And the beat goes on! ASOT 013 through ASOT 020

Hello again everyone! So I've made a bit of progress the past couple of days given the crazy hectic schedule. (Speaking of being busy, I highly recommend reading this NY Times article about just this topic: The Busy Trap)

I listened to ASOTs 013 through 020, and below are my ponderings and musings:

ASOT 013

The show opens up with Rapture, bi iiO --- let's face it, the vocals by Nadia Ali. (Side note - Ali was in the group iiO and this was their break out hit, but she went her own way in 2005.) Anyway, I didn’t know this song was all the way from 2001 – I love it.  

Anecdotal story: Nadia Ali was actually the first artist I saw at Foundation Nightclub (– the best nightclub in all the land – visit their site - here! - FN is my second home, my home away from home, my sanctuary, my dance floor heaven... etc.). It was Foundation's official Grand Opening. It was a beautiful night. The beginning of my really deep plunge into the EDM scene now that Seattle had something to offer that was amazing in the realm of dance music. Nadia Ali's vocals are mesmerizing.

Other tracks in ASOT 013 I really enjoyed and would recommend youtubing:
Orinoko - Island (The Thrillseekers Remix

Sandy Vs Sinesweeper - Shake It (Filterheadz Remix)

26 minutes in and I am loving this while working. Great work music. Really liked ASOT 013 all around. Give it a listen in it's entirety!

ASOT 014:

Sunscreem Vs Push - Please Save Me

Armin plays Rapture again at 36:39!!!

Epic Monolith (Kyau vs Albert remix) by Mirco De Govia – OKAY, WHAT? Kyau vs Albert? What about Kyau and Albert? This track plays at around 1:16:00 -- will have to do more digging on this versus business.  

Skydive (I Feel Wonderful) (John Johnson vocal remix) by Freefall, Jan Johnston – gorgeous track that reminds me of the way trance is right now actually – love how dreamy it is, funky vocals, feels good. 

Mirage (Of Hope) (classic original mix) by Hemstock & Jennings – funny that the title is mirage of hope. When the song came on I thought, man this is exactly the kind of trance I love that is uplifting, uses happy notes, and feels hopeful! Only to be titled, Mirage. Well played, Hemstock and Jennings.

ASOT 015

Above and Beyond – tune of the week – I think Armin calls them a duo first and corrects himself that it’s a trio and said they are on a recordlabel called Anjunabeats. According to official records, A&B formed in 2000 so they were still new in 2001 too!!! Awesome :)  even back then their music is so divine and melodic, captivating, life saving. They are truly amazing DJs with a very special place in my heart. I saw them at Foundation Nighclub (see musings about Foundation above) - it was a special night for many reasons as I really enjoyed the person I was with at the show, but it's a show that also reminded me to never take things for granted, show the ones I love that I love them, and that in the end, things will be okay - nah, they'll be awesome.

Asian Love (feat Emjay) by Johan Cyber & Moshic – awesome yet creepy. 

Konkrete - Law Unto Myself (Dub) - not much to say except that it’s trance at it’s best, really catchy, awesome beat. I’d listen to this over and over again. 

ASOT 016 - listened to this but nothing that stood out to my earbuds.

ASOT 017

Tranquility Base - Razorfish (Above & Beyond Bangin' Mix)

Sunscreem vs. Push - Save Me (Push Remix)

Hour two is pretty high energy, good to work to. 

ASOT 018 – see thoughts on ASOT 016.

ASOT 019 –

Off the bat in love with this one Fragma - Say That You're Here (Riva Remix)

Rapture yet again.

Oceanlab - Clear Blue Water (Ferry Corsten Remix) - Of course I would love this. It’s Oceanlab. It’s Ferry. Both have a very special place in my heart. Both maybe play a roll in beautiful tragedies in my life.

Ppk - Resurection (Space Club Mix) – what a classic! Absolutely love this.

In the second hour:

Satoshi Tomiie feat. Chara - Atari (Jaded Vox In Japan Remix)  – hello, vocal trance. Are you really surprised??? It transitions to something that’s a bit more housey for a little bit, love the beat.

SO FAR - 019 is my favorite ASOT (NOTE: Overall, of all the ASOTs I've listened to - ASOT 608 sticks out to me the most. I absolutely love that one and I listen to it a lot - highly recommended.) 

ASOT 020

I’m just saying, this was hard to find. And I’m not even sure I found the right thing… but I listened to it anyway. Says it’s live: Armin van Buuren - A State of Trance Episode 020 (2001-11-10) (Live @ Club Scanners, Dordrecht, NL (01-10-27))

The vocals on the intro say, "This is the basic foundation of a track, I want everyone on the floor." And all I want to do is be on the floor AT Foundation! :) The weekend is near... which means the dance party is near... 

ASOT 003 through 012 - The Saga Continues.

Well, my massive amounts of fans have spoken and they were heard. By massive amounts of fans I mean just my friend Jason. He had an excellent suggestion that I shall implement into this blogging saga. In addition to sharing some thoughts about the ASOT episodes, I shall also share with you my favorite track or two from each episode. That way if you don't want to spend hours and hours and HOURS listening to trance, you can just listen to select tracks to take you on a sort of mini-ASOT journey :) I'm interested in seeing what kinds of music will catch my ear and maybe catch me off guard. I strongly stand by my love of progressive trance, vocal trance, deep house too... but well, let's just start out with a brief synopsis of the first episodes I've listened to. For the sake of brevity, I've listed my favorite tracks from the first few. I deep dived (deep dove??) into ASOT 012 for my own analysis. Recall from my first post, I am in busy season so I haven't had much spare time to write much - my apologies to you people who are sitting on the edge of your seats to see me get through this!

ASOT 003:

Perpetuous Dreamer feat. Elles De Graaf -- The Sound Of Goodbye (Armin´s Tribal Feel Vocal Mix) [Armind]

Sonic Inc. -- The Taste Of Summer (Fire & Ice Vital Remix) [XTC/Bonzai]

ASOT 004:

Solid Sessions- Janeiro (Pronti & Kalmani Vocal mix) (Combined Forces Promo) (also happens to be the tune of the week)

Humate- Love Stimulation (Paul van Dijk remix) (MFS, 1993) – gorgeous journey through hills and meadows ending up at a serene lake.

ASOT 005:

4 Strings - Into The Night (okay seriously this song has been on every single ASOT I feel like - but that's a good thing! I love this track!)
Alibi - Eternity (Thrillseekers Remix) just loving the dreamy music, really trance, kind of like, on a determined mission with a definite goal in mind but doing so in a really peaceful and loving way.

ASOT 006:

Clear blue moon – Armin van Buuren -- perfection. 

<I listened to 007 and 008 but wasn't by a computer to look up what tracks I was listening to. So far, I have to ask this: Was 2001 the year of industrial trance??? And Armin, when will you speak the English so I know what you're saying? I need a Dutch friend to help me out here.>

ASOT 009:

Push – The Legacy 

ASOT 010:

Three Drives - Sunset On Ibiza (Vocal DJ Enrico Remix)

ASOT 011:

Madelyne - A Deeper Love (D'tech Mix)

ASOT 012:

The beginning is just hilarious vocal trance. As you’ll learn, I am such a major fan of vocal trance. But this sounded like weird disco polo. More gibberish from Armin. I understood a few words… “essential mix,” “Tiesto…” “Body shock” And then Body-Shock - Rain In The City played and I liked it. Loved how intense it was at first, and then it withdrew to be calm and dreamy… and then back to feeling like you were on an amazing journey through the bustling streets of a populated city. 

So, let’s fast forward…

Second hour starts out like you’re walking in a dark alley, rainy pavement, sadness in your heart, wind blowing and you spot a light at the end of the tunnel – it flickers on and off, on and off, and you pick up the pace to go catch this glimmer of hope, and your fast walk turns into a light jog, and before you know it you’re running full speed ahead to catch the light. You’re running. But the light is elusive. It starts low, dims, shows up again too high to reach. Disappears, and shows up to your left. Pops up on your right. You reach to grab it and you can’t. But then you’re not sure when it happened, you’re flying in the air, flipping backwards, doing sumersaults and soaring higher and higher and the light is right there with you, taking you to these heights. The darkness has turned to brightness and you’re engulfed in the cerulean sky, floating between fluffy white clouds. And you realize, you’ve had this light inside of you the whole time, it just took a moment of belief in yourself to take you to the next level. 

But then this vision and dream is snapped back to reality with this tune - Harry Choo Choo Romero - I Want Out (I Can't Believe) – creepy vocals, industrial trance, makes me feel like I stepped into an illegal rave. 

I really like Rising Star - Clear Blue Moon which rounds out the second hour of the program, but at the same time, it’s still slightly creepy. I am used to heavenly trance that is now – this feels like an invasion of shiny silver robots that’s kind of scary but you kind of like it at the same time. Leaves me very confused :) 

ANYWAY - that is it for now! Tomorrow is a new day and will start with ASOT 013 as I get ready for work in the morning. Good night!  

 

ASOT - The beginning

Hello hello! This is my first entry so - WELCOME. If you are a part of the trance family, consider yourself a PLUR warrior spreading peace, love, unity and respect throughout the world with Lady Casa, think trance sounds like an endless string of the same notes over and over again, new to the EDM/rave scene or you just clicked on this on accident and you don't know why you are still reading this blog entry (keep reading!) - I am genuinely excited to let you know about this new journey I am beginning!!! So, I am an auditor by day, a music lover at heart, and a slave to the dance floor by (weekend) nights. And currently, as an auditor, I am in the middle of this thing called busy season, which pretty much means I am working ALL the time. So I thought I should make this time a bit more enjoyable for me and I thought I would share it with the interwebs and hopefully a few dedicated readers :) 

The idea: Listen to every single A State of Trance episode - from the very, very beginning of 001 through 649 before the milestone 650 ASOT: New Horizons. 

Hence, the title of the blog. A journey... through a state of trance... to new horizons. (Light bulb!) 

Now, I do love me some Armin van Buuren. He is impeccable, his work is masterful, and his mixes are divine. But I must share with you an intimate secret: Although I have listened to dance music and all its genres for several years, I never knew who was who, who played what, which genre related to which musical melody, etc etc. I know. I was shown the light and welcomed into a state of trance by my good friend Randy. First episode I listened to: 596. Which aired on January 17, 2013 according to official records (source: http://www.astateoftrance.com/episodes/episode-596/). The song All Your Colours by Kyau & Albert stood out to me immensely. I listened to each track, everything was so beautiful and guess what? A State of Trance brought me all the colors! (I'm American English not British English...) Ever since that episode I listen to each one. Just loving Trance Thursdays. And I feel like I'm a part of the Trance Family truly. I love the acceptance and openness of the community and the true unity you feel with everyone, no judgment, just singing along at the top of your lungs, arms around all your friends, grins from ear to ear, thinking: there is nothing better than this moment right here, right now. It's bliss! 

So Armin recently announced his ASOT 650 theme: New Horizons. And it got me thinking. You know, I like where we're going with this, but - I don't really know where we came from! Like with my job, music is ever evolving! In substance, trance is trance is trance. But - I think it's so important to know how it's evolved over the years. So, I wanted to challenge myself - and YOU if you're up for it! I set a challenge to listen to every single ASOT episode before the big ASOT 650. Can it be done? Challenge accepted.

The purpose of this blog is to share with you (or just myself if for some silly reason you don't return to this page) my thoughts and feelings about the State of Trance episodes. I want to see its evolution. Experience it. Embrace it. Until ASOT 650 arrives and takes me to the next level. 

DAY 1
So here we go - it's busy season. I work in a team environment, but I try to sneak in musical time as much as I can. Today was Day 1 of my challenge. I got through ASOT 001 and 002, airing June 1, 2001 and June 8, 2001 respectively. Well, I do believe I was at the ripe age of 14 at that time about to start my freshman year of high school. I was still listening to Spice Girls so come on, my musical tastes had yet to mature into the sophisticated tastes I have today. I listened to these two episodes today. First reaction: Whoa, episode 1 was only 1 hour?? What was going on AvB?? Were you just feeling out how successful it would be? And there was hardly any talking.... And how about Episode 2!! I didn't understand a word you said Armin! I am wondering if there was just less of an international addiction to your show and your music. I am glad that you speak in English during your show now because I do like knowing what you're saying :) 

Trance in 2001 is quite a bit different than I feel it is today. So that's all I have for now because it's late and as aforementioned I'm in busy season so I have to wake up early tomorrow morning and work some more - BUT I am beyond excited to listen to more ASOT's and document my journey to New Horizons. 

Cheers - Olivia