8 Tracks: Of Guilty Pleasure Trance with Blue Hour

Music

In recent times we have witnessed a revival of rave across all spectrums of dance and electronic music, however this year appears to have seen a renewed celebration of trance. Some love it, others loathe it, depending on how high brow your own perspective is…

Blue Hour is a singular producer most cloesly affiliated with techno but who has enjoyed a recent resurgence in a sound of which he is most fond. Most recently he drafted in an array of electic, forward thinking producers from Coepnhagen who have been rallying the sound in recent times having appeared on the likes of Kulor, Ectotherm, KAOS, Euromantic and beyond. Ibon, Sugar and Repro all recently remixed tracks from Blue Hour as part of a new EP: fast paced, euphoric and furious it was a declaration of love for a techno-trance crossover which has the potential to boom.

In celebration of this we asked Blue Hour to dig deep into the archives, nominating guilty pleasures from the spectrum of trance music, he does so with great results.

See below:

Follow Blue Hour on Facebook HERE. Buy the new remix EP HERE.

LISTEN

B.B.E - Hypnose

I was playing this track a lot for several years, doing this is a good reminder to get it out again now. it’s such a deep B Side to the commercial anthem ‘7 Days and One Week’. It has a very progressive and repetitive extraterrestrial sound which stretches the whole side of the record building up with intensity punctuated by a simple clap with tons of reverb. Perfect for early hours and sending people into a trance like state.

B.B.E - Hypnose

I was playing this track a lot for several years, doing this is a good reminder to get it out again now. it’s such a deep B Side to the commercial anthem ‘7 Days and One Week’. It has a very progressive and repetitive extraterrestrial sound which stretches the whole side of the record building up with intensity punctuated by a simple clap with tons of reverb. Perfect for early hours and sending people into a trance like state.
X-Cabs - Neuro (1995)

Peak time energy to get the floor moving. I was only recently introduced to this one earlier in the year while I spent some time in Tbilisi, Georgia. I met with Bassiani resident, Levan aka Zitto for a coffee one day and have since began sharing music together. He’s put me onto tons of great music in general including local Georgian artists like HVL and Nikakoi.
Humate - Love Stimulation

I’ve been been closing some of my sets with this classic from Humate. It’s something that helps unite the floor and leave things on an optimistic high for the dancers, such a nostalgic sounding track with the piano chords and vocal ringing out. Listening to this track hits a nerve for me, it seems to sum up a lot of what I love about 90’s dance music.
Tranceman2000 - Bloodrave [Tranceman001]

Something slightly newer and an alias from Berlin artist Falling Apart with his retro futuristic hard-hitting anthem-in-the-making. I love the sound of this side project from him and think it really touches on what many people are hungry for right now in the clubs. He’s a real talent, keep your eyes open for more!
Castle Trancelott - Indoctrinate (Original Mix)

Another track that was introduced to me, this time from my good friend Philippa Pacho who is a resident of Under Bron in Stockholm. At first I wasn’t sure of the vibe with it’s slightly cheesy appeal but each time I’ve heard her close her sets with this one it works really well and ends things nicely. I’ve managed to squeeze this in a few times too.
Alpha Tracks - Arise [Bluehour012]

Back at the start of May, Alpha Tracks released ‘Contract Labour’ via my label. ‘Arise’ is my favrouite track on the record, but originally he wanted to bin it! I’m really pleased he came round to idea to finish and release it, I think the result is perhaps his most intriguing work yet.
Voiski - Careless As A Palm (Reinforced) [Super95-002]

I first ran into this record through The First Floor Show on RBMA who featured Voiski while promoting his Sick Parrots LP. I was completely blown way by the sound and colourful production of the record and still play this out as well as ‘Megatrance 2’ regularly. I love how the lead melodies fold into one another and how the euphoric pads shine through the mix towards the end.
Cafe Del Mar (Original Video) - Energy 52

A huge commercial hit but it’s provided me with so many smiles and positive memories – it’s my Dad’s favourite dance anthem! Theres been so many times I’ve seen him completely loose his shit to this one, particularly when celebrating his birthday and hiring the random local wedding/birthday DJ. No matter your age or background music brings us all together on, sometimes even with our parents!