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-- ASOT yearmix 2004 - Was this year when trance hit its first peak? (link & tracklist)
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quote:

Originally posted by Sykonee I maintain it's a shame he didn't win that year, only for the sheer hilarity of it.

I wonder at what point they realized that he didn't actually produce any of that music. Or if they ever did. Or cared.

I am so in the mood for a McProg, right now:



Delicious.

Can't answer for everyone else, but it twas a damn good year for me. Learned so much about the music, went to see Oakenfold and G&D at club 1015, went to SF's first Love Parade, and attended one of the most epic rave ug's in which a truck exploded in the parking lot and even when the cops came, they refused to shut it down. Awesome times. Even so, I still acknowledge 04 is definitely not the first peak for trance. Not even close. If it was a peak, then it was the smallest one of the bunch.

quote:

Originally posted by Paradox Lost I am so in the mood for a McProg, right now: Delicious.

oh

mcprog was not that bad, right? im saying... is so clean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ1C02otG3U

quote:

Originally posted by Kilixpree oh mcprog was not that bad, right? im saying... is so clean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ1C02otG3U

Hey, I'm not saying it didn't often just want to make you roll your eyes at the overblown twinkle of the whole affair, but it could just as often be fucking awesome. "Turning the Curves" is easily one of my favorite pieces from the McSchulz era, and I'll happily take twinkly sidechaining over whatever the hell has since replaced it.

This always makes me laugh. TA as a community is unquestionably 500% more cynical and hateful than it was in 2004, and yet somehow the music that attracted all the cynicism and hate in 2004 is now the subject of the most nostalgia. And I suppose people were saying exactly the same about 1999 in 2004.

I can understand the nostalgia. For me 2002 was the last genuinely great year for the old guard of dance music, but looking back 2004 was certainly a lot more respectable than the utter dross of 2005-2007, certainly the three worst years for music I've had the misfortune of living through.

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J This always makes me laugh. TA as a community is unquestionably 500% more cynical and hateful than it was in 2004, and yet somehow the music that attracted all the cynicism and hate in 2004 is now the subject of the most nostalgia. And I suppose people were saying exactly the same about 1999 in 2004. I can understand the nostalgia. For me 2002 was the last genuinely great year for the old guard of dance music, but looking back 2004 was certainly a lot more respectable than the utter dross of 2005-2007, certainly the three worst years for music I had the misfortune of living through.

True, this pattern of deriding in the present and then romanticizing in retrospect pops up quite a bit around here, but I can say for myself that the material that was coming out between, say, 2003 to 2006 was the standard by which I gauged everything that followed, and even my gateway tunes/period from years prior- it was also the reason I eventually stopped keeping up with the genre.

I realize it's likely impossible to view it all in a vacuum, but the impressions left on me both during and after that period was one of 'this is just intrinsically good dance music.' Shit, even the reviews you guys posted up on TC for the ISOS and Schulz annuals that were coming out around that time were consistently 3.5 to 4.5 stars, and that was taking into account the invariably atrocious disc 2 of these compilations.

Besides, I just use the term 'McProg' and 'McSchulz' endearingly, and to avoid the inevitable conflict that accompanies any use of the term 'Progressive Trance' (though I think it's less and less of an issue the further away we get from 1999).

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J This always makes me laugh. TA as a community is unquestionably 500% more cynical and hateful than it was in 2004, and yet somehow the music that attracted all the cynicism and hate in 2004 is now the subject of the most nostalgia. And I suppose people were saying exactly the same about 1999 in 2004. I can understand the nostalgia. For me 2002 was the last genuinely great year for the old guard of dance music, but looking back 2004 was certainly a lot more respectable than the utter dross of 2005-2007, certainly the three worst years for music I've had the misfortune of living through.

lol I can remember hating on the mcprog back in the day. I guess I don't mind it as much anymore because it's not constantly being crammed down our throats.

I have to admit this is probably the last era of trance that I'm really even aware of from an artist perspective. If you said names of songs and artists that the DJ's were playing I was familiar with them. I really can't say I have a clue as to what is going on in trance music since then I'm so far removed from it now lol...

I don't remember any of us ever giving anything McProg related a 9/10, and I definitely slapped 6/10s on the likes of A&B, Probspot and Tilt who were all in business with this sound. Most of the McProg cynicism at the time came from prog-heads objecting to this music being called "progressive", especially as it was an undeniable watering down of the Silver Planet et al sound. Still, my own memory of the twinkle sound dates back at least as far as 2001 and the Total Euphoria compilation. I never much cared for it even when I was a full-blown trance idiot.

quote:

Originally posted by Floorfiller lol I can remember hating on the mcprog back in the day. I guess I don't mind it as much anymore because it's not constantly being crammed down our throats.

I definitely listen back to a lot of it and think "That really wasn't too bad at all". I think that's partly because of how bad things have become since then, and also because we really had been quite spoiled up until 2004.

quote:

Originally posted by Kilixpree oh mcprog was not that bad, right? im saying... is so clean

Considering what came after it: electro house, brostep, Dutch House and now trap music, I'd say mcprog was a decent and the most logical successor to epic and melodic trance. People on here at the time complained about it being too drawn out and boring, but I'd say it was a lot less annoying then all these Skrillex squeals that have popularized the culture.

I'm not sure if it was you or Sykonee who reviewed ISOS: 6, but unless I'm misunderstanding your ratings system, I recall seeing four gold colored stars at the bottom of the review, and likely the same for Ibiza '06.

In any case, I don't recall a single review for an Armin, Tiesto, or Schulz compilation from that period being ranked below an even lukewarm 3/5.

You can find it all right here: www.trancecritic.com

I also think this time is well remembered because it was one of those eras when a lot of new people were getting into the scene and were really excited about Armin and Markus etc...

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I definitely listen back to a lot of it and think "That really wasn't too bad at all". I think that's partly because of how bad things have become since then, and also because we really had been quite spoiled up until 2004.

yeah definitely agree.

quote:

Originally posted by Paradox Lost I'm not sure if it was you or Sykonee who reviewed ISOS: 6, but unless I'm misunderstanding your ratings system, I recall seeing four gold colored stars at the bottom of the review, and likely the same for Ibiza '06. You can find it all right here: www.trancecritic.com

I did ISOS 5 and gave it 7/10, don't remember us reviewing ISOS 6 at all. ASOT 2004 got a glowing 8/10 from Syk' but that was about as good as it got. I don't think I ever pressed play on ISOS 5 again after finishing the review.

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I did ISOS 5 and gave it 7/10, don't remember us reviewing ISOS 6 at all. ASOT 2004 got a glowing 8/10 from Syk' but that was about as good as it got. I don't think I ever pressed play on ISOS 5 again after finishing the review.

Actually, Sykonee definitely reviewed ISOS: 6, as I recall him emphasizing Ohmna's 'Sun Will Shine' as being the jewel of the entire compilation ('that bassline!'). And that's all I should probably say about the TC archives, lest I make myself appear to be more a critic creeper than I apparently already am.

quote:

Originally posted by Paradox Lost I'm not sure if it was you or Sykonee who reviewed ISOS: 6, but unless I'm misunderstanding your ratings system, I recall seeing four gold colored stars at the bottom of the review, and likely the same for Ibiza '06.

I reviewed those two (J' was spared most things Schulz related). I think I gave ISOS6 7/10 (I quite enjoyed the first disc) and Ibiza '06 something like a 5/10 or 6/10. To be honest, I can't recall anything of that era of trance breaking the 8/10 mark, at least not as reviewed by either of us.

quote:

Originally posted by Sykonee I reviewed those two (J' was spared most things Schulz related). I think I gave ISOS6 7/10 (I quite enjoyed the first disc) and Ibiza '06 something like a 5/10 or 6/10. To be honest, I can't recall anything of that era of trance breaking the 8/10 mark, at least not as reviewed by either of us.

Oh, I know that none of the Trance-related reviews from that time ever made the highlight reel, but the fact that critics (you two) who were already cynically suspicious of most trance efforts at the time had mildly to even emphatically positive things to say about it is something worth noting, especially considering I can't imagine it ever happening again.

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I did ISOS 5 and gave it 7/10, don't remember us reviewing ISOS 6 at all. ASOT 2004 got a glowing 8/10 from Syk' but that was about as good as it got. I don't think I ever pressed play on ISOS 5 again after finishing the review.

Actually, ASOT2004 only got 6/10 from yours truly. My old crappy review's archived at my blog. God, that first disc was pants.

Honestly I LOOOOVE this shit:



Unabashedly.

This is the year I first found the beat, and oh my, it took hold. 2004, such youth.

PROBSPOT

waveforce+the timelord+the schulz remix of talk like a stranger+hello strings... so solid

also, why "why" (by laurent) sounds so similar to xpander? o_o

edit: and...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf9gN5vURdc

HE WAS NOT MCPROG IN THIS TIME, RIGHT?

quote:

Originally posted by enydo PROBSPOT

^ This

Not gonna lie, I loved Blueberry, Foreplay, and a little atmospheric dnb track he did called Obsession. Aw yeah.

I think 2004 was one of the most boring year for trance music.
Very few good releases that year.
That tracklist looks very boring btw. Yeah boring is the word here.

MC. PROG.

If you are a real ass trancecracker you know that this track is the finest slice of cheese on the Mcprog burger.

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