Monday Choon: Armin van Buuren x Martin Garrix feat. Libby Whitehouse - Sleepless Nights

 

When one of the oldest Dutch Trance DJ's collaborates with one of the youngest Dutch Trance DJ's, you know the track is going to be fire! Martin Garrix who previously teamed up with Tiesto for their track "The Only Way Is Up" and it was mega, this time round Martin teams up with the Trance master, Armin van Buuren for their track "Sleepless Nights" with Libby Whitehouse on the vocals, it is a proper Trance style track with some echoes of the early 2000's vocal trance styles. The melody is catchy, the beat is epic and its one of those tracks which gets you going and you'd want to listen to on repeat. 

Monday Choon: Armin van Buuren feat. JAI RYU - Let It Be For Love

 

Another legend in the trance music genre gets a feature this week and its another one taken from his latest album "Breathe", yes we are talking about Armin van Buuren. This latest album of his is just dropping hit after hit and just when you think he can't do more he makes the cover of the Dutch Mens Health Magazine! Armin is just getting better with age, in both his music and his physique, but its inspiring to see what he is doing and continues to do for the Trance Music scene, this is why he will always remain a legend on the scene. This latest track features the vocals of Jai Ryu and has a catchy tune and a very important message. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

Monday Choon: NLW - To The Light

 

Afrojack has released a new alias in which he is releasing music that's going back to his roots of his classic sounds. This will no doubt excite many of his dedicated fan base as that is the type of music that made them fall in love with him. NLW will feature high-octane, energy starting soundscapes but will also be partnering with other DJ's like R3HAB and others. The first track "To The Light" is that Afrojack high octane techno that we're used to and hits all the right notes with electric build ups and killer drops. 

Monday Choon: Nicky Romero x Vikkstar x Alpharock x Oaks - Where Do I Go (Rameses B Remix)

 

Following the success of the track "Where Do I Go" by Dutch DJ and producer Nicky Romero, Vikkistar and Alpharock last year comes the remixes of that track, one of them is by Leeds based DJ Rameses B, which gives the track a new dimension with a modern day drum and bass feel with it. It still keeps the high energy essence of the track but with a deeper rhythm. It's my pick from the remixes so far so turn it up and enjoy. 

   

Monday Choon: Armin van Buuren & Omnia - Love

 

A staple in Armin van Buuren’s live sets at Ultra Music Festival, EDC Las Vegas, Ushuaïa and most recently Ras Al Khaimah at his Seven Wonders Pillars of Creation set, ‘Love’ is a harder melodic anthem that leaves no club unshaken. Teaming up with Omnia, Armin introduces pounding drums underpinned by an unmistakable organ presence, ensuring the track’s energy holds strong from dusk till dawn. It's a typical Armin style track with the added Omnia edge that gives this progressive trance track the edge and which is why it has been such a hit so far. 

Monday Choon: Camisra & Armin van Buuren - Let Me Show You

 

1998, which many would say was peak Rave at the time with Ministry of Sound and Ibiza slowly becoming the peak of EDM. DJ's which are common names to us now were still entering the industry and learning from the then heavy weights at the time. One of those DJ's was Tall Paul and his track "Let Me Show You" was played in raves across the world. Still to this day the track remains a club thumper and has been played in festivals from the likes of James Hype, Jax Jones and Solomun. With this in mind, Armin van Buuren decided to breathe some new life into the track by reworking it and dropping it first at Tomorrowland Winter. Since then it's been on ID for a while with the Dutch DJ releasing last week, just before the weekend which saw him play at the Dutch the F1 Grand Prix after he waved the checkered flag for Lando Norris victory. 

Monday Choon: Nicky Romero & Sick Individuals - In My Head

 

We're going to get a lot of new tracks dropping in the coming months following the official start of festival season after things kicked off in a big way at Miami Music Week and Ultra Miami. First track that caught our radar is today's featured track from Dutch sensation Nicky Romero who teams up with fellow countrymen Sick Individuals for their latest release "In My Head", the song almost has two sort of sides to it with the opening vocals and beats giving it that big room sound with heavy bassline and strobes but as the song progresses you get the feel of the Nicky Romero element coming in, it hits you with the melodic chorus and then that carries the track through. It's definitely a banger for us and one you will be hearing a lot during the festivals coming up. 

Monday Choon: Martin Garrix & DubVision - Empty (feat. Jaimes)

Dutch DJ and Producer Martin Garrix has a knack of playing tracks on his sets, the tracks becoming popular but releases them further down the line with a set of vocals on it. His latest offering is no different with the song featured today. "Empty" was first heard at Ultra Miami last year and played in mash up with his track Ocean featuring Khaled but since then he has played it every set, including his mammoth 3 hour set in Amsterdam late last year. The track was official released in the second week of March and is a collaboration with DJ duo DubVision and features the vocals of Jaimes. The track is very much the Progressive type house music we've come to know and love from Martin, its the type of music that uplifts and gets people moving which is why his sets are often the most sort after at large music festivals. With Ultra Miami happening this weekend, we're pretty sure we will hear this banger along with many others from him during his set.

Monday Choon: Afroki - Everything You Do (ft. Aviella)

Afroki see's the collaboration between two heavy weight DJ's and Producers in the EDM world. Dutch DJ Afrojack teams up with American DJ Steve Aoki to form the formidable Afroki. Making their on stage debut at EDC Orlando last November, South African audiences got a taste of it a couple of weeks ago at Ultra South Africa. The high energy set with bespoke tracks combining the best of both styles proves to be a festival winner. Their track "Everything You Do" encapsulates that, with a mixture of trance, house and big room techno sound. The song features the vocals of Aviella that transitions well with the production, the bass line has a progression through out the track from the first part to the second part and not repetitive like you'd normally be used to on most tracks. I thought this was brilliantly done and gives the song a better sound. It's the first of what will be many from the duo, one which I'm looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeves for the future. 

Monday Choon: Ferry Corsten - Stake Awake

 

We kicking off the new year with some new music from legendary Dutch DJ Ferry Corsten. Ever since I was introduced to trance music, Ferry's tracks have been some of the most I've listened to. With his close relationship with Armin and heading the guest mixes after ASOT episodes on most weeks, its quite clear that his music has taken on a huge following world over. The style in which he produces his tracks vary from melodic sounds to hardcore trance but it still remains unique and on brand to him. Today's featured track is more along the melodic style with Diandra Faye providing the vocals to it. It's a catchy tune that seems to be doing well on the charts since his release late December and one that I find playing on repeat most of the time. 

Monday Choon: Ruben de Ronde & Kay Wilder - Away From You

 

Ruben de Ronde, famous for being the second voice on the world renowned podcast A State Of Trance as Armin's has released his latest track in which he joins forces with Kay Wilder. Not many know that Ruben is also a DJ himself and has a host of releases and plays all over Europe under the Armada banner. Him and Kay Wilder join forces for their new single ‘Away From You’, together crafting a strong emotional and yet energetic bass driven progressive trance and melodic techno gem. Being premiered by Ruben de Ronde himself during his Ultra Miami set in March of 2023, ‘Away From You’ has grown out to be one of the steady picks in Ruben de Ronde his live sets during the 2023 festival summer, including live plays at Tomorrowland, Untold and Sunrise Festival. 

Monday Choon: Ferry Corsten - Yes Man

"Here comes the big man with the new sound", that's the one part of the lyrics I caught in this new track from Dutch producer and DJ Ferry Corsten. Coming from him it is a new type of sound, with higher energy and bassline from what we're used to from Ferry. Leaning on more the house music side of things, "Yes man" features a provoking Reggae vocal sample, which makes me think the song should have been "yeah mon" but due to the European nature of his music, he probably had to adapt to suit. The song serves as the official rave anthem of Dreamfields Mexico 2023 and it is quite the track with dreamy pads and soaring leads that is the perfect combination to be a festival banger. 

Monday Choon: Tiësto, Mathame - Feel Your Ghost

Tiesto teams up with Italian duo Mathame for his latest release, "Feel Your Ghost", what I love about the Dutch legends work of the past decade is that he isn't scared to experiment like this and more often than not it turns out to be a work of art. While Tiesto has been producing a lot more deep house sounds of late, this track has that old school techno feel with a great energy that just builds up with the vocals and keeps that energy space set for the track. While the beats and synths are the main focus of the track, the vocals for me really make it what it is, even with that catchy bassline every time you hear the vocals kick in, it gives you shivers. 

Monday Choon: Armin van Buuren & Punctual - On & On (feat. Alika)

 

In what could be one of the most anticipated album releases this year, Armin van Buuren's "Feel Again" is finally out and while we already had one of the songs "Vulnerable" featured on the blog a few weeks ago, there was no way we could ignore some of the others that are on this 34 track album. This weeks track is a major banger and he's opened with it at his ASOT 1000 shows in Netherlands and the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, On & On which features the vocals form Alika is a catchy high tempo track with a punchy bassline that had the crowds on their feet from the get go. Feel again is a very emotional offering from the Dutch legend, stating that working on it brought him reflection and balance on his life. From reconnecting to friends, family and fans to finding inner peace, ‘Feel Again’ means acknowledging harsh truths, finding out what really matters and letting that power a new step forward. Because in the evergreen words of Armin van Buuren himself, “we’re still learning and will never stop learning till the day we die.

Monday Choon: Armin van Buuren feat. Vanessa Campagna - Vulnerable

 

As we reach ever closer to the release of his latest album "Feel Again", Dutch DJ legend Armin van Buuren has dropped another single that comes from the release. "Vulnerable' see's Armin collaborate with US songstress Vanessa Campagna. The song harks back to ASOT roots with a great mix of techno trance and vocals. The drop gives off a a club stomping high energy beat with perfect transitions back to the melodic vocals. The track itself is a masterpiece and probably the standout out one on the album, it evokes all kinds of emotions which is a great way to judge a trance song. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  

Monday Choon: Tiësto - Lay Low

 

Dutch DJ'ing legend Tiesto dropped his latest single and the first of 2023 titled 'Lay Low'. It's a house track which is not all that uncommon from him and is featured on his latest studio album "Drive" which also features tracks like 10:35 and Hot In It. Tiesto said recently that the album 'Drive' took on a completely new direction with him embracing house music genre more in his production. The track features a deep house sound with melodic undertones and spacey choral vocals. It is a great track from the icon and definitely sets the tone for what we can expect from him going forward this year. 

Monday Choon: Armin van Buuren feat. Stuart Crichton - Dayglow

 

The latest release from the Dutch Maestro that is Armin van Buuren titled "Dayglow" which is taken from his 'Feel Again' album trilogy. In this track, Armin teams up with Scottish singer-songwriter Stuart Crichton who provides the scintillating vocals for this energetic, wonder-laden production. The track is typical of what we expect from Armin with great synths and a catchy beat that would get the energy going on any mainstage party. 

Monday Choon: W&W x Ben Nicky x KEVU - Freed From Desire

 

The cult classic track from Gala Rizzatto "Freed From Desire" has resurfaced on many scenes in the past few years, be it football games, clubs, festivals and other events which are in a party atmosphere and you can't blame the masses for taking to the track as its catchy, easy to sing and got a great beat. Seeing the success its been having, the hard trance duo W&W decided to team up with Ben Nicky and KevU to make a rework of the track, giving it a trance and hardstyle feel but still keeping the beat as close to the original as possible. I was a bit pessimistic about the track at first, given that these guys do like to go hard on their drops, which would completely ruin the track for what it was, this isn't the case though as I was pleasantly surprised by the drop which incorporates some trumpets and beats that are have a vibey bassline. All in all its a great rework of the track and one thats sure to get the clubs and parties going. 

Monday Choon: Tiësto - 10:35 (feat. Tate McRae)

 

Multi-award winning DJ Tiesto has always been ahead of the game when it comes to innovating himself, from being one of the first DJ's to gain residency in Vegas, to teaming up with brands to produce songs for them. The Dutch legend has now teamed up with the latest luxury resort to open on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis The Royal. The single "10:35" which includes the vocals form Canadian singer/ songwriter Tate McRae, the track is inspired by and encapsulates the essence and energy of Atlantis The Royal which is the latest icon of the Dubai skyline and is said to be the most luxurious resort in the world. Tate, who spent time growing up in the Middle East proved to be the perfect partner for the track,  the idea for the track which was filmed on location at the resort, is where day turns to night and that experience shifts, hence "10:35". The owners of the resort as well as the artists are extremely happy with the outcome of the track and it serves to be the perfect advertisement for the place, after watching the video I'm also itching to visit!

Monday Choon: Mau P - Drugs From Amsterdam

 

At age 14, Dutch DJ Mau P found an unconditional love for dance music which saw him effortless channel his musical skillset, raw talent and bondless creativity into producing and making his own music. Coming from a city rich in techno and electronic music, he immediately got the backing from people who recognised his talents, now his music is getting noticed across the globe, his breakthrough track "Drugs from Amsterdam" was released two months ago and since has been getting airplay from some of the biggest names on the festival circuit as well as becoming a club banger of note across Europe. There are a few remixes being done of the track by some big name artist, including Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike but I thought I'd give Maurits his due by featuring the original on the blog.