Armin van Buuren – ‘RELAXED’
An opportunity for listeners to wind down and float over the dreamy tones and downtempo beats, Armin van Buuren’s ‘RELAXED‘ album offers a change in pace and momentary break from the rush of everyday life. Filled with everything from previously released acoustic mixes to brand-new chill-out versions of iconic Armin van Buuren tracks from the likes of Eelke Kleijn, Just Her, Marsh, TRINIX and more, this two-sided album is that break in the clouds you’ve been searching for all along.
Ferry Corsten – ‘Punk (Tom Staar Remix)’
Rapidly approaching its twenty-year anniversary, Ferry Corsten’s 2002 original ‘Punk‘ is getting the remix treatment from Tom Staar. With the iconic melody leading the charge and sturdy beats providing the backbone, this 2020 interpretation is as rebellious and fiery as you can expect.
Elysian – ‘Beyond The Comfort Zone’
ilan Bluestone, Maor Levi, and Emma Hewitt are Elysian: an exciting new progressive trance trio comprised of three trance heavyweights. The Elysian project takes another step ahead with ‘Beyond The Comfort Zone‘, another alluring offering from the already acclaimed trio. It’s an instant classic, a thick slice of dark and brooding progressive trance built around Emma Hewitt’s ethereal vocal.
Tempo Giusto – ‘The Fall’
A familiar face on the A State Of Trance label, Tempo Giusto has gone into speaker-destruction mode with his next release on the imprint. Bearing everything from surging synths to unyielding vocals and a beat drop that doesn’t take no for an answer, ‘The Fall‘ pulls listeners in deep for quite the sonic thrashing.
Romina & Franck Dona – ‘No Education (Jerome Isma-Ae Remix)’
Crowd control in its most thrilling sense, Jerome Isma-Ae’s Progressive spin on Romina & Franck Dona’s ‘No Education‘ puts the highly recognizable vocal in a brand-new light. Armed with an expertly produced build-up that involves ever-evolving arpeggios and high amounts of sonic tension, this remix is set to shine at stadiums across the globe.
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike x W&W x Fedde Le Grand – ‘Clap Your Hands’
Belgium’s favourite duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike maintain their recent forward momentum with their latest single, this time joining up with long-time Smash The House family members W&W and iconic hitmaker Fedde Le Grand for ‘Clap Your Hands‘. This track begins with a vocoded top line, instructing fans to clap their hands as the intensity builds towards the drop. A plucked hook, expertly interspersed with snippets of the main melody, keep excitement levels high throughout. The track slows to a standstill during the main break, gradually picking up the pace before unveiling an epic, stadium-ready cacophony of lush tones. The latter part of the song sees the two main musical elements combine to impressive effect, ensuring the track is high energy and constantly evolving, guaranteed to get people moving wherever they are listening.
Farius – ‘From The Start’
On ‘From The Start‘, Farius creates a rapturous celebration of progressive trance, with his singular, focused approach resulting in a captivating fifteen tracks. His intricately-produced anthems feel effortless in their creation, ranging from euphoric and emotive to hard-hitting and bombastic, and with a strong emphasis on melody throughout. The album demonstrates his growth as an artist, culminating in a cohesive project with a distinct identity.
NGHTMRE x Subtronics – ‘Nuclear Bass Face’
Forging a bridge between dancehall-inspired reggaeton and downright dirty bass, ‘Nuclear Bass Face‘ is a one-of-a-kind track that seamlessly combines the signature styles of LA-based NGHTMRE and Philly-dwelling Subtronics.
Tchami – ‘Born Again / Buenos Aires’
Paris-born DJ and producer Tchami has unveiled his second double-single release of 2020, composed of tracks ‘Born Again‘ and ‘Buenos Aires‘, out via his imprint CONFESSION. Kicking things off, ‘Born Again’ is a deep, groove-laden floor-filler that skillfully makes use of euphoric, hands-in-the-air piano keys. Similarly dancefloor-focused, ‘Buenos Aires’ is an irresistible slice of fresh, carefree filter house – strung together by an infectious looped vocal sample.
Lastlings – ‘Take My Hand (Torren Foot Club Mix)’
“Amy’s voice is so dreamy and beautiful, having the opportunity to work with Lastlings I really wanted to create a record that was a moment – I pictured playing this about an hour into my dj set, a big atmospheric breakdown, and a beautiful vocal to refresh the crowd.”
— Torren Foot on ‘Take My Hand‘
Burak Yeter – ‘Fly Away (feat. Emie & Lusia Chebotina & Everthe8)’
Turkish-Dutch DJ Burak Yeter makes his debut on Alok’s CONTROVERSIA record label with new single ‘Fly Away‘, featuring Emie, Lusia Chebotina and Everthe8. Deep, vocal-led and bass-heavy, this track elegantly treads the line between a club-ready dance track and chart-ascending pop jam — with the vocals of Emie, Lusia Chebotina and Everthe8 helping elevate the track to the next level.
HGHLND – ‘Remixes’
Denver duo, HGHLND has released an epic EP featuring remixes from two outstanding producers. Receiving support from Ørjan Nilsen, Andy Moor and Andrew Rayel is proof in the pudding that these two remixes are absolute stormers. First is Apollo Nash’s high energy remix of ‘Helios‘ and the other is Taygeto’s bagning remix of ‘Eden‘.
Rudosa – ‘Deeper Expectancy’
Championing the driving strain of underground music we’ve come to crave from Rudosa, ‘Deeper Expectancy‘ opens with a face-melting four on the floor kick, galvanised by a rumbling sub that directs the track into heavier techno waters. The synth lead presents an infectious melodic riff that’s motivated by distortion, compelling the listener throughout its 7-minute run time. Boosting the melody with a trance-induced synth lead, Rudosa’s production sensibilities are put on full display, sending a second wave of propulsion for the track’s final peak.
Pawl x Discrete – ‘In My Heart’
Two Swedish musicians, Pawl and Discrete come together for a beautiful new chill house single that will make their nation proud. ‘In My Heart‘ features a dreamy mix of soothing guitar, light percussion, and smooth synths to create an undeniable groove that transports you to the beaches of Ibiza on a Summer night. Add Pawl’s soulful vocals into the mixture and you have a highly replayable song with mainstream appeal that’s bound to reach the airwaves.
Franky Wah – ‘The Revival Vol. 1′
A 14-track release that has been two years in the making, ‘The Revival Vol. 1‘ is a deeply personal and incredibly diverse body of work, made up exclusively of Franky Wah’s own productions. It features recent singles ‘You’re Not Alone‘, an edit of the 90s dance classic of the same name, and the euphoric ‘Come Together‘, which has just been added to the BBC Radio 1 Playlist, after being crowned ‘Hottest Record In The World’ by BBC Radio 1 tastemaker Annie Mac, as well as MistaJam’s ‘Self Certified’. As well as these anthemic hits, the project also features underground cuts such as ‘Lost In Time‘ and ‘Tomorrow‘, highlighting the broad range of his musical abilities. Topped off with remixes of dance music legends Moby and MJ Cole, Franky insists that it’s the emotion of the tracks that bands the mixtape together.
Reptile Room – ‘Sunlite’
“‘Sunlite‘ is very much a focused, intentional message that things are going to shape up, and not to worry. The timing of it all is interesting, because we didn’t start out writing it knowing that the world would be affected the way it’s been, and it feels like it has come full circle. You’re writing for your future self, but you don’t know it at the time.”
— Sami Michelsen of Reptile Room
pluko – ‘COLOR BLIND’
Artist and producer pluko is sharing his highly anticipated sophomore album, ‘COLOR BLIND‘. ‘COLOR BLIND’ is a majestic 13-track record full of unfettered imagination and genre-pushing musicality. pluko demonstrates his technical prowess throughout the album, dabbling with grandiose percussion, multi-layered production, and glistening synthwork.
SLANDER x Jason Ross – ‘Better Than Heaven’
At the top of 2020, American electronic producers SLANDER intrigued their live audiences with ‘Better Than Heaven‘ a new production with Jason Ross featuring vocals by JT Roach. Finally, the track is available now on Gud Vibrations.
Mike Mago – ‘Recognise’
Today, Dutch DJ/producer Mike Mago shares a new single entitled ‘Recognise‘. A danceable beat propels the song forward through swells of bass and glitchy keys. Reaching a crossroads between deep house bliss, progressive scope, and unassuming pop power, the vocals by Tim Powell culminate on the echoes of a catchy confession, “Oh darling I don’t recognise me” before a muscular and magnetic drop.
Jack Trades – ‘Kill Me Slowly (feat. Heather Janssen)’
“The very early version of this song had a very different instrumental and a different singer that tackled the subject of ‘challenges in a relationship’ but was unable to capture the whole emotion in the song. My Label A&R then introduced me to Heather Janssen, sent her the instrumental and soon as we heard the first scratch on the instrumental, we knew we had something special. I was able to get in the studio with Heather in Toronto and really connect on the writing and what we envisioned with the song. Funny thing is when Heather did finalize writing ‘Kill Me Slowly‘, we ended up doing a brand new production around her vocals to suit the mood of the record.”
— Jack Trades
*Featured image via Jason Ross, Slander, Farius and Mike Mago*
