The very latest edition of Trance International has hit the press and you can read it all in full right here with news on Paul van Dyk's 10 years of Vandit celebrations, Spinnin Records update and a chance to win some audio...

The very latest edition of Trance International has landed and it’s very much worth having a look at. Covering everything to do with trance music from label updates, artist updates, exclusive interviews, radio show updates and chucking up some fantastic albums to give away it’s a monthly news mailer that is downright essential. This month they have updates on Paul van Dyk's special parties to celebrate 10 years of VANDIT records which he will cement with a compilation to be released this summer. They have updates on Spinnin Records and Fraction Records plus a very special Spinnin giveaway. If that's not all, they have a Q&A with Talla 2XLC, an update on Woody van Eyden & Alex M.O.R.P.H.;s Heavens gate radio show and news on Roger Shah's latest edition of Balearic trance coming your way soon. Check it out.



EVENT SPOTLIGHT: Paul van Dyk Presents. 10 Years Of VANDIT Berlin & London Shows

It is right around this time every year that a ripple of sorts rolls through the fabric of electronic dance. In the same way as it’s the green-light time for Hollywood to start unleashing its block-busters, so it’s also the ‘all-clear’ for EDM to start 'talking summer'.

One of the first big-hitters off the blocks will be ’10 Years of VANDIT’ - Paul van Dyk’s summation of the first decade of his epoch-making record label…

After a pair of killer warm-up/ sell-out nights at Space in Miami in March, this month he’ll be weighing anchor a-proper on the goliath 10th Anniversary summer tour. On Saturday the 29th he’ll be playng the Kulturhaus Astra in home-city Berlin, ably supported by Giuseppe Ottaviani, Filo and Peri and Alex M.O.R.P.H. The following night on Sunday May 30th (yes, don’t panic, the Bank Holiday!), Paul, Giuseppe and others will shift their attentions to the magnificent art deco confines of London's O2 Academy in Brixton. With a capacity of close to 5,000, the Academy (a must-play for artists as much as it's a must-visit for music lovers) will pound to the sound of VANDIT as never before. If you're in either Berlin or London on the May Bank Holiday weekend and are in anyway serious about your trance, they will not be nights to miss!

:: VANDIT Records
:: Paul van Dyk website
:: Paul van Dyk Twitter page



LABEL UPDATE: Spinnin Records

91,812,454… Yes, we know it looks like an IP address but, rather mind-bogglingly it is in fact the total amount of video views on Spinnin' Records drop dead good YouTube channel (last time we checked anyway!). It’s servicing all your audio/video early morning/late night needs so hit it up by clicking the link on a regular basis and see what they have on offer! Also, don’t forget, every month one lucky subscriber to the Spinnin Records Podcast will win a label record bag packed full of their latest goodies! Just click right here to throw your name into their hat.”.

DJ Eco – People [TONE DIARY]
One of the biggest releases of the year so far, long awaited new work from DJ Eco on Tone Diary. Rafael Frost super-hot of the r.e.m.i.x. Support from every trance DJ on the planet very nearly. You know you love this! Who's Spinnin' it? Armin, Ferry Corsten, Sander van Doorn, Judge Jules and Dave Pearce.

David Forbes – Aria Waves [RESET RECORDINGS]
Massive release here from David Forbes on the Reset imprint. Aria Waves contains 2 mixes which will both do some damage on the floors! DJ Support/feedback from: Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Dave Pearce, Andy Moor and Marcus Schossow

Ron van den Beuken vs Magic Power ft Tom K – Eagle Fly [RESET RECORDS]
Ron van den Beuken’s RR label with an awesome release from Ron van den Beuken vs Magic Power. Nice vocals with lots of cool drum edits and effect. We can see this being a big tune! Who's Spinnin' it? Markus Schulz, Judge Jules, Dave Pearce & Lange

Disfunktion – Desolee [DOORN RECORDINGS]
Disfunktion lays down something a little more accessible here as they fuse their trademark techy sound with an instantly recognizable riff and epic breakdown! Who's Spinnin' it? Ferry Corsten, Sander van Doorn, Tocadisco, Gareth Emery, Lange, Andy Moor & Marcel Woods, all in close support.



COMPILATION SPOTLIGHT: Rogar Shah Presents. Magic Island - Music For Balearic People (Volume 3)

They are, to absolutely all intents and purposes, his ‘see you soon’ communiqués to that big loveable lump of white rock in the middle of the Med. The island we go to get our fix of sun, fun, beach, bar and club… just as often as the banks (or credit card company) tell us it’s ok to do so!

Yes indeed, Magic Island, the compilation, is back for its 3rd outing on June 11th just in time to provide a sound springboard into summer. Within hours of completing it, the ever-convivial Roger Shah dropped us a call on the T.I. hotline to clue us in on what to expect from ‘chronicle 3’. Again impressively (if you think about how much work goes into achieving such a feat), it’s a 100% exclusive track-attack of beach-to-bar, bar-to-club music. The first thing that caught our attention was ‘Found’; the Sunlounger ‘sequel’ to ASOT’s 2008 Tune of the Year’, and again it carries the vocals of the very easy-on-the-eye Zara Taylor. Also hitting heavy is the Roger/Signum track ‘Ancient World’ (their ‘Healesville Sanctuary’ follow-up) and a new Black Pearl track with Ralph Fritsch. Roger has also done a first collaboration with Leon Bolier and there’s a lotta hot-off-the-desk new material from Nuera, Walsh & Mcauley, Semantica & Dimension (to name just a few) too.

Aside from giving us a really lovely bit of audio ‘kit’ to take on our holiday, Roger Shah’s Magic Island compilations also serve an even subtler purpose. They are something akin to a Roger Shah ‘audio expo’ - a display of future wares that he presents, with the somewhat astute side purpose of seeing which tracks come out on top of the popularity pile. So if you’re a forum regular bare this in mind when you’re posting. His team is listening!

COMPETITION
We’ve got 3 Magic Island Vol.3s to give away. To be in with a chance of grabbing one, just tell us the name of one Roger Shah pseudonym!

:: Roger Shah website
:: Roger Shah MySpace
:: Magic Island on Armada



LABEL UPDATE: Subculture

A more hit-the-ground-running start for a label, there hasn’t been in years. Subculture – John O’Callaghan new imprint wasted precisely zero minutes in putting the ball into the back of the net following its launch in January with the man’s own ‘Striker’. It then went on to complete a rapid hat-trick with Chris Metcalfe’s hyper-energetic ‘Outback’ (Guiseppe Ottaviani volcano-hot on the mix there) and John Askew’s track-with-a-‘message’ ‘F@cking Caps Lock’.

Next to appear from the Subculture’s quarter is Matt Everson’s ‘Heist Manoeuvre’, which hit online portals last week. Just one of the tracks that John used to bring the crowds at the NY ASOT450 night to its knees, it also marks another restorative turn in the career of Nick Sentience. After a long post-2000 stint in the glare of the electronic dance spotlight, Sentience went dark for a couple of years. Evidence that he’s back, back, back? Really, look no further than his remix/re-amplification of ‘Heist’. A barefaced bass-challenge to speakers everywhere if ever there was one!

Looking a little further into the crystal ball and Subculture’s horizon isn’t so much rosy as positively on fire. Up and coming through summer ‘10 it’s a one instantly recognizable name proposition after another. Try these on for size: Paul Webster, Heatbeat (with a Joint Operations Centre remix), Tom Colontonio, that man Nick Sentience again and in July the new JOC single ‘Desert Orchid’.

COMPETITION
If you’d like to complete your John O'Callaghan collection, Trance International would like to assist! John’s given us 3 x packs of his Subculture compilation and ‘Never Fade Away’ artist album to put up for grabs. Stretch ya brains and tell us which country John’s from!

:: Subculture Online
:: John O'Callgahan Website



RADIO SHOW UPDATE

Don’t get us wrong, we appreciate the modernity and ease-to-access of web-fired trance radio. However they do occasionally miss out on just that little spark of spontaneity and in-studio fission.

With the very clear intention of returning a bit (a good deal in fact) of that electric repartee to the airwaves, in early May HeavensGate will shelve its slick-smooth, pre-produced format and go live on Live! Every Sunday Woody van Eyden and Alex M.O.R.P.H.’s show will beam out across Germany on the no.1 FM dance music station, Sunshine Live. That, in the heavily-edited, super-sanitized radio world we now live in is going to be quite an embarkation.

"We feel this will make HeavensGate an even more attractive and interesting show for the audience” says co-commander, Woody. "The show will be way more dynamic, more fun, interactive and authentic… More than just programming and playing 2 hours anyway"! His B2B partner Alex M.O.R.P.H. is just as pumped about the format change: "We hope that the people will accept the refreshed format and that they enjoy the more direct contact via the radio", he says.

In and amongst the music mix will be phone interviews with DJs & producers, live call-ins from the audience, competitions (or “win-games” as they call them), phone-in votes and plenty more besides. Van Eyden says: "We'll have to see how it all works and develops, I dare say there will be some nips and tucks, but that’s half the excitement! We're really looking forward to this!"

COMPETITION
HeavensGate goes live on Sunshine Live @ 8pm from Sunday the 2nd of May. Turn on, tune in and check the freak-out! Woody and the crew have a new HeavensGate album out this month. If you'd like to be in with a shout of winning 1 of 3 just tell us the names of the DJs who present the HeavenGate radio show.

:: Heavens Gate Online
:: Fenology
:: Sunshine Live



FIVE MINUTES WITH...Talla 2XLC

TI: Welcome along Mr 2XLC! Please be seated! So first, a fascinating fact - you actually invented the word ‘Techno’ didn’t you?

TALLA: Well, the short story is: around 81/82 I was working in a record store in Frankfurt. At that time I was already infected with electronic music, everything from Kraftwerk to Depeche Mode. Many people came and asked me for these types of tracks. As they were created by technology I cut off the part "logy" and put them in my 'Techno' section. So as far I know, no one else described a musical genre with that name before that. Then I launched Technoclub in 84 and the rest is history! An alternate history to the 87/88 Detroit techno, admittedly!

TI: You’ve recently been honored by the city of Frankfurt haven’t you? Tell us about that...

TALLA: At the end of the December I got a letter from the Mayor saying that that the city wanted to give me their Badge of Honour for my musical work. When I Googled it I was pretty amazed - this award is only given to 2-5 people a year, mostly bank chiefs, professors or politicians. I actually received it on April 20th and I was surrounded by more than 100 people, most of them friends, but also politicians, press and TV.
I was a little nervous but also excited - a big honour and a very strong motivation for me to go on doing what I’ve been doing!

TI: What is the origin of the name of your Tetsuo label?

TALLA: I founded the original Tetsuo label, in the 90s when I was quite into Japanese art and music. One day I saw a B&W movie ‘Tetsuo - The Bodyslammer’ - veeery intense, very crazy stuff. I loved the word Tetsuo so much that I adopted it for the label.

TI: Nice! So what’s the next release going to be?

TALLA: I will do a new Talla 2XLC single called ‘The Spirits Within’ which will come with a very strong Ummet Ozcan remix. There are more new choons in the pipeline, but nothing else official yet. Keep an eye on the website for more info.

TI: How are things going with your new Addicted To Trance (ATT) label?

TALLA: Things are going great - it is designed for pure energetic uplifting and progressive trance. My tune ‘Terra Australis’ was a huge success and the next release will be a kick-ass co-op with Robert Burian called 'Pro-Life' followed by a 2010 remix release of my hit ‘Shine’.

TI: Like TI, you’re a huge Fringe fan! Tell us what appeals to you about the show?

TALLA: Yes – love it! The characters, actors, storylines... Totally catchy-funny-scary,-exciting elements. It's like The XFiles x 10. Mulder and Scully were good, but Walter; Olivia & Peter rockin’ it is far better. I hope we can await many more seasons.

TI: As do we Talla! Thanks for joining us!

:: Talla's Website
:: Talla on Facebook
:: Tetsuo



LABEL FOCUS: Fraction Records

Fraction Records are currently in the grip of one of their hottest months on record. Strangely, Trance International first became aware of this spike whilst talking to the postman. As he burbled on we were distracted by a track that was busily reaching critical mass in the office, two full flights of stairs away. Not bad for a pair of desktop speakers and really singularly excellent work by Miikka Leinonen, the man behind extraordinarily hot ‘Exordium’. Once back upstairs we hit rewind and… hello euphoria! Already bagging a DJ Mag Money Shot, the release is completed by its more melodic counterpart ‘Galiana’; a track that itself is a master-class in how to use piano and guitar in trance. Kudos!

The next release out of the box will see Fraction team up with Neal Scarborough and Gary Mcguire - two of Ireland’s finest nu-breed producers to release ‘Niburu’. Not content with delivering a high-octane Original comprising of all the right floor-ingredients (measured 303 lines, classic piano lends and an endorphin-activating mainline) they’ve also lined up the so-hot-it-hurts Jordan Suckley to take the track darker and deeper on the remix. ‘Niburu’ is released (or possibly ‘turned loose’ is a better choice of words) this month and will be available through all the usual channels.

Now we know what you’re likely thinking: Exordium, Galiana, Niburu – have all Fraction’s artists started speaking Avatarian or something? Well possibly, but still holding out a small pocket of resistance for reasonably normal titles is Vicky Devine. Further towards the horizon in terms of release, perhaps, but start keeping an eye/ear out for ‘her new track Starfire’ (which will arrive with a Sean Tyas remix attached).

:: Fraction Records
:: Fraction Records MySpace
:: Fraction Records Twitter