If you listen to Trance music, being picky about which Montreal clubs you like is a given. Circus Afterhours and Stereo are at the top of the pyramid since they welcome nothing but the best on a regular basis. The next tier consists of Red Lite, La Mouche, 1234 (despite all the children) and Muzique (despite the Avicii incident) who also sometimes host big DJs. The final group is awful. These clubs are the places where you’ll most likely be hearing David Guetta and Pitbull collaborations for the next 10 years. La Folie, the club I went to last Friday, February 18th, is beneath all of these. Apart from the absolutely gorgeous coat-check girl, this place is Montreal’s douchebag central. Allow me to explain: for starters, it’s in St-Leonard. This establishment is one of a kind; it houses Montreal’s Jersey Shore community, lots of 40 year-olds in the middle of their mid-life crises and probably the worst interior layout I’ve ever seen. There is a VIP section right in front of the DJ booth with an enormous bodyguard preventing anyone from entering and incidentally, from being able to see what the DJ is doing. Instead, you’re looking straight at a large group of aunts and uncles who are trying to relive the glory days by trading their Centrum Silver and Rogaine for Ed Hardy clothes. The venue neighbors what looks to be an abandoned mattress store and a Zellers, which is probably a better place to have a party. You must be asking yourself, what was I doing in such a sickening place on a Friday night?

Dash Berlin, author of hits such as “Waiting” and “Till The Sky Falls Down,” played a 3-hour set. The reason I had to put down La Folie so much is to show how good Dash Berlin is live. Even with all these nauseating factors in play, I had a terrific night. He started the evening with a sure fire way to get the crowd going, playing his newest hit, “Disarm Yourself".” He played track after track of lyrical Trance, making sure to include his 2 other 2011 releases; his remix of First State’s “Reverie” and of Filo & Peri’s “This Night".” He continued to mix in dance floor hits like Diplo and Tiesto’s “Cmon”, Alexander Popov’s remix of Cosmic Gate’s “Raging” and Gareth Emery’s “Sanctuary.” Needles to say, the man is a master of vocal Trance. One of the highlights of the night was when he displayed his musical versatility by playing an Electro/Dubstep mix of “We are Your Friends".” He ended the night with his classic “Waiting” and the crowd erupted with screams of bliss. Here are his 3 newest tracks along with a video I shot of his remix of “This Night.” Apologies for not being smart enough to turn my iPhone sideways. Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Rick Nash?

First State ft. Sarah Howells – Reverie (Dash Berlin Remix)

Filo & Peri ft. Audrey Gallagher – This Night (Dash Berlin Remix)

Dash Berlin ft. Emma Hewitt – Disarm Yourself (Club Mix)

Ok, so I know everyone trashed Deamau5’s new album, but the guy still used to be a very good producer. As Ellis was telling me a couple of days ago, it's hard to forget about track like "Strobe." Play Records has come out with a new compilation called Dirt Hott Vol.2, which features 2 of his older tracks. I knew about “Dr. Funkenstein”, but I had never heard “Vanishing Point” until just today. The track was originally released 3 years ago and includes a lot of the old Deadmau5 style we all knew and loved. Past tense is a bitch.

Deadmau5 – Vanishing Point (Original Mix)

This next track is an original kind of Dubstep. Since all the genre’s music has sounded the same for the past little while, I’ve tried to find others that are attempting to take it in a another direction. Gemini is an artist who is doing just that, leaning away from the generic filth that we keep hearing. It’s not chill Dubstep, I call this clean.

Hadouken! – Oxygen (Gemini Remix)

Porter Robinson temporarily fell off my radar after his smash-hit “Say My Name.” His amazing remix of “Seek Bromance” went by unnoticed and I hadn’t heard his name in months before his newest piece of work. He seems to have such an intricate grasp of Electro and the patented Dubstep wobble which he melds together beautifully with every release. Here is the aforementioned remix and “The Wildcat.”

Porter Robinson – The Wildcat (Original Mix)

Tim Berg – Seek Bromance (Porter Robinson Remix)

This next track is featured on Gareth Emery’s most recent podcast. I was never a big Fedde Le Grand fan, but this tune has made me take notice of the Dutchman. This guy is good. I’m not so sure about his buddy though. In my opinion, Patric La Funk is a ridiculous DJ name.

Fedde Le Grand & Patric La Funk – Autosave (Original Mix)

I already have a regret in 2011. I did not go see Sied van Riel when he was in Montreal. I was listening to some of his older stuff today and I could only come to a single conclusion: this guy is amazing. Right now, he is one of my favorite producers. His first release of 2011 hit #1 on Beatport’s Trance chart and his most recent track, a collaboration with Nicole McKenna, is an absolute masterpiece. He warmed up for Cosmic Gate at my first ever Trance show and I clearly remember thinking, during the first half of the German duo’s set, that he was far better than them. It’s unpractical that I write for this blog, because words cannot describe how much I adore these songs, ESPECIALLY “Stealing Time.” There is only one item on my 2011 to-do list: see Sied van Riel live.

Sied van Riel – Mentalism (Original Mix)

Sied van Riel ft. Nicole McKenna – Stealing Time (Original Mix) (very fawking hawt)

Finally, Anjunadeep 03 came out on Monday and the compilation is a formidable one. Although it is much more progressive than regular Anjunabeats releases (hence the “deep”), the tracks are to die for. Check it out here and buy it if you please.

School’s out for a month. So here’s my chance to publicly apologize to Ellis for his beastly undertaking of the blog for the last 3 weeks or so with a few posts of my own. While the rest of the guys are currently still incapacitated by the demands of finals, allow me to lay down my thoughts on some interesting happenings around our city, as well as some awesome tracks.

A while back, I talked to you guys about a Swedish House Mafia documentary called “Take One”. I just finished watching the movie and it has got me so pumped for dancing, drinking and flat-out house peppered with some dominating basslines. The film is just awesome. I may be speaking with some heavy bias, but it basically tells the story of Axwell, Ingrosso and Angello from the Winter Music Festival in 2009 to the one in 2010 and their ascension to the throne of house supremacy. What’s not to love? It gives the audience a more personal look at the three, and clearly shows that Axwell is the most successful, Ingrosso is a lot more talented than you would think and Steve Angello is a badass. And a f***ing asshole. He owns a Ferrari, Range Rovers, Audis, Porsches (yes, those are all plural) and most likely lots of other gadgets and he did not choose to show in the flick. He uses the Swedish language barrier to talk behind people’s backs, insulting them constantly. Although this is somewhat entertaining, it gives him the flair of a closet douchebag.

Speaking of Steve Angello, as Ellis mentioned in one of his previous posts, the Swede was in Montreal on November 19th. Idiot that I am, I had not bought my fellow writer a ticket to the show, like he so often does for me, and this caused some confusion. To make a long story short, scalpers were scarce and consequently, so was Ellis, who headed to 1234 to see Ashley Wallbridge. Pretty good trade-off, wouldn't you say? In fact, there were 4 elite DJs in Montreal on that night: Angello, Wallbridge, Sean Tyas and tech master Richie Hawtin.

The Telus Theater was, needless to say, filled to the brim with hungry, party-starved Montrealers looking to let loose. And they didn’t waste any time. Within the first minutes of screams and fist-pumps, a few girls had already climbed onto their friends shoulders and taken their shirts off. This fleshy gesture was ignored by most, as all eyes were locked on Angello as he proceeded to mix “One” with “Destination Unknown” and “We Are Your Friends” with his newest track, “Rave N’ Roll”. The show hit a climax when he unleashed a mix of “Bromance” and “Dynamik”. That’s when I lost it. If you’ve ever been to a live show, I’m sure you’ve experienced the following: you’re jumping up and down in a sea of strangers and your ears realize that what they hear is perfect. That solitary bead of sweat runs down your face, you close your eyes, a chill travels through your entire body, you become unaware of your fellow partisans stepping on your footwear, your extremities tremble uncontrollably, your arms shoot into the air, the room slows down and the only thing audible is the sound of the DJ. You don’t hear the music, you experience, feel it. Angello followed with the songs you expect to hear at his shows, such as “KNAS”, “Leave the World Behind”, “Tivoli”, etc. The show was great, more than worth the 30$. Here’s his latest along with my favorite from the night and an older one that I can guarantee was the motivation behind Afrojack’s “Pacha on Acid”.

Steve Angello – Rave 'n’ Roll (Original Mix)

Tim Berg & Michael Woods – Bromance Dynamik (Axwell Mashup)

Steve Angello – Teasing Mr Charlie (Original Mix)

The night did not end there. I met up with Ellis and we headed over to Circus Afterhours to see Sean Tyas. I had not heard much from him other than his “Sanctuary” remix. I was expecting some calm, melodic trance and was surprised when he started. He pumped out track after track of powerful, rugged bass coupled with enchanting melodies. Saying it was the most energetic trance I've ever experienced is an understatement. The harmony of high BPMs, loud bass, and swift melody made for an excellent close to an excellent night. Here’s a remix of a Tiësto classic that was a highlight of his set.

Tiësto – Suburban Train (Sean Tyas Dirty Mix)

Time for an anecdote. Anyone listen to Trance Around the World? Above & Beyond are podcast masters and the 350th edition of their prestigious radio show took place at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. The trio ran a contest for the special occasion in which participants had to share their interesting ways of listening to the show. I entered the competition, saying I would attach a souped up megaphone to the roof of my car and drive around downtown while blaring the music for all to hear. I was chosen as one of the finalists. Problem is, at the time of this post, I was sitting at home listening to the podcast while writing. Yup, I lied to Above & Beyond. The winner receives some professional audio gear and and gets to meet the DJs. I wonder what I’ll say if I win… The set list for their Palladium show was Boom Jinx, Jaytech, Cosmic Gate, Above & Beyond and Super8 & Tab; if you haven’t yet, this is as good a time as ever to subscribe to the podcast.

Lets end with some more tracks. This first song is by a duo I have never heard of, which boggles my mind since this tune is so good.

Matisse & Sadko – Hi Scandinavia! (Original Mix)

Next, here are 2 more mashups from Armin. The first one was shown to me by Ellis and only furthers proof of his great taste in music. You might recognize both songs from the second tune. “The Great Escape” was featured in a Gareth Emery mashup that was previously posted on the blog and “Right Back” is the second track in Ferry Corsten’s Bal en Blanc set that Fred posted a while back.

Armin van Buuren vs. Jochen Miller – In & Out of Connection (Armin van Buuren Mashup)

Rank 1 & Jochen Miller vs. Yuri Kane – The Right Escape (Armin van Buuren Mashup)

Afrojack has been sustaining Wall Recordings on his own. The Dutch house prodigy has released track after track that all have been received by the public with open arms. His tunes have completely overshadowed those of his label mates. Here is his latest.

Afrojack – Replica (Original Mix)

I posted Noisia’s “Alpha Centauri” a while back and I am proud to say that it is one of my most downloaded songs. Recently, Datsik and Excision released a great remix of the tune, replacing the drum & bass with a genuine dubstep feel.

Noisia – Alpha Centauri (Excision & Datsik Remix)

Some things to look forward to:

- Fred has been in touch with Chris Lake and The Hawt will soon get an exclusive interview with the English DJ as well as a detailed review of his great set at La Mouche.

- The writers will be teaming up to browse the full scope of 2010’s releases to decide which tracks stand atop as the best of this past year.

- A well-deserved Ellis rest.

A full two weeks without a post makes for sad times but hopefully you all have been having some fun without us. I’m still grieving about how M. Night Shyamalan completely ruined The Last Airbender but at least I’ve been able to rejoice in the new Eminem album which is seriously sick and worth listening too. Also, I’ve been watching a lot of old school Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and I’m just wondering why I ever stopped watching it. So many life lessons to be learned but so many sexual references in each 30 min episode that it makes you wonder why its a show for kids. So to start it off, here’s the most badass theme song of all time, remixed.

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Mustard Pimp Remix) – Will Smith

Aight aight but now to the real stuff. I’ve been listening to hours of podcasts recently basically because I’m bored and because they’re full of crazy music. Like the title says its mostly trance or variations mostly because I’ve been listening to Trance Around the World, A State of Trance and Club Life.

To kick it off here’s some tech-trance by Dutch Dj Marcel Woods.

Inside of Me (Dub Trance Version) – Marcel Woods

Now for some of the chillest shit I own. First of all  Avicii’s remix of Bromance (no intro for all you build-up haters) which I’m truly dying for Tiësto to play on Sunday. Secondly, what probably is one of my favourite tunes of the summer so far, a classic remix by Above & Beyond. And finally, Estiva with one of the hottest tracks of the moment and I’m sure you’re gonna love it.

Bromance (Avicii’s Arena Remix) – Tim Berg

Home (Above & Beyond Remix) – Chakra

The Kingdom – Estiva

And finally, directly from Gareth Emery’s Garuda label,  Ben Gold goes crazy with this track, definitely something to dance to.

Sun Stroke – Be:Gold

Aight and before I forget, Above & Beyond is coming out with their new compilation album Anjunabeats 8 on the 17th and its going to be insane, trust me.

Oh and sorry, once again when I try to tag they give me a stupid error message, sorry…