Probspot - Obsession / God Shaped Hole

Everybody knows that the early to mid 2000s were the pinnacle of progressive trance. And Swedish producer Rikard Fredriksson, otherwise known as Probspot and Rico Soarez was at the pinnacle of the pinnacle. With releases such as "Foreplay EP", "Blueberry" or "TV Dinner/Timeless" it's easy to understand why. Held in high regard for his unique and multivalent style, Probspot has maintained a strong reputation throughout the years, both through original productions and also with some great remixes for acts like Insignia, Solarstone, Mike Shiver etc. Also, starting with 2007 Rikard has started releasing music under a third alias, Zinfandel, following the same progressive recipe, only with a slightly more electro-ish vibe.

A pleasantly convincing crossover between Trance, Drum n Bass and Breakbeat, "Obsession" comes from his 2005 album "Organic Waveforms" (as Probspot), released on the seminal (at that time) Lost Language label.



And from the same album, featuring Craig Evans on vocals, "God Shaped Hole":

Thievery Corporation - Amerimacka

Back in 2004 I came across "Kontor Sunset Chill Volume 5", a downtempo compilation that I consider, to this day, to be one of the most important steps I took in experiencing the many facets of electronic music. It was then that I made contact with artists such as Mint Royale, Caia, Wax Poetic and of course, Thievery Corporation, all who would later gradually become some of my favorite acts.

Thievery Corporation is one of the most well-known trip-hop bands out there, with a career spanning 15 years and 6 albums thus far. You can hit their wikipedia article to find out more about their history, I don't want to reinvent the wheel with this blog entry, since they are so famous.
It was hard to pick something from their discography (because it's so damn good), but I think the natural choice couldn't have been anything else but "Amerimacka", the track that started my love for the Corporation.

Machinarium - Bar Song/Pipe Wrench Dubstep

I've been playing adventure games since I was 12. I still remember that day in 1998 when I discovered Sierra's "Shivers" (demo version) and played it with my friends. That was one creepy game (managed to get it in full and finish it a few years ago). Of course, Shivers was just the first from a looong list of adventure games that I was going to play throughout the years. Each game, for better or for worse, left me something to remember it for. And Machinarium is certainly one of the games that gave me a LOT of reasons to remember it for, from its drop-dead gorgeous handmade graphics and supreme game design to its ingenious puzzles and lovable character (a lonely robot).
The biggest surprise however (considering Machinarium is a small-budget game) was its original soundtrack. It's one of the best game soundtracks I have ever heard in a video game. No joke. Composed by Tomáš Dvořák, it employs odd and ingenious music ranging from IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), downtempo, dubstep to even bossa nova to achieve a truly offbeat and refreshing whole result.
My advice would be to buy the game right now and start playing. It comes really cheap and as far as I'm concerned it's one of the best deals one can make as far as video games go. Machinarium is, simply put, food for your mind, eyes and ears too.

Oliver Smith - Sunday

Anjunadeep has been my favorite EDM label for the past 3 years. Their unique blend of house, trance and funkyness earned them a solid fanbase and the respect of the music industry for being utterly different than the norm. Launched in 2005 and currently on its 74th release, Anjunadeep is not only one of the best, but also one of the busiest labels around, having released one brilliant mix compilation in February("Anjunadeep:02") and 14 singles since the beginning of this year alone. It's the perfect exception from the "less is more" rule.
One of the most prominent artists on Anjunadeep's sister label, Anjunabeats (ran by producer/DJ trio Above & Beyond and mainly focusing on trance) is Oliver Smith, a man who's been at the forefront of trance music for the past 10 years with constant success. With "Sunday" (and with a previous track, "Pacific", for that matter), Smith demonstrates his production skills' range goes beyond the borders of trance and into the wonderful melodic house realm of the Anjunadeep sound.

Buy the Anjunadeep:02 compilation here: @trackitdown.net
Buy Oliver Smith 01 (the best of Oliver Smith) here: @iTunes

Boymerang - Soul Beat Runna

I have been mad about this track from the very first listen, somewhat 12 years ago. Heard it on EA Sports' FIFA World Cup 98 game soundtrack (along with a handful of other excellent songs btw) and it has been in my Winamp playlist ever since. Really, if I were to pick my favorite DnB track, this would probably be it.
The man behind Boymerang is Graham Sutton (leader of legendary post-rock band Bark Psychosis) and under this alias he released the highly-acclaimed Drum n Bass album "Balance Of The Force" in 1997.

Ferry Corsten & Shelley Harland - Holding On

I have introduced flying Dutchman Ferry Corsten in a previous post (HERE), with his track "In My Dreams".
From the same album, 2003's "Right Of Way" (which happens to be among my favorite EDM albums of all time), "Holding On" is a much more chilled track, featuring the vocals of Shelley Harland. Rather unique in its sound style, this is one of the most appreciated (but not very well known) Corsten tracks and I have personally met a lot of people outside EDM who thoroughly enjoyed it, so there has to be something special about it. But of course I wouldn't know, I just like it to bits.:)
PS: Yes, pretty gay video, haha.

Roger Sanchez - Another Chance

If one mentions House hero Roger Sanchez, 95% of people who ever heard of him will instantly think of this track. Released in 2001, "Another Chance" was an instant success, both in the underground house scene and in the mainstream media (#1 in the UK Top 40). Played at least once by virtually every speaker on Earth ever since, "Another Chance" also benefits from a very interesting video, which gathered highly positive reviews.
No more talk. Just open your window, grab a beverage, put this record on and relax.

Alex Gold-String Theory

Known primarily as the man behind the hugely successful label Xtravaganza Recordings (home to artists like Chicane, Airscape, Agnelli & Nelson), Alex Gold is an UK-based musician less noticed for his productions. However, his discography does contain two trance mixcompilations and an artist album, which points to the fact that he is to be taken seriously as a producer too and not just as a label manager.
In 2005 Alex Gold released "Back From A Break", his first (and thus far only) artist album. Hands down the best track on that album is "String Theory", a blissed-out trance/breaks/chillout tune that works great with pretty much any melodic electronic music style, from progressive and deep house to full-on trance. Simply wonderful.

Andain - You Once Told Me

Andain is a production trio consisting of Josh Gabriel (of Gabriel & Dresden fame), David Penner and vocalist Mavie Marcos. Although a primarily downtempo project, they became known when their early 2000s tracks "Summer Calling" and "Beautiful Things" (famously remixed by Gabriel & Dresden and Airwave among others) got massive support from all big trance and progressive DJs.
Although the project went on hiatus after their initial success, and despite their small discography, Andain still enjoys popularity within the trance scene, with their old classic tracks held in high regard and still being occasionally played.

"You Once Told Me" is somewhat of a dark horse, far from "Summer Calling"'s or "Beautiful Things"'s popularity, but considered by many to be Andain's best musical output.

Mat Zo-The Fractal Universe

Born in 1990 in London, Matan Zohar is one of the undisputed prodigies of today's EDM scene. At only 20 years of age, his discography contains releases on major labels such as Anjunabeats, Soundpiercing and Hospital and his list of remixed artists boasts with high-profile names like Tiesto, Andy Moor, Markus Schulz and Activa.
It was "Rush/Defined", his 2008 release on Anjunabeats, that caught my attention, with its overlapped layers of melodic fuzziness that reminded me of another young producer (Casey Keyworth aka Breakfast), but also had a very strong personal touch. In 2009 Matan was featured by Armin van Buuren on his yearly "A State Of Trance" compilation with the track "The Fractal Universe". It became an instant classic within the trance community and established Mat Zo as one of the most highly-regarded producers in the scene.

Air-La Femme D'Argent / All I Need

Air...you just gotta be cool with a name like that. Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel can concur, because they happen to be, under that name, one of the coolest and most successful electronica bands ever. Hailing from France, this production duo have more followers than most can only dream about. And for no shallow reason, just a peek at their discography makes one's jaw drop. All the way to the floor.
From the critically acclaimed album "Moon Safari" (1998), I've selected "La Femme D'Argent" and "All I Need", two of Air's most recognizable songs.
I won't get into any more details, just hit Youtube and listen to these guys!