Currently on Facebook there’s are many posts about personal Trance Classics Top 10 charts so I decided to post my own one aswell in descending order. Starting from place 10 up to number 1. My chart is also available as a 40 mins mix on Soundcloud as stream & download.
10
Ferry Corsten – I Love You
Original 2003 Version
Flashback
“Ferry played this tune a lot during 2003-2005, mainly on events, it was rarely played on radio. He produced it for his wife with a simple message and named the tune after that message. When I was listening to it for the first time it really grow on me because of it’s simple, but effective break and huge build up into a true melodic and uplifting trance style. Other fans and me waited a long time for the official release of I Love You. It appeared first on Gatecrasher: Sheffield compilation and was released later on Flashback, including a couple of other mixes.”
9
Adam White – Chimera
Bootleg Version
CDR
“This tune has a big history for me aswell, so it’s no surprise that I include it in my chart. I heard it the first time back in 2005 on ASOT 213 when Armin van Buuren opened the show with it. The unique Adam White style makes the tune special for me. The lush melodic mid-uplifting style. The Dub Mix was released a many years later on Perfecto, because the Bootleg Version includes samples from the movie Mission Impossible and the label got no sample clearance for that. Today Adam is signing a new uplifter to Perfecto, including using another sample…will he be successful this time?”
8
OceanLab – Beautiful Together
Radio Edit / Martin’s 2010 Extension
Anjunabeats / CDR
“OceanLab, the name was adapted from Steinberg’s WaveLab tool which Above & Beyond were using for producing this beautiful classic vocal trance tune. Justine Suissa was the vocalist for this project. Now you wonder why I was choosing the Radio Edit instead of the extended Original Mix? Simply because the Radio Edit has a total different structure, uses more verses and texts. Above & Beyond / Anjunabeats promised to release all kind of older material as soon as they regain back their license(s). This happened many years ago and they did nothing for their (former) fans. So I decided back in 2010 to extend the Radio Edit with the help of the Original Mix to my own Extended Radio Edit version, which is mixable and usable for sets.”
7
Motorcycle – Around You
Gabriel & Dresden Remix
Magik Muzik
“The project Motorcycle consists of the members Gabriel & Dresden with vocalist Jes Brieden. The most well known title they released was As The Rush Comes. The reason I include Around You in my chart is because of it’s message, the structure and the unique style. Gabriel & Dresden had and still have today a very unique style which I love and support. Motorcycle produced many different tunes which were rejected by Positiva, the label which released As The Rush Comes. They wanted to release only tunes in the same style as As The Rush Comes and no other, imho, more innovative productions. Later Gabriel & Dresden and Jes Brieden split and the Motorcycle project was dead. Jes Brieden used many of the Motorcycle productions for her own artist album Disconnect. The unmodified tune Around You was released much later.”
6
Dogzilla – Frozen
Club Mix
New State Music
Till today Simon Patterson is one of my favorite producers. Recently he decided to move to more slower, psychedelic stuff which I also love and support. Many years ago, together with Richie Kayvan, he was part of the vocal trance project Dogzilla. The project can be described at best as uplifting vocal rock trance. The reason I include Frozen into my chart is because it’s style is also very unique, uses clever lyrics and a lush melody.
5
Orkidea – Beautiful
Alt+F4 Remix
Sential Recordings
“Are you an angel? – Never heard about angels before! – They’re the most beautiful creatures in the universe. You must be one! Maybe you just don’t know it. The first time I heard this vocal sample in the break of Beautiful building up into Alt+F4’s unique trance melody style, I know this is something really awesome. The sample was taken from the young Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala from the movie Star Wars: Episode 5. The group Alt+F4 consisted of the two members Joonas Hahmo and Matti Kotala.”
4
Factoria – Kissed By An Angel
Arksun Remix
Selective Recordings
“I heard this tune the first time on Trance Around The World, Above & Beyond’s first radioshow, and instantly fall in love with it. You can say about the remixer Arksun what you can later, I had myself many Anjuna forum fights/discussions with him aswell, but he is a hell of a trance producer. At least he was for the two productions: Arisen and this remix. We fans waited many years for a follower of Arisen but it never happened, mainly because of perfection issue by Arksun. His remix of Kissed By An Angel was 7 or 8 times in a row Record Of The Week winner on TATW. The fans loved it back all these days; I still love this production till today.”
3
Niklas Harding pres. Arcane – Ice Beach
Jonas Steur Meltdown Remix
Vandit
Here’s another tune I include to my chart because it’s remix takes it to a total different level. I can’t say much about the Original Mix of Ice Beach but for me Jonas Steur’s Remix of it is his best production till today and really deserved a place in my Top 3 of Trance Classics. Before remixing Ice Beach Jonas produced tunes like Castamara or Silent Waves, which I also really love, but none of them reached the perfection of Ice Beach. This 9:18 mins production is something every trance addict should have heard.
2
John O’Callaghan & Bryan Kearney – Exactly
Original Mix
Discover
“Noone, I say noone expected a trance hit like that back in the year 2006. For me at least it came totally out of nowhere! John and Bryan did produce this 142 BPM masterpiece with a lush melody and developed the so called Discover sound to a total new direction. It uses only one vocal sample, the word Exactly. Maybe the guys knew it before that they gonna have something really hot out there. For me Exactly will always be perfectly, it’s one of the tunes you show someone who asks you for: what is trance?”
1
Nu NRG – Dreamland
Original Mix
Vandit
“And here is it, my personal number 1! Andrea Ribeca and Giuseppe Ottaviani were the two members of the project Nu NRG. Back in 2004 they released their artist album Freefall, which is till today my favorite trance artist album ever. So it was really logical for me to pick one of the tunes out of it for my Trance Classics chart. It was hard to pick only one, it would be more fair to put the whole album to number 1, but I decided to choose Dreamland, because this was one of the first tunes I heard live. And if there’s one trance moment I will never forget is seeing Nu NRG playing live. I’m thankful that I had the luck to see them performing live. I never had a trance experience like that again. Later Nu NRG split and today both artists are still active for their own, but it’s obvious not the same anymore. Both of their styles have been really slowed down. I will never forget Nu NRG and I will forever include them in my trance soul!”