Age of Love — The Age of Love: a foundational club record
The Age of Love is often discussed as an early trance landmark, particularly in the context of its influential Jam & Spoon Watch Out for Stella…
Read story →Explore the archive
Classics
Classics — Records that stay with us, sounds that move us, and stories from across the spectrum of trance.
ATB — 9 PM (Till I Come): a distinctive guitar-like hook
ATB’s 9 PM (Till I Come) is instantly recognisable for its pitch-bending lead, a sound that gives the track a character of its own. Its concise…
Read story →William Orbit — Barber’s Adagio for Strings: classical material reimagined
William Orbit’s electronic interpretation of Barber’s Adagio for Strings found another life in Ferry Corsten’s trance remix. The familiar melody brings its own emotional weight to…
Read story →Lost Tribe — Gamemaster: storytelling in an extended mix
Gamemaster combines a spoken passage, a rolling groove and a melodic theme into an unusually theatrical trance record. The voice is part of the atmosphere rather…
Read story →Ayla — Ayla: a journey through remixes
Ayla’s self-titled track became a fixture of melodic trance, with several mixes giving its central theme distinct treatments. The melody has an introspective quality even at…
Read story →Planet Perfecto — Bullet in the Gun: a harder club moment
Bullet in the Gun pairs a tough groove with a vocal hook and an extended club arrangement. Its sound captures a more forceful strand of the…
Read story →Alice Deejay — Better Off Alone: a pop-facing trance hook
Better Off Alone puts a memorable synth melody and a concise vocal at the centre of a dance-pop record shaped by late-1990s trance sounds. Listen closer…
Read story →Fragma — Toca Me: melody on the edge of trance and house
Toca Me connects a direct melodic hook to a club groove that crosses between house and trance. Its identity is compact, rhythmic and immediate. Listen closer…
Read story →Darude — Sandstorm: the riff that outgrew the club
Sandstorm is instantly identifiable from its insistent synth riff and relentless rhythmic drive. Its wide recognition can make the craft of the original arrangement easy to…
Read story →