Siskin’s, ‘We Are Siskin’ might go down as a decent longplaying debut; one without a vocal, lyric, arrangement or note even remotely out of place and that’s entirely due to the artistic connection shared by Sue McLaren and Suzanne Chesterton. It’s one that saw them define their sound with their very first release and then emphasise it with every one that’s followed!
The last few years have seen a significant flurry of activity from the Activa camp, made all the more notable as it followed a period of pause for Rob Stevenson. His next restorative action is ‘Movement (V. 01)’ - a set of discs and mixes constructed in trance and progressive’s original ‘building’ manner.
Promising much at this year’s outset, Christina Novelli delivered with her Paul Oakenfold and Richard Durand team-ups. However, it’s the English singer/songwriter’s new solo standalone material that’s possibly garnered the greatest fire. That reaches its first summation now, as she completes her ‘Heavy EP’ with ‘Memories’.
After a run of 2022 releases on his own Higher Ground imprint, Craig Connelly’s been spreading the label love farther afield this year. Respectively, Kearnage and Subculture received ‘Spicy Broth’ and ‘Excelsior’, while - in its Giuseppe Ottaviani remix form, Black Hole the label brought back ‘Black Hole’ the track.
Progressive didn’t give birth to the mix-comp, but through the likes of ‘Northern Exposure’ and ‘Global Underground’, it did elevate it to a higher form. With its album series, it is to these heights that Solarstone’s Pure Progressive aspires. In order to reach them however, radical approaches have been required!
The depth of Emma Hewitt’s artistry is on full display as she returns in the roles of singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and co-producer on her new album, ‘Ghost Of The Light’. Involved in every step of the creation from co-writing all songs and playing a multitude of instruments on the record, right through to taking the co-production reins and shooting her own music videos, Emma has been singularly focused with every aspect of bringing her creative vision to life.
‘Beside You’, Somna debut artist LP, arrived in spring 2020, fully equipped with all the elements necessary to ensure the artist’s big leap forward. Tour-ready and near enough bags-packed, Benjamin was set to take the album to all the places he’d designed it to rock. Unfortunately, something else arrived in the spring of 2020, and that threw a mighty spanner in the DJ/producer’s works.
Since last summer’s ‘Into My Arms’, Emma Hewitt’s been on a consistent singles trip, working collaborations with a growing number of electronic music artists. X’ing with Markus Schulz, Richard Durand, Ben Nicky, Orjan Nilsen and others, her mind’s been focussed on enhancing the artistic process, aiming to blur the line between original and remix.
Cosmic Gate seem to have been on a vocal release streak over the last 12 months, with ‘Hear Me Out’, ‘We Got The Fire’, ‘Follow You Anywhere’, ‘Emotions Of Colour’, et al, all shaping the sound of ‘MOSAIIK’. This feeling grows higher now as Nic & Bossi delve back into ‘Chapter Two’s tracklist, to release ‘Mirador’.
RAM gets set to drop his second album, ‘Wanderlust’, this month. Over a spectrum of references, ranging from the super-subtle to the all-out overt, the release is the follow up to his 2015 debut ‘Forever Love’ and celebrates the travelling aspect of DJ culture to its fullest degree.