Twelve presents: Tenishia (06 July 2013)

Malta's most successful dance act duo, Tenishia visited Manila for a night of 'proper' trance as how some of the people I know would coin it. 

Joining them on the decks are one of the local dance scene's hot names: Cammy V and John Odin. Cam and JP will be opening and closing, respectively for the main acts. 

The duo, Joven Grech and Cyprian Cassar dropped their uplifting mixes and drove the crowd wild. With so many hits after hits, I could not even remember all, but anthems like DB's Waiting, Tiesto's Love Again, AvB's latest offering This Is What It Feels Like were among that the crowd experienced, Tenishia version. 

It was an unexpected fun, crazy, sweaty night of trance, joy, euphoria, and friendship. It was my last weekend before I start a new module for my post-grad studies so I decided to party the night away and it was a great decision that I did. 

A few snaps taken from my camera phone:

 a photo op with Cyprian Cassar (my right) and Joven Grench (my left) collectively known as Tenishia

the boys working the decks of 7th High

Comments?

Bigfish presents Innovation White featuring Jochen Miller, Rank 1, and Ana Criado on vocals

It was a rainy night but the show must go on. Not even a storm could stop me from seeing one of my dj/producer crushes in person -- Jochen Miller -- not mention, a closing set delivered by one of the most underrated trance acts Rank 1. So I marched on with my #TrioTagaPayong friends and reveled the night away.

When Jochen took over the decks, the crowd just went ballistic, started jumping, throwing their hands up in the air, and just losing in his heavy basslines, epic riffs, and Bigfish's fantastic laser light shows.

I did feel the crowd of Bigfish is getting younger as years go by, well that only means that my generation is ageing as well. Jochen Miller's energy was channeled by the crowd and as he drove us to edge of his infectious beats, he still manage to throw that smile that even led the girls and the boys and practically everyone else crazier. As he built, smashed, drove, and threw the crowd high up, it was time for the duo Rank 1 to take over, keep the aerial momentum and eventually land the crowd safely. Oh, and somewhere in between was Ana Criado singing. I didn't feel much of her presence really, so I don't have anything else to say. 

It was a night of redemption for the Innovation White series. I could remember the last great Innovation White was during the Above & Beyond 2010, not even Cosmic Gate or Chicane could top it but with Jochen and R1', I can say it is now back on track.

And it gets better, there was an after party at Club Haze where Jochen spinned some more. His energy is just encompassing and with all the riffs he's been doing while flashing his white-teeth smile, was just a monumental.

A few snaps from that night:

 Paul, Justin, Van, Jase, Marx, Jay (photo courtesy of Jason Tomas)

 Jochen Miller working the deck of Bigfish at World Trade Center (photo taken via my camera phone)

 Jochen Miller working the deck of Club Haze during the after-party (photo taken via my camera phone)

Your thoughts please....

Album Review: Above & Beyond - Anjunabeats Volume 10

Mental is probably the best word to describe Anjunabeats Volume 10. It was mixed by Above & Beyond features 30 exclusive tracks from Arty, Andrew Bayer, Norin & Rad, Jaytech, Super8 & Tab, Maor Levi, and many more, as well as the brand new instrumental anthem from the trio - Walter White.

As we all know, Anjunabeats is one of the strongest dance music labels in the world today and all their compilations can be taken as proofs why is it so, that they belong to one of the most respected music companies. We probably wouldn’t find too many similarities between the original Anjunabeats Volume 1 and this year’s Volume 10, but how could we? Music has changed so much during the last 10 years, yet Above & Beyond still keep up the pace and may it be them as DJs/producers or the whole Anjuna label, it’s really something to bow to!

Disc one kicks off in a more emotional way with A&B’s own Small Moments, beautiful instrumental track which takes you completely off this world, especially when you combine it with a deep video or those visualizers on Windows Media Player. What comes next, is a favorite of mine for 2013 so far and I’m talking about Audien and his Wayfarer. It is something that puts a smile on your face from the first beats, throwing your hands up in the air spontaneously and of course a bass line that will get you up from your chair. What surprised me at first but insured me when I looked at the track list was track 7. Jaytech comes in with a new banger Inception. Usually a contributor for the Anjuna's deep house sister recording company, it's refreshing for this artist to finally break through the trance side of his genre.

Above & Beyond came up with a new track for this compilation as well. Walter White shows us how a deep and emotional breakdown should look like. However, the rest of the track is a bit strange. I understand that everyone is changing thanks to the scene, but I don’t think this is the right way for A&B. However if there is someone who definitely goes hand in hand with the scene today, I believe that Maor Levi is having the best time of his career. Having a track on this compilation is a great honor for any producer, but Maor has three tracks on this disc and that definitely proves that he delivers! ALWAYS! May it be in the calmer sounds of ethereal progressive or a bit rougher league of bass lines, this guy produces only the best - all these are worth listening: his collab with Boom Jinx and my fave female trance vocalist Ashley Tomberlin When You Loved Me; the remix on Liquid Love which is a great rework from the Tri-state album; and the ever-emotional Holding On. If someone asked me what I liked the best about disc 1, I would have to say that it is this track along with Ronski Speed and Syntrobic's tune called Pink Skye where it features the haunting voice of Renee Stahl.

  

Disc 2 and the half second half of the compilation is picked up by Andrew Bayer with his new tune called England. I’m not really sure how to feel about this one, though it sounds very housey yet even a bit commercial it still brings originality with itself and many other good factors as well. Knowing that Bayer has two sides of his artistry - the more commercial ones we hear on the Anjunabeats collection and the more artistic side which is what his artist album is about. L.A. by Super8 & Tab could be my favorite track off of tdisc 2.  It sounds a lot like their older more progressive stuff like Helsinki Scorchin.  The use of the small vocal synth in this track is mesmerizing.  It accompanies the bass lines and uplifting melodies perfectly.  Then after building for over two minutes the main bass lines kicks and L.A. is taken to new heights.  Aldo by Norin & Rad is another new track we are able to listen to.  It is a more up tempo trance track featuring some heavy bass lines with euphoric drops. Sinai by Ilan Bluestone is another great track.  While not completely new, this track really stands out to me on this album.  Ilan Bluestone is still an artist on the rise globally and this track is what I think can break him through to the next level.  Sinai is an amazing euphoric track with an incredible use of percussion along with vocals. May it be the exotic vocals, melodic synths or the piano parts.  is a beauty that deserves to be heard more than one time.

Nitrous Oxide teams up with 7 Skies to create something very magical together. “Right On“ is a perfect combination of strong synths we all wish to hear on a good party and a pure melody created on a piano. The instant changes in this track between the heavy parts of great beats, strong synths, and the emotional piano parts, emotions backed up by a massive drive, yes, definitely a great tune!

Next up is a track that is truly beautiful in it’s album mix, but on the contrary gets a completely different coat in the club mix. Black Room Boy from A&B is the track I’m talking about. While repetitively listening to it, I somehow discovered that the bass line is a complete floor killer and started singing along with the track in a matter of seconds. I always thought of myself as a Black Room Boy - if you get my drift.

I would like to say that Anjunabeats Volume 10 is one of those compilations that shouldn’t be thrown away by trance crowd for not being a clear trance album. My opinion is that this compilation is a very special piece that has to be heard with a calm mind, good mood, and most of all, if you want to listen to it and feel happy, you should forget about the never-ending 'war' of styles which is going on in the scene. Just sit back, press play and enjoy the music.

What do you think????

Album Review: Calvin Harris - 18 Months

Calvin Harris, one of my favourite producers (who also happens to sing) releases his third LP 18 Months. I figured why such is the title - since it has been roughly 18 months since the supposed release of the record. 

I first heard about Calvin Harris when he produced two of Kylie Minogue's stand out tracks on her X album - In My Arms and Heart Beat Rock. From then on, I became curious about his sound. Started listening to his I Created Disco record back in 2007, but what made love this fella was his 2009 release: Ready For The Weekend.

With much anticipation about his new record and his new-found fame -- including producing We Found Love for Rihanna; collabs with Kelis, Florence of Florence and the Machine, Ne-Yo, Nicky Romero -- the album raised so much expectations and I could say they were met. Or even have exceeded for the many. 

What difference can 3 years make, right? I've seen and heard how Harris musical palette and style evolved and how he is also becoming smart about its business side without compromising much of his artistry. 

With the explosion of the EDM genre in the music market, Calvin's sound is something I'd still want to hear. I just hope he doesn't succumb to so much commercialism. While the collab with Ne-Yo, and producing jobs for Mary J. Blige, Ke$ha, and other mainstream artists are quite the sign he's onto the same path as David Guetta took, I still have much respect to his talent and how he helped mould the UK dance scene with his is really interesting and funky attitude.

Only one track stood out for me: Awooga; while the other noteworthy tracks are: the 2-dozen chart-topping hit We Found Love, Mansion, Feels So Close, Iron, We'll Be Coming Back, Sweet Nothing, and School (which is a great reminder of how Harris' sound started out.

Track Listing

What do you think?

Album Review: Jaytech - Multiverse

Hailing from the Anjunadeep stable of international DJs and producers, Australian-born Jaytech (James Cayzer) is redefining what can be done with the building blocks of trance music. He has taken the reigns as A&R co-director at Anjunadeep, continually deconstructing founding band Above & Beyond’s uplifting vocal trances and rebuilding them with a jolt of emotive , melodic European House, and a total disregard for genre-defining boundaries. 

Jaytech delivers the freshest tracks on his weekly podcast, and now he challenges producers worldwide with the grooves of Multiverse - his second artist album.

The male vocals on Labour of Love feat. Nathan Grainger and Stranger feat. Steve Smith, and the all-encompassing synth scales of New Vibe and title-track Multiverse would fit nicely within Above & Beyond’s world-renowned DJ sets. Rabbit Raiders and Epsilon flirt with these soundscapes, then turn up the pace and electro filters to highlight Jaytech’s subtle bad-boy charm. This electo-edge is the focal point of Through The Maze” feat. Serenade, which for full effect should be performed live with a retro instrument

Jaytech attempts to reinvent the mousetrap with Innovation feat. Nathan Grainger. The 21st century sounds have to work around the bouncy boy-band melody and half-spoken lyrics: These feelings I have are so true/ just want to share this day with you. This miscue is soon alleviated with the dense Rossa Corsa-esque dreamwave on Diode. A classically trained pianist, Jaytech layers complex run of synths with psychedelic whispers that vibrate through your eardrums.

Multiverse lets the listener down easily, with both of the last two tracks hitting at a seemingly below 100bpm. Ample space between notes allows for total appreciation of Melody Gough’s soft vocal pleas on Blue Ocean, escaping the speakers with a delicate trip-hop touch.

At a relatively lengthy 13 tracks and over 70 minutes, I had the urge to skip back to the most pleasing tracks. But Multiverse is a cross-genre adventure that is best explored in full.

Noteworthy tracks include Diode, Blue Ocean, Multiverse, Coda

Track list:

1. Everglade (feat. Serenade)

2. New Vibe (Album Version)


3. Rabbit Raiders


4. Labour Of Love (feat. Nathan Grainger)


5. Epsilon 

6. Innovation (feat. Nathan Grainger)


7. Through The Maze (feat. Serenade)

8. Diode


9. Dr Device

10. Stranger (feat. Steve Smith)

11. Multiverse


12. Blue Ocean (feat. Melody Gough)

13. Coda

Your thoughts???

Republiq presents: Afrojack (04 April 2012)

On the night before our traditional Holy Week get away to Boracay was Nick van de Wall a.k.a. Afrojack gig in Manila. This was a good pre-Boracay party to get us in the mood. 

As expected, Afrojack delivered great quality house tunes, blow by blow, track after track. He definitely did Take Over Control!

Were you there? Let me know how it went for you--