Anjunabeats Vol. 9 Mixed By Above & Beyond

My latest review for TrancePodium.com

If it’s true that cleanliness is next to godliness, then my computer desk is going straight to hell. As I sit here to write this, I’m confronted with a mess I think even Keith Richards would be ashamed to wake up to after a night on the naughty water.

To my left is the usual stack of old dusty CDs and random paperwork, between me and the screen are a dozen half finished flat cokes and beers and to my right is a bowl of cereal that's been there so long it's now a plant.

Certainly this is not where I should be on a Friday night, especially as an Anjunabeats launch party will be kicking off down the road at the Ministry Of Sound in a few short hours. Unfortunately though, the fanatical strain of planning and paying for a wedding has left me with about as much free spending money as Greece. So it seems that for a while at least, it's Friday nights in for me.

So what does a guy do who's stuck at home when he should be watching Kyau and Albert tear up the Gallery? Well I could either water my new cornflakes plant and see how big it gets, or have a listen to the album the German duo will be launching tonight, Anjunabeats Vol 9.

Let me set the scene for you:

It's the year 2000, Justin Bieber is just 6 years old and Anjunabeats are about to unleash their debut single "Volume One". Whilst the first of these went on to become one of the top five people I'd like to beat to death with their own stupid fringe (message me for the other four), the latter became one of the most well respected, forward thinking and influential dance music labels in the world.

On almost an annual basis for the last 11 years now, the boys from Above and Beyond have celebrated their label's fine form with a mix compilation packed full of unreleased material, the biggest tracks of the moment and the newest production talent.

I'm pleased to report that Volume 9 is business as usual from the unstoppable trio. On this one Above & Beyond have treated us to a few of their own unreleased tracks, including the CD1 opener (and possibly the most over used track name of 2011) "Tokyo". Add to this exclusive new mixes from Andrew Bayer, Maor Levi and Oliver Smith as well as a brand new Mat Zo & Arty collaboration and its hard to see where this album could possibly go wrong.

Noteworthy moments for me include the Mat Zo Dub of Tate & Diamonds "Electrified" and the totally brilliant "Contrast" by Sunny Lax. To be honest though, the thought of hearing any of the tracks on this album at the Ministry tonight gets me wetter than a sexually frustrated sea bass.

As expected, both mixes celebrate Trance in its many forms and like my bowl of cereal, seem to build and grow organically. But if I only had room for one of the two on my iPod, CD2 would definitely make the cut. I'd love to make room for CD1 also, but that would involve deleting either the Ghost Busters or Top Gun soundtracks. That can't happen.

Thumbs up as usual to the Anjunabeats team then. This album encompasses all the label has stood for over the last 11 years and the young blood featured here points the way towards a bright future, not only for the label itself, but for Trance music in general.

Album out now.

I'm off to feed Justin Bieber a tasty bowl of cornflakes.

Ben Gold - Colossal

My latest review for TrancePodium.com

Last month the UK was voted the worst place to live in Europe. According to the national papers I'll work longer hours than the Germans, get less days of sunshine than anyone else, retire three years later than the Polish, and if life expectancy figures are anything to go by, die about ten minutes after that.

Add to the above the fact that unemployment is on the up and our football teams couldn't beat the blind school in a game of hide and seek, it's safe to say us Brits have less to be pleased about than Michael Jackson's doctor.
So where's the silver lining I hear you ask?

Well, if like me you're British and have a passion for dance music, then things may not be so glum after all. You see despite our many failings as a nation, I can safely confirm that one thing we have always been good at is churning out talented DJs and producers. I can also safely confirm that a lad well on his way to joining the likes of Oakenfold, Tong and Halliwell is our very own Ben Gold.

Ben's had a great year so far. A fist full of releases on Garuda Records enabled him to collaborate with man of the moment Gareth Emery on one of this year's biggest tracks "Flash". This as well as his work with Jonas Stenberg made it onto the excellent "Sound of Garuda 2" compilation and this month, he brings us his best work yet, "Colossal".

Now calling your new track "Colossal" unless its anything other than exactly that would be as foolish as calling your pet labradoodle "Furious". Luckily Ben's new offering lives up to its name and has been rocking dance floors around the world ahead of its release on October 31st.

As with many of Ben's (and indeed Garuda's) releases, the emphasis here is placed on simple elements done well. Lush melodic strings build this track gradually, while a bed of sequence lines keep up the pace. Riddled with intriguing bleeps, squeaks, pops and those characteristic Garuda style 8 bar synth interludes, Ben is really flexing his production and engineering muscle on this one.

There is something deeply nostalgic to me about this that track, but like that annoying itch you get right in the middle of your back, I cant quite put my finger on it. Whatever it is, it takes me right back to those nights of dancing away at Slinky on the south coast. 16 years old, in my element and not caring much how I was going to make it the 70 miles back home to start work at 5am.

Despite my wondering away on a nostalgic tangent there, Colossal is as current as it gets and completely embraces everything both Ben Gold and Garuda stand for. Wonderfully melodic and arranged to perfection, it's clear to see why our lad is one of the UK's top production talents.

By the time you read this, Ben will have completed an Australian tour with UK clubbing giant Godskitchen. Headlining with the likes of Marco V, Richard Durand and John Askew, I very much doubt he will go another year without breaking the DJ Mag top 100.

So there we go, with faith in my nation restored I give this track a Colossal thumbs up. British dance music is as strong as ever and Ben Gold is leading the charge.

Not literally of course, we don't get enough time off work to do any actual charging.

Arty feat. Tania Zygar - The Wall

My latest review for TrancePodium.com.

Two of the most important exports in world history have come out of Russia. These are of course vodka and Anna Kournikova.

Sadly only one of these is readily accessible to anyone who doesn’t look like Enrique Iglesias so to soften the blow I’m going to introduce you to a possible third option.

He's not as exciting to look at as Anna and is no doubt crap at tennis but Russian producer Arty is fast becoming as important to trance music as vodka is to a soviet Saturday night pub crawl.

Arty's newest offering "The Wall" comes courtesy of uber label Enhanced Records. This one's due a release on October 10th via their Enhanced Progressive sub label.

With Enhanced Records being described by DJ Mag as "arguably the most consistent trance label on the planet" and Arty being crowned "Future Favourite" on Armin van Buuren's A State Of Trance radio show, its safe to say we've not seen a pairing this good since Clint Eastwood teamed up with that monkey in Every Which Way But Loose.

Because I like it dirty at the moment I'm going to recommend Arty's Remode mix. Able to go toe to toe with the biggest of big room tunes this version brings live sounding drum parts together with naughty crunchy chunky base lines and uplifting sliced and diced vocal edits. An amazing rework when compared to the originally written acoustic version which is as chilled as Moscow in November.

Having worked with such talent as tyDi, Dash Berlin, and Sied van Riel, its no wonder Arty enlisted the help of Tania Zygar on song writing and vocal duties. Tania's voice brings and air of sophisticated energy to "The Wall" and provides a powerful vocal performance without the need for any Christina Aguilera esk wailing.

Low pass filtering effects help build the anticipation mid way through the mix and pronounced sustained synth lines pepper the massive drop to ensure that like a power cut in a milk factory, it goes off big time!

Being voted record of the week by Above and Beyond on their Trance Around The World radio show is about as good an endorsement as any track can get these days. "The Wall" took this accolade back in August so despite not being released for a few weeks this will already be a firm favourite with the masses. It's certainly got my vote.

Anna likes it too.

She told me so.

Honest.

Gabriel & Dresden - Mixed For Feet vol 1.
My review writen for Trance Podium.com

Gabriel & Dresden are one of the most accomplished double acts to emerge from the dance music scene since Kevin and Perry. They’ve worked with The Killers, Dido, and Oakenfold to name but a few and their commercial success (particularly in the US) puts them right up there with Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers.


Over the past 6 years they have notched up an impressive 17 number 1 Billboard hits, made three compilation albums, an artist album and won more International Dance Music Awards than I've had pairs of shoes.


What's more impressive perhaps is the fact that despite all their commercial success, they remain well respected throughout the clubbing and underground dance communities - avoiding the hatred and call for public stonings usually reserved for those who are deemed to have "sold out".

The reason for this successful rock dodging is simply that Gabriel & Dresden never have sold out. Their achievements commercially have come off the back of tracks that have built a reputation in the clubs first and made their way into the charts through popularity alone. Confident in their distinctive sound and ability as producers, they've never once felt the need to bust out the generic pop synth and head over to Chris Browns house to commit a rhythm and dance crime against humanity.

This is why we love their work and why now, after 3 long years away we welcome them back into our lives as well as our iPods.


But are we looking at a revival of Take That sized proportions? Well this new offering from the boys leaves me with no reason to suggest otherwise. A clever mix of classic G&D tracks (reminding us why we love them) and new contemporary trance, house, techno and everything in-between (showing us where they are going) makes for a wonderfully constructed compilation for the connoisseur and beginner alike.

As club facing as an arctic baby seal, this two-disk mix is certainly one for the dance floor. Boasting tracks from big hitters (no pun intended) such as Mat Zo, Arty, Fedde Le Grand and Tiesto, Mixed for Feet is energetic, intelligent and progressively presented.

Highlights for me include a wonderful moment when the acapella for Andain's Beautiful Things gets into bed with the Barnes & Heatcliff remix of tyDi's Good Dream. Delicious! Other noteworthy moments include the nostalgic 80's vibes of Flying Blind feat Passion for Plaid and a new remix of Tracking Treasure Down from the boys themselves, dragging the track kicking and screaming into the now.

In Gabriel & Dresdens own words this compilation is "a rebirth", and I agree. Music wise it's a well selected mix of the classic and the contemporary, artist wise it's a coupling of the established and the up and coming. In fact everything about this reunion seems to have gone very well indeed. OK, so the album title lacks a bit of imagination but give them a break, it has been 3 years. Elton John once called an album "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" and he did OK, didn't he?


One good thing that does come from the title however is the "Vol 1" bit, leading us to believe that this is to be a compilation series. The prospect of which (as long as the follow up CDs live up to this one) has me more excited than the time my mate and me discovered the ten-minute free view on the Playboy channel.


I think this compilation is more for fans of dance music as a whole than one particular genre, but taking the best of each scene is what Gabriel & Dresden do best. Maybe that's the key to their success and longevity? After all, they say the ones who are most likely to survive are the ones most adaptable to change.


Wow, I got a bit deep there for a second.


Out now by the way.


Click Here For Tracklist on Trancepodium.com

Richard Ronchetti Live @ Sakura 16.07.2011

 

Recorded live @ club Sakura in Reading UK on the 16th July 2011. Richard Ronchetti presents 1.5 Hours of Trance classics with a modern twist.

Tracklist

1 - Cassandra Fox - Touch Me (Mike Koglin vs Juno Grant Rmx) VS Fatboy Slim - Star 69 (Acapella)
2 - Cosmic Gate - Fire Wire (Wippenberg Rmx) VS RBA - No Alternative (Acapella) VS
Gabriel and Dresden - Tracking Treasure Down (Acapella)
3 - Delerium - Silence (Niels Van Gogh & Thomas Gold Rmx VS Richard Ronchetti Human Traffic Intro)
4 - Tomcraft - Loneliness (Myon & Shane 54 Rmx)
5 - Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar (Michael Woods Rmx)
6 - Age Of Love - The Age Of Love (Wippenberg Rmx)
7 - Liquid Child - Diving Faces (White Isle Re Visited Mix)
8 - Reflekt feat Deline Bass - Need to feel Loved (Original Mix)
9 - Sander Van Doorn - Close My Eyes (Original Mix)
10 - Paul Van Dyk - For An Angel (Dave Darell Rmx)
11 - Kernkraft 400 - Zombie Nation (Chris Schweizer Rmx)
12 - Cygnus X - Superstring (Kilholm Summer Prog Mix)
13 - 4 Strings - Take Me Away (Re Ward Vocal Mix)
14 - SuReal - You Take My Breath Away (Vegas Baby Dub)
15 - Dogzilla - Without You (Original Mix)
16 - Freefall feat Jan Johnston - Skydive (Original Mix)
17 - Tiesto - Suburban Train - (Sean Tyas Dirty Mix)
18 - Ferry Corsten - Punk - (Sidney Samson Rmx)
19 - Dark Monks - Insane (Steve Murano Vocal Rmx)
20 - The Warrior - Warrior (Original Mix)
21 - RBA - No Alternative (Brooklyn Bounce Rmx)
22 - Faithless - We Come One (Shoam & Gavriel Rmx) (RR Edit)
23 - Vincent De Moor - Fly Away (Cosmic Gate Remix)
24 - Sunscreem vs Push - Please Save Me - (Original Mix)
25 - Tiesto feat Kirsty Hawkshaw - Just Be (Antillas Club Mix)

Gareth Emery & Ben Gold - Flash (Official Vid)

Built using over 3000 photos this new vid of Gareth Emery & Ben Gold - Flash, brings a new dimention to dance music vids. Great big room Trance.

Richard Ronchetti Sessions - Podcast Archive.

  Richard Ronchetti Sessions by Richard Ronchetti


Richard Ronchetti Sessions 003
1) Mason - You are not alone
2) Arno Cost - Cyan
3) Hardwell - Molotov
4) BT - Every other way feat Jes (AVB Remix)
5) Cold Blank - The 13th Skull
6) Michael Woods - First Aid
7) Unknown - Hello (Michael woods mix)
8) Everything but the girl - Missing (Greg Downey Mix)
9) John O Bir - Blackboard
10) Super 8 and Tab - Empire (Craig Connolly Remix)
11) TDYI -Good Dream (Barnes & Heathcliff Mix)
12) Ferry Corsten - Punk (Rock and Rolla Mix)


Richard Ronchetti Sessions 002
Track 1 - Deadmau5 - Same chords (Richard Ronchettis the voice intro mix)
Track 2 - Nicky Romero - My Friend
Track 3 - Nic Chagall - Morning Light (Extended mix)
Track 4 - Kaskade - Angel on my sholder (EDX's Night Mix)
Track 5 - Ocean Lab - Lonley Girl (Gareth Emery Remix)
Track 6 - Darude feat Blake Lewis - I Ran (Gareth Emery Remix)
Track 7 - Ben Gold - Sapphire
Track 8 - Tiesto and Diplo - C'mon
Track 9 - Ali Wilson - Pandora
Hidden Track - Swedish House Mafia - One


Richard Ronchetti Sessions 001
1- Ashley Wallbridge - Harmonies (Richard Ronchettis intro edit)
2- La Roux - In for the kill - (Tristan Ingram & Black Russian Festival edit)
3- Southside Spinners - Lovestruck 2010 (Marco V Remix)
4- Machael Woods & Chris Lake - Dominos
5- 7 Skies Caffeine (Genix Remix)
6- Tritonal - Suede - (Stoneface & Terminal Mix)
7- Gareth Emery - Metropolis
8- Claudia Cazacu - Size Zero
9- Rank 1 & Jochen Miller - The great escape (Richard Ronchettis big exit edit)

Gareth Emery Mixmag Interview

Bad Chicken

"I think the reason they gave us so many bits of chicken is to make up for the fact that it tastes like shit."

My brother's scientific yet highly questionable diagnosis of our sub-standard take away was falling on tired, nearly deaf ears. It's 5am in the centre of Manchester and fatigue has hit me harder than a John Prescott left hander.

Despite the ringing in my ears, the bags under my eyes and the loss of my voice, the  "Madchester" years are sadly long gone. The Hacienda is a block of flats, Tony Wilson is dead and the DJ's of the 90s that shaped UK clubbing forever are sat at home with a cuppa in front of Holby City.

But while Graham Park and Laurent Garnier have earned their place among the legends of dance music, there is a man striving for the same heights, and in the process putting Manchester and UK clubbing back on the map.

If you haven't been to Gareth Emery's Garuda night at Sankys, go now. 

Every weekend away from the orange tan and blond hair extensions of the city centre bars, an educated musical crowd resides in the clubs and parties around Manchester's industrial estates. There's a musical heritage here matched by few UK cities and an excitement about the scene I haven't felt in a long time. 

Voted number 7 in DJ Mags top 100 clubs on the planet, you'd expect an amazing experience from Sankys. But a club's only as good as the music it plays and the people who come to listen. This is where Garuda excels especially. People help you on and off the podiums, strangers talk and big burly northerners simply smile and offer up hi-fives when you accidentally throw snakebite over the back their head.


This for me is what makes a great night, standing looking cool has always been my pet hate in clubs. Partly cos I'm incapable of doing so, but mainly cos for me, clubbing is about going bat shit mental as one to the music you love. Like being in the home end of your footy teams ground, a combined passion for something brings unity. This unity builds and resonates quickly around the room until eventually, like a power cut in a milk factory, it all goes off!


At Sankys it went off for sure and as I stumbled out into the cold night air I buzzed at the knowledge that the UK club scene is alive and well. But if it is to continue to be alive and well, it must evolve. 


That night at Sankys was not the same as the nights I spent 10 years ago at Slinky on the south coast, and why should it be? Things have to evolve to improve and im happy to say clubbing has moved on. Some things are better (Technology, bigger budgets and more musically educated audiences) and some things are worse (Greed, illegal downloads and David Guetta). 


But which ever way clubbing moves forward, it is important that it does so. People like Gareth Emery and Jerome isma-ae are ensuring this keeps happening, for as long as boundaries are pushed and the progression of dance music is at the forefront of DJ's and producers minds, the passion for the scene will remain, the music will continue to inspire, and if the chicken in Manchester still taste like shit, there is always a Nandos down the road.

Richard Ronchetti Sessions 003

1) Mason - You are not alone
2) Arno Cost - Cyan
3) Hardwell - Molotov
4) BT - Every other way feat Jes (AVB Remix)
5) Cold Blank - The 13th Skull
6) Michael Woods - First Aid
7) Unknown - Hello (Michael woods mix)
8) Everything but the girl - Missing (Greg Downey Mix)
9) John O Bir - Blackboard
10) Super 8 and Tab - Empire (Craig Connolly Remix)
11) TDYI -Good Dream (Barnes & Heathcliff Mix)
12) Ferry Corsten - Punk (Rock and Rolla Mix)

Richard Ronchetti Sessions 003 by Richard Ronchetti