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AS IT NAVIGATES ITS SECOND ALBUM DECADE, SOLARSTONE BRINGS MAJOR CHANGES TO HIS MIXCOMP MARQUE. (MUSICAL PURITY HOWEVER REMAINS STRICTLY INTACT !!).
Having solo-helmed the milestone tenth ‘Pure Trance’ outing, Solarstone reflected at the time that it was: “a transitional moment’ for the series. A natural temporal point, where one ‘chapter’ would close and another open.”
And that new “chapter” is where we find ourselves today.
At their core, ‘Pure Trance’ albums has always had an ethos – something seeded in them from the very start. However, that culture Rich felt was: “achievable, but not yet fully achieved”. Specifically, it’s that of creating the albums the ‘Global Underground’ way or by following the ‘Northern Exposure’ trail. A commitment to compiling and mixing so detailed, so thought through and so experience-led, that it enshrines the 20/20 club experience as close to 1:1 as is humanly possible.
So, to finally make that flesh, he returned the series to the drawing board.
The first (and in all likelihood most significant) hurdle was getting its essence as-live-as-live gets. To that, a heaving February Saturday at London’s Fabric supplied it a trancefixing backdrop. There, every in-the-moment blend, fader glide, filter release and EQ twist, and every reciprocal crowd whistle and cheer as ‘XI’ was laid down was caught in the wild.
To achieve that elevates to the highest level the planning and coordination a DJ + team must undertake. Or as is the case here, DJs, plural. ‘XI’ marks the first time that ‘Pure Trance’ has recalled one of its former co-mixers. Closing the circle between this release and the very first Pure Trance is producer/DJ/composer Orkidea. On their very first meeting, he and Solarstone bonded over a shared love of ‘mixed-live’ compilations, so when it came time for ‘Pure Trance’ to take that route, the co-mixer selection pretty much made itself.
One aspect that’s not changed with the onset of ‘XI’ is (naturally!) the stylistic makeup of its sonics. Music from the new, the established and the establishment abounds, along with exclusive 2026 monsters-in-the-making and underground weapons aplenty. Judicious bring-backs for a smattering of imaginatively selected classics are also onboard, along with an absolute wealth of new Solarstone and Orkidea material.
Orkidea recalls that: “most of the tracks on Global Underground, Northern Exposure, Renaissance and the like had already been released by the time the albums came out. People fell in love with them through the compilations. It’s when you present tracks in a mix that they’re heard differently”. Solarstone picks up “In fact, they often don’t sound as good without the other elements of another record on top. It’s one of the aspects we paid most attention to on ‘PTXI’; there are some truly memorable ‘one plus one equals three moments’ on there!”
Weighing in at an unbroken 4+ hours digitally (*also available in triple disc and triple vinyl editions), ‘Pure Trance’s trip is an odyssey in everything but name. ‘XI’s opening tranche is where many of its more underground artists and records are couched. That said there’s still early deck-service paid to Tiësto’s rework of Delerium’s ‘Innocente’ and Glenn Morrison’s take on TasteXperience’s ‘Frustration’! Obie Fernandez’s ‘Naked’ and ‘Foreplay’ from Obie Dick (no relation on either count) gives off a distinct later-night progressive vibe. All smoked-out synths, low-riding bass and slow-fuse tension. ‘Broken Soul’ from Novacode and VADM’s ‘Space’ meanwhile stiffen the mix-stance by degrees, carving a tougher groove into ‘XI’s foothills.
‘Pure Trance XI’ bids a majestic farewell to its first hour with Solarstone & Orkidea’s (just released) ‘Slowmotion VII’ and Jamie Baggotts’ remix of Mr Sam vs Fred Baker’s achingly beautiful ‘Forever Waiting’. From there the mix departs the cooler hinterlands, subtly pivoting from the progressive-trance backfoot to a more trance-progressive front.
No coincidence then that this is where you’ll find the most concentrated seams of new Solarstone, Orkidea and close associates’ material. Cherry-picked from last year’s ‘innermost’ album, ‘dream sequence’ slipstreams into the more technotic throb of Super-Frog Saves Tokyo’s ‘Clarion’. Solarstone’s ‘Zero Hours’ and Allende’s studio-fresh remix of Rich & Tapio’s original ‘Slowmotion’ generates more of that flow, before Orkidea x’s with Sophie Moleta and Lowland on the beautifully suspended ‘Fall Into Love’.
As ‘Pure Trance XI’ passes its 2hr mix-marker, it again subtly adjusts its angle of attack, heralding classic sonics from Matt Darey’s Tekara (‘Breathe in You’) and Matti Laamanen’s mesmeric ‘Flakes’. ‘Haunt Me’, the most recent pairing between Rich & Susie Ledge, gives it a vocally-driven and emotionally charged element, while Solarstone’s ‘Energy Field’ adds more kinetic and propulsive aspects. That sharpens the mix’s forward momentum for a final time, allowing Bryan Kearney firestorm-like spin on Orkidea’s ‘Beautiful to deliver it a truly epic finale.
In electrifying form ‘XI’ launches the next phase in ‘Pure Trance’s fantastically storied, fifteen year history. It’s released on June 12 and is available for pre-save/order here[blackhole.lnk.to/puretrancexi].
Full digital and vinyl tracklist details follow.
Pure Trance Volume XI Digital Tracklist:
01. Orkidea – XP100
02. TasteXperience featuring Lisa White – Frustration (Glenn Morrison Remix)
03. Kev Wright & Jay Storic – From Beyond
04. Obie Dick – Foreplay
05. AUTOFLOWER – Wallflower
06. Hyperbolic Function – For Your Love
07. metakomplex & Orkidea – Dream of You
08. Eelke Kleijn – Lately
09. Obie Fernandez – Naked
10. Delerium – Innocente [Falling In Love] (DJ Tiësto Remix)
11. Novacode – Broken Soul
12. VADM – Space
13. Solarstone & Orkidea – Slowmotion VII
14. Mr. Sam vs. Fred Baker present As One – Forever Waiting (Jamie Baggotts Remix)
15. Pico Boulevard – Everybody’s Nobody
16. Dual 56 – Another Place
17. Summa – Awakening the Spirit (Solarstone Edit)
18. B FROM E – Amnesia
19. Jamie Baggotts & Marc West – The End
20. Solarstone & Orkidea – Slowmotion (Allende Remix)
21. Tre Turner – Scottish Piano (Close Proximity Trance Mix)
22. Solarstone – dream sequence
23. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo – Clarion
24. Trancendent – Empyrean
25. UNPAVED – Take Me Home
26. Sophie Moleta x Orkidea x Lowland – Fall Into Love
27. Andrew Shepherd – Visualization
28. Brandt Hoff – Dream About You
29. Solarstone – Zero Hours
30. Tekara featuring Lucy Cotter – Breathe in You (Tekara’s M&M Dub)
31. Allende – The Weight
32. Markus Schulz – Forgotten Element
33. Solarstone vs. Sirocco – Destination (Effen Remix)
34. Luke Terry & Chris Johnson pres. Taisaku – Fuyu
35. Micha Mendel – Future Peace (Solarstone Pure Mix)
36. SØNIN x Orkidea – Avril
37. Jonas Steur – For Eternity
38. Orkidea – Stop The Rock
39. Young Parisians featuring Ben Lost – Jump the Next Train (Omar Sherif Remix)
40. Matti Laamanen – Flakes
41. Solarstone & Susie Ledge – Haunt Me (Dub Mix)
42. Peter Steele – Moment of Truth
43. Solarstone – Energy Field
44. Orkidea – Beautiful (Bryan Kearney Rework)
Pure Trance Volume XI Vinyl Tracklist:
Side A.
01. Orkidea – XP100 (Extended Mix) (7:59)
02. VADM – Space (Extended Mix) (6:46)
Side B.
01. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo – Clarion (8:43)
02. Eelke Kleijn – Lately (Extended Mix) (6:56)
Side C.
01. Solarstone – Zero Hours (Extended Mix) (8:45)
02. SØNIN x Orkidea – Avril (Extended Mix) (6:11)
Side D.
01. Micha Mendel – Future Peace (Solarstone Pure Mix) (9:39)
02. Jonas Steur – For Eternity (Extended Mix) (5:35)
Side E.
01. Peter Steele – Moment of Truth (Extended Mix) (8:06)
02. Orkidea – Beautiful (Bryan Kearney Rework) (6:08)
Side F.
01. Solarstone – Energy Field (Extended Mix) (7:10)
02. Luke Terry & Chris Johnson present Taisaku – Fuyu (Extended Mix) (6:58)
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