Albums, Electro | Andrew Bayer – If It Were You, We’d Never Leave (Album Review)
Posted by Middy on April 24, 2013
The world needs this album right now. Sometimes in this fast paced mile-a-minute world you just need to sit back, close your eyes and relax, and this is the album for that. The 25 year old American producer has developed a reputation for composing genre defying music that spans many styles and sounds. His 2011 album, “It’s Artificial” propelled his solo career forward with its wide variety of styles, from glitch-hop to silky smooth techno to eclectic electronica and progressive, creating a very cerebral experience.
Fast forward to 2013, Andrew Bayer has become a well established member of the Anjunabeats, producing with Above & Beyond on their album “Group Therapy”, being a part of Group Therapy stages everywhere from Tomorrowland to EDC Las Vegas and Electric Zoo, and joining Above & Beyond on tour all over the world. He has established himself with a growing single discography that includes the recently released “England” on Anjunabeats. “If It Were You, We’d Never Leave” is the progression of Andrew Bayer as an artist from his more days with the Signalrunners, making traditional trance music, to a now more ambient, orchestral, album oriented sound that has a timeless quality seen in very few full length electronic pieces today.
Beatport | iTunes | Physical CD
Trance | Norin & Rad – Aldo
Posted by Middy on March 14, 2013
With the release of Anjunabeats Volume 10 in our rearview mirror, we now will see the single releases of the tracks on that oustanding compilation. First up comes from North Californian duo Norin & Rad, who have had a somewhat quiet start to the year supporting Above & Beyond on tour in Australia and in the US, while working on finishing up material for their upcoming album. With its genre defying sound “Aldo”, combines a progressive bass line with strong synth chords and atmospheric pads for this euphoric track that is sure to remain strong in the Anjunabeats and Norin & Rad catalogue for months to come. Next up on the docket is my favorite from the entire compilation, Kyau & Albert’s “Glühwürmchen”. If you have not read our recent chat with Norin & Rad, do so here.
DJ-Set, Progressive House, Trance | Weekend Mixes 3/9/13
Posted by Middy on March 9, 2013
It is that time again and you need these mixes to push through the weekend and to get you through spring break. We start off with Avicii’s much talked about Diplo & Friends mix that is more funk and old school than what you would expect from the Swedish superstar. In celebration of Anjunabeats Volume 10, The Drop has put together an all Anjunabeats episode with tracks old and new in the mix. Listen at 3pm on Tiesto Club Life’s channel on Siruis XM for their entry in the College Invasion radio contest. Next up we have the March edition of Hysteria Radio from the Bingo players that includes an exclusive first play of the Dada Life remix of “Out Of My Mind”. Forging on we have a mix from Cazzette for Liquified Radio and Magnetic Festival that includes a host of their own tracks from their recent three part “Eject” album. After the jump are more mixes from Walden, Avicii, Arty and Armin.
Albums, Review, Trance | Anjunabeats Volume 10 (Review)
Posted by Middy on March 5, 2013
While Anjunabeats Volume 9 seemed to have a noticeable difference between the two CDs, the landmark 10th volume found a way to make it seem as though there was no distinction between the two CDs and created a smooth, uplifting journey that transcends traditional genre barriers and shows the direction of Above & Beyond’s flagship label into the future as one that is forward thinking and defies labels. The compilation features tracks from familiar faces on the label like Maor Levi, Norin & Rad, Andrew Bayer, Jaytech, Arty, Oliver Smith and Kyau & Albert, while giving the chance for many others to shine on this 2 CD, 30 track album. Above & Beyond do a flawless job of mixing between tracks, making the intros and outros between songs seamless and almost not noticeable. Grab a copy below and start listening to the tracks below. Read on to dive into the review of the full compilation.
Preview, Trance | Estiva & Cardinal feat. Arielle Maren – Wait Forever (Daniel Kandi’s Bangin’ Remix)
Posted by Spice on February 26, 2013
In the immortal words of Carl Cox: Oh yes oh yes! This track is massive, end of story, and while I don’t think anyone really gets hyped by previews these days sometimes something comes along that’s so worthy that you’ve just got to post the YouTube video and grin and bear it. Closest analogue to this song? The inimitable “Satellite” by OceanLab. Similar lyrics, similar chord progression after the chorus, similar overall vibe. That’s not to accuse Mr. Kandi of ripping off the boys of Above & Beyond, however; this remix is excellent in its own right, thanks to an amazing instrumental and otherworldly vocals. Look for this to drop on Beatport on March 18th via Enhanced Recordings — and if you can’t get enough Daniel Kandi, check out his recent remix of “Jewel” by Solarstone and Claire Stagg.
Progressive House, Trance | Above & Beyond – Black Room Boy (Above & Beyond Club Mix)
Posted by Spice on February 25, 2013
After weeks of hype and airtime, Above & Beyond’s club mix for “Black Room Boy” has finally dropped on Anjunabeats. In all honesty, this isn’t my favorite thing the trio has put out by any stretch — while I do like the way they’ve refashioned the chord progression in the chorus, I think the overall sound is a little generic. Of course, it’s not objectively bad by any means; it successfully takes the dark, Pet Shop Boys-ish vibe of the original and gives it a harder edged spin, and that’s generally the aim of their club mixes. It’s also guaranteed to appeal to a broader audience (think a large festival event). But at the end of the day this will always be a third or fourth tier A&B track to me — that’s just what happens when you’ve set the bar as high as Tony, Jono and Paavo have. Don’t just take my word for it, however; give it a listen and let us know what you think.
Beatport: Above & Beyond – Black Room Boy (Above & Beyond Club Mix)
Events, Review | Above & Beyond turn Roseland Ballroom into a Temple of Trance
Posted by Middy on February 22, 2013
It is said that Above & Beyond live creates an atmosphere much like that of a religious experience. Whether you are the person right up front wearing an Anjunabeats T-shirt, the girl on somebody’s shoulder making a heart hands and getting one back from Tony, or the guy dancing all the way in the back, Above & Beyond have a way to connect and touch every member of the audience on a deep, personal and emotional way that few other Djs can do. I credit Above & Beyond for helping take the full on plunge into dance music. It was not until I saw their club show at Glow DC two summers ago right after the release of Group Therapy, a show I almost did not get into due to issues with the overzealous bouncers, that I dove head first into this thing called dance music and eventually led me here at FNT.