INTERVIEW: Sied van Riel (2013)

In addition to having just about the coolest last name, Sied Van Riel is very much a character – creating big room trance with a melodic edge. ? His recently released track “Carved By Your Hands” is a great example of how he blends trance and progressive to mold his own sound.? As busy in the studio as he is on the road, I spoke with Sied back stage at the Armada showcase during the Amsterdam Dance Event.

DJ Ron Slomowicz: So tonight you are on Armada and doing a versus set with someone, who are you playing against?
Sied van Riel: Tonight, I am playing with Max Graham.

RS: Have you two played together before?
Sied van Riel: Not in a back-to-back, but we have played on the same event so I am really curious and kind of excited.

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SONG OF THE DAY: Sied van Riel ft Temper Heart – “Carved By Your Hands”

A friend asked me the other day if there was some new rule among trance producers that vocals are only allowed to be placed over breakdowns.? While he was joking, kinda, the angelic, uplifting vocals used in trance records do seem to shine the brightest over the sparse, atmospheric breakdowns.? Case in point, the new track “Carved By Your Hands” from Dutch trance producer Sied van Riel.? Starting off with an exposed kick drum at a surprisingly slow tempo (maybe 128 bpm but feeling more like 126), an evil-sounding pad starts before a really pretty keyboard line floats in. It actually starts to go a bit prog with disparate elements (a keyboard hook, off-sounding drum, stutter beat) that shouldn’t work together but do.? The beat starts to fade away as a euphoric pad takes over which introduces the big dropout.? British singer Temper Heart channels Maria Naylor with her angelic vocals floating over the atmospheric drop-out. For a harder, more electro/prog take, check out Wezz Devall’s “Remilf.”? (Yes, the use of the term MILF makes as much sense as Chew Fu’s infamous “refix” moniker.) ? EDM geeks and aspiring producers should check out Sied’s YouTube video about the making of this track as well.

Image Courtesy of S107/Armada.