Tag: armada

INTERVIEW: Markus Schulz (2012)

German producer/DJ Markus Schulz recently released ‘Scream,’ an incredible artist album which masterfully blends energetic production with top-flight vocals and anthemic trance.? One of the hardest working DJs in the business, with a highly successful record label Coldharbour, his weekly radio show Global DJ, and an insane touring schedule, he is loved by his fans and consistently ranked in the top 10 of DJ Polls.? When you listen to ‘Scream,’ you will definitely hear why?

DJ Ron Slomowicz: What is the inspiration for this new album with so many vocals on it?
Markus Schulz: If you really study it, the last album had 14 tracks on it and 9 were vocals and 5 were instrumentals. I work with a lot of vocalists, but I usually make 20 tracks and choose the best 13-14 and release those. On this album we made 23 tracks and decided to release all of them, because nowadays physical CDs are not that important and on iTunes you can put as many tracks as you want. We only have 12 vocals and 11 instrumentals on this one, there are actually more instrumentals, but it is a better balance. The quantity of the vocals is higher, but at the same time, quantities of the tracks are higher. It is a little bit misleading but at the same time I think that people realize this is a Markus Schulz album and not a Dakota album. At the beginning of my last album Do You Dream, people were also talking about how there were a lot of vocals on it.

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SONG OF THE DAY: Chicane & Ferry Corsten – “One Thousand Suns”

Pardon the tired analogy, but this track is like a Reese’s peanut butter cup – two great tastes that taste great together. UK producer Chicane has created some of the biggest trance tracks in clubland history (“Saltwater,” “Offshore,” “Don’t Give Up”) and so has Dutch producer/DJ Ferry Corsten (“Out of the Blue,” “Rock Your Body Rock,” “Junk/Punk”). Together they have created an absolutely gorgeous balearic track – it’s not exactly trance, nor is it morning music- but rather a fusion of the two genres. Maybe it’s a response to all the aggressive electro that is out there, but there’s something really smoothing to the groovy flow of this track. The pads in the breakdown are nearly emotional with the way they feel, and the extended buildup prolongs excitement. The fact that it doesn’t lead to a harder or louder feel makes the track even more special. The male and female vocals are sampled harmonizing sounds and not really traditional lyrics; this is good and bad. Good because listeners can attach their own meaning without the song forcing one. Bad, because I am only imagining how massive this track could be as a crossover with a strong topline. Then again, maybe that is coming soon. Nevertheless, its easy to imagine this track played beachside, at the end of a club night with people embracing or even as a sync to a movie or tv show. There is something truly magical about this piece of music. Remixes by Disco Citizens, Danny Howard, and Soundprank are worth a spin for DJs who want a more progressive or energetic take.

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REVIEW: Emma Hewitt – ‘Burn the Sky Down’

By: Ben Norman

Trance, like all of the popular and overpopulated genres of the world, is a fickle lover. As a singer at the height of your career, your voice caresses the minds of millions of listeners through collaborations with producers on countless tracks. At the lowest point, you are forgotten, another echoed voice over a trance beat. But Aussie Emma Hewitt is far from the lowest point in her career, and rather than aiming for the heights, she is aiming to be the best possible artist she can be, trance singer or other. And if her debut single as a solo artist is any indication, Emma Hewitt’s presence will be a given.
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