Doing this a bit differently today and embedding a YouTube clip.
Jose Amnesia gives us a straightahead trancer that isn’t ditzy or tiring. It’s simple and ongoing, not “song”-y or “track”-y as Mr. Pencil has come to lament about my recent picks.
Genre: Trance
Progressiveness: Debatable. I think so, but might be something to argue about.
Cheesiness: Not too bad
Dance-iness/Intensity: Medium
Lyza-ness: Medium-high
I heard a weird mashup of this song recently on Another State of Trance (#342, a few weeks ago), with a cheesetacular track by chintzy, suburban-sounding Melee. On its own it’s cringe-worthy, but mixed with “Follow Me”…well, it’s weird. Armin Van Buuren even calls it “weird” (or something like that). It’s the first track in the mix, and you can listen to the mix here.
If you’ve been around me and heard me talk about music in the last several weeks, I probably have mentioned Morgan Page’s “Longest Road” (feat. Lissie), especially the essentially perfect remix by Deadmau5. Turns out the guy is diverse.
Today I’m feeling not so super, so the single “Fuck was I” is perfect. Sort of effete, regretful, winsome. Way downtempo with a fairly indie-sounding female vocal, it’s perfect for these rainy days when winter won’t quite let go. Sort of gives you a championing feeling. Depression vindicated.
Genre: Chilled/Atmospheric Downtempo
Cheesiness: Not exactly, but sad female vocal
Dance-iness/Intensity: Very low
Tranciness: Low
Progressiveness: Low
Lyzaness: Medium
Believe it or not, “Longest Road” is from the same EP. In case you haven’t heard it, you really should. Especially if you were taken by Iio in the early 2000’s. It kind of fills that hole for me.
Genre: Progressive House (with Trance undertones)
Cheesiness: A bit; not too bad
Tranciness: Medium
Progressiveness: High
Danciness/Intensity: Medium
Lyzaness: Very high
Now for something at least almost completely different: a very non-subtle electro house rework of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Cities in Dust” by Junkie XL. Note that the Junkie XL version never actually credits that the vocals are Siouxsie’s but I think it’s pretty clear.
Two samples here: first, the main riff of the song; second, the trancey-ish breakdown.
Trance-iness: Fairly low, except for breakdown
Vocals: Yes, distinctive female
Progressiveness: Yeah, fairly
Dance-iness/Intensity: High
Cheesiness: Pretty low
Lyza-ness: Medium low
Wow. I knew the new Armin Van Buuren track reminded me of something, but it took me a while to iron it all out.
I happen to think that “Going Wrong” sounds rather eerily similar to York’s 2000 or 2001 track “Reachers of Civilisation”, which was the very first track on the very first of DJ Tiësto’s “In Search of Sunrise” compilations.
And the subtle guitar riff in Going Wrong? Circa 1999, Fragma’s “Toca Me,” anyone? I’m going to use the same breath to mention that there is a new mix–the “2008 Inpetto Mix”, which I’m not sure is any different than the Deadmau5 recent remix, but I have spent enough time researching thus far and so am not going to figure that out right this second.
UPDATED: UGH. All of the new mixes of Toca Me/Toca’s Miracle on Beatport are territorially restricted. That is, you cannot have them if you live in the states. Blast!
