Addicted2Melody's Last.fm Journal

THE TRANCE JOURNAL – PART 3 - TRANCE CULTURE

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:45:00 +0000

THE TRANCE JOURNAL – PART 3
TRANCE CULTURE

As most of us know, all the best things come in threes; Three Musketeers, three Bourne films, and in the old formulaic gag, always 3 men going into the pub, to name but.... three. So I thought it was about time that my trance journal was given a third and, with any luck, final chapter. Up until now, I’ve already tried to sketch an outline, speaking largely in leman’s terms (as a part of the musical “laity” myself), of how it is trance works as a type of music, of what is it people like about the music’s “mechanics”. And in the second part I simply charted my favourite 150 trance tunes of the last 15 or so years, a chart which, looking back in retrospect, I would not change one iota. (Do read parts 1 and 2 if you haven’t already – it’ll make what follows here make much more sense.) So, what now?

Well, the main theme of this, as the title suggests, is the culture: the ethos, the philosophy, the iconography, the rituals, the way of life. It’s is about trance’s, to borrow an increasingly vague media term, mise-en-scène - Not necessarily the music itself, but everything the music and its listeners idealise and celebrate. There is a mantra in trance that goes, “trance isn’t just music; it’s a state of mind.” It’s a horrible cliché, but it’s a cliché because it’s got a great deal of truth in it. But very few have attempted to explain what that “state of mind” actually is, what it involves. Every scene has its own culture, its own way of viewing the world. It is those ways of viewing the world that attract us to “our” type of music in the first place. There are two sides to this. Firstly, I think there are some aspects of trance music that deserve being looked at in greater detail and celebrated by trance fans, things that we maybe all know but don’t talk about a lot openly, certain general emotions and ideas that the music aspires to and we revel in. The question at the root of all that, I suppose, is what is it that a trance fan sees in his mind’s eye when he hears his favourite trance record? That, for me, means talking a bit about Ibiza, both my memories of being there in 2005 and what the island reveals about trance music in general. Hopefully, most trance fans will be able to relate to what I say. And, secondly, I feel there are certain aspects of trance’s culture that desperately need qualifying to so-called “outsiders”, there is a projected negativity that leaves the trance scene cloaked in surreptitious mystery and hedonism. That, of course, means discussing frankly the oh-so touchy subject of “illegal substances”. This could be a long one, so go make yourself a cup of tea before we get going... To me, this isn’t worth doing unless we’re going to dig deep.

EMOTIONAL NATURE

The problem is where to begin. The thing that I think is quite unusual about trance is that it presents something of a cultural paradox, quite an odd dichotomy. Trance, being created through computers, is a very technological type of music. As I mentioned in part one, its clean production styles and 4x4 beats make it quite a rational, ordered type of music. It is what some would see as quite “cutting edge”, quite futuristic. That might give the impression that, like our built up, urban worlds, the music produced is cold, robotic and devoid of human emotion. Yet, the images it conjures and tries to encapsulate are, to me, often those of the natural world. You know that feeling of warmth you get when you see a beautiful sunset, a starry sky, billowing clouds, a gapping canyon or an outstretched ocean? These images couldn’t really be any further from the sterile, formulaic world of computers. The names of trance songs, generally speaking, reflect this, I think. Just scrolling through my trance collection in alphabetical order here are just some of the names that jump out at me: Access To Paradise, Adrift In Space, Andromeda Heights, Angel, Arisen, Arctic Globe, Big Sky, Blue Horizon, Bounty Island, Clear Blue Water, Cloudwalking, Dawn, Destination Sunshine, Dewdrops Of Sunlight, Elevation, Eternal Voices, Fallen Tides, Fly Away, God’s Garden, Heaven Scent, Hurricane, Ibiza Sun, Lift, Like A Breeze, Liquid Sweep, Lunar Eclipse, Miracle Of Autumn, Moonshine, Northern Lights, Ocean Drive, Offshore, Orbit, Orion’s Belt, Out Of The Blue, Paradise Now, Pearl River, Rise, Saltwater, Shattered Skies... and so on. The names of many trance projects show a similar trend: Above & Beyond, Airbase, Airwave, Altitude, Aurora, Blue Amazon, Coast 2 Coast, Cold Blue, Cosmic Gate, Digital Nature, Fire & Ice, Flutlicht (which means “flood light” in German), Freefall, Lightscape, Lost Tribe, OceanLab, Plastic Angel, Plummet, Solar Stone, Solid Globe, Static Blue, Sunburst... and so on. There are some emerging themes here: the vastness of space, motion, particularly its speed and vertical direction, the shifting of light, water and seasons, divine apparitions and other heavenly notions and the seemingly never ending passage of time. Some find it quite soppy and sentimental, but the trance scene also seems to show a great deal of interest in human emotions and communal relationships. Again, just some of the track names you might find in any trance collection: Age Of Love, Alliance, Burned With Desire, Carry Me, Close To You, Connected, Don’t Be Afraid, Embrace Me, Eternal Optimism, Let Go, Linking People, Love Comes Again, The Loves We Lost, No One On Earth... and so on. All these ideas, to me, reflect a subconscious fascination with the world around us. Not always in a specifically rational sense, but in a way that appreciates that feeling of wonder and awe that defines the greatest of human experiences.

“...the spirit of child-like, untrammelled curiosity is what we are striving for. Not the anal retentive, rational person, not the ‘i’ll go for anything’, channelling ‘flake’, but an attitude of “we don’t have to look far for miracles because they’re all around us. Everything is astonishing; the universe on its surface is alive with mystery. Well, how do we make our way toward that when we live in a culture, practice a language, embody a philosophy - scientific rationalism - which is entirely designed to suck wonder out of reality, to turn everything into shades of gray, to subvert all hope that lies outside the realm of career accomplishment material possession?” – Terence McKenna

This to some might seem like quite a random quote. What does it have to do with music? But, if you think about, it sums up the general point. As I stated in a previous journal in which I referred to the great Terence McKenna, sometimes reality as experienced "normally” and explained rationally is completely mundane and sterile. And we are encouraged by science not to be surprised by the world around us. The world just works and is as it is. Reality is reality; therefore there is nothing to be surprised about, nothing to awestruck about. As McKenna put it, the more rational we become, the more we try to separate ourselves from nature, the more we fight our animal instinct to be emotional, natural creatures, the more we suck that wonder out of reality. Reason and emotion always seem to be in conflict. Despite its technological roots, there is something deep within trance culture that yearns to forget reason and just let the natural world impress itself on us, not to think, just to feel. Trance fans will often use the word ‘euphoria’. It’s a sort of trance buzz word. But outside music, who else might you hear refer to the concept of euphoria. People who climb to the top of huge mountains? Astronauts looking back at Earth from space? Someone stood in the full gaze of the sun as it dips below the horizon? Again, it’s about the power of nature, viewing things that make you feel like you’re at the centre of something vast and incredible. Essentially, ‘euphoria’ is just another word for awe or wonder, and it’s what trance is all about. And this euphoria isn’t always given a positive, “warm” spin. Darker or more aggressive styles of trance still try to push towards this same emotion. As long as that sense of “mystery” or sense of being overwhelmed by the universe around you remains. Because, let’s face it, Mother Nature can be just as dark and aggressive as she can be beautiful, and that in itself can be fascinating and awe-inspiring.

-Euphoria
A feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being sometimes exaggerated in pathological states as mania. Origin: 1880–85; < NL < Gk euphoría state of well-being. – dictionary.com

I myself have become increasingly drawn to chillout music over the last few years, particularly pure ambient. To me, there is an important element of parallel, which actually strongly links the two types of music. The celebration of nature and the cosmos is very much the same, the only difference being the approach. The music is deliberately more wistful and contemplative; trance philosophy with the energy and sense of rapid motion taken out. Trance might make you feel like you are flying above or through a canyon at high speed, chillout might make you feel like you’re standing completely still on its highest point, surveying everything around you. Some would call it melancholy, but I think it’s often subtly different to that. Its isolated safety, feeling cleansed. So, there’s more than one way to approach this idea of euphoria. Trance can still be uplifting and emotionally “overwhelming” without being pure “sunshine and rainbows” all of the time.

THE WHITE ISLE

Of all these natural notions that to me form the basis of trance’s iconographical patchwork, there are two that stand out. They are the sun and the sea. Here’s where the island of Ibiza becomes such the big deal. To most trance fans (and house and techno fans for that matter), Ibiza is the Mecca, the Jerusalem. It can’t be forgotten that trance is a brand of party music and Ibiza is essentially a party island. If the truth be told, it is THE party island. It’s both the setting and the atmosphere that make Ibiza such a special place for trance fans, I think. The things that make Ibiza such an important place for trance fans sum up trance as a type of music. There is a sound in trance (and house) called the “Balearic sound”. It’s a sound that celebrates the sun and sea of those islands, again, it’s a sound that links the “party music” of the island and the island’s chillout, and I think it’s a sound that most trance fans have a real soft spot for.

Ibiza is, of course, a Spanish island. Therefore, despite the worldwide invasion every summer, the Spanish culture still plays an important part. It’s a laid back place, where people do what they want, when want, at their own pace, where it’s too hot to do anything energetic during the day and too alive to be sleeping at night. As with most Mediterranean cultures, everything gets pushed back a good 4 or 5 hours. There’s no rush to eat an evening meal; that might not be done until well after the sun has disappeared beyond the horizon. Throughout the course of the day there is a profound serenity hanging in the air, the lapping of the waves and the warmth of the sun cleansing minds and bodies. And when the sun does finally set an excitement descends onto the streets, a buzz of anticipation. You know that butterflies feeling you used to get as a kid on Christmas Eve? Well, if you’re a fan of trance and you’re walking along San Antonio’s front at about midnight on a summer’s night, a ticket for Cream Amnesia clutched gratefully in your hand, that Christmas Eve feeling returns. Because you know what’s the round the corner- pretty much the pinnacle of trance culture.

My first and (so far) only visit to Ibiza was back in 2005. I and my mates were all 18, some of us had barely turned 18. We were quite naive really and this, being our first “lads holiday”, was like being thrown in at the deep end. This was our first real taste of the freedom that most of us would eventually take for granted in our university years. I don’t think any of us were quite prepared for what we encountered and, because of that, I’m not even sure some of us made the most out of our visit. A number of things did stand out though.

Firstly, the beautiful natural setting of the island is backed by a significant amount of cash. Many of the more upmarket bars and clubs are as plush and as lavish as you can imagine, without totally ruining the “laid back”, traditional vibe that much of the island retains. The famous Sunset Strip is a wonderful clash of classy modernity and Balearic rusticism, a contemporary setting sitting quite comfortably in a natural one. One of my favourites was Coastline Café, which we visited on our first proper night on the island before attending Cream Amnesia. No expense is spared in that place. The sea outstretching in the darkness and the waves still lapping the coast below, you are treated to comfortable surroundings, perfect ambient lighting and a variety of light entertainment - dancers in the mini swimming pools on the main decking, magicians, fire jugglers and, of course, a DJ up in a quaint little DJ booth overlooking the punters below.

But that night we didn’t even see the sunset. In fact, it’s one of my main regrets from that holiday that we only went to the Strip specifically to view the sunset once, and not even as a whole group. Two of my mates, neither of them trance fans might I add, even had the audacity to say, showing their levels of maturity at the time, that going to see the sunset was, and I quote, “gay”. I can’t speak for the other 3 lads who were there to view that sunset with me, but I remember being mesmerised by it. We found a quiet little place, about 5 or 6 bars down from the famous Café Del Mar and drank beers looking out over the water. From what I remember the crowds were pretty big, many of the bars without a spare chair and large numbers of people spread out of the rocky area around the bars, mainly to our left. But despite the large crowds, I don’t remember it being noisy at all. The four of us didn’t really say much, to be honest. We just sat and watched the sun slip slowly away, filling every corner of the visible sky with fiery orange light. And, in retrospect, I have often thought to myself, clearly all those people congregated on the rocks and sat in the bars along the front had not come to Ibiza just to get mashed and dance in darkened rooms. That’s not all it’s about. These displays of natural beauty mean a lot to them too – it relaxes them, it moves them. The sun going down is like a spiritual rebirth, which is later celebrated in the clubs until the sun rises again. This “sun worship” is fused into that “Balearic sound” that I was talking about earlier. If you put on Chicane’s Far From the Maddening Crowds or OceanLab’s more recent Sirens of the Sea and close your eyes you’re back on the Sunset Strip gazing on that ball of fire. I can’t speak for every trance fan, but there’s nowhere I’d rather be. Believe me, it is no coincidence that the greatest party on earth has chosen Ibiza as its home.

“The ocean.. in the Heaven.. It`s all they talk about.. In the sunset... How fucking wonderful it is to watch that big ball of fire melt into the ocean...” – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

Most of the clubs in Ibiza put those in Britain to shame. In some cases, just the sheer size of the clubs can be overwhelming. Your average super club in this country will, I suppose, comfortably accommodate around 1,500, at a push 2,000, people. Privilege, on the other hand, which must still hold the title of “biggest club in the world”, has a capacity of 10,000. But that knowledge can’t really prepare you for the experience of actually stepping inside Privilege. Again, our visit to Privilege in 2005 was a slight disappointment. We were sold tickets for a lesser known event, roped in by some drinks deals that turned out to be something of a con. The music that night was a really weird jazz/house combo, performed with loads of live instruments and vocalists and rather than really explore our surroundings we spent far too long just sat in one of the many bars drinking the ludicrously expensive drinks. I think that was a combination of our young bodies struggling to last the pace at the holiday’s half way stage and being slightly too immature to appreciate the great musical temple we were sat inside. But even the bar we sat in sort of summed up the fabulous creative extravagance of the island itself. This bar, from what I distantly remember, couldn’t quite make its mind up whether it was indoor or outdoor, quite secluded and dark with greenery everywhere – not your average terrace as you would imagine it; more half garden, half bar. To go from “biggest dancefloor in the world” to isolated garden in one short staircase is in itself a novelty. But the real spectacle of Privilege is its 25 metre dome which hangs high over the dancefloor. It’s pretty much the first thing you notice as you come up through the entrance into the centre of the dancefloor. And you stand there and think, “fuck me!” And they’ve suspended the DJ booth over a huge swimming pool... why? Because they can, that’s why. It is worth going to Privilege just to see interior of the place. And all the other super clubs display a similar eye for the visually impressive and the comfortably luxurious. Es Paradis, for example, with its marble floors and columns, looks like a courtyard from ancient Greece. These are not cheap places to be or get into, but they are worth their weight in gold for how their surroundings can make you feel at ease.

The island does have a seedier side; that can’t be forgotten. San An’s West End is a cheap and tacky place, a far cry from the semi-rustic luxury of the Sunset Strip. But visiting such a tacky drinking hole is a relative necessity to offset the great expense of exploring the island’s plusher offerings. And after dark, that pre-club sense of anticipation and raw excitement makes it an enjoyable, albeit slightly more drunken and “debauched”, place to be. I’ve often thought that a lot of people my parent’s age must think Ibiza is like some mass violent orgy, like that scene in Pirates Of The Caribbean where Sparrow and Turner arrive on the island of Tortuga and it’s wall-to-wall fighting and fucking. It’s slightly more cultured than that.

Another thing I must mention before I leave this particular topic is that anyone out there that thinks Kevin & Perry Go Large is an accurate portrayal of Ibiza or trance culture is shooting significantly wide of the mark. The idea that Ibiza is the best or the easiest place to get laid, girls being turned away at Amnesia’s doors for being too ugly, the DJ character being the ultimate arrogant twat and the Germans dressed in military uniforms marching around the island are, to me, are all perversions of the real Ibiza. Even the actual scenes from inside Amnesia don’t feel very “real”. It’s a comedy film, so it has to exaggerate certain stereotypes and stereotypes that everyone recognises. The film does, however, have an amazing soundtrack, if that’s any consolation.

I will be returning to the island this coming summer, and being older and wiser, I’m determined to make even more of this next visit. Needless to say, I’ll be going there to sample the surroundings and relax as much as I’ll be going there to “have it large”. In other words, the Café Del Mar part of the holiday means just as much to me as the Amnesia part does.

TRANCE & DRUGS

Computer games don’t affect kids; If Pacman had affected us as kids we'd be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music. - Marcus Brigstocke

I’m under no illusions that the main thing "outsiders" associate with trance is the use of so-called “recreational” drugs. In many people’s eyes, these drugs are not just part of the culture, but the very foundation of the culture. Their “logic” is – the music is repetitive so you must need stimulants to enjoy it, take away the drugs and nobody likes the music anymore. This assumption is, it gives me great pleasure to say, complete pap. It needs to be said clearly at the outset. The vast majority of trance fans love trance for what it is as a type of music, for the ideals and philosophy I’ve already described. The drugs are certainly a part of the culture, without a doubt, but they aren’t the reason people get into trance. Trance isn’t just an excuse to take drugs. But, to be quite honest, I don’t see drugs as sinister part of the trance scene anyway. Used carefully, I think they can actually have a positive influence. The dance scene’s main drug of choice is, of course, ecstasy; there are some very good reasons for that, which I’ll come to.

As a kid I was very anti-drugs, and I think it’s interesting that maturing and pursuing an education has pushed me in the opposite direction. The risks of drugs are preached at school as “probables” and “very likelies”, rather than what they are - worst case scenarios based on people’s recklessness and lack of knowledge. And all illegal substances are presented as being as bad as each other – so cannabis is as dangerous as crack, heroin the same as LSD, MDMA the same as mushrooms. And when you realise that some of what you’ve been told is wrong or exaggerated, you start to wonder, what else could they be wrong about?

Bill Hicks – In his classic stand up performance, Sane Man

And the difficulty is, because these substances are illegal not a lot of medical research is done on them. At least, not enough. A lot of the information we get is hearsay and a mishmash of “friend of a friend” stories. The hard truth is, as much as you can read about them, you can’t really understand drugs until you’ve taken them yourself and that draws a very dubious line down the centre of society. And I’ve discussed this with friends – there is a distinct psychological barrier in people’s minds when it comes to that first time. It doesn’t matter how many people tell you that it won’t, you look at that first pill in your hand and think, “This could fucking kill me.” You do take it and that barrier is completely smashed down.

There is the danger however that a lack of negative experiences on drugs can push you so far the other way that you become complacent. And some do become complacent. I find that people who haven’t taken MDMA (ecstasy) exaggerate the risks to a ridiculously degree, while many that have taken it neglect them so much that they do run the risk of causing long term damage to themselves. As always with human beings, there is an irrational polarisation. I have seen people go a number of ways. One good friend of mine did it for the first time and was absolutely blown away, but has only done it once since and has turned it down on a number of occasions. While another mate of mine uses it completely willy nilly, in social situations that don’t even suit the use of MDMA, sitting at a house party where everyone else is only drinking chewing his own ear off. Everybody’s different and people tend to react in different ways, in ways that reflect their own levels of self-control and temperance. The reality is, you’re much more likely to do yourself lasting damage through recklessly excessive use over a number of years than you are to drop dead on the dancefloor from taking one ecstasy tablet. People who die on the dancefloor from taking MDMA are people who either take way way too much at once or drink insane amounts of water while on it. If you do the former of those two things I tend to have limited sympathy. If you choose to do it at all, and as Hicks says, it’s a personal choice, you have to do it carefully, in controlled amounts and go extended lengths of time of maybe a few months without doing it at all to allow your brain a chance to recover. If you’re sensible about it, it is believed to be relatively harmless.

MDMA basically causes the brain to produce a large amount of a natural brain chemical called serotonin. That feeling of euphoria that I talked about earlier? That is serotonin being released. That high level of serotonin creates a number of feelings and emotions that can reach a level of intensity that has to be experienced to be appreciated. The best way to describe it loosely explains why MDMA is trance’s drug of “choice”. It’s all the wonderment you feel when listening to trance music sober, all the same mental imagery, but put under a magnifying glass. It’s getting to the top of Everest and some more, without even walking up the mountain. And that’s why people do it. There are other reasons, of course. You don’t tend to have memory black outs like you do with excessive drinking, it gives you the energy to last till 6 or 7 in the morning, you don’t have to go to the toilet as often as you would if you were drinking alcohol (which means you don’t have to miss any of your favourite DJ’s set), and, it’ll probably work out cheaper than getting pissed anyway. And what is the positive influence with MDMA? Well, you stand in a pilled up crowd and a pissed up one and you’ll notice the difference. That sense of feeling connected to other people can produce such a buzz in a good crowd. There’s less anger, less pent up frustration and absolutely no will for people to fight each other – just sheer undying love for music and, who knows, maybe even a few strangers. As McKenna says, as much as we love it as a species, alcohol turns most people into “jerks”, whereas, MDMA can turn complete jerks into vaguely loving, emotional people. There will always be exceptions to that rule, and you can still meet people on MDMA who are thoroughly annoying, but that is the exception and not the rule.

The film Human Traffic is an interesting look at clubbing and drug culture. It’s such a textured and honest film that you can pick out an awful lot of “hidden” truths from it, positive and negative. You have to remember that, again, it’s a comedy so you have to take some of it with a pinch of salt. And I think it does stress the hedonism a little too much... and not all the music in the film is trance by any means. But the main positive thing about that film for me is the sense of comradeship and good-will there is between the group of friends. There’s a great scene where Jip rings Moff to tell him that Lulu has decided to go out with them and Moff is visibly uplifted by the news.

"Nice one, bruvvvva!"

These people can’t wait to be in each other’s company and share good times. The idea that these people just want someone to relate to and escape society’s increasing sense of alienation is a constant theme. The only thing they have in life that is of any value is each other. Society typecasts these people as “everything that is wrong with society”, when in reality they are the product of everything that is wrong with society – lack of meaningful emotional interaction, a sterile, loveless, modern existence, being judged for what you attain and not for who you are. Human Traffic is actually a deeply philosophical film, a powerful sociological critique, but it sometimes talks in a language that only clubbers themselves can truly relate to.

Present is gone. Fantasy is a part of reality. And we take the brakes off. We’re thinking clearly, yet not thinking at all. This feels right. We stop trying to control things. Warm rush of chemicals through us. We’re fluctuating. Is this brain damage? We forget all the pain and hurt in life, we wanna go somewhere else. We’re not threatened by people anymore. All our insecurities have evaporated. We’re in the clouds now. Wide open. We’re spacemen, orbiting the earth. The world is beautiful from here, man. We're nympholetics desiring for the unattainable. We risk sanity for moments of temporary enlightenment. So many ideas with so little memory. The last thought killed by the anticipation of the next. We embrace an overwhelming feeling of love. We flow in unison…we're together. I wish this was real. We're on a universal level of togetherness where we are comfortable with everyone. We're in a rhythm, part of the movement, a movement to escape. We wave goodbye. Ultimately, we just want to be happy. Wait. What the fuck was I just talking about? – Jip, Human Traffic

I’ve not taken any psychedelic drugs myself up until now, but having recently gotten into the philosophies of Terence McKenna I’ve read about them with interest. What mainstream culture will find most shocking about Terrence McKenna’s psychedelic philosophy is that he believed psychedelics are not only a positive influence but the only thing that can save our decadent world from crashing and burning in the relatively near future. The following is a little extract from a previous journal which I feel makes just as much sense here:

McKenna was an expert in “psychedelics” and experimented with a variety of highly hallucinogenic substances, such as salvia and DMT. He believed that certain hallucinogenic drugs, in particular the drug psilocybin, had played a significant role in our evolution. He further argued that for the period that such substances remained part of our diet, human beings were more communal, less concerned with possession and status and significantly less driven by their own egos. Such ideas are indeed just theories, but there is no doubt in my mind that McKenna was a talented philosopher, a visionary and a thinker totally unrestrained by popular prejudices. And his use of drugs wasn’t pure hedonism. They fed into a vision and a view of the world that was highly complex and unique. And I think a lot of people will have sympathy for this vision because he, like so many, felt that human beings have taken a wrong turning somewhere in their development – that the ego has taken over, our true place in nature lost.

This is half of a Terence McKenna lecture called Seeking The Stone. It’s not specifically about music, but it’ll make everything I’ve said about McKenna clearer, if you have the time to watch it. Part 2 is available on Google Video.

I’ve heard so much talk, even from my favourite stand up comedian, George Carlin , about how psychedelics open up new windows of perception, about how they can revolutionise your thinking. I’m not sure MDMA falls into exactly the same bracket as psychedelics, just as I’m not sure the philosophy of trance and psychedelic trance can be said to be exactly the same, but I think they fall under a very similar bracket. They both encourage a return to ancient communalism, a “going back to nature” philosophy – even if parts of it are completely subconscious. That, to me, is a positive influence.

Needless to say, if you are one of those many people who go out every weekend and get so drunk they can barely stand up, while at the same time negatively stereotyping users of other drugs as "wasters", "degenerates" and "hippies", you're a hypocritical moron and no less ignorant than the people who go around saying, “You have to be high on drugs to like trance music.” If you use alcohol irresponsibly you have no leg whatsoever to stand on when it comes to judging people who use substances like MDMA.

If you’re just anti-hedonism, well, that poses an entirely different set of questions....

CLUB SAVAGERY AS MODERN PAGANISM

To me clubbing is a microsomal part of the anti-thesis of civilization. I mean, these people.... they are animals, they are disgusting, sweaty, savages prancing around to the dull synthetic beat of whatever shit modern music has thrown up recently. There is something quite pig-like about them, one is reminded upon looking at these neanderthals of the soma fuelled mindlessness of Huxley's dystopian brave new world. And what's worse about these odious cretins is that they have succeeded in persuading popular culture that the nightclub is *the* social medium of our generation. Everything else is secondary, 'oh, lets go out and eat and THEN go to a nightclub'. Barbarians.... Your filthy habits should be punishable by the state. - jim1111

The problem are nightclubs - the place of sexuality, lust, vanity, sin. Nightclubs should be banned. - Hugo0102

These particular quotes appeared in the trance tag shoutbox last year, the second being a positive response to the first, albeit the only positive response that was posted. Normally, I try to ignore such pointless trolling, but some of the sentiments and the sheer levels of exaggeration in jim1111’s initial post intrigued me. Is this really what the term “trance” means to outsiders? Is the perception really that negative? His first sentence is particularly interesting. Clubbing is, apparently, the anti-thesis of civilization. Well, “clubbing”, which is obviously a big part of trance culture, is essentially groups of people getting together to share a common passion, i.e. music, to engage in an activity which is older than so-called “civilization” itself, i.e. dancing. That on its own isn’t really that sinister. In fact, you’d think that was quite a noble concept – bringing people together. And the idea that the only emotions that are indulged when such people do come together in this way are selfish ones is generalised and largely a fabrication of the outsider’s underactive but over rational imaginations.

But we can go deeper than that. This idea of being “civilized” is interesting and goes back to what I was saying about the conflict between reason and emotion earlier on. The language of jim1111 is that of the rational purist, the modern philosophy that all the time encourages us to believe that we become better creatures, higher beings, when we deny our animal instincts, when we separate ourselves from nature. The interpretation given is one that says that “clubbing” is a perversion of the civilisation process, a process that gives us morals and gives our world order. When we go out and let our emotions flow wildly we “lower” ourselves to the position of “animals”, of “savages”, of pigs. Dancing, one of the most overt expression of emotion we have, is reduced to sexual cavorting and even sweating, a perfectly normal bodily function, looked down on. To me, this is all part of the great intellectual myth of our age, a myth that human beings struggle with internally all the time. Whether it be for religious reasons or because of the sense of intellectual superiority that our rationalism feeds us, we seem afraid of the animal in us. But, what we forget is that the animal in us is the nature in us.

So, maybe jim1111 is right. Maybe trance and clubbing are the anti-thesis of civilization. As I’ve already said, there is in trance music that longing to get back to nature, not to think about nature and explain it, just to feel it impress upon us. Maybe when we enter that club and let ourselves go, we go back in time and become like our pagan ancestors, reprojecting the ancient rituals and the hypnotic mysticism of the African drumming that I mention in part 1 – a throwback to the days when our gods were those of our environment. Despite its futuristic sounds and use of technology, there is something strangely primeval about the culture of trance music.

But, to me, none of this is necessarily a bad thing. As Terence McKenna said, there is a need for human beings to retake their place in nature, not to view it from outside and pass judgement on it, but to “feel” part of it - to be part of that "Gaian mind". The progress of history is a constant duelling of the ancient and modern. And it is modernity that makes human beings cold and egotistical - at least, more so than at any point in our evolution. That is not to say that unstrained emotion is the only right and proper ideal for human beings to aspire to. All I am saying is that both the ancient and the modern have their positive and negative aspects. We must make time for both reason and emotion; we must make time for ourselves internally and our communal spirit, our contemplative instincts as well as our celebrative ones. Celebrative euphoria is a righteous enough idea when it’s the euphoria of a mountaineer, or an astronaut, or even just the walker on the untouched sunset beach; why should it be any different for the clubber?

Trance culture is not a “Clockwork Orange” culture; it’s not a nihilistic or anarchistic culture. It pulls away from the mainstream, the established order, without looking to attack it. It doesn’t want to destroy; it just wants to “get away from it all”. “Rave” culture when it first emerged probably was a bit wilder and more reckless, maybe even a bit more resentful of the established order. Old types of “rave” music like breaks and hardcore were more aggressive. But the emergence of trance, particularly the Balearic sound, calmed things down a bit and created a generation who are, to a degree, more “cultured” or, at least, more chilled out. There is an element of hedonism to it, of course, but it’s not a hedonism that is purely narcissistic; if anything it’s noticeably communal and has an undercurrent of appreciation for “higher purposes” and “mysticism” – a hunger to be connected, emotionally “plugged in” to everything around us, including other people.

Denying our animal instincts makes us no more moral and, more importantly, no more happy. Reason has not created utopia. That capacity to "feel" nature, the orgiastic tendencies of our evolutionary past and McKenna's full-blown "religious experience" of altered states of consciousness, all have to play a part in bringing greater happiness to human beings. Music, even music styles as technological as trance music, can be a big part of this rediscovery of the “natural human being” if we think about it in the right way. The individual who thinks like jim1111 is McKenna’s “anal retentive, rational person”, whereas bubbling underneath the whole of trance culture is McKenna’s “spirit of child-like, untrammelled curiosity”.

To me, trance is a wonderfully complex and contradictory brand of music, its culture in particular being an expression of the inner contradictions in the human species that remain ever present. The modern and the ancient conflict a lot in human cultures, the two are usually diametrically opposed. But, in trance music they sit alongside each other, mutually supporting each other. As a culture, I would sum it up as philanthropic pleasure-seeking – which on its surface seems like an oxymoron. Trance fans are a generation of escapists and idealists who have resisted the will of our rational age to squeeze out the emotional and animalistic aspects of our characters – modern yet ancient, synthetic yet natural, artificial yet organic, cultured yet wild, altruistic yet self-aware, rational yet emotional, grounded yet free, rebellious yet peaceful, global yet drawn to certain spiritual homes and, most importantly, at ease with reality.

And I’ll leave you with the immortal words of Matt Darey’s Gamemaster, words that I think all trance fans can relate to...

Embracing the goddess energy within yourselves
Will bring all of you to a new understanding and valuing of life
A vision that inspires you to live and love on planet earth
Like a priceless jewel buried in dark layers of soil and stone
Earth radiates her brilliant beauty into the caverns of space and time
Perhaps you are aware of those who watch over your home
And experience it as a place to visit and play with reality
You are becoming aware of yourself as a gamemaster

Imagine earth restored to her regal beauty
Stately trees seem to brush the deep blue sky
Clouds billow to form majestic peaks
The songs of birds fill the air, creating symphony upon symphony
The goddess is calling for an honouring of what she allows to be created
Through the core mystery of the blood
Those who own your planet are learning ... about love

Some trance links: Above & Beyond, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, OceanLab, Nitrous Oxide, Jonas Steur, Vibrasphere, John O'Callaghan, Chicane, Signum, Paul van Dyk, Sean Tyas, Marco V, Ferry Corsten, Marcel Woods, Nu NRG, Aly & Fila, Super8, Icone, Ronski Speed, Stoneface & Terminal, David West, Matt Darey, Filo & Peri, DJ Shah, Tilt, Michael Dow, Lange, Solarstone, Orjan, M.I.K.E.

A few random non-trance links: Radiohead, Kings of Leon, The Killers, The Kooks, Coldplay, Kate Nash, Katy Perry, My Chemical Romance, Nickelback, In Flames, Metallica, Cannibal Corpse....

SEEN LIVE

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:02:13 +0000

SEEN LIVE

I thought my About Me section was looking a bit messy and crowded so I've decided to move this part of it into a journal. To be honest, my clubbing exploits are hardly something to be marvelled at, so the front of my profile is probably the wrong place for it. All the acts I've posted are ones that I've seen for at least an hour of at a time.

Apologies in advance for posting what is quite a useless, uninteresting journal. This is purely for my own personal reference.

Last event attended:
Gatecrasher @ The Syndicate, Bristol (Headliner: Ferry Corsten)
12/04/09

Seen DJing

Eddie Halliwell X4
Ferry Corsten X4
Sander van Doorn X3
Paul van Dyk X3
The Tidy Boys X3
Lisa Lashes X2
Lisa Pin-Up X2
Anne Savage X2
Rob Tissera X2
BK X2
Lee Haslam X2
Marco V X2
Armin van Buuren X2
Mark Eteson X2
Tiesto
Paul Oakenfold
Rank 1
Above & Beyond
Sasha
Solarstone
The Thrillseekers
Sean Tyas
Marcel Woods
Richard Durand
Blake Jarrell
John O'Callaghan
Matt Hardwick
Agnelli & Nelson
Greg Downey
Signum
Tyler Leigh
Gareth Wyn
Adam Sheridan
Ben Nicky b2b with Joel D
Cally & Juice
Amber D
Paul Maddox
Ed Real
Brain M Vs. MCBunn
Rodi Style b2b with Ben Stevens
Pendulum
Fatboy Slim

Seen Doing Live PAs

The Edison Factor
K90
Nu NRG
Lost Witness
The Chemical Brothers
Infected Mushroom
Pendulum X2

Festivals & Clubbing Holidays

IBIZA 2005
Most Memorable Tune: Agnelli & Nelson - Holding Onto Nothing
Best Performace: Marco V at Cream Amnesia

CREAMFIELDS 2007
Most Memorable Tune: Tony De Vit - The Dawn
Best Performace: Above & Beyond

CREAMFIELDS 2008
Most Memorable Tune: Sander van Doorn - Apple (Marcus Schossow Remix)
Best Performance: Eddie Halliwell

THAT WAS 2008 – THE YEAR IN CHARTS

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:26:37 +0000

THAT WAS 2008 – THE YEAR IN CHARTS

Well, here we are again. Another busy year in the ever-thriving world of electronic music has just about whizzed us by. And returning once again is my whistle-stop tour of what has been hot in those dizzy 12 months, this time of course with more bells, whistles, awards and “probing” commentary than I provided last year. 2008 has been an excellent year. The overall standard of artist albums has been exceptionally high this year, and, despite the market becoming further saturated in some sub-genres, we have still been treated to some absolutely killer tunes from all corners of the dance music galaxy. Note: these charts are of the best stuff I've heard this year, not just a mindless list of absolutely everything I have even vaguely enjoyed. As I say, there’s been a lot of stuff worth checking out this year, so naturally there are some good albums and tunes missing.

Ok, let's look back. Kicking us off, the best albums of the year, this time in reverse order...

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TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2008

20. Above & Beyond presents OceanLab - Sirens of the Sea
(July / Anjunabeats)

One of the summer's most anticipated “trance” albums turned out to be quite a smooth, downtempo affair, a mix of soft, "airy" progressive and stirring Ibizan chillout. Immaculate vocals and production as always from Justine and the boys.

Favourite Track: Sirens of the Sea

19. Insomnia - Rollercoaster
(March / Trancelucent Productions)

Pumping no frills full on, courtesy of Tom Shoval and Orel Shapira. Pure energy filled, electro driven psy-trance.

Favourite Track: Displacement

18. Quivver - [album artist=Quivver[]Dirty Nails & Vapour Trails[/album]
(July / BozBoz)

A refreshingly varied approach from progressive trance's old head, John Graham, who mixed the drum & bassey feel of Chasing A Feeling with the moody electro breaks of What's Not Going On and the pure haunting minimalism of Dancing In Dark Rooms.

Favourite Track: Dancing In Dark Rooms

17. Josh Gabriel - [album artist=Josh Gabriel]Eight[/album]
(October / Different Pieces)

Josh Gabriel, formally one half of Gabriel & Dresden, served up a top notch progressive tech fest ruined only by the fact that the unmixed tracks are faded out at the ends. Infectiously danceable stuff though.

Favourite Track: Azora

16. Morphonix – [album artist=Morphonix]Off The Grid[/album]
(March / Vaporvent Records)

This was my first real experience of the phenomena of psychedelic breaks. I got all excited, thinking this album was showcasing an entirely original genre of its own. Not the case, of course. But this was still a highly impressive effort from San Francisco's Lawrence Hoffman and definitely gets extra brownie points for completely blowing me away on first listen.

Favourite Track: Island Sanctuary

15. Trifonic - [album artist=Trifonic]Emergence[/album]
(February / Trifonic Music LLC)

American newcomers, Trifonic, brothers Brian and Laurence Trifon, crash landed with this top quality downtempo/IDM debut. Brain apparently worked with fellow countryman BT on his incredible 2006 album, [album artist=BT]This Binary Universe[/album]. The influence of that is not hard to see at all.

Favourite Track: Sooner Or Later

14. Perfect Stranger - [album artist=Perfect Stranger]Free Cloud[/album]
(October / Iboga Records)

A stunningly hypnotic collection of progressive goodness from Israeli producer Yuli Fershtat. Part psychedelic progressive, part straight minimal progressive, this was another gem from the consistently amazing Iboga Records.

Favourite Track: Easy

13. Ott – [album artist=Ott]Skylon[/album]
(January / Twisted Records)

Twisted Records' only new album release of the year was this "sunny" reggae flavoured psydub effort from Ott. Cool as a summer's breeze.

Favourite Track: Roflcopter

12. Simmonds & Jones - [album artist=Simmonds & Jones]Interpretations[/album]
(June / Armada Music)

Better known to trance fans as Chakra, Lustral, Oxygen and Ascension, Simmonds & Jones set out to transform their discography of trance classics into a soothing collection of Balearic chillout tracks. Mission accomplished. This almost couldn't have been done better than it was.

Favourite Track: Home

11. Eat Static - [album artist=Eat Static]Back To Earth...[/album]
(June / Interchill Records)

Merv Pepler, now working on his own, delivered the best psydub/psychill album of the year in Back To Earth, a mesmerizly diverse mixture of sounds which took us as far as the sands of Egypt and the carnival street of latin America. Magnificently glitchy and jazzy in places too.

Favourite Track: Epoch Calypso

10. Sander van Doorn - [album artist=Sander Van Doorn]Supernaturalistic[/album]
(February / Doorn Records)

This could well be the "marmite" album of the year - most it seems either love it or hate it. It's also interesting to note that I've seen this album criticised as fervently by fans of minimal and tech house as I've seen it criticised by disappointed fans of melodic trance. I'll have to admit, I was once a bit of a Sander skeptic myself. Two or three years ago I had him down as quite a "hit and miss" producer and when it first emerged onto the scene I thought Grasshopper was a pretty, boring uninspiring track. But, having seen him DJ three times now, it seems I've come full circle. As simple as it is, I've fallen head over heels in love with Sander's style, a style that he is making his own within the trance scene with every release and every DJing gig. What I do specifically like about this album is that, despite always being fairly minimal in style, it does have a wonderful balance between chilled out moods and dancefloor energy. I'm no expert in minimal and tech house, that is for certain, but I thought a lot of the percussion on this album was absolutely perfect, particularly in Apple and Dozer. And, of course, this album has Riff on it, which is pure dancefloor gold. How could you possibly not want to dance your balls off to that tune? Watch out, Sander - if it were scientifically possible, I'd want your babies.

Favourite Track: Riff

9. Kino Oko - [album artist=Kino Oko]Alphabetically Divided Highway[/album]
(August / Tribal Vision)

If this chart was solely about innovation then this album would be sitting proudly at the top of the pile. This was nothing like anything I'd ever heard before - an unusual mesh of psydub and progressive with nuggets of IDM, electro, trance and even jazz sprinkled on for good measure, busting with delicate little basslines and sparklingly with bleeping synth-lines. To save the effort of trying to categorise it accurately, it might be tempting to just call it a progressive psychedelic trance album, but tracks like Made In Satisfaction or Body And Mind don't quite flow like trance; they swirl, they reverberate, they float. To me, this album almost sounds like Zombie Nation, Shpongle and Tegma making a wild head-on collision, sending funky psychedelic jazz debris flying all over the road. In terms of creating something new and different, this was definitely electronic music's main achievement of 2008.

Favourite Track: Mother Mature

8. Armin van Buuren - [album artist=Armin Van Buuren]Imagine[/album]
(April / Armada Music)

Oh, no. Armin's gone pop? No, not quite. The trance purists will hate me for charting this so high, but fuck it. Now that Armin is sitting top of DJ Mag's DJ poll, like Tiesto was previously, he is there to be shot at. And after producing something here that isn't necessarily "pure" trance from start to finish and something that in many ways reflects the direction that his A State Of Trance radio shows have supposedly gone, the cries of "Armin's gone pop" were bound to follow. But I'm sorry, I have a fairly broad taste, I don't turn my nose up at the first sign of a vocal and therefore I really enjoyed this. It's hardly music to be totally ripping up dancefloors, but if you take it for what it is, a chilled out trance-house crossover for the Ibizan beaches and terraces, then you have to concede it's more than fit for purpose. I think most of the vocals are great on this album, particularly those on In And Out Of Love and Hold On To Me, and the "spirit" of Ibiza seems to sustain itself from the first to the very last minutes. Whether it's better than 76 or Shivers I'm not entirely sure yet, but at least it's something different. Armin may have remixed The Killers this year, but don't panic trance fans, those collaborations with Girls Aloud and Miss Spears are a little way off yet.

Favourite Track: In And Out Of Love

7. Ferry Corsten - [album artist=Ferry Corsten]Twice In A Blue Moon[/album]
(November / Flashover Recordings)

With Right Of Way and L.E.F., the mighty Ferry Corsten had already set the bar incredibly high. I think if you compare Ferry's artist albums to those of the rest of trance's "big 4" - Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto and Paul Van Dyk - Ferry generally seems to deliver that extra something else, at least in terms of delivering a holistic yet varied package of tracks that work as well at home as they do on the dancefloor. And, more so than any of the others, he has found his own sound and more or less stuck with it. But, at the same time, he's managed to cater for quite a broad range of tastes. With Twice In A Blue Moon we are treated to yet more of the same. Same old Ferry, slightly different mood. This album makes stylistic reference to almost all of Ferry's older material - the uplifting trance, the electro trance, the vocal trance, even the dark moody stuff - yet injects an extra element of funky progressiveness in places. Another thing that I thought was excellent about this album was its use of vocals. If there's one criticism you could level at Armin Van Buuren's Imagine it's that it maybe uses vocals to the point of overkill. Ferry uses them much more sparingly and to much greater effect. The vocals themselves in terms of quality are right up there with the best you'll hear on any trance album. In particular, the vocals in Made Of Love, Black Velvet and Feel You are awesome. I would be hard pushed to say that this is better than Right Of Way - Right Of Way is a special album - but it's honestly not a million miles away from it. I certainly think it generally has a more listenable "vibe" or atmosphere than L.E.F.

Favourite Track: Made Of Love

6. Quadra - [album artist=Quadra]Voice Of Reason[/album]
(June / H2O Records)

Having already released 3 albums under his Quadra alias, Ido Liran, one half of Save the Robot, was already a very well-established name in full-on psy-trance. His fantastic bootleg of Gorillaz's Feel Good Inc., LSD Came Falling Down, was one of my favourite psy-trancers of 2007. This album picks up from that in a very obvious way, bootlegging a number of familiar melodies and vocal samples such Wildchild's Renegade Master, Niels Van Gogh's Pulverturm, Planet Funk's Chase The Sun and even Tiesto's In My Memory. And I think that sense of familiarity works really well. In terms of overall sound, Voice Of Reason is your typical up-to-the-minute full-on album, with its crisp, punchy basslines, melodic breakdowns and bouncing psychedelic effects. This was by far the best artist album from this specific brand of full-on psy-trance this year, albeit not quite as good as Time Lock’s amazing Prototype 0.1 from last year and not quite the best psy-trance album of the year overall... keep reading for that.

Favourite Track: Pulvertrum 3.0

5. Enigma - [album artist=Enigma]Seven Lives Many Faces[/album]
(September / Virgin Music Germany)

Now, this is a bit of a strange one. Not the album itself necessarily. The album itself is classic Engima and, as always, extremely relaxing stuff. It's where this album fits into Enigma's overall discography that slightly bemused me. Everything about this album, including its title, had a sort of "final chapter" feel to it. Rather than carry on from where the incredibly subtle and significantly less vocalised A Posteriori left off, Seven Lives Many Faces seemed to bring together Michael Cretu's entire discography, going in all sorts of different but familiar, old directions. You can even hear vocal samples cut from previous albums which are clearly not meant to be carefully hidden away. Now, if this was planned as Cretu's final album as Enigma then a sort of "stylistic review" would have been a fitting way to bring this landmark project to an end after 18 spectacular years. But apparently this isn't Enigma's last album and Cretu is already working on the next one. So... why take Enigma stylistically backwards? A lot of Enigma fans moan about A Posteriori, some say that it was by far Cretu's most disappointing work. I love it, personally, and would have appreciated seeing Enigma continue a little further down that ethereal path, seeing what more could have been made of A Posteriori's wonderfully emotional and delicate feel. But if you put questions of overall artistic direction to one side and judge this newest release on its own merits then there is still a lot to be positive about. Even this album's cheesiest moments are carried off will such aplomb that you have sit back and say to yourself, "fair play to you, Michael." Another high quality record from the king of mainstream meditation. The question is, what next?

Favourite Track: The Same Parents

4. Juno Reactor - [album artist=Juno Reactor]Gods & Monsters[/album]
(February / Metropolis)

I noticed quite a few Juno fans were disappointed with this, one of the year's first big releases. The last two tracks, which are essentially ballads, did leave a lot of people scratching their heads. But considering how long it had been since Labyrinth was released and considering how much of a free-thinking innovator Ben Watkins is, this was never going to be anything other than surprising. Watkins has never been afraid of throwing together styles and sounds that you wouldn't expect could or even should work together. Labyrinth was proof of that; Gods & Monster is unequivocal proof of that. However, there is something distinctly "Juno Reactor" running through tracks like Inca Steppa, Tanta Pena and City Of The Sinful- that dark, pulsating bass, that epic "world fusion" tribal feel. Even in Las Vegas Future Past you can hear "left overs" from his work on the Matrix soundtracks. But obviously we get a distinctly new take on that familiar sound. In Inca Steppa, for example, "Mexican rasta" is exactly what you get as that familiar Juno Reactor tribal takes on a distinctly Central American feel and melts seamlessly into reggae flavour. Other parts of the album treat us to something entirely different however - Haunting dub, chillout, touches of jazz, metal and, of course, ending on those two ballads. Do the ballads spoil it? Well, the answer is yes and no. Perfect Crime is a well-written song that sometimes even has me passionately singing along, complete with "emo" facial expressions. Whereas, the less said about Pretty Girl the better really. But overall, a sublime effort from Juno which I think might even grow with time. Superbly innovative and, in Inca Steppa, Tanta Pena and City Of The Sinful, has 3 real gems in its hefty locker.

Favourite Track: Inca Steppa

3. Pendulum - [album artist=Pendulum]In Silico[/album]
(May / Warner Music UK Ltd)

As I mused in one of my most recent journals, Pendulum's long-awaited 2nd album wasn't as good as their first. But I never expected it to be. Hold Your Colour was one of those magical albums, an album which contains levels of balance and quality that even the greatest artists around don't just repeat at the drop of a hat. What I hoped Pendulum would do is take some of the key ingredients of Hold Your Colour and build something new, fresh and exciting, to elaborate on the group's familiar formulas to create something different. And that is exactly what they did. For me, In Silico is the perfect balance between familiarity and freshness. Pendulum have evolved without ripping up root and branch. Certain people were always going to be slightly disappointed. By nailing their colours to the mast and deciding to take the project definitively down the root of half-drum & bass-electronic-rock crossover, this Slam plus rock approach, certain stylistic elements of Hold Your Colour were bound to be lost. Hold Your Colour was after all quite a varied affair, whereas In Silico is more single-minded and makes no conscious attempt to "cover all the bases" just in case old fans get disillusioned. I think Pendulum have to be commended for that, for sticking to their guns and doing what they want with their music. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed with In Silico. Hey, so the days of Another Planet and The Terminal are clearly gone, but large parts of this new offering still had all the energy and power I've come to expect from them, without just being an attempt to copy Hold Your Colour tune for tune. Fuck the snobs; whatever genre you care to call it, whatever its popularity, this is good shit.

Favourite Track: Midnight Runner

2. Orkidea - [album artist=Orkidea]Metaverse[/album]
(March / AVA Recordings)

Armin did very well, Ferry did even better - but unfortunately for them they were both royally owned this year by Finland's finest, Tapio Hakanen, better known to the world of trance as DJ Orkidea, albeit with the help of a few other big name producers such as Andy Moor, Solar Stone and David West. The opening few tracks of this album are so uplifting, particularly the last 2 minutes or so of Free Dreams. YearZero is just sheer quality and always has me turning up my stereo on the 4:26 mark. It combines that uplifting mood with a catchy, driving bassline to produce a near perfect example of what trance music is really all about at the moment. Other parts of the album have a slightly darker, moodier feel however, which provides an important element of balance and variety. Stretching Time, for example, even starts out sounding quite tough, almost psychedelic, while later developing into a lushly melodic affair. And the introductions of Masochrist and Requiem are totally epic, leading into yet more faintly psychedelic but melodic moodiness. And I'm sure many trance purists will delight in the fact this album contains almost no sung vocals, a la Ferry, Armin or DJ Shah. This album didn't require them at all, so you have to give Tapio credit for not being tempted to throw a few in arbitrarily. This is a distinctly different experience to Imagine or Twice In A Blue Moon and almost a million miles away from Sander's Supernaturalistic and, for my money, is the best of the lot.

Favourite Track: YearZero

1. Wizzy Noise - [album artist=Wizzy Noise]Renaissance[/album]
(September / Harmonia Records)

This came like a bolt out of the blue. Wizzy Noise are indeed a highly reputable psy-trance act with a solid and distinctive sound. But likely to produce an album that could comfortably clinch my top album spot for 2008? Certainly not. At least I didn't think so. I honestly never expected the Greek duo to come out sounding this good, especially considering how little they have altered their overall style to achieve it. Wizzy Noise just took that trademark sound that everyone in the psy-trance scene knows them for, gave it a bit more of a melodic edge and took it up a few notches. The interesting thing about this album is that almost every single track on the album starts out sounding like your run-of-the-mill psy-trancer, some of them even start out sounding quite dull. But then each one starts to move up the gears, gear by gear, kick back by kick back. Before you know it you're being bombarded by a wall of sound - a wall of soaring electro melodies and pumping psychedelic basslines. Trance is all about that progression towards a spine-tingling crescendo and this album has those crescendos in abundance. Sea Song turned out to be my psy-trance tune of the year. Anybody that has heard it will understand why. That kick back on the 6 min 30 second mark is a pure "hairs on your neck stand up" moment, every single time.

Favourite Track: Sea Song

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ALBUMS - THE HONOURABLE MENTIONS

10 albums that deserve a shout... in no particular order:

Nicholas Bennison - [album artist=Nicholas Bennison]Tension Of Opposites[/album]
(November / Propulsion) ((Progressive Psychedelic / Progressive / Psychedelic Breaks)
Mirco de Govia - [album artist=Mirco De Govia]Iconic Path[/album]
(April / euphonic) (Chillout / Progressive Trance / Trance)
Tegma - [album artist=Tegma]Lo-Fi Adventures[/album]
(February / Tribal Vision) (Progressive Trance)
Kularis - [album artist=Kularis]Technical Progress[/album]
(February / Spintwist Records) (Progressive Psychedelic)
Liquid Stereo - [album artist=Liquid Stereo]Love In Stereo[/album]
(August / Iboga Records) (Progressive Psychedelic)
Deadmau5 - [album artist=Deadmau5]Random Album Title[/album]
(September / Ultra Records) (Progressive Trance / Progressive House)
aladdin - [album artist=Aladdin]Void Last Line[/album]
(November / Meira Records) (Full-on Psychedelic)
Jaytech - [album artist=Jaytech]Everything Is OK[/album]
(June / Anjunabeats) (Progressive Trance / Chillout)
Ernesto vs. Bastian - [album artist=Ernesto vs. Bastian]Authenticity[/album]
(February / High Contrast Recordings) (Trance / Progressive Trance / Tech Trance)
Psysex - [album artist=Psysex]Healing[/album]
(May / HOM-Mega Productions) (Progressive Psychedelic / Full-on Psychedelic / Psychedelic Breaks)

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TOP 20 TRANCE, PROGRESSIVE AND TECH TRANCE TUNES OF 2008

1. Sander van Doorn – Apple (Marcus Schossow Remix)
(July / Doorn Records)
2. Simon Patterson - Smack
(April / Reset Recordings)
3. Georgia - Ode To '99
(March / Levare Recordings)
4. Mike Foyle - Pandora (The Blizzard Remix)
(May / Armind)
5. B.E.N. vs. Mr. Pit - Superstition
(May / Coldharbour Recordings)
6. Graeme Harrison – Xanthe
(February / Flux Delux)
7. Lee Haslam – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD)
(May / Digital Remedy)
8. Armin van Buuren - In And Out Of Love (Richard Durand Remix)
(August / Armanda Music)
9. Talla 2XLC vs. Sean Tyas - Heart To Heart (Sean Tyas Remix)
(February / Tetsuo)
10. The Doppler Effect - Beauty Hides in The Deep (John O'Callaghan Remix)
(February / Armind)
11. Orjan Nilsen – La Guitarra
(May / Armind)
12. Rank 1 vs. Jochen Miller - And Then...
(February / High Contrast Recordings)
13. Jochen Miller – Lost Connection
(July / High Contrast Recordings)
14. Onova – Niveus
(April / Total Digital Recordings)
15. Akesson - Sunchaser
(April / Fraction Records)
16. El Cortez - Desert Rose
(April / Intuition Recordings)
17. Oceania – Never Forget (Arctic Moon Remix)
(August / Well Mixed Records)
18. Tom Colontonio - Headless Horseman
(November / Discover Digital)
19.Alex M.O.R.P.H. - Walk The Edge (Alex M.O.R.P.H. B2B Woody Van Eyden Remix)
(May / High Contrast Recordings)
20, Ryan Blair - Tek Drum
(July / Monster Tunes)

Producer Of The Year 2008:

3. Orkidea
2. Simon Patterson
1. Paul Miller

Superstar DJ Award 2008:

3. Paul van Dyk
2. Eddie Halliwell
1. Sander van Doorn

Label Of The Year 2008: High Contrast Recordings
"One To Watch" for 2009: Tom Colontonio

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TOP 20 UK HARD DANCE TUNES OF 2008

1. ng rezonance – Sinners
(September / High Drive Recordings)
2. Technikal presents Helen G – Don’t Stop (Rodi Style Remix)
(August / Technikal Recordings)
3. Kenemy - Sorry For Itself (Emilio Remix)
(August / Presence Hard Trance)
4. Technikal presents Kris Mclachlan - Return To Innocence
(November / Technikal Recordings)
5. Jason Cortez – Set U Free
(June / Tranzlation Whites)
6. Iridium - Give It To Me
(July / Carbon Recordings)
7. Aftershok – Extraordinary
(June / Outbreak Digital)
8. Technikal - Ssst...(Listen)
(October / Tidy)
9. Technikal vs. The Lost Boys - Mass Effect (Iridium Remix)
(May / Technikal Recordings)
10. Paul Glazby – Alien Animal
(August / Vicious Circle)
11. Amber D - Rush On Me
(October / Tidy)
12. Bryn Whiting - 3rd Movement (Iridium Remix)
(November / High Drive Recordings)
13. Paul Maddox meets Technikal - Captive
(September / Tidy)
14. Velos - The Joker
(November / Fireball Recordings)
15. SQ presents Ben Collie - End Of Dayz
(September / Outbreak Digital)
16. Rob Tissera & Quake – Holdin’ On (Rob Tissera & Technikal Remix)
(July / Tidy)
17. Kym Ayres - Guitar Hero
(December / Tidy)
18. Pero - Obsession
(September / Technikal Recordings)
19. Emilio – Sabotage (Iridium Remix)
(February / High Drive Recordings)
20. Scott Genetik – Can’t Stop The Signal
(April / Encoded)

Producer Of The Year Award 2008:

3. Paul Maddox
2. Iridium
1. Technikal

Superstar DJ Award 2008:

3. Paul Maddox
2. The Tidy Boys
1. Rodi Style

Label Of The Year 2008: Technikal Recordings
"One To Watch" for 2009: Emilio

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TOP 20 FULL-ON PSY TUNES OF 2008

1. Wizzy Noise - Sea Song
(September / Harmonia Records)
2. System Nipel & Electra – Game On (Ananda Shake Remix)
(June / Utopia Records)
3. Dynamic – Make Me (Space Cat vs. Dynamic Remix)
(July / H2O Records)
4. Wizzy Noise - Eyes Wide Open
(September / Harmonia Records)
5. Vibe Tribe & Gataka & Electro Sun & ziki- Tokyo Tel Aviv
(September / Noga Records)
6. Spade - Reaction
(June / Utopia Records)
7. Quadra – Pulverturm 3.0
(June / H2O Records)
8. Insomnia – Displacement
(March / Trancelucent Productions)
9. aladdin - U Know This
(November / Meira Records)
10. Freedom Fighters – Robotic
(June / Utopia Records)
11. Electro Sun vs. Stereomatic - Bubble Crash
(September / Noga Records)
12. Aquatica feat. Sapir – Angels
(July / Com.Pact Records)
13. Ultravoice vs. Rizo – Keep It Real (Azax Syndrom Remix)
(March / Com.Pact Records)
14. aladdin - Soul Of A Worm
(November / Meira Records)
15. Quadra – Back Again
(June / H2O Records)
16. Injection – In Su Lin
(August / Phonokol Records)
17. Ferbi Boys – Oggy Monster
(April / Com.Pact Records)
18. Ananda Shake & Phanatic - Phananda
(May / Utopia Records)
19. CPU – Wicked Plastic
(June / Nutek Records)
20. Tactic Mind vs. Unique - Problem
(February / Tactic Records)

Psy-Trance Compilation of 2008: Thank You For Flying Utopia

Producer Of The Year 2008: Wizzy Noise
"One To Watch" for 2009: Stereomatic

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TOP 20 ELECTRO-HOUSE TUNES OF 2008

1. Melleefresh & Deadmau5 - Attention Whore
(October / Play Record)
2. Dave Darell - Children
(June / DBX Records)
3. Sebastien Benett - Extremly Madness
(December / BITRATE RECORDS)
4. Felguk - WashEm & GiveEm Food
(November / plasma.digital)
5. Zoe Badwi - Release Me (TV Rock Edit)
(November / Time Records)
6. Vaca - Move Me 2008
(January / Ministry of Sound Germany)
7. Felguk - Whatever Clever
(September / plasma.digital)
8. Three Drives - Greece 2000 (Chris Reece Remix)
(July / S2 Records)
9. d.kingz - Rescue Me
(August / Clubtronics)
10. JS16 - Lights Go Wild
(Febuary / VIP Recordings)
11. Michael Woods - Natural High (Out Of Office Full Vocal Mix)
(November / Diffused Music)
12. Romain Curtis feat. Awa - I'm A Soldier (Filthy Rich's 'Full Metal Jacket' Remix)
(Febuary / Twist My DJ Records)
13. Toby Emerson - Inappropriate Electro
(November / Bugeyed Records)
14. STEVE FOREST - Freed From Desire (Ortega 2008 Remix)
(July / Jolly Roger (Sound Of Pirates)
15. D'argento - Come On Over (Chris Reece Remix)
(September / Pinkstar Records)
16. Lazy Rich - Don't Go Back
(November / plasma.digital)
17. Dave Darell - Freeloader (Spencer & Hill Remix)
(December / Tiger Records)
18. Feed Me - The Spell
(November / Mau5trap)
19. Jean Elan - Where's Your Head At? (Klaas Remix)
(July / Cinnamon Flava)
20. Guru Josh Project - Infinity 2008 (Klaas Remix)
(November / Maelstrom Records)

Producer Of The Year 2008: Felguk
"One To Watch" for 2009: Bass Weazal

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Well, there you have it ladies and gents. That was 2008. With the new Prodigy album on its way in March and my trip to the White Isle booked for July, I'm already psyched for the musical year of 2009. Bring it on, I say!

Merry Christmas one and all; Be excellent to each other.

REFLECTIONS (2008)

Sun, 2 Nov 2008 00:34:54 +0000

REFLECTIONS

It is now 21 months since I joined last.fm and 16 months since I wrote my first journal, Music According To Me , which was my attempt at introducing myself, musically speaking. Looking back on it and I’m pleased to say that it has “stood the test of time”, for want of a better phrase, albeit a relatively short period of time. In terms of my general view of music and the development of my taste up until 2007 it is still perfectly accurate and I still hold now most of the opinions I expressed in it. Some of the ideas I talked about were taken up in later journals and fleshed out, elaborated on – for example, what I wrote about “people not getting trance” eventually became a journal which attempted to explain the dynamic of trance in more detail and my criticisms of Scooter in various parts of the article became two quite lengthy journals which went through those criticisms in almost unnecessary detail. But, as you would expect, I’m not the same last.fm user I was 16 months ago. My tastes are gradually and subtly shifting and my listening habits are starting to mould themselves into patterns that clearly exhibit a more “situational” approach to music. With this in mind, I thought it might be time to reflect on some of the things I wrote about back in May 2007 and to add to those reflections some other thoughts that I have mulled over during the last year or so.

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1. ESCAPING SCOOTER SLAVERY
2. REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION IN TRANCE
3. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT PENDULUM
4. DJING – HOW HARD IS IT REALLY?
5. LISTENING HABITS AND THE ACCURACY OF SCROBBLING
6. I FEEL… SHPONGLED

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1. ESCAPING SCOOTER SLAVERY

Well, another journal entry and yet more talk of Scooter – I promise you, this is the last time. I know, I know – The Scooter – Q&A was enough, they’re shit now, they’re dead in spirit, get over it. I’d like to think that I have now. But I won’t bore you once again with yet more explanations of “what went wrong for Scooter”. I don’t feel the need. All I wanted to say was that it has only recently fully hit home to me just how obsessed I was about Scooter as a teenager, especially before I got “fully” into hard dance music around 2003/4 and “fully” into the trance scene after Ibiza 2005. I’ve recently been redecorating my room, having a bit of clear out… and you wouldn’t believe the number of old CDs with Scooter burnt on them that I’ve had to chuck out. I also got chance to take down the 3 enormous Scooter posters I’ve had on my bedroom walls for the past 5 years and I couldn’t help thinking to myself as I took them down, “did I really need to buy 3 of these?” Surely, one would have been enough, right?

Needless to say, those posters will not be going back up and taking them down felt almost therapeutic – symbolic of a musical “cleansing” or “healing”. And I really don’t mean that as a slight on Scooter’s music, old or new – but rather as a rejection of musical obsessions. My experiences of falling in and then out of love with Scooter, including my observations of the band and their fans during that time, have made me hate one thing in music above all others – fanaticism. The thing is, it does nobody any good. When large numbers of people become blindly fanatical about an artist, it stifles the artist’s creativity, gives the artist the incentive to concentrate on quantity rather than quality and gives that artist the opportunity to line his/her pockets. And when it comes to the fanatics themselves, more often than not a complete obsession with one artist inevitably leads to a narrowing of musical outlook. In most cases, it’s not that these people intrinsically only like the music produced by that artist, it’s just they seem to naturally restrict themselves. The artist in question becomes “all they need”. Whichever way I look at it, I can only see that as a real shame. These people miss out on so so much. Now, I was by no means the most obsessive Scooter fan the world has ever seen but having “left Scooter behind” and branched out over the last 2 years or so I can see how much other music I was missed out on. Realising that Scooter are a tiny fraction of the good music out there was one of the best things that ever happened to me. An obvious thing to realise, maybe, but not so obvious when you’re 16 years old and all you can think about is “the next Scooter album”.

If you look at the profiles of some Scooter fans here on last.fm (without singling out specific individuals – and I stress, it is some and not all), this narrowness of musical outlook becomes relatively clear. Some have scrobbled 20-25% Scooter, some as much as 30%. For a few people Scooter make up over half of their scrobbles. I’m sorry, but no artist deserves 50% of a person’s scrobbles. If you take into account just how much music is out there, just how many genres and sub-genres, just how many creative minds there are in the world contributing to the constant stream of musical output, no artist could possibly be considered good enough to warrant that amount of listening time. To suggest otherwise, to me, is bordering on the ludicrous.

I’m not saying people should stop listening to Scooter. I’m not even denying a person’s right to believe that Scooter are “the best” if that is what they genuinely believe… but liking a particular artist more than others shouldn’t restrict your enjoyment of the rest of music. If you’re not constantly discovering new things and enjoying a wide variety of artists from a wide variety of musical backgrounds, instead listening to the same 10 CDs over and over again and worshiping certain artists like gods, then I feel sorry for you, I really do. It is an odd sort of musical slavery.

“…He’s losing the battle for wall space, isn’t he?”
It may just be a scene in a comedy series but, exaggerating aside, obsessions, particularly ones over characters in popular culture, are clearly NOT healthy!

2. REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION IN TRANCE

In my original Music According To Me entry I made the prediction that trance would not only improve in quality as we approach the next decade but that it would also return to being more melodic, going back to the structures and stylings of the so-called “golden era” of 1998-2001. But the latter of those predictions doesn’t appear to be coming true. Progressive styles that venture into electro and house, including tech trance, are still going strong and if anything getting even more popular. Of course, progressive styles of trance music have been around for ages, but this new housier, techier, funkier progressive has a totally new flavour to it. There are fewer and fewer trance DJs playing only pure euphoric trance – the likes of Aly & Fila and John O’callaghan are, without overemphasising the point, almost a dying breed.

But, to be quite honest, I can feel myself being pulled in by this new “progressive wave”. My username is, of course, a reference to an affinity for melody in music. I was, and always will be, a sucker for a distinctive melodic sequence. Make it sweeping and uplifting and you practically have me by the dangly bits. But it’s not the be all and end all for me anymore. Take a track like Simon Patterson – Bulldozer, or his recent tune Smack, for example. Utterly amazing melodic breakdowns, but the kick backs are rough, techy and funky. In my eyes, there you have a winning combo. And that’s what I’m leaning more towards these days, at least in terms of what I want to hear on a dancefloor. The key word is ‘balance’ – too much of any style can be boring which is why all the big names, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten even Above & Beyond, are playing a mixture of styles. In particular, I recall Ferry Corsten playing a killer set at Creamfields this year which was a distinct mix of “electro-trance” and old melodic stuff like 1998 and Carte Blanche. Above & Beyond opened their set at Creamfields 2007 with what sounded more like electro-house, ending of course with their big melodic tunes like Good For Me and Home.

Boundaries are breaking down and as a result different dancefloors are expected to, and do, embrace each other’s music in the interests of variety. Contrary to my original prediction, I don’t think this is likely to change anytime soon. Rather, I think psy-trance and tech trance will have a big say in how the genre develops. But, the pure melodic stuff has to remain. Melody is an important part of what makes trance what it is. Again, the key is variety. I welcome that variety with open ears.

3. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT PENDULUM

You’d pretty much have had to be living under a rock for the last year or so not to have noticed the Pendulum juggernaut rolling into town. There’s no doubt their popularity has ballooned since the release of Blood Sugar in the summer of 2007. Everyone knows who they are, and everyone it seems has an opinion about what they are and aren’t. I think Pendulum have become another one of those artists that highlight a lot of issues within music. There’s so much about them that you can debate - hype, popularity, evolution, direction, the combination of different musical styles to name but a handful of those issues. And then of course there is THE big question, the question that people will continue to debate until they are blue in the face – Are Pendulum drum & bass?

I was introduced to Hold Your Colour in the summer of 2005, so not long after the album was actually first released. Previously, I had not been into drum & bass. To be honest, I wasn’t keen on it at all. Hold Your Colour was a real eye-opener. It remains one of my favourite albums from any genre of electronic music. Hold Your Colour didn’t turn me into a full drum & bass head but it eased me into a genre I would have otherwise continued to ignore. I now quite like artists like Matrix and Futurebound, High Contrast, DJ Fresh, The Qemists, Phetsta and Logistics. And I know the difference between liquid funk and jump up, between jungle and dubstep. So I’m not one of those people that heard Blood Sugar in a mainstream club last summer and suddenly started declaring themselves “fans of drum & bass”.

I think it’s fairly obvious to most people that Pendulum’s pre-Hold Your Colour material was definitely drum & bass. The likes of The Spiral, Masochist and Mind’s Eye were certainly less mainstream and generally a bit darker. And good tunes they are too. Hold Your Colour did have a slight mainstream edge, an extra accessibility factor, thanks in particular to the big synth lines in Fasten Your Seatbelts and Slam and some of the vocals. It was more accessible. But at the same time, because of tracks like Another Planet, Through the Loop and The Terminal, it wasn’t totally removed from what had gone before and, overall, the album itself was overwhelmingly drum & bass. The only tracks on that album that weren’t drum & bass were Fasten Your Seatbelts and Out Here, both of which were more breaks. And Slam was that sort of unusual half-drum & bass that Pendulum are now famed for. I say half-drum & bass because the beat in it is, as one last.fm user once wrote in the band’s shoutbox, a sort of “stripped down Amen Break”. Rather than being a complex and carefully programmed collection of kicks, snares and cymbals, Slam’s percussion does sound more like a guy furiously beating a drum kit. And it is that “stripped down Amen Break” that lies at the heart of both Pendulum’s success and at the heart of the drum & bass scene’s backlash against them. And it also explains why Pendulum have been able to become so successful as a live act. But, apart from those few exceptions, Hold Your Colour was all drum & bass, and in my opinion, not even that commercial-sounding, at least nowhere near as commercial as the drum & bass purists would have you believe. And what’s more, it was incredibly well produced.

Now, what has happened to Pendulum since Hold Your Colour is that they have moved more towards that “half-drum & bass” sound, that “stripped Amen break”. That is hardly surprising, for a number of reasons, all of which feed into each other. Firstly, Slam, which was the first of these tracks, sounded different, it had “trademark” quality about it. Having found such a “trademark”, and such a successful one at that, it would have been slightly odd if they had decided not to experiment with that sound and try it again. Secondly, all 3 of Pendulum’s core members are big rock fans. They have repeatedly stated so in interviews. With that in mind, it is hardly surprising that a large amount of their material since Hold Your Colour has taken the Slam concept and tried to combine it with rock music. It’s not about selling out, or going pop, or “turning your back on drum & bass” – this is the organic evolution of a group of artists in accordance with their various musical influences. The main man behind Pendulum, Rob Swire, said it himself in an interview with Kmag:

Q - Why have you moved towards more of a rock sound/ image?
A- "It wasn't really a conscious decision - as we moved away from the "strictly drum and bass" aspect of it all, we just made whatever music we thought sounded good and the rest seemed to follow. To be honest, if anyone ever thought we were D&B to the core they were under the wrong impression... D&B was just one of many genres we were into and I think the new sound and image reflect that.”

People can believe what they like and, ultimately, they will. Only the band themselves truly know whether they are motivated by their own musical whims or by pound notes and the adulation of the masses. I would be the first to criticise Pendulum if I believed they were selling out. But having watched Pendulum evolve since Hold Your Colour, having read what I’ve read about them, I honestly believe that they are just making the music they love, combining musical influences for the love of doing it. I certainly think that if they were going to sell out they wouldn’t have spent 3 years creating In Silico. Why would you spend so long making an album if your “musical heart” wasn’t in it and you didn’t “believe” in the music you were creating?

The thing is with In Silico is that a lot of people interpreted it as a “revolution” rather than an “evolution”. In Silico is indeed in many ways different to Hold Your Colour. It is more rock influenced and it certainly pushes more towards that Slam model of half-drum & bass. It is, because of the rock element, even more accessible than Hold Your Colour was. But, to say that it has nothing to do with drum & bass is simply not true. To say that it is totally and utterly removed from Hold Your Colour is simply not true. Rather, whether you like In Silico or not is probably largely dependent on what it is you liked about Hold Your Colour in the first place. Personally, I loved all the stylistic elements of Hold Your Colour, both the drum & bass elements and the more mainstream elements, and therefore I have no beef whatsoever with Pendulum for going in the direction they have. The important thing for me about In Silico was not necessarily what specific direction it went in, or even whether it was as good as or better than Hold Your Colour, but about getting that balance between something familiar and something new - something that had some of the best ingredients of Hold Your Colour at its core, but wasn’t just the same thing all over again. As far as I’m concerned, In Silico wasn’t as good as Hold Your Colour, not by a long shot, but they got that balance between familiarity and freshness almost spot on – it was an evolution.

As I hinted earlier, Pendulum “the producers” turning themselves into Pendulum “the band” for live performances has helped move Pendulum’s popularity into a new demographic. Pendulum stopped being “the drum & bass concept that introduce outsiders to drum & bass” and became ingratiated into the UK “indie circle”. As soon as they picked up their guitars, found a drummer and took to the stage, they seemed to become a wholly more attractive musical concept to the masses… because if you don’t play guitars and have a drummer you’re just not credible, right? I saw Pendulum live for the first time in the May of this year at Bristol’s Carling Academy. I enjoyed the music that night. Pendulum as a “live band” does work. But what struck me was just how many people under the age of 18 were there. This was a far cry from the gritty world of drum & bass nights and its grimy backstreet bunkers. Another thing that strangely unnerved me was that the biggest crowd reaction of the night was not really for Slam, or Voodoo People or for Propane Nightmares (as big as those crowd reactions were) but for the "Arctic Monkeys-esque" riff that turns up in the new track Mutiny. Don't get me wrong, I like Mutiny as a track - but at that point I couldn't help but think, “Am I the only non-indie fan here? How many of you would still be on the dancefloor if they started playing The Spiral or their remix of Submarines?” A part of me suddenly felt like one of those DnB snobs I've always hated... but now I can sort of see where they were coming from in a way. I don’t mind artists becoming more popular, as long as a desire to become popular doesn’t become that artist’s driving force – at the end of the day, some artists are popular simply because they are very fucking good. But I never really wanted Pendulum to become a staple of the “NME”, “BBC Radio One”, “indie” culture, where bands move in and out of the spotlight as quickly as their fans change their underwear. Let’s not be naïve here. There are some people out there who are only listening to Slam, Blood Sugar and In Silico because Zane Lowe wants Pendulum’s babies.

Pendulum’s next album is going to be interesting to say the least. Having got to where they are, the temptation to “pander” to this new fan base will undoubtedly be there. And, whatever they produce, the drum & bass community will continue to sharpen their knives in anticipation. Personally, all I hope is that it is a little more “The Prodigy” and a little less “Arctic Monkeys”. There is clearly a danger of almost all the electronic elements, including the drum & bass, being totally sucked out of Pendulum. If that happens they will become just another rock band. But, I stress, it is an ‘if’ - it has not happened yet, in my opinion.

4. DJING – HOW HARD IS IT REALLY?

In August of 2007 I did something I said I’d never do. “I’ll never be able to afford it”, I said. But when a mate of mine at Uni offered to sell me his decks on the cheap when he upgraded the idea suddenly started to seem affordable. It wasn’t long before I had my heart set on getting them. My mate didn’t upgrade in the end, but I went ahead, found the money and bought decks, a mixer and an amp anyway. Nothing special – just a set of Pioneer 100s, a digital 2 channel Numark mixer and a Kam amp.

My own progress in terms of learning has been what I would call steady. I’ve been mixing digitally with computer programs like Mixmesiter for many years now and, while digital mixing is nowhere near as difficult as doing it for real, I think that previous experience and the basic technical understanding it can give you, really helped me get to grips with the fundamentals like cueing, beatmatching and seeing the music in terms of bars. Things like tune selection, knowing those tunes inside out, timing and the blending of tracks using the mixing desk was always going to take a lot more practice. I’ve also found that different genres of electronic music require distinctly different styles of mixing, mainly because of the varying structures used. For example, because I was used to dropping in hard dance tracks with about 2 mins 30 seconds remaining on the out-going tune, it took me a while to appreciate that much more patience is required when mixing electro-house. Understanding the structures involved is absolutely vital.

In terms of how hard it is, I would say learning to DJ is a lot like learning to drive. Almost anyone can do it given enough time and effort. It will take some people more hours to learn than others but the more you do it the more competent you become. But, by the same token, not everyone is Lewis Hamilton. Just because anyone potentially can learn doesn’t mean everyone has the drive and the talent to be a superstar.

Of course, the main fundamental of DJing is the skill of beatmatching. To continue the analogy, I’d compare beatmatching in DJing to clutch control in driving. Just as you have almost no hope of controlling a car if you can’t use your clutch properly, you have no hope of getting two tracks to mix into each other if you can’t get them to sit neatly over the top of each other in the same tempo. You have to be in as much control as possible in both instances. But there is also an extent to which beatmatching can be quite mechanical and even a simple case of basic mathematics. For example, on my CD tracklists I have noted next to each track the BPM (beats per minute) and the key the track is in. This means I can carefully select which tracks are likely to go together. Now, it’s not simply a case of choosing two tunes and pitching one up or down to match the other. A track of 145 BPM pitched down by 1 to match a 144 BPM track will quite quickly fall out of time. But a DJ will also know that for every 1 BPM difference between the tracks he can slow down or speed up the incoming track by about 0.3 to make it stay in time for much longer. Without getting bogged down in all the complexities of it, if a DJ knows the BPMs of the two tracks he’s mixing he should have a very good idea of how much he’ll need to slow down or speed them up to keep them in time. So if you’ve mastered your jog wheel (which doesn’t take too long), you understand the basic mathematics and know the BPMs of your tunes, you’re well on your way. The difference is, DJs who are really skilled at beatmatching can keep beats in time without knowing what the BPMs are… just by careful listening. That in itself is much harder. Personally, I think it’s very difficult to tell if a DJ is purely using his ears, or relying much more on mathematics and the high quality of his top of the range equipment.

With that in mind, I think it can be quite difficult to judge DJs. There is such a thing as “mixing safe”, “mixing within yourself” – in other words, you could plan your set very carefully beforehand, choose tracks only a few beats per minute from each other, stick to tunes with very strict, obvious structures, make sure you weren’t mixing tracks from opposite ends of the octave in terms of key, avoid elaborate tricks and therefore mix a technically flawless set without even being that good. You could make yourself look a lot better than you were and many people observing would be none the wiser. Whereas the real talents out there can mix pretty much anything into anything (within reason) and can mix flawlessly with very little planning. And then there are people like Eddie Halliwell who do tricks like they are going out of fashion. Only then does a DJ's talent become truly obvious.

5. LISTENING HABITS AND THE ACCURACY OF SCROBBLING

I am fully aware that taking up DJing has dramatically influenced my last.fm charts. To a lot of visitors to my page, a passion for trance and hard dance might not seem that obvious at all. And I seem to have quite limited compatibility with other users who mainly scrobble trance. In particular, hard dance artists have started to tumble down my charts. The reason for that is quite simply that I mix hard dance. If I spend 2 hours mixing some hard dance, by the time I put my headphones away and sit back at my computer it’s only natural that I want to listen to something else. Inevitably I turn to psy or, if it’s late, some ambient.

To be honest, trance and hard dance music as types of music don’t lend themselves to scrobbling – at the least the full unmixed tracks from such genres don’t. The beats at the start and end of tracks are, of course, very important. It’s important to make them mixable and it’s important in terms of how the tracks slowly build. But often I’m not in the mood to be sitting around waiting for a bassline. I think the fact that DJing is so important in electronic music proves that I’m not the only one who feels that way. I know I’ve talked a lot in various journals about how trance fans are very patient music listeners and about how important that sense of progression is to the genre, but sitting through a minute of beats (or more) at the start and end of each track is pushing it a bit. And returning to your iTunes periodically to move a track forwards towards the bassline or skip to the next track isn’t always the most convenient way to listen. Sometimes I do listen like that, but often it is just easier to stick something on with a slightly more “radio friendly” structure, particularly if I’m doing something other than just surfing the net.

Also, ambient music has the advantage of being the only type of music that is suitable for the hours before going to bed. If I’m at home and still awake at 1 in the morning I’m hardly going to be listening to hard dance. I’m one of those people that hates going to bed, mainly because I hate having to through that waking up “process” the next morning. Hence, why I’ll often prolong my day by listening to Enigma, Steve Roach or Biosphere late into the night.

Those are just some of the reasons why my charts are slightly deceptive. That’s not to say that the artists in my top 30 aren’t amongst my favourite artists, but there are noticeable absentees and some genres are misleadingly underrepresented.

6. I FEEL… SHPONGLED

As I’m sure most people gathered from the opening part of this journal, I have distinctly moved away from the idea that people should be championing a specific artist ahead of all others – what you might call the “hero worship” approach to music. Certain people feel a need to commit themselves fully, not just to a scene or a genre, but to one or two artist, as if to show a greater degree of loyalty. Go to the official forum of any “popular” act and you’ll see evidence of it. What I’m basically trying to say is that if someone asked me who my favourite artist was, to single out one artist as “the best” not only would I struggle to do it but I would refuse to do it out of principle. There are too many genres, too many eras, too many so-called geniuses - not to mention too many different life situations that themselves shift what it is we require from our music. As the saying goes – there’s more than one way to skin a cat. If you had asked me who was the best artist “in the world” when I was 15 I would have said Scooter without hesitation – ask me now I’ll tell you I simply can’t chose.

But allow me to move the goal posts slightly. What if we talk about “achievement” in music? Or, even more abstractly, “spirituality” in music? Both these approaches, as well as being linked in this particular case, are, to me, subtly different to singling out artists as being aesthetically most pleasing on a more subjective level. I recently declared Shpongle to be “the pinnacle of achievement in electronic music to date”. Not necessarily the act I would pick out ahead of all others as aesthetically “the best”, but on a number of levels the greatest achievement. On what levels I hear you ask?

To begin with, the number of musical styles contained within Shpongle’s music is insanely broad. With chillout, dub and various elements of psychedelic music at its base, it combines that with jazz, classical, reggae, tribal, new age and God only knows what else to create an incredibly textured and deep brand of music. Distinctive yet highly versatile, the musical combinations are seamless and organic. The “copy-cat” projects that followed on from Shpongle’s debut record Are You Shpongled?, including Simon Posford’s own collaborations with various other talented producers, spawned what is now widely considered to be a new genre, referred to as psydub or psychill. The fact the Shpongle have been able to combine musical elements from such a wide spectrum and so effortlessly is in itself fairly unique. However, I believe Shpongle’s achievements go deeper than that. Those musical combinations, the high standards of production and music writing, the extent to which music technology is pushed to its absolute limit and, most importantly, the vision of Simon and Raja, make Shpongle “feel” like the musical expression of something wholly more profound, something almost quite deliberately inexpressible.

I think the story behind the name ‘Shpongle’ can tell you an awful lot about what their music represents as a concept. Raja Ram recalls how he was at a goa party early one morning and he was asked by someone “how are you feeling?” He responded by saying, completely spontaneously, “I feel… shpongled”.

"…And this word just came out of the atmosphere and it was like shpongle was a new word and it just became part of our vocabulary…"

It wasn’t just about being high on drugs or spaced out. We have countless words in the English language, slang or otherwise, that refer to those states without the need for arbitrarily creating new ones. Why shpongled? This was something subtly different. Raja was trying to describe the indescribable, that sort of sense of awe and "oneness" with the universe that there is no real word for. He was talking about higher plains of existence or subjectivity. And the key is the subjectivity. It is the “feeling” that is made even more subjective through the difficulty of describing it to other people – the defying of ordinary language, language that is so central to that link between your own mind, other minds and the world around those minds. That, to me, is what Shpongle is the musical expression of.

As I’ve grown older, having studied philosophy and logic in various forms and contexts, I have become more and more the cold, hard empiricist; the rationalist, the humanist, the agnostic. But something in Shpongle sparks a spiritualism. Not a Christian one, or a Muslim one or anything of that kind, but a feeling that “we”, as a collective of creatures, are more than just atoms and chemicals and that, even if we are, we should not be afraid to inject a subjective wonder into everything we encounter through our senses, to be awestruck by experiences, whether they be inside or outside us, “real” or “unreal”. It’s not just about happiness, calmness or anger anymore, it becomes about your own place in the universe. That may seem like a load of old hippy bullshit to some people, but music is all about “feelings” and, as far as I’m concerned, moving people to look at the world in terms of “higher purposes” or “hidden mysteries” is as profound as it gets.

While I feel the name ‘Shpongle’ refers to more than just the effects of drugs, it is not without its drugs philosophy or “angle”. Clearly the drugs and the spirituality flow out of each other. Both the use of drugs that alter mind states and engaging with some element of spirituality are, to me, ways in which human beings reject materialism and look for something more than what they ordinarily receive through their senses. Sometimes reality as experienced "normally", experienced impassionately and explained rationally, is mundane and sterile. Simon and Raja have clearly been influenced by the philosopher and scientist, Terrance McKenna a lot. McKenna’s voice crops up in Shpongle’s music quite often, and not just because McKenna’s voice is as hypnotic as the music itself. McKenna was an expert in “psychedelics” and experimented with a variety of highly hallucinogenic substances, such as salvia and DMT. He believed that certain hallucinogenic drugs, in particular the drug psilocybin, had played a significant role in our evolution. He further argued that for the period that such substances remained part of our diet, human beings were more communal, less concerned with possession and status and significantly less driven by their own egos. Such ideas are indeed just theories, but there is no doubt in my mind that McKenna was a talented philosopher, a visionary and a thinker totally unrestrained by popular prejudices. And his use of drugs wasn’t pure hedonism. They fed into a vision and a view of the world that was highly complex and unique. And I think a lot of people will have sympathy for this vision because he, like so many, felt that human beings have taken a wrong turning somewhere in their development – that the ego has taken over, our true place in nature lost. Again, I think Shpongle’s music somehow embodies McKenna’s vision, his philosophy. To me, Shpongle is the ultimate soundtrack to McKenna’s “psychedelic experience”. And when you appreciate just how deep and complex McKenna’s ideas are, how “interconnected” his world is, then the achievement of Shpongle becomes all the more apparent.

This is half of a Terrence McKenna's lecture called Seeking The Stone. If you're interested in Shpongle, the place of drugs in human activity or philosophy of any kind, this is well worth a look. The other half is available on Google video.

Phil Dickinson - November 2008

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THE VOICES BEHIND THE BREAKDOWN

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:38:26 +0000

THE VOICES BEHIND THE BREAKDOWN

One of the things that I always loved about hard dance music when I first discovered it was the way it would often use vocal samples in the breakdowns of tracks. These samples in many cases may seem quite innocuous. Often quite short. Somtimes quite obscure. But I've always felt that they can give a track an extra dimension, particularly of character and mood. And having only got into psy-trance more recently, I've noticed this sort of movie, TV and video game sampling is just as prevelent there as it is in UK hard dance.

This is a little project I've been working on for a couple of years. Adding to it bit by bit, piece by piece, sometimes with the help of others. It's mainly been done through some quite careful google searching and cross-referencing with IMDB. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but as far as the hard dance tunes go, it's as comprehensive as exists, as far as I know. Posting this list here is largely for my own reference, but some hard dance and psy-trance fans out there on the net might find it, if not useful, at least interesting.

If anyone wants to contribute their own finds to this, or point out any incorrect info, feel free to let me know. Also, note that the quotes posted are as they appear in the tracks themselves, not necessarily exactly as they are in the film, TV series, speech or video game they're taken from.

Last update: 03/05/09

HARD DANCE

AfterShok - Extraordinary - TV Series: Heroes - Milo Ventimiglia

"Do you ever get the feeling that you were meant to do something... extraordinary!?"

AfterShok - Liberty - Apollo 13 - Ed Harris

"With all due respect, Sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour."

AfterShok - MVP - TV Series: 190 Bester Place (Shadow Dancing) - Richard Biggs

"I wasn't a good soldier like my father, I wasn't .. the job.. Always what I wasn't, never what I was."

Airspace vs. Brad Thatcher - The Truth - speech by Rev. Jerry Falwell

"What is the truth about music? Music is the most powerful medium in the world. Satan has taken music and he has counterfeited it, convoluted it, twisted it, exploited it and now he's using it to hammer, hammer, hammer a message into the minds and the lifestyles of this generation."

Alex Mac & Zeebra Kid – Life – Rocky Balboa - Sylvester Stallone

“The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.”

Alex Mac & Zeebra Kid – Primal Fear – Jacob’s Ladder - Matt Craven (?)

"...a fast trip straight down the ladder, right to the primal fear, right to the base anger. I’m telling you, man. It was powerful."

Andy Whitby & Lee Pasch - R We Alone? - TV Series: The Outer Limits (Music Of The Spheres) - opening narration

"For years we have searched for the answer to an eternal question... are we alone? As yet, there has been no answer. Or perhaps the answer is only for those with the facility to hear it."

Andy Whitby, Serge & Green - Anything Like This - Big Fish - Danny De Vito

"Ladies and gentlemen, you may think you've seen the unusual. You may think you've seen the bizzare. But I've traveled to the five corners of the world, and let me tell ya, I've never seen anything like this!"

Ashley James - Nothing Seems Real - Videodrome - Jack Creley

"After all, there is nothing real outside our perception - reality is there."

Ben Kaye vs. RIP DJs - No Fkin Ice Cream - Alien 3 - Danny Webb

"No climate control, no video system, no freezers, no fucking ice cream, no rubbers, no women, no guns... all we got here... is SHIT!"

Bryn Whitting - The Message - V For Vendetta - John Hurt

"What we need right now is a clear message to the people of this country. This message must be read in every newspaper, heard on every radio, seen on every television... I want everyone to remember, why they need us!"

Bulletproof - Mistakes - The Witches Of Eastwick - Jack Nicholson

We ALL make mistakes... Do you think God knew what he was doing when he created a woman? A mistake? Or did He do it to us on PURPOSE!!!? BECAUSE I REALLY WANNA KNOW!!! BECAUSE IF IT'S A MISTAKE MAYBE WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! FIND A CURE! Build up our immune systems. 20 push ups a day and you NEVER have to be afflicted with women EVER AGAIN!!!... When WE make mistakes they call it evil. When GOD makes mistakes, they call it... nature."

Carl Nicholson - AK-47 - Jackie Brown - Samuel L. Jackson

"AK-47! Very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room. Accept no substitute!"

Carl Nicholson - All Aboard - The Business - Danny Dyer

"My old man wrote me a letter from prison once. It said if you don't want to end up like me, stay away from crime, women and drugs. Trouble is, that don't leave you much else to do, does it?"

Carl Nicholson - Blueprint (Tara's Theme) - The Omega Code - Casper Van Dien

"Crisscrossing the Tora is a code of hidden words and phrases. It not only reveals our past and present, it can tell our future... Some even believe it contains the actual blueprints of the universe."

Carl Nicholson - Devil's Door - Four Brothers - Tyrese Gibson

"...if you've got something, you give it to me. And if it's something vital we will run with this, brother. Keep knocking on the devil's door long enough, sooner or later someone gonna answer you."

Carl Nicholson - I Like It - Hulk - Eric Bana

"Do you know what scares me the most? Is that when it happens, when it comes over me, when I totally lose control... I like it!"

Carl Nicholson - Musicmakers - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - Gene Wilder

"We are the music makers. And we are the dreamers of dreams."

Carl Nicholson - Paradise - Cape Fear - Robert De Niro

"Every man carries a circle of hell around his head like a halo. Every man, every man has to go through hell to reach his paradise."

Carl Nicholson - The Shining - The Shining - Scatman Crothers

"I remember when I was a little boy, my grandmother and I could hold entire conversations without ever opening our mouths. She called it shining."

Carl Nicholson & Ben Kaye – Corporation Nation – School Of Rock – Jack Black

“You guys, you know what? You’re nuts. You’re all nuts. You've been focused so hard on making it, you forgot about one little thing. It's called the music! And I don't even care. You know what? So what? I don’t wanna hang out with a bunch of wannabe corporate sell-outs. You’re all nuts. I'm gonna form my own band and we're gonna start a revolution. OK?”

Carl Nicholson & James Lawson – Times Like These - New Jack City - Wesley Snipes

"Times like these people wanna get high. Real high, real fast... And this is gonna do it."

Caroline Banx - Currupt - Nineteen Eighty-Four - John Hurt

"I hate goodness. I hate purity. I want everyone corrupt."

Christiaan - Driving You Mad - The Matrix - Laurence Fishburne

"In your mind... driving you mad!"

Chrysus & Kym Ayres - Self-Destruct - I,Robot - Fiona Hogan

"...Charge us with your safekeeping. Yet despite our best efforts your countries wage wars. You toxify your earth, and pursue ever more imaginative means of self-destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival."

Colin Barratt & Phil York - Master Your Fears - Batman Begins - Liam Neeson

"To manipulate the fears of others, you must first master your own."

Daley, Adz & Calver - More Drugz - Quote from comedian Denis Leary's stand up

"I have the solution to the drug problem in this country. Nobody wants to hear it, but I have it. Not less drugs, more drugs. Get more drugs, and give 'em to the right fucking people."

Dark By Design - The Beginning Of The End - The Matrix - Keanu Reeves

"I didn't come here to tell you how this was going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin."

Dark By Design - Mechanical Fate - The Matrix - Laurence Fishburne

"Throughout human history we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate it seems is not without a sense of irony."

Dave Holmes - Freedom - Speech by Pres. George W. Bush

"Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war. And we know that God is not neutral between them."

Dave Lochrie - No Turning Back - The Matrix - Laurence Fishburne

"After this there’s no turning back! ... This is your last chance."

Dave Mac - The Devil's Trick - The Usual Suspects - Kevin Spacey

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

Ed Real & The Coalition - 20,000 Hardcore Members - The Warriors - Roger Hill

"20,000 hardcore members... I say the future is ours!"

Fearnie - Rockers Against Drugs - Quote from comedian Bill Hicks' stand up

"You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us, I really do. And if you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favour, go home tonight and take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and BURN 'UM... Because you know what, the musicians who made all that great music that has enhanced your lives throughout the years... real fuckin' high on drugs!

Flashheadz - Promised Land - Famous speech by Martin L. King Jr. - Memphis, Tennessee, April 3, 1968

"Like anybody I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just wanna do God's will. And He has allowed me to go up to the mountain. I've looked over and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with ya! But I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the promised land!"

Flashheadz - Who Wins - The Quick & The Dead - Gene Hackman

"All I hear from you, you spineless cowards, is how poor you are. How you can't afford my taxes. Yet somehow you've all managed to find the money to hire a professional gunfighter to kill me. Where's all this money coming from? What am I to think? If you've got some much to spare I'm just gonna have to take some more off you. 'Cause you clearly have not got the message! This is my town! You live to see the dawn it's beacause I allow it! I'm in charge of everything. I decide who lives and who dies!"

Gaz West - Free Your Mind - The Matrix - Laurence Fishburne

"Freeee your mind!"

Gaz West - Meaning Of Life - The Matrix Reloaded - Laurence Fishburne

"I believe it is our fate to be here. It is our destiny. I believe this night holds for each and every one of us, the very meaning of our lives."

Gaz West & Phil York - The Day Comes - TV Series: Battlestar Galactica (Miniseries) - Edward James Olmos

"You cannot play God, then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore."

Gaz West & Phil York - Hell's Pass - The Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring - Ian McKellen

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!"

Gaz West & Phil York - The Truth - A Few Good Men - Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson

- "You want answers?"
- "I think I'm entitled."
- "You want answers?"
- "I want the truth!"
- "You can't handle the truth!"

Gen XT - Avin You - Delia Smith's drunken outburst at half-time in a Norwich City match

"Let's be havin' you!"

Greg Brookman, Kevin Energy & K-Complex - Stimulants - Voice of Spiro Agnew, American politician of the Nixon administration

"Sometimes it appears that we are reaching a period when a senses and our minds will no longer respond to moderate stimulation. We appear to be approaching an age of the gross...The young, at the zenith of physical power and sensitivity, overwhelm themselves with drugs and artificial stimulants."

Guyver - Differences - Independence Day - Bill Pullman

"In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." Words should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore."

Guyver - How Far - The Anarchist Cookbook - Dylan Bruno

"Nihilism is a totally rejection of established laws and institutions ... how far are you willing to go?"

Guyver - Just One More Time - The Basketball Daries - Leonardo Di Caprio

"Your nose is running, your stomach cramps, your legs feel like they've played six straight games on top of each other. And the voice is always there, in the back of your head, "just one more time, then we'll stop." And you wanna stop. You really do, but it's like a dream. You can't stop dreams. They move in crazy pieces, anyway they want to and suddenly they're capable of anything.... You're growing up. And rain sort of remains on the branches of a tree that will someday rule the Earth. And it's good that there is rain. It clears the month of your sorry rainbow expressions, and it clears the streets of the silent armies... so we can dance.... It was a dream, not a nightmare. A beautiful dream I could never imagined in a thousand nods. I saw this girl next to me, she wasn't beautiful until she smiled. And I felt that smile come at me in heat waves following. Soaking through my body and out my finger tips in shafts of color. And I knew somewhere in the world, somewhere, that there was love for me."

Guyver - Man On The Moon - Speech by Pres. John F. Kennedy

"I believe this nation should commit itself, to achieving the goal, of landing a man on the moon, and returning him safely to the earth."

Guyver - Persistence - Galaxy Quest - Tim Allen

"Never give up! Never surrender!"

Guyver - Possibly - Armageddon - Liv Tyler

"Do you think it's possible that anyone else in the world is doing this very same thing at this very same moment?"

Guyver - Succeed At All Costs - The Anarchist Cookbook - Devon Gummersall

"Work hard; study hard; grow up fast; die young; sacrifice your youth; succeed at all costs"

Guyver - Trapped - Face/Off - John Travolta

"And now after all this time I've finally figured out a way to trap him... I will become him."

Ian M - Crazy Pills - Zoolander - Will Ferrell

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

Ingo presents Caroline Banx – A Paradox - Ferris Bueller's Day Off – Matthew Broderick

“I've said it before and I'll say it again. Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."

Ingo presents Guffy - Cruize - Vanilla Sky - Penelope Cruz

"Open your eyes!"

Interphaze - Grade A - Blow - Johnny Depp

"This is Grade A 100% pure Colombian cocaine....Disco shit."

Interphaze & Xinetd_D - Future Independence - Speech by Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower

"That the future shall belong to the free."

James Jaye - Real High - Quote from comedian Bill Hicks' stand up

"They were real high. They wrote great music - drugs having positive affects... Real fuckin' high on drugs!"

James Lawson & Phil Reynolds - Filthy Criminals – TV Series: Batman – Adam West

“You filthy criminals."

Jason Cortez - Finally - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - William Redfield

"This is the point, it's not bullshit...I'm talking about my LIFE, I can't seem to get that through to you. I'm not just talking about one person, I'm talking about everybody. I'm talking about form. I'm talking about content. I'm talking about interrelationships. I'm talking about God, the devil, Hell, Heaven. Do you understand... FINALLY!!?"

Jason Cortez - No Other Way - Casino - Robert De Niro

"When you love someone, you've got to trust them. There's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything that’s yours. Otherwise, what's the point?"

Jason Cortez – Tranzition – From an old techno track called Transitions by Underground Resistence.

"There will be people who say you can’t – but you will.
There will be people who say you don’t mix this with that and you will say “watch me”.
There will be people who will say play it safe, that’s too risky – you will take that chance and have no fear.
You won’t let these questions restrain or trouble you.
You will find the strength in the sound ...make your transition."

Jason Cortez & Phil York - 88mph - Back To The Future - Christopher Lloyd

"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88mph, we're gonna see some serious shit!"

Jason Cortez & Phil York - Reality - Human Traffic - John Simm

"The children of ecstasy aren't safe anymore. We're no longer all together as one. Reality's on her way."

Jupe - Fight Club - Fight Club - Brad Pitt

"The first rule of Fight Club is - you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is - you DO NOT talk about Fight Club. Third rule of Fight Club, someone yells Stop!, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Fourth rule, only two guys to a fight. Fifth rule, one fight at a time, fellas. Sixth rule, no shirt, no shoes. Seventh rule, fights will go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight!"

K90 - Ghost In The Machine - I,Robot - James Cromwell

"Ghosts in the machine... Random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols...One day they'll have secrets, one day they'll have dreams."

Kenemy - Sorry For Itself - G.I. Jane - Viggo Mortensen (quoting "Self-Pity" by D.H. Lawrence)

"I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself."

Lee Haslam - El Diablo Adrento (The Devil Inside) - Gothika - Penelope Cruz

"He came back again last night and tore me like paper. He opened me like a flower of pain, and it felt good. He sank into me and set me on fire, like he always does. Made me burn from the inside out... He said your next! Are you scared?"

Lee Haslam - Free - The Wild Angels - Peter Fonda and Frank Maxwell

"...Just what is it that you want to do?
- We wanna be free! To do what we wanna do! And we wanna get loaded... and we wanna have a good time! And that's what we're gonna do!"

Lee Haslam - Here Comes The Pain - Carlito's Way - Al Pacino

"I'm reloaded! Okay? Come on in here, motherfuckers! What, you ain't comin' in? Okay, I'm comin' out! I'm gonna blow your fuckin' brains out! You think you're big time? You gonna fuckin' die big time! You ready? HERE COMES THE PAIN!"

Lee Haslam - Music Is The Drug - The 51st State - Samuel L. Jackson

"My product is 51 times stronger than cocaine, 51 times more hallucinogenic than acid and 51 times more explosive than ecstasy. It's like getting a personal visit ... from God!"

Lisa Lashes - Can't Sleep - xXx - Vin Diesel

"What's the matter? I can't sleep ... I don't know who you think you're playing with. I don't play this game!"

Lisa Pin-Up – Tie Me Up – Alien Nation - Leslie Bevis

"Are you going to strike me? You could tie me up and then do whatever you want with me. I have no ropes...You have me all wrong. I never charge money for something I myself find pleasurable...Ooooh, I find that very arousing.” (?)

LOX & Dark By Design - Strapped In - Spiderman 2 - Alfred Molina

"Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts!"

Marc Johnson & George E - Great Responsibility - Spider-Man - Cliff Robertson

"These are the years when a man changes into the man he's going to become the rest of his life....Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility."

Matt Gardner – Broaden – Batman – Jack Nicholson

“Let's broaden our minds!”

Matt Gardner - Making A Change - Wayne's World - Rob Lowe

"How do you feel about making a change?"

Matt Williams & A Star - Mind Games - Ghost - Vincent Schiavelli

"You wanna move something, you gotta move it with your mind!"

Mindbender - Subconscious Power - Vanilla Sky - Kurt Russell (?)

"Sometimes, the mind behaves as if it were in a dream. Faces change, people become other people. The subconscious is a powerful thing."

Mindbender vs. Kikkoman - One Hit Per Headbanger - Go - Timothy Olyphant

"This is the real thing pharmaceutical grade, not that crunchy herbal rave shit. ? double dose and you'll be frying eggs off them in the emergency room...One hit per headbanger."

Modulate & Gyrus - Inside Information - The Devil's Advocate - Al Pacino

"Let me give you a little inside information about God. Think about it! He's a prankster... I've nurtured every sensation man's been inspired to have. I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him. In spite of all his imperfections, I'm a fan of man!"

Nathan McClymont - Persevere - Speech by Pres. John F. Kennedy - American University Commencement Address, 1963

"In the relations between nations and neighbours, war need not be inevitable. So let us persevere. By defining our goal more clearly, peace need not be impracticable. By making it seem more manageable and less remote we can help all people to see it, to draw hope from, and more irresistibly towards it."

NG Rezonance - Sinners - Road To Perdition - Paul Newman

"We're all murderers in this room. Open your eyes! This is the life we chose, the life we lead. And there is only one guarantee ... none of us will see heaven."

Phil York - Sick Mind - Pump Up The Volume - Christian Slater

"OK, I'm disturbed. Of course I'm disturbed. We're all disturbed and if we're not, why not? Doesn't this blend of blindness and blandness want to make you do something crazy? Then why not do something crazy? It makes a hell of a lot more sense than blowing your fucking brains out."

Phil York – Together In This Dream – 21 Grams - Sean Penn (reading from a poem)

“The earth turned to bring us closer. It turned on itself and in us, until it finally brought us together in this dream.”

Phil York & Colin Barratt - Knowledge Is Power - Reign Of Fire - Christian Bale

"I want you to understand - knowledge is the only weapon we've got left."

Phil York vs. Dark By Design - Bad Idea – Dead Poets Society – Robin Williams

“...Words and ideas can change the world.”

Project Mayhem – Search & Destroy – The Matrix - Anthony Ray Parker

“Search and destroy.”

Riot Brothers - Flashback – X-men – Ian McKellen

“...they control our fate and the fate of every other mutant...Stay sharp, we’re not alone.”

Riot Brothers - Ripped Out - Armageddon - Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton

"The US government's just asked us to save the world.
- It's what they call a "global killer", the end of mankind"

RIP DJs – Perfect Fking Dining Table – Human Traffic – Danny Dyer

“Yeah, we’re just some happy fucking sitcom, ain’t we? Perfect life, perfect family, perfect fucking dining table. Well, give yourself a round of applause. Please! I swear, sometimes we’re living on different planets, because there is no fucking way of communicating with you with all. Who the fuck are you people anyway? Hey? Who the fuck are ya?!”

RIP DJs – Ready To Die? – Blade Trinity - Dominic Purcell

“There is no heaven. No God, no angels. The only thing in your future is nothingness.”

Sol Ray & Dark By Design - Nexus - TV Series: Babylon 5 (In the Beginning) - Mira Furlan

"It is said, that in every age, there is one singular event, that forever changes the world around us... the nexus."

SQ - Deja Vu - Deja Vu - James Caviezel

"You think you know what's coming? You don't have a clue."

SQ presents Ben Collie - End Of Dayz - The Omega Code - Casper Van Dien

"And most amazingly, in the book of Daniel, an angel tells him to seal up the book until the end of days, but Rostenberg may have found the key to unlock it! See, he believed that the Bible was actually a holographic computer program! And that instead of two dimensions, it should be studied in three! If this could be achieved, the code could actually feed us prophecies of our coming future!"

SQ - The Message - Famous speech by Winston Churchill, June 1940

"If we fail... then the whole world...will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that men will still say, “This was their finest hour!”

System Shock – Success Of Liberty – Inauguration speech by Pres. John F. Kennedy

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to ensure the survival and success of liberty.”

Technikal - Survival - Independence Day - Bill Pullman

"The world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish... We're going to live on! We're going to survive!"

Technikal presents Carl Nicholson – System Shock – Video Game: Doom 3 - Grey DeLisle

“Warning! Reactor core hostile! (?) Systems down.”

Technikal & Kiotic – Emotion Is Chaos – Equilibrium - William Fichtner

“...without restraint, without control, emotion is chaos.”

Todd Tobias - Nothing - American Psycho - Christian Bale

"There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it I have now surpassed. My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone, in fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape, but even after admitting this there is no catharsis, my punishment continues to elude me and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself; no new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing."

Todd Tobias - We Cool - Pulp Fiction - Samuel L. Jackson

"We gonna be cool."

The Edison Factor - Dance With The Devil - 8MM - Joaquin Phoenix

"If you dance with the devil, the devil don't change. The devil changes you."

Trevor McLachlan – Destiny – TV Series: Carnivàle (Hot & Bothered) - Amy Madigan

“You have a destiny, and now is your time to fulfill it.”

Velos – The Joker - The Dark Knight - Heath Ledger

"Let's put a smile on that face!"

Wid & Ben - Absolution - The Way Of The Gun - Ryan Phillippe

"We don't want your forgiveness. We won't make excuses. We're not gonna blame you, even if you are an accessory... But we will not accept your natural order. We didn't come for absolution."

Wid & Ben - Crucify - TV Series: Spooks (The Suffering Of Strangers) - David Oyelowo

"If I’d been born somewhere else, it might be me holding the gun now. If you'd been born somewhere else it might have been you sitting where I am. For all your talk about choices, we don't get to choose those things... If I weren't chained to this chair, I would be right up in your face. And you what I'd be saying to you?... Fuck you, you devil (death?) worshipping fascist."
- "And you know what my answer would be"... *gun shot*

Wid & Ben - Fight Yourself - Buffalo Soldiers - Joaquin Phoenix

"...the warlike man attacks himself" - that's Nietzsche, and his point is that there really is no peace. There's always some war, somewhere, with someone. And there are no winners or losers either... just those who are still around to fight another day."

Wid & Ben - Hate Theory - Matchstick Men - Alison Lohman

"She said you were a bad guy. You don't seem like a bad guy. Well, I don't think you're a bad guy."

Wid & Ben - Point Blank - The Watcher - James Spader

"It's never quite that easy. You go through the door, and they're never just sitting there waiting for you with a welcoming smile on their face. Best you can do is hope they fuck up and do what you can to be there when they do... Time is up." * gun fire*

Xinetd_D & Bruce H - Fear Factor - Airforce One - Harrison Ford

"We will never negotiate. We will longer tolerate and we will no longer be afraid. It's your turn to be afraid."

Xinetd_D - Human Rights - Network - Peter Finch

"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad...We know the air is unfit to breathe, our food is unfit to eat...as if that's the way it's supposed to be...You've got to say, "I'm a human being!...My life has value...I'm a human being. God Dammit"

Xinetd_D - Perfect Storm - Dune - Kyle MacLachlan

"A storm is coming. Our storm. And when it arrives, it will shake the universe."

Xinetd_D - One Percent - 12 Monkeys - Bruce Willis

"Five billion people died in 1996 and 1997. Almost the entire population of the world. About one percent of us survived."

Yoda Inc. - Definitely - The Matrix - Ada Nicodemou (The White Rabbit Girl)

..Definitely!

PSY-TRANCE

Alien Project - Who Has The Marijuana - South Park - Mr. Mackey

“Who has the marijuana now? Whoever has the marijuana just pass it up to the front row, OK.”

Ananda Shake - Chicks For Free - The Sixth Sense - Haley Joel Osment

"You talked funny when you went to school here. You talked funny all the way to high school!... You shouldn't look at people, it makes them feel bad. Stop looking at me."

Astral Projection - People Can Fly - Kalifornia - David Duchovny

"When you dream there are no rules, people can fly, anything can happen. Sometimes there is a moment as you are awakening when you become aware of the real world around you, but you are still dreaming. You may think you can fly but you do better not try. People can fly."

Audiotec & Indra – Transformers - Transformers - Peter Cullen

“The decepticons have assumed control of several devices to interfere with the signal. Your optical sensitors will display these objects in red. They must be destroyed.”

Aum Project vs. Digital Tribe - On Time - Fight Club - Brad Pitt

“God damn it, an entire generation…slaves in white collars”

Azax Syndrom - Cutting Edge Science - TV Series: Lost (Not In Portland) - Zeljko Ivanek and Elizabeth Mitchell

- "I want in."
-"In on what?"
... -"I'm not really sure what you—"
-"I read your notes. I know what you took from the lab. The only thing I don't know is whose your guinea pig.... all this is viewed as cutting edge science”

Azax Syndrom vs. Abomination – Real Magic – The Prestige - Edward Hibbert

“Pardon me. It's very rare to see real magic."

Azax Syndrom vs. Abomination - The Exploding Man - TV Series: Heroes (How To Stop An Exploding Man) - Zachary Quinto

"That man! The glowing hands! He’s the exploding man! I’m gonna take his power and I’m gonna explode!”

Battle Of The Future Buddhas – Domestic Bliss – Batman – Jack Nicholson

“Let's broaden our minds!”

Broken Toy – Heavy Structured – Quotes from Bernie Mac’s famous Def Comedy Jam routine

“I ain’t scared of you motherfuckers. I’m gonna tell ya something straight off the motherfucking press. I ain’t coming from no foolishness. And I’m blessed. I’m big bone’d, I’m heavy structured, I’m hug low. If I pull my shit out this whole room get dark... You don’t understand... (?) the way you wanna talk to somebody. It don’t make no motherfucking sense...KICK IT!

Dual Core - Sharp Shooters - The Departed - Jack Nicholson

"I don't wanna be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."

Delysid - Spartan Law - 300 - Gerard Butler (and Peter Mensah)

“No retreat! No surrender! That... is Spartan law... And by Spartan law we will stand and fight... and die! Spartans! Prepare for glory! A new age has begun... an age of freedom! And all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it!... The battle is over, when I say it is over! Spartans never retreat, Spartans never surrender!"
-"Choose you next words carefully. They may be your last as king."

GMS - Ghost - Ghostbusters 2 - Bill Murray

"Some things in this world go way beyond human understanding."

GMS - Gladiator - Gladiator - Russel Crowe

“Are you not entertained!? Are you not entertained!? Is that not why you were here!?”

GMS - Life After - Human Traffic - Danny Dyer

"I swear on my mother's life - I'm having the best time being off my pickle... and feeling the music"

GMS – Overdose – Senseless - Brad Dourif (?)

“A flood of serotonin, has de-syntisized your receptors and to normalize this the brain is compensating by allowing you the using of four of your given senses, at any given time, the missing one constantly switching. So if you can see, smell, taste, and hear you can't feel anything...You did exceed the dosage...A drug just has to pass through your system. Trust me, you'll know when it's gone.”

Krunch - Rennesiance - The Condemned - Robert Mammone and Vinnie Jones

“Free one of them...you see tomorrow I’m gonna bring them here to this island where I will give them a fighting chance at a new life. It’s a fight to the death."
-"One lives, 9 die?" (?)
-"These contestants were already dead. Condemned! I’m allowing one to live. Is that so wrong?"
-"Hey! Don’t take the piss... Where’s my fuckin’ money!?"
-"You should be happy with what I’m giving you. You’re a free man."
-"Me and you had an arrangement. I give you one show, I win it!”

Injection - In Su Lin - TV Series: Aeon Flux - Voice of computer (Anime cartoon aired ages ago on MTV)

“Programming for itinerary complete. Anticipated duration of voyage is 523 years, 2 months, 5 days, 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 32 seconds.”

Intelabeam vs. Slider - Sirius Problem - Underworld - Kate Beckinsale

“We have a serious problem!”

Insomnia - Island - Fear And Loathing In Last Vegas - Johnny Depp

“We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine...”

Iron Madness - Optimus Prime - Transformers - Peter Cullen

“My name is Optimus Prime. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. But you can call us Autobots for short.”

Lamat – Ghost In The Machine – I,Robot - James Cromwell, Will Smith and Alan Tudyk

"There will always be ghosts in the machine... Random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols... these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity and even the nature of what we might call the soul... Everything that follows is a result of what you see here.”
-"Is there something you want to say?"
-"I’m sorry, my responses are limited. You must ask the right questions."
-"Robots don’t feel fear. They don’t feel anything. They don't eat. They don't sleep."
-"I do. I have even had dreams."
-"Human beings have dreams... but not you, you are just a machine. An imitation of life. Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot turn a... canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?"
- "Can you?"

Lamat - Super Chimpanzee Level – Waking Life

“And the answer to that can be found in another question, and that’s this...
-"These are manifestations of a new evolution and that is what we would hope to see. That would be nice...that’s only the beginning of the evolutionary cycle."
-"Why don’t you pull the trigger and find out?"
-"When you come to think of it almost all behaviour and activity is not essentially any different from animal behaviour...Advanced technologies and craftsmanship bring us, at best, up to the super chimpanzee level.”

Painkiller vs. CPU – Special Performance – V For Vendetta – Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman

“You see, I’m a musician, on my way to give a very special performance."
-"What kind of musician?"
-"Percussion instruments are my speciality, but tonight I intend to call upon the entire orchestra...”

Phobia - Hot Leads - Troy - Sean Bean

"Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity. And so we ask ourselves: will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we are gone, and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved?"

Protoculture - Out Of Reality - The Animatrix: Matriculated - ?

-All right. Yes, machines are tools. They're made to be used. It's their nature.
-To be slaves.
-That's why we show them a better world, why they convert.
-But that world we show them isn't real.
-It doesn't matter.
-I'm afraid they'll figure out that we've made up the thing in our heads
-How do they know that the real world isn't just another simulation? How do you?
-I know I' m not dreaming now because I know what it’s like being in a dream.
-So dreaming lets you know that reality exists?

Tactic Mind vs. Unique – Problem – Star Wars Game: Knights Of The Old Republic II - Kristoffer Tabori

“I see that your recent reassembly has not affected your behaviour core - nor your attitude."

Time Lock – Time Theory – X-men: The Last Stand – Patrick Stewart

"When an individual acquires great power, the use or misuse of that power is everything."

Unique - Foreplay - Devil's Advocate - Al Pacino

"I’m here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began. I've nurtured every sensation man's been inspired to have. I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him. In spite of all his imperfections, I'm a fan of man!"

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Artist links.... Lee Haslam, Guyver, The Tidy Boys, Tecknikal, Phil York, Jason Cortez, Dark by Design, Matt Williams, Ben Stevens, Aftershok, Carl Nicholson, Lisa Lashes, Lisa Pin-Up, Time Lock, Tactic Mind, Phobia, GMS, Broken Toy, Azax Syndrom, Indra

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GOD'S RECORD BOX - AN INTRODUTION TO UK HARD DANCE

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:05:57 +0000

GOD'S RECORD BOX - AN INTRODUTION TO UK HARD DANCE

Without doubt the best thing about Last.fm is its capacity to open you up to new artists and genres. I personally feel that if you're not regularly uncovering new musical avenues through it you're probably not using it properly. As I've said in some of my other journals, my tastes have broadened to a huge degree over the last 3 to 4 years and particularly since joining Last.fm.

But I'm still fully aware that, despite the "genius" of Last.fm, some genres still remain relatively well hidden. That's not Last.fm's fault of course - it's largely a reflection of lack of user input which in turn reflects, in a very general way, the "scale" of a given genre's scene outside Last.fm. In particular, the genre of UK hard dance (in this case referring to UK hard trance and UK hard house) seems to remain pretty well hidden, both on this site and in electronic music circles in general - something which has always baffled me considering the amount of talent within the scene. Furthermore, the scene itself has gone into something of a decline in recent years. I've noticed a good number of people that used to listen to it, or producing it, moving away towards emerging trance genres like tech and psy or back to straight melodic trance. The regularity of releases has rapidly declined, even massive labels like Tidy now struggling in some departments.

I love all varieties of trance, but if I was pushed to pick a favourite genre myself, I'd almost certainly still plump for UK hard trance. In terms of genres, it was probably my first real music love, beginning in the early 2000s. Tough kicks, driving basslines and, most importantly, scintillating melodic riffs - delivered at a pace that's more energetic than ordinary trance but not bordering on the unnecessary like UK hardcore. And, despite the declining number of releases, the best releases continue to impress in a big way, particularly in terms of production values and standards of engineering. The scene has within it a handful of very influential talents, the likes of Alf Bamford (Technikal), Dave Leigh (Aftershok), Kirk Whetton (Iridium), Matt Gardner, Nick Squires (SQ), Jason Cortez and Carl Nicholson really driving the scene on in the "adversity". While the likes of Nick Sentience, Matt Williams and new boys Adrenaline Dept. have gone from hard dance roots to experimenting with psy trance sounds, giving the scene a dimension it never had before.

I've been producing mixes digitally using programs like Mixmeister under the rather cheesey, generic pseudonym, Philie D, for quite a while now - mainly just for fun and for a few friends. The newest series of these mixes is "God's Record Box", which started out in the summer of 2006 and had an extended break after episode 6 between summer 2007 and March this year. These mixes basically showcase the very best of the genre over the last 2 years or so, mainly sticking to the uplifting melodic hard trance but with a few psy-influenced numbers and hard housers thrown in for variety. While, for episode 10 I have chosen my favourite tracks from each of the previous 9 mixes and added some different versions of some other favourites that featured, as well as MDA & Spherical's Prodigy megamix to finish things off.

Because they are mixed digitally, the mixing is quite generic and hasn't taken a lot of talent to produce, but the transitions are perfectly smooth and as good as anything you would hear on your average trance compilation in the shops. But, the purpose of posting these is not to wow you with my DJing skill, but to showcase the genre and introduce newcomers to this incredible brand of electronic music. All episodes have been split into parts using WinRar and uploaded to rapidshare (at only 4.50 Euros for 3 days, a rapidshare premium account would come in handy here) and all links should last till mid-August at least. If you need any further guidance feel free to drop me a quick message. If these mixes generate any kind of positive reaction I will continue the series, but only at a rate of about one every 6 months as I want to concentrate on mixing for real on my decks, which I need to devote a lot more time to.

Anyway, here they are. Enjoy.

VOLUME 1

1. Kym Ayres & Chrysus - Self Destruct
[Digital Assualt]

2. Trevor Mclachlan - Destiny
[Tranzlation White]

3. Mda & Spherical - Infiltrate Your Mind
[Nu Religion]

4. Brad Thatcher - The Island
[Impact Recordings]

5. Adrenaline Dept. - Music In My Mind
[Addiction Digital]

6. Nick Rowland - Communicate (MDA & Spherical Remix)
[Nuklearpuppy]

7. Dougal & Gammer - Heaven On Earth (Technikal Vocal Remix)
[Nukleuz]

8. Kym Ayers & Technikal - Bad Girl
[Tidy]

9. Guyver - Trapped (Iridium Remix)
[Tidy Digital]

10. Phil York - Angels In Heaven (Technikal Remix)
[Tranzlation]

11. Ashley James - Nothing Seems Real
[Addiction Digital]

12. Wid & Ben vs. Shaun M - Man's Machine
[Experience Digital]

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VOLUME 2

1. Jason Cortez - Damn That DJ
[Nuklearpuppy]

2. Adrenaline Dept. - Initiate
[Hard Drive Recordings]

3. Trevor Mclachlan - Feels So Good
[World Of Trance]

4. Tranzition - Up In Flames
[Hardphaze]

5. Darren Styles - Getting Better (Technikal Remix)
[AATW]

6. Trevor Mclachlan & Ashley James - What Ya Doin'
[Impact Recordings]

7. Mda & Spherical - Dutch Courage
[Elevate Album Sampler]

8. Caroline Banx - Currupt (Phil York & Dark By Design's Electrotech Remix)
[Hard Timez]

9. Wid & Ben - Crucify
[Experience Digital]

10. Jason Cortez - Tranzition
[Nuklearpuppy]

11. Adrenaline Dept. - Something More (Olly Perris Remix)
[Addiction Digital]

12. BK - P.O.S. 51 (P.H.A.T.T. Remix)
[Nukleuz]

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VOLUME 3

1. NfX - No Go, Go For Launch (Alex Kidd vs. Dark By Design Remix)
[Hard Kandy Recordings]

2. Adrenaline Dept. - Movin On
[Addiction Digital]

3. Flashheadz - Who Wins
[Tidy]

4. Paul Maddox - Reach Out (Technikal's Tidy Weekender 10 Remix)
[Tidy Digital]

5. Sam Townsend & Jon BW - Scream For Daddy
[Tidy]

6. Colin Barratt - Take You Back
[Tidy]

7. Carl Nicholson & Chrysus - 2Dance2 (Ilogik Remix)
[Elasticman]

8. Steve Hill vs. Technikal - Weekend (Party Time)
[Masif]

9. Adrenaline Dept. - U Got To Be There
[Unreleased]

10. Jason Cortez - No Other Way
[Tranzlation]

11. Masif DJs - Wasted (Steve Hill vs. Guyver Remix)
[Masif]

12. Kevin Energy vs. Phil Reynolds - Pounding Senses (Technikal Remix)
[Elevate Album Sampler]

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VOLUME 4

1. Andy T & Jennie Rix - Time To Shine
[Addiction Digital]

2. Adrenaline Dept. - Get A Rush
[DJ GRH Recordings]

3. Sully - Hereos (Aftershok Is A Man Of Steel Remix)
[Species]

4. Chris Shaw & Jennie Rix - Perceive
[Infuse Recordings]

5. Jason Cortez - Shining In The Ecstacy
[Nuklearpuppy]

6. Chrysus & Jonny Harris - Don't Pigeonhole Me
[Tidy]

7. Phil York & Nick Rowland - Revolver
[Tranzlation]

8. Iridium - Makrocosm
[High Drive Recordings]

9. Masif DJs - Everyday (Steve vs. Technikal Remix)
[VW Recordings]

10. SQ - Hypnotising
[Oblivion Recordings]

11. Jason Cortez - Finally
[Tranzlation]

12. Adrenaline Dept. - Saturday
[Nuklearpuppy]

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VOLUME 5

1. Andrew Dring - United (Stuart Heasty & Keith Hyndes Remix)
[Digital Assault]

2. Guyver - Disintergrate
[Unreleased]

3. Airspace vs. Brad Thatcher - The Truth
[Riot! Recordings]

4. SQ - No Idea
[Addiction Digital]

5. Lisa Lashes - Can't Sleep (Technikal Remix)
[Lashed Music]

6. Carl Nicholson - Musicmakers (Matt Gardner Remix)
[Oblivion Digital]

7. Gen XT - Avin You (Audio Hedz & JR Remix)
[CN Recordings]

8. Technikal vs. Ben Bennett - Neutralize
[Impact Recordings]

9. BK - It's Just A Feeling (BK's Back To 99 Remix)
[Riot! Recordings]

10. Lox - Believe (Adz & Fearnie's Boshed Hard 2007 Remix)
[Housewives Choice Recordings]

11. Nick Sentience feat. MC Hyper A - Beat Like This
[Extreme Music]

12. Fearnie - Drugs, Drink N Women
[Boshed Hard]

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VOLUME 6

1. Mario Piu - The Vision (P.H.A.T.T. Remix)
[Nukleuz]

2. Nish - Listen To Me
[Tranzlation]

3. Breeze vs. Lost Witness - Rise Again (Technikal Remix)
[AATW]

4. Matt Gardner - Endeavour
[Oblivion Digital]

5. K90 - Ghost In The Machine (SQ Remix)
[Dataless Recordings]

6. Matt Gardner - Making A Change
[Impact Recordings]

7. Simon Qudos - Velocity
[Extreme Sounds]

8. Identikal - Solaris (Olly Perris Remix)
[Addiction Digital]

9. Batch - Stay Where You Are
[Impact Recordings]

10. Jody 6 - Test Pilot
[Jody 6]

11. K-Series - Lost In Love
[VW Recordings]

12. Technikal - Back 2 The Old School
[Global Panic Recordings]

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VOLUME 7

1. Carl Nicholson - Outta Your Mind
[Riot! Recordings]

2. Matt Gardner & Sambo - New Reality (Technikal Remix)
[Technikal Recordings]

3. Mda & Spherical - Futurism
[Oblivion Digital]

4. James Jaye - Real High (SQ Remix)
[Impact Recordings]

5. Iridium - The Ascent
[Oblivion Digital]

6. JX - Restless (Technikal Remix)
[Tidy]

7. Nathan Mcclymont - Persevere (SQ Remix)
[Impact Recordings]

8. Sambo - Mezmerize
[Technikal Recordings]

9. Emilio - Sabotage (Iridium Remix)
[High Drive Recordings]

10. Knuckleheadz - What We Gonna Do?
[Tidy]

11. Base Graffiti - Kikka
[Tidy]

12. Ben Stevens & Sam Townend - Lose Your Head
[Fireball Recordings]

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VOLUME 8

1. Phil York - Don't Panic
[Tranzlation Whites]

2. Scott Genetik - Can't Stop The Signal
[Encoded]

3. Nathan D & Velos - Discover
[Digital Assault]

4. Carl Nicholson - Feelgood (London Sound)
[Presence Recordings]

5. SQ - Abort:Retry
[Addiction Digital]

6. Phil Reynolds, Trevor Mclachlan vs. Technikal - Third Strike
[Digital Creation]

7. Dave Lochrie - No Turning Back (Carl Nicholson Remix)
[Impact Recordings]

8. Andy McCall & DMF feat. Stace - Believe (Tornado DJs vs. Technikal Remix)
[Tornado Trax]

9. Iridium - Rebirth
[Impact Recordings]

10. Bryn Whiting - Infectious
[Presence Recordings]

11. Technikal meets Ainso - Music Of Tomorrow
[Technikal Recordings]

12. K-Series vs. Technikal - Closer
[Tidy]

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VOLUME 9

1. The Mizniss & Louis Fernio - Bitch Invader
[Toolbox Recordings]

2. Scott Fo-shaw & Chris Carden - Rock It, Don't Drop It
[Presence Recordings]

3. Mindbender - Wicked Game (Technikal vs. MDA & Spherical Remix)
[Tranzlation Whites]

4. Jason Cortez - Set You Free
[Tranzlation]

5. Benjamin Leung & Tazix - Raindrops (Guyver Remix)
[Tidy]

6. Technikal vs. The Lost Boys - Mass Effect (Iridium Remix)
[Technikal Recordings]

7. Bryn Whiting - The Message
[Digital Assault]

8. Technikal - Summassault (Technikal's 2008 Masif Tool Remix)
[Tranzlation]

9. Iridium - Data Stream
[Outbreak Digital]

10. Greg Brookman, Kevin Energy & K-Complex - Stimulants
[Elevate Whites]

11. Simon Qudos feat. Stace - Right Where We Are
[Presence Recordings]

12. Technikal presents JK - Take Control
[Tornado Trax]

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VOLUME 10 - The Very Best Of Volumes 1-9

1. Matt Gardner - Endeavour
[Oblivion Digital]

2. Adrenaline Dept. - Initiate (Trevor McLachlan Remix)
[Hard Drive Recordings]

3. Adrenaline Dept. - U Got To Be There (2007 Original Rework)
[Oblivion Digital]

4. Nathan Mcclymont - Persevere (SQ Remix)
[Impact Recordings]

5. Nick Rowland - Communicate (MDA & Spherical Remix)
[Nuklearpuppy]

6. Lisa Lashes - Can't Sleep (Technikal Remix)
[Lashed Music]

7. Flashheadz - Who Wins
[Tidy]

8. Andy McCall & DMF feat. Stace - Believe (Tornado DJs vs. Technikal Remix)
[Tornado Trax]

9. Jason Cortez - Set You Free
[Tranzlation]

10. Trevor Mclachlan - Feels So Good
[World Of Trance]

11. Steve Hill vs. Technikal - Weekend (Party Time) (MDA & Spherical Remix)
[Masif]

12. Jason Cortez - Finally
[Tranzlation]

13. Mda & Spherical - The Ultimate Prodigy Megamix
[Unsigned Bootleg]

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Episodes 4, 6 and 7 are introduced by the voices of Dean Learner (of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace), Alan Partridge and Karl 'I could eat a knob at night' Pilkington (of the Ricky Gervais Show podcasts) respectively.

DISCLAIMER: As far as I know, what is shared here does not constitute illegal file sharing. All the tracks featured are mixed together and therefore not shared in their entirety. Almost all the tracks featured are available in full from legal download shops and I would encourage people to go out and support the artists if they like what they hear. I also gain nothing financially or commercially from posting these mixes.

And, finally, I'd just like to take the time to say that I think it's fitting that this journal has been posted 10 years to the month that the late great Tony De Vit sadly passed away, aged only 40. Unfortunately, I was out of the country when the actual anniversary fell (the 2nd of July) so I was unable to pay tribute to him on the day, but this is as good an opportunity as any to remember the great man. I was only 11 when he died but even I can see the lasting mark that he left on the hard dance scene. I'm sure all hard dance fans share the same admiration I have for him and his memory. The word "legend" is so often overused, especially within electronic music, but De Vit truly deserves that title. R.I.P.

Connections
These mixes are highly recommended to fans of the following: Tidy Boys, Lisa Lashes, Lisa Pin-Up, Cally & Juice, K90, BK, Judge Jules, Eddie Halliwell, Sander van Doorn, Matt Hardwick, Marcel Woods, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Paul van Dyk, Nu NRG, Above & Beyond, Nic Chagall, Cosmic Gate, Cosmic Tone, Bizzare Contact, Eskimo, Time Lock, Quadra, Sesto Sento, Raz, Psycraft, X-Noize, Space Cat, Dynamic, Darren Styles, Breeze & Styles ... and all those in a similar vain.

THE TRANCE JOURNAL - PART 2 - THE BIG COUNTDOWN

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:01:11 +0000

THE TRANCE JOURNAL - (PART 2)
THE BIG COUNTDOWN - MY 150 GREATEST TRANCE TUNES (92-07)

Ok, so let's imagine someone new to trance, the type of person I euphemistically describe as the "outsider", has stumbled across PART 1 of this trance journal. They may now understand a bit better how trance works. Hopefully, it's dispelled a few myths. They may even be interested in giving the genre a try. But where the hell do you begin? While the concept is growing year on year within trance, the genre itself is not really based around the idea of the "artist album", so it's not just a case of getting a list of "reputable" trance producers and downloading their albums. Nor do I think it's enough to get one of the countless "best of" compilations that are released year on year as, despite the obvious stuff, they'll probably be missing material that has never entered the mainstream or been picked up on by the larger, compilation pushing labels. If you are new to the genre and looking for a way in, as far as I'm concerned, these 150 tracks are where to start.

The original inspiration for this came from Jatup's journal, 100 Greatest Trance Songs. I had done a similar chart which was based around the idea of "iconic riffs" but, in retrospect, not enough thought went into it. This, on the other hand, has been an ongoing forum-based project since early February. The original plan to create a vaguely "democratic" chart based on the opinions of myself and 3 or 4 of my trance listening last.fm neighbours didn't quite work out in the end, but the process of building a list of so-called "nominees" with their help has greatly helped me build this chart. There are even some tracks in the chart that I hadn't even heard of until a couple of months ago. This has been a bit of an education for me as well.

There are some notiecable absentees from this countdown. There were plenty of tracks that it pained me to have to leave out. But I had to draw the line somewhere. Equally, putting these tracks in some kind of order at one point seemed impossible. But having said that, I would still say this is quite an accurate reflection of my favourite trance records and a fairly good cross-section of the genre as a whole - old and new. More than anything I wanted to steer clear of favouring an era on the basis of nostagia, or from throwing in so-called classics just because they are "classics", or from ignoring newer tracks to avoid criticism from the purists who argue that trance "isn't what it used to be". Natutally, there are some tracks I feel are overrated, while some I feel are very underrated. But, obviously, a track that is overrated is by no means necessarily bad. The chart does however leave out records that have been released this year. There are a couple of tracks from this year that are, in my opinion, contenters to force their way into this chart at some point, but it's just too early to judge at this stage. Also, I have deliberately left psy-trance out of this chart. As a genre it is growing on me very quickly and I'm listening to it more and more often. But still, I don't feel I'm knowledgeable enough about it to begin choosing "the best ever psy tracks" and, even then, psy-trance itself feels so "separate" from the rest of the trance scene in many ways that comparison could become very difficult.

Finally, the information I've provided for each track is not intended to be 100% complete in all cases and is dependent upon the reliability of discogs.com. It is intended as a general guide.

Right - it's time to let the trance do the talking.... In reverse order:

150. Members of Mayday – 10 In 01 (Paul Van Dyk Club Remix)
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Captivating Sounds, Bang On!, Ultra Records, Low Spirit Recordings
Other Official Versions: EK, Tok Tok, PvD Member Only, Original

149. DJ Quicksilver - Belissima
Year of Release: 1997
Label(s) Released On: Positiva
Other Official Versions: Musica, KLM, DJ Philip
Flipsides: I Have A Dream (Video Mix)

148. DJ Governor – Red Woods
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Captivating Sounds

147. Coast 2 Coast – Home
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Religion Music, Free For All, Ultra Records
Other Official Versions: Cequenza, 5 AM, Tiësto

146. Nic Chagall - Monday Bar
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: High Contrast Recordings
Other Official Versions: Sunset

145. Aly & Fila – Eye Of Horus (Ronski Speed Remix)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Euphonic, Galactive
Other Official Versions: Original, Solid Globe

144. Chicane – Lost You Somewhere
Year of Release: 1997
Label(s) Released On: Xtravaganza Recordings, Club Tools
Other Official Versions: L.I.R., R.O.O.S., Heliotropic

Was track 4 on Chicane’s 1997 album, Far From the Maddening Crowds

143. Coast 2 Coast feat. El Sal & Phoenix – Cut Me
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: Discover
Other Official Versions: Activa, Activa Dub, John O’Callaghan

142. Sophie Sugar – Fallen Too Far
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: A State Of Trance
Flipsides: In This Life

141. Faithless - Salva Mea
Year of Release: 1995
Label(s) Released On: Blow Up, Cheeky Records, Jive, Overdance!
Other Official Versions: C.E.C., Tuff, Sister Bliss

Was track 3 on Faithless’ 1996 album, Reverence

140. Space Manoeuvres - Stage One
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Orbit Records, Hooj Choons, Lost Language
Other Official Versions: Tilt's Apollo 11, Solar Stone, Pariah's Banjo, Pariah Shadow Lounging

Appeared on Space Manoeuvres’ 2005 album Oid

139. Bedrock - Heaven Scent
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Bedrock Records, Xtra Nova
Other Official Versions: Evolution Dub, Greg Downey, Yunus Güvenen

The Greg Downey remix was released in 2007 and was one of that year’s most popular tracks. The Yunus Güvenen remix was released in 2003.

138. Alex M.O.R.P.H. - Creatures (Arc In The Sky Remix)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Clubbgroove Records White
Other Official Versions: Original Instrumental, G&M Project

137. Gouryella - Walhalla (Armin Van Buuren's Rising Star Remix)
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Code Blue, Tsunami, Insolent Tracks, Orbit Records
Other Official Versions: Original, Hybrid's Matrix Dub, Hybrid's Echoplex, Armin van Buuren's Rising Star Dub
Flipsides: In Walhalla

136. Push - The Legacy
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Inferno, ID&T, Superstar Recordings
Other Official Versions: Progression

135. Plummet - Damaged (Antillas Remix)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Captivating Sounds, Serious Records, Vale Music
Other Official Versions: Artica, Neo & Farina

134. Sasha - Xpander
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Deconstruction, Ultra Records
Flipsides: Belfunk, Rabbitweed, Baja

133. Underworld - Born Slippy
Year of Release: 1995
Label(s) Released On: Wax Trax! Records, Junior Boy's Own
Other Official Versions: NUXX, TELEMATIC

132. Ron van den Beuken - Sunset (Ron Van Den Beuken Remix)
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Liquid Recordings, Spinnin' Records, Go For It
Other Official Versions: Original, 4 Clubbers

131. OceanLab - Clear Blue Water
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Code Blue, Captivating Sounds, Club Culture
Other Official Versions: Instrumental, Dub, Hennes & Cold, Ferry Corsten, Above & Beyond Progessive, DJ Astrid's Water Solo, Geert Huinink

130. Sean Tyas - Lift (Sean Tyas Rework)
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Discover
Other Official Versions: Original

129. 4 Strings - Mainline (Turntables Mix)
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Liquid Recordings
Other Official Versions: Original

128. Re:Locate & Jonas Steur – Sombre Saliente
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Galactive

Initially released as track 2 on Re:Locate’s 2006 album Rogue. It was also released on the first of three album samplers in December of that year.

127. Lost World – A Life Elsewhere
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: Captivating Sounds
Other Official Versions: Martin Roth Psy, Kimito Lopez

Lost World are producers John O'Callaghan and Thomas Bronzwaer

126. Simon Patterson – Bulldozer
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: Reset Recordings
Flipsides: We'll See

125. Re:Locate – Rogue
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Galactive

Initially released as the opening track on Re:Locate’s 2006 album Rogue. It was also released on the first of three album samplers in December of that year.

124. Tilt - The World Doesn't Know
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: Lost Language
Other Official Versions: Özgur Can, Özgur Can Dub
Flipsides: I Know You're Afraid

123. Above & Beyond - Good For Me (Club Mix)
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: Anjunabeats
Other Official Versions: Album, Darren Tate, King Roc Vocal, King Roc Dub, Redanka Vocal, Thomas Datt Bootleg

122. Carlos - The Silmarillia
Year of Release: 1998
Label(s) Released On: Karma, Orbit-A, King Size Records
Other Official Versions: R.O.O.S., Airplay, Merlyn & Chuck Mellow, Marino Stephano
Flipsides: Ammenekoejoen

121. Delerium feat. Jael - After All (Svenson & Gielen Remix)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Nettwerk
Other Official Versions: Album, Satoshi Tomiie, Satoshi Tomiie Dub, Svenson & Gielen Instrumental, Andrew Sega, Amniotic Insomniac, Revelation Mixshow

120. Mike Koglin vs. P.O.S. – Untitled Audio (Nitrous Oxide Remix)
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Anjuabeats
Other Official Versions: Original

119. Envio – Touched By The Sun
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: A State Of Trance
Other Official Versions: Envio's Sunrise, Rusch & Elusive Chill Out, Rusch & Elusive, Endre, Airbase

118. Arksun – Arisen
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Armind
Other Official Versions: Airbase presents Parc

117. Nu NRG - Last Experience (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix)
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Monster Tunes
Flipsides: Kosmosy

116. Above & Beyond - Home (Club Mix)
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: Anjunabeats, Euphonic
Other Official Versions: Wippenberg, Jaytech, The Timewriter, Michael Badall, Tony's Deep, Stoneface & Terminal, Stoneface & Terminal Dub, Album

115. Push - Universal Nation
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Bonzai Records, Airplay Records, Inferno, ID&T
Other Official Versions: DuMonde, Oliver Lieb, Flange & Swain, Flange & Swain Dark Dub, Ferry Corsten
Flipsides: Prisma

114. Airbase - Escape
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Intuition Recordings
Flipsides: For The Fallen

113. Pulser - Square One
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: A State Of Trance
Other Official Versions: Thrillseekers

112. Goldenscan – Only With You
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: A State Of Trance
Flipsides: Halcyon

111. Airforce & Samuelzone – Snowflake
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Follow Records
Flipsides: Source Of Calm

110. Above & Beyond - Alone Tonight (Ronski Speed Remix)
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Anjunabeats, Euphonic
Other Official Versions: Above & Beyond's Club, Above & Beyond's Nasty Dub, Matthew Dekay Vocal, Disciples Of Sound & Kid Lopez, Ronski Speed Dub

109. Scooter - Soultrain
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Sheffield Tunes

The final track on Scooter’s 2003 album The Stadium Techno Experience

108. Selu Vibra – Stargazing
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Somatic Sense Recordings
Other Official Versions: 8 Wonders' Star Traveller, Maor Levi, Sebastian Brandts' Phunky Business

107. Jonas Steur - Castamara
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Intuition Recordings
Flipsides: Silent Waves

106. Above & Beyond - Far From In Love (Airbase Remix)
Year of Release: 2002
Label(s) Released On: ID&T, Playground Music, Anjunabeats
Other Official Versions: Original, San Francisco, DJ Complexz, Shane54 On Spec

105. Madonna - What It Feels Like For A Girl (Above & Beyond Remix)
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Maverick
Other Official Versions: Album, Paul Oakenfold Perfecto, Richard Vission Velvet Masta

104. Empirical Labs – Turtle Beach
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: A State Of Trance
Other Official Versions: Outback

103. Re:Locate – Undercurrent
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: Fundamental Recordings

102. Aramanja – Memories (Sunset Mix)
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Trancetribe Recordings
Other Official Versions: Original

Aramanja is the little known alias of German hard dance giants Alphazone. Memories is the only release attributed to the duo under this name so far and it remains one of the most overlooked gems in the trance genre.

101. Kyau vs. Albert - Made Of Sun (KvA Hard Dub)
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Anjunabeats
Other Official Versions: Album Version
Flipsides: Falling Anywhere (Rework)

100. Art of Trance - Madagascar (Ferry Corsten Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Platipus
Other Official Versions: Original, Transa, Cygnus X

99. M.I.K.E. - Salvation (Plastic Boy Remix)
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Club Elite
Other Official Versions: Album Revised, Valentino Kanzyani Jly

98. Tiesto - Traffic
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Nebula, Magik Muzik
Other Official Versions: Max Walder, Montana Re-Edit

Was track 3 on Tiesto’s 2004 album, Just Be

97. Li Kwan - Point Zero (Matt Darey's 2004 Remake)
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: Darey Products
Other Official Versions: Lost Tribe, Agnelli & Nelson, Sensorica, The Digital Blonde, Leama & Moor, Kuffdam & Plant, Sensorica

96. Ratty - Sunrise (Here I Am)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Neo Records, Kontor Records, Radikal Records, Monster Classics
Other Official Versions: Instrumental, Dub, UK, Scooter, Donald & Giles, P.H.A.T.T., Mark Sherry's 2005 Sunburst, Brisky & Cambridge

This track samples a vocal from Song To The Siren by Tim Buckley, which was also sampled for the trance track, Song To The Siren by Barakka.

95. Three Drives - Sunset On Ibiza
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Xtravaganza Recordings, ZYX Music, B.I.G.
Other Official Versions: Ton TB & Enrico Dub Vocal, Ton TB & Enrico Dub Instrumental, Yves De Ruyter, Sirius, Above & Beyond, Sonorous

94. Luminary - Amsterdam (Smith & Pledger Remix)
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Anjunabeats
Other Official Versions: Original

93. A-Force & Yahel - Behind Silence
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Fundamental Recordings

Contains vocal elements from Yahel’s Liquid Love

92. Lange - I Believe (DJ Tandu Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Additive, Temprogressive
Other Official Versions: Lange

91. BT- Godspeed
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Renaissance, Headspace, Black Hole Recordings
Other Official Versions: Hybrid, Hybrid Dub, Thumper! Higher Kick

Appeared as track 8 on BT’s 1999 album, Movement in Still Life

90. Alex M.O.R.P.H. & Rank 1 - A Life Less Ordinary (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Original Extended Mix)
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: High Contrast Recordings
Other Official Versions: A Less Ordinary Rank 1, Rafael Frost, Mekk

89. Paul van Dyk, Hemstock & Jennings - Nothing But You (PvD Club Mix)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Vandit Records, Positiva, ID&T
Other Official Versions: Vandit Club, Cirrus Mix 1, Cirrus Mix 2, Faithless, Tommek
Flipsides: La Fiesta De Las Canicas

88. Marco V - False Light
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: In Charge
Other Official Versions: Marco's Thunderdub, Original Extended, Single Extended, Ton T.B., Danny Oliveira's GhostRider

First released as the opening track on Marco V’s 2005 album 200V

87. Mike Koglin & UTO – Yoake (Mike Koglin Remix)
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: First Second Records, Noys
Other Official Versions: Misja Helsloot

86. Salt Tank - Eugina (Michael Woods Remix)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Lost Language
Other Official Versions: Tiesto, Salt Tank's Reactivation

85. Super8 & DJ Tab - Helskinki Scorchin'
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Anjunabeats
Other Official Versions: Alex M.O.R.P.H., Michael Cassette

84. Peran - Good Time
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Popular Records, RR Records, Incentive
Other Official Versions: Cream Team

83. Fictivision vs. C-Quence - Symbols
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: In Trance We Trust
Other Official Versions: Mesh

82. Tiesto - Sparkles (Airscape Remix)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Black Hole Recordings, Nebula
Other Official Versions: Original, Magikal Remake, Transa, Starecase

81. Ferry Corsten - Punk
Year of Release: 2002
Label(s) Released On: Tsunami, Positiva, Hussle Recordings
Other Official Versions: Kid Vicious, Cosmic Gate, Duplex

80. ATB - 9PM (Till I Come) (Sequential One 1999 Remix)
Year of Release: 1998
Label(s) Released On: Club Tools, Free For All
Other Official Versions: Clubb, Gary D´s Northern Light, Spacekid

79. BT - Force Of Gravity (Ferry Corsten Bootleg Remix)

This remix has never been officially released. The original is on BT’s 2003 album Emotional Technology and features the vocals of N*Sync singer, JC Chasez. A rehashed version of this bootleg by a member of Ferry Corsten’s official forum was circulated on the internet, wrongly labeled as Ferry’s work and was even pressed on a White Label vinyl containing some of Ferry’s most well-known remixes. The version that Ferry played in many of his sets during 2004, including his set at Trance Energy and his Essential Mix on Radio 1 in February, was apparently the full 10 minute bootleg.

78. Andy Moor - Halcyon
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Armind
Other Official Versions: Alex M.O.R.P.H.

Vocal performed by Danu Lucas

77. M.I.K.E. - Massive Motion
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Armind
Other Official Versions: Enter-Ku

76. Ryan G - Emoticon (Miika Kuisma Remix)
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: First Second Records
Other Official Versions: Original, Octagen

75. The Thrillseekers - Synaesthesia (Fly Away) (The Thrillseekers Club Mix)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Liquid Sound, Vandit Records
Other Official Versions: Darude & JS16, Paul Van Dyk, En Motion, Original

74. Giuseppe Ottaviani - Linking People
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Vandit Records
Other Official Versions: Marc Van Linden
Flipsides: White Lady

73. York - Reachers Of Civilisation
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Axma
Flipsides: O.T.B. (On The Beach)

72. Marco V - Red Blue Purple
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: In Charge
Was track 7 on Marco V’s 2005 album 200V

71. F. Massif - Somebody (Ferry Corsten Remix)
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: Purple Eye Entertainment
Other Official Versions: Swirl People, Vocal Extended, Massif
Flipsides: Biography

70. Arizona vs. Passiva - Halo
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Dedicated Holland
Other Official Versions: Danjo & Styles

69. Gouryella - Tenshi
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Tsunami, Code Blue, Absolute Sound
Other Official Versions: Transa, Mark Moon, Roland Klinkenberg, Ratty, ATB

68. Antiloop - In My Mind
Year of Release: 1997
Label(s) Released On: Fluid Records, Stockholm Records
Other Official Versions: Mind Your Own Business, Chamber Of Sound Dub, Stoney's Gangstas 2000, Talla 2XLC, Poor Mind Alteration

67. Ferry Corsten - Right Of Way
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Tsunami
Flipsides: Kyoto

Was the 4th track on Ferry Corsten’s 2003 album, Right of way.

66. Jan Johnston - Flesh (Tiesto Remix)
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Perfecto
Other Official Versions: Tilt's Going Home, Tilt's Going Home Dub

65. Alt+F4 - Alt+F4
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Anjunabeats
Other Official Versions: Matthew Adams Introspective

64. Lange vs. Gareth Emery - Another Me, Another You
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Vandit Records
Other Official Versions: Terranova & Austin Leeds

63. Ridgewalkers feat. El - Find (Andy Moor Remix)
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: Baroque Records, Armind, Euphonic, Electropolis
Other Official Versions: Original, Kyau vs. Albert, Kyau vs. Albert Dub

62. M1 - Heaven Scent (Michael Woods Club Mix)
Year of Release: 2002
Label(s) Released On: Inferno
Other Official Versions: Michael Woods Vox

61. Matt Darey presents DSP - From Russia With Love (Solar Stone Red City Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Liquid Asset
Other Official Versions: Matt Darey Original, Oliver Lieb, Solar Stone's Deep Blue

60. Ferrin & Low - Breeze
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Fenology Records
Other Official Versions: Van Eyden & Creemers Peaktime, Van Eyden & Creemers Till Dawn

59. Orjan - Arctic Globe
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Intuition Recordings
Flipsides: Prison Break

58. Armin van Buuren - Shivers (Rising Star Remix)
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Armada Music, Armind Limited, Nebula
Other Official Versions: Tribal Feel, Instrumental
Flipsides: Birth Of An Angel

Was track 3 of Armin Van Buuren’s 2005 album, Shivers.

57. Mirco de Govia - Voller Sterne (Super8 Remix)
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: Euphonic
Other Official Versions: Mirco de Govia

56. John O'Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallagher - Big Sky (Agnelli & Nelson Remix)
Year of Release: 2007
Label(s) Released On: Armind
Other Official Versions: Original, EDX Russian Winter Redub, EDX's Russian Winter Vocal, EDX's Russian Winter, City Zen

55. iiO - Rapture (Amrin Van Buuren Remix)
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: United Recordings

54. DJ Shah presents Sunlounger - White Sand
Year of Release: 2006
Label(s) Released On: Armind
Other Official Versions: Highnoon At Salinas

53. The Mystery - Feel 4 You (Dub Mix)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: RR Records, Sirup, ADN Progressive Records
Other Official Versions: Original, Dave 202 & Phil Green

Note: The "video" posted is for the vocal club mix. Unfortunately the Dub mix, which is much better, isn't on youtube.

52. Conjure One - Tears From The Moon (Tiesto's In Search Of Sunrise Remix)
Year of Release: 2002
Label(s) Released On: Nettwerk
Other Official Versions: Hybrid Twisted On The Terrace, Hybrid Twisted On The Terrace Dub, Robbie Rivera

51. Agnelli & Nelson - Everyday (Lange Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Xtravaganza Recordings
Other Official Versions: Original

Was re-released in 2002 with additional Alex Gold remixes

50. 4 Strings – (Take Me Away) Into The Night
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Zeitgeist, Liquid Recordings, VC Recordings
Other Official Versions: 4 Strings, Chill-Out, Coast 2 Coast Vocal, Symphony Of Strings, Gabriel & Dresden 6 Deep Dub

49. DJ Sakin & Friends - Protect Your Mind (For The Love Of A Princess) (Lange Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Positiva, Bang On!
Other Official Versions: Ayla, Suspicious

48. Matt Darey - Nocturnal Delight
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: Liquid Recordings, Incentive
Other Official Versions: Sandler

47. Tiesto - Lethal Industry
Year of Release: 2002
Label(s) Released On: Magik Muzik, VC Recordings
Other Official Versions: Mauro Picotto, Svenson & Gielen, Fred Numf vs Etienne Overdijk

Was the 8th track on Tiesto’s 2002 album, In My Memory.

46. Solar Stone - Solarcoaster
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Lost Language, Electropolis
Other Official Versions: Midway, Steve Murano, Greg Murray

45. Signum - What Ya Got 4 Me? (Vocal Edit)
Year of Release: 1998
Label(s) Released On: Tidy Trax, 541
Other Official Versions: Original 12" Instrumental, Plug 'N' Play, Captain Tinrib, Untidy Dub

44. Three Drives - Greece 2000
Year of Release: 1997
Label(s) Released On: ZYX Music, Hooj Choons, Insolent Tracks
Other Official Versions: Miro Vocal Version, Lost Tribe vs. Miro Vocal, Man With No Name, Farmatronic Genetic, Peace Division, DeNiro, Saccoman, DJ Enrico & Ton TB Extra Extra Space Dub, York, Olav Basoski "Work 'M To Death Funkmeister Dub, A20 Rotterdam On A Saturday Night Overdub
Flipsides: Not Overdrive, Piano Freq.

The main percussion and bassline of the original are sampled from Crusin' Gangs' 1984 track Chinatown. The Chinese vocal sample at the beginning is also sampled from the Cruisin' Gang track.

43. Age of Love - The Age Of Love (Jam & Spoon's Watch Out For Stella Remix)
Year of Release: 1992
Label(s) Released On: ZYX Music, Airplay Records, React
Other Official Versions: OPM, Sign Of The Time, New Age, Boeing, The Original Classic Anthem, Paul Van Dyk "Love Of Ages", Emmanuel Top, Secret Knowledge, Baby Doc, Marco V, Mr. Sam vs. Fred Baker, Marc Et Claude, Cosmic Gate, Wrecked Angle 2004, Brainbug, Johnny Vicious

42. Allure - No More Tears (Abnea Mix)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Nebula, Big Star Records, Black Hole Recordings
Other Official Versions: Original, Aquilia, Butterfly

41. Way Out West - Killa (Orkidea Remix)
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Solaris Recordings
Other Official Versions: Orkidea vs. Dallas Superstars

40. Mauro Picotto – Lizard (Megavoices Mix)
Year of Release: 1998
Label(s) Released On: Empire State Records, Overdance!, VC Recordings, Nebula
Other Official Versions: Mondo Bongo, Tea, Mas, Tall Paul Edit, Gigi D'Agostino, Picotto, Montana's Lizzy 1014, PPD, Reece Elliot, Claxixx

39. Paul Oakenfold - Southern Sun (Tiesto Remix)
Year of Release: 2002
Label(s) Released On: Perfecto
Other Official Versions: Original, Sabata Breaks Vocal, Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged, Solar Stone After Hours
Flipsides: Ready Steady Go

38. Perpetuous Dreamer - The Sound Of Goodbye (Armin Van Buuren's Tribal Remix)
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Armind, Cream Records, Nebula
Other Official Versions: Armin Van Buuren's Tribal Feel Dub, Armin Van Buuren's Rising Star, Above & Beyond, Blank & Jones, Dajiro's Deep Dub, Robbie's Fierce Vocal, Pablo Gargano Underwater Vocal, Nic Chagall Drumbeat, Simon & Shaker

37. Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Signum Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Hooj Choons, Darey Products
Other Official Versions: Original, Michael Woods 2003, Matt Darey 2003, The Digital Blonde, Lee Ault, Lee Haslam Tidy Two, Mandrake Chillout Breaks Full Length, Lost Tribe's '99
Flipsides: Under The Red Sea

36. The Quest - C Sharp
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: In Trance We Trust, Redemption
Other Official Versions: Bhaskar Dandona, Twenty-Something
Flipsides: Shaken Not Stirred, Solitude

35. Above & Beyond vs. Andy Moor - Air For Life
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Anjunabeats, Euphonic
Other Official Versions: Airwave, Mirco De Govia

Was the 4th track on Above & Beyond’s Tri-State album of 2006

34. Motorcycle - As The Rush Comes (Gabriel & Dresden Sweeping Strings Remix)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Armind, Armada Music, Positiva, Insolent Tracks
Other Official Versions: Armin Van Buuren's Universal Religion, Markus Schulz Coldharbour, Gabriel & Dresden Chillout, Above & Beyond's Dynaglide

33. Cosmic Gate - Exploration Of Space (Extended Mix)
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Popular Records, Combined Forces, Data Records
Other Official Versions: Green Court, Club, DJ Shredda, Pedro Del Mar vs. Raul Pablo Sanchez
Flipsides: Melt To The Ocean

32. Vincent de Moor - Fly Away
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Mostiko, Combined Forces, VC Recordings
Other Official Versions: Thrillseekers, Ambient, Generation X, Noisefloor, Don Diablo's Refuse, Havana

31. Yahel - Voyage (Tiesto Magikal Remake)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: In Trance We Trust, Playground
Other Official Versions: 12" Version
Flipsides: Liquid Paradise, I Believe

30. Mike Koglin & UTO - Time (Vocal Mix)
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: Noys, G Tracks
Other Official Versions: BK, Sassot & David Con G vs. DJ Neil

29. Push - Strange World (2000 Remake)
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Inferno, Temprogressive
Other Official Versions: Spectrum, HH, Original

28. Solar Stone - Seven Cities (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
Year of Release: 1998
Label(s) Released On: Lost Language
Other Official Versions: Michael Woods, Solar Stone's Liquid Summer, Solar Stone Trans Atlantis, V-One's Living Cities, Paris & Sharp

27. Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar (Three N One Remix)
Year of Release: 1997
Label(s) Released On: Hooj Choons, Lost Language, Urban
Other Official Versions: Solar Stone, Kid Paul, Universal State Of Mind, Oliver Lieb's L.S.G, Hybrid's Time Traveller, Nalin & Kane, Café Del Marco V, Michael Woods Ambient, John '00' Flemming

26. Chicane - Offshore
Year of Release: 1996
Label(s) Released On: Modena, Xtravaganza Recordings
Other Official Versions: Disco Citizens

Featured as track 3 on Chicane’s 1997 album Far From the Maddening Crowds.

25. Ralph Fridge - Angel
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Orbit Records, Insolent Tracks, Go For It, Incentive
Other Official Versions: Trance Version, 5.A.M., John Johnson, Quake

24. Lovechild - Liberta (Moonman Remix)
Year of Release: 1998
Label(s) Released On: Tremolo, Temprogressive, Bang On!
Other Official Versions: Original Extended, Liquid Child, 8th Wonder, Unison

23. Andain - Beautiful Things (Photon Project Remix)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Black Hole Recordings, Twenty Four Records
Other Official Versions: DJ Cor Fijneman, Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged, Josh Gabriel

22. Agnelli & Nelson - Holding Onto Nothing (Paul Van Dyk Edit)
Year of Release: 2003
Label(s) Released On: Xtravaganza Recordings, Insolent Tracks, Vandit Records
Other Official Versions: Agnelli & Nelson Chillout, Club Mix

Vocals are performed by Audrey Gallagher under the name, Aureas

21. Ayla - Ayla (Veracocha Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Positiva, Wiggle Records
Other Official Versions: DJ Tandu, DJ Taucher, Hole In One, Collisson, Pronti & Kalmani

20. Tiesto - Suburban Train
Year of Release: 2001
Label(s) Released On: Magik Muzik, Nettwerk, Nebula
Other Official Versions: Way Out West, Marc O'Tool Instrumental

Was the final track on Tiesto’s 2001 album In My Memory.

19. Chakra - Home (Above & Beyond Remix)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: WEA International Inc., Fresh Fish Records
Other Official Versions: Tilt's Topline, Dead Dead Tilt, Mara's Chocicide, Mara Vocal, Rob Searle's Tweakin', Original, Solar Stone, Rob Green & Danny Howell's Mix Of The Unknown DJ

18. Orkidea - Beautiful (Alt+F4 Remix)
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: Sential Recordings
Other Official Versions: Original, Sundawner Tribal, DJ Tab, Alt+F4 Instrumental, Syna, Faraway Project, Ambient

17. Marcel Woods - Advanced
Year of Release: 2005
Label(s) Released On: High Contrast Recordings, Be Yourself Music
Other Official Versions: Ton T.B., Filterheadz Love Distortion, Woods Re-Visit-Ed

16. William Orbit - Barber's Adagio For Strings (Ferry Corsten Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: WEA International Inc., Fresh Fish Records, Club Cuture
Other Official Versions: Original, ATB
Flipsides: In A Landscape

15. Veracocha - Carte Blanche
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Positiva, Deal Records, Orange Records, Roadrunner Records, X-Over Recordings, 541, Insolent Tracks
Other Official Versions: Origin, French Edit, Hitch Hiker & Dumondt Club, Ronald Van Gelderen, Kenny Hayes
Flipsides: Drafting

14. Delerium feat. Sarah McLachlan - Silence (Airscape Remix)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: SPV Recordings, Nettwerk
Other Official Versions: Album Version Edit, DJ Tiësto In Search Of Sunrise, Original Fade Sanctuary
Flipsides: Aria

13. Armin van Buuren - Communication Part 2 (Armin Van Buuren Remake)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Cyber Records, Big Star Records, BXR
Other Official Versions: Electromix

12. Atlantis vs. Avatar - Fiji (Lange Remix)
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Inferno, Leaded, X-Over Recordings
Other Official Versions: Original, Azzido Da Bass, Binary Finary Breaks, Binary Finary Future

11. Tenth Planet - Ghosts
Year of Release: 2000
Label(s) Released On: Combined Forces, Tommy Boy Silver, Nebula, Insolent Tracks
Other Official Versions: Vincent De Moor, VDM Low Dynamic, Trouser Enthusiast, Jon Doe, Junior Vasquez, Redanka's Spooky Disko Vocal

10. System F - Out Of The Blue
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Essential Recordings, Tsunami, Dance Pool, Insolent Tracks
Other Official Versions: Angelz, Lucien's Big Trance, Super Secret, DJ Commie, Mauro Picotto, System F's 5AM, Ferry Corsten's Second Edition

9. Robert Miles - Children (Dream Version)
Year of Release: 1995
Label(s) Released On: Platipus, Deconstruction, Overdance!, Arista
Other Official Versions: Message, Guitar, Vocal

Both the Dream and Message versions of this track appeared on Robert Miles’ 1996 album, Dreamland.

8. Chicane - Saltwater
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Xtravaganza Recordings, Dance Pool, C2Records
Other Official Versions: Tomski vs. Disco Citizens, Mothership

This track is an adaptation of the Clannad song, Harry’s Game and features the vocals of Clannad’s Marie Brennan. It went on to become track 4 on Chicane’s 2000 album, Behind the Sun.

7. OceanLab - Satellite (Above & Beyond Remix)
Year of Release: 2004
Label(s) Released On: Euphonic, NuLife, Soundpiercing, Armada Music, Anjunabeats (White Label)
Other Official Versions: Markus Schulz Coldharbour, Alx Odden's Flipside Vocal, Floris de Haan, Above & Beyond Progressive

6. BT - Flaming June
Year of Release: 1997
Label(s) Released On: Perfecto, Reprise Records, Kinetic Records, Warner Music
Other Official Versions: BT & PvD, Chicane, HHC, Lemon D, BBE Club Mix 1, BBE Club Mix 2, Lenco Shift

Original released as track 3 on the 1997 album, Electric Sky Church Music (ESCM)

5. Gouryella - Gouryella
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Tsunami, Ultra Violet Recordings, Code Blue, Planetary Consciousness, Insolent Tracks, Absolute Sound
Other Official Versions: Armix, Gigolo
Flipsides: Gorella

4. Binary Finary - 1999 (Gouryella Remix)
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Positiva, Orbit Records, 24 Records,
Other Official Versions: Kay Cee, Matt Darey, Paul Van Dyk, Marc Et Claude’s Answering Machine
Flipsides: Cryogen

3. Paul van Dyk - For An Angel (E-Werk Club Mix)
Year of Release: 1998
Label(s) Released On: Deviant Records, 541, Orbit-A, Rough Trade Germany
Other Official Versions: Way Out West, Terry Lee Brown Jnr, Ashtrax Fallen, Ashtrax Remould

2. Faithless - Insomnia (Monster Remix)
Year of Release: 1995
Label(s) Released On: Cheeky Records, Blow Up, D:vision Records, Overdance!, Max Music (Spain), Arista
Other Official Versions: Original, Moody, CEC, Tuff, ’96 Version, DJ Quicksilver, De Donatis, Armand's European Vacation, Armand's Mission To Mars, Rollo & Sister Bliss, Blissy vs. Armand Van Helden 2005, Sasha B.A, Live At Alexandra Palace

1. Rank 1 - Airwave
Year of Release: 1999
Label(s) Released On: Free For All, Clubgroove Records, Manifesto, ID&T, Bang On!, Kontor Records
Other Official Versions: Rank 1 vs. Dutch Force, ATB, Sunset, Junior Vasquez Marathon Airwaves

This track was also re-released in 2003 under the name Breathing (Airwave), with an additional vocal.

THE TRANCE JOURNAL - PART 1 - HOW TRANCE WORKS

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:58:25 +0000

THE TRANCE JOURNAL (PART 1)
HOW TRANCE WORKS

Few genres are more misunderstood by so-called "outsiders" than the genre of trance. For those that listen to it religiously, it's warming, uplifting and energizing, as beautifully crafted as a picturesque painting or piece of fine furniture, and, in some cases, as moving as a classical symphony – a wonderful mesh of rolling, flowing basslines, smooth melodies and, in some instances, poignant vocal hooks. Furthermore, it has carefully evolved to produce diverse and interesting musical hybrids. Yet, for outsiders, trance is a repetitive, noisy series of thuds and bleeps – music that doesn't get to the point. For them, it's music that is created in a few hours by a chimp-like figure pressing buttons on a computer and can only be enjoyed while high on drugs.

Of course, the simple response is to say: "well, one man's meat is another's poison". To an extent, that's absolutely true. When it comes to the absolute crunch, we are talking about different brains responding differently to exactly the same musical input. What gets the synapses firing, the endorphins flowing, for one person may never do the same for another person. However, what I think some people fail to appreciate, aside from all the mindless generalisations about "chimps on computers" and drugs, is just how trance is intended to work. Now, I'm not saying that explaining how trance really works to someone will suddenly, in some kind of "road to Damascus" moment, make them love the genre. But it might make some people a little less hostile and maybe more appreciative of why so many people out there just can't get enough of the stuff.

I think the best place to begin is the actual name: TRANCE. This name isn't arbitrary. Or at least, it does not seem so to me. The main underlying purpose of trance music is to induce some kind of trance. This may seem like an obvious point, but it requires a bit more explanation. Hypnosis and mental "states of trance" are, whatever the perceptions of them produced by popular culture, careful and important sciences. And the most fundamental point arising from such sciences is that:

...People get pleasure when they are in a trance. - Dennis R. Wier, The Trance Institute, Bruetten

Many claim that trance is repetitive, and, to an extent, it is, but with very good reason. It is the repetition of subtle and underlying rhythms (or loops), with slight modulations and variations, that produces a "trance". The notion of "trance-inducing repetitions" is not, it is important to say, exclusive to trance music; nor was it born out of trance music. The rhythmic drumming in African tribal music is well documented, for example. Such repetitions are also a feature in nature:

There are many nature sounds, such as birds, frogs, crickets which fundamentally repeat, but which contain slight variations within each repetition. The fundamental repetition is the trance generating loop (TGL) and the variations in each repetition results in the modulation of the dissociated trance plane. -Dennis R. Wier, The Trance Institute, Bruetten

And a loud or heavy beat is by no means necessary to produce such trances. So to say that people only listen to trance because its "loud" or "noisy" is well wide of the mark.

Having got to this point, it might be tempting for some "outsiders" to misinterpret what is being said here and go on to see trance music as the musical equivalent of Paul McKenna - as people being totally duped or transfixed by a mere method of sinister hypnosis. This, of course, would be taking it too far. There are various levels, or states, of "trance", affected by all sorts of circumstances and conditions. Furthermore, the loops and repetitions almost never continue for long enough to induce the deepest states of trance. That's why radio edits of trance songs don't work as well as the full tracks and why mixing songs into continious sets does work so well. Radio edits of trance songs in particular start to sound much more like pop songs when they are shortened and forced to "build up" much more quickly. They start to lose those genre defining elements of progression and anticipation.

Most instances of trance music do not allow sufficient time for deeper trances to develop, as complexities are introduced too quickly. Remember, in shamanistic trances, drumming would go on for days. Subtle changes in the rhythm and melodic structures over time will produce deep trances because it is the 'subtly' which is engaging. Commercial trance music should continue for a minimum of 20 minutes to induce deep trance. Perhaps we are all fortunate that such long trance music riffs almost never happen. -Dennis R. Wier, The Trance Institute, Bruetten

The loops in most trance tracks are eventually cut short by what is called the "break down" and, usually, a much more obviously melodic sequence is introduced. And these sequences are made more effective by the "engaged state" of the listener and the anticipated return of the rhythmic loops, or the "kick back" as it is often called. In much of melodic trance, this melodic sequence is highly comparable to the melodic style of classical music, something that is rarely noticed by the so-called "outsider". At the "kick back", the return of the TGL, and its combination with the melodic sequence, brings the track to a crescendo, a crescendo that many people just don't have the patience to wait for.

So, what is trance, put simply then? I would argue it is a modern, electronically produced hybrid of hypnotic tribal and melodic classical music. The fact that it is electronic tends to mask this quite sophisticated hybridization to "outsiders", but this hybridization isn’t necessarily a mimicking of instrumental sound or even style, but a mimicking of purpose; the intention to produce a degree of hypnosis through rhythmic repetition and emotional warmth or euphoria through highly distinctive melodic elements. Some trance leans more obviously to the former, some to latter, but it’s that combination of purpose that truly defines trance music. Thus, trance fans, often without consciously acknowledging so, are patient, understand the value of anticipation, expectation and repetition and are as appreciative of the subtleties of the music as much as they are of its most glaringly obvious traits. Certain people may disagree with my definition of trance. I'm not saying it's a 100%, set in stone, objective definition. But if you do accept my definiton, or one similar to it, trance becomes so much more than mere "brain dead music for brain dead people", as one last.fm user once so eloquently put it. On the contrary, in its own way, it's actually highly sophisticated music, especially in terms of how it sets about achieving what it does.

The fact that trance is electronically produced tends to be a major bugbear for some people. It is commonly assumed that producing electronic music requires very little musical skill. To be quite honest, there is very little I can say to people who cling longingly to their guitars and drum kits that could persuade them that it does require as much skill as playing a "traditional" musical instrument. The fact is, very few people who actually write music for bands using "traditional" musical instruments also produce music using a computer, a copy of the relevant software and some midi sequencers and, in truth, only they can say which genuinely requires more talent. What I wish people would appreciate though is that it does require some level of skill, expertise and, moreover, practice to truly master. But the key point is that the making of electronic music is DIFFERENT, not necessarily easy. Tracks are not what you would call "written and recorded", rather they are carefully "built and engineered". And even then, it still takes talent to come up with a new musical concept, a new idea, regardless of how that idea is turned into a reality. You can be the most talented player of instruments in the world, but no new idea, no new music. Makers of electronic music don't have the music made for them by the computers. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, as with any genre of music there are artists with less talent and skill than others, but there are still a highly significant number of producers within electronic music who are very talented engineers, understand their music down to the last details and, in many cases, can play keyboards, synthesizers and even classic instruments like guitars and pianos.

But people also have to appreciate, that many trance fans love the fact that it is electronically produced. The programming of trance through computers gives many tracks in the genre a "cleanness", "clarity", "sharpness" and "flow", or even a better sense of order or obscure "rationality of placement", that music on "traditional" instruments cannot really replicate.

Another thing that I think maybe confuses, and puts off, people from outside trance from paying it more attention is the seemingly never-ending lists of sub-genres, labels and names that get banded about by trance fans. You only have to look at Ishkur's Guide To Electronic Music to see how pointlessly complex some people's boxing off of genres can be. (And even then people fail to realise that this guide itself reminds us in its disclaimer that it is specifically a "non technical guide" with the "purpose to entertain before it informs".) If you break it down, there only really needs to be 5 sub-genres:

Uplifting (epic or melodic, if you prefer those terms), Progressive (the old style and the newer style influenced by house), Tech Trance (influenced by techno and partly by electro), Psychedelic (growing out of goa) and Ambient (downtempo, belearic influenced material). For the newcomer as much as the seasoned listener, it need not be anymore complicated than that. All these elaborate separations of "uplifting" from "epic", or "symphonic" from "classic", or "Ibizan" from "dream dance" just aren't helpful in the slightest, however certain any particular trance fan is that he has them clearly defined in his head.

But, having said all that, what point do we come back to? Where are we left? Well, while I will always accept that trance is never going to take over the world (like many trance fans wish it would) and that it simply isn't everyone's bag by any stretch of the imagination, it doesn't stop me being infuriated by some of the crap that is continuously written about it as a genre. Even the most supposedly "academic" and "intelligent" attempts at getting to grips with it amount to nothing more than a combination of gross generalisation and dogmatised scorn. (One example being the hilariously titled article, 'The intelligent person's guide to trance'.) But that's the point – these commentaries just don't really engage with what trance is for the people who actually love it, at least not on a level playing field or without culturally reinforced prejudices based on drugs, the cold hearted use of technology and the absence of intelligence. Most people only look at what the music means in relation to themselves, rather than the actual mechanics of it in terms of aim, purpose and methods, leaving them as far away from understanding trance as ever. What I want people to realise is that you don't have to like the music to appreciate why other people do like it. In terms of approach this isn't really a massive leap of faith, just a case of being open-minded or being willing to put your prejudices aside, if only for a brief moment.

Some trance links: Above & Beyond, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, OceanLab, Nitrous Oxide, Jonas Steur, Vibrasphere, John O'Callaghan, Chicane, Signum, Paul van Dyk, Sean Tyas, Marco V, Ferry Corsten, Marcel Woods, Nu NRG, Aly & Fila, Super8, Icone, Ronski Speed, Stoneface & Terminal, David West, Matt Darey, Filo & Peri, DJ Shah, Tilt, Michael Dow, Lange, Solarstone, Orjan, M.I.K.E.

THAT WAS 2007 - THE YEAR IN CHARTS

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:20:54 +0000

THAT WAS 2007 - THE YEAR IN CHARTS

Well, the year of 2007 is coming to an end. Only 13 of the 365 days remain. So, what's been massive in the world of electronic music this year? What has floated my boat? As is the case with most years, there's been plenty to savour.

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TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2007

1. Younger Brother - The Last Days Of Gravity (October)

A simply breath-taking mix of progressive psy and innovative chillout - comfortably the best album of 2007, in my opinion. Nothing I can say here would really do it justice. Hearing is believing.

Favourite Track: All I Want

2. Vibrasphere - Exploring The Tributaries (June)

For me, the best work Vibrasphere have ever done and that's saying something, because Vibrasphere are amongst the best progressive trance acts in the business. Some top progressive trance, as always, and some truly stunning chillout. Pretty much faultless.

Favourite Track: Ensueño

3. Time Lock - Prototype 0.1 (October)

Painting by numbers in psy-trance terms maybe, but this still makes for what can only be described as a musical textbook for any up-and-coming full-on psy-trance producer. Powerful, punchy, aggressive and never afraid to be funky. The beats and melodies in this ping around the room like the musical equivilent of flubber. Brilliant!

Favourite Track: Time Theory

4. Jonas Steur - Born For The Night (September)

Nothing fancy about this. Just good, solid, consistent progressive trance. Very much in the Michael Cassette sort of mould and arguably not lacking the same quality. What I do like about this album is that Jonas has managed to create an album with a clear theme and collective sound, yet each track has it's own distinctive charms. In other words, how an album should be made.

Favourite Track: I Know

5. Calvin Harris - I Created Disco (June)

There have been quite a few albums showcasing this particular brand of electro this year... this is the best of them. Commercial maybe, but makes no excuses for it. Overplayed maybe, but with good reason. It's just catchy as hell.

Favourite Track: Vegas

6. Solar Fields - Earthshine (November)

Wasn't expecting this at all when I heard Solar Fields were releasing a new album. This is progressive trance as opposed to his usual blissful chillout, but it still ticks all the right boxes and shows his versatility.

Favourite Track: Black Arrow

7. Matrix & Futurebound - Universal Truth (April)

Hold Your Colour's little brother - not in the same league but still the most listenable drum & bass album I've heard all year.

Favourite Track: Knite Riderz (Feat MC Spyda)

8. Daft Punk - Alive 2007 (December)

The only reason this isn't higher on the chart is that the sound quality of "live" recordings just isn't that great. Never is. But as live albums go this is wicked. A really refreshing and clever meshing of their best tracks.

Favourite Track: Around The World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Live)

9. Infected Mushroom - Vicious Delicious (April)

I was, and still am, disappointed with this release from the Mushrooms. Becoming Insane, Change The Formality and Special Place are great - IM at their best. In Front Of Me and Before really let the album down though. And coupled with tracks like Artillery and Heavyweight, this album was always going to be controversial in psy-trance circles. Let's face it, in places it all just goes a little too Eiffel 65. I've got nothing against Eiffel 65, but it's not really the direction I want my favourite psy acts to go in, to be honest. It still deserves a place in my top ten though - tracks like Suliman and Eat it RAW do go a long way to saving it... but I was just expecting so much more.

Favourite Track: Change The Formality

10. The Chemical Brothers - We Are The Night (July)

Choosing one final album from the group that remain to go in the top 10 was not easy. There are some cracking candidates. On the electro front I could have gone for either Justice's Cross (June) or Simian Mobile Disco's Attack Decay Sustain Release (June). Drum & Bass-wise I could well have plumped for TC's Evolution (October). Or it could have been psy-trance duo Dual Core's Eruption (September). But I've gone for The Chemical Brothers - We Are The Night (June). This actually took a while to grow on me, but I half expected it would. A clever album from a brilliant EDM act who have shown clear attempts at evolving their sound in subtle and intelligent ways. Do It Again, Saturate and Burst Generator stand out on this album. All great tunes.

Favourite Track: Do It Again

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TOP 20 UK HARD DANCE TUNES OF 2007

1. JX – Restless (Technikal Mix)
2. Masif DJs - Everyday (Steve Hill vs. Technikal Mix)
3. Adrenaline Dept. - U Got To Be There (MDA & Spherical Mix)
4. SQ - Hypnotising
5. Adrenaline Dept. - Saturday
6. Sambo – Mezmerize
7. Jason Cortez - Shining In The Ecstasy
8. Matt Gardner – Endeavour
9. Lee Pasch - Feel It
10. Louis Fernio – Free Your Mind (Iridium Mix)
11. Pienaar & Bamford – Industrializm (MDA & Spherical Mix)
12. Kenemy – Pure Intellect
13. Phil York - Minds At Work
14. Sam Townend & Jon BW– How Can I Love You (Take You Back)
15. Bady Doc & SJ - I Need You (Knuckleheadz Mix)
16. BK - Insane (KY Jellybabies Mix)
17. Batch - Stay Where You Are
18. Simon Qudos – Velocity
19. Lisa Lashes - Unbelievable (2007 Mix)
20. Jon BW - Cutting Shapes

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TOP 20 TRANCE, PROG AND TECH TRANCE TUNES OF 2007

1. Re:Locate - Undercurrent
2. Above & Beyond - Home (Club Mix)
3. Ronski Speed, Stoneface & Terminal - Soulseeker (Stoneface & Terminal Mix)
4. Daniel Kandi - Child
5. Marcel Woods - Lemon Tree
6. Simon Patterson - Bulldozer
7. Temple One - Forever Searching (Orjan Nilsen Mix)
8. Vincent de Moor - Fly Away (Sean Tyas Mix)
9. Airbase - One Tear Away
10. Filo & Peri - Anthem
11. Ronald Van Gelderen - Dirty Rocker
12. Dj Tiesto & BT - Break My Fall (Airbase Mix)
13. Tony De Vit - The Dawn (Bryan Kearney Mix)
14. Matys - Funk
15. Sean Tyas - Candida (Terk Dawn Mix)
16. Above & Beyond - Good For Me (Club Mix)
17. John O'Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallaher - Big Sky (Agnelli & Nelson Mix)
18. Tom Cloud - Mercury Room
19. Michael Cassette - David
20. Ferry Corsten - The Race

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TOP 20 FULL-ON PSY TUNES OF 2007

1. Dual Core - Magnetic Area
2. Zeta - Blood Red Rain (Astrix Mix)
3. Eskimo - 5 And A Half Stars
4. Ananda Shake - Disco Dancer
5. Time Lock - Time Theory
6. Domestic - Bloom On Day
7. Electro Sun - On Air
8. Time Lock - Return of the Machines (Remix)
9. Quadra - LSD Came Falling Down
10. X-Noize - Voice Tweaker
11. Infected Mushroom - Change The Formality
12. Time Lock - Rocketman
13. Time Lock - Activate Evolution
14. Dual Core - Eruption
15. Audio Chemistry - Long Long Arms (Joti Sidhu Mix)
16. Infected Mushroom - Becoming Insane
17. Broken Toy - Low Down & Dirty
18. BECKERS - Switch (Growling Machines Mix)
19. Bizzare Contact - The Beach (Visual Contact Global Club Edit)
20. Broken Toy - Heavy Structured

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TOP 20 ELECTRO-HOUSE TUNES OF 2007

1. Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand - Let Me Think About It (Fedde Le Grand Club Mix)
2. David Guetta & Chris Willis - Love Is Gone (Fred Rister & Joachim Garraud Mix)
3. Lissat & Voltraxx - Young & Beautiful (Klaas & Micha Moor Mix)
4. Micha Moor - Space (Klaas Club Mix)
5. Calvin Harris - Merrymaking At My Place (Deadmaus5 Mix)
6. Kanagawa & Lucy Clarke - Twisted Wave
7. Rene Amesz & Peter Gelderblom - Waiting For
8. Todd Terry, Kenny Dope, DJ Sneak & Tara Mcdonald - Get Down (Tim Le El Mix)
9. Supadelics - Take A Look Inside (Miles Dyson's Peaktime Dub Mix)
10. Dualton - Papercut (Klaas & Micha Moor Remix)
11. Freaks - The Creeps (You're Giving Me) (Vandalism Remix)
12. David Philips & Chiba Unit - Unforgettable Time (Nino Anthony Mix)
13. Global Deejays feat. Technotronic - Get Up (General Electric Version)
14. Jesse Garcia - Off Da Hook!
15. Rubikon - Adore (David Amo & Julio Navas Mix)
16. Subsource - This Town (Hook N Sling Mix)
17. Scooter - Lass Uns Tanzen
18. David Sense - My Juice
19. Super Mal & Luciana - Bigger Than Big (Macca Dub Mix)
20. Mark Mendes - His Music (Mark's Bouncing Is Fun Mix)

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UPDATE (22/12/07)

A few honourable mentions for the albums list; a few of which I forgot about when compiling these charts and most of which could quite deservedly have filled position 10 ... or maybe even position 9.

Ananda Shake - Inside The Sound (September)
Asura - LIFE² (July)
Broken Toy - The Low Down Dirty Sound Of Broken Toy (October)
Electro Sun - Double Trouble (November)
Joti Sidhu - New Sensations (February)
Massive - Not An Angel (December)
Freaked Frequency - FF Syndrome (September)
Tiesto - Elements Of Life (April)
Ulrich Schnauss - Goodbye (June)
Air - Pocket Symphony (March)
BK - Under The Influence (May)
High Contrast - Tough Guys Don't Dance (0ctober)

And just for the record, I hadn't forgotten about Paul van Dyk's In Between (August) or either of Scooter's two (yes, TWO!) albums from this year. Despite a few real high points, In Between and The Ultimate Aural Orgasm (February) were, overall, below par and Jumping All Over The World (November) was a musical car crash.

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Now, bring on 2008!

JUMPING ALL OVER OUR GRAVE

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:19:32 +0000

JUMPING ALL OVER OUR GRAVE

This is largely an add-on to my original journal about Scooter which was posted in June. (SCOOTER - THE GREAT Q&A) But, with the release of yet another Scooter album (yes, it’s that time of the year already), I just wanted to say a few final things. I was just going to post this in the comments of the previous journal, but in the end I thought it deserved its own spot.

Some would say I’ve already said far too much about them on last.fm. I would agree actually. But the only reason I’ve said so much about them is, not because I think they are best thing since sliced bread, but rather, that the way they have changed, the way they behave continues to shock me. In other words, with every release I am more and more taken a back, to the point where it has almost become a personal “spectator sport” just to see how bad their latest material is. I’ve followed these guys for a while and I’ve never come across a group that has so catastrophically self-destructed in response to success.

Will the next album be jumpstyle influenced? Is this finally a new direction for Scooter? Of course, it isn't. Just like the dire Fatman Scoop rap interlude in Behind the Cow, like the 50 Cent-like tones of The Leading Horse and like the funky cheesiness of Shake That!, this is Scooter trying their hand at anything and everything in an attempt to be popular.

It's clear that I got the first prediction wrong. Jumping All Over The World is clearly a heavily jumpstyle influenced album and, therefore, has a clear theme. For this I have to give Scooter some credit. I will always advocate albums having a theme and overall sound.

However, I would still suspect that it is unlikely that jumpstyle will become a long term direction for Scooter. And, furthermore, it is still clear to me that the only reason the theme for this album is jumpstyle is precisely because jumpstyle and hardstyle are growing in popularity at the moment. To me, this is clearly still cashing in on trends in the industry. Scooter may have remained on the bandwagon for longer than expected, but it is still a bandwagon nonetheless.

And the album in terms of innovation, creativity, but more importantly, overall sound is pathetic, to the point where The Ultimate Aural Orgasm actually sounds pretty enjoyable in comparison. I'm not a fan of jumpstyle or hardstyle, never will be. In fact, largely I absolutely hate it. But it's clear to me that Scooter have completely bastardised the genre. I may dislike it, but I know what proper jumpstyle sounds like. This isn't it. Their attempt at creating a mainstream version of what, in Holland at least, is already quite a commercial sounding genre has shown Scooter for all they are; jumpstyle amateurs who have no real understanding and appreciation for the genre they are "playing with".

And for Scooter, high pitched voices now appear to be the solution to absolutely everything. As if including them instantly creates a floorfiller regardless of style or substance, as if including them instantaneously and by default captures Scooter’s true spirit.

I'm not saying they couldn't have pulled it off. If Scooter had put some serious time and effort into creating a jumpstyle album then it could maybe have worked. Even I, as a real jumpstyle skeptic, can admit that.

But what is this? Like The Ultimate Aural Orgasm, like Who's Got The Last Laugh Now?, even like Mind The Gap, it's 3 months worth of stealing, of cutting and pasting, of endlessly and disrespectfully recasting other people's work, sometimes in tasteless ways, of mindless, worthless and meaningless music production. Rushed, lazy, careless, ill-conceived, unoriginal, soulless, spiritless garbage. Forget what you've heard about artist X creating song Y in 2 hours, Scooter are clearly not capable of such inspirational, 2 hour flashes of genius. At least not anymore.

Seriously! What kind of artist creates a track as bad as Whistling Dave? The claps sound like something off Ejay. And using the tetris melody as the main hook? Oh, that hasn't been done before, has it? And then, why make that tetris melody first sound like you've recorded it straight from a gameboy and then sound exactly like the riff in The Question Is What Is The Question? I'll tell you what kind of artist makes this shit; an artist that cares so little about what they are creating that tracks do actually sound like they've been created in 2 hours.

This album doesn't even have 1 track that makes me sit up and say, "that's a bit more like it". At least The Ultimate Aural Orgasm had Lass Uns Tranzen, UFO Phenomena, and even Ratty's Revenge. At least Who's Got The Last Laugh Now had Mesmerized and Hello. This album has nothing. Absolutely nothing!

As I have written on Jumping All Over The World's page on this site:

This is truly painful stuff. Truly hideous! A more holistic album by Scooter's standards maybe. But the overall sound is dire. Stupid clapping noises, tacky beats, way too much HPV, way too many of those "The Question Is What Is The Question"-esque, hollow, pseudo-jumpstyle melodies, and, of course, almost all ripped off. Compared to Wicked or We Bring The Noise this is a joke of an album.

This no longer represents a mere demise, in my eyes, but the emergence of a totally new musical concept calling itself Scooter; a true musical evil. A musical concept that has completely abandoned the spirit with which it once operated. A musical concept that treats its own industry with total disregard and contempt. But most importantly, a musical concept that has taken its ever-present bad habits and problems to untold heights, that has let its ubiquitous demons become its master. The fact is, they just don’t give a fuck about anything, not even music. And that makes my blood boil.