I discovered my passion for dance music at a low-point in my life. When everything else felt so wrong, losing myself in sound, dancing felt right. It was cathartic. It was healing. I haven't always had the healthiest methods of dealing with my emotions, but dancing and music gave me an outlet for that.

I picked up DJ mixing as a hobby during the pandemic, a way to fill the void left by the shuttering of clubs. For me, this mix represents those nights on the dance floor when I was seeking a temporary escape; connecting with strangers through a shared experience. Music and dance feel like one of the ways that humans got things right, and I have often been able to see the beauty of life most clearly in the darkness of a club.

Find the tracks here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4V3ym9MLKUIm6HQquEf1KW?si=689b5d708398476d

Luke Brancaccio
"Silvia's Calling"

Tokyo Fan Club
"Horses (Echonomist Remix)"

Khen
"Levantine"

Ormus
"Kyrios - RPO Remix"

Something Else
"Breathe - MPathy Remix"

The Ambush
"Everlast - Oliver Lieb Remix 2"

Max Averbach
"Late Night Return - F-Act's Natural Progression Remix"

Ruben Karapetyan
"Evening in Yerevan - Jerome Isma-Ae Remix"

Ricardo Piedra
"Over the Lake - East Cafe Remix"

Audio Noir
"Revelation - Gai Barone Vox On Wax Remix"

Chaim
"In Trance We Trust"

Rinzen
"The Alchemist"

Luke Brancaccio
"Silvia's Calling (Artche Remix)"

Maryer
"Acid Chant - Dub"

Tim French
"Kamino Static - Qoob Remix"

Alex Morelli
"Sleeping Sun"

Standard Form
"Emeralds Above You - Extended Mix"

The Stupid Experts
"Anomaly"

Subtara
"Trancentral Journey - Original Mix"

Citizen Kain
"Pablo"

Liam Sieker
"Dwaal - Ursarix Remix"

Senses Of Mind
"Becoming One"

Astral Base
"At Dawn - Nomas Remix"

Nightsteppaz
"God Was In The Speakers - Nick Devon Remix"

Kamilo Sanclemente
"Atlantis Lights - Nichols Remix"

Ari Sakeson
"Lyra - Alfonso Muchacho Remix"

Oliver Prime
"Water Rise - Take 2"

Hidden Vibes
"The Rainbow Rabbit"

Relaunch
"Behind My Mind"

Alfonso Muchacho
"She's Real"

21street
"Arya - Extended Mix"

Alfonso Muchacho
"Saw Subject"

Parallel Universe
"Espiral - D-Nox Remix"

Relaunch
"Reconnect"

Rick Pier O'Neil
"Haurun - Nomas Remix"

Ormus
"Analemma - Mindskap Remix"

Binaryh
"Icarus"

DJ Dextro
"T Minus Zero"

Gordey Tsukanov
"One Day at Homeland - Original Mix"

Facade
"The One True Morty"

Intacto
"Monument - Basil O'Glue Remix"

Sian
"I Will Wait For You"

AKKI (DE)
"Loneliness - Original Mix"

Gundamea
"The Upside Down - Extended Club Mix"

MOGUAI
"DT64"

John 00 Fleming
"Looking Back. To Look Forward. - Original Mix"

Binaryh
"Other Side"

Nomas
"Lost in You"

Luca Marchese
"Brainporting - Original Mix"

Oliver Prime
"Hello World - Take 3"

HighGo
"M8 Runner - Moxa's Techno Trance Mix"

Orkidea
"Z21 - Activa's Origins Extended Mix"

Sisko Electrofanatik
"Solar Rock"

One Man Army
"Ballroom Dancer"

3runo Kaufmann
"Raised In The 90s"

Coredata
"Shagohod - Narel Remix"

Wehbba
"Inertia"

Charlotte de Witte
"Ahimsa"

Jones & Stephenson
"The First Rebirth - Remastered John 00 Fleming Remix"

Freedom Fighters
"Aura"

A Thousand Cuts

Supersex (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series)

Club 106

1994 - Cannes

Soft Porn Shoot

I've heard the era of trance from 1994 to 2004 described as the golden age of trance by some and the death of trance by others. Often "classic trance" gets lumped in with the eurodance popular on dancefloors in the late 1990s. In addition to that, it was this era that gave rise to the anthem sound that came to be known as uplifting trance or simply uplifting. 

In my search for trance from this period, I found far more amazing tunes than I could ever play in just one mix. By my standards, this is a short one--a nearly 3-hour peak-time mix, I hope you enjoy it.

Uplifting Era

Hey everyone,

After a 2 month hiatus, I am back with another banging mix of pure underground trance music. This mix flows from a dark and deep beginning to a lighter and melodic middle and ending with a banging hard finish. Please take a look at my bandcamp collection for the tracks and follow the artists on their respective socials.

Tracklist:
1. Ekkel - Snegla
2. Transki X Vergil - Gotenks
3. Immateriae - G Mysterion
4. Mikkel Rev - Common Ground
5 Alpha Tracks - February (DINA Remix)
6. Alpha Tracks - January (Oprofessionell's De-Orbit Mix)
7. Enigma State - State of Mind
8. AlpenX - Kid On The Bus
9. Uncharted Territory - Odyssey
10. Neri J - Sky Eater

IN10CT MIX | 011

INTERVIEW: https://www.ayli-sf.com/2024/04/16/ayli-ground-level-17-ken-vulsion/

As You Like It Ground Level

AYLI Ground Level 017: Ken Vulsion

Starting a new project with the mission of delivering a pure experience of groovy music from underground dance music producers on a monthly basis. This first mix is a representation of the style of trance that most resonates with me and where I currently am in my musical journey.  

*****Track list*****
1. Liso - Flight Of The Duduk [Mystic Research]
2. Mick Gristle & Hasvat Informant - Swordbox (Omformer Remix)[Headnoiz]
3. Oprofessionell - Chemical Attraction [Ute.rec]
4. Mikkel Rev - Ocean X [AIRWAYS]
5. Alpha Tracks - Secrets [KNTXT - RPM]
6. Intuition (Aeryeen -/- Immateriae) - Arcana 17 [Slash]
7. Intuition (Aeryeen -/- Immateriae) - Godspeed [Sextosentido]
8. Dold - Colliding Worlds (Marilao 'Moon' Mix) [Blue Hour]
9. Afgang - Uendelig [self release]
10. Matriark - Virvle [self release]
11. Komet99 - Signal Point [Mystic Research]

Tranzekno presents Pure Grooves 01

Without a North Star, it’s easy to lose yourself. Principle isn’t always compatible with popularity. And, so sometimes a choice must be made. By the early 2010s, the trance scene had largely chosen to chase fads and in doing so, had lost itself. In trying to remain relevant in a fickle world, the scene had forgotten Trance music’s original ethos. There were no guiding principles, no North Star. 

The scene had largely moved on to a Big Room EDM sound, but trance music continued.  By this time, it could mostly be found hiding in psytrance and techno; timeless and relevant, unbound by external expectation, ever true to the hypnotic sound that gave it meaning and purpose.

Tracklist
Cobalt (Original Mix) - 		       H.U.V.A. Network
165 Earth Years (Original Mix) -   Daniel Lesden
When Less Is More - 			Lost Shaman
Transparent People - 			Mindwave
Black Arrow - 				Solar Fields
Morning Breeze - 				Vibrasphere
Masa Chante 6.0 (Original Mix) -Dan Ascheri
Redshift - 					Allaby
Spectral Nation - 				Solar Fields
Brainbow - 					Solar Fields
Zero Tonic Passion			Human Blue
Arise						Alpha Tracks
PSST						Oprofessionell
Delerium						Artifact303
Dessert Desert				Human Blue
The Source 					JaraLuca
Phoenix						Dimension 5
Midian (Astral Projection Remix)	Blue Planet Corporation
Halcyon Days				Lund & Ronde, Dimensionhopper
The Lost Woods				DJ Reiz, Tonni 3000, hllw, sebsy
Mugen (Astral Projection RMX) 	Prana
Trancemission (Original Mix) 	Artifact303
Bloom 						Mikkel Rev

Ever True: The EDM Era

Elevate Session 3 is a melodic techno / progressive house set with main stage / big room energy that will move your body and elevate your spirit.

Free Download

ELEVATE (Session 3)

This month we continue to delve deeper into the realm of raw, deep, and hypnotic trance sound, with music from Impulsive Force, Bliss Inc, Mikkel Rev, Cybernet, DJ Ali, Plaza, Oprofessionell, Cadence, Omformer, and more. Enjoy!

🎙️ About the show:
Rave Podcast is a monthly music radio show, hosted since 2011 by Daniel Lesden, an internationally recognised DJ, producer, label manager at JOOF Recordings, and music curator at Beatport, based in the UK. The show unveils his latest discoveries and finest selections from the world of underground electronic music and has over half a million downloads on Apple Podcasts.

Rave Podcast is broadcast on the second Friday of every month on Digitally Imported radio and is also available on Patreon, Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Mixcloud.

❤️ Support the show:
Subscribe on www.patreon.com/daniellesden to enjoy the podcast in the highest audio quality, gain access to our community chat, listen to the exclusive 'Ask Me Anything' bonus series, download my entire music archive, and have more perks!

👋 Connect with Daniel:
ravepodcast.com
daniellesden.com
dsokolovskiy.com

🎵 Tracklisting:
00:00 NeV-r, WorkForJoy – Dance Science (Original Mix) [Lightspeed]
05:25 Impulsive Force – Banal Orekanal (Original Mix) [Anatta] 
09:10 Germain CLS – Zeit (Bliss Inc Remix) [DLZ Records] 
12:37 Dold – Horizon (Mikkel Rev Motion Mix) [Blue Hour]
16:49 Oprofessionell – Longing (Heavenly Bongo Mix) [UTE] 
21:45 Close Proximity – Want U (Cybernet's Acid Remix) [Volition] 
26:41 Oprofessionell – Elektrisk (Original Mix) [UTE] 
32:01 DJ Ali – Jungle Dream (Original Mix) [Secta] 
35:58 Faster Horses – Across The Kuiper Belt (Original Mix) [Method 808] 
40:44 Nordic Echoes – Aurora Fantasy (Original Mix) [Unique Sound Records] 
45:08 Immateri – Gamma (Plaza Remix) [Space Trax] 
50:02 Cadence – Humanizer (Original Mix) [Curiosity Pill] 
53:27 Omformer – Point Of No Return (Original Mix) [UTE]

Support on Patreon

Rave Podcast 158 (March 2025)

“Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time.”

DJing is my Hobby, trance is my passion. The allure of trance, often unfairly associated with big room EDM, captivated me. When trance is done well, the sounds cast an hypnotic spell.

I discovered my passion for dance music at a low-point in my life. When everything else felt so wrong, losing myself in sound, dancing—often with tears in my eyes—felt right. It was cathartic. It was healing. My journey into DJing began as a pandemic-inspired hobby, serving as my lifeline to electronic music and the rave scene following the shuttering of clubs. 

The DJ as a curator, guardian, and gatekeeper is also a gateway. They have to navigate the vast sea of music to introduce the audience to music that resonates with them and take them on a musical journey; shaping the sonic landscape around them.

Gatekeeping isn’t about stifling diversity, discouraging exploration, or creating unwelcoming environments. Music is art in its purest form; it is a realm for creativity, experimentation, and joy. I try to promote music that prioritizes artistic sincerity over commercial considerations; music that celebrates individuality rather than conforming to fleeting fads and trends, all while maintaining the true ethos of trance to hypnotize and en-trance the listener. Music is always evolving, but the best of it is timeless. 

I make mixes that I want to hear, but I welcome you to join me on this journey through trance. There’s a whole world of music out there waiting to be explored. I hope that my limited skills as a DJ don’t detract from the beauty of the music I share. Trance is not a BPM and I treat my mixes that way, often start deep and work up to 140 BPM or more, usually several hours long to develop a proper journey through sound.

Take care,

Justin

Uplifting Era

Gatekeeper

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