June: 10 trance reviews you need to hear this month

Talamanca 'Arrivals & Departures' (Silk Music)

Considering it’s been 10 years in the making, you can’t help but expect something special from Talamanca’s debut artist album – and you’d be right to. A well-executed, fluid composition that’s been extremely well thought out, all of the track names are travel-themed and resonate with Ibiza: they’re warm, melodic and sun-kissed, with vocals that are only ever hinted at on cuts such as ‘Walking the World’ and ‘When the Sun Goes Down’. But while Talamanca may be known for his dreamy arrangements, he shakes off any notion of being predictable by completely changing things up halfway through, with some unexpected d‘n’b on ‘Final Destination’. Deeper, more downtempo tracks like ‘Ibiza At Dusk’, meanwhile, further prove his worth as a diverse and talented producer.

8/10

Max Freegrant 'Wonderful Life' (Freegrant Music)

With every release on Freegrant Music, you’re guaranteed both intelligent melodies and captivating atmospherics – especially when the label’s head honcho is involved. This, the title track from his forthcoming album, doesn’t disappoint: with its playful synth melodies and lullaby quality, it’s an innovative mix of sounds, showcasing his diversity as an artist and setting the tone for the LP. We can’t wait to hear the rest of it.

8/10

Solis & Sean Truby pres S&ST 'Roots' (InfraRed)

For the follow-up to their last single ‘Feel It’, Solis & Sean Truby are releasing ‘Roots’ under their new S&ST guise. Supported by the likes of Ferry and Aly & Fila, it’s an energetic trancer featuring ripping leads and sweeping pads, with some psychedelic elements thrown in for good measure. It’s everything you’d expect from a Solis & Sean Truby record, so we’re not sure why they felt the need to introduce a new alias – but maybe it’ll become clear after the next few releases.

7/10

2nd Phase & David Forbes 'Pie Friday' (Damaged)

Glaswegian duo 2nd Phase have teamed up with fellow Scottish artist David Forbes for this hard-hitting tech trance track that, thanks to its uniqueness, is bound to divide opinion. Making no apologies, it’s in no way a fluid record; instead, it features siren-like synths, an earth-shattering bassline and some bizarre vocals about how people’s lives change when they take LSD or a family member dies. You’ll either love it or hate it.

6/10

Stendahl & LaMeduza 'You Get Me' (LTN/eleven.five remixes) (Silk Music)

The original version of Stendahl & LaMeduza’s ‘You Get Me’ couldn’t sound more different than this pair of remixes from LTN and eleven.five. More progressive/deep house than trance, both reworks retain the downtempo features of the original and focus on LaMeduza’s beautiful vocals. However, LTN’s mix is sunnier and more upbeat, while eleven.five’s is the deeper of the two. Admittedly, they’re not exactly trance tracks, but there’s no denying their hypnotic qualities.

7/10

Cosmic Gate & Tim White 'The Deep End' (Black Hole Recordings)

Taken from Cosmic Gate’s recent ‘Materia Chapter.One’ album, this is by no means a new record – but now that it’s got its own standalone release just in time for the summer festival season, it feels very relevant. While Cosmic Gate’s last two LP tracks ‘Dynamic’ and ‘Halo’ were both instrumentals, this features catchy vocals from Toronto-based singer Tim White that are guaranteed to get crowds singing. And by adding bass-charged sub-melodies, open hi-hats and atmospheric synths, they’ve got themselves an uplifting festival anthem that should last all summer.

8/10

Harry Square 'Ricochet' (Interstate Recordings)

Supported by the likes of Armin, Markus and Ferry, you can get a fair idea of how this track sounds, even if you haven’t heard it before: it’s an energetic floor-filler made up of huge leads, a memorable yet slightly repetitive melody and a satisfactory build-up that, if we’re being overly critical, is slightly predictable. It’s a good tune, but there’s nothing to set it apart from any other club track.

7/10

Max Graham & Estiva 'Generation' (Mark Sherry’s Outburst rework) (Outburst Records)

At the beginning of the year, Max Graham teamed up with Estiva to create the dark, driving ‘Generation’, which is now getting a remix from Outburst label owner Mark Sherry. His rework – with its coarse 909 percussion, dark stabs, soaring trance leads and stripped-back bass drop – turns the track into an early-morning underground rave cut; it feels like an improvement on an already fantastic record.

8/10

Sneijder 'Outsider' (AfterDark)

With recent releases such as the tech-tinged ‘Polarize’ and ‘Viper’, as well as uplifting trance tracks like his ‘Love Of My Control’ collaboration with Christina Novelli, it’s clear that Irish DJ Sneijder likes to dabble in different sub-genres. His latest tune ‘Outsider’, which is similar in style to his 2016 release ‘Without You Here’, boasts a more traditional trance sound, featuring mesmerising chords and a high-energy break. Dark and energetic yet also melodic and vocal, it sounds as if the producer has taken all of the different elements he loves and combined them into one record.

7/10

FloE 'For You' (Entrancing Music)

Considering his previous ‘Like A Miracle’ record saw huge support from Armin van Buuren, Gareth Emery, Photographer, Bobina and Eximinds, FloE’s new track has rather a lot to live up to. Sadly, while it’s a nice club track that combines emotional melodies with grooving basslines, it’s a bit shrill at times and falls short of its predecessor. That said, the German producer has got Sodality on remix duties to compete with Denis Kenzo’s ‘Like A Miracle’ rework; it’s already getting early support from Cosmic Gate.

7/10