Guest Reviewer Alex Wright ahead of his monthly radio show Trance Encounters that is streamed every first Friday of the month on 1mix radio presents his top 5 anthems for March 2016. He describes in his own words why these tracks have attracted his attention as professionally educated music producer and most importantly trance fan. Enjoy reading them and put in your dairy to listen his radio show.
Gerome Feat. Cassandra Grey - Black Bird (Vocal Mix) [Elliptical Sun Energies]
Bringing blissed-out, dreamy trance back to where it belongs at Elliptical Sun Energies is Lebanese producer / DJ Gerome along with the excellent vocalist Cassandra Grey. This one takes me back to the early Anjunabeats days circa 2004 with the old Smith & Pledger sound, mainly due to the excellent atmosphere, and the rolling basslines that percussively build the foundation of the tune amongst quite a soft yet powerful kick drum. Beautiful piano touches are sprinkled above a hypnotic arpeggio line before hitting the breakdown where the percussion fades away leaving the sound of black birds tweeting on top of gorgeous warm pads. Then Cassandra's unique and captivating vocal enters in this main mix from the package, creating the theme for the song which serves as a strong moemorable hook with great shelf life in my opinion. As a lot of vocal trance can be a bit too over the top and sentimental, this track juts hits the right spot for my taste. Expect more vocal work to come from Gerome in the near future!
Connect with Elliptical Sun Energies:
Facebook: http://bit.ly/ESE-FB
SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/ESE-SC
Twitter: http://bit.ly/ESE-TW
Connect with Gerome:
http://www.facebook.com/GeromeMusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/GeromeMusic
Connect with Cassandra Grey:
http://www.facebook.com/cassandragrey
http://www.twitter.com/cassandra__grey
Connect with Gelardi:
http://www.facebook.com/GelardiOfficial
http://www.soundcloud.com/Gelardi
Mike Sanders - Right Hemisphere (Extended Mix) [Always Alive Recordings]
Mike Sanders is from Spain and is on something of a roll with his productions as of late. He first caught my attention at the turn of this year with his excellent driving remix of Pearson & Hirst's Your Embrace, and with this track released on Daniel Kandi's Always Alive Recordings he further enhances the hard edge characteristic of his sound with a more thumping kick and a powerful roller of a bassline in the intro before reaching a nice melodic breakdown with a simple yet sweet pluck melody. Nice piano melodic touches bounce along the top of the main melody line as it opens up into a wider detuned saw sound, then big punchy snares build up into the climax section which is big, powerful, and graceful just like how I like my trance.
Additional info:
¡ Connect with Mike Sanders:
http://twitter.com/itsmikesanders
http://facebook.com/mikesandersofficial
http://soundcloud.com/mike_sanders
¡ Connect with Always Alive Recordings:
Web: http://alwaysaliverecordings.com
Spotify: http://enhan.co/AlwaysAliveSpotify
Beatport: http://enhan.co/AlwayaAliveBeatport
Facebook: http://enhan.co/AlwaysAliveFacebook
Twitter: http://enhan.co/AlwaysAliveTwitter
SoundCloud: http://enhan.co/AlwaysAliveSoundCloud
Quincy Weigert - South Eden (Extended Mix) [Lange Recordings]
Lange Recordings' output isn't usually to my taste, however this release was a pleasant surprise when listening to it and proves why you shouldn't miss out any tracks in your promo pool without listening to them properly! 'South Eden' is a great, brooding progressive trancer with a big fat bubbling bassline that would vibrate the chest cavity pleasantly on a club system. Rolling percussion keeps this track riding along effortlessly while mesmerizing arpeggios weave there way in to the foreground and a square lead pattern takes its place as the main melody part.As a producer, I would comment that the lead itself could sound better if it had more depth and texture to it, however this track works well as a filler track in a set with much harder and melodic stuff in my opinion, running at a modest 135BPM within the middlegrounds tempo-wise.
Additional info:
http://www.langerecordings.com
Raphael Mayers & RageVision - Night Hunters (Jak Aggas Remix) [Beyond Belief Recordings]
Released on Amos & Riot Night's Beyond Belief imprint earlier this month was 'Night Hunters' by Raphael Mayers & RageVision, which boasts a brilliant main melody which has all the anthemic qualities you would want. However, Jak Aggas' mix has been chosen as my favourite, with its great drive and atmosphere in the intro, which builds tension nicely with nervous-sounding counter pluck melodies and a dark chord progression before hitting the misty breakdown. You can almost feel the murkiness in this track as if it should have been released around halloween time! Great effort from Jak on this one, with support from big names such as Sneijder I think he will be a name to watch in the future.
Additional info:
https://www.facebook.com/beyondbeliefrecordings
https://www.facebook.com/RaphaelMayersOfficial
https://www.facebook.com/jakaggasmusic
Stellar Project - Sacred (Tau-Rine Remix) [Mysterious Station]
A relatively new and unknown label that has started sending me tracks, Mysterious Station actually releases some quality stuff like this one, an excellently produced thumper of a remix by Ukrainian producer Tau-Rine of Stellar Project's 'Sacred'. Starting with some excellent punchy drums, buzzing saws, and a nice dose of acid to boot, some great keys play in the break amongst uplifting pads before flipping around into a right squelcher of a drop! Something a bit different to play towards the end of a set, I really rate this retake as it has plenty of energy and would do some serious damage on a dancefloor! Great melodic main section too when things all come together for the final climax.
Additional info:
https://www.facebook.com/MysteriousShow
https://www.facebook.com/stellaproject78
https://www.facebook.com/taurinesound
Latest News about Alex Wright
Release Date (Beatport): 28th March 2016
Release Date (All stores): 11th April 2016
After making his recent ESE debut on remix duties in late 2015, UK talent and label A&R Alex Wright returns with a tech-tinged melodic production full of sophistication and brisk energy.
A raw, percussive saw bass-line sets the foundations alongside synthesized ambience and vocal pads, before a catchy arpeggiated main melody weaves its way in towards the breakdown. A unique progression is then unleashed to support an explosive main riff and excellent supplementary piano part.
Further enhancing the techy elements are hot newcomers Area51, who provide a darker remix featuring an onslaught of rolling bass-lines and pacey rhythms to complement the euphoric elements from the original.
Offering a different techier twist to today's melodic trance sound, we present 'Inbound'.
*Will Holland & Six Senses Vs The Weeknd - Frantic (Sean Tyas Remix) (Alex Wright's Hills Rework)*
Since Alex Wright page has now reached 500 likes, here's a FREE DOWNLOAD of a mashup he made of Will Holland & Six Senses - Frantic (Sean Tyas Remix) and The Weeknd - The Hills. When he heard the breakdown of The Hills on the radio he instantly thought of this fantastic remix Sean did of this track. He thinks it deserves to be played still today and he hopes this rework allows it to be given a new lease of life. Alex says: Big thank you to everyone who has supported my work so far, there's plenty more to come!
Trance Encounters with Alex Wright #030 streamed on www.1mix.co.uk
Don't miss Alex's Wright Trance Encounters on 1mix radio every 1st Friday of the month from 20.00-21.00 for the very best in trance and progressive. If you wish Alex to feature your track in his show and reviews or to book him for your next trance event please email him: alex_dj@live.co.uk
Additional info:
https://www.facebook.com/alexwrightmusic
https://twitter.com/AlexWrightMusic
https://soundcloud.com/alex-wright