I really want to say there are some awesome tracks around, and as you will notice from the selection below, some great remixes and sample uses of some classic trance! Love them or hate them, you can’t beat hearing some one else’s slant on an awesome release.

Greg Nash – Summer Overture (Original Mix)
2 Play Recordings
TrackItDown.net link

Three Drives – Greece 2000 (Sander van Dien Remix)
Massive Drive Recordings
TrackItDown.net link

Signum – What Ya Got 4 Me (Yvan Prog Trance Mix)
Armada
TrackItDown.net link

Orjan Nilsen – Moving Mojave (Original Mix)
Armada
TrackItDown.net link

John Askew – The Door (Original Mix)
Discover
TrackItDown.net link

Niklas Harding – The Soul
Black Hole Recordings
TrackItDown.net link

Glensk – Empty Sky (Indecent Noise pres. Terra Break Rework)
Excessive Pressure
TrackItDown.net link

Artimes – Precious Time (Ex-Driver Remix)
Only One Records
TrackItDown.net link

Push – Trance Indicator (Plastic Boy Remix)
Armada
TrackItDown.net link

That is my 10 trance tracks, hope you enjoy!

Please discuss below any tunes that you have bought or are really enjoying right now.

Cheers

Stuart

Photo credit: AFlickion

This week’s Trance Tuesday is someone who in the past year has completely changed the way trance can and will sound. Robert Vadney‘s album entitled ‘Halloween Anthems‘ (released last October with perfect timing from Perfecto Records) is not something you really would expect to redefine how trance can sound, but that is exactly what he has done with a sound like no other. His latest album ‘Shadowlove Anthems‘ is further proof to a very talented individual with a very unique sound.

‘Halloween Anthems‘ infuses what I would call Tim Burton let loose in a studio with Sean Tyas, Thomas Bronzwaer or any number of talented trance producers. You just can’t compare his sound to any DJ though! Robert Vadney is totally unique (please do correct me if wrong as I would love to find more of this sound available).

‘Shadowlove Anthems‘ is yet again altogether something else but this time a lot more vocals and so many more of the tracks will give a better impression on the dance floor I feel than his previous album.
From just listening to what I can on DJdownload.com I pick out ‘Black Clown‘ and ‘Hopeless Romantic‘ as some favs. Check out his releases on your favourite download site, I recommend DJdownload.com for listening at least due to the ability of listening to any part of the track in segments due to NeedleDrop Player.

Robert Vadney on DJdownload.com

Robert Vadney on TrackItDown.net

I’m truly astonished that I had not heard of him earlier. Having my head in tech-trance land for most of last year and now running this site is teaching me a few things, namely keep your eyes and ears open and you will find so much more talent

Some people make beautiful trance tracks, where as I believe Robert Vadney makes amazing trance tracks that leave you curious, intrigued and slightly twisted as he is said to reign supreme as “The King of Gothic Trance”…

Robert Vadney Website

Perfecto Records Website

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to add your Trance Tuesday recommendations as a comment below.

Cheers

Stuart

The list below is just a small selection of the many great tunes floating around at the moment, but first I’ll start with a progressive tune that I heard played from a DJ’s laptop not so long ago at a house party. It is by no means a new track having being released last year, but I really, really, really do love this track. It is unusual for me to like a progressive tune as much as I do this one, I think the last time I bought a true progressive tune it may have been Holden & Thompson’s ‘Nothing’ to put it in perspective.

So, this maybe a list of New Trance Tracks I try and gather each week, but along the way I may include something that is new to me and old to you. Hopefully it will serve as a reminder of a great track, enjoy!
Also I notice some of the sites I visit release the same track at different times, so I’m sorry if there is confusion if you have seen a release elsewhere earlier. I’m working very hard on getting official release dates from labels and artists directly to avoid this in future.

Gareth Emery – Metropolis (Original Mix)
Garuda
TrackItDown.net link

Maelstrom – Remember Your Inputs (Original Mix)
Iboga Records
DJdownload link

Michal Poliak – Carpathia
WA-X Records
TrackItDown.net

Taylor & Close – Vanity Fair (Neal Thomas Remix)
Abstract Recordings
TrackItDown.net link

Frog & Bugle feat. LeeMac – Seven Days To Eden (East & Young Remix)
RR Recordings
beatport.com link

Marcel Woods – Inside Me (Original Mix)
High Contrast Recordings
beatport.com link

Richard Durand – Always The Sun (Roger Shah Remix)
Magik Muzik
DJdownload.com link

Pascal Feliz – Smack My 2 Core Up
Musical Madness
TrackItDown.net link

Sunny Lax – Reborn (Original Mix)
Anjunabeats
DJdownload.com link

That is the 10 for this week!

Hope you get to enjoy some of them. I’d better start looking for new tracks straight away if I’m to do 10 next week :S Haha!

As a thank you to all my readers I got a freebie sourced for you.
Last week Dave Dresden threw up the following link for all to download on Twitter. I asked him if I could feature it here which he gladly said yes to. It is a remix of Calvin Harris’s I’m Not Alone.

YouSendIt.com Link

You can follow Dave Dresden on Twitter here.

Thank you to all the readers once again and I’ll look forward to writing up tomorrow’s Trance Tuesday now.

Love or hate any of the above tracks please discuss below by leaving comments


Cheers


Stuart


P.S. Look out for the Facebook fanpage coming this week. Is there anywhere else I should be covering to spread the word? Make suggestions below cheers!

Photo credit: kofoed

There are many great tracks as I say, but disappointments I felt with John O’Callaghan’s ‘Find Yourself’ and the collaboration of Sander van Doorn & Marco V with their release ‘What Say’. I was so disappointed in both that I nearly went on to find a further 3 tracks and rename this weeks list as My Top 5 Trance Tracks Not Doing It For Me…

Thankfully I came across many beautiful releases and worked hard to just bring what I believe to be 5 fantastic tracks that should be in your life.

ATB – A New Day
A1 Music Oy
TrackItDown.net link

Gareth Emery – Exposure
Garuda
TrackItDown.net link

Dave Walker – Sunshine At Night (Steve Anderson Remix)
SAME Progressive
TrackItDown.net

Yakooza – Cocaine 2009 (Dr Willis Remix)
Traffic Tunes
TrackItDown.net link

Thank for reading and please leave a comment on what you think of the above selection and any tracks you have bought recently!


If you like this post please don’t forget to subscribe by RSS or Email, retweet and share.


Stuart


Photo credit: mstefano80

Just before her most recent release ‘A New Day’ with ATB on his latest album ‘Future Memories’, I had a chance to catch up with Betsie. Here you can find out some more of what the New York City girl is up to and what she has to say of her successful collaboration with Ferry Corsten on his third artist album ‘Twice In A Blue Moon’.

So going back before your work with Ferry Corsten. At what age did you start singing and performing?

I can honestly say I’ve been singing forever. I was told that I sang in my crib At probably around 16 I started writing lyrics and playing guitar to accompany myself and started performing while I was in college with my first band.

Who do you say influenced you most musically whilst growing up?

I listened to a lot of alternative rock bands during high school – I loved Radiohead and the Smashing Pumpkins but was also crazy about some of the 80′s British bands like the Cure, Depeche Mode, and Joy Division. The first DJ that I really loved was Carl Cox. My friends and I would get dressed up in crazy colorful outfits and dance until the sun came up.

And what about now, as you have grown up and started performing yourself, what new inspiration have you found with people you hear, meet or work with?

I try to learn how to play other people’s music on guitar… it introduces me to new chords and combinations and often takes me places vocally that I wouldn’t go on my own. It’s also fun to just sit down with other musicians and work on ideas – you usually end up learning a few new tricks in these sessions. Working with Ferry Corsten was amazing because I honestly liked every idea he came up with – that’s rare in musical collaborations.

I see you have a broad range of music covered by your work so far, from rock to electronica, do you have a favorite genre of music you like to sing to?

Discovering trance music was really a gift. I often felt over-powered by the live drums in rock music and was told by a musician friend that I’d be insane not to do electronic music. That said, I like to keep my options open. All of the instruments and styles are there to help us get our ideas across.

Was trance music ever a style that you envisioned yourself working with when you began your career?

I owned a guitar and that was what I always used to write which led me to identifying with that sound. I liked a lot of electronic music but knew very little about how it was made. I had a project called Mariposa with a producer, Brendan Hawkins, that was very experimental/electronic but wouldn’t be considered trance or dance for that matter. The collaboration with Ferry is actually my first trance collaboration but I’ve since been able to work with some other amazing DJ’s: ATB, Kenneth Thomas, and Austin Leeds.

What have the highlights of your music career been so far?

Full on Ferry in Rotterdam is still fresh in my mind. Ferry playing a huge event in his hometown – I was so happy to be a part of it. The light show was stunning and the fans couldn’t have been more amazing and supportive. Showing up on the charts this month in the Netherlands alongside U2, Coldplay and the Killers is incredible. Pre-Ferry: Performing an original song live on MTV. Hearing my first band on the radio

How did you come to work with the legendary Ferry Corsten?

Ferry’s manager is a friend of mine. We met soon after I arrived in NY at a party for my friend’s music licensing company. He played some of my songs for Ferry and told me that when the time came for his next record, Ferry wanted to try out a collaboration.

How much creative input did you have when working on the vocals for ‘Made of Love’ and ‘Feel You’?

I actually wrote a guitar version of “Made Of Love” a few weeks before Ferry sent me the track to start writing over. I put the idea to Ferry’s’ music and it was a perfect fit. I think I my excitement to start the collaboration gave me a burst of creative energy. I wrote “Feel You” almost immediately after getting the files. When we got together, he really liked both ideas. We spent a day arranging and adding some new parts. Ferry had some incredible melody ideas that took “Made of Love” to the next level. Very musical, that one

Comparing a song such as ‘Made of Love’ to say ‘When You’re Dreaming’ with Mariposa, what differences do you have to make in your approach when creating the lyrics and being in the studio?

I never consciously change my approach but you can’t help but react to different styles of music. It may be similar to how people move differently while dancing to different styles of music. If it’s inspiring, you can’t help but be drawn into the mood. In “When You’re Dreaming” I slipped into a jazz style for the first time. Brendan Hawkins, the producer, suggested trying a bossa nova feel to the guitar player. The whole thing was magic and really fun. My Sister had suggested that I write a song that people of all ages could appreciate and I wrote it immediately after talking to her (while driving) by singing the idea into my tape recorder. I write a lot of songs while driving – keep your distance if you see me on the road!

Playing at an event such as Full On Ferry in 2008 must have been very emotionally moving, and I would of thought scary at the same time! What feeling do you get when you hear a crowd singing along to your songs at such a big event?

It was really overwhelming the night before in sound-check but the crowd was so cool on the night of the show, all of my nervousness calmed down. I get chills when I hear people singing along. It makes me feel incredibly connected to them – like we’re all in it together.

I like many have enjoyed hearing ‘Made of love’, it has become pretty much a main player in DJs sets across the globe. Can we expect to hear more from you in the trance scene?

I have a song that’s coming out on ATB’s artist album on May 1st – it’s called “A New Day.” I’ve also recently finished a song with a DJ on Ultra Records named Austin Leeds. He brought in Willem Faber to put some touches on it. I don’t have the exact release date for that one yet but I promise to keep you posted. I plan to keep working on more dance music and also have plans for another solo record. Details to come…

As my final question… What does trance music mean to you?

Trance music is about reaching new levels by completely letting go.

Thank you for your time Betsie, it has been a pleasure interviewing you for iLove Trance Music!

Thank you so much for taking interest in my work! The collaboration with Ferry has opened me to a new world of music and amazing people. All the best to you

For anyone interested in keeping up to date directly with Betsie Larkin’s work then please make use of the following links:

If you liked this interview please subscribe to the site at the top of the page, retweet, share and feel free to link to the article from your sites you use!
Be sure to stay tuned for further interviews and interesting posts!

If you did not catch it yesterday, there is a free mix to be found from Jordan Suckley who was my Trance Tuesday suggestion: Click here for your free mix!

Stuart

Here I catch Emma with a 9 hour time difference between us. This means I’m having my morning coffee at 10am, whilst Emma is waiting to settle down for the evening no doubt with it being 7pm on a Monday. Assuming I’m in “London Town” (as that is where all Englishmen live right?) she asks how it is there? I live in Portsmouth I tell her, but as I’m visiting London next week I’ll update her.
We quickly discuss the A State of trance 400 show, both wishing we had been at any one of the 3 events held over the weekend and find we both like Gareth Emery. Musically that is, I couldn’t tell you if she has a crush on him! And no, I don’t before anyone starts…

When I ask her what she got up to on the weekend she replies with “Umm…I went down the coast and actually witnessed a pretty massive boat smash! Carnage! I think the captain may have been drunk… Driving this huge cruiser, he just smashed into the jetty and rear ended three fishing boats.
I didn’t head out to any clubs or anything though, just trying to be low key!!” She was even standing on the jetty when it happened! If that is having a low key weekend, I can only wonder what a weekend out partying is like with Emma Hewitt?!

So I’ll quit my, or our ramblings, and move onto what you really want to read about…

Thank you for our brief chat about what is happening in our worlds, I’m glad I worked out the time zone difference correctly to catch up with you and you made it off the jetty alive!

You have made such an impact on the scene with your collaborations, both with Chris Lake and Cosmic Gate, what do you think of all the buzz surrounding your tracks?

Well I am extremely lucky to have had the opportunity of working with such great producers/djs, it is exciting to hear the tracks are getting a bit of buzz around them!!

At what age did you start singing, and was it always a goal to turn professional and make it a career?

I pretty much always wanted to sing, it was really the only career option I was ever interested in!  (I was pretty bad at most other things too, so I guess that is a good thing! )

I started in bands at about the age of 16 and just kept writing and pursuing music from there.  I never had any formal training or anything, I just kind of picked it up along the way.

I’m seeing a reoccurring theme that female singers being picked up by trance producers have background experience in other music genres, such as rock. I know you yourself have your band Missing Hours. Did you ever think that you would hear your voice being heard anywhere other than on stage with a band behind you?

Yeah, it is kind of a strange experience to venture into different genres!  I had always hoped to sing on some trance tracks, as I really love the style of music.   I just seemed to be surrounded by rock musicians all the time, and no one that knew anything about the trance genre, so it seemed a foreign world to me!

I am finding myself more and more captivated by the world of trance music and less inspired by rock music at the moment.  There seem to be so many possibilities with trance, rock music can be quite limiting I suppose.

When you say limiting, do you mean that by the time and effort you have to put in with a band, or other factors?

Yeah, the recording process with a band is a lot more time consuming. Then you have to deal with record labels and marketing people all pushing and pulling you in different directions. It takes months and months for a rock album to filter out!!

I love the fact that with trance music it is more about creating music that you love and getting it out to the clubs for people to hear as quickly as possible!! There is potential for a much broader range of people to hear the music too!

Cosmic Gate are massive producers and achieved so much in the scene and even had commercial success with the likes of the classic ‘Firewire’. How did you end up creating a track with them that has took the trance scene by storm?

I was so lucky here! I am a big fan of Cosmic Gate! They are fantastic producers. They actually got in contact through MySpace and asked me to work on a track. I fell in love with the instrumental they sent through, just beautiful!  I wrote and recorded the vocals in a little studio over here and emailed it across to them.

They had the track mastered in a matter of days, and started playing it in their sets almost immediately…A wonderful experience working with such professional people. I hope to meet the guys in person someday!!

So going back to your previous answer, that is a great example as to the possibilities that you can achieve with trance music, or any electronic dance music for that matter. You have not even met Cosmic Gate, not travelled across the world, but still accomplished what many people dream of. Great stuff!

Exactly! It blows my mind that I can record vocals in my friend’s little studio by the ocean over here, and in a matter of weeks they are being played in clubs on the other side of the world!

You speak of your love of trance music. What are your top 3 tracks old and new that you enjoy?

The Tiesto mix of ‘Silence’ is my all time favorite still! I love Armin’s ‘Sound of Goodbye’ and funnily enough, Cosmic Gate’s classic ‘Firewire’ just takes me back to some good old memories!! haha.

Oooh, I forgot to mention Nadia Ali though… I really love her vocals and am really enjoying ‘Love Story’.

So now that you have a main player under your belt, is your inbox and phone buzzing with producers wanting you to work with them? If so, can you let the cat out of the bag about any projects?

Haha, well a lot more doors have been opening lately, which is fantastic! I have a track in the pipeline with Gareth Emery which I am really excited about!! I love his production, so I can’t wait to hear where he takes this one! I am about to start a track with Sied van Riel, who I am also a big fan of! I am currently writing vocals for Andy Duguid and Marcus Shossow as well.

I am really excited to be working on some ideas for Tiesto’s side project “Allure”  too.  So there is lots to keep me busy this year!!

I really like the Sied van Riel mix of ‘Not Enough Time’, so I expect he will do great things with you, likewise for all of them though. You really do have a list of top names there, well done! I’ll look forward to hearing your voice hitting the dance floor for a long time yet it seems.

With work lined up with some of the biggest trance producers in the world, is there anyone else that you would wish to work with?

I would love to work with Ferry Corsten, we have had a few email chats about working on something for his next album, so hopefully that works out. And Armin Van Buuren, of course, would be great!

Ah yes Ferry Corsten, iLove Trance music readers should stay tuned for something Ferry related real soon!

Are you planning on travelling to the northern hemisphere any time soon, with say doing a live set with Cosmic Gate as an example?

I would love to!!  I am definitely planning a trip out to Europe during the summer to do some shows, it would be wonderful to do a live set with Cosmic Gate…I will have to have a chat to them and see if we can organize something!

Aiming high I see!

Haha, well I guess, might as well aim somewhere!!

Recently you had Trance Energy tour around Australia, what is the trance scene like in Australia?

The trance scene in Australia is a little underground, it is nowhere near as appreciated as it is in Europe. People seem to be more into electro and house out here, but I think trance is slowly starting to emerge a bit more. The people that do follow trance here are definitely die hard fans of the music!

As one last question before I let you enjoy the rest of the evening in Australia…
What does trance music mean to you?

Trance music to me is music that feels as though it can almost raise your vibrational energetic levels and intensify feelings, like it could take you to a different place of being at times ….music that transcends…

A real spiritual answer there. Well it has been fantastic chatting to you Emma!

You too Stuart!!! Lovely talking to you! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat

Thank you ever so much for your time and answers. I wish you all the best for the future and I’m looking forward to hearing more from you!

If you would love to keep up to date with the lovely Emma Hewitt then check out the following links:

MySpace Page

Facebook page

If you liked this interview please subscribe to the site at the top of the page and be sure to stay tuned for further interviews and interesting posts!

Thank you for reading!

Stuart

I hope you all had a wonderful time listening to what you could of A State of Trance over the weekend. It was without a doubt amazing to hear of 11,000 plus people from across the globe tuning in via the video stream and multiple audio streams. Without a doubt Armin van Buuren has sent a benchmark that will be hard to beat. Was nice to connect with lots of you on Twitter too through the hashtag #asot400

Anyway, back on topic…

Oen Bearen – Ajoyable (Original Mix)
Stampgevaar Digital
DJdownload.com link

Push – Universal Nation (Guy Mearns Remix)
Progrez
DJdownload.com link

Mandy Lou – Madystic (Original Mix)
Sphere Traxxx
TrackItDown.net

Night Liberator – Artificial Pervasion (Charlie G & Vandall Remix)
CGI Records
TrackItDown.net link

I hope you all had an excellent Easter weekend, I know many of you in Australia would of been enjoying the likes of…well any of the 5 below in fact. To celebrate returning back to work (…Yawn!) I have picked out one of the latest tracks from 5 of the DJs who were featured in the Trance Energy tour!

Marco V – Coma Aid (Original Mix)

In Charge Recordings
TrackItDown Link

Hmmm… Marco V. I’ll be frank, I really didn’t follow what he did after Automanual, as I felt he was going to far down the electro/house route. Coma Aid I really think is a mixture of old and new and he has won me over again. Some may mention Red Blue Purple was also a fantastic track, but I heard it caned in so many commercial which kinda turned me off – just like when a pretty chav clubber opens her mouth and says “Wot u looking at?!”.

Art of Trance – Madagascar (Richard Durand Mix)

Ministry of Sound UK
TrackItDown Link

Every mix I hear Richard Durand work on is just gold! From Skunk Anansie, Way Out West, Armnin van Buuren and Tiesto, he never ever fails to impress! I repeat, he never ever fails to impress! Got that? Got the above track? Good!

Aly & Fila – Dynasty (Original Mix)

Armada
TrackItDown Link

My first time seeing these pair at Peach, London was immense! They really are a duo who perform as well behind the decks as they do in the studio. I’m sure Australia’s trance lovers will agree after hearing them over the Easter weekend.

Mark Sherry & James Allan vs Stuart Trainer – Cabin Fever (Original Mix)

Captivating Sounds
TrackItDown Link

I’m loving the mixes Mark Sherry keeps putting out on his Facebook group. Last year he really dug some great tunes and he looks set to continue with what I’ve seen in 2009.

Marcus Schossow – From My Heart (Original Mix)

Tone Diary
TrackItDown Link

Swedish DJ and producer Marcus Schossow I think has invested in a rocket. His rise to fame has been so sudden and quick in such a large industry, where everyone wants a slice of the pie and many household names hold onto their large portion, there can be no other explanation. Tone Diary is a force to reckon with, even Darth Vader wants in!