The Earth’s year ends December 31st. This, we know. Pure Trance’s calendar however resolves itself a couple of months earlier. The end of October is its spiritual nigh, for it was that month six years ago, that Richard Mowatt first drew up the blueprint for Pure Trance. With Volume 1, he cast the dye and placed its foundation stone; purity-absolute has been its unswerving pursuit ever since.
So here we are, approaching the end of another P.T. year, ready to witness a new gathering of the Pure. With five titles now under its belt, its honour roll of former mixers is already rich. Trance crusaders Giuseppe Ottaviani, Bryan Kearney, Orkidea, Gai Barone, Sneijder, and Forerunners’ mixes’ have already passed Pure’s litmus. 2017’s draft sees Netherlands based trance-master Robert Nickson and Australian fast-ascender Factor B join its illustrious roll call. Naturally Solarstone is spear-tipping this new puritan assembly, all now ready to ‘preach’ its gospel!
The album draws its track weapons from the current and future arsenals of Pure Trance Recordings, as well as a judicious handful of like-thinking labels (Black Hole, FSOE, Flashover and Subculture among them). From their annals music & mixes from irreproachable names like BT, System F, Armin van Buuren, Andain and Three Drives abound. For every legend though, equally there is a rising star. Lostly, Peter Steele, Basil O’Glue, Future Disciple, The Noble Six, Neptune Project and couple of dozen others all bring their latest wares to Pure’s laser.
It goes without saying (but we’ll do it anyway) that Robert, Factor B and Solarstone himself have stepped up to the plate with enough exclusives to make a tabloid weep. So hang on tight, its Volume VI time – Vive La Trance!
Having successfully established its ‘open-till-close’ format with last year’s first triple disc edition, 2017’s sixth volume arcs the same trajectory. Anglo-Norwegian producer Robert Nickson is the man tasked with PT VI’s ‘doors-open’ set, to which he delivers a masterclass in building clubfloor suspense. Over the opening course he seeds it with the prog-trancers like David Forbes’ Monolith, Slam Duck’s ‘Mercury II’ ‘Barracuda’ from Three Drives and Forerunners’ ‘Just For A While’. At the mix’s meridian he drops ‘Atoms’ – his new RNX preparation, and under his own name, in its latest stages comes the celestial ‘Somewhere In Spacetime’. In between flows all manner of trance manna, including new works from the likes of Basil O’Glue, Lostly and Gai Barone.
Of his participation in the album, Robert said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to be part of ‘Pure Trance 6’. Sourcing the tracks from every corner and creating this mix took months of preparation and meticulous fine-tuning. The first disc is very special as it can create the flow and atmosphere that leads the entire album. It has presented an opportunity to showcase another side of me that others may not have heard yet. Enjoy!”
Following Robert to the decks, well it’s that man Solarstone, up-ticking tempo, tickling the tone and investing an ever-greater sense of urgency into proceedings. His mix starts with the now-familiar opening strains of ‘A State Of Mind’, albeit in its new & exclusive Mike St. Jules’ Mix, which in turn cedes to Solarstone’s remix of Raz Nitzan & Moya ‘Clannad’ Brennan’s ‘Find The Sun’. Bookending an epic retell of Andain anthem ‘Summer Calling’ you’ll find ‘Renaissance’ from Peter Steele, Danny Eaton’s ‘Concentration’ and ‘Swelter’ by David Broaders. PureNRG’s remix of BT & JES’ ‘Every Other Way’ isn’t far behind, while Solarstone & Indecent Noise’s ‘Querencia’ and Elucidus’ Bootleg Remix of System F & Armin van Buuren’s ‘Exhale’ see it to its zenith.
On his modus operandi for the albums, Solarstone said: “One of my aims with each new edition of this compilation is to make the mixes a combined journey. Volume 6 is, I hope, the best example yet. Robert’s completely nailed the progressive build-up and you can’t get any more euphoric than Brendan’s mix! With mine nestled nicely in the middle, this is a proper Pure Trance soundtrack.”
The final set of ‘the night’ is mixed to nth degree perfection by Pure Trance’s now traditional new(er)comer DJ. Brendan ‘Factor B’ Blatt may have been making waves in trancedom for just 5 years, but they’ve been peaking ever higher with each 365 that’s passed. Factor B front-loads his mix with music hot off the studio desks of Neptune Project, Activa, Cold Blue and TrancEye. His own ‘Invidius’, The Noble Six’s ‘Black Star’ and ‘Colourways’, courtesy of Lostly all preface Brendan’s Back To The Future Remix of Solarstone & Scott Bond’s ‘Red Line Highway’. Bringing mix-matters to a head, Will Rees’ rework of Gai Barone’s ‘Lost In Music’ and Solis & Sean Truby ‘Coastal Route’ deliver PT:VI its final and most climactic moments.
On receiving his Pure Trance button, Brendan says: “mixing ‘Pure Trance 6’ was one of the most exciting, yet challenging projects of my career thus far. My love for trance began during the golden era of the ‘journey mix’-compilations, ones that still give you the same thrill when you return to them years & years down the line. To me, the Pure Trance series still captures this ethos and naturally I wanted my disc on PT6 to be of the same calibre!”
[title]Tracklist[/title]
Disc 1 – Mixed by Robert Nickson
01. David Forbes presents Hal Stucker – Monolith
02. Slam Duck – Mercury II
03. Matter – The Bends
04. Forerunners – Just For A While
05. Tencode – You’ll Never Know
06. Three Drives – Barracuda
07. RNX – Atoms
08. Gai Barone – Shiny
09. Lostly – Roam (Instrumental)
10. Andromedha – Why We Fall
11. David Broaders – Rumspringa
12. Basil O’Glue – The Promise
13. Martin LeBlanc & Nick Silvestri – Turning The Tide
14. Tim Verkruissen & Monoverse – While The City Sleeps
15. Stargazers – Arrival
16. Robert Nickson – Somewhere In Spacetime
Disc 2 – Mixed by Solarstone
01. Solarstone – A State Of Mind (Mike St. Jules Interstellar Mix)
02. Outer Pulse – Vixen (Pt. I)
03. Raz Nitzan & Moya Brennan – Find The Sun (Solarstone Remix)
04. Peter Steele – Renaissance
05. Danny Eaton – Concentration
06. Andain – Summer Calling (Acapella)
07. David Broaders – Swelter
08. Eco – The Lonely Soldier (Solarstone Pure Mix)
09. Solarstone & Alex Karweit – Choosing His Angels (Club Mix)
10. Active Lab – Nuclei
11. Future Disciple – Jinka Blue (Solarstone Pure Mix)
12. Corin Bayley – Crowd Vision
13. BT & JES – Every Other Way (PureNRG Remix)
14. Vince Schuld – Altered Nature
15. Solarstone & Indecent Noise – Querencia
16. System F featuring Armin van Buuren – Exhale (Elucidus Bootleg Remix)
Disc 3 – Mixed by Factor B
01. Neptune Project – Proteus (Factor B Intro Edit)
02. Activa – Meridian
03. Cold Blue – Speed Of Life
04. TrancEye – Illusion
05. Allan Morrow – When They Are Gone (Factor B’s Piano Edit)
06. Factor B – Invidius
07. The Noble Six – Black Star
08. Solarstone & Scott Bond – Red Line Highway (Factor B’s Back To The Future Remix)
09. Lostly – Colourways
10. Solis & Sean Truby pres. S&ST – Coastal Route
11. Factor B – Liberator
12. Gai Barone – Lost In Music (Will Rees Remix)
13. Sholan & F.G. Noise – Broken Star
14. DJ T.H. featuring Robin Vane – Just For You (Factor B’s Piano Edit)
Out October 27th – Order Pure Trance VI Here
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