?
Shogun – Laputa!

Midnight Music: Photographer – Airport Shivers (Armin van Buuren Mashup) [Stupendous Trance]

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Just in case the January gray has been getting to you, Armin van Buuren drops a potent mashup of two driving, powerful trance tracks for your listening pleasure. I’m not sure when this was done, but it’s definitely a standout reason why Photographer has been showing up in mix after mix. The trance really needs no explanation or introduction. The anthem vox nestles right into the 138 hard trance vibe and doesn’t let up. If you can’t get enough of this punchy, energetic trance feel, but want some more scintillating trance chords with your lady vocals, get at his most recent remix, taking a Dash Berlin tune and giving it some more of that delightful euphoric, driving beat that us trance heads can’t live without. Don’t worry, you got this. Rest up, the week’s coming for you.