Sunday 20 March 2011

The Phil-Harmonic Podcast Episode 3

Hi all,

2 weeks have passed and The Phil-Harmonic Podcast is back for its third outing... well, technically second.

First of all, I’d just like to say a quick thank you to everyone who gave either of the first two episodes a listen or download. Having made a concerted effort to ‘bulk out’ my SoundCloud page a bit, the first two mixes in the series got more listens and downloads than any of the other mixes I’ve previously uploaded to the site. All in all, a promising start.

What do we have in store this week?

Since the first episode was mixed at the end of January and the second was a collection of much older tracks, I’ve had a good while to get together new material and the big, progressive tunes have been really flowing freely of late With so much progressive goodness to fit in, this mix takes a bit longer to get up to those traditional, driving tempos. Most of my mixes will hit 138 BPM much closer to the hour mark, whereas this one is a slightly slower affair overall.

And from those proggier, house-ier echelons, we have Sander Van Doorn’s most recent single with vocalist Carol Lee, Love Is Darkness, the absolutely huge title track from Richard Durand’s newly released second album, Wide Awake (which I will be giving a first listen to in the coming weeks), and Mike Koglin’s hugely popular release on Anjunabeats, Sunstar. There are a couple more stunning vocal tracks – Another World rhymes the words ‘feeling’ and ‘ceiling’ post-Lionel Richie and You Belong To Me is maybe the best vocal track I’ve heard in a good 2 or 3 years. In fact, You Belong To Me had me sat in the office literally shaking my head in disbelief - couldn’t quite get my head around the epicness of that particular vocal. Still can’t.

We also have the hugely euphoric, yet original sounding, Back In Time, courtesy of Above & Beyond favourite Mat Zo, Ummet Ozcan’s latest single, Indigo and Stoneface & Terminal’s latest electro-tinged monster, Here To Stay – the vocal mix of Don’t Give A F*ck was a huge guilty pleasure, Moment was pure dancefloor devastation, Here To Stay picks up where those two left off.

And picking the pace up towards the end, we have one of Alex M.O.R.P.H.’s many recent ‘Hands On Armada’ remixes in First Strike, Activa’s rework of John O’Callaghan’s Talk To Me and, as I always like to end things on an oldie, finishing things off is Tiesto’s remix of that classic ‘Alex Gold-Svenson & Gielen’ collaboration, Destination Sunshine – a true example of what Tiesto was before he started receiving phone calls from Flo-Rida and Busta Rhymes.

And we also have a bit of an exclusive in the shape of a remix of Sunny Lax’s first release on Anjunabeats from back in 2005. It’s a remix by up-and-coming producer, Rene Dale, who after sharing this track with me over SoundCloud, kindly agreed to let me use it in this podcast. The massive bassline on this one shows that this Venetian producer is one to keep an eye on. Be sure to check him out at: http://www.renedale.com Thanks again to Rene!

THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST EPISODE 003

1. Sander Van Doorn feat. Carol Lee - Love Is Darkness [Doorn Records]
2. Bjorn Akesson - Painting Pyramids (Nhato Remix) [Future Sound Of Egypt]
3. Norin & Rad vs. Recurve - The Gift [Air Up There Recordings]
4. Above & Beyond - Can't Sleep (Super8 & Tab Remix) [Anjunabeats]
5. Richard Durand feat. Ellie Lawson - Wide Awake (Full Vocal Mix) [Magik Muzik]
6. Ummet Ozcan - Indigo [Reset Records]
7. Mike Koglin - Sunstar [Anjunabeats]
8. Sunny Lax - P.U.M.A. (Rene Dale Remix) [CDR]
9. Bobina & Betsie Larkin - You Belong To Me (Original Vox) [Maelstrom Records] <<<(Phil's Tune Of The Episode)>>>
10. Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren - Another World (Shogun Remix) [S107 Records]
11. Mat Zo - Back In Time [Anjunabeats]
12. Stoneface & Terminal - Here To Stay [Euphonic]
13. Signum - First Strike (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix) [Armada]
14. Sean Truby presents S Klass - Volcanic (Garry Heaney Remix) [Vibrate Sounds]
15. John O'Callaghan, Timmy & Tommy - Talk To Me (Activa presents Solar Movement Remix) [Subculture]
16. Marc Simz - The Dreamcatcher [In Trance We Trust]
17. K-Narf & Manuel Le Saux - Immune [Silent Shore Recordings]
18. Novaline feat. Anthya - Siren [Omerta Records]
19. Paul Miller presents Meli - Back [Phoenix Recordings]
20. Balearic Bill - Destination Sunshine (DJ Tiƫsto Airport Mix) [Xtravaganza Recordings]

That’s all for now, people. See you in two weeks!

Saturday 5 March 2011

The Phil-Harmonic Podcast Episode 2

...Episode two is my attempt at winding the clock back a bit. Jumping in at the deep end and delivering some euphoric tunes that I’m sure many of you haven’t heard in a while – in some cases what might seem like an age.

This is essentially trance music in its purest form. I was aware of trance music from about 1998 onwards (about the age of 11) and was listening to it a lot by the early 2000s. But it was these sorts of tunes from that 2004-2007era that really cemented the obsession for me.

I’ve been listening to a lot of old sets of late, ones from the likes of Misja Helsloot, Ronski Speed, Nu NRG and even very old A State Of Trance episodes, and it’s made me pretty nostalgic for that simple but raw trance sound of years gone by. The result is this full-on, head first plunge down memory lane. There’s even homage paid to my old hard trance days in the shape of Euphonism, Damn That DJ and Sunrise, without radically exceeding the speed limit.

In terms of mixing its pretty ‘route one’ and there are even a couple of very slight mistakes here and there, but overall, this is as impressive a tracklist of euphoric music I’ve ever put together - without a doubt. A fitting way to kick things off, I think.

THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST EPISODE 002

1. Ryan G - Emoticon (Miika Kuisma Remix) [First Second Records]
2. Michael Dow - Ascent [Captivating Sounds]
3. Nitrous Oxide presents Redmoon - Cumulus [Sensation White Pl 2006 Anthem]
4. Smith & Pledger - Northern Lights [Anjunabeats]
5. Fred Baker presents Iguana - Beautiful Sunshine (Stoneface & Terminal Remix) [Monster Tunes]
6. Re:Locate - Undercurrent [Fundamental Recordings]
7. Orjan - Arctic Globe [Intuition Recordings]
8. John O'Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallagher - Big Sky (Agnelli & Nelson Remix) [Armind]
9. Carrie Skipper - Time Goes By (Super8 Bangin' Mix) [Anjunabeats]
10. Aramanja - Memories (Sunset Mix) [Trancetribe Recordings] <<<(Phil's Tune Of The Episode)>>>
11. Ferry Corsten - Beautiful [Flashover Recordings]
12. John O'Callaghan & Thomas Bronzwaer present Lost World - A Life Elsewhere [Captivating Sounds]
13. Mike Koglin vs. DJ Uto - Yoake [First Second Records]
14. Simon Patterson - Always [Reset Records]
15. Sophie Sugar - Fallen Too Far [A State Of Trance]
16. Euphony - Euphonism [Tidy]
17. Jason Cortez - Damn That DJ [Nuklearpuppy Records]
18. Sophie Sugar - Call Of Tomorrow (John O'Callaghan Remix) [Galactive]
19. Alphazone - Sunrise [Waterworld]

Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Bookmark this blog, get listening and I’ll see you back here in a few weeks for other dose of fist-pumping dance music! I’ve already got plenty of new music in mind for the next episode, so I can promise it’ll be a cracker.

The Phil-Harmonic Podcast Episode 1



Hello music fans! Welcome to the birth of a new podcast.

Every DJ and his dog seems to have a podcast these days. They are swamping the internet. Is there room for another one? Well, I hope so. Having DJed since mid-2007, I’ve been uploading mixes to share with mates for a while now. But recently, it has struck me that it would be nice to make something a bit more official, a bit more serious, if anything, a bit more regular.

For us non-professionals, finding time to practice can be really hard and that in turn affects your overall performance. It’s easy to get rusty. Introducing what I hope will be a by-weekly podcast, is my way of putting pressure on myself to get behind the decks more regularly.

But a desire to share music is always a motivation as well. Even before I started DJing, I dabbled with creating the odd mix series, using programs like MixMeister, and that bug never really goes away.

The format for these podcasts will be pretty straightforward. 2 hours of uplifting and progressive trance, about twice a month – all mixed on my Pioneer CDJs.

Most musical podcasts these days focus heavily on new music. They are usually a vehicle for the big names to show the public what to expect in terms of tuneage when we put our hands in our pockets to see them do their thing. For Above & Beyond, TATW is an opportunity to give their label’s latest signings their first test runs.

While my mixes will regularly include new music, my focus generally will be the flow of the mix and harmonic mixing – hence the name, which is more than a mindless pun. I’ll always consider delving into the recesses of my CD cases to keep you on your toes and sometimes even showcase entire mixes that abandon the new music ‘norm’. God forbid, I might even play some house music. Often it’ll just depend on my mood.

I suppose, another issue for any new podcast is, to talk or not to talk – well, in my case it will be to not talk, for now at least. While I think carefully chosen intervals of talking can really help a podcast, I’m no broadcaster and don’t really have the equipment for it. That will be absolutely no issue for some people and I hope it leaves you free to soak up every second of the music.

For those of you that use iTunes and have iPhones/ iPods, if you load these mixes into your iTunes they should go straight to your podcast section complete with tags and artwork. And the most recent mixes in the series will be available on SoundCloud for you to listen to wherever you have an internet connection and a set of speakers.

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The first mix I’m serving up for you, the mix that has the job of introducing this new series, is actually a shamelessly repackaged version of a mix that I uploaded to SoundCloud at the very end of January. This mix was essentially the product of me consuming podcasts and buying new tunes at a pretty unprecedented rate throughout January.

And since track 2, Arty’s remix of Back To Earth, will now forever remind me of one of the best clubbing nights I’ve had in a good long while (well done tyDi for ripping up the MoS), since it was kindly given a mention on my friend Ben Collier’s monthly podcast, Room 1ne Sessions (thank you, Ben), and since it was the first set I uploaded in the year 2011, it fully deserves to be repackaged and made the inaugural episode of this new series of podcasts.

THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST EPISODE 001

1. Dinka – Violet [Unreleased Digital]
2. Cosmic Gate – Back To Earth (Arty Remix) [Black Hole Recordings]
3. The Flyers & Mike Sonar – Stonehenge [InfraProgressive]
4. Abstract Vision & Elite Electronic - The Last Time [Levare]
5. Matias Lehtola feat. Natalie Peris – Not Enough (Cressida Vocal Mix) [Captured Music]
6. Dennis de Laat – Sound Of Violence [Spinnin' Records]
7. Heatbeat - Trash [Subculture]
8. Armin Van Buuren feat. Christian Burns - This Light Between Us (Armin Van Buuren's Great Strings Mix) [Armada]
9. Signalrunners feat. Julie Thompson – These Shoulders (Andy Moor Remix) [Anjunabeats]
10. Interstate vs. Tyler Michaud feat. Jessy Greene - Junkie (Heatbeat Remix) [Vandit]
11. Bart Claessen & Dave Schiemann - Madness (Nitrous Oxide Remix) [Anjunabeats]
12. DJ Governor - Pale Memories [Armind] <<<(Phil's Tune Of The Episode)>>>
13. Julian Vincent feat. Jessie Morgan - Shadows The Sun (Daniel Kandi's Bangin' Remix) [S107 Records]
14. Myk Bee presents Solar State - Feeding Dreams (Type 41 Remix) [Silent Shore Records]
15. Ben Gold - Llacuna (Vocal Mix) [Garuda]
16. Orla Feeney - Lessons Learned (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix) [Vandit]
17. Sean Tyas - Banshee [A State Of Trance]
18. Phun Park - Starcoaster [Discover White Label]
19. C-Systems - Daylight (Trance Arts Remix) [Unearthed Records]
20. Above & Beyond - Far From In Love (Airbase Remix) [Anjunabeats]

That's Episode 1....But I couldn’t make such a big deal about launching this podcast and only leave you with one, 2-month-old mix....