Well, I’ve been reviewing music for over 3 years now and I’ve come to realize that this art form, this creative outlet, is dead. My life is getting busier and I’m moving onto new projects and I’ve come to realize it’s time to put this one behind me.

Don’t get me wrong, this makes me rather sad. But you need to know when to cut your losses.  The site, though well connected with over 200 record labels, never really took off as I had hoped, averaging about 3000 unique visits a month.  Hardly enough to generate any kind of meaningful revenue through PPC ads.

Are you looking to take over a well established review blog with plenty of industry contacts? If so, fire me off an email to lefort.a@gmail.com and we can talk business.  Till someone else decides to pick up the pieces I’ll be putting this project on hold indefinitely.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the content we’ve posted in the last 3 years, we’ve had fun writing it.

Until next time!

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Well, it seems like the Discover team is just tearing through these album samplers and it brings us great joy to unveil the 3rd installment, of 4, to land on the Discover Records imprint.  As many of you are aware, John Askew is releasing a remixed artist album at the end of May and to help lead up to that date the Recoverworld team is unleashing 4 album samplers that contain remixes from Sean Tyas, Simon Patterson, Reaky, Activa and many other heavy hitters. Be sure to enter our giveaway for your chance to win 1 of 2 copies of this 2XCD artist album!

On this third sampler we’ve got a  line up of remixers that went above and beyond, each providing some amazingly tasty and hard/epic trance reworks for you to bop the night away. This release, like the previous samplers, is not for the faint of heart.  I found myself feeling revved up and pissed off beyond belief after listening to the tracks herein, so proceed with caution.

Read on past the break for my quick rundown of each track, some high quality samples and to vote for your favorite!

John Askew – Fade To Black (Sean Tyas Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

John Askew – Black Out (Simon Patterson Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

John Askew – Giving You Acid (Sly One vs Jurrane Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

John Askew – Misfit (Adam Foley Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

The Verdict

If the music itself doesn’t smack you across the face with a frozen fist of fury, then the track titles certainly will.  With titles like Misfit, Fade to Black, Black Out, and Giving You Acid you certainly do wonder what John had on his mind while crafting his original artist album. Regardless, we’ve got a dish full of dark, angry beats that are sure to whip any party into a bona fide frenzy.

As for my pick of the litter: I’m leaning towards Adam Foley’s remix as I’m at a place in my mind right now where I just can’t handle too much darkness.

Score: 9/10

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Claudia is likely one of the most popular female trance producer/dj in modern history, and it’s with good reason!  Her sound has been evolving over the past years, and as a DJ she’s extensively toured the world.  With her breakthrough release on her very own label Couture in 2007 she cemented her place among the boys atop the trance production world, and today she’s back with her follow up to the massive 2009 release, Quatrain.

Quatrain 3 kicks things off with an underspoken agenda that becomes quite clear as we enter the breakdown.  Claudia has crafted a ridiculously catchy riff that belongs in a banging techno tune the likes of John Askew or Bryan Kearney might drop on any given night.  I seriously had no idea what to expect out of this track and given that monster breakdown, I’m completely smitten with it. On the B Side we’ve got Quatrain 4, a track that kicks off with what sounds like a groovy tribal groove and as it moves along I’m reminded of Randy Katana, Mr Pit and Claudia’s cultivated sound.  She’s created a rather unique production with this gem, and you might find it will take a few listens to finally get into it.

Read on past the break for high quality samples of these fine productions and be sure to vote for your fave!

Claudia Cazacu – Quatrain 3

[See post to listen to audio]

Claudia Cazacu – Quatrain 4

[See post to listen to audio]

Score: 8/10

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Timmy & Tommy are no strangers to infectious, club friendly techno grooves and this latest on Oxygen Recordings is even more epic than their previous work together. This young Irish duo have had releases land on Full Tilt Recordings (their own imprint I believe), Coldharbour Recordings, Armada and now Oxygen!

Repercussions is an epic monster of a track, doing much damage with very little. Much like their previous massive club hit Full Tiltin, this track meanders through dark and grimy sounds, and it’s slower than anticipated pace truly creates an atmosphere of anticipation and anxiety.  Pair that up with some industrial claps and percs and you’ve got all the trappings of a massive club smasher that would destroy an underground club!

Read on past the break for a high quality sample!

Timmy & Tommy – Repercussions

[See post to listen to audio]

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The word “classic” in electronic dance music means that a track is so strong, that it will never lose its effect on the audience.  There are certainly a handful of tracks that have come and gone and garnered the title, but none are as iconic as Cruising. Airscape, of course the moniker of world renowned DJ/producer Johan Gielen, scored a world wide hit single with it in 1993 and now the song still sounds as solid and fresh as it did seventeen years ago thanks to a few 2010 reworks. This seems to be a recurring theme for Black Hole in 2010, I wonder what remix is next?

For the new Cruising 2010 Johan Gielen went back to the studio and delivered a brand new rendition, which he created together with Cor Fijneman. New and tighter beats, crisp synth lines and percussion lift up the theme of the original version and turn it into a state of the art floor filler for every DJ in the industry.

Marco V gave the original a brand new trance make over and the guys from Alkatraz added a bit more drama to the arrangement. In fact, all three versions are worth listening to and prepare yourself to have this track take over the dancefloor again for the first time, 17 years after it was originally unleashed.

Airscape – Cruising 2010 (Johan Gielen & Cor Fijneman Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

Airscape – Cruising 2010 (Marco V Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

Airscape – Cruising 2010 (Alkatraz Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

More Info:

www.myspace.com/johangielen
www.myspace.com/marcovofficial
www.myspace.com/alkatrazmuzik

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We’ve been busy reporting on the tracks on John Askew’s upcoming artist album (sampler 1 and sampler 2) and if the last two samplers deliver the same ass kicking goodness as these first two, lord help us. I mean, seriously.  This much epic has never before been contained in one release before, and when this album lands in 2 parts; The first of which includes 24 unmixed remixes and the second which is a 70 minute continuous DJ mix, I’ll be partying for hours. Just me and my headphones.

And not the ones to be selfish, we at MusiCritics.com have arranged to giveaway 1 copy of  John Askew’s Rediscovered Album to 2 lucky winners!  This two CD Album and DJ Mix pack is every trance lover’s dream and to get your grubby hands on a copy simply leave a comment below.  We’ll be drawing two winners once the Album is released on May 31st, so be sure to get your entry in!  And please, only one entry per email address.

Be sure to check out our prior ReDiscovered reviews and come back for our full album feature in the coming weeks!

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Making their debut EP release on Dangerbox Recordings, we welcome “Second Way” with their two track EP titled The Friend.

This release has the perfect balance between soft progressive grooves and rough edgy basslines, a balance that is becoming harder and harder to find for many of today’s young producers. Second Way brings us two melodic tracks with a twist of dirt and pride in them along with a remix from Teana & Tilda. Teana & Tilda provide a soft progressive version of Second Way’s monster “The Friend Always Remains The Friend.”

Adding to the release’s charm is the cover art, something that sets apart Dangerbox from other labels.  This is truly a visual and audio pleasure. Read on past the break for some high quality samples and be sure to vote for your favorite!

Second Way – Somewhere In Space (Original Mix)

[See post to listen to audio]

Second Way – The Friend Always Remains The Friend (Original Mix)

[See post to listen to audio]

Second Way – The Friend Always Remains The Friend (Teana & Tilda Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

The Verdict

Somewhere In Space is a rocking good time as it’s solid pace, thumping bass and playful percs/hats/filters allow the track to breathe easily for the full 8 minutes.  This is the highlight of the release, and I recommend you give it some proppa attention!

Score: 8/10

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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A week ago Frederic van Hooft unleashed a new 2 track EP on L8-Night Records, and as the B-side to his new production Bonn Lewis was charged with remixing the previously successful Palolem. Bonn Lewis is the production / DJ pseudonym of Ben Wilson from England. Bonn Lewis doesn’t tie himself down to one specific style, and although grounded in electronic dance music he flirts with uplifting, melodic trance, progressive and big room electro.

This latest rework on L8-Night Records manages to traverse many different styles in just under 8 minutes, and it’s this constant morphing, evolution and symbiosis that makes this a truly endearing track. I had first come across Bonn’s work with his Worlds Apart release a few months back, and I can safely say that his production skills have both matured and improved.

Read on past the break for a slice of heavenly progressive trance that will simply sweep you away!

Frederic Van Hooft – Palolem (Bonn Lewis Remix)

[See post to listen to audio]

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvuMgFSKrIw

Well, one of my favorite lesser known producers, Michael de Kooker, has just announced on his blog that he is giving away a free track for all to enjoy.  And enjoy it you will!  Here’s what he had to write about it:

“I went to Ibiza last year with a bunch of my friends and made this track with Ibiza on my mind.
Then I forgot all about it and just rediscovered it last week. With spring and summer calling again this year, I figured it made sense to simply put it online for others to enjoy!

It’s a summerish progressive trance track called Lixia. Lixia signifies the beginning of summer in East Asian cultures (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lixia)”

If you’d like to download it, simply head on over to his blog where you can keep up with everything this fine dutch producer does!

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We’re super excited to bring you a real treat from our good friends Chad and Dave from Tritonal! They created a bootleg remix of the track Never Forget from the Halo 3 game soundtrack and it’s been getting incredible support from folks like Ferry Corsten and Gareth Emery. As a thank-you to their fans, they are releasing it as a Free Download exclusively on Mugasha!

Head to mugasha.com/tritonal-halo3 and there you can download the MP3 and listen to the track as well as an intro from Chad and Dave. They really do an incredible job with the theme song, and above that, they nail their intro for the track. I had goosebumps and the track is on constant repeat. Just subscribe to their newsletter so you can stay up to date on all of the Tritonal happenings.

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