månadsarkiv: april 2012

Podcast: Podgressive Episode 29


It’s time, the brand new Podgressive EP029 is here!

So finally the spring has come to town. After what seemed like an endless pit of darkness, the days has become a little longer, the weather a little sweeter and the grass seems to have become green over night. It’s finally here, SPRING 2012!

This means that it’s time for another episode of the greatest podcast in the world: Podgressive!
This time Tatsumi has invited the American DJ Austin Leeds, and the Swedish upcomming supertalent Johan Malmgren to make a show worth listening to!

And what have we done the last month? Me and Tatsumi has been planning for a party here in Stockholm, Podgressive Summer Jam! The venue is Slagthuset and the date is 9/6.
We open the doors at 21.00 with free entrance the first hour, and after that it’s 120 SEK. We close the doors around 3.
The lineup is a wide range of styles, progressive, techtrance, dubstep/dnb and techtechno with the following Dj’s: Tatsumi Suzuki, Kambiz, Amar S, Stalker, Technophobia and Emrah Celik. All our favorites at one club!

The full info will be online in the following weeks, so don’t plan anything that date! :D

Are you ready for some music? Head over to Podgressive.com and download the latest episode!

– Patric

(DON’T FORGET TO GIVE YOUR SUPPORT BY WRITING A COMMENT, SHARE AND LIKE THIS EPISODE. ALSO INTERACT BY USING THE VOTE AND SEND US YOUR SHOUT OUT AND REQUESTS.)

Classic FTW: York – Farewell To The Moon (En Motion Remix)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bxz-8g5ePg&w=680&h=376]

This weeks article is focused on two brothers from Germany. They have both been involved in various projects over the years but the project and the track i’m thinking of is York – Farewell to the Moon (En Motion Remix). (Buy on Itunes)

York is German brothers Jörg and Torsten Stenzel. Both have been active in the music scene since the early 90’s.

Torsten Stenzel started playing the piano at the age of 5 and later turned to church organs where he recieved his organist diploma at the age of 15 when graduating from the prostentant church in Frankfurt. Meanwhile Jörg focused on stringed instruments.

Torstens first step into dancemusic came with the 1990 release Recall IV – Contrast, though he’s not credited as a writer on the track because his partner at the time forgot to mention him because of his lack of knowledge of the music industry.. Only ”mixed by Torsten Stenzel” appeared on the credits.

After becoming A&R for the record label Crash Records, he released N.U.K.E.Nana with partner Zied Jouini. The track went straight to No1 in Italy and No3 in Benelux.

His collaboration with DJ Taucher came in 1993 with the single, Happiness but it wasn’t until the release of the second single, Atlantis that the real rise to fame came.
Later in 1993 he formed his first own underground label, Liquid Records just to be able to release whatever he choose to. It was also at this time he started collaborating with Oliver Lieb with the project, Paragliders.

Except from Oliver Lieb, he also worked with Booka Shade, DJ Tatana, Dj Taucher, Talla 2XLC and DJ Sakin.

In 1995 Torsten bought the rights to Planet Love Records to focus on developing a trancier sound together with Dj Taucher. Their first release on the label, Fantasy was licensed to Sony Dance Pool and later became a top 50-single in the german charts.

Toghether with Dj Taucher, Torsten had remixed over 52 different artists and was named ’worldwide third best remixers’ in 1997 by Raveline magazine. An example was their remix of FaithlessGod Is A DJ, a huge success which topped the charts worldwide.

The project York was born in 1997 with their first single, The Awakening released on Talla2XLC’s label, Suck Me Plasma. The single reached no 11 in the UK chart. What did the track special was that it was the first trance track ever to be released with an electric guitar as a lead instrument. The single sold over 250.000 copies The guitar, played by Jörg has been a key instrument in all York-releases.

The second release, York featuring JamilaJastamba was another guitar-driven track. Though not as successful, it established the York sound. The same year, Torsten collaborated with Sakin Bozkurt a.k.a. DJ Sakin for the project DJ Sakin & Friends. Their first release, Protect Your Mind was a clubversion of a James Horner-track off the Braveheart-soundtrack. The track became an instant success and was played by every major DJ all over the globe. Protect Your Mind hit the No1 spot on the German dancechart and also No3-position on the German music sales chart. It sold Gold, Silver & Platinum in most european countries. The track sold over 700.000 copies worldwide.

The second single from DJ Sakin & Friends, Nomansland did pretty well but not near the success of Protect Your Mind. It landed on No10 in the German charts and No16 in the UK charts.
The track was a rework of the track Vladimir Cosma – David’s Song.
They had a hard time struggling with the success of Protect Your Mind to find so they trashed the project after the album Walk On Fire was released. The Album itself did pretty well in the charts.

The really big breakthough for York came in 1999 with the release of On The Beach, which is a remake of Chris Reas old anthem with the same name. The first vinyl was On The Beach and on the B-side was the track The Reachers Of Civilisation but later the same year there was a real release with alot of remixes. The mix that made the video-edit was the CRW remix (by italian Mauro Picotto amongt others). The single reached no 4 in the UK charts and became a worldwide hit. Chris Rea was amazed that this version had outsold his 1986 original that he pushed for the single and later performed with York at the British Top Of The Pops-show.

At this time, Torsten had moved to Ibiza and established his studio there.

The followup to On The Beach was the 2000 single Fields Of Love together with André Tanneberger a.k.a. ATB who also sings on the track. The track became another huge hit worldwide.

The same year also saw the single Farewell To The Moon (with vocalist Pat Appleton). Farewell To The Moon became another big hit and its also my favourite from York, especially the En Motion-remix by Steve Helstrip which gives me that summery feeling and a driving beat that just makes you wanna dance. The single also features remixes by Watergate and ATB.

2001 saw Yorks first album, Experience and later the single-release of The Reachers Of Civilization. First released as a B-side to On The Beach but now with an awesome remix-pack from Rank 1 and Push. The same year also saw the release of the single Silence which contains a sample from Héroes del Silencios single Entre Dos Tierras. Silence was re-released 2002 with vocals by Alaska and renamed Yesterday (Silence).

In 2004, York released I Need You and later the same year, a collaboration with Roger Shah under the name DJ Shah Meets YorkSunset Road / Dead Drummer. When Roger Shah later released his Sunlounger-singles, White Sand & Aguas Blancas Jörg was featured on Guitar. He was also featured on most of the Sunlounger 2007 album, Another Day On The Terrace

The year after saw the new album, Peace and the single York feat AngelinaIceflowers
.
In 2006 York released their last single, Mercury Rising and later York took a break.

Jörg worked on some productions with Roger Shah and Torsten worked on various projects which included Finnish rock singer Tarja Turunen (from the group Nightwish), Jennifer Paige, All Saints, Nelly Furtado & Joss Stone together with production partner Rick Nowels.

2010 saw the return of York. The first single, DreamMan featuring York – Moonrise On The Beach released on Laurent Veronnez’s label, Green Martian.

In 2011, York moved to Armin Van Buuren’s Armada Music Label and released York feat. Brandon JonesWanna Be Known and in 2012, the release Touched By God saw the light of day. Later in 2012 will see the release of the new album, Islanders

I still think the typical York-sound sounds fresh even today. As long as Jörg plays his typical guitar, you can still hear the distinct York-sound which once made them famous. The future looks bright for them and hopefully they’ll keep their sound for many more years.

Related tracks:

York – The Awakening (Extended Mix)
York featuring Jamila – Jastamba
York – On the Beach (Mauro Picotto’ s CRW Remix)
York – On The Beach (Original Mix)
Atb Featuring York – The Fields Of Love (instrumental)
York – Reachers Of Civilization (Rank 1 Remix)
York – Farewell To The Moon (Watergate Club Mix)
DJ Sakin & Friends – Protect Your Mind (Braveheart)
Moby – Porcelain (Torsten Stenzel Remix)
York – Touched By God (York & Steve’s Vocal Radio Mix)

New Releases: Song for Dotér

Today, April the 24:th, should have been one of the most beautiful person I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet, Patrik ”Dotér” Odén, 30:th birthday.
Unfortunately he tragically left this world, way to soon, in June 21st 2011. Anyone who met him got struck by his aura of pure love.
To honor him, his dear and close friend Mike Shiver wrote a tribute song together with the Swedish composer and singer-songwriter Iris Kjaernersted.

This is from the press release:

That Tuesday, Tuesday the 21st of June 2011, almost a year ago, is forever etched in loving memory of a great, inspiring friend who tragically past away, leaving all of us down here on earth way too early! The colorful Patrik ”Doter” Odén was a truly beloved trance and EDM enthusiast, who soon became a very dear and close friend to Mike.

To honor Patrik, his family and all of his friends, Mike started writing a tribute song together with Swedish composer/singer-songwriter Iris Kjaernested. Once the original acoustic version was ready, it was basically impossible to resist giving the song the clubby touch that was so in-tune with Patrik’s nature and fantastic taste in music.

Now the Club mixes are here and on top of that Swedish upcomer Johan Malmgren and in-house Moldavian star PM Attitude were asked to deliver their takes on ”Song For Doter”. In spirit of this tribute, the lable Captured Music also decided that a part of the sales will be directly donated to a trustworthy cancer foundation!

We all miss you incredibly much, and we hope this tribute will spread color wherever you are!

Head over to Beatport to buy this wonderful tune.

Original Club Vocal mix (Beatport)

Johan Malmgren mix (Beatport)

PM Attitude mix (Beatport)

[spotify:track:4Vj5E22vQPAOJsaBJOpotw]
[spotify:track:4iu0OZnWMLAPb6gOP9DQWg]
[spotify:track:6Tt86jerRGrgIVW1AeMUxl]
[spotify:track:0xmaez4HhS524oq0ZXvquY]
[spotify:track:1toOjQ691056a2WYjxSL11]

We miss you so much, Patrik.

– Patric and all of bejbi.se

New Releases: Stana – Producer Showcase 2012


Stana (Photo by: Daniel Rännare)

The 22 year old Iraqi born, now Swedish resident, Stana has had an remarkable career so far, with over 30 releases on his own and other labels. He started dj:ing at underground parties in Stockholm before his first international gig just outside London in December 2008. Since then he has played at huge festivals and events like Qlimax in The Netherlands, Mysteryland in Chile, Defqon1 in The Netherlands and MondayBar in Sweden and he has toured all over Australia to name a few.

This is his first producer showcase for a while, and we are proud to host this almost one hour of techtrance packed mix!

Tracklist:
01. Stana – Petra [Freefall Records]
02. Stana – Mr Ferrero [Rockstar Records]
03. Stana & Q’Bass – Purple Shit [Tech Maniac Records]
04. Stana – Sonya [Freefall Records]
05. Stana – Poncho [Detox Records]
06. Stana – Amnesia (Stana edit) [Detox Records]
07. Stana – Dude (Activator ”Denim” mix) [The Room Records]
08. Stana – Deluxe [405 Recordings]
09. Stana – Spider [Detox Records]
10. Adaro – No Time To Sleep (Stana’s Tech Maniac Remake) [Scantraxx Records]
11. Stana VS The Killers Vs Marco V – The Awesome Mr Brightside (Skitek Mashup) [CDR]

[powerpress url=”http://www.bejbi.se/mix/Stana-ProducerShowcase-stream.mp3″]

[Download 320kbps]

Want more of Stana? Check out his for more info!

Pictures: MondayBar Pres. Scantraxx 10 years


MondayBar presents Scantraxx 10 years anniversary with a massive lineup: Audiofreq, Wildstylez, Frontliner, The Prophet, Da Syndrome, Barba, Druncore, The Stalker, Funky Tuna, Hypnoid, Sasha F and Kasparov.

MondayBar Scantraxx 10 years, Kolingsborg, Stockholm, Sweden, 20120410
Pictures: 71

Classic FTW: Delerium feat Jaël – After All (Svenson & Gielen Remix)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lckszwixLc&w=680&h=491]

This weekends classic comes from a very odd background. Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, 2 guys from an Canadian EBM-band Front Line Assembly formed a side-project in 1987 to jump on the popular spritual Enigma-wave with angelic voices and munk-chanting but ended up as the trance-remixers favourite band. The track i’m talking about is Delerium feat. JaelAfter All (Svenson & Gielen Remix). (Buy on Itunes)

Lyrics:

She knows the voices in her mind
They tell her
To leave

She’s tired of smiling madly
Until silence becomes very silently
A noise in her mind

After all she has nothing inside
No good to give
No meaning to live
The mist engulfed tonight
Every single star

After all they shared
How could he simply say no
After all they shared
He turned away from her to go
She said she wouldn’t cry
That was really just a lie

She knows the noises in her mind
Nothing’s left but
Screaming silence

After all she feels numbness inside
The feeling’s gone
She’s upside down
The pictures behind her closed eyes
This time you went too far

After all they shared
How could he simply say no
After all they shared
He turned away from her to go
She said she wouldn’t cry
That was really just a lie

After all they shared
How could he simply say no
After all they shared
He turned away from her to go
She said she wouldn’t cry
That was really just a lie

After all she has nothing inside
No good to give
No meaning to live
The mist engulfed tonight
Every single star

After all they shared
How could he simply say no
After all they shared
He turned away from her to go
She said she wouldn’t cry
That was really just a lie

After all they shared
How could he simply say no (simply say no)
After all they shared
He turned away from her to go
She said she wouldn’t cry
That was really just a lie

After all they shared
How could he simply say no (simply say no)
After all they shared
He turned away from her to go
She said she wouldn’t cry
That was really just a lie

After all they shared
How could he simply say no (how could he simply say no)
After all they shared (after all)
He turned away from her to go (he just turned away)
She said she wouldn’t cry
That was really just a lie

Goosebump points:

0:58 when the bassline kicks in
1:27 when the vocals start
1:54 when the vocals change
2:37 when the breakdown starts
2:51 when the chorus starts
3:38 when the chorus comes again and the music builds
5:49 at the second breakdown when the chorus kicks in and the buildup thereafter

Delerium was formed in 1987 by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, and their first release was the 1988 album, Faces, Forms And Illusions. After this, they released a bunch of albums and singles.

The group has always been a duo but the lineup has changed over the years although Bill Leeb has always been the key character. After the release of the album Karma, Rhys Fulber quit the group and Chris Peterson came in. With the album Chimera, Fulber came back and stayed for the rest of the albums.

The big breakthrough came with the 1997 album, Karma which featured the single Silence (with singer Sarah Mclachlan). The single was released in 1998 and later peaked at no1 in the irish chart the year after. The cool thing is that it was the Airscape-remix which recieved the radio airplay.

The single was re-released in 2000 with remixes by Tiësto, Fade and Airscape and did even better in the charts worlwide. Tiesto’s In Search Of Sunrise-remix became one of trance biggest anthems and is still played by most trance-djs worldwide. It is one of those track that most people sing along with when they hear it played in a club. The single has since being re-released in 2004 (with remixes by Above & Beyond), 2006 (with remixes by Filterheadz) and in 2008 (with remixes by Niels van Gogh and Thomas Gold).

Worth noticing is that the Filterheadz-remix is often mislabeled as Trentmoller 2006 remix, which doesn’t excist.

The huge success of Silence ended in most delerium-singles after this being remixed for the dancefloors.

The next single, Heaven’s Earth (with singer Kristy Thirsk), released in 1999 also did well in the charts and was late remixed by Matt Darey in 2000.

2000 also saw the release of the album, Poem.

The followup-single was the 2001 single, Innocente (with singer Leigh Nash from the band Sixpence Non The Richer) which also did well in the charts and peaked at no 3 in the US Dancechart. The remix-package was delivered by Tiesto, Lost Witness, Deep Dish and Mr. Sam.
The official single and video-release was the Lost Witness edit

The year after saw the single Underwater (with singer Rani). Again, the single did well in the charts and peaked at no 9 on the US Dancechart. Underwater came with a remix-package from Rank 1 & Above & Beyond. The official single and video-release is the Above & Beyond edit.

After All (with singer Jaël) came out in 2003 was the first single from the new album, Chimera. The new album focused more on pop-music than the former album. The track also came with a remix-package from Svenson & Gielen and Satoshi Tomiie. The track didn’t do that well in the charts, but did peak at no 9 in the US Dancechart. The official single and video-release was released in 2 versions, one as album version and one as the Svensson & Gielen edit.

The second success from the Chimera-album came with Truly (with singer Nerina Pallot), again did pretty well in the charts and peaked at no 2 in the US Dancechart. The remix-package came with remixes from Infusion and Signum.

The 2007 single Angelicus (with singer Isabel Bayrakdarian) peaked at no1 on the US Dancechart and came with a remix-pack by Andy Moor and Redanka.
It was followed by Lost & Found (with singer Jaël) which peaked at no 4 on the US Dancechart. The remix-package came with a beautiful Blank & Jones-remix). Both tracks were featured on the 2006 album, Nuages du Monde.

The last single from Delerium, Dust In Gravity (with singer Kreesha Turner) was released in 2009 and again peaked at no1 in the US Dancechart. The remix-package was this time delivered by Sultan & Ned Shepard, Nervo and Niels van Gogh vs. Dave Ramone.

IMHO, Deleriums career peaked between 2000-2003, atleast dance-wise. The cool thing with their tracks is that there is always a version that fits your mood. If you’re tired of dancemusic, then put on the albums for some nice ambient chillout. The music and the style of Deleriums original material is timeless and hopefully people will remember them as well as the dancemixes. If not, they will always be remebered for Silence. Because that’s a true classic!

Related tracks:

Delerium feat Sarah Mclachlan – Silence (Tiesto’s In Search Of Sunrise Remix)
Delerium feat Leigh Nash – Innocente (Lost Witness Remix)
Delerium feat Rani – Underwater (Above & Beyond 21st Century Mix)
Delerium feat Nerina Pallot – Truly (Signum Remix)
Delerium feat Rani – Underwater (Rank 1 Remix)
Delerium – Heaven’s Earth (Matt Darey Remix)
Delerium feat. Sarah Mclachlan – Silence (Airscape Remix)
Delerium feat Sarah McLachlan – Silence (Above & Beyond’s 21st Century Remix)

Classic FTW: Signum feat Anita Kelsey – Come Back Again

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW3KNaao8To&w=680&h=376]

This weeks classic track comes from Signum, a duo that has been around for quite some time. They have released some serious gems over the years so it was pretty hard to choose which track to feature but I finally landed om Signum featuring Anita KelseyCome Around Again (Extended Vocal Mix) from 2004. (Buy on Itunes)

Lyrics:

Never planned it this way
Never thought I’d see the end of this
fantastic dream.

See you turn towards me,
place your lips on mine,
just one last kiss,
before you leave.

O there’s something there
in the back of my mind
haunting me,
pulling me down.

Going round on empty,
from the sense you made to me,
o what a fool.
It’s come around again,
I’m falling to the sound of my heart
empty sands.

The feeling’s just the same,
when love is ending,
there is nothing like this pain.
And it’s come around again.

It’s come around again.
It’s come around again.

O no, o no, o no

The feeling’s just the same
O no, o no, o no

There is nothing like this pain,
it’s come around again.
It’s come around again,
I’m falling to the sound of my heart
empty sands.

The feeling’s just the same
when love is ending,
there is nothing like this pain
and it’s come around again.

Goosebump points:
0:55 after the music faded up
1.23 when the main melody kicks in
2:19 when everything starts to fade out
2:47 when the main vocals kick in
3:42 when the chorus starts
4:08 ”and its come around again” and the major breakdown with the guitar
5:06 when the whole track starts up again

Dutch duo Ronald Hagen & Pascal Minnaard started their career as Signum back in 1997 with the EP Adaptor, released on Jinx Records-label (formed in 1993 by Randy Katana and a sub-label to BPM Dance.)

Their big success came with the second single, What Ya Got 4 Me. The club-anthem was first released in 1998 but became an even bigger hit with the UK re-release in 2001.
1998 also saw the classic Signum-remixes of ATB – 9PM (Till I Come) & Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone.

1999 saw two new tracks, both collaborations with Scott Mac. The first, Just Do It was pretty good but the second, Coming On Strong became another huge club hit especially after being featured on the legendary club-movie Kevin & Perry Go Large-soundtrack. Check out that movie and don’t forget to listen to the soundtrack, some really cool gems on it. The same year, Signum remixed the classics like Blank & Jones – After Love & Scooter – Faster, Harder, Scooter.

The EP Solar Level was released in 2000, the same year as the signum-remixes of Crispy – In & Out and The Space Brothers – Shine.

The EP Five Yards / Afterglow and the single First Strike came out in 2001, the latter was a huge club success. I especially recommend the Mark Norman remix released in 2003.

2001 was also the year that Signums dj-career started. Their first ever gig was at the legendary Gatecrasher-club in Sheffield and after this, they have played quite alot of dj-gigs worldwide.

The single Cura me, released in 2002 contains a vocal sample from the celtic singer Ailein Duinn. The angelic vocals fits perfectly with the track and give it another dimension. The same year also saw the collaboration with Randy Katana under the name Signum feat Katana – Third Dimension.

In 2003, Signum signed a contract with Armin Van Buuren´s label, Armada Music and their first release was the EP Push Though / Sunny Changes. Push Through became another floor filler.

The year later, Signim teamed up with vocalist Anita Kelsey for the track Come Around Again. Signum themselves has called it ”the track they’ve always wanted to make”. The stunning vocals made it another big smash hit. The same year also saw the release of The Timelord, another epic trancetrack.

The EP Back @ Ya / In Your Face came out in 2005 and the EP What Ya Got 4 Me 2006 / Supersonic came out the year later. The latter feels more like a mini-album as it contains What Ya Got For Me 2006, Supersonic, Second Wave (Signum Signal 2004 Remake), Come Around Again (DJ Danjo & Rob Styles Remix) and Second Wave (Original Mix)

In 2007, Signum released Harmonic / Cloud City and Syndicate / Hit That Note.

In 2008, Pascal Minnaard decided to move to Norway with his fiance. Both Hagen and Minnaard still work together with the help of internet to make new tracks and put togheter sets for their DJ-performances. The same year they also started their monthly radioshow Xposed on Afterhours.FM. They also had the time to release Distant Signature and Royal Flash / Any Given Moment.

The 2009 releases Addicted and Riddles In The Sand (As Ron Hagen & Pascal M) made a huge impact on the clubbers, especially Riddles In The Sand which captures that warmish summery feeling with the stunning guitar-riff and the slower progressive tempo. The Omnia Remix of Riddles In The Sand was IMHO 2009’s best track.

The track made such a huge impact on the whole trance-scene, especially after being featured on Armin Van Buurens compilation A State of Trance 2009 which got them to later perform at A State of Trance 400. This sudden rise to fame again resulted in the collaboration between Roger Shah & Signum called Healesville Sanctuary, another soon-to-be classic.

2010 saw the release of their first album, For You, and the second collaboration with Roger Shah, called Ancient World. It also saw the release of another vocal track, featuring Kate Louise Smith, called Liberate.

They were followed in 2011 with Shamisan and the stunning vocal track Never Be The Same featuring Julie Thompson. I especially love the Myon & Shane Monster Remix of Never Be The Same. It gives me the chills just thinking about it.

The future looks really bright for Signum. They still sound really fresh, even if they’ve been around for 15 years. Hope to see them on tour near me soon, and hope to hear some of their major classics, for they really do have them!

Related tracks:

Signum feat. Julie Thompson – Never Be The Same (Myon & Shane 54 Monster Mix)
Roger Shah & Signum – Healesville Sanctuary (Roger Shah Mix)
Ron Hagen and Pascal M -Riddles In The Sand (Omnia Remix)
Signum – Supersonic
Signum feat. Katana – Third Dimension
Signum – First Strike (Mark Norman Remix)
Signum – Coming On Strong
Signum – What Ya Got 4 Me
Scooter – Faster harder Scooter (Signum Remix)
Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone (Signum Remix)
ATB – 9 pm (Till I Come) (Signum Remix)
Blank & Jones – After Love (Signum Remix)

Pictures: MondayBar Springbreak Cruise


MondayBar Spring Break Cruise, 20th Anniversary massive party with dj’s such as Ferry Corsten, Eddie halliwell
Judge Jules, Bart Claesen, Markus Schultz, The Thrillseekers, Guseppi Ottaviani, Sied van Riel, Umek, BK, Toneshifters, Riot, Tidy boys, The Pitcher, Kutski, Gammer, Zany, Jowan, Korsakoff, Scott Attrill, Donkey Rollerz, Outblast, Nitrous, Showtek, Anne Savage, Slim Shore, Oliver Lang, Headhunters, Andy Whitby, Miss Dilemma, Per Hammar, Hertz, Klubfiller, Kimono and Outblast and many many more!

MondayBar Spring Break Cruise, Silja Symphony, Stockholm-Helsinki, Sweden-Finland, 20120315
Pictures: 175

Classic for the weekend: Solarstone – Seven Cities (Atlantis Mix)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1j_aOZk-v4&w=680&h=376]

This weeks classic is one of the first real trancetracks that I loved. The atmosphere, the guitarr-riff and the african chant gives me shivers just thinking about it. I’m talking about SolarstoneSeven Cities (Solarstone’s Atlantis Remix). (buy on Itunes)

I remember hearing it on some radioshow back in the days and immediately fell for it. That guitarrsound (or whatever to call it) sets the mood together with the atmospheric strings. Sooo epic!

Goosebump-points:

0:00 when the chant starts
1:38 when the background-string starts
2:36 when the first breakdown starts
2:50 when the guitarr starts to play
4:16 when the drums kick in
4:30 when the chant comes back
4:58 when the drum stops and another breakdown starts
5:41 when the drums starts again

Solarstone started out as a trio with Richard Mowatt, Sam Tierny and Andy Bury back in 1994 but their major break came first with the classic anthem Seven Cities in 1999 on Hooj Choons (owned by Red Jerry). The track became an instant classic and has been re-releases a few times over the years with the latest in 2009. Sam Tierny quit Solarstone in 1997, just before their big breakthrough though.

The first release contained the Atlantis Mix and the V-one Remix (by Airwave).  The 2000 release contained a stompin’ Michael Woods Remix but the most famous remix by Armin Van Buuren came first in 2002.

The chant in the track comes from the track Tintinnabulum by Adiemus. If you listen to Seven Cities in swedish, it sounds like ”hej, vi packar bajs” which roughly translates to ”hey, we’re stuffing poop”. Rumour has it that the guitarr-riff is picked from an Australian 80´s band called Kids In The Kitchen and their song Change In Mood.

Seven Cities was a major chart-success all over europe and made it to the top 40 in several countries.

A cool fact is that the V-One Remix is said to be the last track Paul Oakenfold ever played during his residency at Cream. Talk about going out with a bang!

Since the release of Seven Cities we’ve seen loads of gems from Solarstone.

Seven Cities was followed up with the single Speak in Sympathy (with vocals from Elizabeth Fields) in 2001.

2002 was the year of the epic EP Solarcoaster / Green Light.

The spoken lyrics in Solarcoaster is by Patricia Arquette and sampled from the Quentin Tarrantino-movie True Romance from 1993.

Lyrics:

I look back and I’m amazed
That my thoughts were so clear and true;
That three words went through my mind endlessly,
Repeating themselves like a broken record…
You’re so cool
You’re so cool
You’re So cool

Solarcoaster became a huuge hit and was released as an own single the year later with remixes from
Greg Murray, Steve Murano and Midway.

I love the original but the Midway remix lifts the track to a completely new level, especially with the spoken lyrics exactly before the big breakdown. It gives me chills just thinking about it.

Solarcoaster was followed by 3 singles together with Scott Bond.
3rd Earth, Naked Angel and Red Line Highway, all released in 2004 and as Scott Bond vs. Solarstone.

In 2005, Richard Mowatt started his own sublabel, Solaris Recordings, a sister to the legendary record label Lost Language and from now on all his releases came out on this label.

The first track on the new label was Eastern Sea in 2005. and came with remixes by First State, Martin Roth and M.O.R.P.H. vs Scirocco Mix just to name a few. The track did fairly well on the dancefloors.

Solarstone – AnthologyOne, the first studio album came out in 2006 and was a Greatest Hits-album and contained all the classics so far. This was also the year that Andy Bury droped off so now it was only Richard Mowatt left.

The same year the single Like A Waterfall was released and featured Jes on vocals. I just love Solarstone’s Deeper Sunrise Version, it’s a pity that it isnt available on Youtube though.

2007 saw the re-release of 1997 single ,The Calling (with Kimberley Marsh on vocals) with new mixes by Orkidea and Jonas Steur. Both remixes are really good but I prefer the Orkidea Piano Mix.

The single, Late Summer Fields (together with Alucard) came out the same year. A cool fact is that the vocals are actually sung by Richard Mowatt himself. The track was re-released in 2009 with an additional remix by Ferry Corsten.

The followup-single was Rain Stars Eternal which came with an epic Agnelli & Nelson remix. The same year saw the release of Solarstones second album with the same title. The album also featured the singles 4ever, Spectrum and Part Of Me (with vocals by Elizabeth Fields).
The Album was followed by the remix album, clevery called Rsemix with great remixes by Probspot, Ferry Corsten and Forerunners just to name a few.

2010 saw the release of the third album, Touchstone and the single with the same name. The single is abit back to basic with major guitarr-riffs like back in the old days. Listen to the Aly & Fila remix, it’s gonna be a huge classic in a couple of years.

The same year also saw the collaboration between Solarstone and Orkidea with the track Slowmotion, and also the single Electric Love (with singer Bill McGruddy).

The singles were followed in 2012 by a new remix-album simply called Touchstone Remixed with remixes by Vadim Zhukov, Tucandeo and Dennis Sheperd just to name a few.

Solarstone has also found the time to remix some classics back in the days. How about these?

Energy 52 – ”Café Del Mar” (Solarstone Remix)
Matt Darey – ”From Russia With Love” (Solarstone’s Red City Mix, Solarstone’s Deep Blue Mix)
Chakra – Home (Solarstone Remix)
Ferry Corsten – Gabriella’s Sky (Solarstone Remix)
Space Manoeuvres – ”Stage One” (Solarstone Remix)
Ferry Corsten (also known as Moonman) – ”Galaxia” (Solarstone Remix)
Planet Perfecto – ”Bullet in the Gun 2000” (Solarstone Remix)
Cygnus X – The Orange Theme (Solarstone Remix)
Paul Oakenfold – ”Southern Sun” (Solarstone’s Afterhours Remix)
Conjure One – ”Center of the Sun” (Solarstone’s Chilled Out Remix)
Filo and Peri pres. Whirlpool – ”Under the Sun” (Solarstone Remix)
Sarah McLachlan – ”World on Fire” (Solarstone’s Afterhours Remix)

Richard was also a part of Young Parisians (together with Andy Bury) who did the 2005 anthem Jump The Next Train.

My feeling is that Solarstone will be around for another decade. As long as he keeps that special touch on the tracks, the success of his old and new tracks will live on forever.

Related tracks:

Solarstone – Solarcoaster (Midway Remix)
Solarstone & Jes – Like A Waterfall
Young Parisians feat. Ben Lost – Jump The Next Train (Kyau vs Albert Remix)
Moonman – Galaxia (Solarstone Remix)
Sarah McLachlan – World On Fire (Solarstone’s Remix)
Planet Perfecto – Bullet In The Gun 2000 (Solar Stone Remix)
Matt Darey pres DSP – From Russia With Love ( Solarstone’s Red City Remix )
Solarstone – Late Summer Fields (Deeper Sunrise Mix)