Browsing Tag

trance

Rob Benny is ‘Still Searching’ for meaning in his percussive EDM single.

Posted on 3 September 2022
https://soundcloud.com/robbennyofficial/still-searching?si=fa05a6ab2e2848eba1350edc0968e23c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

I’m not a big advocate of the adjective epic, but nothing else comes to close to encapsulating what the NYC electronica artist and producer Rob Benny conjured with his percussive EDM single, Still Searching.

With the world music overtones, there is a vital sense of spirituality in the progressive mix. Given that there is a fundamental lack of that around in 2022, Still Searching is a revitalising sensory experience, which affirms that even in the most trying times, there is still meaning and purpose out there; you just have to reach for it. Even though we are instant gratification-seeking creatures, meaning takes time to manifest. I couldn’t think of a better soundscape to drink in while we wait.

Still Searching is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DJ G-String has dropped her reflective trance EP, In the Mirror

Posted on 22 April 2022

After garnering over 1 million Spotify streams since her 2020 debut, the Chicagoland vocal house DJ, DJ G-String has released her 5-track EP, In the Mirror, which contains trance remixes of her five top tracks. Fans of Kaskade, Alice Wonderland and tokimonsta won’t want to miss it.

The Euro-inspired EP kicks off through the entrancing progressions in the remix of the affectionately iron wrought hit, Always, before it careers into All These Nights which unapologetically brings in the bass right on the first beat.

After the entrancing hardstyle beats have had their way with you, you’re thrown into the euphonic 90s-style dance hit, Your Love, before the EP comes to a close with the singles Only If and Runaway, which were remixed by P5YCHOH and Chriszio respectively.

Though the DJ G-String moniker only appeared in 2020, the artist behind it has been ingrained in the music scene for over two decades. She started out as the singer, bassist and lyricist in the rock act, Digging4Julie before blowing up as a vocal house sensation.

Currently, she’s a resident DJ on Good Groove Radio, Secret Lounge Radio, Ibiza Stardust Radio and at the Subterranean Music Venue in Chicago.She has also been lauded by electronica tastemakers such as Run the Trap, Clash Magazine, Dancing Astronaut, We Rave You and DJ Times.

Here’s what DJ G-String had to say about her EP

“The title is a symbolic reflection and celebration of what I have built in this dance music ecosystem so far. It was important to emphasise that we are all unique, and sometimes, you just have to stop and look in the mirror to remember who you are and what you love.”

The In The Mirror EP is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The prodigal son of SLAP house, K.S.M. returns with his sophomore single, ‘Through the Silence’.

Posted on 19 April 2021

K.S.M. followed on from their debut 2021 single with the ethereal feat of electronica, ‘Through the Silence’. Many artists promise to deliver originality in their mixes, yet, the Norway-based producer went the extra mile to stamp down his atmospheric signature take on deep house with his sophomore release.

The energetic bass rhythms in Through the Silence packs the track with a driving momentum while the female vocals add a touch of serenity to the soundscape; proving to be all too efficacious in keeping you hooked with every progressive transgression in the polished single.

K.S.M. is set to make major waves in the electro scene; 2 weeks on from the release of Through the Silence, the track had racked up over 50,000 streams on Spotify alone. If you pride yourself on having fresh artists on your radar, you will want to make room for K.S.M. who takes influence from SLAP House greats such as Alok and Tujamo.

Through the Silence is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Roman Cigi needs his ‘Voices’ to be heard.

Posted on 8 April 2021

One of the most innovative and cross-genre producers and DJ’s currently working the Ministry of Sound/Itaca/Paradiso circuit, Roman Cigi was born in Slovakia but now resides in London; that cross-European background serves him in good stead here with new single ‘Voices’, a perfect slice of old-school Euro-Deep House/Trance/Progressive House that’s both fresh and retro all at once.

Immediately, it sounds like all those massive 90’s Balearic bangers; Black Box, Seal & Adamski, and absolutely Blue Pearl’s “ Naked In The Rain”. Deep, breathy female vocals over thundering drum and bass, smack in the trancey-techno sweet-spot of 125 BPM. It’s a perfect clubby dance track, and – if Covid hadn’t crashed the party – deserves to be filling dancefloors all over the country this summer.

You can check out ‘Voices’ on Spotify; follow Roman Cigi here or on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Slyide wants to help us ‘Make It Through The Night’

Posted on 30 March 2021
Slyide

Deep bass, slow tempo, and old-school TR-808 handclaps are the defining character of Slyide’s new single ‘Make It Through The Night’, all backing up a chilled, laid-back vocal. There’s an element of Faithless to the track, a ‘Maxim-ness’ to that vocal delivery, and a retro, old-school feel to the production that smacks of early trance and drum-and-bass tracks, but Slyide is clearly no ‘stuck in the past’ producer; with agreements signed for use of their instrumental tracks in two VR platforms, a workout video, and as instore music airplay, things are clearly already going places for Slyide.

You can check out the ‘Make It Through The Night’ single on Apple Music now, and follow Slyide on Facebookand Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

 

Simulated Youth bridges the gap between retro style and futuristic vision with ‘N.B.T.’ featuring Camoragi

Posted on 18 March 2021

Daft Punk may be no more, but entrancing EDM tracks are still hitting the airwaves as a curtsey of producers such as Phoenix, AZ-residing artist Simulated Youth.

With Camoragi’s seductive vocals sitting over a bed of complexly layered instrumentals which bridge the gap between retro styles and futuristic vision, their latest single N.B.T. (nice bass track), arrests you emotionally just as much as it takes control of your rhythmic pulses.

If the sonic experience itself isn’t enough to get you excited about Simulated Youth’s harsh bass-riding approach to electronica which hits just as hard as any industrial track with far more duality between the chaos and the breaks and the euphoria in the drops, the concept definitely will. In Simulated Youth’s own words, “The lyrics are about the song itself being in love with the artist, yet to the artist, the song is just his nice bass track.”

You can check it out for yourselves also via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

US EDM producer, Beatzler has dropped their entrancingly immense release ‘Games Forever’

Posted on 13 March 2021

US EDM producer, Beatzler’s latest mix, Games Forever is the epitome of a floor-filler; even if there’s no atmosphere in the room, there’s plenty within this entrancingly immense progressive mix.

When producers can create vibes instead of just beats, that’s how you know they’re a cut above the rest, which pretty much makes Beatzler the sharpest knife in the draw. His lacerating hooks which drag you into dizzying dubbed drops are all too effective at immersing you completely in his playfully arrestive progressions.

Needless to say, fans of dopamine-teasing euphoric EDM will want Beatzler on their radar.

Games Forever is available to stream via SoundCloud. Play it loud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Eiffel 65’s cult hit got catchier with Artuga’s trancey remix ‘Blue (Da Be Dee)’

Posted on 20 February 2021

Hitting play on Eiffel 65’s 1999 cult hit ‘I’m Blue’ is a sure-fire way to get a sweetly potent shot of serotonin. That also goes for Netherlands-based artist and producer Artuga’s rework ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’.

20 years have passed since the original, that’s reflected in the artist’s mix which extracts the 90s pop elements and replaces them with harsh trancey layers which lacerate the iconic soundscape with lashings of reverberant biting bass. With plenty more reverb on the higher-energy vocals, there’s little separation between the vocals and the surrealist escapism-aiding beats which tear you away from reality and throw you into the reality of the blue alien we fell in love with when MTV still played music.

Artuga’s remix of Blue is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sonarus – On My Way: Multiculturally Eclectic EDM

Posted on 26 December 2020

Dundee, Scotland-hailing artist, Sonarus brought her multicultural and multi-ethnic roots to her latest mesmerising single, ‘On My Way’. With elements of Afro Tech, Progressive Tech and Trance all breathing life into the galvanising mix, it’s as euphoric as it is intricately ingenious.

As trippy beats indulgently jar against arrestive synth-led melodies, Sonarus paints right across the tonal palette with cold chilling tones brushing up against transcendently light entrancing beats. Yet, the true hypnotic essence of On My Way lies within Sonarus’ smoothly evocative vocal timbre which is as close to an aural cuddle as you’re going to get.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if Shiny Toy Guns and Warpaint met in the middle, you’ll get an idea of what is in store when you hit play on this relentlessly enrapturing release.

You can check out On My Way for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The planets all align for Rocco & TDC Tunes with new single ‘Cosmic’

Posted on 24 December 2020
Rocco & TDC Tunes

While the world blinks in pandemic darkness and people sit frustrated, confused, and nervous of the future, it seems dance singer/songwriter Rocco has not just been falling in love, but finding the whole experience a transcendental, psychedelic time. Perhaps best known for her single ‘Lovesick’, a collaboration with H two 0 for the Ministry of Sound, which reached No.1 in the UK Dance Charts, on ‘Cosmic’ Rocco collaborates with London-based writer/producer TDC Tunes to provide us with a high energy, soaring dance tune, all swelling keyboard chords, overlapping vocal lines, and thumping house beats.

There’s a Gabrielle-like quality to Rocco’s voice, a smoky huskiness that’s at once sexy and vulnerable, sitting over rising, chiming sequenced keyboards, hi hat patterns, and thunderous bass, building and rising then dropping to a trancey, psychedelic little breakdown before climbing once more to its ultimate crescendo.

The full track is released on December 18th across all major streaming platforms, you can stream this now on Spotify, and follow TDC Tunes and Rocco on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes