Henrik Kantola, aka ‘Chantola’ journeyed into the world of electronic music at the start of the millennium. Inspired by some of the top jocks and a self driven passion, this young Finnish talent began to produce in 2003. Beginning with Acid Pro and a hardware sequencer, Chantola played with basic loops and short tracks. As the results came, so did his hunger to buy newer equipment and software.
It wasn’t until 2007 that Chantola really found his break. Teaming up with a Helsinki based producer Jussi Vuorivirta, he formed a duo. Spiritus & Asper was born and full tunes began to materialize. In December 2008, their first completed production “Passion” was snapped up by Oulu based Wavedata Records, due out in June this year. As the momentum flowed, so did the label signings. With tunes set for release on Black Hole Recordings and Baroque, this young duo seem to be doing something right.
Today the main man Henrik Kantola presents his newest single Last Train To Mexico under his Chantola guise. A top progressive trance – progressive house – tech house release on the Nemesis label including remixes by Beach X, Wert and Paul Easy. If you like progressive trance, Finnish trance and groove you won’t want to miss this release. Samples after the break.
“
A truly refreshing 24 minutes of Trance! ” - Andre
8/10
running out of colors gents?
Well, its deep into 2010 and Finity has finally unleashed its first release of the year, and after their hot finish to 2009, it’s no surprise to hear this solid release come from the hands of yet another talented Finnish trance producer. Thomas is no stranger to trance, neither is he a stranger to the Finity camp as this is his 4th release on the imprint.
This latest packs 3 tracks, each original productions, that span progressive soundscapes and plant themselves firmly in euphoric trance. Imaginary Friends is a catchy little number that pushes the pace some and includes some dreamy female vocals; while Walking Against It is more David West/Joonas Hahmo in style, once again featuring some great cut up and effected vocals. The last track is probably the most likable, with its Niklas Grosswald like sound that would fit perfectly early on in a slamming trance set. Don’t miss The One You Love!
Read on past the break for high quality samples and be sure to keep your ears peeled for this great label in 2010!
After Meridian and Dave Costa team up with Cat Martin for the classy prog trancer ‘Empty Spaces‘. Having remixed Will Holland’s Tears In The Rain, this is After Meridian’s first original work on the label. A warm bass and lush melodies make this a great track for the dancefloor early on in the night, and just the thing to kick things off on a sunny, summer friday afternoon.
The remixes in this package come from Andrew Bennett and Funabashi. Bennett’s remix is typical of his; smooth, slick progressive trance, and splicing / dubbing the vocals to great effect. Funabashi ups the groove and adds a sparkling top line to finish it off! Rounding things out is a 4th version that is void of Cat’s voice, for those of you looking for a more instrumental rendition.
Read on past the break for high quality samples of each mix. You don’t want to miss this hot new Enhanced release.
“
Start...Stop....Start....Stop....Start! ” - Andre
8/10
The latest package from Red Force Recordings is brought to you by their newest recruit, Harry Dyer (also known as Gravity). “Red Light Green Light” caught our ears on first listen and well, needless to say, we just had to review it! “Red Light Green Light” is a playful, prog-trance track with bubbly plucks and a very warm theme. We’re sure you’ll find Harry’s sound as unique and refreshing as we have, with direct parallels to David West or Joonas Hahmo’s style of trance.
On the remix front comes Anjunabeats upperclassman Adam Nickey. Adam drops this track into 6th gear, adding in powerful drums, a driving bassline and his trademark lush synthwork to create a full-on monster. Harry also took a turn at remixing his own tune and the result can be described as slightly harder and a bit of a tease!
Read on past the break for high quality samples of each version!
Here we’ve new record on Echelon White, which showcases more melodic, uplifting trance tracks. George Philips aka Type 41 has returned on the label for the follow up of his 2009 single – ‘Serenity’. I really liked the special progressive club mix from label head Tempo Giusto himself. This one goes beyond what serenity offered and gets more bangin’ after each listen…!! 4 track pack here containing original mixes of Mystik & Lifespark. + Mystik Remixed by POl & Innerstate.
Read more for my take on each track and some samples…
“
Lexar is to Memory as Peanut Butter is to Mouth... ” - Andre
8/10
Fris! is one of my favorite progressive labels, and that’s due entirely to the presence of the venerable Ad Brown, and these two producers, Whelan & Di Scala. This time around Fris! drops an absolutely storm of a release with Whelan & Di Scala’s latest effort, Lexar.
If you’re a photog junkie like myself (here’s my flickr page) you’ll instantly recognize the name Lexar, and I’m guessing these blokes must know the name too, as it’s really the only reference to the name I can find. Regardless, this track is a storming beast that kicks things off with a very understated tech groove (as do most their productions), but by the midsection we’re floating in symphonic trance bliss.
Once you hear the melody in the breakdown, you’ll instantly fall in love with the track. On remix duties is Beat Service, a young Estonian producer who caught my attention last year with his remix of Nothing Less on Real Music Recordings. His version is a little more techy, a little more 4 to the floor and not quite as powerful as the original, but banging nonetheless.
Read on past the break for high quality samples of each version!
The dynamic dance duo from Deutschland are back at it again! With massive recent hits in 2009, these two have been busy touring the world and appearing in just about everyone’s live (and radio) sets. 2009 saw them release to much fanfare, a stellar artist album that included massive tracks like Flatline, Not Enough Time, Sign of the Times and Under Your Spell. I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say that IT was the stand out trance album of the year.
This new single entitled Barra once again confirms their professionalism and continuous drive to deliver outstanding quality. Barra is one of those fantastic big room tracks that will certainly warrant many ch00n signs. The track kicks off with a growling bassline that’s slowly morphed into a euphoric soundscape that you simply cannot escape. Try as you might, you’re getting sucked into this one for the full 7 minutes. Attached to the original is an edit that clocks in at under 4 minutes, and makes me wonder if this is really a radio edit disguised as a plain edit…
Read on past the break for a high quality sample of the Original Mix, you don’t need to waste time on the edit.
For this beautiful new title, the two Russian producers of Moonbeam teamed up with Tyler Michaud. The result is the absolutely captivating “Openhearted”, which features the vocals of the fabulous Tiff Lacey. Her vocals have taken so many productions to the highest regions of the charts and that will most certainly happen with this one. This is truly a well crafted club friendly, trance purist, top 40 loving hybrid tune that we’re sure you’ll love it!
Together with Tyler Michaud, Moonbeam have established a warm, soothing and deep vocal trance production that will send shivers down your spine; one that’s absolutely tailor made for the upcoming spring and summer festivals. You won’t be able to forget the chorus for the entire season! Swen Weber was tasked with reworking the original and turned it into a brand new cut that’s rougher, louder and perfect for the big sets that kick off at midnight. “Openhearted”, a stunningly beautiful floor filler!
“
So suddenly it comes and things change... ” - Andre
9/10
BT is without a doubt one of the most prolific producers in his field, and to prove that, we’ve now featured the first three singles from his latest artist album over the past 2 months! Taken from his upcoming album, this is another brand new single, featuring the intense vocals by Christian Burns. The track, entitled “Suddenly” will enchant every lover of vocal electronic dance music. Loaded with fierce edits and intense guitar work, the song makes a nod and a wink to the sound of mid nineties Depeche Mode and the chorus adds to the passion and vigor of the entire track.
The remix package offers a wide variety of versions. Celldweller, Cicada and Dave Darrell stay close to the original but still they’re all offering a different approach so that every DJ will find the best version for his live set at any given time. Ferry Corsten gave “Suddenly” his trademark trance make over which fits seamlessly in a state of the art big room event. Mr Sam turned the original into a massive, DJ friendly version that will certainly catch the attention of the big names. Also make sure to check out the JJ Mix, ’cause its down tempo rock arrangement and the heavy guitars are an absolute refreshing surprise.
After The Rose Of Jericho and Every Other Way, all taken from BT’s upcoming album “These Hopeful Machines”, we can state that this fabulous new single “Suddenly” will rock your party!
Read on past the break for high quality samples for each of the 7 versions!
Synthika is an electronic music collaboration project launched in 2007 by two Finnish brothers and producers Tempo Giusto and Ima’gin. Synthika’s production ranges from slower minimal to deep driving tech trance. Using the finest elements from several different genres, they call their style club progressive – always fresh and elaborate, their sound is distinct and melodies captivating while all of the production is essentially highly danceable club material.
And danceable is exactly what these two fine producers have accomplished in their latest Synthika collab, Powder Road EP. Don’t be fooled by the tracks’ otherwise soft names, these two are epic, dark and gritty….just the way I love my trance. This two track EP kicks things off with Powder Road, a monster of a trance track that shines in the breakdown and build with a synth sequence that will pierce your heart and leave you feeling empty. On the flip side we’ve got Lilacs, and though I instantly associated Lilacs with old ladies playing bridge, this track is nothing like that. Darker and deeper than Powder Road, this track is an emotional roller coaster that energizes and drains at the same time.
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