New Compilations

Source: Jakob Montrasio

Winter is always a good time to release a compilation – the festivals and clubs aren’t as full blown as they are during summer, Ibiza is asleep, and the music releases are less party-oriented. That means DJs have a chance to catch up on some more melodic tracks and build up their libraries for summer. These days, compilations released by big DJs are a lot more label focused. Each DJ is not only trying to make a nice mix, but also of course using that mix to promote tracks from his label. Armin van Buuren’s annual A State of Trance compilation, for example, often features unreleased Armada tracks that get listeners excited and eager to click the “buy” button once each track is slowly released on Beatport. Gareth Emery’s compilation, released in late November, was titled “The Sound of Garuda” and was very explicitly a featurette of tracks from his new label, Garuda.

Of course there are plenty of haters out there who say DJs should not pick their favorite producers but instead pick the best tracks ever. However I find that to be a pretty much impossible task. I like the fact that the DJs hold tracks from release and pick new gems to tease us with before they hit the main street. That makes the compilations special and unique to each DJ; otherwise there would very likely be quite a bit of overlap if every DJ just picked the biggest bangers at the time. And, of course, each compilation has a particular theme or sound and that generally fits with the label of the producer putting it out, so it makes sense that the same names come up on compilations over time, along with some newcomers too.

Here is a roundup of three new compilations being released (or just released) in February and March of 2010.

Markus Schulz – Las Vegas ’10

Markus Schulz by now is known for the fact that his compilations are more unique than most others (see his latest blog entry for his own explanation). He not only chooses his tracks meticulously but works with each producer to tweak the tracks in order to make the compilation flow beautifully. This definitely pays off. Markus set the bar extremely high last year with his Toronto ’09 compilation. It featured his dark, progressive sound and each track weaved into the next beautifully. The transitions were barely noticeable and you could tell that there was a lot of time and work put into the compilation.

That was released summer of ’09. And already Markus is back with a new one. The tracklist includes a lot of Markus favorites – Rex Mundi (whose track Nothing At All created huge hype on the Toronto comp last year), Arnej, Mr. Pit, Mike Foyle, etc. and some newcomers, including LA’s very own  Torin Schmitt and Norin & Rad!!! (congratulations to both!) Markus is well known for putting a lot of time and effort into everything he does and this new compilation will surely prove to be no exception. He killed it at TAO, and now faces another crazy schedule for 2010; we can’t wait to have him back in the City of Angels this year (Mainstage EDC?! Yes please! No side stage vs. David Guetta this year!)

Ferry Corsten – Once Upon a Night

Looks like Ferry has already decided to ditch his “Passport” series, which had only 2 volumes, and is coming out with a double CD compilation which features 25 completely brand new unreleased tracks. That is pretty massive and impressive that a DJ can ask 25 different producers to either hold release on a production or create a brand new track just for his compilation. Ferry’s Passport to the United States compilation was one of the first mix CDs that got me into trance. It has so many beautiful tracks including Beautiful, Insulation, Beauty Hides in the Deep, and many more tracks that are simply classics at this point. I am expecting no less from Once Upon a Night.

The compilation won’t be out till March but looking at the tracklist one can already tell that greatness can easily be expected. There are new tracks from staple Flashover Recordings producers Breakfast and Rafael Frost, both of whom have released amazing stuff in the past (the Sunlight and Red come to mind, respectively). There is also new material from Bart Claessen, Andy Duguid, BT, and Ferry Corsten himself, who is one of my favorite and one of the best and most respected trance producers out there. I am very excited for this compilation to be released soon and can’t wait to listen to it!

Oh and if you want to see Ferry live (very likely that many tracks from this compilation will be played there), you can do so at the Palladium on April 2nd. Only 40$ a ticket right now! I plan on going; just need to convince some friends to come with.

Cosmic Gate – Back 2 Back 4

The duo of Cosmic Gate, which has amassed a large following in California as of last year, is back with their Back 2 Back series. Their talent received worldwide recognition in 2009 – Armin van Buuren was a huge supporter of their tracks and remixes; they released a new album titled Sign of the Times which got tons of airplay; and Cosmic Gate was responsible for some huge remixes including that of John O’Callaghans Find Yourself (played at Monster Massive by AVB) and Paul van Dyk’s Home. Furthermore, Cosmic Gate hopped up to spot #19 on the DJ Mag Top 100 list which is very high and respectable.

The compilation was mixed in Brazil and features Cosmic Gate’s new single – Barra. This compilation’s tracklist seems to have a lot less exclusives and unreleased material compared to that of Markus and Ferry. However Cosmic Gate’s mixing skills are excellent and looking at the tracklist I see a lot of great productions that have impressed me in the winter months of 2009 and 2010 such as “The Great Escape” by Jochen Miller and Rank 1 and Mat Zo’s “24 Hours”. I see some great producers on the list too – Glenn Morrison, Boy Hagermann, Lange, Ronski Speed, and am excited to hear Nic Chagall remix Marco V (Nic being half of Cosmic Gate).

Summary

So that about sums up the next few releases in the compilation world! I hope you are excited as I am about checking these bad boys out in time for the huge releases coming this summer which are sure to evolve dance music as well as rock the dancefloor harder and better than ever before!

© 2010, M Silin. All rights reserved.