Back catalogue: Uplifting Trance

Review: In celebration of their tenth birthday, Selador marks the occasion in style with a four-track collaborative EP, featuring tracks from 3D, Robert Owens, Olivier Giacomotto, Quivver, Dave Seaman, Hernan Cattaneo, Argia, and Jepe. The opening track, 'Known Love', is a deep, pulasting house tune that feels like an instant classic, perhaps thanks to the soulful, pop-tinged vocals - think LCD soundsystem meets Four Tet. 'Snailblazer', the second track on the EP, takes a much darker turn, with a chugging, EBM-esque feel. Full-bodied and complete with obscured vocals, this is the kind of track to pull out your bag when it's time to really get stuck in. On the B-side, 'Napkin Knowledge' draws on the glistening synths of eurodance, yet still securing the melodies to a grounded bassline and rhythm section. 'Salitre' is the perfect closing track, rising up in a gleaming, ecstatic melody, before delicately returning to ground level. A varied yet firmly cohesive collaborative release - the perfect way for Selador to kick off their 2023 catalogue.

Review: Paul Oakenfold's classic Southern Sun from 2002 gets revisited here at a time when trance music seems to be very much back in fashion from the old-school parties that never went away to the new-school techno kids adding it with trendy twists to their sounds. It is the trance titan Tiesto who steps up first and keeps it deep and emotive on his version. The chords are Balearic and sun-kissed with a hint of melancholy that will surely appeal to DJs and dancers across multiple genres. The Gabriel & Dresden unplugged remix is more driving and hard-hitting, with snappy snares and a train track-like groove that builds up and sweeps you off your feet.

Review: A collaborative project from Ute cornerstones Mikkel Rev and Oprofessionell, Omformer is the twinned result; their latest EP on the label is a cathartic, almost manic exercise in uplifting trance, containing four spiritual trance excursions peeled directly from various former live sets and jam sessions. Faster than most trance and indulging more creative sonics than most, our highlights are 'Point Of No Return' and 'Yengo 3AM', which succeed in far greater immersion than normal while also not sacrificing the most important dynamics.

Review: Originally released in 1990 as the follow-up to Chime, Orbital's 'Omen' EP cemented the duo's reputation for innovation in early electronica. Now freshly remastered for the Orbital LEDs series, this reissue captures the moment they expanded their sonic palette by fusing trance, house and unexpected elements like an ABC sample. Tracks like 'Omen,' 'Open Mind' and '2 Deep' alongside alternate versions 'The Fool' and 'The Tower' showcase their evolving vision with tunes that still bang. Overseen by Phil and Paul Hartnoll, the remaster preserves the EP's original impact with renewed clarity that reaffirms 'Omen' as a pivotal and forward-thinking release in their early catalogue.

Review: Poet, librarian, Mancunian, father, husband, uncle, brother. Mike Garry is many things to many people, but tonight, Matthew, his voices guides our eyes upwards, inviting us to stargaze to one of Orbital's most emotionally resonant and timeless pieces of rave noise. Belfast Revisited would be one way to describe it, taking some of the classic and unmistakable elements of that anthem and turning it into something new. First and foremost freshness comes with the spoken word addition - a thoroughly positive, passionate and amorous declaration of unending love that could feel jarring depending on whether you always felt 'Belfast' was reflective and slightly melancholy, or not. Gone too are the breaks, replaced now by stadium-sized four-to-the-floor turning what was once the end of the night walking home at dawn into something that sounds way more 11PM at the concert.

Review: Multi Culti introduces Orchid's vibrant tribute to Spain's trance era on this album which merges Balearic allure with a rejection of modern techno's commercialism. Orchid, isolated in a psychedelic-deprived nation, yearns for the cultural fusion of sex, power, love, and sweetness found in Spanish-speaking music scenes. Techno Valencia beckons listeners to immerse themselves in a nostalgic journey, evoking the soulful resonance of a bygone musical era. Through exploration of archival sounds, Orchid resurrects the essence of pure musical expression, inviting a return to a time when music was deeply felt-a testament to passion and fun in an age of commercialisation.

Review: 3 track EP by Overlords of the UFO, including 2 previously unreleased tracks and one track released on an earlier EP named Transcendental Overdrive.

All tracks were produced in the late 90's.

This EP continues the trademark retro sci-fi analogue synth vibe of Overlords of the UFO and is the 2nd release by Enlightenment Records.

Review: Future Romance's Collector II release is a futuristic trek into through the realms of melodic trance and techno, featuring four melodic tracks by different distinct artists. Solee's 'Euphoria' takes trance into the future with a smoother, more reserved approach, toning down the over-the-top elements for a refined experience. Paul Angelo & Don Argento's 'Harpe' delves into a deeper style of trance, characterised by snappy percussion and growling basslines, with influences from goa trance. On the flip side, Drumcomplex & Frank Sonic's 'Ultra Hex' offers celestial-sounding techno that builds euphorically. Closing the EP, Off Night's 'Definition' presents the most peak-time trance track, with epic and big-sounding elements. If you are looking for the future of the trance and neo-trance, check this out this EP from the birthplace of the genre.

Review: Celebrated UK producers and DJs O'Flynn and Frazer Ray (who was previously known as Soundbwoy Killah) join forces here for new collaborative album Shimmer on Ninja Tune's Technicolour label. The record pays homage to the UK dance music the pair so loves from speed garage to breaks and hardcore. As such it is a record that takes you to the heart of the dancefloor but also offers a great escape from everyday life with evocative synth soundscapes over compelling beats. As much as there is plenty of physicality here, there is also tenderness of emotion and deftness of design that brings an artful quality to their take on party sounds. Top stuff.

Review: For all the Paul Oakenfold material we tend to burn through, it was only a matter of time before we reached Bunkka. Oakenfold's debut album, it was first released on the little-known Maverick label, but Oakenfold lived up to his patron's name, commenting at the time that - "I hope (my fans) realise that in any forms of music you need to push the boundaries." It's for that reason that Bunkka isn't just a straight-up trance record, instead working in more fashionable elements from styles that were also popular at the time, from big beat to trip-hop, perhaps helping prototype "psybient". Among its many collabs, even writer Hunter S. Thompson is credited on the track 'Nixon's Spirit', reflecting the full pull of Oakenfold's esoteric influences.