Afterhours.fm's four year anniversary celebration begins tonight

And boy do they have a lineup put together for this- I don't think I've ever seen a better collection of trance DJ's in one place at the same time.

In addition to live broadcasts of Aly & Fila's Rising Sun album launch party and StreamLined, a show featuring guys like Estiva and Alex M.O.R.P.H., AH.fm has rounded up 72 other DJ's to partake in the celebration that lasts until June 1.

Highlights include:

Manuel Le Saux
Temple One
Kyau & Albert
Mat Zo
Jorn Van Deynhoven
Daniel Kandi
Rank 1
Super8 & Tab
Markus Schulz
Sean Tyas
Nitrous Oxide

Oh...and I'm forgetting a couple dozen other names too. Click the flyers below for the full lineup and head to AH.fm to see when someone is broadcasting over the air.

[Image credit: Afterhours.fm]

Solarstone's new album, release date announced

Rich Mowatt (aka Solarstone) has announced the tracklisting and release date of his third artist album, Touch Stone, scheduled for a June 28 release.

Tracklisting:

1. Is There Anyone Out There
2. Ultraviolet
3. Night Signals
4. Touchstone
5. Electric Love
6. Intravenous
7. Twisted Wing
8. Slowmotion
9. The Best Way To Make Your Dreams Come True Is To Wake Up
10. Zeitgeist
11. The Last Defeat (Part Two)
12. There's A Universe

To help promote the album, Solaris Recordings has developed several social-media related widgets that fans can use to earn "points" for getting the word out about Touch Stone on the internet. In exchange for their participation, fans can earn special prizes related to the CD (I'm assuming autographed albums and posters).

The web site also has an embedded audio player for the album that contains six tracks: the original mix of the single "Electric Love", 00.db's and Rafael Frost's remixes of the track, and remixes of the song "Slowmotion" by French Renaissance, Lowland, and Ilya Malyeuv. Music videos are also available for "Electric Love" and the original mix of "Slowmotion".

I'll admit it: "Electric Love" is one of Rich's weaker productions, but he's my favorite producer and has put out a slew of classic tracks over the years. His last album, Rain Stars Eternal was solid from start to finish, and I'm sure this one will be the same.


[Image credit: Trance.nu]

Teaching an old dog new tricks

What do you do when a song that's 14 years old has been remixed to no end?

You remix it again, of course, but outfit it with a shiny new style for 2010.

This is the basis for Solarstone's "Remodeled" EP series, where he plans to let new-age producers remix his old-school tunes.

According to Solarstone's web site, Vol.1 of the series was released last week on Lost Language recordings, although I can't find it anywhere online for purchase. The EP includes RAM's remix of Solarstone's timeless "The Calling", and a new version of "Solarcoaster" by Haris C.

Haris C's version of "Solarcoaster" sounds like the original on steroids, moving at a blistering pace while maintaining a club mix-vibe. But the "You're so cool" and other vocal bits seem out of place, and as a whole, the song is the weaker track of the two on the EP.

But RAM's remix of "The Calling". Man...this is a CHOON! His version removes the drum/breaks elements from the original and is rebuilt with an lively uplifting vibe. Everything seems to fall in place perfectly, and the main melody is emphasized greater.

See for yourself...

The original mix (released in 1996):


14 years later...

Classics sale at Beatport through Monday

Beatport has announced a $.99 sale on classic tracks through Monday.

To help you sample some of the old stuff, they've put together lists of ten songs in 14 different genres. Or you could nab anything in their Top 100 Classics chart for only a buck.

However, I searched for classic songs from artists that I listen to and besides the Top 100 chart and lists at the link above, it's slim pickings for the sale. Instead of having all tracks before a certain year at the discounted rate, it's completely random.

If there's a hit song that you liked from the early 2000's or before, it's probably in AmazonMP3's catalog for the same price (if not ten cents cheaper).

Beatport does have though, in my opinion, the best classic trance song of all time as part of this sale.

The best internet radio station for EDM

Since dance music in its conventional forms is rarely played on FM radio in the USA, you have to look online to get your fix. However, when you get online, where do you go? There are hundreds of streaming stations playing all forms of dance music, but is there one that is better than others?

Although I haven't listened to every stream available on the internet yet (and I probably never will), my favorite place to go to listen to EDM is Afterhours.fm, and for several reasons.


Unlike other sites where an endless playlist of tracks are running over the air, Afterhours schedules their programming in one-hour timeslots with shows from nearly 180 resident DJ's and special guests. The benefit for this format is that all the tracks are properly mixed by professionals during their sets, and if you like a particular DJ's style, you can enjoy it for a full hour rather than just a couple songs.

As for the talent, it's basically a list of who's who in trance and progressive, with names including Aly & Fila, Lange, Sean Tyas, Markus Schulz, Stoneface & Terminal, and my personal favorite- Manuel Le Saux. In addition to resident DJ's, the site also streams special day-long events, with an upcoming one showcasing only Egyptian DJ's and another highlighting Infrasonic's entire roster (DJ Eco, Jorn Van Deynhoven, etc.).

When listening to a set, you can click on the show name to open a forum topic for discussion with others where the DJ or a bot will post all the track ID's for easy downloading and purchasing later. Or you can re-visit the topic two days after the show and find a MegaUpload link to download the entire set.

Last but not least, Afterhours.fm doesn't screw us listeners by offering only low bitrate streams in the absence of a paid monthly subscription (*cough* di.fm *cough*). Streams come in 96k and 192k bitrates for WinAmp, iTunes, Quicktime, Realplayer, and Windows Media Player.

[Ok...I know...this post does sound like an ad, but the site is really that good- check it out]