Monday Choon: AVNT - Echo

Another track we’re featuring from the brilliant Anjunabeats Volume 17 is “Echo” by AVNT, an artist bringing a fresh and exciting energy to the Anjunabeats sound. The track blends progressive and melodic elements with an uplifting, atmospheric feel, creating something that feels familiar to fans of the genre while still offering its own identity. There’s a real sense of movement throughout the production, with the melodic layers and driving rhythm giving it that perfect balance between emotion and dancefloor energy. AVNT is definitely an artist worth keeping an eye on, and “Echo” is a great example of why this new generation of producers is helping push the genre forward.

Monday Choon: Will Clarke - Set Me Free (Rinzen Remix)

 

Bristol born and raised DJ and Producer Will Clarke is not stranger to Techno and Trance industry, we have also featured some of his previous work as well but this time its a remix done by LA based DJ and producer is Rinzen. His music style is described as cinematic house and techno and he brings so much more character to this track. I first heard it a few weeks back on ABGT podcast and got hooked instantly. 

Monday Choon: LEV - My Truth

 

Following the high-energy ride of 'Rainbow Racer', LEV shifts gears to deliver something deeper with 'My Truth'. Built around an emotive topline and a brooding progressive groove, the track showcases LEV's range as both a producer and storyteller. Atmospheric pads, glistening arps, and rolling basslines set the tone, creating a moody yet uplifting soundscape that feels both personal and universal.

Monday Choon: ARTBAT & Benny Benassi - Love Is Gonna Save Us

 

Ukrainian production DJ duo ARTBAT have been lighting up stages worldwide at festivals with their unique style which I can only describe as trance, techno with a sprinkling of hardstyle. Their set this past weekend at Ultra Miami was incredible and as soon as its available to watch on YouTube, I highly recommend giving it a watch. For this weeks featured track, they team up with Italian DJ maestro Benny Benassi who brought us the timeless classic "Satisfaction" for the track "Love Is Gonna Save Us". Its a great collaboration between new and old and I think that is what makes this track standout from previous ARTBAT productions. I love the track and I hope you do too. 

Monday Choon: TH;EN - Rakata

 

If you watched Tiesto's mammoth 4 hour DJ set in New York City last week, you may have caught this track which he played early on. It's by Simulate's  rising star TH;EN who has return to the label with his ‘Rakata’ EP. Already having received amazing support and reactions around the world, A-side ‘Rakata’ promises to be a special moment in the Simulate timeline. Rakata features a powerful Spanish vocal along with dynamic synths to give the track a high-energy and driving groove, perfect for the dancefloor. Liverpool based DJ and Producer Massano, dropped the track at the Resistance stage at Ultra Tokyo and it's continuing to be a proper festival jam since. It was officially released 2 weeks ago and we have it featured on the blog today. 

Monday Choon: Martin Garrix & Sem Vox feat. Jaimes - Gravity

 

This weekend saw the Amsterdam Music Festival take place, a yearly event that attracts the best that the Netherlands has to offer in terms of electronic dance music. On Saturday at the main stage saw the reveal of this years number 1 DJ as voted by the fans in the DJ Mag Top 100 and it was a local which had the crowd present in raptures, it was none other than Martin Garrix, today's featured artist. It's his 5th time reaching the top of the charts and it's well deserved as he's been churning out some great music for us to listen to and his live sets are so well orchestrated, full of energy and just a pleasure to watch unfold. Last year at ADE Martin played a 3 hour set, this just goes to show his commitment and love for what he does. Today we feature his latest track "Gravity" in which he teams up with Sem Vox and Jaimes. It's a typical Martin Garrix track with high symphonic notes,  heartfelt vocals and a melody that will enchant you. 

Anjunadeep Open Air South Africa 2025

 

Following two successful shows in March this year in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, the oragnisers of the first ever Anjunadeep Open Air show on the African continent have decided to go again in 2025. The announcement was made not too long after the shows this year and echos what deep house means to us here in South Africa. After attending the Cape Town event which in its own right was spectacular to say the least, we were begging for more and the people down at Anjuna HQ did not disappoint when they released the official line-up for the 2025 shows. First up see's British female duo Eli & Fur comprising Eliza Noble and Jennifer Skillman, hailing from London, England. Eli & Fur have been working together since they were in their teens, they write and play their own tracks, which creates a sound that is "distinctly electronic, mixing house and dance beats". SONA see's his introduction to the line-up and many don't know this but he is the son of SA's very own global superstar Black Coffee, following in his fathers footsteps has achieved massive success in his first 12 months of producing music. The Anjuna team decided to throw in some Amapiono & Afrotech into the mix with the addition of Stofella, the former Miss SA contestant has found solace in music and has created quite a name for herself in the industry thus far. The biggest headline act though has to be Dutch DJ duo Tinlicker,  the electronic music group from Utrecht comprising Micha Heyboer and Jordi van Achthoven. Formed in 2012, they have released music on labels such as Anjunadeep, mau5trap, Astralwerks, and Armada. They have played festivals including Mysteryland, Creamfields, Tomorrowland, Ultra and are now making their way to SA to play for us in 2025!

Tickets have already gone on sale for both shows, so if you still haven't gotten yours, the question is why the hell not? Prices start at R350 for General access and are available on Howler. 

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: Andrew Bayer & Oliver Smith - Rude Boyz

 

Grammy nominated DJ and producer Andrew Bayer teams up with British DJ Oliver Smith for today's featured track. The two have been releasing fire tracks for over a decade on Anjunabeats with both having similar trance and progressive house styles. Being close friends, it has taken some time for these two to compile a song together and it's everything that we expected it to be and more. Following the success of of his studio album "Duality" last year, Andrew has been on a bit of lul this year, while Oliver kicked off the year with his release of "Everything" where he teamed up with Tom Bailey and was featured on Anjunabeats Worldwide 11. Rude Boyz brings in that progressive house style with a hint of old school UK Garage with some great techno and trance beats. It's been a firm favourite of mine for the past few days and definitely one to get the energy up for the week. 

Monday Choon: Calvin Harris, Sam Smith - Desire

 

He isn't the worlds highest paid DJ for nothing, everything track he releases has already gained so much traction on social media that by the time it's released, it already shoots to the top of the streaming charts. Who am I talking about? None other than British DJ Calvin Harris, following on the success of his last release "Miracle" with Ellie Goulding, Calvin teams up with another fellow Brit, Sam Smith this track titled "Desire".  Calvin first played it at his set in Ushuaia in Ibiza and its been all over TikTok since. The unmistakable vocals of Sam Smith dominates the melody and it adds that distinctive difference that makes the track whole. It's another chart topper for sure from Calvin and one that will do well for the end of the European Summer. I can't wait to hear the remixes from this track which I'm sure there will be many.   

Monday Choon: Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana

 

Continuing our trend with the songs of summer for the Northern Hemisphere, we bring you another track that is blowing up all over Europe and Africa. Peggy Gou, a South Korean DJ and producer who is now based in Germany dropped this fire track at the Lost Nomads Festival in Morocco at the beginning of the month and its been all over social media with the fans waiting in anticipation of its release. Peggy didn't disappoint us having dropped the track of the weekend and its closing on fast to half a million views already. The track has that classic 70s/80s island type vibe with a catchy chorus that will have you singing along to it. 

Monday Choon: Tommy Farrow - Maybe, It's Possible

Taking Trance music back to its roots, that is what 23-year old DJ and Producer Tommy Farrow is doing. With him receiving comparisons to his inspirations and influencers which include Pete Tong and the likes, which he will also be performing alongside with soon in his residency gigs. Todays featured track from Tommy titled "Maybe, its possible" is a track that has been getting great recognition by the heavy weights in the industry, notably Armin van Buuren and the trio from Above & Beyond, it's a track that also has close ties with early trance sounds but with a more up-to-date and uplifting feel. The maturity from the sound is something that got me from the first time I heard it, with the right synths and drops which you'd normally expect from one of the older guys in the game. It's certainly a cracking track and one sure to get the mood flowing in any club, so turn up and enjoy!

Corona Sunsets Festival - Johannesburg

 

Corona Sunsets Festival returns to Johannesburg on the 29th of October. With a brand new home in the picturesque grounds of Huddle Park in the centre of Linksfield, JHB, the 2022 Corona Sunsets Festival will bring the magic of the sunset to the middle of the city.

Nothing beats the refreshing taste of an ice cold Corona with a wedge of lime as we celebrate the magic of the setting sun at another world class event. 

From exploring our crafter food stalls, signing up for mixology sessions or dancing to the beat of your crew getting involved in a drum circle - this is what happens when friends come together and create unforgettable moments!

Join us to relive the magic with incredible local and international artists and all of the beauty and brilliance that this event always brings.

Monday Choon: Above & Beyond - Prelude [Above & Beyond Future Summer Mix]

 

Above and Beyond have just celebrated 10 years of Group Therapy and in celebration of this, launched an album with the same title. Today's featured track comes from this album and is a remix of the track launched last year, Prelude. With the trio getting back into the groove of touring again, this track has come at the most perfect time as it is the type of track that gets the crowd going. It starts off with a great intro and a catch bassline which extends with some tribal vocals and piano, the drop when the two mix together, its just pure euphoria. Its nothing less than what we expect from Above & Beyond, a brilliant track from a brilliant band, enjoy!

Monday Choon: Dash Berlin - You Broke Me First (Tate McRae)

 

Dutch Electronic group Dash Berlin are back! There's been a lot which has went down over the past two years for the group with lots of infighting and legal matters being sorted out behind closed doors but former front man, Jeffery Sutorius has lost his appeal over the trademark of the name, so the original members and founders Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn are back having left in 2019. While there is a new Album in the pipeline that is due to be released in 2022, of which the first track "Oceans" has been released, today I'm featuring a remix/ rework of their version of Tate McRae's "You Broke Me First". It's actually done by Seb but has that iconic Dash Berlin sound and feel to it, with the high energy and enthusiastic baseline that we've loved from the group in the previous years. It's an exciting time for the duo as they get to relaunch their brand and probably having to start showing their faces since they would need to represent themselves at festivals and parties going forward. 

Monday Choon: deadmau5 & Lights - When The Summer Dies

Deadmuat5 is back on the blog today with his latest offering featuring Lights in the track titled "When the Summer Dies". The track brings back the iconic Deadmau5 sounds with the deep hard bassline backtrack with high synth overlays, which are pretty catchy and get your head bobbing as soon as it hits. Joel last teamed up with Lights back in 2018 to release the midtempo track "Drama Free", while it wasn't one of the popular tracks in his library the colab proved to be a perfect fit as their skills just syncs well. This single showcases the pop-punk sensibilities, infused with a playful production from Joel. It's a great track, and should prove to be another deadmau5 banger, and thats why it makes our featured track of the week. 

Monday Choon: John Grand - Holding On

Los Angeles based DJ and Trance Music producer John Grand makes another appearance on our Monday feature, if you remember we featured his highly popular track "Nine to Five" in December last year. Today we have yet another cracking tune from him, Holding On made its debut on Euphonic records 2 weeks ago and us been a hit ever since. It's slowly making its way into the podcasts of many and I personally heard this track for the first time on FYH by Andrew Rayel and was blown away with it. The thing to John's music is the build ups, its high energy, uplifting type of melodies that has that instant feel good factor to them. It also has that old school trance feel to it that harks back memories of tracks from the past, the drop is gentle but the bassline definitely keeps the beat going.  It's the perfect track to kick start your week, so turn up the volume and hit play!

Monday Choon: MK ft. Raphaella - Lies

 

It's been a while since we've heard from Marc Kinchen, the US House Music DJ and Producer has been busy working on some new music and has released this new track featuring the vocals of Raphaella and if this is anything to go on, his new stuff is going to be absolute fire as usual. With most of the world not rolling out their vaccine programs, parties and festivals are tentatively looking at a return after July 2021 so most DJ's will be hard at work getting their summer anthems ready. Coming back to todays featured track "Lies", its very much similar to what we've come to learn and love from MK, that house music vibe with catchy bass line which has your swaying from the time the track starts. Like most of his tracks the build-up and drop is very close but there's also a gradual build again within the drop like an ongoing loop. It's another great track from Marc and has us excited to see what else he has in store for us. 

Monday Choon: EMATA - Stardust

DJ, Producer and Pianist EMATA is our featured artist this week, having dropped his latest single "Stardust" last week on Elliptical Sun Records, we couldn't find a reason not to feature this brilliant song this week. The song as described by the label is nothing short of his signature sound, one that is known and loved by many. The track features an electric bassline, airy vocal chops all mixed in with a clever chord progressions. If you love uplifting trance then you're going to love this one, it definitely is a hit on our radar so we hope you enjoy it too!

Monday Choon: Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford - Thing Called Love (Oliver Heldens​ Remix)

Most of us who streamed ABGT400 last year was sad that it was not the ABGT event we learned to love over the years but the effort made by Jono, Pavo, Tony and team to ensure the fans still got to party with them was excellent. One particular track during the Above & Beyond set got many peoples attention, it was a remix of their hit track "Thing Called Love" featuring Richard Bedford, what we didn't know at the time was the person responsible for this remix. The track was released on the 9th of this month and surprise, surprise, it was none other than House DJ and Producer, Oliver Heldens! Wait what? A house music DJ remixing a trance track? Doesn't make any sense and what is even more baffling is how perfect it is? Oliver, maybe you should dabble in some trance music because if this is anything to go by, we're missing out on some potential crackers!