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.

Mark Otten - Tranquility

I'll start by saying that 2004 was for me the best year in music so far. I won't go into details, but trust me, if you had experienced electronic music back then, you would probably say the same thing. Now that I've made a preamble, let's get on with today's selections.

Mark Otten probably doesn't ring a bell to many of you, but he's a respected trance producer who has released a couple of absolute classics in the mid-2000s. One of them is this track: "Tranquility" (2004, on Armin van Buuren's flagship label, Armind). It's a very original track in both sound and approach, distinguishing itself from pretty much everything else. Instantly recognizable by any seasoned trance aficionado, "Tranquility" is perhaps Otten's best production to date and a landmark (though often overlooked) in progressive trance.
The charming thing about it is that it didn't spawn legions of imitators, as many other successful songs usually do. Instead, it somehow managed to keep its unique character and 6 years later I can say without a shadow of a doubt that there's nothing else quite like it. (well, maybe just Otten's follow-up to "Tranquility", "So Serene", which I will feature tomorrow).

Enjoy! I have selected 2 mixes for you: the Radio Edit of the original track and the Lightscape Lounge Mix. I strongly encourage you to listen to both of them!

Lightscape Lounge Mix:


Original mix:

Tilt - Rising Son / New Day

You probably heard of Tilt. They had a successful hit back in 1999, entitled "Invisible". Click HERE to listen to it on YouTube. If you still don't remember it, let me put you in theme. Tilt are a group of UK producers (after Jonh Graham (Quivver) and Mick Wilson left the group, only Andy Moor and Mick Parks remain) who are known and appreciated within both progressive and trance communities for their distinct crossover style that had a great impact on early to mid-2000s EDM scene. Their most critically acclaimed album is 2004's "Explorer", featuring the absolute prog trance classics "Twelve" and "The World Doesn't Know". Their last album to date is "Vaults", released in 2006, but with less critical & commercial success than its predecessor.

So here one track from each of those albums. First there's "Rising Son" from "Vaults", an impeccably polished progressive/breakbeat/chillout gem with great vocals. My favorite track from the entire album.



And then it's "New Day" from "Explorer", a gorgeous vocal chilltrance track with broken beats throughout.

Bent -Sing Me / Now I Must Remember

Formed in 1997, British electronica duo Bent have gained over the years somewhat of an (electronic) pop culture icon status. As far as I'm concerned, they already secured their place in electronic music history. Known for their ethereal sound and heavy use of sampling (mostly on their first two albums), Bent have not once been compared to artists like Air or Moby.

I think the most remarkable thing Bent have ever achieved (until now) is their 2004 album "Ariels". Bent left their history of sampling other tracks behind for this project, everything on "Ariels" is their original work featuring original sounds. The result? One of the most beautifully crafted pieces of music I've ever heard. It's one of my favorite music albums of this decade! I would honestly post every single track from the album, each one is an extraordinary artistic achievment. But since I can only post a couple of them, here are "Now I Must Remember" and "Sing Me" (feat. Rachel Foster of the Weekend Players).
Trust me, this is one album you don't want to miss, a true musical masterpiece. One of those rare albums that once experienced, never leave your conscience.