When it comes to sonic embodiments of the resolute nature of unconditional love, they don’t come much more rapturous than Rick Holden’s latest single, You Are the One. The oscillations of pure impassion, the transcendent tones visualising the cathartic sanctity of soul-deep affection, the vocals soaring beyond the confines of material reality and the lyrics with no sense of pretence all contribute to an affecting floor-filling anthem while becoming so much more than the sum of its parts. Sweat deserves to drip over this fervent earworm throughout the summer.
With his latest single, the Manchester-based trance producer Rick Holden channelled nostalgia into a visceral manifestation of early 2000s Clubland euphoria. Built from the bones of old-school trance and polished in modern sheen, the independently released track harnesses the exact kind of emotion most producers would struggle to translate through a DAW. Using Vital synths to sculpt the spectral timbres and sealing the soundscape in Audacity, Holden engineered a clean yet explosive hit, laced with ethereal synthwork and pulsing beats that beg for movement.
The roots of his sound stretch back to the ‘90s, cutting his teeth on Commodore 64 and Amiga software before sharpening his melodic instincts with a Roland XP50 and Cubase. Now, he filters decades of underground dancefloor magic through a refined sonic lens that refuses to dilute the emotion at its core.
You Are the One is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.
Review by Amelia Vandergast.