As usual Matt brings you his latest news and reviews - this time also with some discussion about trance vs hard dance and some words about the Trance Awards.

UK Trance Awards Results
The results from the first ever Trance Awards are in. Hosted by Slinky at The Opera House in Bournemouth, the results certainly turned up some surprises. Unfortunately I was away for the awards so I sent Trance correspondent Josie Harral down with a pair of glowsticks to cover the event. First off' well done to Adam White and Andy Moor, winners of Best Track for 'The Whiteroom' and Adam White as winner of Best New Producer. As well as being Label Manager for Darey Products, Adam has also produced such big tunes as 'Reverence' and 'Ballerina', both of which have appeared on prestigious compilations. Success also went to trance superstar Paul van Dyk, who walked away with Best DJ, Best Producer, Best Label (for Vandit), and (sort of) Best Live Act for Nu NRG ­ Vandit's flagship artists, and the boys behind massive trance classics 'Dreamland' and 'Connective'. It was after this, however, that the global nature of these awards really kicked in' Best Club ­ Cream @ Amnesia, Ibiza; Best Resident ­ Armin van Buuren for Armada @ Amnesia, Ibiza (nominations were AvB for Armada, Ibiza, PvD for Cream, Ibiza, and Tiësto for Cream, Ibiza), and biggest surprise of all ­ Tiësto for Best Remixer. The event itself received mixed reports. Graham Gold was generally agreed to have played a topnotch set, and made a decent job of presenting the awards under difficult circumstances. Les Hemstock and Andy Bagguley were also both well received, but Nu Nrg's set ­ both track choice and sound quality ­ surprisingly came in for some fairly hefty criticism. Trance Award organisers TrackItDown have announced that next year's ceremony will almost certainly not take place in the UK, although they welcome feedback from this year and suggestions for 2006.

Trance v's Hard Dance
The lines between trance and harder styles are becoming increasingly blurred, with success from darker, tougher tracks like Dogzilla - Your Eyes', and Sander van Doorn - Dark Roast, and more and more tunes described as genre-defying' Long may it last. Any change in dance music that opens up more club nights to more people has got to be a good thing. The recent seventh annual Tidy Weekender, traditionally home to the cyber and fluffies brand of hard house, is a case in point, with a strong trance presence that more than held its head high. First up, Arena 1 on Friday night saw a quality hard trance set from Matt Hardwick. Highlight of the whole weekend, however, even taking into account the mighty dance superpowers Lisa Lashes and Eddie Halliwell, was unanimously agreed to be tough trance man K90 and his flawless, driving, uplifting live set. Lastly, Arena 2 on Sunday night was pretty much devoted to trance classics - pure euphoric nostalgia from BK and Lee Haslam in the Gouryella & Orange Theme stylee. Does it get any better' I think not. Apart from anything else, staying in a chalet with a bunch of mates, and talking, breathing and living dance music for three days is a ridiculously good laugh. You can sleep when you're dead.

Trance News
Industry news up first. Massive trance label Black Hole Recordings, run by Dutch superstar DJ Tiësto, has signed a deal to distribute their entire catalogue through Audiojelly. The label is home to such luminaries as Cor Fijneman and duo Mark Norman, and the deal covers all their imprints including the world famous Magik Muzik. Audiojelly recently signed a similar deal with Nukleuz, the hard dance record company that launched the careers of such superstars as BK and Mauro Picotto. Also in the news' German heavyweight trance label Euphonic, owned by Ralph Kyau and Steven Moebius Albert, aka Kyau vs. Albert, and label bosses to a string of trance thoroughbreds including Sonorous, Ronski Speed and Mirco de Govia. The "Positive Ways" compilation from the label is into round 4, and this time is mixed by Kyau vs. Albert themselves. The CD features many unreleased tracks such as Ronski Speed's "2day" and Kaste's "Desert Eagle" from Anjunabeats.

Music to the ears of wilder clubbers amongst you - American doctors are to use Ecstasy in medical trials. Shell shocked veterans will be given MDMA to help them accept that they are no longer in danger, and to talk about traumatic situations. Scientists at Harvard University are also to start giving E to a small group of terminally ill patients to find out whether the drug works better at treating anxiety than traditional solutions such as Valium. MDMA is thought to free a patient from anxiety and mistrust, but still support a decent quality of life, meaning they can enjoy the time they have remaining with family and friends. Both studies support hugely respected doctor Alexander Shulgin, who in his seminal book TIHKAL challenged the hysterical slating of Ecstasy by American government.

It might still be brass monkeys outside, but the festival season is mere months away, and the hype is already beginning to build. In excess of 40,000 clubbers partied at Gods kitchen's Global Gathering 2004, and this year's extravaganza, in association with Radio 1, will be a two-day event with camping. Friday night sees the Essential Selection from Pete Tong, and also live performances from some of dance's biggest names. Saturday is then back to the old days - doubtless showcasing the biggest names of international DJing.

Carl Cox, a name more commonly associated with techno, will be appearing at stellar London trance night TranceGeneration on Friday 29th April. Performing an exclusive 6 hour set on the night, this is Carl Cox's first and only London date for 2005. He will be joined by some friends, including Valentino Kanzyani, who celebrates his album launch. The entire catalogue of Carl Cox's label Intec is available exclusively at www.trackitdown.net, who have just added the massive 'String Theory' track from Deep Swarm to the site, with the huge Umek mix to boot.

Radio 1's Executive Dance Producer Matt Priest, Executive Dance Producer at Radio 1 for the last nine years, is leaving the station to take up a position at Bob Geldof's marketing/ media company Ten Alps Music Events. Priest was the key figure behind the station's enthusiastic support of club culture, though overall station chief Andy Parfit stressed this week that his departure will not alter Radio 1's emphasis, saying "our commitment to dance music remains undimmed".


Matt Darey Trance reviews
You can catch all the tunes reviewed in the mix plus much more via live
streaming at www.dpdj.co.uk.

Ernest & Bastian - Darkside of the Moon ( Dogzilla) Be Yourself
I've been hammering this one since last summer and due to the main A&R guy at ID &T setting up his own new label there has been a massive delay getting this track into circulation. Just when I thought I'd well and truly rinsed this mutha out along comes a brand new blinding mix from the groundbreaking Dogzilla in there distinctive hard trance style. This one was already big but now its an absolute monster of a floor filler.
Rating: 4/5

M.I.K.E. - Massive Motion (Orig) Armind
The now legendary trance master Mike has to be one of the most prolific producers around working under about 20 aliases. Does this man ever sleep...No!! Mike made his stamp on the trance scene under his PUSH alias producing anthems such as ³Universal Nation² and ³Legacy². Now he returns with something strictly for the purist trance clubber with a track that is truly banging in the classiest sense.
Rating: 4/5

Ridgewalkers ft. El - Find (Kayu v's Albert) Armarda
This is one of those records that has taken ages to really blow up. Originally released in a very limited amount on Baroque Records with an awesome Andy Moor remix (which really launched the track to be honest), Armin has picked it up for his Armada imprint and asked Euphonic Kyau & Albert to provide the remix. If you are a fan of Andy's remix but you like things with a little more drive then this is certainly the mix for you.
Rating: 4/5

Filo & Perry feat Fisher - Closer Now (White Room) Empire State
Winners of Record of the Year at the 2004 trance awards are back on remix duties, this time for American trance gurus Filo & Peri. This is the first release on their new label 'Empire State Recordings'. The vocal on this track is really dreamy and the Whiteroom boys have used it to full effect. Backed up with a unique rolling bass line and haunting melodies, its not hard to see why this remix has had support from every DJ under the planet including Armin Van Buuren, PVD, Matt Hardwick and Tiesto.
Rating: 4/5

Adam White V Anthony Dean - Out of Knowwhere (Orig) White Label
Take 2 residents from London's biggest and newest trance night and throw them into the studio for a few days and this is what do you get. 'Out Of Knowwhere' is an energetic powerful trancer that has caught the attention of the handful of DJs that have been lucky enough to receive a copy. Paul Kershaw has already given the track several spins on his Galaxy show and other supports include Robbie Nelson and Graham Gold. It uses a cheeky sample from The Prophet to get things really moving. The breakdown is melodic and very emotional and is a sure fire hands in the air moment on any dance floor. Look out for a Michael Splint remix coming your way very soon too.
Rating: 4/5

Brisky - Celestrial (Brisky) Monster
Brisky seems to be the name on everyone's lips at the moment. Head honcho at Chemical Records and the man who really seems to be driving the trance scene in the UK at the moment follows his awesome remix of Moogwa's 'Voila' with the classically influenced trance epic. Nice driving beats and a crisp baseline really set the standard as the melody starts to develop. The breakdown is something you'd expect to hear in a movie soundtrack and the chords and absolutely amazing. As the break builds and the riff develops, you can certainly feel every hair on the back of your neck stand on end. If this is a sign of things to come from the Bristol basses record shop boss then I cant wait to hear the follow-up.
Rating: 4/5

D:Fuse - Living the Dream (Matt Dekay) SkyLine
Matthew Dekay is really breaking through this year, with his new track 'Tarus' smashing it up on Armada and his remix of Parasma's 'Swing To Harmony' really doing the bizz, 2005 will be his year. D:Fuse is back with an awesome new track that is pure class on plastic. The original is on a slightly tougher tip but this awesome remix from Matthew Dekay was the one that really caught my attention. Getting a hammering from Armin and co, the vocal mix is certainly the one to look out for over the coming months. There is also a dub remix for those of you who are that way inclined.
Rating: 5/5

Blanco Diablo - Absolute Control (Orig) White Label
This tuff percussive trancer is one of the most original tracks I've had through for ages. On a similar tip to Johan Geilen's 'Sosei' it is certainly going to be gracing the DJs boxes of a lot of DJs over the coming months. The 'Absolute Control' vocal gives the track a catchy element but for those of you not into it, I'm sure they'll be a dub available. The breakdown is a real change from the hard marching style of the original track but it really seems to work. This track is going to be causing some really dance floor damage.
Rating: 5/5

Darey & White - Troubled Soul (2005) Darey Products
Two guy's Ricky Simmons and Steve Jones aka Chakra, space Brothers, Lustral and numerous other pseudonyms, have probably penned most of the massive classic vocals that everyone remembers. The all time favorite of mine was the Space Brothers penned classic 'Troubled Soul' a bit of a make-over. I thought it would be most appropriate to team up with the guy who won this years trance awards for best producer and best track Adam White to give this one a 2005 makeover. Judge for Yourself.
Rating: JUDGE FOR YOURSELF!!