Armada Music Holland

Notes: Sport grey logo t-shirt.

Review: John Dahlback was introduced to house music at the turn of the millennium by cousin Jasper Dahlback, and ever since has been a prolific producer for such labels as Dessous, Systematic, Kompakt Extra and Defected. Here, he delivers his fifth full length - his first for some eight years - for Dutch behemoth Armada Music. Where Dahlback once produced atmospheric deep house, Saga sees him delivering a set built around an altogether bolder, big room sound. Packed with ear-catching vocals, rising electronic riffs and bombastic beats, the 15 tracks sit somewhere between EDM, electro-house, trance, and the kind of ragged, in-your-face madness that used to be the preserve of Switch, Diplo and the like.

Notes: There comes a time in every high caliber recording artist's career when they reach the landmark of their first DVD release. For the 8th biggest DJ in the world, that time is now. After a 2-year production process, the start of summer 2010 saw Markus Schulz drop the curtain on his third artist album Do You Dream? Equipped with 17 new productions, he took the critically acclaimed music on a world tour, personally introducing it to 100s of 1000s of clubbers around the globe. Through 18 countries, and over a 3-month period, a documentary team captured this journey. Their directive were simple: 'shoot everything, miss nothing'... and that's exactly what they did.

The outcome of that lens odyssey is Markus Schulz: Do You Dream? The World Tour Documentary and it takes you, the viewer inside Markus' professional life for the first time. Up close and at times personal, the camera captures his thoughts pre-gig in the ready-rooms, follows him through the anticipation of the backstage tunnels and up onto the stages of electronic dance music biggest, most celebrated events. Nature One, Sunrise, Dance Valley, Tomorrowland, Pleasure Island, Future Music, they're all here, their crowd-generated electricity caught in HD. If you've been to one, you'll want to see them all! From Amnesia nights, filmed from the pulpit to tornado-hit festivals in Russia and two-gigs-in-a-day dashes across Australia, you're with him every step, jolt, rush and drumbeat of the way.

It also records Markus during rare downtime, which finds him everywhere from Vegas wedding chapels to wildlife parks in the outback. Break-of-dawn starts in home base Miami and late night, post-gig crash-outs at his European base in Berlin. The documentary also finds Markus talking frankly about the stresses and strains that 150 gigs a year places on an international DJ and talking about the revelation that touched his personal life two years ago.

Markus' travelogue exploits on the DVD are naturally soundtracked by the incredible, extraordinary Do You Dream album audio. You can see him roll out D.Y.D. floor-quakers, sometimes for the first time and see the floor reaction. Not The Same, Away, 65.4HZ, Dark Heart Waiting, Surreal, Alpha State, Unsaid are all on there and the DVD also includes the full official videos for Dark Heart Waiting, Rain, Future Cities and Do You Dream.

If you saw Markus Schulz play live anywhere in the latter part of 2010, this is the DVD you're going to want to see and own.

Review: Irishman John O'Callaghan has been one of trance music's most reliable producers for well over a decade, delivering a blend of dreamy, uplifting fare and tougher, tech-tinged outings for a variety of labels. It's for Armin Van Buuren and company's Armada label that he's done his best work, and what's showcased on this essential retrospective. Featuring a mix of original O'Callaghan productions, his remixes of other artists - including a superb rub of Van Buuren's "I'll Listen" - and a few reworks by others of his tracks, Armada Collected showcases a trance producer at the top of his game.