THAT WAS 2013 – PART 1
OK, ladies and gents. Over a month of reviewing the year's trance music commences here today. Many of you will know what the general drill is here but, let me describe this year's specifics and outline the schedule for you.
The last two years have seen my annual That Was series take the form of two 2 and a half hour mixes, with two very detailed summary review blogs. This year there had to be a reshuffle.
I have an hour slot on my radio stations and 2.5 hours doesn't divide very easily into one hour shows. So, for 2013, I've upped the playtime to 6 hours and divided it into 3 spectacular parts. These 2 hour episodes, including this week's, will be brought to you every 2 weeks in December.
Meanwhile, as has already been happening over the last few weeks, these 2 hour episodes have been furthered halved and are being broadcast in my usual radio slots over the course of the 6 weeks leading up to the New Year.
In addition to that, this blog will be taking you through everything that was great, good and indifferent about A.D. 2013. In Part 1 today, I'll briefly talk about the scene we loosely call 'trance' in 2013, in Part 2 I'll hand out my annual 'awards' for all things trance and clubbing and, in our mighty Part 3, I'll give you the full, 'no holds barred' lowdown on my first full year in London. This is not to be missed!
You will also find out which tune I have crowned, 'Tune Of The Year'. It's like Christmas No.1, only actually good.
In other words, here is the only place you need to come to find out what has been rocking trance dancefloors this year.
Annoyingly, it has to be said that these That Was mixes are, to my ears, never quite as well mixed as my regular episodes. I think it's because these are the very best tunes of the year, there's always an added pressure to make the mixing equally flawless. And that added pressure causes it's own unique problems - namely, some unwanted edginess. That said, if you compare these 3 to previous years you can sense improvement.
Despite some misplaced beats and some closely averted calamities that I would normally do much better to control, there are actually no noticeably 'awful' transitions in all 6 hours of That Was 2013. And the beauty is, the tunes are so good that little else matters.
And on that note, let's get the review rolling...
THE YEAR IN MUSIC
Trance this year, for me, has felt quite static. My Top 3 tunes for this year are possibly the best 3 tunes I've heard in some 5-6 years and truly blew me away, yet everything else, or at least the mass of tracks beyond what is played here in That Was 2013, seemed ever so slightly lost or repressed in the repetition of the last 2 years or so.
That said, there has always been enough quality to keep the trance masses thoroughly entertained. It has been another fantastic year. And That Was 2013 will certainly not leave you feeling undernourished.
But not a huge amount has changed from 2012. That 'undercurrent of negativity' that perpetuates the divide between the trance 140 purists and the more casual ‘trouse merchants’ has continued to swell ever so slightly, and despite Armin Van Buuren doing some 138 (and above) only ASOT shows and starting his own ‘Who’s Afraid Of 138?’ label, this is the very first year where I've noticed a sizeable backlash against the man who has so often been referred to as ‘God’ in trance music.
2013 was indeed the first year where I had to concede that ‘Mr. Consistency’ himself noticeably, and almost objectively, did not deliver the goods. Armin’s set at SW4 was a real disappointment. There was once a time when it seemed like the Roman Empire would live forever, but comprehensive as it has been, Armin Van Buuren’s transcendent domination of trance music will not last forever. That said, there was a lot of buzz around the first Armin Only shows and many agreed these were a return to form. A slight glimpse into the future or a temporary, commercially sensitive blip? 2014 will reveal that I'm sure.
I heard a wild rumour on Twitter a few months ago that Andrew Rayel will take over A State Of Trance when Armin retires. I couldn't help but think that this sounds a bit Alex Ferguson retiring from Manchester United and David Moyes taking his place. Those are big shoes to fill... I actually think Rayel is a huge talent by the way. It's just difficult to imagine trance after Armin at this stage.
That said, there has always been enough quality to keep the trance masses thoroughly entertained. It has been another fantastic year. And That Was 2013 will certainly not leave you feeling undernourished.
But not a huge amount has changed from 2012. That 'undercurrent of negativity' that perpetuates the divide between the trance 140 purists and the more casual ‘trouse merchants’ has continued to swell ever so slightly, and despite Armin Van Buuren doing some 138 (and above) only ASOT shows and starting his own ‘Who’s Afraid Of 138?’ label, this is the very first year where I've noticed a sizeable backlash against the man who has so often been referred to as ‘God’ in trance music.
2013 was indeed the first year where I had to concede that ‘Mr. Consistency’ himself noticeably, and almost objectively, did not deliver the goods. Armin’s set at SW4 was a real disappointment. There was once a time when it seemed like the Roman Empire would live forever, but comprehensive as it has been, Armin Van Buuren’s transcendent domination of trance music will not last forever. That said, there was a lot of buzz around the first Armin Only shows and many agreed these were a return to form. A slight glimpse into the future or a temporary, commercially sensitive blip? 2014 will reveal that I'm sure.
I heard a wild rumour on Twitter a few months ago that Andrew Rayel will take over A State Of Trance when Armin retires. I couldn't help but think that this sounds a bit Alex Ferguson retiring from Manchester United and David Moyes taking his place. Those are big shoes to fill... I actually think Rayel is a huge talent by the way. It's just difficult to imagine trance after Armin at this stage.
Meanwhile, I think acts like W&W and Hardwell have bravely pursued something that has been tragically overdone in the last 3 years and something that doesn't necessarily win many friends in more pretentious circles. But, crucially, they are doing it far better than every other notoriety-hunting pretender in the scene. This is to their credit.
In retrospect, Hardwell winning DJ Mag's Top 100 poll was hardly a surprise, and far from the biggest tragedy in dance music's very own PR 'ground zero'. Although the poll should never have become more than assessment of DJing skill and industry in a given year, you have to accept that the label output that has got Hardwell into No. 1 spot has been nothing short of god damn awesome. Revealed Recordings and Mainstage Music have just been relentless in 2013.
Unfortunately for Hardwell, the poll itself sank to increasing depths of irrelevance and inadequacy, as it struggled to ward of the advances of those enlightened EDM virtuosos who have recently decided that 'the distance one can throw confectionery products into a crowd' is now an acceptable criterion by which to elect DJing greats. All fans of electronic music reading this, I urge you, give as much attention to this pointless countdown as you give to the tiny small print on your new toaster's 3 year warranty, or the pretty prints on that overpriced roll of toilet paper... i.e. no attention at all.
In retrospect, Hardwell winning DJ Mag's Top 100 poll was hardly a surprise, and far from the biggest tragedy in dance music's very own PR 'ground zero'. Although the poll should never have become more than assessment of DJing skill and industry in a given year, you have to accept that the label output that has got Hardwell into No. 1 spot has been nothing short of god damn awesome. Revealed Recordings and Mainstage Music have just been relentless in 2013.
Unfortunately for Hardwell, the poll itself sank to increasing depths of irrelevance and inadequacy, as it struggled to ward of the advances of those enlightened EDM virtuosos who have recently decided that 'the distance one can throw confectionery products into a crowd' is now an acceptable criterion by which to elect DJing greats. All fans of electronic music reading this, I urge you, give as much attention to this pointless countdown as you give to the tiny small print on your new toaster's 3 year warranty, or the pretty prints on that overpriced roll of toilet paper... i.e. no attention at all.
But the 138-140 end of the trance spectrum has definitely been king in 2013. There were some episodes of my podcast at that higher end of things that just plain rocked from start to finish, particularly those from before the summer and particularly Episode 71.
And on another note, former Syndicate Bristol resident, Jordan Suckley has come on leaps and bounds. I named him my "One To Watch" as long ago as 2010. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he's justifying that call in a big way. We all knew he would. In our 'real' clubbing heydays as Uni of Bristol students, we saw him DJ a number of times at Syndicate and we could see he was good then.
Propped up at the bar at The Bay Horse Bristol in around 2008, I once told a girl who claimed to be Jordan's girlfriend that, "All the Syndicate residents are as good as each other, really" - to which I got a disdainful, "why are you talking to me" look. Why I chose to tell her this I'm not sure. Either way, I was clearly wrong.
Not long after in 2009 I remember, again completely half-cut, shaking Jordan's hand on our way into Nation in Liverpool. After the man destroyed the building, he later found me in a considerable state of 'disrepair' by a bar, stood next to the never-ending frame of Menno De Jong. Let's not underestimate the state of disrepair here... the demons were very much escaping. The two of them must have thought, "this guy's f*cking cool".
In 2013, not only was Jordan thoroughly excellent at Trance Sanctuary, but he played my favourite of all the sets I witnessed at Ministry of Sound this year. Not even an episode with some broken glass and a hospital stop off could dampen my enthusiasm that night.
And in other news, Darren Porter has been on fire and everybody is talking about Bryan Kearney!
In the years building up to moving to London, I could already sense that a real underground trance movement was starting to develop down here, particularly in the City itself. Having been here for a year, I can see that through things like Trance Sanctuary, Trance Together, Elevation Audio and, to a lesser extent, Transcend (currently) outside London, trance is rediscovering itself in the UK. Trance-lovers here are saying, "We don't have to put up with hybrids, half measures and dumb-downs. There are enough of us here to have the real thing." People want Kearney, they want Porter, they want Angry Man. Indecent Noise, John Askew, Solarstone. The line ups are changing rapidly and more people are agreeing that this is the way to go.
I'm not even agreeing or disagreeing about whether it is the right way to go. But I like that there is a movement growing that will give trance the kick up the arse it needs. It's an exciting time to be UK trance DJ looking for a break.
OK, enough of that. Let's give 2013 an audio incarnation...
And on another note, former Syndicate Bristol resident, Jordan Suckley has come on leaps and bounds. I named him my "One To Watch" as long ago as 2010. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he's justifying that call in a big way. We all knew he would. In our 'real' clubbing heydays as Uni of Bristol students, we saw him DJ a number of times at Syndicate and we could see he was good then.
Propped up at the bar at The Bay Horse Bristol in around 2008, I once told a girl who claimed to be Jordan's girlfriend that, "All the Syndicate residents are as good as each other, really" - to which I got a disdainful, "why are you talking to me" look. Why I chose to tell her this I'm not sure. Either way, I was clearly wrong.
Not long after in 2009 I remember, again completely half-cut, shaking Jordan's hand on our way into Nation in Liverpool. After the man destroyed the building, he later found me in a considerable state of 'disrepair' by a bar, stood next to the never-ending frame of Menno De Jong. Let's not underestimate the state of disrepair here... the demons were very much escaping. The two of them must have thought, "this guy's f*cking cool".
In 2013, not only was Jordan thoroughly excellent at Trance Sanctuary, but he played my favourite of all the sets I witnessed at Ministry of Sound this year. Not even an episode with some broken glass and a hospital stop off could dampen my enthusiasm that night.
And in other news, Darren Porter has been on fire and everybody is talking about Bryan Kearney!
In the years building up to moving to London, I could already sense that a real underground trance movement was starting to develop down here, particularly in the City itself. Having been here for a year, I can see that through things like Trance Sanctuary, Trance Together, Elevation Audio and, to a lesser extent, Transcend (currently) outside London, trance is rediscovering itself in the UK. Trance-lovers here are saying, "We don't have to put up with hybrids, half measures and dumb-downs. There are enough of us here to have the real thing." People want Kearney, they want Porter, they want Angry Man. Indecent Noise, John Askew, Solarstone. The line ups are changing rapidly and more people are agreeing that this is the way to go.
I'm not even agreeing or disagreeing about whether it is the right way to go. But I like that there is a movement growing that will give trance the kick up the arse it needs. It's an exciting time to be UK trance DJ looking for a break.
OK, enough of that. Let's give 2013 an audio incarnation...
THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST 080 – THAT WAS 2013 – PART 1
1. Daniel Kandi & Jack Rowan – Arigatou
[June / Enhanced Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 65
Position in Top 40:
#38
Daniel Kandi slipping down to 128 BPM
was certainly not a move welcomed by all in trance music. One comment on
discogs.com reads,“Daniel, PLEASE don't do this to us. Stick to uplifting
trance. Seriously.” Seriously? This bassline smashes you between the eyes and
the breakdown is nothing if not uplifting. Would have been nice to hear a 138
version of this as well, but that takes nothing away from this seriously big
tune.
2. Avi - Stream
[April / Alter Ego Records]
Featured In TPHP: Episode 57
2. Avi - Stream
[April / Alter Ego Records]
Featured In TPHP: Episode 57
Position in Top 40:
#31
A superb jacking smash up on Alter Ego Records that has an awesome underlying rhythm, particularly towards the end. Makes it a great track to mix with. Pretty nice melody also.
3. Estiva -
Teddybeat
[May / Enhanced
Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 62 (Tune Of The Episode)
Position in Top 40:
#30
Quite a cheesey riff in this one, but
the drop is just colossal. A really powerful tune, albeit a slightly surprising
choice for Enhanced Recordings who have started edging into more commercial
territory.
4. Andy Moor - I
Be (Club Mix)
[July / AVA Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 67 (Tune Of The Episode)
Position in Top 40: #3
Chosen By: Steve
McDonald
Coming in with a very
creditable bronze medal, my third favourite tune of 2013. The fact that it is
not the best is just testament to the quality of the two tracks above it. This
is such a fantastic blend of melodic and aggressive, full of all Andy’s classic
trademarks and the way it keeps building and building is just superb. For me,
this pushed Andy Moor’s distinctive bassline driven sound on to the next level,
proving that in trance music, you don’t have to constantly keep reinventing
yourself – just keep perfecting what you’re good at. Better than Spirit’s Pulse
from 2011 which was itself a fabulous tune. When I was planning my Hildreth
Farewell set, this was one of the first tracks on the ‘team sheet’.
5. Mark Sixma -
Requiem
[April / Mainstage
Music]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 55
A track that in years
to come will very much remind me of 2013 without actually be attached to a
specific moment or memory. I remember it being played at Ministry but can’t
remember specifically which night. It reminds me of Global Gathering, but I
can’t really remember whether it was played or not. This haunting, operatic
monster on W&W’s Mainstage Music featured in Episode 55 of this year’s
podcast, undoubtedly the ‘People’s Choice’ for best episode of 2013. Drop is
massive!
6. Purple Stories
- Locust
[May / Coldharbour
Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 62
A big one for me in Markus Schulz’s
sets this year and probably my favourite moment from his ‘open-til-close’ set
at Ministry in June. Actually a really simple melody but such an epic build up
towards the breakdown.
7. Setrise vs.
Johann Stone – MNE
[January / In Trance We Trust]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 48 (with Ben Collier)
Position in Top 40: #5
Technically speaking this came out
midway through December of 2012, but it has played far far too big a part in my
2013 to be omitted from these year mixes. Criminally underrated, I couldn't resist playing it in 2 of my 3 sets at The Cube in Brighton. A brilliant
breakdown and riff.
8. Allure feat.
Emma Hewitt - No Goodbyes (Lange Remix)
[February / Magik Muzik]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 52
Position in Top 40:
#36
There are few
vocalists in trance music writing music as consistently brilliant as Emma
Hewitt these days. The chorus in the breakdown of this February Magik Muzik
release is truly spell-binding. Does sound suspiciously like 2005’s awesome
cheese-fest, Trinity – Like The Sun. It also sounds very similar to another old
tune I can’t quite put my finger on. But largely coincidental, I imagine.
9. tyDi &
Maison & Dragen feat. Toni Nielson - Walk On Water
[January / S107
Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 48 (with Ben Collier)
Chosen By: Steve
McDonald
This is definitely the track that
caused the most stir amongst listeners of myself and Ben Collier’s epic 3 hour
collaboration for Episode 48. A very wise choice by the big man Collier and one
that also deserves its place here.
10. Broning – Smash!
[April / Interstate
Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 55 (Tune Of The Episode)
Position in Top 40:
#19
My ‘Tune Of The Episode’ for the much
celebrated Episode 55 back in April, which in itself tells you what a belter
this is. Moody build with a cracker of a riff - just your typical Global DJ
Broadcast anthem. Haters gon’hate.
11. Lisa Lashes - Wanted To Feel
[May / Lashed Music]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 60
Chosen By: Karl Filmer-Sankey
The former 'Queen of Hard House', a
prolific veteran producer in her own right, has finally produced a trance track with enough
superstar quality to rival her legendary hard dance output. A superb rolling
bassline, a hint of vocal and surprisingly euphoric for a track of that 132
tempo. One fellow Transcend resident, Calvin Karass, and I mused over very positively whilst at The Cube this year.
12. Jorn Van
Deynhoven - Cheeky
[June / A State Of Trance]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 64 (Tune Of The Episode)
Position in Top 40: #6
Peaking just outside my Top 5 for the
year, this Jorn Van Deynhoven track has a textbook melodic trance riff. Despite
being quite modest in pace, this is what melodic trance is ALL about. You don’t
like this? You don’t like trance.
13. Solis &
Sean Truby - Closer To The Earth (Club Mix)
[March / Infrasonic Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 52 (Tune Of The Episode)
Position in Top 40:
#13
This was easily, and I
mean EASILY, the best vocal of 2013. Solis & Sean Truby were on fire in 2013 and this was a huge
‘hug-the-nearest-person’ club tune. There were many great versions of it too,
including the Harry Square remix, but this uptempo version was my favourite.
14. Darren Porter -
Spellbound
[March / Monster Digital]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 52
Chosen By: Tom Bradshaw, Ben Collier
Producer of the Year,
Darren Porter was in no mood to f*ck about this year. Spellbound on Monster
Tunes has a riff in the breakdown that hits you like a runaway train careering
unbidden out of the still darkness. Euphoria Level 1000….
15. C-Systems feat.
Hanna Finsen – Leading Destiny
[July / Unearthed Red]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 69 (Tune Of The Episode)
Position in Top 40:
#18
Quite an ‘old’ feel to this one, I
think, and a track unique in the sense that it uses a lot of melodic elements
in the initial build. As soon as the bass fully drops, it’s straight into those
lush melodic touches. Decent vocal as well.
16. Craig
Connelly feat. Christina Novelli - Black Hole (Jorn Van Deynhoven Remix)
[September / Garuda]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 75
Position in Top 40:
#14
Chosen By: Echo Bravo,
Ben Dursley, Steve McDonald
There was a lot of
debate about the best version of this very popular vocal track this year. I
just about prefer this Jorn Van Deynhoven remix. Just.
17. Matt Bukovski
- Phoenix
[March / Blue Soho
Recordings]
Featured In TPHP: Episode
54 (Tune Of The Episode)
Position in Top 40: #4
Blue Soho releases
were absolutely immaculate this year and this was the best of the considerable
lot. A soaring, epic tear-jerker and so so so powerful.
18. Solarstone -
Please (Bryan Kearney Remix)
[April / Black Hole Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 56
Position in Top 40:
#32
This top class Bryan
Kearney remix does something that I don’t remember hearing in any other trance
track I've ever heard. It leads into the breakdown after a bass-less one minute
build up. Talk about getting straight to the point. Melody in this one is just
so typical of Solarstone, a serene beauty - Mr. Kearney provides that bit of
dancefloor punch.
19. Dave Wright
feat. MG - Illustrious (Darren Porter Remix)
[March / Diverted Music]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 54
Position in Top 40:
#33
Dave Wright has definitely
been the quieter half of former hard trance duo Rowland & Wright in recent
years, but in 2013 he emerged from obscurity with this great trance release.
But it was ‘Man Of The Moment’, Darren Porter delivering the damage. Again,
another stupefyingly euphoric piece of trance music.
20. Robbie Van Doe – Sense Offender
[April / Nu Depth Recordings]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 58
This track has made it into this year’s
review mixes by virtue of the fact that this set was running a bit short and I
slipped it in to extend things a bit. But let’s not take anything away from
Robbie Van Doe in 2013 – this ‘Equilibrium’ inspired track and February’s Drop
Out on Discover were fantastic ‘no nonsense’ trance records. Christian Bale-age…
21. Fisherman
& Hawkins - A Place Called Yesterday (ReOrder Remix)
[April / Arisa Audio]
Featured In TPHP:
Episode 58 (Tune Of The Episode)
Position in Top 40:
#12
The frequency of
ReOrder’s output in 2013 was pretty astonishing and none were better than this
melodic masterclass. The original ain't bad, but this fills in everything the Dutch duo’s version was missing. Featured in my 3rd set at The Cube
in Brighton in June for Transition.
22. Aly &
Fila with Giuseppe Ottaviani - Brilliant People
[May / Black Hole
Recordings]
Chosen By: Ally Alud,
Ben Collier
Hope you've enjoyed Part 1. The good news is... there are still two more to come! See you in two weeks.
