Happy New Year everyone! Hope that you had a wicked NYE, and also a wicked Christmas. I do hope all your dreams might come true in 2022, and that we can say 'fuck off' to COVID-19, and get back to partying again safely. But we are BACK, TCD Reviewing continues in 2022. Like we were ever going to stop? We can never stop, we always find more music we want to share with you all, and today's mix is one recorded back in 2002, a set by the mighty Dumonde, recorded at Trance Energy. This event, organised by Radio 538, MTV and ID&T, has had some mixed reviews (which you can find on certain websites), but with a line-up like you can see in the image above, how's that even possible?
DuMonde are to me legends in the Trance/Hard Trance scene. After New Year I just felt the urge to listen to something made by DuMonde. Or, if you are unaware, JamX & De Leon. A lot of the sets on Soundcloud are already listened by yours truly, but today I found a set from Trance Energy, and it contains all the records I needed to hear. The forgotten era of excellent Hard Trance music. A good choice to have them play at Trance Energy. The home of Trance music back in the early 2000s.
The line-up looked great: Astrid, Bas & Ram, Blank & Jones, DuMonde, Johan Gielen, Joop!, and Talla 2XLC. As mentioned before, this event got some mixed reviews (and some passionate comments). People weren't that much excited about the crowd or the volume. But thankfully you cannot hear that back on this recording of DuMonde's set. It's not the highest quality due to the fact that it's been broadcasted live on the radio. But that's what happened back in the days. Who remembered sitting in front of the radio, and recording sets on cassettes, and timing toilet breaks with the adverts, and making sure you would turn the cassette over when it reached the end? Good days.
This event was actually the root cause why it changed from two events per year to one, due to the event not being sold out. But surely it had nothing to do with DuMonde's set, right? If you just have a minute, check out this tracklist, and you know for sure that this was a superb set, right?
ID&T Intro
DuMonde Intro
Cygnus X - Orange Theme (Moonman Orange Juice Mix)
Signum feat Katana - Third Dimension
JamX & De Leon - Dig It! (UK Mix)
Jam X & De Leon meets Tom Wax - Louder Softer (Hennes & Cold Remix)
Dark Monks - Insane (Steve Muruano Mix)
The Freak - Addictive (Hard Mix)
Svenson & Gielen - Answer The Question (Cosmic Gate Remix)
BK - Revolution
Balthazar - Insanity (Remix)
Warrior - If You Want me (a.k.a. Drama)
JamX & De Leon - Mind Made Up
Hi-Gate - Saxuality (DuMonde Mix)
DuMonde - God Music
This is just gorgeous, isn't it? A flashback to 2002. The era of excellent Trance music. This kind of music makes me feel young again, dancing away until the break of dawn. Maybe with a few too many beverages down my neck, but hey ho, you are only a teenager for 10 years. (not saying I was drinking for 10 years though!)
This set has made me happy and sad at the same time. This distinctive sound isn't here anymore. It's gone. But the memories will stay afloat forever: Soundcloud and Mixcloud are the places to go to, if you are on a trip back in time. What also made me slightly angry and frustrated was the fact that there's someone jabbering on and on throughout the set. Like, seriously, wtf? Shut the fuck up! You've got DuMonde behind the decks, and you are just talking bollocks? Blurgh.
As said before, it was live broadcasted via Radio 538, one of the organisers of this event. And you do get the occasional radio advert, but that's not something big, or ruins the moment. It's part of the atmosphere, if you didn't purchase a ticket and had to listen from your old stereo set. The songs are really ace, and normally I would have picked my favourite to be a DuMonde song, without hesitating, but in this set their first song is a classic. Especially this version of it.
The 'Orange Theme' by Cygnus X, with the Moonman Orange Juice Mix. Just heavenly. This is Trance to me. Best song of this set.
A wonderful set, with a good atmosphere surrounding it. Extremely ruined by the person with the microphone. I know we went through a phase back in the day, but can we never get this back into practice? Keep MCs far away from dance events? Maybe Drum and Bass, Jungle, R&B, maybe even UK Hardcore, but not Trance music. Seriously, dumbest idea ever.
Besides the MC ruining the set, it was phenomenal! Worth checking out!
Act: DuMonde (a.k.a. JamX & De Leon)
Genre/Style: Trance, Hard Trance
Liveset Info: Recorded @ Trance Energy, Thialf, Heereveen 21.09.2002
Length Liveset: 01:09:35
Tracks: 13 (thirteen) + 2 intros
Download/Listen (via Soundcloud): CLICK HERE
File Size: 101,6 MB
File Type: mp3
Release Year: 2002 (Radio) 2016 (Soundcloud)
Audio: Stereo
Sample Rate: 44,1 kHz
More Information: rave_on - Soundcloud Channel