John Askew - Shine [2014]

[dmgtz96]

An Askew favorite. Normally Askew doesn't produce something like this; his style generally focused on edgy tech-trance without much melody or variation in the bass.*
Shine throws all that away and instead feels happy and carefree. Even though its concept is not fully original (it is a 138 BPM banger, after all), it remains one of the most memorable trance tracks from 2014, and it's certainly worth revisiting six years later.

I am honestly surprised he hasn't produced many more like this since then. I think the closest is Through the Looking Glass.


*With a few exceptions, like Blackout

 

[Gijs]

Yes, one of Askew's best tracks without doubt. The only this I really dislike about it is that the bass is a bit too rough, it sounds to me like it's clipping in the drop because of that.

 

[dmgtz96]

I don't have much background in mastering, but I always felt that this track was EQ'd all the way up. I think the released masters are just incredibly loud for some reason.

 

[chreddy]

I've liked many of John Askew's productions for some years now, and this is definitely one that stands out. Great one!
At times I just wish he did a few more tracks like this (doesn't have to be many, as I also like his more techy style a lot).

 

[Archon]

With the exception of the melody and that riff in the intro, the rest of the track is really uncreative and pretty stale. A proper producer could do so much more with this.

But that melody and that riff are what makes it good, and you can't just go past that.

 

[dmgtz96]

Yeah, I don't think he meant to push the boundaries of the genre as a whole, but it was a very nice track.
Around 2012-2013 many tech-trance tracks straight-up didn't have climaxes or were boring, so Shine was a welcome change.