Gui Boratto- No Turning Back

Gui Boratto's "No Turning Back" has been infecting the local airwaves for several months now, and I, too, am infected. Tagged under "techno" and "tech house", this is one sophisticated track even listeners outside the electronic dance music circuit can enjoy.

Subtle melodies and tech synths make up the first part of the song. After the build-up, a cutting-edge sound akin to an electric guitar swings by. The vocals are really unique come to think of it. Very nostalgic and emotional, the vocals carry the feel of the whole song.

I guess my words can only say so much about this beautiful song.

They can say the most wonderful words you just don’t understand
I can show you the way but I know that you’ll never be there
All the time, all the shine of your eyes I would never forget
All I know there’s no time, there’s no life, there is no turning back
There is no turning back
There is no turning back

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Blake Jarrell- Galapagos/ Patagonia EP

"Punta del Este" became a summer anthem of 2008, while "Boracay/ Manila" (inspired by Blake's stay here in the Philippines) became 2009's very own. This year, 2010, Blake Jarrell takes us to the humble Galapagos Islands and the serene region of Patagonia with his new EP released under Electronic Elements.


Galapagos

A different kind of uplifter, should I say. Riffs of the track are simple, but really filled with energy-- the kind of sound that takes you "up there". After measures of raising the energy level, the track soars to a sky-high climax similar to the one of Boracay. Upbeat, uplifting, and of course, rejuvenating, the climax of Galapagos is indeed something you would not want to miss especially when you are already on a beach on a Summer day.

Just close your eyes and you will see what Blake wants you to see.

Galapagos (B.O.N.G. Remix)

The track melts in the hands of B.O.N.G. as he turns the upbeat track from Blake into a suave, soothing, progressive house wonder. Composed of tranquil piano samples, laid-back atmospheric feel, soulful sawtooth melody, and thicker-sounding basslines, the B.O.N.G. remix is the "sunset contrast" to the bright original track.

Patagonia

If you think Galapagos was already uplifting, then you are wrong. Packed with more emotions and more atmospheric ambiance, Patagonia indeed is one of 2010's best progressive releases. Aside from that, this track has one of the most emotional climaxes I have heard so far as it leaves its listeners with a nostalgic feeling.

So here they are, three brilliantly-crafted tracks, tailor-made for the upcoming summer season-- indulge!

READ MORE - Blake Jarrell- Galapagos/ Patagonia EP

Mango feat. Kazusa - Kites (Shingo Nakamura Remix)

Alexy Golovanov, famously known as Mango, has been the man behind several progressive house and chill out acts from Russia and to the rest of the world. Aside from managing his very own record label, Mango Alley, Golovanov also is a producer signed to eighteen different labels; some of which include Silk, Enormous Tunes, Add2Basket, and Unreleased Digital.

It was 2009 when Mango signed and released an EP entitled Kites under Proton Music with features from Japanese producers Kazusa and Shingo Nakamura and Australian Matt Rowan.

The Shingo Nakamura remix on Kites EP was the track that really stood out. This surreal, rejuvenating track is indeed a wonder itself. With Mango's levitating feel and lush basslines being in harmony with Nakamura's melodious piano samples-- Kites (Shingo Nakamura Remix) is surely a flawless atmospheric track.

Sit back, relax, and let this track take you to higher ground.

READ MORE - Mango feat. Kazusa - Kites (Shingo Nakamura Remix)

B.O.N.G.- Back to Floripa

Summer is just around the corner, and my system, once again, starts to yearn for warm, sun-drenched melodies to stimulate and indulge.


As I allowed my senses to carefully pick tracks out there, I stumbled upon B.O.N.G.’s Back to Floripa track. Actually, Argentina’s talent is not a new name to me; Juan Carlos Villalba’s tracks have been made familiar to me through frequent appearance on various progressive house portals. Aside from that, it was in Jaytech’s music podcast where I first heard and appreciated his sound. Released under the humble and promising Silk Digital Records, it is a pleasure to review B.O.N.G. - Back to Floripa (Original Mix).


Back to Floripa is a melting pot of a minimal version of Dinka’s sound and a denser-sounding Mango. Aside from its stubby basslines, a very melodious and soothing riff brush the track. Surprisingly, Floripa is also an atmospheric track— its subtle echoes add more essence to it. Simple—yes, once again, I use this word to describe something exploding with bliss and crisp.


It’s not yet summer, like what I have said, but I can already imagine my buddies and me on a Sunday morning driving from coast to coast while listening and chilling with this wonderful record from B.O.N.G.

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Claes Rosen- Endeavour

The moment I heard the astonishing prog house wonder Delirious sometime last week, I knew that side A of the release would be stunning as well.

I was wrong.

It was not just stunning, but also absolutely, brilliantly, amazingly fresh! Endeavour is another sweet treat to all prog house aficionados out there, with its juicy and groovy basslines ready to unleash the unbleached essence of progressive house music. Not only that, mint synths and hip, yet laid-back piano samples also join in the fun.

Remarkably a track full of life and freshness, Claes Rosen's Endeavour signals his highly-anticipated return to Nellie Recordings.

Endeavour is the side A of "Endeavour/ Delirious", click here to read my review on Delirious.

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Andain- Beautiful Things (Roger Shah Magic Island Remix)

This special track has lots of stories to tell...

The year 2003 was the year when the now-defunct icons of progressive trance music, Gabriel & Dresden, released Beautiful Things under the guise Andain. It was in this project where they were able to work alongside Mavie Marcos to release sentimental vocal electronic music that would later define the whole vocal electronic dance music scene. On a side note, it was also Josh Gabriel, Dave Dresden, and Jes Brieden who were responsible for the one-track-wonder "Summer Calling" released under the name Motorcycle.


The original version of Beautiful Things was the first and last track that forever changed my musical preferences back in 2005. Albeit 2009 echoing the separation of the duo Gabriel & Dresden, their music will always be up there.


Roger Shah is a legend himself. A German producer with many aliases like Sunlounger and Black Pearl. Formerly known as DJ Shah, he has become one of the most indispensable figures in the uplifting trance, Balearic trance, and chill out music scenes. It was also summer of 2007 when I really got into his Ibiza sunset-drenched music that his sublime album, Another Day on the Terrace was the only album I listened to all summer long.

Outside the Sunlounger box, Shah was known as DJ Shah with his vocal tracks with various songbirds like Aruna, Nadja Nooijen, Adrina Thorpe, and special mention to Chris Jones with Armin van Buuren with their track "Going Wrong". Shah changed his artist name to his real name, Roger Shah in 2008, and since then, he has been releasing and remixing quality uplifting and contemporary trance music.

When two of the biggest names are incorporated in one single track, magic happens. Roger Shah brushes this track with the humble and downbeat spirit of a sunset. Moreover, Shah takes this masterpiece high above with a breathtaking climax-- a perfect way to express the emotions of the track.

Consistent and uplifting, Roger Shah's Magic Island remix takes the 2003 classic higher than it had ever been before.


Photo Source: Potipot Island, Zambales, Philippines
Photo Source: Andain
Photo Source: Roger Shah

READ MORE - Andain- Beautiful Things (Roger Shah Magic Island Remix)

Oasis vs Myon & Shane54- Wonderless (Monster Mix)

I've been aching to write a review on this for quite sometime since I first heard this on Myon & Shane54's massive mash-up set for Coldharbour Day [7.28.09].

For M&s54 fans out there, just one listen to this track can spell to us that the backbone of this is Myon & Shane54's very own Helpless (Monster Mix), a track featuring the highly-talented Aruna Abrams. Before I forget, this impressive mash-up by the Hungarian duo may also be tagged as "Oasis- Wonderwall (Myon & Shane54 Helpless Mix)".

With a breath, the monster is unleashed. The vocals of Liam Gallagher were slightly reverbed to give it a "big room" effect while at the same time complementing the overall thick, heavy, and electro-infected composition of the track.

Aside from it being a stadium anthem, M&S54's take on Wonderwall is indeed another certified banger as dominantly heard in the breakdown. Yes, the riff accompanying the vocals do have some energy packed in them, but the true banger spirit can be felt in the deadly breakdown. Just to add, the breakdown itself is made up of Myon & Shane54's newly-concocted monstrous sound, and I like it.


I think my job's done here, let your avid ears do the listening.

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Leventina- Here Workin' (Dinka Instrumental Mix)

Just the track you need to spice up a gloomy day.

With the stunning atmosphere and the upbeat melodies Here Workin' has to offer, people should start coining a new sub-genre of electronic dance music-- uplifting progressive house.

Leventina's Here Workin' came in six different versions, namely: the vocal mix, the original mix, the Dinka Vocal Mix, the Dario D'attis Remix, the Helvetic Nerds Remix, and of course, this, the Dinka Instrumental Mix. Among those renditions mentioned, the latter one was the most appealing to me because of the wonderful introduction this track catered.

With soul-penetrating vibes, this Instrumental Mix is the perfect set opener for any given progressive house set.

In a nut shell, prog house aficionados would find this track as "Dinka-flying-higher" track, while first time listeners of the genre may find this as the fresh fruit in a basket of rotting apples.

READ MORE - Leventina- Here Workin' (Dinka Instrumental Mix)

Claes Rosen- Delirious

Do you believe that the electronic dance music scene is a genre of musical diversity? If no, well, it's about time you listen to some real music. But if your answer to the question is a yes, then you know what you are doing.

What am I trying to point out? The rapid surge of innovations in the EDM scene for the past years have resulted into the branching out of several sub-genres, each uniquely composed to cater to different fastidious listeners around the globe. Not just that, each sub-genre, like progressive house, has its very own feel, courtesy of the well-respected artists who have created them.

The vibe artists express in their music is something I always look for (after all, there's a reason why music is considered as a form of art). Take this wonderful release from Claes Rosen for instance, Delirious brought me to a sun-drenched euphoria with a pinch of spherical and star-studded feel. Aside from that, it is something upbeat and light in composition. As the picky listener that I am, I can confidently say that this is one of those many songs that I'd be willing to listen for hours and hours.

Enjoyed this release? Watch out for the official release of this track on February 12 under Nellie Recordings.

Check out the review on Endeavour here

READ MORE - Claes Rosen- Delirious

Marcus Schossow- My Star

It was September of 2009 when Marcus Schossow released his debut album entitled, Outside the Box under his very own label, Tone Diary Holland. As time passed, I started to have some personal favorite tracks from the album itself, and to share one of them, here's My Star, probably the smashing supernova of the whole album.

A vocal hook that kinda goes, "I wonder where you are, searching for a star," initiates the track. Compared to the other Schossow banger tracks like his remix on La Guitarra and his original track, Beast, My Star is more of the melting pot of his exquisite music tastes that range from tech-like and electro-influenced banging tunes to trance-edged progressive melodies.

Everything incorporated in this single track paints a bigger picture, and for me, that picture is somewhere up there in the sky. However, albeit painting its own picture, My Star also complements the other fourteen tracks of the album, which also forms a bigger scene as a whole.

You might also want to read my write up on Marcus Schossow in my Top 10 Picks of 09.

READ MORE - Marcus Schossow- My Star

Paul Keeley- Run to You

As you can see, I've been dominantly tuning-in to the progressive house genre for the past year or so. Have you ever wondered how I got so much into this prog house thing? Well, The Offspring and Rancid got me into the pop punk and punk rock scene respectively, at the same time, Sublime allowed me to embrace the sounds of reggae-hiphop and ska, but for progressive house, it was Paul Keeley who really turned the tables in my listening preferences.

Going in much more detail, the very first track was actually Run to You, which I heard on MoorMusic around a year ago. Run to You is a magical track that I really fell in love in, and eventually shaped me into the listener I am today.

What really caught my attention back then were the dreamy atmosphere and the soothing vibe of the track. Moreover, before, this was something really fresh to me because it catered such a different sound that no other genre appealed to my senses.

It's a pleasure to share to you the track that forever changed my music. Released under Baroque Records, this is Paul Keeley's one and only Run to You.

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CHECK OUT AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH PAUL KEELEY HERE.

READ MORE - Paul Keeley- Run to You

Jarek Czechowski - Transport (Petersky Remix)

So captivating, so sophisticated, and at the same time, so infectious, this is Petersky's version of Czechowski's Transport-- a special treat to all prog house enthusiasts out there.

Let's get straight to the point, this isn't your ordinary progressive house tune your iPod might already have. Filtered vivid melodies added with a pinch of glimmering riffs, after which coated with bustling percussion instruments, Transport (Petersky Remix) redefines progressive house music norms.

Now that you know how awesome this track is, this time, let's know more about the two geniuses who have wonderfully crafted this unique track: The original mix was composed by a Polish DJ named Jarek Czechowski, aka Angelo Mike, who have been stirring commotions in his own Polish soil for the past fourteen years. On the contrary, we owe Petersky, who happens to be a Polish DJ too, big love and gratitude for this remix.

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READ MORE - Jarek Czechowski - Transport (Petersky Remix)