Solarstone pres. Pure Trance – The Album
On October 18th, dockside @ Undercurrent in Amsterdam – during the peak of ADE’s annual takeover – dance pioneer Solarstone showcased his new audio axiom. In the packed-to-capacity club, with anticipation sky high, those lucky enough to have a begged, borrowed or bought a ticket were among the first to experience Pure Trance.
With that opening shot fired, the movement is ready to go global. Alongside fellow forerunner Orkidea, Solarstone has encapsulated this vision in mix-comp form. Featuring 25 exclusive tracks, built from propellant beats, tremor-inducing LFO, iridescent melodies, sky-bound synths and heartfelt vocals, trance will be revised to its purest degree.
This isn’t about looking back. It’s about stepping forward. It’s not about trance’s history or genealogy. It’s about stripping away the music’s unwarranted add-ons; restoring trance’s most vibrant and essential elements and making the genre we love timeless. – Solarstone
Mixed by Solarstone, the first disc of Black Hole Recordings 100th album release sets the stage for a meeting between the scene’s originators and a new dawn generation. Over the last decade studio shamans like Giuseppe Ottaviani, Kyau & Albert, Ronski Speed, Thomas Datt and Rex Mundi have formed the bedrock of the scene. On Pure Trance, through tracks like ‘Euphonia’, ‘Earthbeat’,‘Steaming Waterfalls’ and Datt’s rework of Solarstone’s ‘Voyager’, they once again display their absolute mastery of the sound. Matching them every step of the way are the genre’s future heroes, all beating the drum for the Pure Trance march. Latterly emerging talents including Omnia, Walsh & McAuley, Suncatcher, Temple One and Ehren Stowers create near instantaneous floor fission with thermite fare like ‘Infina’, ‘Sail On The Waves’, ‘Ari’ and ‘Split Source’.
As you’d doubtless expect at the core of the mix lies the music of Solarstone. Packing in many of his own productions & remixes (some appearing exclusively on the album), they push his disc into overdrive. With his stunning trance-floor repoint of NY-based synth-pop band Lemon’s ‘We Can’t Fly’; Giuseppe Ottaviani collab ‘Falcons’ (Mixmag’s November Single of the Month) and his 21-century retell of the peerless ‘Seven Cities’, his audio forms the backbone of Pure Trance.
Orkidea – fresh off the back of his ‘20’ album – lays down the release’s flammable second disc. Kicking off with a brand new Pure version of his much-celebrated ‘Unity’, it charges the mix’s atmosphere. Hypnotically and intuitively he fashions its audio contours, taking it through incredible antechambers of sound. The mix hits palpably Nordic highs throughout, featuring studio work by many fellow Finnish trance heads. Michael Cassette’s reworking of Orkidea’s ‘Sun Down’, Lowland’s shadowy acoustics on ‘Cheap Shrink’, Allende’s livewire take on Way Out West’s ‘Secret’ and Slusnik Luna’s extraordinary ‘Valssi’ teach the Pure Trance lexicon. Further in Protoculture’s ‘Perpetual Motion’ and Orkidea’s Tribute mix of Oakenfold’s ‘Southern Sun’ ensure the mix stays Fahrenheit hot throughout its filtering, phasing final act.
‘Pure Trance’ is designed to throw a lifeline to those in danger of being disenfranchised from the genre. This is the album that will remind you why you got into trance in the first place.
More info @ www.puretrance.com
Disc 1 – Mixed By Solarstone
01. Solarstone & Clare Stagg – The Spell (Pure Intro Mix)
02. Almar – Evening Star
03. Lemon – We Can’t Fly (Solarstone Pure Mix)
04. Ehren Stowers – Split Source
05. Kyau & Albert with Ronski Speed – Euphonia (Ronski Speed Mix)
06. Giuseppe Ottaviani – Earthbeat
07. Delerium featuring Michael Logen – Days Turn Into Nights (Solarstone Pure Mix)
08. Solarstone with Giuseppe Ottaviani – Falcons (Solarstone Extended Mix)
09. A.R.D.I. – Hopeful
10. Omnia – Infina
11. C-Systems & Bushi – Ari (Suncatcher Exclusive Remix)
12. Solarstone – Voyager (Thomas Datt Remix)
13. Temple One – In Her Eyes
14. Rex Mundi – Steaming Waterfalls (Original Mix)
15. Mark Pledger – A New World
16. Walsh & McAuley featuring David Berkeley – Sail On The Waves (Solarstone Pure Mix)
17. Solarstone – Seven Cities (Solarstone Pure Mix)
Disc 2 – Mixed By Orkidea
01. Orkidea – Unity (Pure Intro Mix)
02. Orkidea – Sun Down (Michael Cassette Remix)
03. Kay-D – Avalanche
04. Lowland – Cheap Shrink
05. Winkee – Whisper (Simon Templar Refresh)
06. Way Out West – Secret (Allende Remix)
07. Slusnik Luna – Valssi (Orkidea Mix)
08. Nicholas Bennison – Sulfur (Light Mix)
09. Steve Brian – Vueltas (Thomas Datt Instrumental Mix)
10. Protoculture – Perpetual Motion (Original Mix)
11. Paul Oakenfold – Southern Sun (Orkidea’s Tribute Mix)
12. Future Disciple – No Man’s Land
13. Vibrasphere – Autumn Lights (Mindwave Remix)
14. Orkidea – Unity (Solarstone’s Metabreaks Remix)
(Released through Black Hole Recordings 19th November 2012)
