The Trance Dance Music Blog

ASOT 417 – Outstanding Show

We usually don’t write about individual radio shows that aren’t milestone ones (like ASOT 400 etc), particularly because there’s so many that we love.  Above & Beyond’s TATW, Andy Moor’s podcast, Gareth Emery’s, PVD’s VONYC, DJ Shah’s Music for Balaeric People, Aly & Fila’s Future Sound of Egypt, and of course Armin’s ASOT… these are just a short list of radio shows; some weekly, some on a more irregular schedule, but chances are your favorite artist/DJ/producer probably has one if you look for it.  Due to the large volume of radio shows, we are not able to cover all of them on a consistent basis, but we felt that this particular episode is extraordinarily outstanding.  Judging by our staff’s overall reaction in addition to other opinions spread through some very credible sources, we know we are not the only ones who have noticed.  So without much further ado, here is the tracklist below, so go and check out the latest episode even if you don’t normally follow ASOT or Armin and thank us later.   While the DJ has a big role in track slection, mixing, and many other factors in live sets, radio shows are more traditionally used as a vehicle to display the plethora of amazing new tunes.  On that note, the great nature of this episode is more a tribute to how many hot tracks are upcoming than anything else; which is good news for any EDM fan.

1. John O Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallagher – Take It All Away (Marcus Schossow Nu Prog remix) (Armada)
2. Pryda – Waves (Pryda)
3. Enya – ID (Jody Wisternoff bootleg)
4. Mac & Mac – Solid Session (First State remix) (Magik Muzik)
5. Faruk Sabanci & Nurettin Colak – Te Quiero Mi Amor (Shah music)
6. Ronski Speed feat. Ana – The Deep Devine (Gareth Emery Remix) (Euphonic)
7. Three Drives – Automatic City (Orjan Nilsen Re-wiz)
8. M.I.K.E. – Sunrise At Palamos 2009 (Gareth Emery remix)
9. Sean Tyas – I Remember Now (Sied van Riel remix) (FSOE)
10. Jochen Miller – Brace Yourself (High Contrast)
11. Arnej – There Are No Coincidences (Armada)
12. Activa & Chris vs. Matt Kidd – U.R. (Stoneface & Terminal Remix) (Discover)
13. Corderoy – Kyrie (Mondo)
14. Jon O Bir – Answers (Vandit)
15. TUNE OF THE WEEK : Gaia – Tuvan (Andy Blueman remix) (Armind)
16. Simon Patterson – Always (Reset)
17. FUTURE FAVORITE: RAM – RAMsterdam (Jorn van Deynhoven remix) (ASOT)
18. Sly One – This Late Stage (Aly & Fila remix) (FSOE)
19. Ian Betts – False Gods (Discover)
20. Mark Sherry & James Allan vs William Daniel – Wired (Dark Tech Dub mix)
21. ASOT Radio Classic: Robert Gitelman – Children of The Sun

Amazing mix of starting off with some more chilled beats, moving to more balaeric and melodic pieces, and then more than an hour+ of absolutely thumping and grooving DANCE music.  We simply had to add that in, because of the nature of the blog, this is exactly the kind of music that moves us and keeps us going back for more.  Oh and a Gareth Emery remix of such a great classic like Sunrise at Palamos, a vintage ASOT radio classic like Children of the Sun, (which pretty much perfectly embodies what the spirit of this blog is about with hard hitting beats, amazingly addictive melody, and one of the best club rocking production tools in existence – silences) and no filler feeding tracks contribute to one of the finest regular episodes we’ve heard from Armin in a long time.  Oh, and if that last amazingly long slightly run-on sentence confused you, what I’m talking about can be put succinctly into 8 words: Almost as good as Veracocha – Carte Blanche live.  We don’t really provide download links for music here, but just google state of trance 417 and there are plenty of spammier sites that do.  Enjoy!

Follow us on our new Twitter!

Short post this time, just letting you guys know we have a new twitter that’s more reflective of this site up at http://twitter.com/TranceMusicBlog.  Check us out, follow us, and we’ll return the favor.  Stay tuned for more updates, it’s been a good week for trance so far!

TDM Throwbacks of the Week

We here at TDM usually pride ourselves in bringing you the newest latest and greatest bumping trance tracks, most of which are not even released yet when we first mention them.  It is not common for many of the tracks we rave about to come out on vinyl or mp3 release from beatport 2-3 months after.  Still, we don’t want people to think we hate on many favorite old school tracks.  In case you forgot, for the most part it’s many of these older tracks that got us into listening to trance and other EDM in the first place.  So as a tribute to past glories, here is a list of throwback tracks that have our highest approvals.  Unlike most of our reviews, we are going to go for quantity over long-winded explanations and pretty pictures.  The format will just be Artist – Title (remix if applicable), followed by a short blurb.  They range in age for throwbacks, from baby throwbacks that are only 2-3 years old (but no younger!) to the extremest throwbacks that still retain their fun factor.  Besides, no one likes listening to annoying old grandpa talking about his heyday, but everyone loves their hip trendy but middle-aged favorite uncle.  Enjoy!

• Tiff Lacey – The Truth (David West Progressive Mix), Absolutely beautiful guitar samples, some of West’s best work
• DJ Shah – Who Will Find Me, Besides his escapade with his first sunlounger compilation – white sand, this is the song that launched DJ Shah into stardom, landing on Armin’s ASOT on the beach CD.  Our fave Shah track still.
• Above & Beyond – Home, unlike most of A&B’s remixes of their own songs, the original still stands head and shoulders above the rest of the competition
• Probspot – Blueberry, yeah they were a one hit wonder, but absolute genius of a progressive trance track
• Andain – Beautiful Things (G&D’s Unplugged Remix), what is there to say about this song that hasn’t been said yet?  Beautiful track about suicide, arguably G&D’s top track that is neck-in-neck with…
• Motorcycle – As the Rush Comes (Sweeping Strings Remix), One of the most recognizable tracks by people who still go to trance parties, kind of like Beautiful Things… there isn’t much to say about one of the best tracks ever
• Andy Moor & Above & Beyond – Air for Life, we love andy moor.  And A&B.  And this track, what a great combo
• Exo pres. The Freak – Above the Clouds – A PVD favorite in his live sets, this song is one of our favorite tech-trance tracks
• Rank 1 – Airwave (Breathing), The vocal remix of this song ranks among one of the oldest, classical, and best tracks from pre 2000
• Cass & Slide – Perception (Vocal Mix), Probably one of our favorite vocal tracks here at TDM, it has a great combo of melody and beautiful vocals.  A true shame Cass & Slide do not make music anymore
• Armin van Buuren – Communication pt. 3, By far our favorite remix of Communication, it’s also the most upbeat, energetic, and danceable of all of them.  I’m sure it’s a huge surprise that we enjoy it so much
• Paul Oakenfold – Southern Sun (DJ Tiesto remix), Fun fact for those of you that were around when it first came out, the lyrics changed for the chorus to this song.  Tiesto showcases his superior remixing skills in this one
• BT – The Force of Gravity (Ferry Corsten’s Bootleg Remix), Ironic that the consensus best remix/version of this legendary track is a bootleg that will never be released on vinyl etc.
• BT – Flaming June, The classical track that vaulted BT’s career into the mainstream public eye, this joint project by BT & PVD is probably our favorite BT track here at TDM.  Really showcases BT’s producing genius in conjunction with PVD’s ear to catchy melodies
• BT – Godspeed, The follow-up to Flaming June, it exhibits a slightly different flavor without PVD, but still impresses us highly.  We can go off on a BT storm further, but we’ll stop ourselves here.
• Aven – All I Want (Ferry Corsten Remix), Regarded by many people as their favorite vocal trance song (although we find that the general people who think so skew towards the very new listeners), this list cannot be complete without it here.
• DJ Tiesto – Battleship Grey, What can we say?  Kirsty Hawkshaw is probably one of the few female vocalists that has it all.  She’s been around since the beginning, is attractive, and has a hot british accent.  Nuff said.
• DJ Tiesto – Sweet Misery, The one track from his Just Be album that shocked us by not getting more publicity and attention while being by far the best track.
• DJ Tiesto – Suburban Train, If you haven’t realized yet, the Tiesto train is being run on you.  Luckily, this train is much more pleasant than any other train that you could have run on you.  Epic song made during Tiesto’s prime
• DJ Tiesto – Magik Journey, Like Suburban Train, and on the same album, an another amazing song made by Tiesto when pretty much every one of his productions and remixes had the distinctive air flange + epic feel to it
• DJ Tiesto – Flight 643, Oh ho ho – if you told us that we would be putting down a song that literally one note as its melody repeated over and over in a list of the very highest throwbacks, I personally would have told you that you were crazy.  As it so happens, this hypothetical situation is one of the times that we are hypothetically wrong.  If that is not a tribute to an absolute production  genius, I don’t know what is
• Balearic Bill – Destination Sunshine (DJ Tiesto’s Power Remix), Ah, just when you thought the train had run its course, it continues in a different form!  Fun fact: This is the track Tiesto dropped when it hit 12:00 AM January 1, 2000 at Trance Energy 2000.  Not much more needs to be said other than to conclude with…
• Delerium – Silence (DJ Tiesto’s ISOS Remix), Probably THE most famous throwback track that everyone knows, it combines elements of Tiesto in his absolute producing prime, Sarah McLachlan’s haunting vocals, and a solid yet simplistic melody, Tiesto shows other artists what the definition of a true remix is that transforms a less known and lackluster Delerium track into the defining remix and track of the decade.  I still remember my favorite Armin set @ Tobacco warehouse in NYC pretty much was sealed when he decided to drop this as his final encore as everyone was leaving, throwing his headphones into the crowd as his way of saying there’s no more perfect ending than this.

There’s waaaaay too many other tracks that we love, but why give them all out at once?  Chew on these tracks for awhile, and get hungry waiting for the next installment!

Trance Dance Music Massive Track Roundup

It’s that time of the month again, despite being absolutely swamped with everything going on in our society these days, it’s refreshing to be able to kick back in the eye of the storm and know that good trance music is still very much alive.  So without much further ado, here are the tracks that have captured our attention recently…

Purple Haze – Bliksem

So many of you may be wondering why there’s a picture of lightning to represent the album art for this track.  Well being that we were unable to locate suitable album art for many of the tracks coming up, we figured we’d choose appropriate art based on track titles.  Bliksem means lightning in Dutch, and if you know Purple Haze aka Sander van Doorn, then you will know the nature of this track.  From his earliest ventures with the Purple Haze alias, to mesh, eden, etc., this track has the same flow and muse of SvD.  Amazing piece of work to throw into sets for that darker element, although the purity of the trance label can be debated, the effectiveness can not.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Cosmic Gate feat. Kyler England – Flatline (Kyau & Albert remix)

Pretty standard fare here, new CG sound, fairly melodic, but great vocals and combination of K&A’s remixing talents makes this track worthy of notice on our playlist here.

Overall Score: 8/10

Josh Gabriel pres. Winter Kills – Deep Down

It’s been said that the legendary duo that made tracks like As the Rush Comes, Beautiful Things, etc have gotten back together, albeit under Josh’s new label Different Pieces.  This track is particularly good, with insane breaks and the vocals to go along with it very well.  Josh Gabriel proves once again that his productions are pretty much all nothing short of genius, with the level of complexity in production value yet keeping the adage of a song just straight up sounding good to the casual listening ear.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

Envio – Touched By the Sun (Amir Farhoodi Remix)

This is one of two throwback tracks on this roundup.  Envio was one of the hottest producers when he was making killers like Love Poison etc in the late 2002 era.  As such, we’re not quite sure if it’s purely nostalgia that this remix brings us back to or if it has great standalone remix and production value.  Bottom line: this track is bumping and deserves a spot in the rotation.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Jonas Steur – Silent Waves (Tiddey 2009 Remix)

We here at TDM have been fans of Jonas Steur since his early days of Castamara and Silent Waves.  To hear another of our favorites remixed by high energy producer Tiddey is a double treat.  In the same way Sean Tyas took Mike Foyle’s Shipwrecked and turned it from a chill out song to a high energy mix true to its original form, Tiddey accomplishes the same feat with Steur’s masterpiece.  A true joy to listen to, this one is sure to get you moving.

Overall Score: 9/10

Bissen – Washout (Myon & Shane 54 remix)

Bissen’s been around for some time, from his first major hit exhale and quicksand which were featured on Armin’s ASOT 2007 compilation.  Following in its predecessors’ footsteps, this one is also a treat; featuring the remix from Myon & Shane 54, aka the Black Army .  Check it out if you get a chance, it’s a good track.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Thomas Bronzwaer – Look Ahead

The newest addition to the ASOT label (ASOT128), Thomas Bronzwaer doesn’t change up his style that has brought him critical acclaim, especially from the uplift trance community.  From his last hit Titan to this, it’s more of the same formula that is more addictive than crack cocaine yet only half as bad for you.  When one of Bronzwaer’s songs or remixes come on in the club, you just see the energy explode.  Definitely get this track.

Overall Score: 9/10

Ashley Wallbridge – Shotokan

First glance: Ashley is the chick right?  Wrong, Ashley is actually the guy, and even though he’s still a relatively new producer to the scene, he already has a ton of hits under his belt.  His unique style and sound is displayed prominently in this track, the same talent that has drawn collaborations with producing superstar and legend Andy Moor in their recent single Faces reviewed previously.  Great break, great sounds, great song.  Get it today.

Overall Score: 9/10

Whew that’s all for now, keep posted, as we bring you the upper echelon of trance dance music in the fastest fashion possible.  The management here at TDM have been discussing about bringing more news and goodies from top tier artists from Armada, Anjunabeats, Black Hole, and other labels that have reached out to us.  We will most likely post track-related news and perhaps even some exclusive previews that we receive, so stay tuned, bookmark the page, and subscribe to our RSS to receive your digest in a timely fashion!

Trance Dance Music Weekly Track Roundup: Oceanlab – Sirens of the Sea Remixed and a State of Trance 2009

It’s been a pretty good period for trance lately, with tons of worthy tracks.  We are compiling another super round-up with some of trance’s hottest tunes.  In the meantime, we felt we should do our due diligence in reviewing two recent albums that have come out from two of the Trance scene’s top players.  Here is what we found:

Oceanlab – Sirens of the Sea Remixed

CD 1
1. If I Could Fly (Jaytech Remix)
2. Come Home (Michael Cassette Remix)
3. On The Beach (Andy Duguid Remix)
4. Lonely Girl (Gareth Emery Remix)
5. On A Good Day (Above & Beyond Club Mix)
6. I Am What I Am (Lange Remix)
7. Breaking Ties (Above & Beyond Analogue Haven Mix)
8. Miracle (Above & Beyond Club Mix)
9. Ashes (Oliver Smith Remix)
10. Sirens Of The Sea (Above & Beyond Club Mix)

CD2
1. Secret (Andrew Bayer Remix)
2. Just Listen (Myon & Shane 54 Remix)
3. On A Good Day (16 Bit Lolitas Remix)
4. Miracle (Michael Cassette Remix)
5. Sirens Of The Sea (Sonorous Remix)
6. Breaking Ties (Duderstadt Vocal Remix)
7. Satellite (Original Above & Beyond Mix)
8. Sky Falls Down (Armin van Buuren Remix)
9. Clear Blue Water (Ferry Corsten Remix)
10. Beautiful Together (Signum Remix)

The UK’s legendary trio of Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamäki comprise Above & Beyond.  Throw in a timeless vocalist in Justine Suissa and you have Oceanlab, whose productions have more or less all been some of the sickest tracks in the industry.  This new album is not all that new at all, as it is a compilation of “new” remixes of their Sirens of the Sea album by multiple artists.  The worst part is half of the tracks on the remix album aren’t even remixed at all.  For your convenience, new tracks that have debuted on this album are italicized.  As you can see, there’s not that many.  With all that said, new tracks or not what we care about here at TDM is how money they are, and by that yardstick alone this album does not disappoint.  One huge surprise on the tracklist is the lack of Daniel Kandi’s remix of On a Good Day, which arguably has been one of the biggest remixes for any song period on their original album.  It was the most played track in ASOT 400 celebrations throughout all the artists yet failed to find its way onto Oceanlab’s remix album.  Our personal favorite tracks have been bolded once again for your convenience.

From the absolutely awesome relatively recent Signum remake of the original Beautiful Together back to the olden days with Ferry & Armin’s remixes of Clear Blue Water and Sky Falls Down, these tracks bring a sense of nostalgia to a time before these current Dutch powerhouses were a common household name in EDM.  Back then Armin was still quite weak in his own productions, did not have the track selection and mixing skills he has now, and about the only thing he absolutely excelled at was remixing tracks like Sky Falls Down, Seven Cities, etc.  While we did complain a bit about some redundant older tracks, in the end… who can truly argue with putting Satellite on a compilation of top tracks?  If one can swallow the pill of ego (in being old-school) and self-denial that the late 90′s were the best era of trance, it is very apparent that it is one of the top trance tracks of all time.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

A State of Trance 2009

Disc 1 – On the Beach
1. John O’Callaghan feat. Lo-Fi Sugar – Never Fade Away (Andy Duguid Mix – On the Beach Intro Edit)
2. Sunlounger feat. Kyler England – Change Your Mind (Myon and Shane 54 Remix)
3. M6 – Paradise Lost
4. Ron Hagen & Pascal M – Riddles in the Sand
5. Mat Zo – The Fractal Universe
6. The Blizzard with Gåte – Iselilja (Sunn Jellie & The Blizzard Dub Remix)
7. Monogato – Miami Vibe (Omnia Remix)
8. Josh Gabriel presents Winter Kills – Deep Down
9. Myon and Shane 54 feat. Aruna – Helpless (Monster Mix)
10. tyDi feat. Audrey Gallagher – You Walk Away
11. Andy Moor & Ashley Wallbridge feat. Meighan Nealon – Faces
12. Rex Mundi feat. Susana – Nothing At All
13. Jerome Isma-Ae – Shaguar
14. Dash Berlin with Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren – Man on the Run (Nic Chagall Remix)

Disc 2 – In the Club
1. John O’Callaghan feat. Sarah Howells – Find Yourself (Cosmic Gate Remix)
2. Fabio XB & Ronnie Play feat. Gabriel Cage – Inside of You (Cosmic Gate Remix)
3. Gaia – Tuvan
4. Michael Tsukerman – Sivan
5. Cressida – Onyric (Stoneface & Terminal Remix)
6. Claudia Cazacu feat. Audrey Gallagher – Freefalling
7. Aly & Fila – Rosaires
8. Alex M.O.R.P.H. feat. Ana Criado – Sunset Boulevard
9. Signum – Addicted
10. Robert Nickson – Circles (Andy Blueman Remix)
11. Neptune Project – Aztec
12. Thomas Bronzwaer – Look Ahead
13. Phuture Sound feat. Angie – Come to Me (ASOT 2009 Reconstruction)
14. Dreastic – Blade Runner
15. 3rd Moon – Monsun

It’s no secret that the staff here at TDM are fans of Armin’s ASOT yearly compilations.  Armin’s good taste in track selection in his sets and live events carry through to his professional productions.  In general, most CD’s released by artists are 85% fodder and 15% actual content.  Armin’s a State of Trance compilations are generally the best tracks that have come across his plate in the recent year.  This one is no exception.  Then again, being the head of Armada and being the #1 DJ in the world gets a lot of quality tracks passed your way before anyone else.  With artists like DJ Shah as Sunlounger, M6, Robert Nickson, John O’Callaghan, Cosmic Gate, Josh Gabriel, Myon & Shane 54 as the Black Army, Dash Berlin, Andy Moor, Thomas Bronzwaer,  and tyDi, it’s hard to imagine this compilation being anything short of amazing.  In that regard of showcasing each of these artists’ extreme talent in producing, ASOT 2009 does exactly.  Don’t think, just get it today.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

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