2005 so far...

[Mathew]

Hey guys, just posting a small peace about my 2005 so far, hope alot of you reply with your opinions too - mainly because I want to see the forum active like when I started writing articles for i:Vibes and thats one of the reasons I quite so lets be better than ever!

Well, this year I feel I've become alot more confident in my own mixing and alot stronger... This is because I've practiced alot but more the fact that I have found a style I really enjoy listening to and gets me going.

I guess, Armin Van Buuren at times, DJ Tiesto's 'In Search Of Sunrise 4' compilation and DJs such as Deepsky, Greg Benz and Likwit are good inications of a style I'm finding myself apart of thesedays.

This year to me has been the best in trance since 1999 when I got heavily into the scene. Artists such as Perry O'Neil, Santiago Nino, Andy Moor, Nikola Gala and many more have become firm favourites in my record box. A melodic, progressive trance sound, suitable for a sunset, ibiza terrace or just getting a crowd going without the big euphoric, uplifting trance dancefloor monsters, (of course I play these towards the end of my sets! ).

This is a set I did today after work:

01. synergy - hello strings
02. dominic plaza - sounds rushing
03. perry o neil - gravity
04. luminary - my world (nikola gala remix)
05. will holland presents holla - melodica
06. jonas steur - silent waves
07. steve may - blend forty 3
08. sublunar - sanctuary (antidote tech remix)
09. jose amnesia vs fedo - i need you (dub mix)
10. solarium - venice under water (m.i.k.e. voyages remix)
11. nu nrg - dreamland 2005 (adam sheridan remix)
12. chrysus feat solar scape - massive
13. solid slide - belo horizonte
14. misja helsloot - blue monkey
15. sensorica vs key - only one
16. perasma - swing to harmony (deserves an effort polyphony vocal remix)
17. andy b - ocean drive (sensorica remix)
18. will holland presents holla - melodica (alucard silent hill remix)
19. first & andre - widescreen

Some was mixed on CD-turntables before anyone asks but this shows you all what I'm into at the moment. Its where the underground trance still remains, the sound that was cool in 1999 isnt cool anymore and I'm glad I've found this style in 2004/2005... So much so, that I've become alot more diverse and open minded about what I listen to. I've turned into a big indie-kid this year, started looking like a mod or 'trendy', lol, but trance is where my heart is even though its been broken a little the last fear years.

M.I.K.E./Push is still my favourite producer, and he has turned a new corner this year with a big techno/tech-trance influence happening in his work. I still love every production he does, but this is another indication of how everything in music changes...

Thats my year so far, I'm hoping alot more top-releases come out and I hope that I can start DJing my style out there. Im also just starting producing my own tracks. It's early days but I'm dying to get out there... If anyone is after a DJ for clubs or radio please let me know or can assist me in getting out there I'd be forever grateful.

Look forward to reading about 2005 for everyone else. Peace.

[chrisronaldomarsh]

well what can i say about this year so far. well for one thing ive finally left the bedroom and been djin at partys. and whos knows where i will go from here. as for the tunes we have seen quite a few remakes
Mike koglin-the silance 2005
Pulser- Cloudwalking 2005
Randy Katana- Fancy Fair 2005
Nu-NRG- Dreamland 2005
Moogwai- Voila 2005
to name a few.
this pleases someone like myself who is still very young and gives me a chance to own the records that were released when i was too young to start thinking about trance.

As for the rest of the tunes, there has been a lot of well produced tracks, it seems as though they have thought about the stick they have been recieving over the past few years and gone back to the drawing board. there have been a lot of good releases with labels such as anjunabeats, spinnin and Armada producing the goods on a regular basis. i would also like to give credit to dedicated and monster who i think have come on well this year and hope they keep up thier good work. I also feel that with new labels starting up such as connected, six:thirty, empire state and surface the trance scene is once again thriving.
this will also be my first Godskitchen Global Gathering (due to age) and creamfields, anyone wanting to join me can feel free.
anyway i hope u like my comments (some may be incorrect, sorry) and hope u all enjoy the rest of the year.

[Viceroy]

My year, for trance hasn't been much different than other years. I have bought a lot of CDs so far, and I'll post the list as soon as I get my act together.
I have not heard any outstanding releases so far this year, but summer isn't here yet. I like Ridgewalkers - Find (Andy Moor Remix) although it's been played by everybody and their grandma.

[Watts]

I think 2005 has been a good year so far! Plenty of great trance in my opinion!

[tingkagol]

I am a rock, reggae, rap, funk, and house listener. I'm a member of a band where where I play drums. But this is a year that my tastes further expanded and did a 360. It is the year that I've deeply explored the denizens of electronica/techno music, where in the past years I just kinda dwelled on the mainstream dance hits. It's very hard to be a dance junkie out here where most people listen to rock, reggae, RnB, and hiphop. This genre is rarely played in our local stations, and individual records of artists are very hard to find (except for jamiroquai, daft punk- to name a few). Compilations are all I could get-- which I'd rather not buy.

I am from the Philippines. Reggae is dominant, until I discovered recently that house/techno/electronica can create the same nostalgia. Thanks to The Beach soundtrack, where I heard great tunes to play at the beach (Leftfield - Snakeblood).

I do not DJ.

I am yet to complete my first house compilation (I had several compilations where there were house tracks but with other hiphop tracks), so it would really help if you people would give me a hand at it. I want it to contain tracks that ATTRACT non-electronic fans- people who listen to hiphop or RnB or rock. I want to make a compilation where a person who has no idea what the genre is about would just go, "Whoa.. this CD is really sick! Can I borrow it? I've been listening to Snoop Dogg all my life I never new this sh** existed...", you know, the works. hehe. Who knows- this country might just discover the beauty of dance music. meh. haha.

Some old old tracks I would probably include would be:
Dirty Vegas - Days Go By
Ultra Nate' - Free (Speed Garage Mix)
Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At
Mory Kante - Yeke Yeke (Hardfloor Mix)
...stuff like these. Tweak it, delete, add... it would be my pleasure.

Thanks for listening.

[DjBiz]

I would agree its been an okay year so far, started off slow but now theres some great stuff out...

[nwopper]

Hmmm....for trance...I think 2005 is an extend of 2004. I don't want to bash anyone, 'cause everyone has the right to listen to whatever they like but.....this is the thing.
In 2004 ASOT became so ridiculously overhyped, popular and important that for me, it seems, that every producer is confirming to that sound. Also did Armin promoted a lot of producers we know now (Mike Foyle, Super8, Six4Eight, Phynn, Menno de Jong, Markus Schulz etc.) and who we see as the future. They all hold that certain ASOT-sound (Progressivetrancy stuff, and don't get me wrong, there are some absolutely fine, fine, fine tunes coming out of that corner: Everything Gabriel & Dresden remixes, Perasma - Swing to Harmony, Love theme dusk, Starsign - Taurus etc.). And in 2005 it's just going along on the ASOT bandwagon. For trance, I like it melodic and uplifting (Matt Darey is the absolute king, and his new track 'Eternity' is, from what I've heared (sample) AWESOME) or just hardtrance, most of the prog/trance hybrids I don't really dig.

Because the hardtrance this year is so sweet. Really makes me happy. In Germany everything is a little bit dead now, so thank god for people like Technikal, Dark by Design, P.H.A.T.T, Kamui, Yoji Biomehanika, Tommy Pulse and all the others. The only sweet shit from Germany right now is the latest Hennes & Cold 'Born Blind' and everyone of the 3 records that are released on Alphazone's Skywarp Platinum label. As well Alphazone self, they're true to their sound....and I like that. I am anxiously waiting for a DuMonde-track similar to 'Can you dig it' or 'Kalt'.....

[Viceroy]

I agree with a lot of what nwopper said, but I view this year as better than last year. I think people are starting to become a little tired of the same prog/melodic hybrid stuff we have been hearing lately. There is some of it that is good, but a lot is poor and similar and I think people are realizing that.
CDs I have bought this year:
Gatecrasher: Experience (used) (very good; includes H&J vs. J00F - The Nazerean!)
Gatecrasher: Digital Trance (used) (nice; I like Rob Aker - Dad's Home - why wasn't it released?)
Bonkers 12: The Dirty Dozen (very good stuff if you're into happy hardcore)
A Trip in Trance 4 (pretty good, if a little commerical)
Cor Fijneman: In Trance We Trust 5 (not bad)
The Very Best of Ferry Corsten (lots of classics, couldn't resist)
Armin van Buuren - Universal Religion 2004 (I liked it, even though it is a lot of melprog trance)
DJ Tiesto: Magik 2: The Story of the Fall (not bad, not great either)
DJ Tiesto: In Search of Sunrise 2 (pretty poor)
DJ Tiesto: Just Be (better than I expected)
DJ Tiesto: In My Memory (the only good tracks were the ones I had heard already;all the album-only tracks were poor)
Johan Gielen: For You (okay, but I had hoped for something more creative)
Above & Beyond: Anjunabeats Vol. 2 (not bad, but nothing groundbreaking)
Astral Projection: Amen (nice CD!)
Push: From Beyond (good collection of M.I.K.E.'s stuff from his Push alias)

Rancid: Let's Go (punk)
Millencollin: Pennybridge Pioneers series (punk)
Reel Big Fish: Why Do They Rock So Hard? (ska)

There's a mix of new and old there because the list of CDs I want to buy is quite big and there is new stuff coming out all the time!

[nwopper]

I actually bought the ASOT 2005 cd because I've been to the releaseparty of it (which was totally NOT what ASOT represents nowadays, 5 of the 7 hours Armin spinned he played uplifting stuff, techtrance and some hardtrance) and I thought it was a good cd.
But....I swear, it's the worsest thing I've bought in a loooong time.... Such a shitload of crap burned on a cd (with Eyewall - Bad Deal as the worsest piece I've ever heared), in the early days when ASOT was still on Slam FM (Slam FM became ID&T Radio to turn back to Slam FM later on) it truly was the best show.....

The latest cd's I've bought now are the Good Greef 3 cd mixed by Yoji and Alex Kidd, The Collected Works of Cygnus X and Lisa Lashes - Lashed. I'm getting more into the UK style hardhouse/hardtrance lately.

[Mathew]

Best CD out at the moment probably ISOS4? But that shows Tiesto as he is now - money hungry, not doing it for the love of music but because he is apparently the best DJ in the world... ISOS was always one CD, and now hes gone and done a 2 CD.

Although I think 2005 has been really good so far, thats because of young DJs like me and you, and up-coming talents and the older, experienced DJs/producers who have actually stayed faithful.