musical journey pt6

51-60

We are finally venturing beyond the halfway point. We leave the distortion and heavy beats behind us for just a little while, looking for a more mainstream and accessible hiding place. It is time to take a trip to the dancefloors of the 90s, reliving the club/trance boom.

Album cover compilation

For reference, here are links to the previous parts of the list: 01-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50

The first few tracks are still darker of tone, but we quickly venture into more subdued, melodic and warmer trance/club territory. On our way we stroll past the high points of the Benelux scene, covering the most interesting bits of the 90s trance explosion, ending up with some of the early 90s pioneers.

  1. 051. Push - The Legacy

    check the album
    Push cover art

    Straight dancefloor track which even received some welcome airtime on TV. Great tune sporting a little dark edge and a good solid beat, coming from the classic Bonzai stables.

  2. 052. Junk Project - Control '99 (Timebase Mix)

    check the album
    Junk Project cover art

    Without a doubt one of the biggest club classics of the 90s. Pumping beat, awesome tune and one hell of a drop halfway through. Some serious dancefloor craze assured.

  3. 053. Delerium - Innocente (Ti̓«sto Mix)

    check the album
    Delerium cover art

    A personal favorite of mine. The dreamy atmosphere, pretty vocals, cool vid and nice time I spent on parties all add to the fun of this track. One of Tiësto's best.

  4. 054. Commander Tom - Are Am Eye

    check the album
    Commander Tom cover art

    Jumping several years back in time to honor one of Belgium's pioneer dance artists. This track's a banging classic, having lost little of its charm over the years.

  5. 055. Humate - Love Stimulation (Paul Van Dijk Rmx)

    check the album
    Humate cover art

    Leaving the danceable club tracks behind us, we trip into the more melancholic world of trance. A perfect blend of melodies, soft atmospheres, dreamy waves and warm vocals. Heaven.

  6. 056. Moogwai - Labyrinth Part 2

    check the album
    Moogwai cover art

    Quality trance from Switzerland, providing lovely daydream music rather than stomping dancefloor antics. Great build-up, strong melodies and some strong touches make this an overlooked classic.

  7. 057. Airwave - Alone in the Dark

    check the album
    Airwave cover art

    There is only one best, and that best is Airwave. There is nobody making trance like he does. In between the eerie emptiness lie melodies so fragile you are afraid they'll break when pushing replay.

  8. 058. Aura - Energy Transepose (Serious Mix)

    check the album
    Aura cover art

    Another trance classic from the early days. Not as refined as the post '95 trance, but still sporting cool melodies and a good, warm bassdrum. Ahh, those lovely memories.

  9. 059. The Field - The Deal

    check the album
    The Field cover art

    Even though this track could be considered the odd one out, I think it flows well with those early 90s trance tracks. Very melodic, cool vocals and slight, unrefined techno influences. Strong sound.

  10. 060. Neon - Voices

    check the album
    Neont cover art

    With Neon we're slowly edging away from the club/trance scene. A solid piece of work, floating in between the realms of early trance and techno. One of the tracks that made this kind of music big.

will be continued

Which brings us to the end of this week's list. From here on, we'll take a few leaps past several odd dance/trance tracks to arrive at a section with soft, melodic IDM. Slowly, our list is edging closer to a musical standstill, but we still have some ground to cover.