Classic FTW: Three Drives On A Vinyl – Greece 2000

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cXMnZ2vrx8&w=680&h=510]

When people think of classic tracks, especially tranceclassics, I guess this next tracks comes to mind in a few cases. When released back in 1997 I guess noone knew how big this track would eventually become. With several re-releases over the years and licensing to more than a dozen labels, this is truly a classic! I´m ofcourse talking about Three Drives On A VinylGreece 2000. (buy on Itunes)

Dutch born Erik De Koning (a.k.a. Enrico) and Ton van Empel (a.k.a. Ton T.B.) both have tonnes of various aliases on their own and some 14 aliases together. This article will only focus on their Three Drives-alias though.

The name Three Drives On A Vinyl came from the fact that both of them could play on 3 decks at the same time. However, there was a mixup with the record production staff early on in their career so many releases were licensed as ”Greece 2000 – Three Drives On A Vinyl” as they couldn’t imagine a group calling themselves with that name. Many record labels also shortened the Three with a 3. Eventually, they shortened their name to only Three Drives.

Greece 2000 was originally released on the Massive Drive Recordings label (Owned at the time by their good friend Mark Van Dale and later to be run by Ton Van Empel). It was released in most countries as a single with a few different remixes but in Germany and The Netherlands it was first released as an EP with Greece 2000 as the A-side track while Not Overdrive and Piano Freq on the B-side and later released as an own single. The track eventually peaked at no 44 in the UK Charts.

The year after, Greece 2000 (The Remixes) peaked at no 12 in the UK Charts.

Greece 2000 is one of those tracks that you recognize instantly and gives you goosebumps. I remember first hearing it sometime in 1998 and didn’t think much of it then. But it eventually grew on me and is today IMHO one of the best pre-2000 anthems ever. It just gives me a special warm feeling and almost teary eyes.

The followup 1999 single, Turkey 2000 did fairly well and came with a pretty good remix-pack by Southside Spinners, Atlantic Ocean and Jaydee just to name a few. There was also a white label with a remix called Taskforce ”Greece” Mix which uses the original sound of Greece 2000 with the new track.

The same year also saw Three Drives debut album, 2000 which contains Greece 2000, Turkey 2000, Italy 2000, France 2000, UK 2000, Germany 2000 and USA 2000 just to name a few.

1999 also saw the release of Superfunk, an EP with Superfunk, Europa 2000 and A Very Good Day.
Both Superfunk and A Very Good Day shows some new influences. While Superfunk samples some funky track, A Very Good Day sounds more balearic/spanish.

The next big success, the 2000-track Sunset On Ibiza was another chartclimber and peaked at no 44 in the UK Charts. The remix-pack included versions by Yves De Ruyter, Above & Beyond, Sonorous and Sirius There was even a vocal-version released. The track was hyped by Judge Jules who played the white label 5 weeks in a row on his Radio 1 show.

A fun fact is that many releases has the Sonorous version on it but mislabeled as the Above & Beyond Remix due to the fact that they have the same length.

The 2002 single, Carrera 2 was another chart-climber which peaked at no 57 in the UK Charts. It came with a remix-package with version from Gabriel & Dresden, Roger Shah & Pedro Del Mar, Nu-Nrg & DJ Montana.

Three Drives’s second album, Melodies From The Universe came out in 2003 and contained 2 Cds. The first one was original mixes of their tracks wereas CD2 were remixes of their tracks.

2003 also saw the first of many re-releases of Greece 2000, this time with a massive G&M Remix.

The 2004 release, Air Traffic was another chart-hit and peaked at no 75 in the UK Chart. Air Traffic came with a pretty huge remix-pack by Cor Fijneman, Montana and Bobina just to name a few, and eventually a vocal version with singer Julie Morrison.

Signs From The Universe was released the same year and has a massive TB-303 bassline in it. It’s a pretty decent track.

Greece 2000 was re-released in 2005 with remixes by Marcel Woods, Mark Norman and DJ Chus just to name a few. It was also re-released in 2007 with remixes by Plastic Angel, Leama & James Davis and Koishii & Hush just to name a few. The 2008-version contained remixes by Daniel Portman & Chris Reece. The last re-released was in 2010 with remies by Sander Van Dien, Mycel & Lush 7 just to name a few.

Together, released in 2008 was an EP with the tracks Together and Feel The Rhythm.

Their last new release, Automatic City from 2009 contained remixes by Orjan Nilsen and Fast Distance.

The last we saw from Three Drives was another re-release of Greece 2000, this time with vocals and called Letting You Go. Originally remixed by Dabruck & Klein for an Armada compilation album called Hands On Armada vol 2 and later remixed by Armada residents Roger Shah and Markus Schulz. The 2012 release got the 1997 vibe but still sounds fresh, even after 15 magnificent years.

Three Drives has accomplished some big tracks over the years, especially Greece 2000, Carrera 2. Sunset On Ibiza and Air Traffic. They have played their tracks all over the world and most major DJ’s still play their tracks every now and then. Their latest releases sounds fresh but still keeps that classic Greece-sound.

Ton T.B. Is still active, both as a producer and DJ so I hope to hear him perform a classics-set soon.

Related tracks:

Three Drives – Greece 2000 (Miro Vocal Mix)
Three Drives – Turkey 2000 (Original Mix)
Three Drives – Turkey 2000 (Taskforce ’Greece’ Mix)
Three Drives – Carrera 2 (NU NRG Remix)
Three Drives – Sunset On Ibiza (Above & Beyond Mix)
Three Drives – Air Traffic (Extended Vocal Mix)
Three Drives – Air Traffic (Bobina Remix)
Three Drives – Letting You Go (Greece 2000) (Dabruck & Klein Vocal Remix)
Three Drives – Letting You Go (Greece 2000) (Markus Schulz Big Room Remix)

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