Without me even realising it, The Phil-Harmonic Podcast had its 2nd birthday a few weeks ago and, not long after, it reaches the arguably more significant milestone of 50 episodes.
In many ways, I think an unnecessary amount of fuss is made over milestones in some of the big trance podcasts and radio shows. I mean, no one is saying reaching 600 episodes of A State Of Trance, for example, is not staggeringly impressive, but when you’re doing an ever increasing number of live shows in just about every major city to mark the passing of 50, you start to wonder what is special about each milestone. (And surely, once you get to 500 the next milestone worth shouting about is really 1000.)
I said in this very blog at the end of 2011 that it was uplifting to see so many people engaging with ASOT 500 via mediums like Twitter on such a colossal scale; the buzz it created for trance was almost unprecedented. Yet now, while I hate sounding cynical, it almost feels like these things are becoming as annually predictable as Christmas and Easter on our Western calendars. It feels like killing the goose that laid the golden cultural egg.
That said, and despite my underlying cynicism, it would be very unlike The Phil-Harmonic Podcast to reach 50 episodes without doing something tenuously special. I don’t really need an excuse to leave my usual format and do something different. I would have loved to have hired out a bar somewhere here in London, put on a party and shared the resulting sets with the world to mark the occasion. But, while also making the preceding 2 paragraphs smack of hypocrisy, this would've obviously been getting way ahead of myself. Let’s not run before we can walk.
Now that the podcast is 2 years old, I can’t help but get nostalgic. I don’t mean nostalgic for the records that I've played on TPHP since it began. That wouldn't be particularly nostalgic for a start. I didn't want to do a review podcast as such. No, approaching 50 episodes actually got me thinking about my musical life before the podcast – particularly that window of years 2 or 3 years just after taking up DJing in 2007.
For so many reasons those years were a mixed bag. In fact, late 2008 and 2009 were tough years for me personally. Without going into any detail whatsoever, my point is that music was the only thing keeping me from going insane in that time. 2009 in particular was an incredible year for trance music – I was at the height of my Last.fm blogging period and consuming music as fast as ever. And the DJing was just about coming together. It was a welcome distraction.
As well as taking up DJing in 2007, in the same year I
started doing overall ‘Reviews of the Year’ on Last.fm. Just like my Year Mixes
now, they were called ‘That Was...’ (I never actually did a proper Year Mix in
2007, that came the year later.) These reviews included a Top 20 rundown of my
trance and progressive favourites of the year.
For Episode 50, I've simply gone back to those charts and
plucked the Top 4 from each - no editing; just exactly how the charts were when
they were compiled. This is interesting, because it’s brought up the question
of how well these tracks have stood the test of time, both for myself and other
people.
By including 2011 in this equation there is some podcast
overlap. But I stopped short of including 2012, simply because That Was 2012
has barely left my SoundCloud page.
2007
1.
Re:Locate - Undercurrent
2.
Above & Beyond - Home (Club Mix)
3.
Ronski Speed, Stoneface & Terminal - Soulseeker (Stoneface & Terminal
Remix)
4.
Daniel Kandi - Child
2008
1.
Sander Van Doorn - Apple (Marcus Schossow Remix)
2.
Simon Patterson - Smack
3.
Georgia - Ode To '99
4.
Mike Foyle - Pandora (The Blizzard Remix)
2009
1.
Jochen Miller - Brace Yourself
2.
Richard Durand - Into Something (Fall Down Mix)
3.
Sander Van Doorn presents Purple Haze - Bliksem
4.
Randy
Katana - The Hype
2010
1.
tyDi feat. Tania Zygar – Vanilla
(Ben Gold Remix)
2.
Armin Van Buuren - Full Focus (Ummet Ozcan Remix)
3.
Marcel Woods - Tomorrow
4.
Super8 & Tab feat. Jan Burton - Empire
2011
1.
Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (Chris Schweizer Bootleg)
2.
Sander Van Doorn presents Purple Haze - Timezone
3.
Bobina & Betsie Larkin - You Belong To Me
4.
Marcus Schulz & Jochen Miller - Rotunda
The likes of Brace Yourself, Into Something and Apple, in
particular, are tracks that when they make a return it’s like hearing them for
the first time all over again. They have stayed with me always. (That in itself sounds like a contradiction, but you know what I mean.) Brace Yourself
is actually one of the few tunes that gives me goose bumps every single time I
hear it. Definitely, and without even a moment to reconsider, my favourite record of the last 6 years or so.
Some are just clubbing memories that will be part of me
forever. Like completely losing my shit (and I mean completely) to Vanilla at
Creamfields 2010, Sander playing Bliksem in that 2009 Global Gathering set or
hearing Smack twice in one evening seeing PvD at Nation in Liverpool in 2008. Soulseeker
and Undercurrent instantly transport me back to being stood in my room at 3rd
year Uni, in front of those Pioneer 100s – probably annoying the shit out of
the couple living downstairs.
That only covers 2 hours though. And for some reason I felt
uncomfortable leaving it at 2 hours. The set needed an extended period of more
up-tempo stuff. I've handpicked a few gems, again with more than a few nostalgic touches.
Paul Miller’s remix of Spinning is one that me and my mates
Nick and Si used to absolutely hammer in our little Friday night mixing
sessions. So euphoric. On A Mission is a very personal choice, but was a
highlight from my still talked about 7 hour set for Marc G’s birthday house
party almost exactly 3 years ago – I vividly remember looking up as the riff
played and everyone was smiling. Magic moment. I was definitely on a mission that night. (I
say ‘still talked about set’ – I mean, I still talk about it a lot.)
Since I like to play a big “classic” at the end of each
regular episode, I also thought it might be quite nice to play my favourite of the
ones I've played in Eps 1-49. There were many good ones. Ferry’s remix of
Adagio For Strings, Heaven Sent and Chakra – Home spring to mind. The one from
Episode 49, Voller Sterne, was one of the best even. But Goldenscan – Only With
You from Episode 11 is now pretty much my definition of the perfect trance song
– and it grows on me with every passing year. Incidentally, it’s the oldest
track in the set.
I can’t leave without a mention of our closing trancer. Why
Altara? Where has that come from? Well, again, the whole idea of identifying
your favourite tracks in a given year and then seeing how they stand up to the test
of time is interesting. I look back at my yearly charts and still think “my, there
are some quality tunes in there.” I wouldn't change much at all, if I'm honest. One thing that has
definitely changed in the last 3 years is my love for Altara, which looking
back, should really have been my Tune Of 2010 over Vanilla. This track has
begun to speak to me in ways I can’t even put into words.... so I won’t even
try.
THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST EPISODE 50
1.
Super8 & Tab feat. Jan Burton – Empire [Anjunabeats]
2.
Mike Foyle - Pandora (The Blizzard Remix) [Armind]
3.
Sander Van Doorn presents Purple Haze feat. Frederick – Timezone [Doorn Records]
4.
Jochen Miller - Brace Yourself [High Contrast Recordings] <<<Phil's
Tune Of 2009>>>
5.
Sander Van Doorn presents Purple Haze – Bliksem [Doorn Records]
6. Marcel Woods – Tomorrow [High Contrast
Recordings]
7.
Richard Durand - Into Something (Fall Down Mix) [Magik Muzik]
8.
Bobina & Betsie Larkin - You Belong To Me [Maelstrom Records]
9.
Above & Beyond - Home (Club Mix)
[Anjunabeats]
10.
Marcus Schulz & Jochen Miller – Rotunda [Coldharbour Recordings]
11.
Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (Chris Schweizer Bootleg) [CDR] <<<Phil's Tune Of 2011>>>
12.
Armin Van Buuren - Full Focus (Ummet Ozcan Remix) [Armind]
13.
tyDi feat. Tania Zygar – Vanilla (Ben Gold Remix) [AVA Recordings] <<<Phil's
Tune Of 2010>>>
14.
Sander Van Doorn - Apple (Marcus Schossow Remix) [Doorn Records] <<<Phil's
Tune Of 2008>>>
15.
Ronski Speed, Stoneface & Terminal - Soulseeker (Stoneface &
Terminal Remix) [Euphonic]
16.
Randy Katana - The Hype [Reset Records]
17. Georgia - Ode To '99 [Levare
Recordings]
18.
Re:Locate - Undercurrent [Fundamental Recordings]
19.
Daniel Kandi – Child [Anjunabeats]
20.
Simon Patterson – Smack [Reset
Records]
21.
Activa & Giuseppe Ottaviani – Long Way Back [Discover]
22.
Luminary – Amsterdam (Smith & Pledger Remix) [Anjunabeats]
23.
Ferry Tayle & Static Blue – Trapeze (Daniel Kandi’s Emotional Remix)
[Enhanced Recordings]
25.
Graeme Harrison – Xanthe [Flux Delux]
26.
SoundLift – On A Mission [Blue Soho Recordings]
27.
Bobina – Spinning (Paul Miller Remix) [Maelstrom Records]
28.
Goldenscan – Only With You [A State Of Trance]
<<<Phil's Ultimate Oldie
Of Episodes 1-50>>>
29.
Adam Nickey – Altata [Anjunabeats]
30. ENCORE: Carbon Based Lifeforms – Frog [Ultimae
Records] (Taken from the album Interloper )
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is one fine episode of The Phil-Harmonic Podcast. Consider this relatively modest milestone well and truly celebrated. The format is changing ... You will find out how next week. Until next time!
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