Showing posts with label Pure Breaks. Show all posts
, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

08:58:00

 


AS IT NAVIGATES ITS SECOND ALBUM DECADE, SOLARSTONE BRINGS MAJOR CHANGES TO HIS MIXCOMP MARQUE. (MUSICAL PURITY HOWEVER REMAINS STRICTLY INTACT !!).

Having solo-helmed the milestone tenth ‘Pure Trance’ outing, Solarstone reflected at the time that it was: “a transitional moment’ for the series. A natural temporal point, where one ‘chapter’ would close and another open.”

And that new “chapter” is where we find ourselves today.

At their core, ‘Pure Trance’ albums has always had an ethos – something seeded in them from the very start. However, that culture Rich felt was: “achievable, but not yet fully achieved”. Specifically, it’s that of creating the albums the ‘Global Underground’ way or by following the ‘Northern Exposure’ trail. A commitment to compiling and mixing so detailed, so thought through and so experience-led, that it enshrines the 20/20 club experience as close to 1:1 as is humanly possible.

So, to finally make that flesh, he returned the series to the drawing board.

The first (and in all likelihood most significant) hurdle was getting its essence as-live-as-live gets. To that, a heaving February Saturday at London’s Fabric supplied it a trancefixing backdrop. There, every in-the-moment blend, fader glide, filter release and EQ twist, and every reciprocal crowd whistle and cheer as ‘XI’ was laid down was caught in the wild.


To achieve that elevates to the highest level the planning and coordination a DJ + team must undertake. Or as is the case here, DJs, plural. ‘XI’ marks the first time that ‘Pure Trance’ has recalled one of its former co-mixers. Closing the circle between this release and the very first Pure Trance is producer/DJ/composer Orkidea. On their very first meeting, he and Solarstone bonded over a shared love of ‘mixed-live’ compilations, so when it came time for ‘Pure Trance’ to take that route, the co-mixer selection pretty much made itself.

One aspect that’s not changed with the onset of ‘XI’ is (naturally!) the stylistic makeup of its sonics. Music from the new, the established and the establishment abounds, along with exclusive 2026 monsters-in-the-making and underground weapons aplenty. Judicious bring-backs for a smattering of imaginatively selected classics are also onboard, along with an absolute wealth of new Solarstone and Orkidea material.
Orkidea recalls that: “most of the tracks on Global Underground, Northern Exposure, Renaissance and the like had already been released by the time the albums came out. People fell in love with them through the compilations. It’s when you present tracks in a mix that they’re heard differently”. Solarstone picks up “In fact, they often don’t sound as good without the other elements of another record on top. It’s one of the aspects we paid most attention to on ‘PTXI’; there are some truly memorable ‘one plus one equals three moments’ on there!”

Weighing in at an unbroken 4+ hours digitally (*also available in triple disc and triple vinyl editions), ‘Pure Trance’s trip is an odyssey in everything but name. ‘XI’s opening tranche is where many of its more underground artists and records are couched. That said there’s still early deck-service paid to Tiësto’s rework of Delerium’s ‘Innocente’ and Glenn Morrison’s take on TasteXperience’s ‘Frustration’! Obie Fernandez’s ‘Naked’ and ‘Foreplay’ from Obie Dick (no relation on either count) gives off a distinct later-night progressive vibe. All smoked-out synths, low-riding bass and slow-fuse tension. ‘Broken Soul’ from Novacode and VADM’s ‘Space’ meanwhile stiffen the mix-stance by degrees, carving a tougher groove into ‘XI’s foothills.

‘Pure Trance XI’ bids a majestic farewell to its first hour with Solarstone & Orkidea’s (just released) ‘Slowmotion VII’ and Jamie Baggotts’ remix of Mr Sam vs Fred Baker’s achingly beautiful ‘Forever Waiting’. From there the mix departs the cooler hinterlands, subtly pivoting from the progressive-trance backfoot to a more trance-progressive front.

No coincidence then that this is where you’ll find the most concentrated seams of new Solarstone, Orkidea and close associates’ material. Cherry-picked from last year’s ‘innermost’ album, ‘dream sequence’ slipstreams into the more technotic throb of Super-Frog Saves Tokyo’s ‘Clarion’. Solarstone’s ‘Zero Hours’ and Allende’s studio-fresh remix of Rich & Tapio’s original ‘Slowmotion’ generates more of that flow, before Orkidea x’s with Sophie Moleta and Lowland on the beautifully suspended ‘Fall Into Love’.

As ‘Pure Trance XI’ passes its 2hr mix-marker, it again subtly adjusts its angle of attack, heralding classic sonics from Matt Darey’s Tekara (‘Breathe in You’) and Matti Laamanen’s mesmeric ‘Flakes’. ‘Haunt Me’, the most recent pairing between Rich & Susie Ledge, gives it a vocally-driven and emotionally charged element, while Solarstone’s ‘Energy Field’ adds more kinetic and propulsive aspects. That sharpens the mix’s forward momentum for a final time, allowing Bryan Kearney firestorm-like spin on Orkidea’s ‘Beautiful to deliver it a truly epic finale.

In electrifying form ‘XI’ launches the next phase in ‘Pure Trance’s fantastically storied, fifteen year history. It’s released on June 12 and is available for pre-save/order here.

Full digital and vinyl tracklist details follow.

Pure Trance Volume XI Digital Tracklist:
01. Orkidea - XP100
02. TasteXperience featuring Lisa White - Frustration (Glenn Morrison Remix)
03. Kev Wright & Jay Storic - From Beyond
04. Obie Dick - Foreplay
05. AUTOFLOWER - Wallflower
06. Hyperbolic Function - For Your Love
07. metakomplex & Orkidea - Dream of You
08. Eelke Kleijn - Lately
09. Obie Fernandez - Naked
10. Delerium - Innocente [Falling In Love] (DJ Tiësto Remix)
11. Novacode - Broken Soul
12. VADM - Space
13. Solarstone & Orkidea - Slowmotion VII
14. Mr. Sam vs. Fred Baker present As One - Forever Waiting (Jamie Baggotts Remix)
15. Pico Boulevard - Everybody's Nobody
16. Dual 56 - Another Place
17. Summa - Awakening the Spirit (Solarstone Edit)
18. B FROM E - Amnesia
19. Jamie Baggotts & Marc West - The End
20. Solarstone & Orkidea - Slowmotion (Allende Remix)
21. Tre Turner - Scottish Piano (Close Proximity Trance Mix)
22. Solarstone - dream sequence
23. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo - Clarion
24. Trancendent - Empyrean
25. UNPAVED - Take Me Home
26. Sophie Moleta x Orkidea x Lowland - Fall Into Love
27. Andrew Shepherd - Visualization
28. Brandt Hoff - Dream About You
29. Solarstone - Zero Hours
30. Tekara featuring Lucy Cotter - Breathe in You (Tekara’s M&M Dub)
31. Allende - The Weight
32. Markus Schulz - Forgotten Element
33. Solarstone vs. Sirocco - Destination (Effen Remix)
34. Luke Terry & Chris Johnson pres. Taisaku - Fuyu
35. Micha Mendel - Future Peace (Solarstone Pure Mix)
36. SØNIN x Orkidea - Avril
37. Jonas Steur - For Eternity
38. Orkidea - Stop The Rock
39. Young Parisians featuring Ben Lost - Jump the Next Train (Omar Sherif Remix)
40. Matti Laamanen - Flakes
41. Solarstone & Susie Ledge - Haunt Me (Dub Mix)
42. Peter Steele - Moment of Truth
43. Solarstone - Energy Field
44. Orkidea - Beautiful (Bryan Kearney Rework)



Pure Trance Volume XI Vinyl Tracklist:
Side A.
01. Orkidea - XP100 (Extended Mix) (7:59)
02. VADM - Space (Extended Mix) (6:46)

Side B.
01. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo - Clarion (8:43)
02. Eelke Kleijn - Lately (Extended Mix) (6:56)

Side C.
01. Solarstone - Zero Hours (Extended Mix) (8:45)
02. SØNIN x Orkidea - Avril (Extended Mix) (6:11)

Side D.
01. Micha Mendel - Future Peace (Solarstone Pure Mix) (9:39)
02. Jonas Steur - For Eternity (Extended Mix) (5:35)

Side E.
01. Peter Steele - Moment of Truth (Extended Mix) (8:06)
02. Orkidea - Beautiful (Bryan Kearney Rework) (6:08)

Side F.
01. Solarstone - Energy Field (Extended Mix) (7:10)
02. Luke Terry & Chris Johnson present Taisaku - Fuyu (Extended Mix) (6:58)




Additional info:



, , , , , , , , , ,

09:24:00


Sharper eyes (and ears!) will have spotted that Pure Trance was absent from its regular autumnal release spot last year. Double-digit milestones take time to reach … but also time to perfect, hence Pure Trance took a preparatory 365 off in 2022. This allowed Richard Mowatt the latitude to plan, map and exactingly pull-off what he views as the most important instalment in the series to date.

All-good-things though, as the triumphant 10th edition of Solarstone’s Pure Trance music-manifesto / movement reaches stores and streams on November 3 …

Over its decade + crusade, the albums have been co-mixed by many a fellow puritan - Bryan Kearney, Orkidea, Activa, Sneijder, Stoneface & Terminal, Gai Barone and Giuseppe Ottaviani among them. For its epic tenth though, Richard Mowatt decided to take it entirely upon his own shoulders …

PTV10 is, as you will see, is a ‘Solostone’ affair …
Talking about its landmark, Solarstone says: "The number 10 seemed like a sort of punctuation point, which is why I decided to fully take the reins of this 3-disc edition and curate, compile and mix it myself. Across its discs I wanted to echo the flow of a PT show, which moves across the span of the four Pure labels (Progressive, Breaks, Trance & NEON). So, we have the deeper sound on Disc 1 (Pure Progressive and Breaks), leading to the dreamy sound on Disc 2 (Pure Trance) and the harder sound.... well, you get the idea, I’m sure! Overall, though, it’s all about celebrating the sound of Trance music - the journey, the emotion of it. This is of course why Pure Trance exists, which is something I cannot thank you all enough for being a part of !"
Behind the scenes the releases have always been involved undertakings, but ‘10’ turns that up to 11. Allowing him to fully ‘get under their hood’ and fine tune each track to the album’s mix, Solarstone uses a process of ‘stem mixing’. This allows him to weave together isolated layers of each track to ensure each mix-movement is not just excellent … but is also flawless, seamless transition.


As its customary “this is Pure” greeting skates across the chill of Robert Nickson’s mix of Stoneface & Terminal ‘Lose My Need’, which embarks Disc 1. The first of many unique Mowatt moments throughout, it’s followed by ‘Arpeggiator Shards’ – an elegiac gathering of Solarstone’s ‘Shards’ and his recreation of Jean-Michel Jarre’s ‘Arpeggiator’. ‘The Breeze’ follows, heralding the return of EVE Records legend Pablo Gargano, as well as ‘Moontribe’ - Alucard’s first from his 2024-upcoming album. As it reaches its cruising midpoint, Rich feeds Siskin’s hypnotic take on Conductor and The Cowboy classic ‘Feeling This Way’ into the mix, before Sherpa’s remake of Cass & Slide’s ‘Perception’ further swirls its atmospherics.

Marking his 16th release on a Solarstone label, Disc 2 overtures with Allende’s ‘Fading Light’. Flow established, it calls back trance purists like Temple One, with his bliss-fest ‘As The Sun Breaks’ and Greg Murray’s reformation of ‘PTV8’ highlight ‘Sun is High’ from Stoby & G Coulter. Those more forceful vibes keep rolling as Factoria elevates one of Rich’s favourite PTR outings, Bjorn Akesson’s ‘Language’.

Drizzly Music legend Wavetraxx commences Disc.3 with his latest, ‘Million Miles To Go, before Solarstone’s newest collaboratory alias 892NOW makes its debut felt … with ‘Felt’. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo returns with ‘Reactivate’ (one of his three showings on PTV.10), before Robert Nickson supplies it ‘Transcend’. Inspired by the eponymous 1987 scifi movie, ‘Running Man’, young buck LostLegend momentarily summons some tonal shadow, before John Askew’s Dawn Mix of ‘Push It’ ramps it back up. Pure Trance Vol.10 concludes its epic 45 track, 240-minute run with a neat loop-back to its SF&T’s ‘Lose My Need’ start point.

With PTV10, it was never the ‘when’ … but the ‘how’ that mattered. A fittingly fine landmark release, you can find ‘Solarstone Presents Pure Trance V10’ wherever good music is sold or streamed from Nov 3 HERE

PURE TRANCE - HOW IT HAPPENED: By this point Pure Trance means much to many, but to Solarstone it comes down to four simple words: ‘knowing your own mind ...’ When the spectre of genre’s second popification rose in 2010, he decided it was do-or-die time … and pinned his Pure Trance colours to the mast.

Originally intended as a one-off ‘test-the-waters’ show, Pure Trance resonated big … and it resonated fast. Within 12 months it’d graduated to a themed series of globetrotting shows and latterly events and festival stage hostings. Its clarion call first mixcomp inspiring the direction of new producers and DJs, while influencing many an established name to keep the faith and stay the course. The Pure Trance Recordings label (currently approaching its 300th release) expanded from one to four imprints (adding Progressive, NEON and Breaks arms) and its weekly radio show is currently heading towards its 400th episode. That along with its now 10 albums (and a decade) propelled it from one artist’s rallying cry to a fully-fledged movement.


Pure Trance Volume 10 Tracklist:

Disc 1

01. Stoneface & Terminal - Lose My Need (Robert Nickson Chillout Intro Mix)
02. Solarstone vs. Aquarius - Arpeggiator Shards
03. Pablo Gargano - The Breeze
04. Macker – Arrakis
05. Barrett & Bridger - Classic Dreams (Solarstone Stripped Retouch)
06. Siskin - Connected (Standard Form's Waiting for Stars Mix)
07. Alucard featuring Amara - Moontribe
08. Deepcry - Delta
09. Sinful Biz - Magnetic
10. The Conductor & The Cowboy - Feeling This Way (Siskin Remix)
11. Solarstone - Leap of Faith (Collide the Sky Remix)
12. Sherpa - Perception
13. Yuji Ono, Masaya & Discordia featuring Casska - Reverie (PTX Version)
14. Orkidea - Xciter (Deestopia Remix)
15. Adam Nickey - Escape

Disc 2
01. Allende - Fading Light
02. Tim Verkruissen - Velvet
03. Oliver Imseng - Metaversal
04. Jimi Python featuring Iida Niini - Dream
05. Proteus - Lost Love
06. Brian McCalla - Stones
07. Solarstone & Super-Frog Saves Tokyo - Rust (Luke Terry Remix)
08. Temple One - As the Sun Breaks
09. Stoby & G Coulter featuring Liz Cirelli - Sun is High (Greg Murray Remix)
10. Dave Begic - For What It's Worth
11. Luke Terry - Unconditional
12. Slipstream & Sonic Element - Forgiven
13. Charles Tsai - Prevail (Solarstone Retouch)
14. Bjorn Akesson - Language (Factoria Remix)
15. Solarstone - 4ever (Photographer Remix)

Disc 3
01. Wavetraxx - Million Miles To Go
02. Chris Connelly - Aurelion
03. 892NOW - Felt
04. Lostly - Sawubona
05. The Digital Blonde - Untitled Dub
06. Young Parisians featuring Ben Lost - Jump the Next Train (Acapella)
07. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo - Reactivate (Solarstone Retouch)
08. Robert Nickson - Transcend
09. Derek Ryan & DNCR - Hatsuyuki
10. LostLegend - Running Man
11. Chris Johnson & Grant Trowbridge - Cocktail
12. Solarstone featuring Lucia Holme - The Last Defeat PT II (Sam Laxton Remix)
13. Solarstone & Super-Frog Saves Tokyo - Existence (Pierre Pienaar Remix)
14. John Askew - Push It (Dawn Mix)
15. Stoneface & Terminal - Lose My Need (Robert Nickson Chillout Outro Mix)

Additional info:


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Flux BPM Online © 2026. All Rights Reserved.
Flux BPM Online, 2026. Powered by Blogger.