NO_ID

December 2, 2012 | Dan Carter

Far from an echo of their bleep-orientated peers, NO_ID have made few apologies for ditching the national norm. Broken through by Michael Woods and embraced immediately by Axtone flag bearer Axwell, their now steady overhaul of the global festival and club circuit has shown that whatever the charts might suggest, differentiation can overhaul the weight of cultural hysteria. Mere minutes before their second live encounter with the larger than life crowds of the ever-supportive Swedish House Mafia, Dan Carter caught up with the Dutch House trailblazers to seek the identifying factors of an unexpected European success story that refuses to be boxed.  Read More

Tiesto & Mark Knight – Beautiful World (The Ecstasy Remixes)

April 30, 2012 | Dan Carter

Pitting iconic status and industrious side by side for one excessively ambitious outing, the titanic clashing of Dutch superstar Tiesto and Toolroom Record‘s founding father Mark Knightgave way to last years most dutiful vocal anthem ‘Beautiful World’. But with the original and Gina Starr’s 2012 remix already throwing the aforementioned studio union alongside Dino’s distinct vocal stylings, a soundtrack spot for the sparkling anthem on the follow up to unfathomable cult classic ‘Trainspotting’ sees a host of Europe’s finest House pundits embrace the score of forthcoming nostalgia flick ‘Ecstasy’.  

First up to bat with his fluid take on Dutch House craze he so formally fashioned is Mixmash maestro and Kung Fu connoisseur Laidback Luke. Still on fire from explosive original collaboration ‘Trilogy’ alongside Arno Cost and Norman Doray, Luke injects the original with a hefty dose of frantic leads and stern kicks while respectfully treading over the originals definitive top line and firm chord play. Adding some formative energy to the originals more emotive qualities, the Dutch master cannot be faulted in terms of  the upfront Progressive play with a subtle electro twist that he brings to the equation. 

Ministry of Sound resident and adored lion heart of the British House music Michael Woods is no stranger to high-profile moments in Electronic music. While his sturdy output for personal imprint Diffused Music and a tour schedule that could cripple even the most traveled of individuals has evidently kept him on his toes, his intrinsically skilled hand at remixing has not be slewed in the process. Leading with twisted lead play and a backdrop of vacant melodies, his adaptation of ‘Beautiful World’ reeks of the subtle grinding Progressive traits that have extensively championed his edits and remixes. Despite utilizing less of Dino’s heartrending vocal assets, Woods plays his remix closer to home with valiant stamina and persuasive fluency for this triumphant return to Toolroom.

As if this trio of talents hadn’t spurned enough creative juices from Europe’s finest House mongers, Violet Oversoul turn their hands to the ambient potential of Dino’s full-length original edit. Dealing in haunting keys and howling atmospherics, the distant yet fertile canvas of ‘Beautiful World’ is the best kind of digression such a potent record could beckon. Poised perfectly for the both the calm before the storm and the dreaded morning after, Violet Oversouls lack of blazing synths and brash beats can be forgiven on the grounds of its seething stripped charm.

‘Beautiful World (The Ecstasy Remixes)’ is out now on Toolroom Records via Beatport.
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Paul Thomas & Alex Di Stefano – Shinning

March 27, 2012 | Dan Carter

Post Miami Music Week, the ceaseless global prowling for enigmatic club fuel tends to be somewhat endless. Having represented country and genre alike with dignified grandeur throughout the stateside celebrations, British Progressive wizzard Paul Thomas returns to the limelight on top form alongside longserving Italian peer Alex Di Stefano for an impressive mark on Michael Wood’s Diffused Music imprint. 

Always a master of the deep and darted lead play that has come to affirm the British movement’s part in the less-predictable realms of Progressive House, ‘Shinning’ reeks of Thomas’s melodic stylings from the outside. Pitted against a somewhat exotic backdrop of resilient grooves, the amalgamation of genre traits makes for something of a fresh serving of a sound scope intrinsically familiar yet reassuringly unspoilt. Having braced his way through House music’s every pivotal development, Di Stefano certainly dons a sense of unpretentious charm and firm Tech inspired attributes to this well oiled European entourage of studio talents. 

Valiantly allied with decade defying Italian player Alex Di Stefano’s gracious studio dialect, Diffused Records substantially extend their recent output of considerable quality and embraces the tectonically tuned studio stylings of two ket House assets who are only gets better with age. With the addition of a sturdy and justly unobtrusive edit from Wood’s himself complimenting the overall release package, there can only be two solid thumbs-up awarded to this solid collection of European talents hammering it outside of the continents overly-comfortable musical prism.

‘Shining’ is out now on Diffused Music via Beatport.