Guest Blog

Allow me to introduce myself..Shaina’s the name, but most of you probably know me as SvB. I’ve been obsessed with music since as far back as I can remember. Seriously. One of my earliest memories is hanging out in pre-school listening to Barney songs on a cassette tape. From there on out, I cycled through various genres: pop, R&B, underground, alternative, and finally settled on EDM (trance) in mid-2008.

It is about 7 pm in Miami, Florida and the world’s #1 voted DJ David Guetta is just about to jump off the decks for the night’s closing headliner of the final day of the world famous Ultra Music Festival; perhaps the most revered EDM festival in the world.  After a crowd of thousands have been rocked by about an hour of the pop-hip hop-electro heavy sounds of Guetta and hours of other house juggernauts before him, the night’s closer was…a trance act?  A couple of things could already seem a miss by the casual EDM concert goer who just happened to stroll in to Miami on this particular weekend.  Seeing as how  Ultra is a showcase of the who’s who in EDM, why would the #1 DJ in the world NOT be the headlining closing act?  Why would the final artist of the night be a stylistically different sound of music than the previous acts throughout the day on the main stage?  And if you’re this casual EDM concert goer, you may ask yourself “why should I stay to watch this?”. Well the answer is simple.  This headlining artist is no ordinary DJ. It’s none other than the mighty Armin van Buuren.

Well they’ve had us waiting for some time for this one!  Teasing us at shows with previews and tweeting about it, but it’s arrived and it’s HUGE.  Tritonal has finally released their club mix for their album track closer “Still With Me” on Piercing The Quiet as their latest single and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming.  It’s been out about a little over a week now and since it’s release, it’s hit #1 on Beatport.com’s Trance Chart and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.  Attribute this to the massive support it has released from the industry’s top leading DJ’s and their radio shows.  ASOT, Global DJ Broadcast, Corsten’s Countdown, Gareth Emery’s Podcast, Trance Around The World, and others have all played the track.  Markus Schulz himself tweeted during his GDJB show: “probably their best work for quite a bit, good vocal too”.  Big compliment from a trance giant.  This just goes to show how much Tritonal’s stock has been rising in the music world with every single they release.  This one is definitely in the Tritonal style of heavy bass synth, melodic breakdown, and the incredibly soothing vocals of Cristina Soto.  It’s always a pleasure to the ears every time those 3 work together.  While this is a remix of the album track, in comparison they seem like two completely different songs.  The feel of the original is a slow, emotional, almost orchestral piece of work while this one is definitely club ready and set to get the Tritonians on their feet with energy.  This one most certainly earns the TFSF seal of approval.  More releases like this one will certainly keep Tritonal up in the ranks with the rest of trance music’s greats.  Be sure to support it and keep it #1 on Beatport’s Trance chart as long as possible, click the link to pick this one up: http://www.beatport.com/release/still-with-me/816819

~Mark

Well it’s been almost two weeks now since the Love invaded the grounds of O.co coliseum and the dust has settled.  Now we have rolls full of pictures, heads full of memories, and hearts full of satisfaction to endlessly remind us of the great time that was had that chilly day/night Saturday, September 24^th.  Speaking of which, the chilly (and almost rainy at times) weather wasn’t enough to slow down the day portion of LovEvolution.  Wetness and clouds aside, the masses came in flocks from all over the Bay Area to enjoy some of the best world class electronic music there was to offer.  The layout was really reminiscent of the LovEvs of old in the Civic Center of SF with floats surrounding the outer rim and each float being from a specific “crew” or promoter.  One thing I’ve always loved was the unique designs and themes of each specific float.  Always makes it hard to choose which one you want to spend more time with.  Luckily, there was enough time in the day to wander all around.  With each float having their respective grounds, the shaded (although not really needed) chill area, the main stage with top popular EDM acts, and easy access to facilities/food, I think the overall set up was a big win for Skills.  The music was great from all the stages and it’s always good to see lots of support for each one.

Once the sun (or lack thereof) started to set and the party people were warmed up, it was time for Love After.  The lineup was huge for trance lovers, however Laidback Luke and Moby were there to provide housey and eclectic support.  As expected, the stage was massive and the lighting & screen set up was out of this world.  The Oracle Arena was a much better venue for an event such as this vs. the old Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the Cow Palace used for ETD POP.  I thought the extensive floor space and ample stadium wide seating was perfect to provide the massive concert feel.  It really gave you the ability to walk around and enjoy the entire venue without necessarily have to “rub elbows”.  Really got me excited to hear that ETD POP will be held there next year.

What can I say?  I really give Skills a lot of praise for pulling this thing off without a hitch (that we know of).  Considering the new venue(s) and location change, they did a great job of promoting and planning this LovEvolution to be just as meaningful and memorable as the predecessors.  Speaking of promoting, I thought Skills also did a great job with getting the word out through social media, word of mouth, and even billboard advertising.  Besides that, the crowd is another key element for a successful event.  They were certainly hyped and energetic throughout most of the day.  While it may have seemed a little more packed in the previous San Francisco events, this first time in Oakland had a decent turn out that I’m sure will surge in the coming years.  For Love After, the crowd was especially hot for the DJs, which kept the energy reciprocating through the entire night.  The hard media work definitely paid off and based on the DJ responses from twitter, it sounded like they were impressed as well.

Personally, I think LovEvolution has found a new home.  While some of us previous attendees may be nostalgic about long days/nights in San Francisco, I think this venue replacement was a really great choice.  I like that the grounds are still easily accessible via public transportation and there was plenty of space.  Was there room for improvement?  Sure.  There always is.  However I have full confidence in Skills for using this as a learning experience to continue bringing us the love for LovEvolution and future events at this new venue for years to come.  One thing is for sure: EDM is ALIVE and well in the Bay Area.

~Mark

@MarkyMark925

Well, the time has come upon us: LovEvolution is so close the Bay Area can almost taste it!  The glorious return of the premiere EDM showcase in the Bay Area is back and the anticipation is killing us!  I know it’s definitely doing a mind job on all of us here in the TranceFamily SF HQ.  However, before we get to all the fun stuff like contests, promos, interviews, and bracelet giveaways, let’s not forget that today is Trance Thursday and another Throwback is in order.  Since LovEvolution is in t-minus 2 days, let’s take it back to another great Lovefest anthem from back in the day.  Rewind to 2007, the renaissance year of electronic music for me and my first Lovefest ever attended.  Trance was new and exciting for me and one of the first artists I turned to was Ferry Corsten.  His energy and uplifting style immediately grabbed my attention.  Anthem of that year’s event?  The now classic and still highly played “Beautiful”.  While the song first saw the light of day in 2006 on Ferry’s L.E.F. album, a single release and repeated set plays later, it was still going strong in 2007 for Lovefest.  Let’s go back down memory lane and reminisce it in all it’s glory:

Ferry Corsten – Beautiful

Oh mean doesn’t that just bring back so many memories?  Those of you who were at EDC this year for Ferry’s set, you know what I’m talking about.  Or what about those that saw Ferry play at Ruby Skye in September 2010.  Still just as good as the first time you ever hear it.  Let’s bring it back live in 2007:

Never a dull moment with that man let me tell you.  While slightly off subject (but not really), I can’t wait until his new album drops.  What will his next anthem be?  ’

~Mark

@MarkyMark925

@TranceFamilySF

I’ve always had a passion for music since I was a kid and still enjoy every kind of music with a huge love for trance.  I was introduced to trance in 2007 by a friend giving him me liveset from Menno de Jong during a Nike Tennis Camp.  I was in charge of the music and he said take “check this out”.  That night I download Tiesto’s Elements of Life and was hooked on the music.  For about 6 months I listened to those tracks during team workouts and at house parties.  Soon I went to my first event Etd.Pop 2008 just to watch Tiesto.  I was bummed the lights went out but I soon found out that there are several other amazing artists and trance fans.  I think EDC 2008 opened my eyes to the raving scene for a few months, experimenting with different genres of electronic music.  I just always ended having trance as my favorite.

I soon started tuning into A State of Trance weekly and looking at tracklists for DJ’s sets and trying to ID tunes during sets.  My rush was knowing the name of the track before anyone in the room did.  My first club event was to see my favorite artist at the time, Menno de Jong and a rising star Gareth Emery.  Menno had a competition to see who his biggest North American tour fan was, and I won!  So I got to see him again, do a shoutout in his podcast, and get guest listed to any of his events in California that year.  Starting around ASOT400 I realized I was more than the typical trance fan because I recognize almost every song in many livesets, I knew what releases were happening every week, and I had a huge passion for finding new songs.

My passion for trance then took me to an idea of how I could meet all my favorite artists.  My first time going backstage as press was at the Electric Daisy Carnival in 2009.  A good friend of mine on the tennis team asked if I wanted to get in free and possibly meet my favorite artists.  He said I would appreciate more than anyone he knew.  Well thanks to that my eyes were again opened.  I wanted to be engaging myself with the artists, interviewing them, taking pictures and just being around people that have the same passion for music as me.  Since then I conducted many interviews with my favorite artists and met several amazing people.

I wish there was more time in a day to listen to trance.  I constantly keep looking for new songs.  Over there last few years I’ve learned artists come and go, tracks stay for awhile or get played a couple of times, and people change their style.  With that said I appreciate Markus Schulz the most out of all the artists because he still works hard at his job and doesn’t forget what his passion is: MUSIC.  After seeing every artist more than once you begin to ask yourself if they are truly still trying to get better.  And after going to many events you begin to wonder how many people just go for the music.  I know still love trance more than anything.  I made a long quote once about trance but always it all comes down to this “Trance reflects life’s sensations.”