Who does not know this phenomenon: The music market becomes flooded with heaps of new releases every single day. Unfortunately just very few of these productions go beyond the scope of imitation and deliver cutting-edge ideas and remarkable quality. So nowadays it is more important then ever before to have certain clues for good music. Music labels act as kind of gatekeepers, filtering the masses of sound according to their music style and their ambition. In consequence the people behind the label and their taste and experience with the scene are the crucial point concerning its quality. In this respect Blue Tunes records has ideal premises: Its founders, the brothers Montagu & Golkonda, have a vast background in the Progressive Trance scene. Since its very early days in the late nineties they are involved as DJs, producers and party promoters and therefore shaped the development of this scene. In fact there are few persons that intensively connected with Progressive Trance and living their passion for music that consequently.

Since January 2006 Blue Tunes records represents the long-year experience and the diverse international contacts of its founders. And so it is always a selection of the very best, most innovative and most influential artists of the respective moment you find on the releases. On the one hand this label proves that classical Progressive Trance is still alive and still very kicking. On the other hand Blue Tunes also takes up new ideas and trends such as the ongoing influence of Minimal and Techno. So both lovers of tried and tested Progressive Trance and devotees of the new hybrid style will always find musical highlights in the label catalogue.

It’s a mixture of deep passion for the music and long-year experience with the scene and the music business that makes Blue Tunes Records special. That also makes it a reliable clue for extraordinary, sophisticated music in nowadays masses of new releases.

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A screenshot of the label’s website including this profile text is available for download here.

The nineties drew to a close when Psychedelic Trance underwent an interesting development: Track arrangements were thinning out more and more, instead of being overloaded quite some productions now focussed on single sound effects, subtle placed melodies and extensive percussive compositions. According to its breaking-new-grounds style this popular subgenre soon had an own name: Progressive Trance. Brothers Stephan and Sirko Wötanowski were enthusiastic about this sound from its very first days and this early passion should be the beginning of a very extensive musical engagement which is without equal.

It was around 2003 when the two of them already had loads of party experience both in the middle of blasting dance floors as well as behind the DJ decks and they felt the urge to transform all this energy they had collected into their own music. As a consequence they found themselves spending quite some sleepless nights with twiddling knobs and working the keyboards in their studio from now on. And soon some proper results piled up on the hard discs: Dreamy melodies and spaced-out sound effects bedded on bouncing bass lines, everything kind of tidied-up and very up-to-date. The production quality reached remarkable standards right from the beginning and the driving psychedelic pressure of the tracks reflected all the years of euphoria and experience about Progressive Trance the producers had in their back. Symphonix was born. It is not a wonder that this sound caught the spirit of the age and hit world wide dance floors like a bomb; The Symphonix brothers rapidly became very welcome artists at parties and festivals all around the globe.

The excessive touring around, the different countries with their different scenes and different people of course meant a mighty source of inspiration. Soon another change within the Progressive Trance scene became apparent: Again the track arrangements were tidied up, the amount of sounds was reduced and more and more elements of contemporary club music found their way into the productions. This process provided some refreshing new perspectives for Stephan and Sirko and they broke new grounds in the studio. Because their passion for the original Progressive Trance was still very strong they decided to found a new project as a platform for their rather clubby experiments. True Lies obtains influences from various electronic music genres: There is Progressive House, there is Electro and for sure there is a proper potion of Trance, too. But on the other hand the sound of True Lies doesn’t fit exactly into one of these genres. It could be rather described as a hybrid construct which is based on Progressive Trance and reflects the ideas of up-to-date club music. In consequence the releases can be found in the cases of DJs keen to experiment from different electronic music genres.

Both Symphonix and True Lies are the musical result of the intense and very dedicated relationship the Wötanowski brothers have with the Progressive Trance scene. No matter if you prefer the classical version of this style with loads of psychedelic bounce or if you are fond of the rather modern and clubby tunes: With these two acts you will always find reliable clues for high quality music!

Like most young people with a passion for a creative activity, also Martin Daltoft was strongly advised better to learn something “serious”: Getting a proper education would pay off much better than barricading himself in front of the computer for hours after hours and developing some worrying nerdy behaviour with symptoms like an inverted day-night rhythm and frequent complaints about strange noises from the neighbours. But against all these advices, Martin stood true to his vast passion for electronic sounds and continued pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Today it turned out that his critics had been right- but only partially! Indeed his life as a musician has not always been easy and against certain clichés he is neither surrounded by money nor by groupies or presents from all branches of the music industry. But his work added some important aspects to the contemporary Progressive scene, expanded its sound spectrum and caused lots of delightful moments for many people all around the world in this way. And last but not least he reached his very personal goal: Living his dream and being a professional musician.

While Martin’s home Scandinavia is everything but poor in talented electronic music producers, the creative exchange with his colleague Phaxe always used to be specially fertile. And so did the relationship to Leslie and Thomas, two equally heavy sound junkies, who are inseparably connected with a very important milestone in his musical development: The project Time In Motion. He actually met the two of them already at the beginning of the new century. But it was 2008 when they decided to join their creative forces and started producing together. And as turned out quickly, their synergy was remarkable mighty: Within only one year from its first release, the trio gained massive feedback from the global Progressive scene and was invited to play at some of the biggest parties and festivals around the world. A very intense and blasting experience Martin is still very, very grateful for. But his never ending urge for development, for new ideas and innovation made him brake new grounds again shortly thereafter. This very characteristic, this consequent hunt for his dream that had been criticized so often at the beginning of his musical career, should become the inspiration for the name of his new project: Vice.

Vice stands for strong, powerful sounds that sometimes might even remember Full On but actually they are much too melodic and atmospheric and though very pumping still too laid-back to be put into this drawer. Influenced both by oldschool Psy Trance and the very up-to-date and techy Nu School sounds, it is huge stereo panoramas and large reverb rooms that characterize the musical landscape of this project.

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A screenshot of the artist’s website including this biography is available for download here.

The twentieth century drew to a close when some tracks appeared that gave an interesting new spin to the flourishing Psychedelic Trance scene: Rather than piling up excessive melody layers and packed arrangements as usual at this time, the distinct psychedelic moments in the music of the project Haldolium evolved from a reduced and very considered use of sound effects and single melodies. Dark acoustic sceneries, inhabited by mysterious, weird noise figures delivered a very atmospheric, surreal and trippy listening experience and redefined the term “psychedelic”. In this manner, already the debut album “Deagua” presented by Mario Reinsch and Mark Lorenzen from Hamburg got quite some exposure in 1999. But it was one year later when the successor “H2” finally confirmed their project Haldolium to be one of the major driving forces behind a musical development that had rapidly taken off: Progressive Trance. That double CD became an epitome for this style with its already remarkable musical maturity and independency that was featured not only on the deep, groaning and organically rolling Trance part but also on the sophisticated Ambient disc that included five very complex and emotional compositions.

Rapidly becoming one of the most wanted Progressive acts during the following years, Haldolium tracks like “2nd Movement”, “Be Real” or their remix of Pink Floyd’s “One Of These Days” represent timeless anthems of this genre still being played at parties today sometimes. But the two dudes did not rest on their laurels: They consequently pursued the motto “progressive” and accordingly quite every released track and especially all the following albums represented an ongoing musical development. While experiments with vocalists, non-electronic instruments and influences from club music might be quite usual for Progressive today, the two of them did important pioneer work in this respect.

Eventually it got a little quiet around Haldolium between 2007 and 2010. During this period, the two dudes dedicated to certain other projects: Both finished their actually best productions ever and became fathers of families thereby, Mario is now engaged in programming audio plugins for ProTools and both also enjoy ordinary, non-musical hobbies like kite surfing or watching an exciting match of their favourite football club Werder Bremen again. But of course their deep passion for music had never gone entirely. In 2009, “Spring Is Far To Come“, the second album of Mario’s song-orientated downbeat project Emou, was released. And finally the two of them could not resist creating some solid dance floor music again as well. So the year 2010 kicked off with three up-to-date versions of some of their greatest bangers. These gave a delicious foretaste on what to expect from future Haldolium productions: A recollection of basic skills, the project shall become a reliable quality reference for driving, dark Progressive Trance again.

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A screenshot of the artist’s website including this biography is available for download here.

Sein musikalisches Frühstück fiel herzhaft und deftig aus: Von den Platten, die Sandro Schäufler bei ersten DJ Sets im Jahre 1998 aus seiner Kiste fischte, wummerte harter, druckvoller und ehrlicher Techno. Schnell wurde klar, dass dieser Mecklenburger Jung nicht nur über das gewisse Händchen für die richtige Scheibe zum richtigen Zeitpunkt, sondern auch über ansteckend gute Laune verfügte. Und so war sein einfühlsamer Groove bald fester Bestandteil der Tanzveranstaltungen der Region und auch Einladungen aus der Hauptstadt ließen nicht lange auf sich warten. Mit der Sturm und Drang Zeit der Jugend ebbte allmählich auch das Tempo seiner bevorzugten Musik ab und Sandro entdeckte nach und nach die freundlichen, entspannten und doch ausgesprochen anregenden Seiten elektronischer Tanzmusik. Anders als viele seiner Kollegen findet er seine Inspirationen nicht im Betondschungel der Metropole, sondern in der ausgesprochen schönen Natur seiner Mecklenburger Heimat, zu der er eine tiefe Verbundenheit besitzt. Dementsprechend kommen seine Produktionen auch auf einem ganz eigenen Groove daher, welcher sich einerseits durch aufgeräumte Klarheit und eine wohl überlegte Reduktion auf die wesentlichen Elemente kennzeichnet und andererseits stets eine Prise Humor besitzt. Dieser erfrischende Stil passte ganz wunderbar ins Repertoire des Mecklenburger Labels Acker Records, wo im Sommer 2008 Sandro Schäufler’s Debüt veröffentlicht wurde. Ein Jahr später ist er produktiv wie nie zuvor und die anregenden und bunten Früchte seiner Arbeit finden sich auf den Tonträgern von immer mehr unterschiedlichen Labels wie Simple As That Records, Superfancy Recordings oder auch Finger Tracks wieder.

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His musical breakfast was hearty and solid: It was strong, bouncing and honest Techno, that woofed from the grooves of the records, which Sandro Schäufler fished out of his case during his first DJ sets in 1998. It became rapidly apparent that this dude from the picturesque north-eastern corner of Germany had not only a knack for the right tune at the right moment, but was also kind of walking source of good mood. And so his sensitive groove soon became an essential ingredient of the parties in the region and also invitations from the capital Berlin not were long in coming. Together with the urging hormone cocktail of his youth, also the tempo of his favourite tunes subsided and Sandro bit by bit discovered the friendly, relaxed but still very inspiring aspects of electronic dance music. In opposite to many of his musician colleagues he does not find his inspiration within the city jungle, but in the remarkable beautiful nature of his home Mecklenburg, for which he still feels a strong affection. Accordingly, his productions feature a very own sound that is characterized by a cheerful clarity and a careful reduction to the essential elements on the one hand and always a pinch of humour on the other. This refreshing style fit perfectly into the roster of Acker Records, where Sandro Schäufler’s debut was released in summer 2008. One year later he is productive like never before and the colourful and tasty fruits of his labour can be found on the releases of more and more different labels like Simple As That Records, Superfancy Recordings or Finger Tracks.

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A screenshot of the artist’s website including this biography is available for download here.

Looking back on more than one decade of intense involvement in the Trance scene, Benjamin Halfmann aka Audiomatic witnessed the rich evolution of this sub culture with all its innovations, variations and all its ups and downs. Even more: During the years his project constantly gained quality and became a reference for sophisticated, high-functional Progressive Trance. Therefore Audiomatic became an integral ingredient of this scene and has shaped its musical development with his unique sounds which have been part of legendary parties and festivals all around the globe.

It all started with some powerful Heavy Metal: Benjamin Halfmann banged his head to the music of AC/DC and posters of Punk, Hardcore and Metal bands adorned the walls of his room up to the age of 15 years. Then he discovered the fascinating worlds of Psy Trance and rapidly became engaged as a DJ, first public performances followed in 1999.

But soon a strong desire to convert his creativity into own music arose, and so Audiomatic got hungry for more. His producer’s breakfast consisted of some tasty Fruity Loops and this simple production software instantly made him aware that the games on his computer were not only a waste of time, but also of hard disc space. Not even one year later his music already convinced the label management of Leviathan Music and so the track “Woodstock” became the first official release in 2002. Various contributions on different compilations followed and the year 2004 delivered the first full length Album “Multiplayer”. Together with Stefan “Magnetrixx” Lewin, who has always been a good friend and important source of inspiration for Benjamin Halfmann, the project “Audiomatrixx” was formed, gained euphoric feedback and also brought to life a studio album in 2008. The same year Audiomatic’s second album was released. And that’s still not enough productivity: As a platform for musical variation and a reaction to the recent developments in the Progressive Trance scene, Benjamin Halfmann is now also running a side project under his civic name which dedicates rather techy and clubby tunes.

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A screenshot of the artist’s website including this biography is available for download here.

It was 1999. With a proper portion of guitar music in his back, Hannes Klitta suddenly discovered a new passion: Producing electronic dance music. His sudden enthusiasm was triggered by the hypnotic crunch of that certain rocking chair: The track Schaukelstuhl perfectly represented the bouncing and extremely creative sound of the “Hamburg school”, which became a major influence. Just one year later a first Vaishiyas release hit the scene. The fact, that this one was nothing less than a full length album which was released on the renowned Progressive Trance label Jum Jam Records gave a meaningful hint about the creative potential of this artist. And so it is no surprise that Vaishiyas nowadays is regarded as a guarantor for intelligent and pushing Progressive Trance of simply highest quality.

Festivals like Boom or Universo Paralello have been important milestones in Hannes Klitta’s musical career, where the euphoric reactions of the audience blessed him with his biggest compliments. In a technical respect it has been the progressive development of software synthesizers which left its mark on him, as well as the discovery of midi guitar pickups, Ableton Live and recently the controller APC40, which has been specially designed for this program. These technologies support him to achieve his standards of an intuitive and interactive live performance that is still inspired by bands like Dream Theater.

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A screenshot of the artist’s website including this biography is available for download here.

Es war 1999. Mit einer amtlichen Portion Gitarrenmusik im Rücken entdeckte Hannes Klitta plötzlich eine neue Leidenschaft: Das Produzieren elektronischer Tanzmusik. Verantwortlich für seine jähe Begeisterung war das hypnotische Knarzen jenes gewissen Schaukelstuhl und überhaupt der druckvolle und überaus kreative Sound der gesamten „Hamburger Schule“, den dieser Track idealtypisch repräsentiert. Bereits ein Jahr später schlug die erste Vaishiyas Veröffentlichung in der Szene ein. Die Tatsache, dass es sich hierbei direkt um ein komplettes Album handelte, welches auf dem renommierten Progressive Trance Label Jum Jam erschien, bot bereits einen Hinweis auf das beachtliche kreative Potential dieses Musikers. Und so ist es nicht verwunderlich, dass Vaishiyas heute als Garant für intelligenten und treibenden Progressive Trance höchster Qualität steht.

Wichtige Meilensteine auf seinem musikalischen Weg waren für Hannes Klitta die Auftritte auf Festivals wie Boom oder Universo Paralello, auf denen ihm die euphorischen Reaktionen des Publikums die größten Komplimente bescherten. In technischer Hinsicht war es die zunehmende Entwicklung von Software Synthesizern, die ihn geprägt hat, sowie die Entdeckung von Midi Gitarren Pickups, Ableton Live und jüngst dem extra hierfür entwickelten Controller APC40. Diese Technologien helfen ihm bei Auftritten, seinem immer noch von Bands wie Dream Theater geprägten, intuitiven und interaktiven Anspruch an eine Live Performance näher zu kommen.

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Ladies and gentlemen: Come one, come all! Fantastic sensations for all of your senses expect you: Let yourself be hypnotized by the driving, hypnotic rhythms of our acoustic acrobats, put your eyes to the test with astonishing optical illusions and tickle your tongue with exotic tastes! Become an artist yourself and let yourself fall into the frisky- joyful hubbub in the ring!

Psychedelic Circus opens its gates at the last weekend in May for the already eleventh time. To be more precise, it is an extra-long weekend because from Thursday to Monday, visitors will have full four nights and four days to explore all the different attractions. And again there is quite something to discover: As already known from the past years, some of the most skilled and spectacular music jugglers have been invited to persuade the feet on the dance floor to perform artistic jumps and acrobatic step patterns. A complete announcement of all the artist names would simply extend the amount of these lines to the astronomic, but one thing shall be assured: Again it became a very exciting and entertaining mixture and the sound all together truly pays tribute to the term “Psychedelic” in the festival’s name. And so does the optical arrangement: An entirely new decoration concept has been ordered that will create the perfect background for the colourful hustle and bustle in the ring and the surrounding areas with multicoloured installations and a mind-altering lighting.

Psychedelic Circus strives for sustainable party together with mother nature, for this reason there will be a trash deposit again this year. To improve this issue even more, the separation of waste will be introduced on the festival ground.

So one may be excited for quite a spectacular summer kick-off when it goes in Psychedelic Circus: Clear the ring!

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A screenshot of the festival website is available for download here.