The Phil-Harmonic Podcast Episode 43

Hello everyone. Welcome back.

This week I have to start by issuing a bit of a warning. While a few of my recent ‘regular’ episodes have had quite a similar vibe about them, this one is approaching things from an entirely different angle. Those of you with weak stomachs and only casual, ill-fitting raving shoes should leave this page immediately and go and have a bit of a lie down. This one is not for the fainthearted

“We will never negotiate. We will no longer tolerate and we will no longer be afraid. It's your turn to be afraid...”

This is an intense episode and there are a couple of things that have led me down that path. Firstly, I was aware that we hadn't had one of those full on, higher tempo episodes for a while, really since about Episode 38. Every so often the progressive and tech starts to take over the podcast a bit and something like this week’s episode becomes needed to redress the balance.

The second reason this offering is so high octane is one single track that has recently come into my possession. During the latter years of my hard dance phase, just as I was taking up DJing actually, I was very big on a Scottish producer/DJ called Jason Cortez. Between about 2006 and 2008 the man was on a roll, knocking out some of the most perfectly balanced, euphoric hard trance records you’re likely to hear – the likes of Finally, Set U Free, Shining In The Ecstasy and No Other Way.

In February 2007, Jason released a Promo mix showcasing some of his upcoming productions, all of which were mind-blowing. Even now, that Production Showcase is a monument to perfection in hard trance music. Sadly, quite a few of those tracks never saw the light of day; I drifted away from hard trance, the tempo of my mixes slowly came down. (Although, the influence has always remained because the Cortez tracks Tranzition and Damn That DJ have already featured in the podcast.)

This year though, a new label called Enervate has finally released some of these forgotten tracks – including the superb, Brothers & Sisters. It absolutely had to go in a podcast and hence the tempo of an episode had to push beyond 142 for only the second time ever. What the hell – should I need an excuse to play some hard trance?

This is also the first time ever that I've pitched a 140 by 4 up to 144. Indecent Noise’s remix of Power Cut is insane enough as it is, but at this pace, brace yourself! In fact, it’s a bit mad to think that only 2 episodes ago I was kicking things off at 121 BPM with some Finnebassen. Is there a podcast anywhere else attempting this sh*t?

Plenty of the artists and labels featured this week are ones that are either getting their first plays or haven’t been heard for a while. There are big trancers on Borderline, Pharmacy, Adjusted, Abora, Motiv8 and Molekular. There’s also a cheeky update of an old teenage favourite of mine in Matt Davey’s remix of The Dirt Devils – The Drill. The original is a track that has flirted quite seriously with the ‘big oldie’ feature of this podcast.

As is often the way with these things, my pick for ‘Tune Of The Episode’ goes completely against all this talk of fast, high octane trance music and is probably the only track in the entire mix with an obvious prog leaning. Nevertheless, Bluestone’s Capetown is a stunningly beautiful tune, representing the better end of quite an inconsistent, yet occasionally dazzling, catalogue of releases on Anjunabeats this year.

Unsurprisingly, our ending oldie this week is a hard trancer; the faintly psychedelic bassline and searing riff of Nick Squires remix of Persevere. This one I played a lot in my sets in 2008 when it was released. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something strangely rousing about the way the riff in the breakdown rises triumphantly out of the words of John F. Kennedy's Commencement Address speech. Strange to think that only 4 years ago, this is the kind of track I might have had near the beginning of a set and certainly not at the end.

THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST EPISODE 43

1. Hiroyuki ODA - Astaroth [Otographic Music]

2. Bluestone - Capetown [Anjunabeats] <<<(Phil’s Tune Of The Episode)>>>

3. Corderoy - Mechanical Tears (Club Instrumental) [Monster Tunes]

4. Aeris feat. Jess Morgan - What Do You Feel? (Re:Locate vs. Robert Nickson Bangin' Mix) [Molekular Sounds]

5. Pizz@dox - Sequence (SoundLift Remix) [Abora Recordings]

6. Ehren Stowers - Origin (Re:Locate Remix) [Insight Recordings]

7. Will Holland feat. Jeza - Every Heartbeat (Matt Bukovski Remix) [Enhanced Recordings]

8. Armin Van Buuren feat. Ana Criado - I'll Listen (John O'Callaghan Dark Mix) [Armind]

9. Christopher Lawrence – OK To GO! [Pharmacy Music]

10. Paul Oakenfold - Come Together [Perfecto Fluoro]

11. Ronny K. vs. Vasaio feat. Jakub Hubner - I'm Missing You (Ahmed Romel Dub) [Motiv8 Recordings]

12. Simon O'Shine - Your Distant World [Trance All-Stars Records]

13. Matt Davey - Slipstream [Borderline]

14. The Dirt Devils - The Drill (Matt Davey Remix) [CDR - Free Download]

15. Claus Backslash - Everest (Garry Heaney Remix) [Fraction Records]

16. The Thrillseekers feat. Stine Grove - Everything (John O'Callaghan Remix) [Adjusted Music]

17. Bryan Kearney & Indecent Noise - Uncommon World [Mental Asylum Records]

18. Xinetd_D & Bruce H - Fear Factor (Nick Rowland Remix) [Addiction Digital]

19. Jason Cortez ‎– Brothers & Sisters [Enervate Recordings]

20. Matt Bowdidge & Phil Taylor - Power Cut (Indecent Noise Remix) [Mental Asylum Records]

21. Nathan McClymont - Persevere (SQ Remix) [Impact Recordings]


If I stick to the planned schedule, there’s only one more ‘regular’ episode to do this year. There’s a lot of change afoot in my life right now, some testing times along with a good deal of excitement and uncertainty. Don’t know how I’m gonna fit everything in ahead of Christmas, but we will find a way! Until next time.