Amsterdam '08

Markus Schulz

Amsterdam 08 follows in the footsteps of Miami 05 and Ibiza 06, and Markus Schulz couldn’t be happier about its origins – Amsterdam is his spiritual home thanks to the overwhelming passion of the people resident there. “I always choose cities that are dear to me for my annual mix compilation” says Markus. “I just love Amsterdam, I feel a real connection there – my friends there are like my family. The people of Holland were one of the first to embrace and accept me and my sound, so it was the natural choice to do the 08 mix there.”

Markus’ brand of dark, melodic trance is in demand the world over; his weekly Global DJ Broadcast radio show is now syndicated to over 30 stations worldwide, his shows have taken in everywhere from Australia to Russia, China to Trinidad, and many other destinations along the way, and 2008 is set to bring more dates in Australia, as well as Asia and South America. Amsterdam 08 is a must-have album for dance fans everywhere, and comprises Markus’ top tracks from 2007 and hot tips for 2008. “I really enjoy putting the compilation CDs together,” says Markus, “they’re always a total labour of love and are in my mind all the time. All year I’ll hold back tracks that are just gems for the mix; I’ll play them out here and there over the summer but I’ll save them for the CD. Amsterdam 08 opens a little differently – CD1 starts quite slow by trance standards: 124 bpm, so it sets the mood, similar to when I’m playing extended sets. The atmosphere builds up so that when you get to CD2 it’s full on, middle-of-a-set tempo trance.”

Stand out tracks include 2 Glenn Morrison cuts, (I” love what he’s doing,” says Markus, “he’s on fire right now!”), the Moonbeam remix of new Lens track, Beyond The Shadows, (“an amazing discovery for me”), and Avalon by Enmass, as well as the Coldharbour remix of Markus Schulz feat Andy Moor’s Daydream – a stunning slice of melodic trance with truly divine vocals.

Markus, who also runs his own Coldharbour label, is often in Amsterdam for club dates and regularly plays for Armada Music’s events and festivals. “I really feel part of this city, it’s so special for me” he says. “This CD is a thank you to everyone there who has supported me over the years, and I hope it becomes a special selection of tunes to everyone who hears it.”

CD1
01: Dakota- Amsterdam
02: Leama and James Davis presents Grafiti - Ghettotech
03: Glenn Morrison- Blue Skies With Linda
04: Plastic Angel- Try Walking In My World
05: Lens- Beyond The Shadows (Moonbeam Remix)
06: Glenn Morrison- Rubberband
07: Rex Mundi- Sunrise In Ibiza
08: Marcus Schössow- Mr White (Ruben De Ronde Remix)
09: tyDi- Meet Me in Kyoto
10: Ketho- Silent Room
11: Supüer- Azaleus
12: Destination X - Dangerous (Gareth Emery Remix / Markus Schulz Big Room Reconstruction)
13: Sonic Division- If I had Wings

CD 2:
01: Fulyen- Approach
02: Dakota- Progression
03: Carl & Joni- Foresaken
04: Markus Schulz- Fly To Colors (Carl B Remix)
05: Anton Chernikov- Your Burning Eyes
06: Breakfast & Mike St Jules- Only Two Should Know
07: Markus Schulz feat Andy Moor- Daydream (Coldharbour Remix)
08: Agnelli & Nelson present the A&N Project - Sleeping In Airports
09: Bebop- Breakthrough Woodpecker
10: B.E.N. & Mr. Pit- More Manners Please
11: EnMass- Avalon
12: Kenneth Tjonasam- Formulation
13: Vision- Entry To Heaven (Benya Remix)

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I Love House Vol. 3
Various Artists

House Music Vol. 2
Various Artists

Trance World Vol. 1
Signum

Trance World Vol. 1

Signum

Signum is Pascal Minnaard and Ronald Hagen, two producers who met at high school and have gone from classroom dreams of making music to playing out and hearing their tracks hammered in some of the best clubs in the world.

Based in Zoetermeer, a little city near The Hague in The Netherlands, the duo have been hugely influential in the trance scene. Pascal got a record contract at the Dutch label/agency BPM Dance, with Ron also signing to the label later, and the pair’s 1997 inaugural joint production, ‘What You Got For Me’, became a massive club anthem.

After a string of hugely successful productions and remixes (for the likes of Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, ATB and Lost Tribe), the pair were inundated with requests to DJ, and feeling that the time had come to play out at clubs, they set about learning to mix. With DJ bookings guaranteed, Signum made their UK debut in style, playing a three-hour set at Gatecrasher in July 2001. They've since rocked it at the UK’s best clubs: Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Passion, and Slinky; festivals from Global Gathering to Homelands; and had their passports well and truly stamped with gigs in Australia, Spain, Japan, Ibiza, Canada, Africa, Switzerland, Germany, Mallorca and Malaysia.

Signing to Armada Music in 2003, Signum hit the number one spot in dance charts all over the world with productions including ‘Push Through’, ‘The Timelord’ and ‘Come Around Again’, a collaboration with vocalist Anita Kelsey, described by Ron & Pascal as the track they've always wanted to make.

2007 brings the release of this mix album, Trance World, the first in an exciting new series from Armada. Featuring a range of tracks from across the trance spectrum, including a slew of their own productions, this double CD is a must-have for all trance fans. “It’s our first mix compilation and it’s taken a long time to put together so it’s really cool to finally do it,” says Pascal. “We wanted a wide selection of different genres and show that trance can still be trance but also harder, more techy.”

With an artist album on the horizon, high profile gigs and more remixes to come, it seems that 10 years of Signum is only the start of a beautiful partnership.

CD1:
01 Signum - Shades of Asia
02 M.I.D.O.R - Wilderness
03 DJ Remy & Roland Klinkenberg - Bilderdyk Drive (Remix)
04.Hidden Logic pres. Luminary - Wasting (Ronski Speed Remix)
05.The Blizzard - Kalopsia
06.Mike Koglin vs POS - Untitled Audio (Nitrous Oxide Remix)
07.Mark Otten vs Carrie Skipper - Time is Serene (Menno de Jong Remix / AVB Mash Up)
08.Sebastian Sand - Strange Bends (Kyau and Albert Remix)
09.Kirsty Hawkshaw meets Tenishia - Outsiders (Cosmic Gate Remix)
10.Signalrunners - Aria Epica (Bart Claessen Remix)
11.Luminary - Dark Eyes (Funabashi Pres Tom Porcell Mix)
12.Signum - Syndicate
13.D-Factor - Mystique
14.Under Sun vs Signum - Captured (Signum Signal Remix)

CD2:
01.The Doppler Effect - Beauty Hides In The Deep (Envotion Remix)
02.DJ Remy - Scrap
03.Simon & Shaker - Plan 9
04.DJ Shah – Palmarosa
05.Jonas Steur - Second Turn
06.Super 8 vs DJ Tab - Won't Sleep Tonight (Original Dub Mix)
07.M-I-D-O-R - The Bandit
08.Maor Levi - Reflect
09.Vincent de Moor - Fly Away (Cosmic Gate Remix)
10.Vincent de Moor - Flowtation (Signum Signal Remix)
11.Arksun - Arisen (Airbase pr. Parc Remix)
12.Signum - Harmonic
13.D-Factor - Raw and Nasty

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I Love House Vol. 2
Various Artists

A State of Trance 2007
Armin van Buuren

A State of Trance 2007

Armin van Buuren

Armin's well respected A State of Trance compilation series is an annual celebration of today's trance scene. On 'A State of Trance 2007', Armin collected some of the best, exclusive tracks of that time, and brings them to you on a two disk mix-session.

It wasn’t only the year in which the previous ASOT album won an International Dance Music Award for 'Best Compilation', but also the year in which he celebrated the 300th episode of the radioshow, which saw Armin receive another award for 'Best Mix Radio Show'.

'A State of Trance 2007' sticks with the division of two themes, where CD1 covers white sandy beach-beats with its 'On The Beach' theme and CD2 fires away with melodic club-trance at its best with 'In The Club', giving a feel of what Armin's clubset sound like. ASOT 2007 is filled with tracks by Roger Shah, The Blizzard, Kyau & Albert, Markus Schulz, Nic Chagall, Mike Foyle, Filo & Peri and many other talented producers.

CD1: On the Beach
1. Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren - Light The Skies (Retrobyte's Classic Electrobounce Mix)
2. Chris Lake feat. Emma Hewitt - Carry me Away
3. Sultan & Ned - Together we Rise
4. DJ Shah feat. Adrina Thorpe - Who Will Find Me
5. Kirsty Hawkshaw meets Tenishia - Reasons to Forgive
6. Rio Addicts - The Distance
7. Jose Amnesia feat. Jennifer Rene - Wouldn't Change A Thing
8. Sunlounger - In & Out (DJ Shah Rework)
9. Alex Bartlett - Touch The Sun (Rank 1 remix)
10. The Blizzard – Kalopsia
11. Kyau & Albert - Always A Fool
12. Global Illumination – Tremble

CD2: In the Club
1. Armin van Buuren – Miserere
2. Armin van Buuren - Rush Hour
3. Terry Ferminal Vs Mark Sherry - Walk Away (Terry Ferminal Mix)
4. Albert Vorne - Formentera What (Gareth Emery remix)
5. Michael Dow – Ascent
6. Rex Mundi - Perspective
7. Ronski Speed - The Space we Are (accapella)
8. Markus Schulz vs. Chakra - I Am
9. First State – Evergreen
10. Mike Foyle – Firefly
11. Nic Chagall - What You Need (Hard dub)
12. Filo and Peri feat Eric Lumiere – Anthem
13. Lost Witness vs Sassot - Whatever (Aly & Fila remix)
14. FKN feat. Jahala - Why (Aly & Fila remix)
15. Sophie Sugar - Day Seven
16. Sean Tyas present: Logistic - One More Night Out

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I Love House Vol. 1
Various Artists

House Music Vol. 1
Various Artists

10 Years
Armin van Buuren

10 Years

Armin van Buuren

While some DJs weave a set strictly out of other people’s records, other DJs go that extra mile and add their own productions to the mix. As a result, you desperately want to hear their own classic tracks and exclusive remixes as much as the freshest cuts at the front of their boxes every time they play out. Armin Van Buuren falls into the latter category, and it’s testament to his ability to produce timeless, genre defining tracks that even 6 years after their release, clubbers regularly fight their way to the front to beg for one more spin of the likes of Communication and The Sound of Goodbye to make their evening’s aural pleasure complete. It’s now 10 years since Armin’s debut single Blue Fear was picked up by Sasha and Digweed for the Northern Exposure compilation, but this is the first time his back catalogue of trance classics has been available in their full original versions on one CD.

“It’s not really a ‘best of’ album,” says Armin, “it’s more like tying up the loose ends. I’ve produced a lot of tracks under different names - Gaia, Perpetuous Dreamer, Darkstar – and loads of people ask me how to get hold of them, why certain tracks were only ever released on vinyl… A lot of mixes I did exclusively for my sets, but there’s so much demand for them, this seems like a good time to celebrate their success and just put them out there.”

Armin enjoyed a dream decade since unleashing Blue Fear on the world. “It all kicked off for me with that record. Back then, I didn’t really appreciate what it meant to have your track played at half time during a Manchester United match, but now I understand what a big track it was.” His midas touch has stayed with him ever since, Communication went top 20 in the UK in 2000 – the version on this album has never been released and is probably the most requested track here; The Sound of Goodbye was picked up by a small label in New York, became a big Billboard dance chart record, and helped break the notoriously tough US market; his latest remix, Love You More, has gone Top 20 in Holland. Armin’s played gigs and festivals the whole world over, including a memorable gig on Brooklyn Bridge overlooking Manhattan, racked up an impressive number of awards and silverware, and set up the hugely successful Armada label. “It was never the plan!” he laughs, “but I know how lucky I am to be living this life.” And don’t expect Armin to rest on his laurels, as there’s much more to come: “I want to push myself even more creatively, with a big studio, live instruments, artists – but it’ll always be dance music based, as that’s where my heart is.”

1. Armin van Buuren - Hymne
2. Armin van Buuren - Sail
3. Armin van Buuren feat. Racoon - Love You More
4. Armin van Buuren - Communication part 3
5. Armin van Buuren feat. Ray Wilson - Yet Another Day
6. Armin van Buuren feat. Justine Suissa - Burned With Desire (Rising Star Mix)
7. Armin van Buuren - 4 Elements
8. Armin van Buuren - Sound Of Goodbye (Dark Matter Mix)
9. Armin van Buuren - Clear Blue Moon
10. Armin van Buuren - Blue Fear
11. Armin van Buuren feat. System F - Exhale
12. Armin van Buuren - Who Is Watching (Tonedepth Remix)
13. Armin van Buuren vs. Herman Brood - Saturday Night
14. Armin van Buuren feat. Gabriel & Dresden - Zocalo
15. Armin van Buuren vs. Rank1 feat. Kush - This World Is Watching Me
16. Armin van Buuren feat. Airwave - Sunspot
17. Armin van Buuren - Touch Me
18. Armin van Buuren feat. Justine Suissa - Simple Things
19. Armin van Buuren - Shivers (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Red Light Dub)
20. Armin van Buuren feat. Justine Suissa - Wall Of Sound (Airbase pres. Parc Mix)
21. Armin van Buuren feat. M.I.K.E. - Intruder

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A State of Trance 2006
Armin van Buuren

A State of Trance 2006

Armin van Buuren

Even though 2005 was a massive, busy year for Armin van Buuren, his A State of Trance 2006 compilation was still on time to ring in another year of good trance music.

In 2005, Armin won 2 awards for his 'Shivers' album, at the Dutch Release Dance Awards and the prestigious Edison Awards, both for 'Best Album'. Next to that he launched a new, spectacular event called 'Armin Only: The next level', which took place in November 2005 at the Rotterdam Ahoy venue and turned out to be a big, sold-out, success. But there's more. At the International Dance Music Awards in Miami, he received the 'Best Mix Radio Show' award for his A State of Trance radioshow, which had its 250th transmission in May 2006.

April 17 2006 was the day for all A State of Trance fans to head off to the music stores and grab their musical guide through trancy 2006. It's no surprise that A State of Trance 2006 won the award for 'Best Compilation' at the IDM Awards in Miami, with a quality trance selection like that. 2006 was the first year in which Armin chose to use different themes for the album. CD 1 is called 'On The Beach', for those that love those miraculous summer beats, and CD2 'In The Club', for a slightly more upbeat approach of an Armin set in the club.

On A State of Trance 2006, you'll find tracks by Mike Foyle, Leon Bolier, Arksun, John O'Callaghan, Envio, Zirenz, Sunlounger, Matthew Dekay, Karen Overton, Armin himself, and many more

CD1 – At The Beach
1. Mike Foyle – Shipwrecked (John O Callaghan vs Mike Foyle Club mix - AvB intro edit)
2. Sunlounger - White Sand (DJ Shah's Original Mix)
3. Leon Bolier feat. Elsa Hill - No Need to come back (vocal mix)
4. Matthew Dekay - Timeless (Digifruitella dub)
5. Karen Overton - Your Loving Arms (Club mix)
6. DJ Shah - Beautiful (Glimpse of heaven) (Long Island dub)
7. Niyaz, “Dilruba (Junkie XL Remix)”
8. Basic Perspective - Small Step to the Other Side (Elevation remix)
9. Zirenz - Edge of Space (Whiteroom remix)
10. Jody Wisternoff - Cold Drink, Hot Girl (The Original Mix)
11. Incolumis "One With Sanctuary
12. Jose Amnesia vs. Shawn Mitiska – My All (Flashbrothers remix)
13. Envio – For You (Outro Edit)

CD2 – In The Club
1. Arksun - Arisen
2. Fable – Above
3. O’Callaghan & Kearney – Exactly
4. Kyau vs. Albert "Walk Down" (KvA Club Mix)
5. Kuffdam & Plant – Dream Makers (Original Mix)
6. M.I.K.E. - Voices from the inside (Mike’s Progressiva mix)
7. DJ Govenor - Red Woods
8. Kyau vs. Albert - Kiksu (Original Mix)
9. Hiroyuki ODA – Transmigration
10. Under Sun vs Signum – Captured (Sebastian Brandt)
11. Mannix vs Kaymak - World Gone mad
12. Stoneface & Terminal - Venus

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Shivers
Armin van Buuren

Shivers

Armin van Buuren

Armin Van Buuren's Shivers was released August 8 on Armada in The Netherlands and Belgium, and the rest of the world shortly after. This was Armin’s second artist album (his debut artist album 76 was released in 2003 and was nominated for a Dancestar Award for “Best Debut Album” in the US) and features a variety of guest vocalists and producers including Dutch celebrity pianist and composer Jan Vayne, former Genesis (post-Phil Collins) singer Ray Wilson and Justine Suissa, who collaborated with Armin on his smash hit single from 2004, “Burned With Desire.”

Shivers was recorded over two years primarily in Amsterdam, San Francisco (with Gabriel & Dresden), Miami (with Markus Schulz and Mic Burns) and New York (with Nadia Ali of iio). The first single from Shivers is the title track and it made its mark on the international trance scene and as a Top 40 hit (Armin’s fifth) in his native Holland. Other songs on the album of note are “Serenity” which was the official anthem of Sensation White, the world’s largest indoor rave, and “Golddigger” featuring the luscious vocals of Rosemary’s Sons’ Martijn Hagens.

“Shivers is a major step for me into full songwriting,” says Armin. “I was a co-writer on most of the lyrics and was able to work in a variation of styles. Trance will always be the main thing but it brings a different element when you collaborate with artists. It requires more attention to song structure than instrumental tracks. This is a work I’m extremely proud of.”

1. Wall Of Sound (feat. Justine Suissa)
2. Empty State (feat. Mic Burns)
3. Shivers
4. Golddigger (feat. Martijn Hagens)
5. Zocalo (feat. Gabriel & Dresden)
6. Gypsy (feat. Ray Wilson)
7. Who Is Watching (feat. Nadia Ali)
8. Bounce Back (feat. Remy & Roland Klinkenberg)
9. Control Freak
10. Serenity (feat. Jan Vayne)

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