Trance Reviews
by DJ Shadowrunner
photo by Todd Comer

The dead of winter is upon us but, we have never been so alive within the music and culture. The beats keep coming and with the advent of spring, WMC is around the corner. For those of you who dont know, WMC (Winter Music Conference) in Miami Florida, check it out at WMCon.com

This conference is in it's 21st year of existance. It has so much to do with the electronic music culture I would need so much space to describe to you the talent, gear, and vibe that goes on there. Expo's, trade shows, demos, networking, festivals, partying, and so much more. And if you do go down there, check out the Ultra Music Festival too. This is the big one of the
year, check it out at UltraMusicFestival.com

This month's mix CD Pick:

Trousey - Mixed by Matthew Dekay - ARMADA
This 2cd dj mixset will take you on a progressive journey around the globe with some of the hottest tracks that are fueling dancefloors everywhere. Infectious stuff like this should be registered with CDC, cuz, once you catch the fevah you wont stop till ya drop. Danger danger.

This month's Trance reviews:

Basscore (Original & Dallas Superstars Techcore Mix) - Miika Kuisma - Subtraxx Recordings
If you like your music like you like your lovers, DUURTY NAASTY and up to no good. This double A side freak is for you. The original is the sleazier of the two. Having a mix of 4/4 and breaks is usually a bad thing. This one is an exception with masterful workings of the dark side of progressive breaks and trance. Drop it on a sweaty dance floor and get lucky, you know its a sure thing. The Dallas Superstars Techcore Mix is the Proggy big room driver. This track drives a dark groove up to the break then opens up into a atmospheric pumper. Echoes, sweeps, panning, and all the little tricks to help anyone who is out for a late night trip. Caution: Only trained professional DJ's should be allow to administer these controlled substances to audiences.

Set: 6 Compiled by Frequence - Various Artists - Iboga Records
Iboga is a label that brings us the psychedellic side of progressive. In this 8 track wonder I thought I would point out the highlights. First, there is "Strange Attractors (Liquid Soul Remix)" by Freq, This reminds my of pumpin parties between 93 and 96. Sounds were getting deeper and producers were really starting to experiment with the fullness of sound and DJ's and crowds were eating this stuff for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Next, Nyquist's "Singularity (Freq Version)", is a trial psy-tech journey into the darkside of sexy. Almost all of the tracks on this compelation groove. It's a Trippy must have.

In Your Eyes (Original & Greed Edit) - Glamour To Kill - SOG Chrome
Glam euro-rocker punk meets naughty drum machine. The original is more of what you would hear in a concert setting with more of natural sounding drums and guitars ripping from the speakers while an understated vocal talks over it all. Bite your upper lip and grab an air guitar cuz its time to rock!!!!! The Greed Edit is more of the stuff that makes SOG so famous. Dark sinful tasty Shizzle that rocks dance floors. Greed is one of my personal favorite producer/remixers and his ominous style of turning tracks to the dark side of proggy never seems to tire with the dance crowds.

Single Gun (Original & Solid Mix) - Subsky - Pangea Recordings UK
Its no secret that im a fan of proggy breaks. And when I get a record that is a double A side with both breaks and 4/4, I'm purring like a content cat. This lite and floaty effort shows that your beats can go many different ways just as long as you have a catchy hook and solid flow. This one carries on with an almost sythed sounding xylophone that echoes over melodic synths and pads. Single Gun has a very warm and moody feel to it.

Being (Original + Sterio &McGrath Trojan Mix) - Alex Stealthy - Pangea Recordings UK
I thought for my final pick I'd go back about six months and tell you about one that hopefully you haven't missed. This AA sided monster is a morning trance DJ's wet dream. Two sides of absolute deep atmospheric floaty stuff. Warm synths lay down a baseline while metallic synthy sweeps echo over delayed pianos. Bad things are done in the cover of darkness. Just make sure you have some of this stuff playing in the background when you are doing those bad things.