March: 10 trance releases you need to hear this month

Cosmic Gate 'Materia Chapter.One' (Black Hole Recordings)

As an artist, it must be hard trying to whittle your tracks down to fit onto one album, especially if you’ve had as many hits as Cosmic Gate have had recently. But rather than discarding the records they love and disregarding new concepts they wanted to try out, the German duo have decided to release their new album in two parts, with the second to come later this year. Featuring collaborations with huge names such as Ferry Corsten, Ilan Bluestone, Julie Thompson and Eric Lumiere, part one is a mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks, all of which have been made fore the club (apart from ‘Fireflies’ and ‘Halo’, which give you a chance to catch your breath right at the end). The bar’s been set for the second chapter, then – and we expect it to be just as good.

8/10

Alex Klingle 'Remember When' (Enhanced Progressive)

Last month we reviewed Marcus Santoro’s remix of Alex Klingle’s ‘Colors Back’. This month we’re reviewing a single Enhanced hopes will be just as big: Klingle’s ‘Remember When’ is an emotive, melodic and wistful record, featuring a hint of vocals and tough, rolling bass (a sound the Canadian is becoming synonymous with). His label reckon this is the year he’ll break through, and with the amount of records he’s put out over the past few years, we hope they’re right.

8/10

K90 'Pandamonia' (Dataless Recordings)

Whether he’s playing at events including Sundissential, Goodgreef and Frantic or producing huge tracks such as ‘Red Snapper’, K90 (aka Mark Doggett) is perhaps best known in hard dance circles. However, plenty of his releases – including ‘Breathe’ and ‘Deliverance’ – fall into the trance category, too, and his latest track is in a similar vein: it’s a catchy instrumental track with a 90s-inspired breakdown and a slower BPM. As the first cut to be taken from the producer’s forthcoming album ‘Futureproof’, it’s a good taste of things to come.

7/10

Eximinds 'Shadows' (Eximinds Airlines)

While Eximinds existed for several years as a musical experiment with various members, it only started to gain recognition from the dance music community as a duo made up of Alexander Zhukov and Dmitry Momzikov. Now the project is down to just one member, but Zhukov shows no signs of slowing down; in fact, last year saw him release no less than five singles (even if they were collaborations). His latest is another uplifting progressive trance track with great pace and a nice melody. It may not have the makings of an anthem, but since it’s gained support from both Armin and Markus Schulz, it doesn’t really matter.

7/10

Kris O’Neil 'Make You Feel' (Avanti)

After countless remixes and collaborations, the A&R manager of Blackhole’s sub-label Avanti is releasing his first solo single since 2009. Drawing parallels to 70s disco, 80s synth pop and 90s house music, it’s got a huge bassline, soulful vocals and spellbinding key changes, all of which come together to create a modern progressive tune to get your groove on to. We hope it’s not going to be another eight years until he releases the next one.

8/10

The Thrillseekers 'Why Not?' (Adjusted Music)

Fans of The Thrillseekers will be pleased to know that Steve Helstrip is giving away a free download of his new track ‘Why Not?’ as a thank-you gift in return for their support. He’s been playing the track, which is the follow-up to his ‘Just Because’ single, in his sets since last February – and with its dirty bassline, huge synths and euphoric melody, it’s certainly one for the dancefloor.

7/10

Corti Organ & Dan Thompson 'Vortex' (Create Strobe)

The third single to be released on Lange’s new Create Music sub-label opens with a bang. Energetic from the very beginning, the intro is a cacophony of driving bass, huge snares and distorted stabs which lead towards a moment of calm before it builds again into a big-room trancer. It’s a bit edgier than you’d usually expect from UK producer Dan Thompson, but considering he’s teamed up with progressive trance and techno duo Corti Organ, it’s inevitable that more of those harder, faster influences can be heard here.

7/10

Max Freegrant & Slow Fish 'Green Forest' (Freegrant Music)

The last time Max Freegrant and mysterious producer Slow Fish got together, they came up with a highly addictive remix of LinBit’s deep house track ‘Easy’. This time they’ve produced their own track, and while it isn’t as catchy – perhaps due to its lack of lyrics – it does get under your skin thanks to a groovy melody and infectious hook. A fusion of trance, house and progressive, it’s an effective showcase of what Freegrant’s record label does best.

7/10

Ultimate 'Revelation' (Infrasonic Pure)

Infrasonic resident Ultimate has a keen ear for all things emotive and uplifting, so it’s no great shock that his latest track is full of warm pads and lush melodies. But even with its hypnotic breakdown, it unfortunately lacks some of the atmosphere of his previous single ‘Ephemeris’. If nothing else, though, at least he’s found his niche in making euphoric, melodic trance tracks.

6/10

Nitrous Oxide 'Dreamcatcher' (Mark W remix) (CDR)

Since he first started DJing in 2004, UK producer Mark Walker has seen success in the form of a residency at Ministry Of Sound, a Top 20 Beatport tune with Allen & Envy and support from PvD, Ferry and Armin van Buuren. In fact, Armin’s recently been playing his unofficial remix of Nitrous Oxide’s 2010 single ‘Dreamcatcher’, even though it’s yet to be signed. While the original is a dreamy, floaty tune to lose yourself in, this remix has a harder edge thanks to a pounding bassline, but still stays true to the feel of the original by retaining its mesemerising melody – just as all good remixes should.

7/10