I just finished a remix for the Fraction Records, run by none other than Alan Nimmo. The track I chose to remix was Walker & Scylo - Undecided.
Since I am currently making music in Logic (with Reason) I ended up with a whole other sound. The remix turned out to be a 140 BPM uplifting trance tune with a hint of psy. It sounds really old school.
I am quite pleased with it, and it’s been approved over at Fraction HQ. So look out for this release. The original is absolutely grooving. I am posting a soundcloud-link down below so you can get a sneak peak of the remix I did.
I have no idea how many days it has been, but I haven’t been able to write a melody since Lord knows when. The nights have gone by, where I have just sat infront of my midikeyboard, and not a single unique melody has occurred. It’s really making me angry.
I’ve been listening to trance for quite some time now. 10-11 years now. Now I understand why some prolific producers and DJs are starting the transition from trance to other genres. They feel that they’ve been hearing the same thing for years now, and it’s not developing in any kind of way. The same melodies, the same chord progressions, the same patterns. Everything. I’ve been chewing on this issue on how hard it actually is to be original in this kind of genre. Trance followers are used to light chord progressions, and simple melodies. I can’t blame them. I mean, I can’t blame us. Sometimes the easiest thing is the best. At the moment I have this real obesssion to be innovative, and it’s driving me crazy. It’s hard to find a melody that hasn’t been used or created before. Should I just stop making music until I find a decent melody, or should I create a smashing hit that everyone has heard before, but with a different sound? I go back and forth on this question. The question made me look into scales and modes within music.
I never really cared about music thoery because I’ve always said that music can sound good without there being any form for theory behind it. After spending loads of time reading into different scales, it has opened my eyes to a whole new world of music making. I haven’t been able to pull it off yet, but perhaps this is the way to go? I was really inspired by the interview with the trance genius Andrew Bayer. In the interview he tells that he had been to ear training classes at Berkley where he learned about the phrygian mode. This made him instantly go home and create the chords to the track called “These Shoulders”.
I will continue posting on this blog with the progress of my music making until I get a song fully in a weird mode like phrygian or pentatonic. This is me being fully devastated each night after not being able to produce a single fucking thing. Wish me good luck!
I remember starting on this EP way back in may. Now it’s january, and it’s been released exclusively on beatport.com. What a ride it has been. I thought people would see it as an original thought, and alot of people did, but It also came with alot of negative remarks. I have now learned as a producer that you cannot please anybody. Especially not in a frigid scene like trance.. and you cannot make music for forums, but for hearts. I stole this quote from twitter, but I cannot recall who said it. Good one though, isn’t it?
Now the release is out there in the world, and I am truly proud of myself that I was able to pull of a three track EP that shows that I can produce techy, progressive and uplifting styles within trance music. The absolute best thing for this release is that I’ve been given so much support from DJs that never have played my tracks. Here is a list over the supporters:
Armin van Buuren, Guiseppe Ottaviani, Jon O’Bir, Leon Bolier, M.I.K.E. (Push), Estiva, Will Holland, Aaron Camz, Adam Nickey, Andre Visior, Angel Ace, Ashley Wallbridge, Audien, Dimitri Kechagias, DJ Ange, DJ Feel, Flash Brothers, Haris C, Harry Fowler, James Brookes, Jonas Hornblad, Joni Ljungqvist, Juventa, Kaeno, Kenneth Thomas, Manuel Le Saux, Mark Sherry, Michael Angelo, Neil Moore, Phillip Alpha, Phynn, Sam Wankowski, Simon Barwood, Suncatcher, Suzy Solar, Talla 2XLC, Taras Huntley, Tempo Giusto, The Flyers & Mike Sonar, Tillmann Uhrmacher, Vicky Devine, Yaz, Ernesto vs. Bastian, W&W and many more.
It just shows that changed your style from time to time can really help your music to spread to different places. I remember being slaughtered after release Piovere because some felt that it was too similiar to Essentia. That being said: really? Come on. It’s called trademarks and a personal sound! For instance an artist who has a remarkable sound: Jerome Isma-Ae. Incredible success, and I get yelled at after two songs. I bet Jerome has faced this problem aswell as millions of others. But the release is out there in the world now, and I tried do something original. Shortly after Andrew Bayer took the movement trance to a whole new level, so I kind of fell in the shadows. Haha! Just kidding. Anyway, I am really proud of the release and I hope you are going to like it as much as I loved producing it.
The EP can be bought exclusively on beatport.com, but retail sale will begin the 31st of january!
This is a remix I did of my favourite band, Tegan and Sara. If anyone wants it, hit me up and I will upload it for free downloading. The remix itself starts pretty housy, and developes into a progressive trance later on. I hope you like it :3
It is still unknown if I’m getting mocked by the awesome Andy Moor in his 25th podcast. In this episode he featured my track Poesia with a screaming pig-sample at the end. It is most likely that he put it in because of my use of whining synths. Do not get me wrong. I am not mad at all, and I am saying this only because people twist and turn on everything. It is absolutely hilarious, and let’s be frank: the synth I use is resembling a whining pig. Here is a sample of the podcast. The first seconds are the synth I use, and the rest is the lovely whining pig by Andy Moor. Enjoy!
I patted myself on the back after I found out that I landed the 3199th place on the DJ Mag Top 100 poll this year. It’s a huge achievement for me, really. Especially since I am actually not a disc jockey in the first place. I aimed for the 3200 spot, but who am I to complain?
Just wanted to say many thanks for the support, and lets do better next year without lifting a finger!
In January 2011 a new EP from myself will land on my dear label Enhanced Recordings. As you probably have noticed the tracks are all named movements instead of regular titles, and there is a pretty clever reason why. 5 months ago I was very inspired by classical music, and I really wanted to make a track that had a gorgeous classical music inspired sound to it. I thought: Sindre, there’s really too much piano in trance these days, but what if you create a concept out of it. So I came up with a concept and it is pretty simple. The whole idea is inspired by a daydream of mine where I was listening to old piano concertos on an old vinyl player. I really wanted to make a EP with three tracks, and every song needed to have a classical sounding piano break. I will tell you lot: it was no easy mission trying to create a piano melody and turning it into a trance track. What do you know? It worked out perfectly fine, and thus three movements were born.
Back in the days it was customary for the first movement in a piano concert to be allegro and in a sonata form, the second andante or adagio, the third a fast scherzo or a menuett, and the fourth a lively allegro. You and me both know that there was no way I could follow these customs perfectly into trance music, but it actually fit my movements pretty well. My first movement is a racing 134 BPM uplifting trance track, the second movement is a slow 128 BPM progressive trance track and the final third movement ended up being a 130 BPM melodic tech trance track. Each movement has the sound of the needle on a vinyl player hitting the record, in homage to my daydream.
All in all, I really think this EP will show my skills as a producer. In the EP I am doing three different subgenres in trance music, and I think it shows that I am a versatile producer within trance music. I will come back later on with the final release date, but in the meantime: Enjoy the clips from the concerto/piano mixes of every song.
PS: After complaints I should probably say that no, I don’t think that I am the first guy to put classical music into trance music. I just tried to explain why I named them movements.
