It's a happy 1st birthday to The Phil-Harmonic Podcast. 26 episodes later and here we are!
Last time out I promised Episode 26 would cut back on the house music and deliver more trance of the melodic, high-tempo variety. Not that we have anything against house music per se. There's a lot of great house around at the moment and a lot of the podcasts I listen to throw it out in ample supplies.
But I noticed after listening back to Episode 25 that the last half an hour had an edge to it that has maybe been missing for a while - an edge that can only really be achieved by getting successive 138+ trancers to crash satisfyingly into each other. I felt it was time to give the more driving end of trance's spectrum some much needed attention.
To cut a pointlessly long story short, this week's offering will be most enjoyed by those who like their music melodic, euphoric and ballsy. This week’s episode will separate the fluffy vocal part-timers from the hardened trance veterans. It’s a bosh-fest.
In an opening half an hour crammed full of huge, huge bassline drops, we have the lusciously melodic, For What It’s Worth by Estonian, Kaimo Kerge and ‘Tune Of The Episode’, Tritonal’s incredible take on Super8 & Tab’s new single, Awakenings – one of those tracks that delivers something that is stylistically in keeping with what’s popular at the moment but thinks outside the box a little bit. Great chords!
Of our faster paced trancers, there’s a new release by Ferrin & Morris, there’s John Askew’s psychedelically tinged monster on Simon Patterson’s Night Vision label, Bastard, and a belting remix of Dart Rayne by Trance Arts, who is fast becoming THE most consistent producer of euphoric 138+ trance music.
“If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly. If you are codependent, ask someone to press 2 for you. If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6. If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want. Stay on the line and we’ll trace your call. If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mother ship. If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number you press. If you are depressed, it does not matter which number you press – no one will answer you. If you are dyslexic, press 69696969. If you have a nervous disorder, please fidget with the hash key until the beep after the beep please wait for the beep. If you have short term memory loss, please try your call again later. And if you have low self esteem, hang up. All our staff are too busy to talk with you.”
And that’s not all. What gives this set such a different feel from the first two episodes of the year is the selection of 4 oldies. Two of them are from 2006 – older trance fans will remember Vivid Intent and Sander Van Doorn’s remix of Control Freak with fond memories.
The first episodes of 2012 were not without their controversial track choices. We've had a remix of Rihanna and a nostalgic foray into the virtual world of Mortal Kombat. Maybe I'm just in a controversial mood because with our final oldie here I've pulled another by playing some Scooter. I joked about not playing Fire (again from the Mortal Kombat soundtrack) last time; But don't worry, this is actually more pleasant than it sounds.
As embarrassing as it is to admit, I actually have plenty of 'previous' with Scooter. They were the final, and most profound, of 3 EDM band-based phases I had during my teenage years. Growing out of them, unlike most of my other teenage musical obsessions, was a messy divorce. Bizarre, I know.
I still maintain to this day they are quite a misunderstood group. In the years they've been around, they've created an obscene amount of music and it has varied in quality and originality hugely. And I mean hugely. From about 2005 onwards, they slowly sank from being a 'hit and miss' commercial super group to being a true creative and moral abomination - something most proper EDM fans thought they always were.
The thing people who have always hated (and ridiculed) Scooter miss though are the instrumentals from the pre-2005 era. Hidden behind the brash, crass commercial material are some true sparkling gems such as Back In Time, Coldwater Canyon, Rhapsody In E and, later, the likes of Firth Of Forth, Soultrain, Giant’s Causeway and Transcendental. Here I've ended the episode with the track Mesmerized from 2005. Appropriate, because it was the last track on the last album before things really started to go the proverbial 'tits up'. Those who have not heard it before will be pleasantly surprised – maybe even shocked at how good it is.
THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST 26
1. Ali Wilson & Lee Osborne - Armagedon [High Contrast Recordings]
2. Enton Mushi - Rise Up [Perfect 9 Music]
3. Matt Darey feat. Leah - Hold Your Breath (David Forbes Remix) [S107 Records]
4. Super8 & Tab - Awakenings (Tritonal Remix) [Anjunabeats] <<<(Phil’s Tune Of The Episode)>>>
5. Kaimo Kerge - For What It's Worth [Silent Shore Records]
6. Boom Jinx & Daniel Kandi - Azzura [Enhanced Recordings]
7. Ellie Lawson - A Hundred Ways (Temple One Remix) [Adrian & Raz]
8. Heatbeat - Arganda [Captivating Sounds]
9. James Dymond - Ordinal (Paul Miller Remix) [Unearthed Records]
10. Push - Interference (Sean Tyas Remix) [Club Elite]
11. Magnus - Velvet (John O'Callaghan Remix) [Perfecto Fluoro]
12. Ferrin & Morris - Lucid Springs (Uplifting Mix) [Transistic Records]
13. Simon O'Shine - Last Sunset [Silent Shore Records]
14. Dart Rayne - Investigation (Trance Arts Remix) [Trance All-Stars Records]
15. Nexus 3 - State Of Wonder [Discover]
16. John Askew - Bastard [Night Vision]
17. Armin Van Buuren - Control Freak (Sander Van Doorn Remix) [Armind]
18. Greg Downey – Vivid Intent [Discover]
19. Scooter - Mesmerized [Sheffield Tunes]
Well, I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I’ve already compiled the tracklist for Episode 27. Although, I think I’ve made a pretty decent start to 2012, my eagerness to smash out great tracklists is making episodes feel a tad old by the time they grace the public’s ears. I promise, after our outing in 2 weeks, I’ll rein myself in. Until then, happy trancing, folks!
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