Alt+F4 was signed to trance super label Anjunabeats while Avanto was released under a small finnish independent label Electric Sauna Records.

Soon Joonas started to seek for a new sound and his first solo single The Fusion, released on Andy Moor’s Ava Recordings in 2006 gained a lot of attention from trance and progressive trance jocks around the world. But it wasn’t until he got signed back to Anjunabeats, this time on their Anjunadeep imprint until he got lifted to the big league.

After releasing seven tracks in Anjunadeep it was time for Joonas to seek for new ways to distribute his music. Being closely involved with Electric Sauna, setting up a new label holding his own name wasn’t too difficult a decision. Hahmo Recodings was born.

The labels first release is understandably Joonas’ own production again showing his unique sound combining various different genres in electronic dance music.

Visit the label’s brand new website to hear the previews of the two track EP. Here’s a direct link to Brainflush / Now Or Never.

R.E.T.R.O.

Innotune aren’t known for reviewing all sorts of albums and releases from every corner of the world. When we like something – we put it in our podcast.

However, every now and then something special, different, and fresh pops up. That’s exactly what reached my ears today, and it’s called R.E.T.R.O. by the group mind.in.a.box.

It’s like everyone wants to make retro sounds these days, and then copies some supersaw stabs and arpeggios from back in the 90s. Some of it works, but it’s not what I would call proper retro. Proper retro for me is chip-music, trackers, 8-bit tracks and squeky sounds. If you know what “FT2″ means, then you know what I’m talking about. If not: Go get a history lesson in electronic music production.

Mind.in.a.box is a band consisting of two guys from Austria named Stefan Poiss and Markus Hadwiger. They originally created computer games, but decided to move into music production in 2002. Their sound isn’t exactly what you would call “2002-ish” but that’s what’s great about it! It’s full of 8-bit sounds and oldschool tracker-inspired sounds.

Their brand new album R.E.T.R.O. is just what it says: Retro. If you’re lucky enough to have access to Spotify, you can listen to it right HERE. If not, well, you’ll figure it out…

I strongly suggest you to check out the track “8-bit”, and here’s a snippet of the great lyrics – which is some of the best lyrics I’ve heard in a while:

8 bits are enough for me,
this is not where I should be.
my life is more than information,
I want a life beyond emulation.

Screenshot from "Frozen Synapse".

What would it sound like if a trance producer did a soundtrack for a video game?

Paul Taylor, better known for his trance alias nervous_testpilot and his excellent work for Subtraxx and Bonzai related labels, is also heavily involved in the gaming and game industry.

He has done the soundtrack for the upcoming indie game Frozen Synapse, which is already getting some good feedback from the gaming enthusiasts.

Frozen Synapse is a top-down simultaneous-turn-based tactical game set in the near-future.

This is what they say about the game:

The gameplay focuses on knife-edge tactical decisions: matches between opposing squads are quick, intense battles of wits rather than slow-burn strategic epics. The emphasis is on tactical competence rather than memorising unit trees or hoarding resources. We’re calling it “bite-sized hardcore strategy” because we think that sounds fantastic.

This is what the game looks and sounds like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lQQt4qc79Q

What it comes to his trance producing, check out nervous_testpilot’s latest release on Subtraxx.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImaoQETGA88

But there are some really talented people out there that do what most EDM producers and Djs can’t: Play it live with real instruments.

Check out these awesome acoustic covers of EDM tracks:

Daft Punk – Around The World (On violin & guitar)

Basement Jaxx – Red Alert (On guitar)

Binary Finary – 1998 (On guitar)

Faithless – Insomnia (Guitar & Drums, played by Jamie Archer)

Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Live band)

Justice – D.A.N.C.E (Acoustic Guitar)

The Prodigy – Breathe (Guitar, Bass, Drums)

I’m sure I’ve missed other great videos. If you got any other gems, post them in the comment field, and we’ll put ‘em in this post

The track now gets a revamp like all other tracks from ’98, and release is set to early 2010 on Flashover Recordings.

The release will include remixes from prominent guys like Laidback Luke, Guiseppe Ottavivani, Stoneface & Terminal, Koen Groenenwold, and some dude called Tiesto (whoever that is). Seems like Flashover Recordings missed the greatest remix of all time, made by “pappaschlomfin”:

Amazing!

We don’t cover hiphop, but we had to publish this cutie. After all we do write about incredible talent we stumble upon. Check out hiphoppers Dj Sara and Dj Ryusei, age five and eight. Maybe we’ll see more kids like these in the future, as a part of the Dj Hero generation.

Relation: UK synth pop.

So, everyone’s doing the 80′s nowadays. Some with melodic hints and synthy references every now and then, like Way Out West on their terrific We Love Machine album. And some adapt the complete 80′s sound. I don’t mind, I’m a sucker for 80′s synth pop.

If you are too, check out this blend of Chromeo, Depeche Mode, Human League and whatnot from the decade of high hair and shoulder pads: Relation. This is two guys from Essex, UK. They claim they make essextronica, naturally.

Try Relation at MySpace. You may also listen to Your Tiny Mind at YouTube, just be aware of the goofy music video.

Speaking of Relation and the 80′s, there’s no way around the Lifelike remix of the track mentioned above. Lifelike has done a number of retro style house remixes, and this is by far the best I’ve heard. Enjoy the video below.

Who do you think makes the best electronica inspired by the 80′s in 2009?

Check out Fredrik Ohr's latest album.

I’ve been a litte off lately due to my touring and after effect of that, marathon sleeping But anyway, this is not about me, but a very talented guy from Sweden. His name is Fredrik Ohr and he is about to release his new album called “Falling through the earth” on the Aleph Zero label.

As most of us, Fredrik has a strong background from classical music, but part from that he is a genius when it comes to putting together sounds and create a sound picture. Perhaps we have a possible new hero in true electronica on the rise?

I strongly recommend you to give his new album a listen!

You can pre-listen to the album HERE.

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fredrikohr

The list is back

The votes are in, and the Dj Mag Top 100 djs was announced a couple of days ago. Basically, it’s the same list as ever, and the Top 10 is just somewhat rearranged – some goes up, some goes down. However, there are some djs worth talking about on the list: The new entries!

The new entries on the Dj Mag Top 100 list:

Sebastian Ingrosso (25)
The highest new entry. It’s really weird that Ingrosso wasn’t on the list last year. As a higly respected member of the Swedish House Mafia, this guy really know how to make some sweet swedish house grooves.

Kaskade (51)
Ryan Raddon is the guy behind Kaskade, and he was one of the guys who cashed in on the chordy/Deadmau5 movement the last years. His last album release was a commercial hit, but it’s worth checking out tracks like “I remember”

Boyz Noize (68)
Very french-ish sound, but the guys is actually German and named Alexander Ridha. He got on a roll after the more dirty Justice-movement, but he makes it sound even better than the french guys!

Chuckie (72)
Originally a hip-hop dj that turned over to the darkside. Now producing electro house-ish stuff, and is on a roll by remixing guys like Bob Sinclar and David Guetta (Ca-ching!)

Sharam (73)
I was quite surprised to se Sharam as a new entry since he’s been in the game for quite a while. His music has quite an commercial approach (he’s the guys behind that dance-version og Daniel Bedingfield etc) and he’s riding the wave of the “club hiphop movement” that is going on at the moment.

Moonbeam (76)
Moonbeam is two young guys from Russia. Truly a fresh breath of air for all prog trance lovers (like myself). One to watch!

Marcus Scössow (79)
Marcus is one of our Innotune residents, and we’re all really proud of Marcus’ rise over the last years. He’s made a original and unique sound (which isn’t easy these days) and be sure to check out his new album. Congrats Marcus!

Super8 & Dj Tab (82)
Anjunabeats lads from Finland. Growly basslines and trancey melodies. You can’t have missed out on their releases the last 4-5 years if you’re in to fluffy trance.

Sied Van Riel (85)
Dutch trance dj (where else do they come from?) who’s been working really hard the last years putting out A LOT of releases and remixes. Great music for those bigger laser-events.

Daniel Kandi (87)
Full-on trance dj from Denmark. A Anjunabeats-guy and is true to the anjuna-sound. Arpeggios, saws and big melodies.

Myon & Shane 54 (91)
These two guys managed to put the word quality in to trance again. Chopped vocals, lots of details in their productions and lovely atmosphere in their tracks and remixes.

Antoine Clamaran (96)
Actually an old guy who’s been in to the scene for a long while. The French guys sure know their house music, and this guy is no exception. Probably got lots of votes from Russia this year as his track “Gold” was a bestseller over there.

Gui Boratto (98)
Gui is an Brazilian guy, and plays everything from house to techno. A true dj that uses a lot of new technology on his gigs. I haven’t seen him live myself, but he’s high up on my list of djs I want to experience live.

Alex Morph (99)
Alex has been involved in the trance scene for a looong while. He’s on the harder edge of trance music, and does it well.

So, 14 new entries in a list of total 100 djs. That’s a bit boring to be honest. But at least you got a list of new artists you should check out, because these artists truly are the most interesting ones on the list!

Globetrotting super producers Shane 54 and Myon are not only one of the hottest act in trance at the moment, but also very capable in creating fresh content – in video.

These Hungarian fellows recently visited Sweden and legendary party cruise Monday Bar. If you haven’t heard of Monday Bar cruises or these guys before, these videos are must to see. Otherwise… well, it’s still worth the watch. These guys are funny, as is Daniel Kandi – making a “cameo” role in this video.