I’ve got little to nothing going on in my life and I still always wait until the last possible second to write these weekly updates. In a feeble attempt to fight procrastination, posts will come on Thursdays, before 5PM ET. So there’s that. Also, Summer is ending and the awe-inspiring seasonal experience known to all as Autumn is here for a few months. Why is Fall the best time of the year? Apart from the obvious (NFL, foliage, new TV, Movember) this is the period where festivals have passed. In others words, the anthemic mainstream crap is replaced by more artistic efforts. Oh and I’m going to assume, what with the single comment that was left on the last post, that you guys don’t know how to leave one. It’s real simple: click where it says ‘0 comments’ right below the title and it should take you straight to the form (you can also click the post title and scroll to the bottom of the page). That being said, please join me on this week’s journey through EDM.

     I’ve always been a little critical of the following adage: “Good things come in threes.” After all, regular three-leaf clovers ain’t lucky, the Redskins’ three RBs annihilate fantasy football, NBC fired Dan Harmon after the 3rd season of Community and the digit itself birthed the most overused, annoying, gag-inducing emoticon that exists today: ‘<3.’ However, this skepticism is easily turned around by a recent 3-person collaboration on Armada’s Armind imprint.

     What do you get when you cross a seasoned veteran, a burgeoning youngster and an enchanting vocalist? An instant classic, that’s what. Comfortably sitting atop Beatport’s trance chart is “Must Be the Love,” a collaborative effort between Arty, Nadia Ali and BT. It’s always fun to pick out which part of a collaboration comes from whom, but in this track, those distinctions are quite blurred. The soothing piano loops, the strings and xylophone in the breakdown and the indescribably epic lead all seem to be hybrids of Arty, Ali and BT’s styles. These sort of team efforts are always the best; instead of each member bringing forward their usual tendencies, a whole new style is born. Whether you’re a producer, an EDM fan, a casual listener or a genuine newcomer, this track is a must-have.

Arty, Nadia Ali & BT – Must Be the Love (Original Mix)
Released on September 17th on Armind
Beatport

     The number of times I collectively listen to, think about and write about Eric Prydz and his friends’ music is so substantial that I’m pretty sure it borders on obsession. That’s saying something, considering my currently school-less mind is as empty and needy as a slutty orifice, utterly open to any sort of pseudo-phallus necessary to fill the void. What have I used to please my figurative schmegina, you ask? Look no further than Jeremy Olander’s first release on Cr2 records.

     Featured in his Creamfields set that I posted a couple of weeks back, “Rorschach” and “The Rose Law” are some of the best progressive tunes to come out in a while. Rorschach is named after the character from the Watchmen (I asked Olander) which frankly makes me like Jeremy even more. The Rose Law is a mystery to me, but if you google it, you get a big law firm in Arkansas. I’m lazy and I have to leave for work, that’s how I’m describing these ones. Don’t let my silence fool you; they be goood.

Jeremy Olander – Rorschach / The Rose Law
Released on September 17th on Cr2 Records
Beatport

     On almost every occasion, when I fall hard for a track, I need to temper how much I listen to it, lest I start to hate it instead. During the infamous Super8 & Tab interview that we never actually posted to the blog, we asked the Finnish duo if they ever got tired of hearing their songs over and over again. “Tell me about it,” was the answer we got, without the guys missing a beat. It’s too bad they don’t play progressive, because I’d love to see how long they’d keep this one in their sets.

     I’ve been constantly listening to Guy J’s PM mix of Gill Norris’ “Forme” for a little over two weeks and I’m still in love with it. It’s one of those tracks that you trick yourself into thinking you’ve heard before because of the original’s widespread acceptance as a classic and its presence on James Holden’s famous Balance 005 mix compilation. Guy J’s 2012 interpretation of the tune is really more of a updating than a remix; the lasting elements are almost identical to those on Gill Norris’ masterpiece. The modern spin the percussion receives and the companion the melody is introduced with both do their job of giving the PM mix more of a club feel. Guy J does a heads-up job of keeping the original’s lead synth and melody intact, as this is the heart of the song. The bassline is also slightly tweaked, as it becomes something a little smoother, less prominent and less in line with the mains, thus pushing the track’s eerie demeanor to the next level. For fear of over-selling and/or misrepresenting this fantastic piece of music, I’ll stop describing and simply let you have a listen.

Gill Norris – Forme (Guy J PM Mix)
Released on August 24th on Subtract Music
Beatport – iTunes

     Another gig-packed couple of weeks upcoming in Montreal. Tonight, both Underworld and the Telus Theater are booked for AutoÉrotique and Cazzette, respectively. Friday night belongs to our city’s elite clubs; Stereo hosts Subb-an and Circus welcomes Max Graham and Protoculture. Prolific German DJ/producer Thomas Gold is here on Saturday, as he spins a set at New City Gas, after which Montreal’s own Mr. Jean Louis takes over our favorite Afterhours club. Next week’s notable events all take place on Saturday. French keytarist Joachim Garraud’s solo show at New CIty Gas is followed by Chus & Ceballos’ return to Stereo and Etienne Ozborne’s set at Circus. Have a great weekend!

POST BY JUSTIN (He wasn't able to post it from his account for some reason).

My couple of months away from EDM blogging saw 3 artists call off their Montreal appearances, free tickets thrown away, multiple trips to BeachClub and an unfortunate bout of food poisoning, ultimately leading to a 4th and 5th cancellation. Although the end of May/beginning of June was supposed to be rife with international DJs, Andy Moor, Axwell and Ferry Corsten were unable to grace us with their talents. Regardless, we had other events to focus on, like the 100th episode of Tytanium Sessions. On the 1-year anniversary of the 105th edition of Gareth Emery’s podcast, Sean Tyas set camp at Circus Afterhours for the 100th episode of his. Even though none of us are big fans of his weekly show, there was no way we were going to pass up a St-Jean-Baptiste celebration with Raneem, Arnej, Simon Patterson and Sean himself.

Raneem got the show started with a set full of IDs. The live Afterhours.FM broadcast only began one hour into his performance, so he naturally kept most of his own productions for the last 2 hours. He played his popular remix of Emvy’s “Strut,” as well as “Out of Nowhere” and his mashup of CIrez D’s “On Off” and Darude’s “Sandstorm,” which is always a crowd pleaser. After re-listening to his set, it has become clear how much Raneem’s grown this year. Nobody at The Hawt had ever heard of him until Gareth Emery’s February show and our respect for his musical prowess hasn’t stopped gaining since. Here’s the last 2 hours of his set from the night.

Filesonic – Megaupload

Arnej followed our favorite Circus resident with the best 90 minutes of the night. His darker take on Trance was ever so present as he entertained the crowd with tracks by Dakota, Jacob van Hage and a few from Coldharbour Recordings. The highlight of the night came when he played his new 8 Wonders tune, “X.” The song features a somewhat elaborate melody, all the while keeping the bass-heavy dark presence which he holds dear. As if that wasn’t enough, he followed his original with Chris Schweizer’s bootleg mix of “Zombie Nation.” When he turned down the music, only to hear the entire club singing along, it was obvious that he had stolen the show. Here’s “X,” along with his set.

Arnej pres. 8 Wonders – X (Original Mix)

Released on July 18th on Arnej Music

Filesonic – Megaupload

Arnej was followed by the evening’s headliner, Sean Tyas. I’d seen him at Circus before and I recall having had an absolute blast. True to his form, Tyas turned the bass up as high as possible and consequently, no one could quite hear the melody or any other parts of any of the songs he played. I’m not sure what it sounded like in the DJ booth, but we were only able to recognize the tunes we actually knew. Amongst the incomprehension, we were able to make out Funkagenda’s “What The Fuck,” Eric Prydz’s remix of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” and Tyas’ “Banshee.” Only after listening to the recording afterwards was I able to properly appreciate it. And even then, it wasn’t anything special. All together, it was a somewhat disappointing performance by Tyas, as he was easily overshadowed by the impressive squad he invited to play alongside him. Here’s his set from the night.

Filesonic – Megaupload

Simon Patterson was the next to play. He nearly employed the same tactic as Tyas, but cleverly turned down the bass ever so slightly. His set was characterized by unpredictable drops, lengthy breakdowns and lots of his own tracks. I was disappointed to see him neglect his label’s latest release, Nick Callaghan and Will Atkinson’s 2011 remix of his classic, “F16.” In fact, he played Night Vision’s only other 2 releases in Des McMahon’s remix of Wayde Rafnel and Dave Correa’s “Derailed” and Patterson’s own “Latika.” He ended his solo time with “For The Most Part,” his collaboration with Sean Tyas which fit nicely in what was to come. Here’s his entire set from Circus.

Filesonic – Megaupload

In the final moments of the Afterhours.FM live braodcast, Patterson and Tyas played back to back, as in one song after the other. This is when they played their more recognizable tracks, like Dogzilla’s “Without Me” and Tyas’ remixes of Tiësto’s “Suburban Train” and Gareth Emery’s “Sanctuary." Here’s their back to back set.

Filesonic – Megaupload

Thanks to our buddy Samson at montreal-nightclubs.com for the download links. Check his website for all the tracklists from Tytanium Sessions 100.

The holiday weekend continued on Sunday at BeachClub. Pointe-Calumet hosted Sander van Doorn and hundreds of Montrealers eager for a taste of the amazement he displayed at Bal en Blanc. Playground had built a special stage for Armin during his recent visit, but for some reason, Sander was not given the same luxury. Albeit a little crowded, the dancefloor was nonetheless spacious and easily encompassed the horde of day ravers. Here’s what the scene looked like from the DJ booth:

As you can imagine, the area was laden with more than a few over-makeuped, silicone engineered “hotties” grinding their shirtless He-Men and the HGH/steroid abuse problems that came with them, shades of La Folie. I can only speak for myself, but while I’m not a fan of the fake tit, I don’t mind having a few graze my body while I dance. I might be split on the whole Guido culture, but I’m definitely not on Sander van Doorn.

The Dutch producer settled in just as we arrived and opened with the obvious track of summer 2011, Alesso’s remix of “Pressure.” The next hours were spent bobbing and weaving in between genres, going from House to Trance, Electro to the rare Techno track and so on. Sander took the opportunity to drop many tracks from the newest in his Dusk Till Doorn compilation series, which contains lots of new material from Spinnin’s sub-labels. From Wall Recordings, he played Afrojack’s “Doing It RIght” and “Prutataaa,” a collaboration with DJ R3hab, Erick Strong’s “Italian” from Reset Records and Ummet Ozcan’s “Transcend” from Liquid Recordings. However good “Transcend” may be, it was greatly overshadowed by his latest dubbed “Reboot.” The tune reveals a different, more tech-trance side to Ozcan, a variety he’d been lacking for a long time. It’s on the Dusk Till Doorn compilation, but will get a proper release on the 1st of August.

Ummet Ozcan – Reboot (Original Mix)

Released on August 1st on Doorn Records

Since he was so brilliant at Bal en Blanc, his set at BeachClub may have been slightly disappointing to some, considering he also chose to play a variety of genres instead of sticking to the strict Trance makeup his performances used to employ. He ended his show with Eric Prydz’s fantastic remix of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus,” a tune made for live performances currently being played out by loads of DJs, the original mix of “Daddyrock,” even though the Arty remix had just been released, and Sander’s remix of The Killers’ “Spaceman.” He also managed to squeak in his new tune, “Timezone,” which features the vocals of Frederick, but it lacks the power and energy needed for a song to be played live. Regardless, although Sander’s performance paled in comparison to the white party’s, it was a memorable one that displayed his love for all genres of EDM and his willingness to open the minds of the numerous House enthusiasts.

Raneem was on closing duties and since we had missed most of his opening set at Circus on Thursday, we decided to stick around to check out our favorite resident DJ. There’s a few things we learned: first off, looks like Raneem shaves his pits. Just sayin’. Second, Raneem is as popular, maybe even more so, than Sander van Doorn is in Montreal. If you’re a member of the Montreal Trance Scene group on Facebook, you know exactly what I’m talking about. There was a ridiculous amount of praise for him with lots of people saying that he had ousted the Dutchman. Thirdly, his new track, which he happened to premier at the event, is absolutely genius. It’s called “Free Fall,” its just been signed to Leon Bolier’s Streamlined and it might be even better than “Out Of Nowhere.” Here’s a video of Raneem at BeachClub mixing Mark Sherry’s “Phantasmic” into his own “Free Fall.”

Raneem – Free Fall (Original Mix)

Released on ??? on Streamlined

Check out Ramy Bargz’s YouTube channel for nearly all of Raneem’s set from BeachClub.

So it seems as though Ferry Corsten at La Folie is cancelled, but we do still have Sean Tyas at Circus on Thursday and Sander van Doorn at Beach Club on Sunday to look forward to. I must say I’m disappointed in La Folie since they already cancelled Axwell earlier this month and now Ferry isn’t looking good.

There has been a ton of great releases in the past months and the one that stands out is without a doubt Kiss From the Past by Allure (a.k.a. Tiësto). Upon seeing the album title, I was hoping for some old school Tiësto from the days of Elements of Life but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this album. One of my favourite tracks is Show Me The Way that features the vocals of JES but I must also recommend the track On the Wire in which he rekindles with vocalist Christian Burns.

Show Me The Way (feat. JES) - Allure

This next song also has a great vocalist in Susana (probably one of the best all time where it comes to trance in my opinion) and Alexander Popov really delivers on the remix. I heard it first on Myon & Shane54’s podcast and fell in love with it almost immediately. For some reason, this song got me wondering if there were any trance songs with more than one vocalist. Imagine how epic a collaboration between Justine Suissa and Susana could be! If you have any good ones, please share them in the comments below, I’m a complete sucker for some vocal trance (or house, whatever you’ve got).

Fall in Deep (feat. Julian Vincent) [Alexander Popov Remix] - Susana 

Alesso has really exploded onto the scene this summer and at 18 years old you can really expect him to keep on getting better. His remix of Nadia Ali has been dominating the charts and is my favourite house track of the summer so far. He does go a bit overboard with the chopping sound but I don’t mind it that much.

Pressure (Alesso Remix) – Nadia Ali, Starkillers & Alex Kenji

I’m usually not that big of a fan of the dubstep songs Gareth Emery plays to end his podcast but last week’s was very decent and here’s a great remix of it that holds its own alongside the original.

Louder (feat. Sian Evans) [Drumsound & Bassline Smith Remix] – Dj Fresh

This next track cannot be released fast enough, although bootlegs often don’t get that privilege. It played on TATW a few episodes back and its simplicity struck me. Hopefully not another brilliant track that never sees the light of day.

On The Move (Bart Claessen Bootleg) - Barthezz

If you like mashups, chances are you’ll like this next track. Heatbeat (who will be playing at Circus in August alongside Jochen Miller) samples no less then 7 tracks for this monster bootleg. Check out the description of the video for the listing.

Megabootleg 500 - Heatbeat

So, in light of Gareth Emery’s massive upcoming Northern Lights Concert at Theatre Telus, here is my favourite remix of Into the Light by none other than remixer extraordinaire Alex M.O.R.P.H.

Into the Light (feat. Mark Frisch) [Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix] – Gareth Emery

And finally, probably one of the tunes of the summer. It has been remixed by a so many artists so far from Soundprank to born again duo Gabriel & Dresden (Josh Gabriel is actually part of Andain). However, none of them seem to come close to Myon & Shane54’s Summer of Love mix. While I’m on the subject, I would like to recommend their podcasts to you guys. It’s a weekly, one hour episode that features a lot of exclusives including many of their signature mashups that you will not find anywhere else.

Promises (Myon & Shane54’s Summer of Love Mix) - Andain

In case you missed it, check out Will’s ‘Favourite Artists of the 2010’

So I finally got my computer fixed and now it stopped making a horrible sound every time i use it so that means i can now listen to music in peace without necessarily having my headphones on. It also means I’ve been listening to more music. Let’s start with none other than Gareth Emery.

Rapture (Gareth Emery Remix) – Nadia Ali

Profilla (Gareth Emery Bootleg) – Ben Gold vs. tyDi

Heard the second one at Black and Blue and couldn’t find his mashup until recently. Some of these songs I’ve been wanting to post for a while but never really found the time but believe me, they are worth the wait.

Under Pressure – D-Mad

Gregory’s Theme – Basto!

Complicated (Vocal Mix) – Adam K

Pacha On Acid (Sean Tyas Rework) – Afrojack [rip]

And finally, some trance classics that make me want to build a time machine.

Saltwater – Chicane

Lost (feat. Zara) [Club Mix] – Sunlounger

 

Aight so this is what’s happening in Montreal in the next couple of months so far. If I forgot anything be sure to let me know. Did not include anything of Igloofest, I heard the 21st there’s someone good I think, but it can’t be as good as Wolfgang. Not much in line of dubstep that I know of, stupid Rusko lied to us when he said he’d be back in January. Bastard.

January 21st Wolfgang Gartner @ Club Soda                                            January 21st Chromeo @ Metropolis                                              January 22nd Ronski Speed @ Circus Afterhours                             January 28th Sied Van Riel @ Red-Lite                                               January 29th Wippenberg & Glenn Morrison @ Circus Afterhours                                       

February 6th Sebastian Ingrosso @ Muzique…                               February 7th Pendulum @ Bell Centre                                           February 11th Benny Benassi @ Circus Afterhours                                    February 18th Dash Berlin @ La Folie  [UPDATE]                                        February 18th Paul Van Dyk @ Theatre Telus                                       February 18th Mark Knight @ Circus Afterhours                            February 19th Martin Solveig @ La Mouche                                         February 25th Super8 & Tab @ 1234 [UPDATE]                                          February 25th Gareth Emery @ Circus Afterhours     

March 18th Marco V @ Circus Afterhours                                        

April 18th Umek @ Circus Afterhours                                                  April 24th Above & Beyond & Tiësto @ Bal en Blanc

Fuck my expensive lifestyle. Actually, no, its awesome.