On the trance road: Romanian Trance Gathering #3 [Cluj]
September 29. Mark the date. Romanian Trance Family is partying again! Romanian Trance Gathering #3 will take place at Moonshine Pub (Cluj, Romania) starting 10 PM. Ticket price: 20 Lei (~ 4,5 euros) until 00:00 / After midnight - 30 Lei (~ 6,5 euros).
As for timetable, they chose, of course, from THE locals:
22:00 - 23:15: GUARD14 (warm-up set) / soundcloud.com/guard14
23:15 - 00:30: SkyDreamer / mixcloud.com/radu-enescu/
00:30 - 01:45: Sundancer / mixcloud.com/DJSundancer/
01:45 - 03:00: Suncatcher / soundcloud.com/bogdan-cupcea
03:00 - 04:15: Nikolauss / soundcloud.com/nikolauss
04:15 - 06:00: George Andreas b2b Exolight (after-party) / soundcloud.com/george-andreas / soundcloud.com/exolightmusic
I literally can't wait. It's been a while since the last trance party, so I need it. I know Untold was only 1 month ago, but one trance party a month is not enough. I need more and more. I am that kind of junkie.
I need to enjoy for the first time a good warm up set from Guard14, a different one from Skydreamer, to dance like there is no tomorrow on Sundancer's, to catch the vibes on Suncatcher's, to get pure goosebumps on Nikolauss's and to end a perfect night with a premiere b2b between George and Exolight.
I need all this. I need it to become myself again. To put the sorrow away again. To be happy again. Happy with nice people around me. Happy enjoying this beautiful music. Happy because some make this possible.
Who will I see there?
Kickstart the summer with Afterhills: more than 150 artists (18 trance), a ton of good music and a field full of dreamers.
Well, this it is. Afterhills is just around the corner. Only a couple of days till we kickstart this summer with 4 amazing days full of good music and beautiful people. Dreamers. 'Cuz this is the focus. Daydreaming of something perfect, night dreaming of goosebumps. They just announced the full line up and it is insane.
From the trance point of view we have a pretty interesting list and I want to see all the names:
1. Vini Vici (I really like the sets I enjoyed till now, looking forward for a new one)
2. David Gravell (I am a huge fan of him, not matter if he is on the right side of trance music or not, as some would say. I am in love with some of his reworks and I am sure I will enjoy his set 110%)
3. Blastoyz (Crazy craziness since I first heard of him. Really really good with what is he doing)
4. Aly & Fila (You cannot say trance without saying Aly & Fila too)
5. Sander Van Doorn (Happy he got back to trance music with his Purple Haze name and looking forward to see what he has prepared for Afterhills)
6. KhoMa (Never seen him playing. Want to experience the end of a great day with him behind the decks)
7. Paul Van Dyk (Paul is my first music crush, and nothing can stay between me and him when he is playing at an event I am attending)
8. Cosmic Gate (Music crush! Music crush alert! )
9. Ben Nicky (I've seen a lot of comments regarding his sets lately, I want to see it for myself too)
10. Bogdan Vix (Pillar fo the Romanian Trance Community. Do I have to say more?)
11. Above & Beyond (They had one hell of a set at Timeshift last year, looking forward for the magic again)
12. Andrew Rayel (I have a lot of good memories from his sets, looking forward to see what else he is doing right now)
13. George Andreas (This little one, the youngest of the Romanian Trance Family's DJ is doing a great job behind the decks)
14. Exolight (One of the hottest names in the trance industry right now)
15. Nikolauss (My forever music crush. My forever life crush. I know a little bit of how is set is going on, looking forward to hear it live!)
16. Suncatcher (Great music man. Amazing DJ and trance producer. )
17. Sundancer (Friend. Never disappoints behind the decks)
17. Starpicker (Friend. Wine buddy. Music buddy. I am sure I will get to hear a lot of pure music in his set!)
I want to see them all. But I need to find out how cloning works first. Because the timetable was announced, and a lot of trance acts are happening in the same time between the Mainstage and The Shed stage. See the rest of the timetable here: facebook.com/afterhillsfestival/posts/2043181182604702 .
I am not sure what am I going to do, I am not sure who I will end up to see, but I am sure I will have the time of my life at Afterhills. Because the team is great, the event is great and the people are awesome. The music will perfectly complete the vibe. The friends will be there. Happiness will happen there.
Looking forward to see old friends, to meet new people and enjoy 4 full days of complete madness. See you there!
More details are on their Facebook page. Check it out!
Also, give a follow to their blog too. A lot if trips and tricks, a lot of interesting things are said there. Be sure you won't be loosing any of it!
Romanian Trance Gathering #1 - the beginnings of a fairytale
Romanian Trance Family is something trending right now for the Romanian Trance Community and not only. The Romanian Trance Family is finally something a bit more tangible than just a Facebook group with endless posts. The Romanian Trance Family is the reborn of a community we all thought lost, after the last events.
I discovered the Fb group randomly while looking for something and I was intrigued by it. The first question that crossed my mind was: is this another group, or will this turn into something better? Something that will support the music, something that will support the local artist, something that will forget about all the egos and fight for what makes us happy? I got involved. Of course. Cuz' that's who I am. That's what I do. I want to be involved and help anyway I can something that looks promising and also supporting the music that keeps me alive.
And then, the first official event happened. After weeks of planning and talking about it, I finally went to Bucharest and enjoyed a night full of trance and cool people. This event was special for me for many reasons. I got see some very close friends again, Nikolauss had a b2b set with Starpicker, that was out of this world and I got to enjoy trance for more than 8 hours a night.
The line-up sounded quite nice and interesting: Skydreamer (warm-up set), Sundancer, Exolight, Bogdan Vix, Nikolauss b2b Starpicker, George Andreas and Alkalin. I knew from the start that I will hear good music, but I didn't expect to see 8 people doing such a great job behind the decks.
Skydreamer built the energy up and prepared very well the start for the night. Soft, and emotional. Sundancer did what he knows best: to bring us the best in trance and uplifting with his set. Playing Loneliest Night from Giuseppe Ottaviani was a highlight for me and one of the tracks I remember from the set. You know me: when the set is so good, I just lose myself through music. I do not remember much, but the goosebumps and the happiness I enjoy on the dancefloor.
It was the first time I saw Exolight behind the decks, and I sooo enjoyed what I saw. And what I heard. And experienced. The man looks like he was made for this. So natural, so close to the public and so entertaining. He chose very good his tracks and of course it got me goosebumps from head to toe when he played Footprints on the Moon. The track is so special to me, because of all the memories that it brought back and still feel like I cannot find the right words to describe it. Bogdan Vix had a different set, but different is good sometimes. I got the chance to jump around and lose my voice singing along.
The only B2B set of the night, the most special moment for me, the set of Nikolauss and Starpicker was, obviously, my favorite. Not only because I support the guys with everything they do, but because they worked so good together. I must admit I was a bit (a loooot) nervous about how this will happen, but the guys surprised me. Even though they had a small technical difficulty in the beginning, they surpassed it and din one hell of a job. I lost myself and I found myself in the same time. I knew what they had prepared as in tracks, but I was surprised by the combination these 2 did. The combined very nice the melodic part of trance with the darker, harder more energetic one. Without doubt, this is my favorite moment of the night and I will keep it closely to my heart for a very long time from now on.
George Andreas, the youngest DJ from the team did great too. I knew he was nervous about the set, but he did a very good job. Picked us up right from were Nikolauss and Starpicker left us and build it to the top! He also played Poseidon, one of my all time favorites, so I am grateful for that too. That shows he listens to the audience and cares about some's preferences. That is a good choice and it will help him in the future. A bright future awaits him and he should not stop working to get there.
I saw for the first time Alkalin playing. And I got the honour to experience a vinyl set from him. That is a 2 in 1 happiness. He clearly knows what he's doing, being a veteran in the industry. Some very nice classics made the night complete. Also, hearing Burned with Desire from Armin van buuren and Justine Suissa made me smile and lose the already lost voice by singing along. This is another track with memories, so I couldn't stay away.
Radio DEEA and Trance Energy Radio were also media partners at the even, together with Trancers.ro and they did an amazing job broadcasting the party, both video on Facebook and audio on the radio. You can check for yourself all the sets here and here.
Overall the party was great. Overall the people were happy. I am happy the party happened. I am happy we finally got the see equal chances to all the artists from the Romanian Trance scene. I am happy I got to experience another trance night and enjoy it. I am happy. But I am also a perfectionist and I just hope that all the feedback I gave got the ears of those who'd listen. To those who'd use it to make things better.
The team looks nice and interesting. Challenging to work with, but I like a good challenge. I like working alongside motivated people and I am looking forward to see what else they have prepared. What else they have in plan for the community and how will they make trance strong again. I know our paths will cross a lot. And maybe soon you'll get to see a part of it. Or maybe not. :)
The future is bright, and we can make it even brighter. By working together, and leaving the egos aside. By focusing on what matters and that's MUSIC. The joy it brings. The goosebumps it gives. The artists behind it and their work. Supporting each and one of them. Supporting the fans. Supporting their dreams and considering their opinions. There is no real community without fans, nor artists, nor passionate and determined people. There is some magic, but we just need to find it and use it properly to make this fairytale come true.
