back to roots: trance & a&b.
Most people have a starting point for the music they obsess about, electronic music fans most of which. For a format of music so diverse in genre and style, EDM listeners can often trace where the sound first got to them, when in their lives it happened, their first rave and how they got to now. It’s a right of passage in dance music; you have to know where you started to explain where you are.
For me, this was trance and progressive. Yes the uplifting, often embarrassingly beautiful and piano whoring style that lots of 90’s kids discovered via movie soundtracks or random nights out in the city (for me, it was the former). First discovering BT, then to Christopher Lawrence, Robert Miles, Tiesto, Oakenfold (back when he actually cared about the scene he helped create), Paul Van Dyk, Richard Humpty Vision, Tall Paul, the list is as long as a NYE party’s billing. However, as my tastes evolved, I stepped away from trance almost entirely, viewing it as kid’s stuff, the fluffy, sweeter, less spicy, even dumbed down version of electronic music, trading it for the dance music that was happening in the less popular booths and clubs. I’ll be honest, I felt a bit above many trance listeners, figuring they’d at one point “figure it out” and head more towards progressive house, breaks, dnb, glitch, chill and experimental like it seems that everyone does. And maybe, back then I was right. Paul Oakenfold had gone from genuinely distributing exciting house and trance via mix tapes and releases on his label Tranceport, to using trance as a vehicle for money and notoriety, singlehandedly destroying a lot of the legitimacy created at the tale end of the 90’s that electronic music had built for itself in American ears.
But thankfully, even after he’d rehashed his old hits*, made “electronic” and “techno” a dirty word in music, Paul still couldn’t destroy it all. It seemed, as the cheesy trance went on spinning itself right into the ground in a rumpelstiltskin-esque fit, some producers were trying to figure out where- if anywhere at all- trance fit into the modern, legitimate voice of EDM. Of course the old stuff would remain, easy to digest “pop” dance music labeled as trance, but what about something new, a retooling of the old gated sounds, strings and pianos?
In 1999, two gentlemen, Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamäki, whilst attending University in Westminster, started working on music together, calling themselves “Dirt Devils,” “Freestate,” “Anjunabeats” and others. At one point they released a track called “Volume One” on their own newly created label, called Anjunabeats. Later on, a promoter and producer Tony McGuinness joined the ranks as they cowrote a remix. Together, they agreed upon a new name, “Above & Beyond” and proceeded to release mixes, singles and remixes on their Anjunabeats label. Though originally just a vehicle for their own releases, Anjunabeats became an all important voice in the reformation of trance and the gathering of a great deal of musical styles into the modern perspective of progressive trance, including electro elements, progressive house, breaks and techno.
I however, was a bit late to discover Above & Beyond, or rather more accurately, to give them an honest, objective listen. But I will give credit to iTunes, via the early iTunes Genius project called “Just for You” I was suggested to give a look to the Anjunabeats 100 mix, a cross section of the first 100 releases on the Anjunabeats label, celebrating that landmark. I was, at the time, relying a great deal on public transportation and as a result, I had time to give this release a few serious listens.
What I found was that trance, what I had thought was a stagnant style of music, had been growing, developing and extending itself into other genres. Trance was dynamic, evolving and no longer the kid’s stuff, cotton candy sweet silliness of DJ Sammy (which always struck me as more happy hardcore than trance anyway). Above & Beyond had apparently- whilst ruffling quite a few feathers-supplanted all of the old guard of trance royalty and become the Kings of the style, both in it’s proliferation, via their label and their astoundingly powerful releases. It’s rather profound how these three gentlemen have, along with the artists they’ve given pulpits to, given a genre new life and new legitimacy.
The reason for this entire article, is “Anjunabeats Volume 9” which is relatively hot off the presses, just released last November. And contained herein is an amazing scope of music, impeccably mixed, using a really incredible selection of tracks. The first disc is modern trance, huge synths, huge buildups, reverbed so that they sound miles across. The especially wonderful track by A&B, “You Got To Go” is expertly remixed by Kyau and Albert to stunning effect, and really the only vocals in the first disc.
The second disc is much funkier, techier and mechanical. But also, mixed in are gorgeous vocals, some darker elements and a lovely few bits of piano. All of it, every track is listenable, enjoyable and downright fist pumpingly good. I adore this release, from beginning to end.
I don’t care that it’s trance, I don’t even feel like I have to explain myself anymore, because trance isn’t what it used to be. It’s just dammed good and excitingly new. It’s like I just heard “Flaming June” for the first time, or “Fable”. Trance is again, all brand new.
keep your headphones on.
_backchat.
Paul Oakenfold’s release of “Not Over” on the Lively Mind record in 2006, is in fact a rehashing of a track Paul, Steve Osborne and Dominique Atkins wrote, called “Not Over Yet” released in 1993. A strong stench of sloth is smelt when opening the album’s jewel case.
