This one will make you believe in Trance again. How beautiful.
If you live and breathe Trance, or know its history a little bit, seeing those two names together might have sent goosebumps all through your body. I say it because it happened to me when I first read it. Darren Tate and Solarstone are no ordinary artists, for they have been at the forefront of the genre since, basically forever. ‘Destination‘? Darren. ‘Solarcoaster‘? Solarstone. ‘Let The Light Shine In‘? It’s Darren. ‘Seven Cities‘? Rich. The more you look back, the more of them you’ll find.
Having contributed heavily to the sound of Trance through time, they’ve become authors of the most iconic pieces of music. And, as of today, both producers are not only still actively making music, but also have their own imprints, to give other producers a place where they can show their art and, in a way, taking the role of keeping the genre alive: Mondo Records is Tate’s label, while Rich owns the family of brands of Pure Trance.
‘A Long Way From Home’
Well, to put it simply, these two legends have collaborated for the first time ever on a beautiful, beautiful composition titled ‘A Long Way From Home‘. Featuring nostalgic vocal lines from vocalist Julie Scott, this release found a home in no other than Above & Beyond’s record label, Anjunabeats. And, let me tell you, us who live and breathe Trance, we are over the moon to see a release like this on Anjuna.
It’s an incredible piece. Few tracks in today’s era really, truly carry the spirit of Trance in a way as deep as Darren and Rich’s project. You can hear core elements of both artists poured in here so seamlessly, all while sending you on a cosmic journey. Between this, GVN‘s just released ‘Thinking About You‘ and Above & Beyond’s ‘Crazy Love’, seems like the future is B-R-I-G-H-T. I hadn’t felt like this about Trance in a while.
The Tracks
Tracks? Yes. With an “s”. Because ‘A Long Way From Home’ is a two-part release, one which takes the essence of the arrangement and plays with it in two different ways, namely, the Straight From DAT Mix, and the Timeless Mix. The first one is a Breakbeat masterpiece, reminiscing of those golden ages. The second one, my personal favourite, is a very, very special four-on-the-floor tune. Choon, if you will. Tony McGuinness making the “T” sign with his hands kind of choon.
The contents of the tracks themselves are quite similar aside from the percussion and other details. So, let me tell you what hit the most for me when listening. I’ll use the Timeless Mix as my starting point. Long, filtered vocal beds, warm chords, heart-melting pads, a very nostalgic flute (this one sold me on the track upon first listen), a sort of plucked strumming instrument, a variety of Rich-picked melodic elements panned all around the spectrum, and Julie’s heartfelt vocals. And even with this description, I’m still not happy, for what I’ve written doesn’t live up to the song.
Final Words
I’m just going to leave this line of text right here, in case you need further motivation: the Timeless Mix made me cry the first time I listened to it, and the second, and the third, and the fourth. Quite a moving work of art, this is.
Please, do me a favour, put on your best set of headphones, and click the ‘Play’ button on the Spotify link we’ve attached below to listen to ‘A Long Way From Home‘, the first-ever work of Darren Tate, Solarstone and Julie Scott all coming together. Also, click here to support the release on your platform of choice. And stay tuned to our site for the latest news and views regarding our beloved Dance industry.