Browsing Tag

trance

Darth Athena took us into the depths of techno’s shadow with ‘Black Mojo’

Dark Athena’s tempestuous latest release, Black Mojo, plunges into the depths of techno’s shadow. With its monochromatic palette, this piece from the Atlanta-based producer is a bold foray into the heart of darkwave electronica, where precision and chaos dance in a delicate balance.

Darth Athena, the architect behind this auditory odyssey, weaves a tapestry of sound that reflects his eclectic musical upbringing. From the pulsating beats of EDM to the haunting echoes of darkwave and the rhythmic complexity of jazz and R&B, Black Mojo is the culmination of a lifetime spent in the company of diverse genres.

The track’s progression is a masterclass in tension and release. Each beat is meticulously crafted, ebbing and flowing with a rhythm that seems to sync with your heartbeat. For seven minutes, you are lost in a world where time bends to the will of the music. The laser-like strobes and sci-fi motifs add a layer of dynamism, yet it’s the relentless, hypnotic beats that anchor you in Darth Athena’s universe.

Black Mojo will do more than just fill dancefloors; it will command them. It’s a siren song for the night, calling out to those who find solace in the pulsating heart of techno. As the final beat fades, you’re left with an insatiable hunger for more – a testament to the enduring power of Darth Athena’s musical alchemy.

Black Mojo was officially released on January 19; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lajze brings the world something so steamy it might burn fingers with Secret life of a Subflower

Fresh from previously intertwining our moods on Glue, Lajze has dropped something rather desirable and spine-healing to consume all fascinated minds with on her latest release, Secret life of a Subflower.

Lajze is an experimental London-based British/Polish singer-songwriter and composer who loves fusing in electropop to pulse our joints and give that spark back to the lost generation.

I want my music to tease and suck you in, put you in a trance. But also with my lyrics, I want to express female sexuality, boldly and delicately at the same time. I hope it empowers others, especially females to dig deep, get to know themselves, find their kinks, and explore them.” ~ taken from Lajze’s IG post here

Stunning all quiet hearts with a piercing sound, Lajze sizzles the snakes into their corner with an X-rated track to scare many and excite more to have fun again.

Secret life of a Subflower from the multi-creative Polish/British wonder Lajze is a seduction-packed experience to move even the most conservative souls amongst us. The lyrics are ear-tingling and the beat is rather intoxicating to the fullest possible realm, to stimulate emotions which were thought extinct before.

If you like it sexy unique and reloaded with desire, this might be the door you wish to open.

Turn this up on Spotify.

Listen up further on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

CONT4MIN4TED – This is the Way: An Alt-Electronica Journey for the Mind, Body, Soul, and Rhythmic Pulses

https://soundcloud.com/cont4min4ted/sets/this-is-the-way/s-lYo30PwNNHK?ref=clipboard&p=a&c=1&si=67a3e5c169854d6d9ec28a67dcadf4b6&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

After aurally relinquishing their emotional baggage via their debut LP, the Gainesville, GA alt-electronica producer, CONT4MIN4TED, went even further leftfield with their sophomore album, This is the Way, which will take you on a journey of the mind, body, soul and rhythmic pulses.

I could dissect each of the 16 singles that were intuitively curated to orchestrate the ultimate sonic experience, but perceptibly, the greatest achievement of this LP is the cinematic journey it will take you on straight from track one, Stuck, before the stagnation lifts in the fervidly exhilarating soundtrack, Drifting.

Even with the chillier tones and ethereal vocal lines in the cinematic slices of synthesised soul, you won’t fail to find the impassioned warmth in the emotion and experience-driven soundtracks to vignettes that are universally shared. The album is enough to make you forgo your usual vibe-out electronica playlists; it is a smorgasbord of constantly in-flux electronica ingenuity. For your sanity’s sake, sink your teeth into the catharsis.

Stream This is the Way from April 28 on SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Resistance resonates in THE MAINSTREAM OFFICIAL’s harbingering electro-anthem, Part of the Problem

Harbingering signs of the times rarely resound in trancey house mixes, but here to bring consciousness under the club music umbrella is THE MAINSTREAM OFFICIAL with their debut single, Part of the Problem.

Part of the Problem is the first single to drop in a series of resistance-themed singles that the duo has crafted to unshackle us on the dancefloor and awaken our minds to the issues we partake in if we go about our daily lives with blinkers on.

Sobering and liberating in the same glossy produced breath, THE MAINSTREAM OFFICIAL is doing more than just breaking ground; they are fighting for the world we are all respectively attempting to save, destroying, and living in ambivalently. The vocals perfectly gel with the rhythmically arresting, tension-fuelled progressions as they project the myriad of global issues before compelling you to take a stand.

Part of the Problem is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dare Wood – Sandman: Optimism Has Never Sounded Sweeter

Dare Wood’s lyrically awakening latest EDM hit, Sandman, is undeniably for the dreamers. The Nashville-based up and coming artist has developed a staunch following with his fusionist sound, which pushes together textures of hip hop, pop, and dance to complement his Rockstar vocal delivery and lyrical storytelling. Sandman balances emotional vulnerability and realism with introspective gold that listeners can cash in every time they sink into the immersively melodic hit.

Just a month after the release of Sandman, it has racked up 26k streams on SoundCloud alone. The rhythmic grooves and the arrestive passion that was poured into every facet of the production pushes EDM into unchartered waters. Yet that does little to quash the commercial potential of the wordsmith & sonic pioneer who promises to remain on the edge of breaking new trends as his style perpetually evolves.

Stream Sandman on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BISH gave Shakira’s ‘Whenever’ a trancey rework in his luminous remix

Whenever by Shakira will forever be one of the greatest hits in pop history; it has spawned countless remixes, including the trancey revival by the San Francisco producer and DJ, BISH.

The up-and-coming artist and professional baseball player for the San Francisco Giants made the most of his time away from the field during lockdown by working on his production skills, which transpired from learning the piano at a young age. It is safe to say that the time locked away in his home studio was well spent on the basis of Whenever.

Bringing the heat from his hometown, Whenever is radiant under BISH’s touch, which is highly influenced by his idol. Kygo. We can’t wait to hear where he takes his melodic brand of dance music next.

Stream BISH’s remix of Whenever via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rob Benny is ‘Still Searching’ for meaning in his percussive EDM single.

https://soundcloud.com/robbennyofficial/still-searching?si=fa05a6ab2e2848eba1350edc0968e23c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

I’m not a big advocate of the adjective epic, but nothing else comes to close to encapsulating what the NYC electronica artist and producer Rob Benny conjured with his percussive EDM single, Still Searching.

With the world music overtones, there is a vital sense of spirituality in the progressive mix. Given that there is a fundamental lack of that around in 2022, Still Searching is a revitalising sensory experience, which affirms that even in the most trying times, there is still meaning and purpose out there; you just have to reach for it. Even though we are instant gratification-seeking creatures, meaning takes time to manifest. I couldn’t think of a better soundscape to drink in while we wait.

Still Searching is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DJ G-String has dropped her reflective trance EP, In the Mirror

After garnering over 1 million Spotify streams since her 2020 debut, the Chicagoland vocal house DJ, DJ G-String has released her 5-track EP, In the Mirror, which contains trance remixes of her five top tracks. Fans of Kaskade, Alice Wonderland and tokimonsta won’t want to miss it.

The Euro-inspired EP kicks off through the entrancing progressions in the remix of the affectionately iron wrought hit, Always, before it careers into All These Nights which unapologetically brings in the bass right on the first beat.

After the entrancing hardstyle beats have had their way with you, you’re thrown into the euphonic 90s-style dance hit, Your Love, before the EP comes to a close with the singles Only If and Runaway, which were remixed by P5YCHOH and Chriszio respectively.

Though the DJ G-String moniker only appeared in 2020, the artist behind it has been ingrained in the music scene for over two decades. She started out as the singer, bassist and lyricist in the rock act, Digging4Julie before blowing up as a vocal house sensation.

Currently, she’s a resident DJ on Good Groove Radio, Secret Lounge Radio, Ibiza Stardust Radio and at the Subterranean Music Venue in Chicago.She has also been lauded by electronica tastemakers such as Run the Trap, Clash Magazine, Dancing Astronaut, We Rave You and DJ Times.

Here’s what DJ G-String had to say about her EP

“The title is a symbolic reflection and celebration of what I have built in this dance music ecosystem so far. It was important to emphasise that we are all unique, and sometimes, you just have to stop and look in the mirror to remember who you are and what you love.”

The In The Mirror EP is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The prodigal son of SLAP house, K.S.M. returns with his sophomore single, ‘Through the Silence’.

K.S.M. followed on from their debut 2021 single with the ethereal feat of electronica, ‘Through the Silence’. Many artists promise to deliver originality in their mixes, yet, the Norway-based producer went the extra mile to stamp down his atmospheric signature take on deep house with his sophomore release.

The energetic bass rhythms in Through the Silence packs the track with a driving momentum while the female vocals add a touch of serenity to the soundscape; proving to be all too efficacious in keeping you hooked with every progressive transgression in the polished single.

K.S.M. is set to make major waves in the electro scene; 2 weeks on from the release of Through the Silence, the track had racked up over 50,000 streams on Spotify alone. If you pride yourself on having fresh artists on your radar, you will want to make room for K.S.M. who takes influence from SLAP House greats such as Alok and Tujamo.

Through the Silence is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Roman Cigi needs his ‘Voices’ to be heard.

One of the most innovative and cross-genre producers and DJ’s currently working the Ministry of Sound/Itaca/Paradiso circuit, Roman Cigi was born in Slovakia but now resides in London; that cross-European background serves him in good stead here with new single ‘Voices’, a perfect slice of old-school Euro-Deep House/Trance/Progressive House that’s both fresh and retro all at once.

Immediately, it sounds like all those massive 90’s Balearic bangers; Black Box, Seal & Adamski, and absolutely Blue Pearl’s “ Naked In The Rain”. Deep, breathy female vocals over thundering drum and bass, smack in the trancey-techno sweet-spot of 125 BPM. It’s a perfect clubby dance track, and – if Covid hadn’t crashed the party – deserves to be filling dancefloors all over the country this summer.

You can check out ‘Voices’ on Spotify; follow Roman Cigi here or on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes