Search - Markus Schulz :: Coldharbour Sessions 2004

Looking for non-cheesy, progressive trance?

Douglas A. Greenberg | Berkeley, CA USA | 10/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Back in the pre-millenium days, there was a genre of electronic music called "trance" that at its best was creative, lively, complex, multi-layered, and yes, entrancing. DJ's and producers including Sasha/Digweed, Jerry Bonham, Nick Warren, Paul van Dyk, and (sometimes, at least) Paul Oakenfold crafted brilliantly energetic and uplifting mixes from this music, which slowly but surely built an enthusiastic audience of clubbers, partiers, and headphone freaks in Europe and around the world.



However, as so often is the case in the entertainment business, success brought an overt watering-down of the music. Something called "Euro-trance" or "Dutch trance" almost overnight became the flavor of the month in electronic dance music, and there quickly emerged a horrifying proliferation of dull, samey, paint-by-numbers trance tracks and mixes that essentially ruined the genre almost completely. While "trance" numbers climbed the top 40 dance charts, people who craved something truly creative and original were forced to evolve their tastes toward progressive house, which tended increasingly toward darker-sounding textures and sounds.



Now, even as "progressive" dance music has tended to wither over the past several years, there are signs that higher-energy trance may be experiencing something of a creative comeback. This two-cd mix by Markus Schulz is certainly evidence of this. The music is fresh, uptempo (130+ bpm), complex, rich, and best of all, 100% cheese-free. For those who had despaired that what has become known as "trance" had totally devolved into Limburger, I can only recommend this set. It'll bring a smile to your face and maybe even tears to your eyes."

Come to Denver, Markus: "The Vinyl" is waiting.

Infinite Catalyst | Monument, CO | 03/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There was nothing more irritating to me, when through the years of 2001-2003, when all sorts of advanced sound technology was making itself available, and still producers and Dj's refused to evolve. (Sasha w/ Airdrawndagger, Nick Warren w/ GU 024: Reykjavik, Holden w/ Fear of a Silver Planet and a few others are exempt.) I nearly lost faith in the electronic music scene, Internationally, not only American.



Personally, I thought trance was dead. The genre recieved so much slander after the likes of Oakenfold "pretending" to spin at multiple venues and clubs, and Tiesto cranking out more monotonoy than Ethiopian Cuisine. Straight beat can get boring enough, without the same flat 6 bassline transition and doubled-up synthetic snare roll that breaks on a 32 or 64.



Then something happened: 2004. Ozgur Can, Evan Marcus, Luke Chable, Vadim Zhukov, Tim Fretwell, Mark Otten, Rouzbeh Delavari, Derek Howell, Nikola Gala, Habersham and others emerged either from slumps or for the first time.



Every once in a while, a prophet comes along; not necessarily to change the genre, but bring it to new places, to personify the word: progressive. James Holden, with Balance 005, Sasah with Involver, and Markus Schulz with Coldharbour sessions, 2004, have done just that.



As an introductory summary, most people would like to tell you that the entirity of the two cd's is progressive trance. It's not. Although the entire set is laced with heavy trance themes, such as repeated note sequences phased and 'flangered,' the beat is unequivocably that which determines the seperation of differnet vinyls into their prospective electronic sub-categories. Allow me to explain.



Shulz and Otten's "Tranquility" has more tribal elements than it does trance. There's a slurred and synthesized morrocca on the highs, that puts a delay on the straight beat. Granted, the toms aren't present, but this track provides a welcomed hybrid between two styles of backbeat. This really showcases Schulz's talent. An ability to incorporate different tempos and styles into a single set. For those of you that DJ, and have tried mixing, lets say, Jungle and House, you know how hard it is as a policy to match beat and mood with seeminlgy contrasting styles. Toms are present in the track, "Mind" which is even more tribal than "Tranquility."



I was shocked at how many epic anthems are held in this CD. It's like an Ibiza CD, except really, really good. I'll go as far as to say that this CD is on par with Oakenfold's original, "Tranceport." And it's about time an American Trance DJ got their act together.



While Schulz indefinitely has deep trance roots, he's evolving...you can hear it happen in the set at real time. It's like if Darwin could have seen the very beaks of the finches he was studying on the Galopogos Islands, morph immediately before his eyes, hardening and broadening to suit their enviornment.



I'm a big fan of Chable and Ozgur Can. When I saw their songs on here, it was an automatic buy for me. I could excuse the presnece of Andain, and other dubiously cheesy trance artists, because I knew that Markus Schulz, like a talented DJ should, gleaned the gold from these tracks, and pumped 'em through some deep beat.



If you go to the club and listen to various remixes of top 40 hip-hops songs, buy this cd and educate yourself. Open your mind from the Jerry Springers and Reality Show electronica you're listening to. And please, stop filling this country with that deragatory, stupifying crap, and driving progressive dj's from the dias, telling them to spin, "something I can dance to." YOU CAN DANCE TO PROGRESSIVE, LEARN HOW. Shakespear would have never written his greatest works if he had stayed in the business of writing plays engineered to pander to the base desires of the masses. Please, stop ruining the scene.



Sorry about that tangent.



Anyway, This CD has a great tropical and ethnic tone, inherited authentically from the regional melting pot that is South Florida. Chable and Yoshi's version of "Dreamer" has some great synth vibes, with perky, echoing melody; elements that really bring a sense of longing and purpose into the vinyl (or cdr, it's hard to tell these days.)



The technology implemented is phenomenal. No vinyls on here were created with "Frooty Loops" or any other bogus sound engineering programs. We're talking only logic and reason here, with some serious equipment.



Without further ado, my faith in the continuation of progressive trance has returned. All of you in the scene can feel it too. These revolutionairies, these visonaries are taking straight beat with melody to a new level that even house and breakbeat lovers have to admire.



Buy this CD. Listen to where Trance is going, while riding the hovering aural bullit train that Schulz provides in this CD."

Progressive House

English Reviewer | UK, UK | 06/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I sometimes feel that all I live for is dance music. I have spent many years, and tens of thousands of dollars on music both past and present, listening to song after song, trying to find the ultimate production from both a producer and a DJs standpoint. As a result of this, I have come to draw my own lines about what is good and what isn't. Beyond the fact that I have gone through many phases of finding the right music for both myself, friends, and clubgoers, I have finally settled on a style of music that is in my sincerest opinion, the greatest movement in dance music EVER!



That's right, I am speaking of progressive house music, a mixture of very deep house sounds with that of trance music in its best forms. I had gotten to the point that I could no longer listen to most trance music because it had become so repetitive, boring, and un-exciting. Then came along artists such as Markus Schulz, Andy Moor (of Tilt and Leama & Moor), Özgür Can, Perry O'Neil, Luke Chable, and of course, Gabriel & Dresden. And through the labels these artists release their stuff on (e.g. Electronic Elements and Lost Language) a new sound has emerged over the last several years that, in my opinion, pounces all previous forms of dance and electronic music.



While there are many great songs on this 2CD set, I would have to say that this only hits the tip of the iceberg. Try listening to something by Andy Moor who also uses aliuses such as Tilt and Leama & Moor. I don't think I can name a project by him (out of 30+) that aren't phenomenal.



This CD set is a great beginners kit for those looking to find out what progressive house can offer and is well worth purchasing. Markus Schulz who has done many remixes and side projects presents a mix with many of his own works included - and that's a good thing because Markus Schulz is top 5 in my books. Forget about anything else - once you listen to track 2 on CD2, entitled "Fusing Love" by Austin Leeds & Kobbe, you will understand my enthusiasm and passion towards this style of music. I can't stress how good progressive house music is, and right now is the best time to enjoy the sound - it hasn't become a saturated genre yet, but enough DJs and producers have picked up the sound to make it all sit quietly yet vibrantly in a state of electronic equilibrium.



Unless you live in Europe or a major city in the states such as Chicago or NYC, you probably won't hear the sound of progressive house very often in the clubs, because the majority still have DJs playing the same old DJ Tiesto and Paul Oakenfold stuff repeatedly as if nothing else exists. And that's too bad for them - but if you are willing to progress into a new sound, this is your first drop of advice from the heavens above."