Posted by: Derek

Speaking of blurring genre lines - trance is also learning from other genres and morphing accordingly.
Sure you still have alot of big melodics, but those are beginning to be paired with slower tempos and chunky, ass-kicking beats and some searing grungy synth work.

Like this prime cut from Norin & Rad vs. Recurve, for instance. This track was huge this year, and for good reason - it’s at the bleeding edge of the new curve, and slams it home with some of the most squirmy, redonculous bass sounds that the trance world has seen. If you think it sounds cool at first, just wait till the second drop after the break (3:33). wtf! ftw!

Enjoy it in the vid above, and careful to clean those scorch marks off your speakers afterwards.

Posted by: Derek

So, I’ve had a melody in my head forever. It’s super simple, but by virtue of that it’s been stuck with me for months now without me having any clue what it was. Now that’s got some hookiness.

The melody, it turns out, is from a song by the venerable 4 Strings (known for “Take Me Away”), and it’s the one in the video up top. Thanks to local DJ and friend Ryan Russell for helping me locate it!

I love the sound of this tune - it’s super effective, emotional, and hooky, yet not cheesy. And once again, simple. Good lord. Way to go 4 Strings for doing it again.

Bonus:

Above&Beyond played a special super secret mashup of this tune with Morgan Page’s “The Longest Road” at Trance Around The World 350 in LA . Apparently you can’t find it anywhere, but thanks to the magic of the internets, you can enjoy it on the tube:

Posted by: Derek

From the depths of the archive comes one of my favorite pieces of atmospheric melodic DnB.
I first heard this on a compilation called “Legally Stoned”, which I’d highly recommend if you can find it, though I think it’s out of print.

At once beautiful, exotic, and neuro-deep, this piece definitely shows where that comp got its name from. It’s 10am, and I feel high just listening to it. I seriously wish they made more jungle like this still…

Mmm…tasty….

Posted by: Derek

OK, yeah, yeah I know this is on the poppier side of what we do here.

But on the other hand…this tune still sounds cool, 11 years after it first appeared on the scene.

For a pop dance tune, Toca’s Miracle holds it’s own, and has plenty of depth and danceability. This is probably because it actually started out life as an instrumental — Fragma created Toca Me first, then it was bootlegged with the vocal we know on it today by yet another DJ. That version is the one that stuck, getting enough airplay in Ibiza and beyond to boost it to superstar status.

And I gotta say, the combo still works.

I dropped this in the middle of a trance set recently and it went OFF. Respect.

Posted by: Derek

Sometimes, a tune is just magical - simple, yet entirely enveloping.

This cut here is one I’ve been caning in my progressive sets because, well, it’s got THAT THING. The indescribable je ne sai quoi that takes you away to another world. The construction and elements are super simple, but they’re also just THAT amazing.

Enjoy, and happy Monday!