Review: Apogee Music's debut vinyl EP premieres this week. Italian melodic techno trio Folual's talent shines through four powerful tracks, accompanied by remixes from Italy's T78 (Autektone) with his pounding dub techno rework of 'Ghosts' and Swedish veteran Tiger Stripes with a peak time rework of 'Scanner'. The vinyl's exceptional sound quality adds to its allure. Don't miss this impressive release by Folual and Apogee. Tracks arranged, recorded, and mixed by Alessandro Bianchi and Luca Antolini at Apogee Music Studio, with production by Folual.
Review: Belarusian producer Four Walls is back - this time around he finds himself on the new Ultraworld Records imprint from DJ Craft. This one kicks off with the lush prog house and silky synth arps of 'Mind Charger' which soon takes you to the stars. 'Metamorphosis' is a more raw-edged and acid-laced techno stomper for peak time action and 'Summer Nights' is a bubbling, elastic tapestry of new age overtones, thudding kicks, and trance-tinged pads. A remix by Toronto-based Pletnev adds another dimension to this club-ready EP.
Review: The history of 'Toca's Miracle' underscores how transformative the mashup era could be. By merging Coco Star's impassioned vocal from 'I Need a Miracle' with Fragma's 'Toca Me', a simple experiment became a phenomenon. This vinyl reissue foregrounds its dramatic tension: the interplay of shimmering synths and the vocal's raw emotional pull still feels electrifying. While the original captured a late-90s wave of clubbing euphoria, its carefully crafted layersian evocative bassline, cascading melody, and dynamic buildihave aged with grace. More than nostalgia, it's a reminder of dance music's power to reinvent itself and connect deeply with listeners.
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: 'Toca' is Fragma's debut trance album from 2001, following the smash success of their Eurotrance single for Positiva, 'Toca's Miracle'. Perhaps best describable as the 'R.I.P. Groove' of the trance era, the track saw to acclaim and much raving (both rave reviews and rave parties) thanks to its proto-Deadmau5y clap layering and sultry vocals by British singer Coco. The milking of the brand inevitably followed, but despite the cynicism that might surround that, this is a beautiful and pure sounding vocal trance LP. Now seeing its first vinyl release (CD was the format for trance back then), 'You Are Alive' and 'Magic' are creatively acidic, cute cuts.
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.
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