Kategoriarkiv: Niklas

Classic FTW: Mike Foyle – Love Theme Dusk

If you have read my articles, you should probably know that i’m hooked on tracks using pianos. So there shouldn’t be any surprise when i feature an artist that is famous for using acoustic instruments in his tracks.
I’m ofcourse thinking of Mike Foyle and his lovely collaboration with Signalrunners on the lovely track Love Theme Dusk.

English born Mike Foyle started his musical career at the age of 8, playing the Violin. Being raised in a musical family with his father playing the cello, bass guitar and acoustic guitar, there was no question that Mike should play acoustic instruments. His great success as a musician in Southhamptons Youth Sinfonetta Orchestra at an age of 15 eventually gave him the title Concertmaster and first violinist. He continued to study music at De Montfort University in Leicester and finally earned a degree in Music Technology and Innovation in 2009.

The first musical release came in 2005. His first release, Mike Foyle Presents Statica ‎– For Your Eyes Only / Space Guitar was a really decent release. For Your Eyes Only has some great progressive melodies and Space Guitar has some really sweet guitar-playing in it.

Space Guitar was first featured on Markus Schulz’s Coldharbour Sessions before the initial single-release and the single eventually ended up on the Electronic Elements-label, a sublabel to Armin Van Buuren’s Armada Music.

But it was with the second single, Love Theme Dusk that his big success came. The track, co-produced with Signalrunners did get major support by Armin Van Buuren who used it as a signature tune in his playlist. The track was released with a more progressive remix from Mike Foyle and a more trancy remix by Signalrunners.

I just love the use of Piano in this track, you can easily hear that this is made by a guy schooled in classical instruments. A fun fact is that the piano melody was actually written by Dave Schonauer and interpretated by Mike Foyle to a complete success.

The next release, the collaboration with Filo & Peri on Luana is another trancy track. You can easily spot the Filo & Peri-buildup together with Mike’s melodies. This is one of those tracks that i’ve forgot about. Might have to put this on my playlist again.

Another favourite, the 2006 hit single Shipwrecked is simply amazing. The piano in this is to die for. John O’Callaghan vs Mike Foyle’s remix is my favourite version, a massive dancefloor filler. Also take a listen at the Sean Tyas and Gareth Emery’s versions.

Worth noticing is that Armin Van Buuren used a sligthly different version as intro on his A State Of Trance 2006 yearmix. Armin’s version used elements from the chillout-version combined with the John O’Callaghan vs Mike Foyle-version and was simply amazing.

There was also a re-release of Love Theme Dusk in 2006 called Space Theme Dusk. IMHO they destroyed the track, too many layers and what mostly made the original good, drowned in the advanced background music.

The 2007 single, Firefly sounds like a russian lullaby on drugs. Tight buildup, amazing piano in the breakdown which explodes into a pumping dancetrack.

The track Hex under his Bolt-moniker is just crazy. Starts off really techy with some wierd sound effects no real melody, just a wobbly bassline. Don’t know if I love it or hate it.

The next hit, Pandora was a really sweet piano-driven track.It also has a lead that sounds like a violin. The original is really good but i prefer the Blizzard-remix which is more progressive.

Bittersweet Nightshade was another hit single though not using any piano on this. It’s more progressive than the last few tracks. A fun fact is that Blake Jarrel’s version exchanged the lead instrument to a piano.

Sweet Sammy Jane was another piano-driven track and the some girl-sighing/moaning which fits the track perfectly. The piano reminds me of the early Love Theme Dusk/Shipwrecked.

The next collaboration, this time with Augustine Leudar on De Bells Of Nafin is somewhat of a chillout/ambient track. Very different from the other tracks. Only released as a single track on the compilation Armada Lounge vol 2.

Chords Of Life, together with Sparx was a really good uplifting track, although pretty slow. Simply amazing and really well-produced.

Deadly Nightshade was a dark progressive track and came with a really sweet hi-energy remix by Phynn.

Sundown (with Akino Arai on vocals) was the first vocal track from Mike. Though he used bits in the Nightshade-tracks, he has never used full vocals so far. The b-side, Blossom uses really warm pads and a really original melody. Reminds me somewhat of another favourite of mine, Sunny Lax – Reborn (Nitrous Oxide Remix).

In Silver Lake, you can hear Mikes early year as a violinist, the sweet classical breakdown is a true masterpiece along with the edgier darker sounds in the beginning and after the breakdown. A future favourite for sure! It’s very different from all other trance tracks out there.

The collaboration with DNS Project on Cayo Norte is a match made in heaven. The progressive beats together with Mikes classical breakdown is so epic. Just love how well produced the track is.

Mike released a 2-track EP under his Bolt-moniker, Buff Monkey / Rascal. Both are a bit darker than his usual stuff. Also, they are more jumpy and not the smooth productions that you are used to hear from him.

Shades Of Red and Shades Of Blue were both a step back to the more progressive side of Mike Foyle. I just love his melodies.

The collaboration with ReFeel on Universal Language is another sweet trancer and used an acoustic guitar as lead instrument.

The collaboration with Mat Zo on Simple Things is back to the more progressive and jumpy side with a really wonderful piano breakdown.

The last track from Mike Foyle was a collaboration with Leon Bolier on Placebo. The track uses Leon’s signature buildup with an amazing viiolin and piano breakdown. There is also a sample of a woman chanting in the track with fits the track perfectly.

I have to say after listening through Mike’s dense material, he has collected quite a bunch of real gems over the years. Many of the well-produced and piano-driven productions he’s released over the years deserves legendary-status. The many collaborations over the years has made his productions tighter and I guess we will hear alot more from Mike Foyle in the future. For a really bright future he has.

Classic FTW: Watergate – Heart Of Asia

1 svar

This week’s article is about a small project who only released 4 tracks. Their biggest success was known under 2 names, the initial name and the soundtrack-name. So which track am I thinking of? It’s ofcourse Watergate – Heart Of Asia (DJ Quicksilver Remix)

Watergate is David Haid, Orhan Terzi and Tommaso De Donatis. Orhan is most known as DJ Quicksilver and Tommaso is the producer behind DJ Quicksilver and also known under some additional 25 aliases/projects.

The Watergate-project was started in 1998 and heir first release, The Battle (also known as Mull Of Kintyre) contains a bagpipe-sample inspired from the hit single Mull Of Kintyre by The Wings (ex-Beatle Paul McCartney’s old band). The track peaked at no 20 in the German singles chart.

Their second release, Watergate EP contained 3 new tracks. Maid Of Orleans (The Battle 2), Chi Mai and Fire ’n Spice. Maid Of Orleans was a cover of an old OMD-track with the same name and Chi Mai was a cover of Ennio Morricone’s track with the same name

But it was with the third release, Heart Of Asia that the big success came. The track was heavily inspired by Ryuichi Sakamotos 1983 track Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence which was on the soundtrack to the movie with the same name (starring David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto amongst others).

The track came with remixes by Dj Quicksilver, Hemstock & Jennings, Des Mitchell, James Holden, Rising Sun & Astro.

Heart Of Asia peaked at no 3 in the UK singles chart. It was later re-released as Merry Christmas Mr Laurence (Heart Of Asia) in 2001.

It was later covered by Jamaster A as Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.

Worth noticing is that there was a bootleg floating around called Waiting For Tonight In Asia mashed with Jennifer Lopez’s popular track, Waiting For Tonight. The bootleg was done by a guy called Mixmachine. He did some nice mashups back in the days.

There was even an album, the 1999 title The World Of… which contained 13 tracks including the singles mentioned above.

The last release from Watergate was the 2002 collaboration with Mythos (of Mythos ’N Dj Cosmo-fame) called A Neverending Dream which was a vocal track. The track got pretty catchy lyrics and came with a pretty hard remix by Hennes & Cold.

So what can be said about Watergate which I havent mentioned above? Well, not much I guess. When I first heard Heart Of Asia, i was blown away with the track, especially in the breakdown. When I later heard the Jennifer Lopez-bootleg I fell in love again.
And that love has so far lasted for more than a decade.

Jennifer Lopez Vs Watergate – Waiting For Tonight In Asia (Mixmachine Mashup)

Paul McCartney & Wings – Mull Of Kintyre
OMD – Maid Of Orleans
Ryuichi Sakamoto – Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence
Ennio Morricone – Chi Mai

Classic FTW: Tenth Planet – Ghosts (Vincent De Moor Remix)

Lämna ett svar

This week’s article will not be the usual lenght as this track is a one-hit-wonder and actually a cover from a popular 80s-band. So which track am I thinking of? Tenth Planet – Ghosts (Vincent De Moor Remix).

Lyrics:

When the room is quiet
and the daylight´s almost gone
It seems there´s something I should know

Well I ought to leave,
the rain it never stops
with no particular place to go

Just when I think I´m winning
when I´ve broken every door
the ghosts of my life, they´re wilder – than before

Just when i thought i could not be stopped
when my chance came to be king
the ghosts of my life, they´re wilder – than the wind

But I´m feeling nervous
now I find myself alone
the simple life´s no longer there
Once I was so sure
now the doubt inside my mind
comes and goes but leads nowhere

Just when I think I´m winning
when I´ve broken every door
the ghosts of my life, they´re wilder – than before

Just when i thought i could not be stopped
when my chance came to be king
the ghosts of my life, they´re wilder – than the wind

Tenth Planet was a project by Gez Dewar and Nick Hale, also know under the guises Barraka, Doi-Oing, The Experiment, Heliotropic, Rhythm Thieves and Vengeance. Their biggest hit to date is their remake of 80’s band Japan’s popular song Ghosts.

The singer on the Tenth Planet’s version is Clare Pearce, who’s a member in their other project, Barraka. I really love the tiny flanger they put on her vocals.

Although the original 1982 UK Top 5 hit by Japan is abit dark and moody, the Tenth Planet-release feels a bit happier.

Originally released in 1998 in the US on promo-cd but made popular in 2000 when releaserd in the UK and the rest of Europe.

A cool fact about the 1998 promo-cd is that the original listing only had 6 tracks but the actual release had 7 tracks. The version not listed was the Redanka’s Spooky Disco Vocal Mix.

The version I prefer is the Vincent De Moor-remix which IMHO is a really well-produced trancetrack, especially the bassline which also can be heard in Vincent’s project Veracocha (together with Ferry Corsten).

After the success of Ghosts, Tenth Planet released a second single, the 2002 single Walk On Water which didn’t do any good so the project was scrapped after that.

Although the track is nearly 15 years old, I still find the track quite fresh. The track has ben re-released over the years and was even featured as classic of the week on Armin Van Buuren’s radio show A State Of Trance. And that’s what I concider it to be. A true classic.

Classic FTW: Armin Van Buuren & Susana – Shivers

Lämna ett svar

This week’s article is about a singer that i’ve mentioned a couple of times before. On her first collaborations, she wasn’t even credited but since then she’s released 2 albums and have done tonnes of collaborations with most of the major DJ’s. I’m ofcourse talking of Susana and her track together with Armin Van Buuren called Shivers. (Buy on Itunes)

Lyrics:

A little bit just a little bit… [x4]

World’s on turn around
Music make no sound
Where is sweetness found
Where love is gone

Sun don’t come around
Don’t make a sound
Where can love be found
If your heart won’t feel

Shivers
Up and down my spine
Breaker
Not on my mind

A little bit just a little bit… [x4]

How could it end this way
Don’t leave me, love me
Just a little bit longer [x3]

They don’t turn tonight
Morning don’t bring light
Where is sweetness found
Where love is gone

Won’t you stay tonight
Let the truth shine bright
Where can love be found
If your heart won’t feel

Memories
Emotions that we share
Teardrops
Signing my face

How could it end this way
Don’t leave me, love me
Just a little bit longer [x4]

A little bit just a little bit… [x4]

Goosebump-points:

00:51 when the vocal part ”A Little bit, just a little bit” starts
01:19 when the main vocal starts.
02:31 when the main breakdown starts and fades out.
03:00 when the full breakdown starts.
03:12 when the main chorus starts.
03:56 when the full music starts.
04:53 when the mini-break comes with the piano.
05:06 when the second chorus start with the full music.

Susana Boomhouwer started her singing career in 2004 as a vocalist on Ernest vs Bastian’s hit single Dark Side Of The Moon. The track was officially released in 2005 but had already done it’s rounds among the DJ’s as a promo. IMHO, the Dogzilla-remix is the one you should listen to.

She later appeared on Armin Van Buuren’s hit single Shivers and also signed to Armin’s label Armada Digital. 2005 was also the first year that Armin set up his liveshow Armin Only where Susana sung live.

She also appeared on Re:Locate’s album Rouge where she sung on the track Escape.

The next collaboration with Armin Van Buuren was with the 2008 hit single If You Should Go and has since then been featured on all Armin’s albums. On Armin’s last album, Mirage, Susana sung on the intro-track Desiderium 207. The single If You Should Go was also the first release that Susanas vocals were credited on.

Since then, she has done some amazing tracks with most of the world’s biggest names in dancemusic.

Susana did a collaboration with Talla 2XLC on the track I Know. The original track is pretty good but I really love the more uplifting Paul Miller-remix.

Nothing At All, together with Rex Mundi has some really beautiful lyrics and an awesome remix by Beat Service.

Susana & Bart Claessen – If I Could isn’t a favourite but came with a pretty decent Dan Stone-remix.

Susanas first album, Closer featured all the tracks above + some new tracks like the title track, Closer with Omnia and The Blizzard which was truely one of 2010’s best tracks. Just love the Closer-vocals together with the beautiful track by Omnia and The Blizzard, especially the bass which is an Omnia-signature.

Other collaborations from the album features Mike Shiver, Josh Gabriel, Dark Matters, Dash Berlin, Tenishia, Stoneface & Terminal, Jorn Van Deynhoven, A Force, Julian Vincent & Espen Gulbrandsen.

All the tracks are really good and a few sticks out like the collaboration with Josh Gabriel on Frozen (especially the Nic Chagall Remix)

In 2012 she has so far released 4 singles, Only You (with Shogun), Brave (with Ernesto vs Bastian and Wezz Deval, All Time Low (with Rex Mundi) and Down To Nothing (with Max Graham).

Of the lot i’d have to say that Down To Nothing is the best of them. All tracks were also feature on Susana’s second album, Brave along with a bunch of others from Beat Service, Aurosonic, Leon Bolier, Alexander Popov, Dark Matters, Ronski Speed, Snatt & Vix and Dark Matters & Eller Van Buren.

Worth noticing is that Home (together with Dark Matters) is a remake of Coast 2 Coast featuring Discovery – Home from 2000. I warmly recommend the Daniel Kandi Remix.

Susana has a really distinctive voice and you can easily hear that it’s her singing on all those collaborations. Ever since I first heard Dark Side Of The Moon, i’ve liked her voice. I hope to see more collaborations in the future and who knows which DJ she’s gonna perform with next. As long as she keeps up with the good work, she has a bright future. I hope to hear more from her soon!

Coast 2 Coast feat Discovery – Home (DJ Tiësto Remix)

Classic FTW: Energy 52 – Cafe Del Mar (Three ’N One Remix)

Lämna ett svar

This week’s article is about one project that has been released over 120 times on different labels and remixed by many of the worlds major DJ’s over 40 times. First released in 1993 and still played by many dj’s worldwide. I’m ofcoruse talking about Energy 52 – Cafe Del Mar (Three ’N One Remix). (Buy on Itunes)

Goosebump-points:

01:11 when the synth-stab kicks in.
02:10 when the main melody kicks in.
03:07 when the full melody kicks in .
04:48 when the track starts to fade out.
05:17 when the strings come in.
05:32 when the track starts to build before the explosion.
06:01 when the bassdrum kicks in.
06:15 when the reverse bassdrum kicks in.
06:29 when the full melody starts.

Energy 52 was a small project by German Paul Schmitz-Moonmann, most known under his Kid Paul-guise started dj’ing in 1988 like Dubmission, E-Werk and Tresor.

Before the release of Cafe Del Mar, Paul released 3 other singles under the Energy 52-moniker. The 1991 releases Expressions/Eternity/The Bassline & State Of Mind and the 1993 single Weak didn”t leave many impressions. Eternity and State of Mind were produced by Harald Bluechel (a.k.a Cosmic Baby) aswell as Cafe Del Mar.

When the initial release came in 1993, no one knew what impact that track would have to the clubgoers. For instance, It was nominated as one of 50 tracks as Top 20 Dance Tracks of Last 20 Years by the listeners of BBC Radio 1 in 2011.

Worth noticing is that the track is heavily influented by Wim Mertens 1988 track Struggle For Pleasure.

The original 1993 release only had 2 versions, Kid Paul Mix and Cosmic Baby’s impression but it was with the 1997 remixes that the track became huge.

In 1997 we saw remixes by Solar Stone, Oliver Lieb & Three ’N One whereas the Three ’N One’s remix did get some chartsuccess and climbed to no 51 in the UK singles chart.

It was the Three ’N One-remix that got me hooked to the track. I later heard the Olier Lieb-remix which I also find really good. There was even a video made for the Three ’N One-remix. Worth noticing is that the same video were also used for the Nalin & Kane-remix aswell as the 2002-remix by Marco V.

In 1998, the track was re-released with remixes by Hybrid, Kinky Roland and Nalin & Kane. The latter made it into the charts and peaked at no 12. IMHO, the Nalin & Kane-version is too ”dark” for me but still well-produced and not that bad.

The 1999 release contained new remixes by Deepsky, Pure Nova & Dj Eyal and a brand new version from Kid Paul called ’99 rebuild.

The 2000-release had a slow version by Humate and a stunning ambient remix by Michael Woods. IMHO, Michael Woods-remix capture the mood of the song better than Humate. There was also an unofficial bootleg flying around which contained the vocals by Sonique but IMHO, that version was pretty bad.

Next chart-success came in 2002 with the Marco V-remix which peaked at no 24 in the UK singles chart. The release also contained new version by John ’00’ Fleming, Sven Väth and a updated version from Three ’N One which also came with a new video.

2003 saw a remix by Chicane and a new track from Fragma called Man In The Moon which uses Cafe Del Mar as background. When the Fragma-track first did it’s rounds around the DJ’s of the world it was called Mar In The Moon as it was released as white label.

The next remix-batch came in 2006 with remixes by Raul Rincon, Tall Paul, Soul Seekerz, K-Klass and Kenny Hayes. I can’t say that i’ve heard any of them before but now as I was listening thru them, i’d have to say that the Kenny Hayes-remix is the best of them.

The 2008-release contained some stunning version from Michael Woods, Deadmau5, Dabruck & Klein aswell as remixes by Whelan & Di Scala, Oliver Lang, Dave Robertson, David Puentez and Bruckmann.

This year also saw an unofficial release from one of Sweden’s biggest talents, Jonas Hornblad. You can get his version exclusively here.

In 2011, we saw new remixes by Ricardo Villalobos and so far in 2012 we’ve seen remixes by Sidelmann & The Orbiter.

So what will 2013 bring us?

Cafe Del Mar will always be a track that’s talked about with the highest respect as it’s IMHO one of the tracks that defines trance. As I mentioned before, the track was nominated for top 20 of dance tracks over the last 20 years. That’s so wrong. In my book it IS in my top 3 of the best tracks ever made. My personal top 20 varies but one thing is sure. Cafe Del Mar will always be one of the 3 best tracks in the world.

Wim Mertens – Struggle For Pleasure
Fragma – Man In The Moon

Classic FTW: Scooter – How Much Is The Fish

1 svar

If you read last week’s article, you read that Ratty was a side-project to the popular german techno-band Scooter. So why not write an article of the main band? The track i’ve chosen for this week is How Much Is The Fish. (buy on Itunes)

Lyrics:

The chase is better than the catch

Transforming the tunes
We need your support!
If you’ve got the breath back
It’s the first page of the second chapter

I want you back for the rhythm attack
Coming down on the floor like a maniac
I want you back for the rhythm-attack
Get down in full effect!
I want you back for the rhythm attack
Coming down on the floor like a maniac
I want you back, so clean up the dish
By the way, how much is the fish?
How much is the fish?

Here we go, here we go
Here we go again
Yeah!
Sunshine in the air!

We’re breaking the rules
Ignore the machine
You won’t ever stop this
The chase is better than the catch!

I want you back for the rhythm attack
Coming down on the floor like a maniac
I want you back for the rhythm attack
Get down in full effect!
I want you back for the rhythm attack
Coming down on the floor like a maniac
I want you back, so clean up the dish
By the way, how much is the fish?
How much is the fish?

Sunshine in the air!
Come on! Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Everybody! Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Come on!
Together!
Yeah! Yeah!

How much is the fish?
How much is the fish?
Yeah!
Come on, come on
Argh!
Resurrection!

H.P. Baxxter and Rick J. Jordan had met long before in the synthpop-band Celebrate The Nun (with additional members Britt Maxime (sister of H.P.) and Slin Thompson back in 1987.

Celebrate The Nun hand some hits with the singles Ordinary Town & Will You Be There. The latter peaked at no 5 in the US Billboards Dance/Club play chart in June 1990. Their next hit, She’s A Secretary peaked at no 12 in the same chart in december the same year.

All in all, Celebrate The Nun released 2 albums and 5 singles before H.P and Rick left the project for Scooter.

Scooter was started in 1993 by Hans-Peter Geerdes (a.k.a. H.P. Baxxter), Hendrik Stedler (a.k.a. Rick J. Jordan and Sören Bühler (a.k.a.. Ferris Bueller) as a short term project.

Their first single, Vallée De Larmes was released in 1993 and didn’t get that much notice. It was first after the release of second single, Hyper Hyper that the guys saw that this wouldn’t be a short-term project.

The single did very well, both in the charts where it peaked at no 2 in the German singles chart and within top 10 in most european countries and it also did really well on the dancefloors. Worth noticing is that H.P. mentions most major DJ’s who were popular at the time in the track.

The followup, Move Your Ass! did even better and sold Gold in Germany with over 250.000 singles sold and had the same success in the charts. Worth noticing is that this was the first ever Scooter-track I heard. A friend of mine later bought the Hyper Hyper-single. The track also features the famous line ”It’s nice to be important – but it’s more important to be nice” which is somewhat of my motto.

The 1995 single Friends followed the same recipies as the earlier singles with H.P. Baxxter on vocals, except that they used a pitched up sample for the main song-part.
The track was in the top 20-charts all over europe. The followup, Endless Summer followed the same recipy and did as well in the charts.

The first Scooter-album, …And The Beat Goes On which featured 11 tracks including the ones mentioned above and some tracks which were featured on the b-sides to the singles.

With their second album, Our Happy Hardcore their influences can easily be spotted.
For instance, first single, Let Me Be Your Valentine samples ”Mu Mu” from The KLF. You can hear loads of KLF-influences when you listen thru material from 1996 and onwards.

The next track, Rebel Yell is a remake of Billy Idol’s track with the same name.
You can find more Billy Idol-influences when listening thru their albums.

I’m Raving is also a remake of Marc Cohn’s track Walking In Memphis (which many artists since have covered). The track did really well and peaked at no 4 in the German chart and even sold Gold. You can also hear a tempo-change from 160-190 bpm in earlier tracks to 138 bpm in this one. The track was featured on their third album, Wicked.

The single Break It Up is actually a ballad which was a big change from the bmp-pumped harddance-tracks they’ve done before and later became the first of many ballads.

The Age Of Love, the title track of the album with the same name is really influenced by the movie Terminator 2 and can easily be spotted in this track.

The next single, Fire was featured on the soundtrack to Mortal Kombat – Annhiliation and the single sold gold in Germany. It was also the last track that featured Ferris Bueller who left the band to pursue his solo career. Ferris Bueller was replaced by Axel Coon.

The fifth album, the 1998 release No Time To Chill featured Scooter’s biggest hit, How Much Is The Fish. The flute-melody was sampled from the track Zeven Dagen Lang by the Dutch band Bots.

The seconds single off the album, Call Me Manana samples the old L.A. Style-track James Brown Is Dead.

The sixth album, Back To The Heavyweight Jam (the title is influented by The KLF’s track Last Train To Transcentral) was released in 1999 and the first single off the album, Faster Harder Scooter did really well chart-wise and peaked at no 3 in Sweden and no 2 in Finland.

The second single, Fuck The Millennium (another KLF-reference as The KLF released a single as 2K called Fuck The Millennium) and did almost as well, peaked at no 4 in Sweden and no 3 in Finland. The single sold Gold in Sweden with over 20.000 units.

Their 7th album, the 2000 release Sheffield contained the hit single I’m Your Pusher.

In the track, H.P. calls himself Dave From Sheffield. Why Dave and Sheffield, nobody knows. Rumor has it that he was once interviewed by a guy who greeted H.P. As ”Hi, i’m Dave. Dave From Sheffield” but who knows why and what influented them.

Worth noticing is that this album was the first of many released on the label Sheffield Tunes which is a sublabel to Kontor Records and founded by Scooter.

Their second single, She’s The Sun is a slow track. The drumloop is sampled from an old Led Zeppelin-track called When The Levee Breaks.

Scooter actually got an award for Most Successful Dance Act at the 2000 Viva Comet Awards which IMHO is a big leap for bands like this. It’s not often that you see a group like this get an award as their music isn’t exactly radiomusic.

The single Posse (I Need You On The Floor) was the first track off the 2001 album We Bring The Noise. You can clearly hear the KLF-influences with the main sample taken from the KLF’s hit What Time Is Love. Also, parts of the vocals are taken from the track Human Resource – Dominator.

The next single, Aiii Shot The DJ was a pretty good track but it was with the next single Ramp (The Logical Song) that they saw chart-success again.

Ramp peaked at no 2 in the UK where it sold Gold with over 400.000 copies. The track was featured on the best of-album, Push The Beat For This Jam (The Singles 94-02) which was 19 of the best tracks so far and included 3 new tracks. Ramp was a remake of Supertramp’s 1979 track The Logical Song

In 2002, Alex Coon quit the band to pursue his DJ career and Jay Frog took his place.
The first track released with Jay Frog in the band was Nessaja. The track was influented by a track from German Peter Maffay called Tabaluga. The track did really well and peaked at no 1 in the German chart and sold gold with over 250.000 units and did really well in most european countries.

The followup, Weekend uses the main sample from Push – Strange World. There’s also a reference to The KLF with the line ”Respect the man in the ice cream van” The track did really well chart-wise and peaked at no 2 in the German chart and did top no 10 in many european countries. Worth noticing is the topless dancers in the video

Weekend was also the first track off Scooter’s 9th studio album, The Stadium Techno Experience.

Second single, The Night was the last who featured a high pitched voice sung by Nikk (married to Rick J. Jordan). The track did fairly well and got a top 10 spot in the german chart.

The third single, Maria (I Like It Loud) was a remake from Marc Acardipane’s track I Like It Loud and even uses the same MC (Dick Rules).

A fun fact about track is that during the shoot of the music video, H.P. Met his future wife.

The track did really well and peaked at no 1 in both Austria and Hungary and also reached no 4 in Germany

It was around this time I stoped listening to Scooter, especially after the single Shake That which was more disco-ish. If I hadn’t stoped listening at this time, I surely had stoped later.

After 2006 when Jay Frog left the band and Michael Simon joined they were heavily influented by Jumpstyle which I personally loathe. They did have some success after this though but they had lost me as a follower. I know many more who has said the same thing.

But again, you win some, you loose some as the old saying goes.

I was watching the DVD Scooter Live In Hamburg the other day and I realise that (except for the Jumpstyle-parts) that I really miss the good old Scooter. I only wish I’d have seen them live. For that would be the ultimate Scooter experience.

Billy Idol – Rebel Yell
Marc Cohn – Walking In Memphis
Terminator 2 Theme Song
Bots – Zeven dagen lang
L. A. Style – James Brown Is Dead
KLF – Last Train To Transcentral
2K – Fuck The Millennium
Led Zeppelin – When The Levee Breaks
KLF – What Time Is Love
Human Resource – Dominator
Supertramp – The Logical Song
Peter Maffay – Tabaluga
Push – Strange World
Marshall Masters feat Ultimate MC – I like it loud

Scooter – I’m Your Pusher (Airscape Remix)
Scooter – Faster Harder Scooter (Signum Remix)

Classic FTW: Ratty – Sunrise (Here I Am)

Lämna ett svar

This week’s article is from a sideproject to one of the biggest 90’s-band who influented alot of people to start listen to all kind of dancemusic. The most fun fact is that no one knew who they were when their first single came out and most people couldn’t even guess who it could be. I’m ofcourse talking about Ratty – Sunrise (Here I Am). (buy on Itunes)

Lyrics:

On the floating, shapeless oceans
I did all my best to smile
til your singing eyes and fingers
drew me loving into your eyes.

And you sang ”Sail to me, sail to me;
Let me enfold you.”

Here I am, here I am waiting to hold you.

Goosebump-points:

00:33 when that hypnotic bassline comes in.
01:00 when that synth comes in.
01:54 when the breakdown starts and the lyrics come in.
02:31 when the chorus comes in.
03:00 when the main synth comes in.
04:21 in the beginning of the second breakdown.
05:21 when the chorus repeats again.

Ratty has a quite odd background. Although created by the men behind the german Techno-band Scooter, they themselves never revealed who they were. On all promotional pictures, there were 3 persons dressed up as three big rats.

To confuse the record buyers more, the track were credited to Dave ”Bass” Parker, Slivo, Ed Harris and Finn Reder who in reality is Axel Broszeit, Hans Peter Geerdes, Hendrik Stedler & Jens Thele.

It was actually not Ratty in those costumes but 3 guys called Janse, Jean and Martin.
A fun fact is that Martin is Axel Broszeit’s older brother.

But let’s start from the beginning.

On February 5th 2001, the single Sunrise (Here I Am) suddenly appeared in music stores all over Germany and soon after, the track was released in Canada, England and USA. The track got alot of attention already from the beginning and there were some confusion to who could have done it.

”We just wanted to do something completely different that didn’t have the name Scooter on it,”- said Rick Jordan and Axel Coon ,” and it worked”

The original video to the track is pretty cool. Instead of rats running around a maze, there are humans running around in the maze, trying to find the exit and they are observed by big rats.

The vocals in the track comes from a track called Song To The Siren by the band This Mortal Coil and the vocalist on the track is none other than Elisabeth Fraser (from the band Cocteau Twins). The original track was released back in 1983.

The same vocals also appears in Lost Witness – Did I Dream (Song To The Siren) which was released in 2002.

Ratty tried to release a followup to the popular Sunrise-track but the track, Living On Video (a remake of the spanish band Trans-X’s track with the same name) but it never became that success that they needed. The track was released on vinyl only and it was about to go to be pressed on CD-maxi but the label stoped it.

It was first after the project was cancelled that Scooters manager, Jens Thele started talking about Ratty and who was behind it.

A cool fact is that even long before the Ratty-project started, you could hear Scooter mentioning them in some of their tracks.

On the 1998 album. No Time To Chill, there was a song called Expecting More From Ratty. Also, .Ratty was mentioned in the song Psycho (excerpt from the lyrics: …inspired by those people like Ratty…) and on the single She’s The Sun, there was also the b-side which was called Sunrise (Ratty’s Inferno), which is also a remix of Ratty’s Sunrise (Here I Am).

Ratty also did some remixes:

Marc Et Claude – Loving You (Ratty Remix)
Gouryella – Tenshi (Ratty Remix)
Starsplash – Wonderful Days (Ratty Remix)
Fragma – Are You Alive? (Ratty Remix)
ATB – Hold You (Ratty Mix)
Ron Van Den Breuken – Keep On Movin’ (Timeless) (Ratty Dub Mix)

So to sum it up, it’s not that often that a band/group/project get so much attention after just releasing one track. People usually call this a One Track Wonder but I’d have to say that even though they are right, it feels like the Ratty-project is too good to fit that group.

For me, the track is a true classic and I remember the joy I felt when I finally found the CD-maxi in my local record shop. I even got my rock-buddy to buy a copy!

I guess that the track, although more than 10 years old would still fit todays trance-goers taste in music, especially with that hard riff after the breakdown. For me, it will always be remembered as one of the best tracks in the world.

Classic FTW: Binary Finary – 1999 (Gouryella Remix)

Lämna ett svar

It’s hard to talk about trance classic and don’t mention this next track. It was one of those track that got re-released tons of times and is still getting new versions today. The track i’ve selected for this week’s article is Binary Finary – 1998 (Gouryella Remix). (buy on Itunes)

Goosebump moments:

00:41 when that fabulous Gouryella-bassline kicks in
01:09 when more of the melody comes in.
01:51 when the full melody kicks in.
02:47 when the lead comes into the breakdown.
03:01 when the strings come in.
03:27 when the lead goes up in tone.
04:24 when the full melody starts up again.

Australian born Matt Laws, Stuart Matheson started producing tracks in 1997. They were later joined by Sasha Vatoff who is their live-dj who tours the world.

The first version of 1998 actually came out in 1997 on a 2-track EP called 1998 / Zapya on UK label Aquarius

The track was later picked up by most major labels and remixed by many of the big names in the trance community.

In fact, 1998 was the first trance track that made it into the UK top 30. The 1998-version got as high as 24 whereas the 1999 version peaked at no 11.

The 1998-release got official remixes by Paul Van Dyk, Matt Darey & Dave Ralph, the 1999-release got remixed by Marc Et Claude, Kaycee & Gouryella and the 2000-release was remixed by Dumonde.

Of the lot, i’d have to say that I really love the original although it feels abit too fast for me. The first version I ever heard was the Paul Van Dyk-version which is more spot on what I liked at the time. It has those signature Paul Van Dyk drums and overall Paul Van Dyk-sound.

The version I fell in love with though was the Gouryella-version, but again, I’ve always been a big Ferry Corsten-fan and together with Tiesto, he made such beautiful tracks. That thumping baseline, that signature snaredrum, those melodies. It almost gives me a hardon just thinking about those tracks, too bad Gouryella isn’t around anymore.

I also like the Dumonde-remix as it has that harder Dumonde-edge to it.

On the Positiva-release of 1998/1999 (released in 2003), you can also find a Ronski Speed-remix of 1998 which was never release as a single.

Armada Digital later re-released it in 2010 with fresh remixes by Alex M.O.R.P.H., Tydi & Dennis Sheperd, Vadim Soloviev, Dabruck & Klein, Vegas Baby! and Kaimo K.

Since the release of 1998, there hasn’t been that many releases from Binary Finary. I guess that it was pretty hard to pick up producing after such success with the first single.

The 2001 release, Niterider is a pretty decent track. Feels more like goatrance than ordinary trance.

Together with Jose Amnesia, Binary Finary released Cloudbreak – Difference. A complex but still sweet track.

Binary Finary released their only album in 2006, called The Lost Tracks which contains 16 tracks that they’ve written since 1998, released on Armada Digital.

Lately, Binary Finary has been quite busy and released some 7 tracks since 2011. Most of them are collaborations with artists like Daniel Wanrooy, Rodrigo Deem, Matthew Nagle, Trent McDermott and Genix.

When you listen through the new material, you can easily hear that they have gone for a more modern style in trance. My guess is that most of the collaborations were made to find new inspirations on which way expand their music.

Next track to be released is Binary Finary & Vegas Baby! – Folded & Molded which you can hear a preview of here.

They have also been touring alot this year all over the world. I was supposed to see them perform this June but their gig got cancelled.

So to sum it up. Binary Finary has been around for quite some time. Although it’s been pretty quiet from them up to last year, they have still been busy producing and touring.

Their signature track, 1998 will forever be known as one of trance music first big hits and will hopefully live on forever as the record companies will keep on remixing the track for a fresh new audience.
Or atleast I hope so.

Classic FTW: Mirco De Govia – Voller Sterne (Super 8 Remix)

1 svar

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94wxYsv6VA0&w=680&h=383]

This week’s article is about a producer that has been pretty quiet the last few years. I discussed it with some friends and everyone said the same thing. Where has Mirco De Govia gone? So I decided to listen thru some of his stuff and landed on a true classic: Mirco De Govia – Voller Sterne (Super8 Remix). (Buy on Itunes)

Goosebump moments:

00:26 when you hear the hypnotic bassline fade in slowly and builds for another 40 seconds
02:32 when the second breakdown comes in.
02:59 when the music comes to an halt.
03:13 when the strings come in
03:41 when the synthstabs come in
04:23 when the full music starts again
05:19 when the guitar kicks in

German born Mirko Zettl started producing trance and techno back in 1991 but his first own release came in 1994 under his alias Mirco De Govia with the EP Romantic EP. After the release, Mirco took some time off to study computer science On on the release, there is a remix by his good friend Ralph Kyau (from Kyau & Albert).

When Ralph Kyau and Steven Moebius Albert started their record label, Euphonic in 1997, Mirco decided to start producing again.

His first release on Euphonic came in 1998 with the track Firebird which was featured Euphonic Compilation – We Come In Peace.

The first own single on Euphonic was Clubspring Meets Mindspring, a 2-track EP, both tracks are wellproduced tb303-monsters but I prefer Mindspring as it’s more in my taste.

The second single, Epic Monolith (co-produced with Ronski Speed) follows the earlier singles recept with a major tb303-bassline and a complex buildup. The piano in the breakdown makes this an complete epic trancer. Epic Monolith was later signed to Alex Gold’s label, Xtravaganza.

Things That Matter (co-produced by Ronski Speed) follows the earlier recipy and is a really epic trancer. Love the lead-instrument in the track.

Mirco’s first album, Chronoscale came out in 2003 and contained 2 cd’s. The first CD contained original tracks and the second CD contained Mirco’s remixes of other artists tracks. The album was co-produced by Kyau & Albert and Ronski Speed.

The featured track, Voller Sterne came out in 2004. It keeps that complex buildup from his previous tracks with a hypnotic bassline and warm pads.That breakdown is to die for. The album version is somewhat of a Chicane-ripoff with that balearic feeling and breakbeat drums. I prefer the Super8 Remix as its more driving but still keeps the warmth of Mirco’s original track.

Asarja was another collaboration with Ronski Speed. They each made a version of the track. Mirco’s version has a strong buildup, a balearic breakdown with piano and still that complexity over it. Ronski’s version is abit harder, it still keeps that balearic feeling in the breakdown and even has wave-sounds in it.

The 2008 album, Iconic Path was an all new album and contained loads of gems like Vital Spark and Evolution Part II along with 11 other well-produced tracks. All tracks were produced by himself and mastered by Rough Mullar a.k.a. Sonorous.

The last release we saw from Mirco was the 2011 track, Sleeping Beauty. While the album version is somewhat of a chillout-track, the Ronski Speed-remix is a techy monster. Love the piano in the breakdown.

Over the years, Mirco has also remixed track by Above & Beyond vs. Andy Moor,
Super8, Kyau & Albert, Sonorous, Sun Decade, Ralphie B & Lasgo with good success.

Although Mirco hasn’t quit producing yet, many of my friends asked if he quit the business as there has been quite quiet from him. I hope Mirco will keep producing for a few more years as I believe he still has some tracks in him before he retires.

His formula for producing still works, his tracks complexity is really awesome and the depth in his productions will still be modern for another decade. I love his use of the TB303-synth which was more frequent on his earlier releases.
I hope to hear some new tracks from him soon. If not, his old productions will live on forever.

www.bejbi.se – A webzine about electronic music

Who's your bejbi tonight?

Kategoriarkiv: Niklas

Classic FTW: Mike Foyle – Love Theme Dusk

Classic FTW: Watergate – Heart Of Asia

Classic FTW: Tenth Planet – Ghosts (Vincent De Moor Remix)

Classic FTW: Armin Van Buuren & Susana – Shivers

Classic FTW: Energy 52 – Cafe Del Mar (Three ’N One Remix)

Classic FTW: Scooter – How Much Is The Fish

Classic FTW: Ratty – Sunrise (Here I Am)

Classic FTW: Binary Finary – 1999 (Gouryella Remix)

Classic FTW: Mirco De Govia – Voller Sterne (Super 8 Remix)