News: Pre-Podgressive – Behind The Scenes EP037

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The year of 2012 is about to end. It’s December and it seems to be a white christmas for us here in Stockholm. It all started a couple a weeks ago with really cold temperatures and as you can see on the cover picture taken towards Riddarfjärden and with our city house, it’s not a snowstorm over the water. It’s fog because of the big temperature changes between air and water. We had -10c to -15c that morning. It has been snowing quite some since then and there has been some difficulties with cars that has jammed here and there but overall, it’s beautiful now! I would like to give some credits to my friend Carl Efvergren for the great picture taken from his office that morning. He is btw the lad behind the guitar on mine and Millaways two tunes that we made, Millaway & Tatsumi Suzuki ft. Carl Efvergren – Lynchburg Lemonade and Empire Of The Sun – We Are The People. Check them out and if you would like to have a copy of them, let me know!

Podgressive EP037 – The Yearmixes

As the most of you know. When Podgressive started, the colaboration with Bejbi.se wasn’t started yet. I got this podcasting idea with my friend, Kambiz. We have been playing alongside for several years and we wanted to try this out. So, in January 2010 we launched our first episode. The first six months had lot’s of beginner-fails. Either our voice-overs were too loud, way too low and our self-confidence as ”radio-speakers” were not that high. After a while it all started to sound pretty well. However, the year went by and so did we with the show. Kambiz hopped off the project and I kept on with the show. But, his help on the first year has been crucial for the future of Podgressive. We have and will as in every December have a yearmix put together from each of us.

I have been working on my set with Ableton for a while and I’m truly impressed by all the great artists that puts together a yearmix every year. It takes time and a lot of knowledge to mash the tracks up and at the same time still have the right build through the entire set. In writing moment, the set is about 60min and with a little more than 30 tracks. I think the final result will land on 75 minutes and about 40 tunes. Hopefully the result will be in your taste!

The Year 2012

This year has been really intresting. A year when Podgressive got a bit more serious. Much thank’s to Patric and his ideas and help and of course our great artists and the fact that we see more and more subscribers and feedback. That is something that makes you keep on with this. We would like to thank WEZZ DEVALL, MARCUS SCHOSSOW, CONCHA, MICHAEL CASSETTE, KIMONO, AMEX, KOLIZZ, AUSTIN LEEDS, MATT STELLAR, JOHAN MALMGREN, AYDA, EMRAH CELIK, ORKIDEA, WALD, JOHAN VILBORG, AMAR.S, KAMBIZ, TECHNOPHOBIA, CONTACT, VAN DRESEN, MARCUS STORK, SKYRACER, ZACHARIAS TIEMPO and SANDE for your great dj-sets, they have been appreciated!

TOP10 – December 2012

It’s time for the last toplist for the year of 2012. Some released, some not, some new and some not. Theese songs has made my month!

1. Emma Hewitt, please marry me! This tune has the perfect balance. A modern electro, progressive, vocal track that has made my month!
David Jones – Rhythm Alive (Federico Scavo Remix)
Delerium ft. Michael Logen – Days Turn Into Nights (Solarstone Pure Mix)
Aly & Fila vs. Bjorn Akesson – Sand Theme (Chris Schweizer Remix)
W&W – Lift off! (Original Mix)
Jaytech – Multiverse (Audien Remix)
Mark Reeve – Phobia
Airbase – Uppercut
Solarstone vs Scott Bond – 3rd earth (Heartbeat Remix)
Gareth Emery & Ashley Wallbridge – D.U.I

Classic FTW: Watergate – Heart Of Asia

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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)

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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.

Pictures: MondayBar Hellfire Weekend

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Proteus held his clubconcept Hellfire together with Mondaybar at Kolingsborg in Stockholm. Sidekick and fellow crazyman was Mark EG and Fredrik Grass got the crowd moving.

MondayBar Hellfire Weekend, Kolingsborg, Stockholm, Sweden, 2012-12-01
Pictures: 46

Classic FTW: Armin Van Buuren & Susana – Shivers

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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)

Podcast: #Podgressive EP036

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It’s Friday again and it’s soon payday for the most of us.
Podgressive EP036 is released and it’s a episode full of talanted guests and filled with the best dance music the world has to offer at this moment. First up is the very talanted artist Michael Cassette. His sound has made us impressed for several years and it’s nice to have him with us! Next up is Orkidea. He has been up on the very top of the nordic dance scene for more than a decade and his uplifting and melodic sound will hopefully squeeze the juice of this show! As for the resident dj Tatsumi Suzuki, he have a little more melodic and a bit faster mix for this month. We think this will suite for all you trance people out there! We have also the winner of last months contest with Analog Sweden and another intresting interview of Millaway by Patric from bejbi.se. Enjoy!

Now, head over to >>Podgressive.com << and listen to the #Podgressive EP036!

Short Interview: Millaway

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We hooked up with the predicted superstar, Millaway, in his studio in Stockholm for a quick interview.

Hi, Millaway, how are you?

I’m fine, thank you.

Are you working on something new that is soon up for release?

Yes, I have a couple of remixes that is already done and just waiting for a release date. I think some of them will be released now in December and the rest in 2013.
I’m actually working on a couple of original tracks for the next year. None of them are really finished yet since I’m working full time I’m having a hard time finishing them right now, but I will get there, eventually!

Tell us about your newly released mix of Christian Rusch’s Numb

Yeah, Future Sound of Sweden and Christian Rusch approached me, actually just a week before the deadline of the remix requests. And when I got the package I really enjoyed the track and I have enjoyed Christian’s productions in the past as well. It was really nice working with the track and I actually finished the track in time as well, one week is actually quite good for being me. It was really fun and I’m really satisfied with the result.

How long does it generally take for you to produce a tune?

It’s really different from time to time. I still have a track I started with back in 2009 and I’m still not finished with it. I’ve reworked it four times and now I have four different versions of it. I still love the melody but it’s not yet the standards I expect from myself.
I think my speed records for a track is three days. But I had to go back to it a week after and correct some minor details of it.

What inspires you the most when you’re composing: people or places?

I think it’s a mixture of both. If I leave the studio for a couple of days just enjoying the environment around me, meeting people, attending clubs usually do it for me. When I get home after a great evening and I’ve heard a really great tune with a massive drop which I like and want to reproduce myself.
I think the environment is the main source of inspiration, you can work a lot easier when you got a feeling after an experience.

Do you remember where you were when you first heard one of your own productions on the radio? How was that feeling?

It was a great feeling. The first time was on a radio station called Digitally Imported, some dj played one of my track, and it was an amazing feeling hearing a live set on a MondayBar Cruise when the dj played it.
I also had a fun experience at a store called Webhallen here in Stockholm where they played one of my tracks in the radio system in the store. I was standing in the queue waiting for the service and of course no one else noticed it, but that was the first time I actually heard it in a store and in an environment I didn’t expect.

What is the most radest support you’ve got up until now?

I think some of the biggest names is still Markus Schulz and Paul Oakendfold. But what means the most for me is actually the support from Rank1. They got me into trance several years ago. I started to listen to another of their alias, Dutch Force, and their famous track Deadline. It got me into trance, I’ve seen them live and several years later they supported my tracks in their radio show which meant truly a lot for me since I still admire them so much, it was quite unbelievable to hear them commenting on my tracks and play it.

Do you aspire to hit the decks someday, or are you pleased with the producing?

Right now I’m pleased with the producing part, cause I want to climb higher before I start DJing more. Several years ago you could actually hit the decks as a DJ and work your way up and then start to produce your own tracks.
Nowadays you have to make really good music before you start to DJ and not the opposite way around.
I’m focusing on my tracks and hopefully it leads me to more time at the decks in the future.

Thank you very much for taking your time to meet us!

Thank you for coming to my studio and visit me, hope you’ll and everyone enjoys the track!
—

Interview and pictures by Patric

A version of this interview and Millaways remix of Christian Rusch’s ”Numb” can be listened to in our podcast, Podgressive ep. 36.
And if you want to know even more about Millaway, check out the mix he did exclusively for bejbi.se back in 2011.

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

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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

Pictures: MondayBar Black Weekend

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MondayBar held one of their now legendary Black Weekend-parties at Kolingsborg. Dj’s Headhunterz, Wasted Penguinz, Stenis and Ezitsuj performed like there were no tomorrow!

MondayBar Black Weekend pres. Headhunterz, Kolingsborg, Stockholm, Sweden, 2012-11-10
Pictures: 56

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News: Pre-Podgressive – Behind The Scenes EP037

Tja tja bloggeeen!

Podgressive EP037 – The Yearmixes

The Year 2012

TOP10 – December 2012

Classic FTW: Watergate – Heart Of Asia

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

Pictures: MondayBar Hellfire Weekend

Classic FTW: Armin Van Buuren & Susana – Shivers

Podcast: #Podgressive EP036

Short Interview: Millaway

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

Pictures: MondayBar Black Weekend