I think the burnout of the last few weeks is finally catching up to me. I had a day off yesterday for recovery. And I was still full of energy. So I took the opportunity to restart some ongoing passions that have since fallen by the wayside … this blog being one of them. It figures that once I got the process rolling, my exhaustion would kick in, and I would be at a loss for words … or thought, for that matter. Given such circumstances, I’ll make the best attempt I can at staying focused, while exercising brevity. Guess I already fucked that up with this rambling lengthy intro paragraph …
Anyway, I’m going to go full-on deep euphoric trance with an uplifting track titled “Sunrise.” I heard it in the car this morning on the way to work, and kinda fell in love with it. The sun had, or course, already risen. But it was thematically appropriate. And I think it looped three times during my drive, which I wholeheartedly allowed to happen. Curiously, I haven’t been into the trance lately, opting instead for tech-house and minimal techno offerings, especially those of the progressive persuasion . So this one kind of took me by surprise.
Don’t get me wrong. I do love a dose of all things trance from time to time. I used to O.D. on the genre, particularly when it came to Goa and Psy offshoots. And I loved those high octane dancefloor burners that really shook the sweat from the system. All good stuff … at least, that’s how memory serves. But like I said, these days, I typically skew towards a more manageable and sustainable 123-126 bpm range.
“Sunrise” clocks a bit faster at 130 bpm’s. It holds the essence of progressive house, with the velocity of a deep trance mindset. I think what hooks me is its ability to remain euphoric without the overt bombast, a quality that permeates the contemporary culture moreso than not. It’s one of the main reasons I drifted apart from the genre.
To the contrary, “Sunrise” distills the ecstasy essence, rolling it into a progressively deeper rift. It still races at a breakneck clip with dreamlike smoothness and hypnotic rhythms. But it also engages and propels, with enough percussive complexity and interwoven sinewave grooves to send the mind slipping, sliding and slaloming through its electro funhouse.
I should also mention, since I’ve failed to do so thus far, that “Sunrise” comes from a powerhouse trio of DJ/producer talent on Above & Beyond’s legendary deep house and trance label Anjunadeep. The primary collaborators are the UK’s Oliver Smith and Norway’s Boom Jinx, aka Øistein Johan Eide. Remix duties are courtesy of Aussie export Jaytech, a.k.a. James Cayzer, who is one of the label’s biggest contributors, featured on a number of compilations and DJ sets.
I’m going to stop here. Once again, I’ve allowed myself to ramble far down the page and into verbose oblivion. I guess that shit happens when your tired. So on that note, here’s Jaytech’s remix of Oliver Smith and Boom Jinx’s trance excursion “Sunrise.”
Enjoy!
“Sunrise – Jaytech Remix” from the 2012 compilation “Anjunadeep presents Jaytech 01”
Oliver Smith:
Jaytech:
Boom Jinx: