OUT The Digital Blonde - N3ON [JOOF Recordings]

[Electronlyman]

Indeed fantastic!! The full album is way over 1 hour
So we have heard maybe 70% at most, but man it was good!

 

[Progrez]

How is it?

https://soundcloud.com/john00fleming%2Fjohn-00-fleming-joof-radio-022

 

[Sleepy Robot]

Fantastic mix. Can't wait for the full album.

 

[Electronlyman]

"well you all had quite a big blast of N3ON last night so just thought i would say a few words about it …. im not going to go on about thr crazy dark times we’ve just gone thru but this album has been written over the last 2 years thru it the thing with being a producer or any sort of artist is letting people see or hear what is inside your head this album has really been a roller coaster ride thru bad times and good times dark places a light places happiness and depression excitement and anxiety all this stuff thats been in my head recorded on over 2 hours of audio plus having a studio and doing this stuff is a way of creating your own worlds when the real one is looking bad i have to thank my kids and my family for there support especially my wife jo she knows my musical moods more than anybody if im happy a track is working if im sad its not. if im loud im working if im quiet im thinking then as soon as music is finished im quiet again becuse im thinking its not good enough is it a failure i know that most producers must go thru this. last night has gave me the lift i needed joof always gives me kind words and support on all the tracks i do. but last night just felt different he really did praise this new album and explained what it stood for thank you john! and then to top it off the coments you guys have been leaving on the soundcloud page are UNREAL thank you i said this was the last album but how can it be now i think neon is here forever and lets hope a few club promoters enjoy it to hopefully around the world so i can and do some neon dj sets for you so thank you again for supporting me.

the digital blonde monday is nearly hear and i hope you all have a great journey with N3ON.

"

 

[Enlusion]

Had a listen to the early copy of the album yesterday, it's phenomenal. Just go and pre-order it on Beatport, it's a no-brainer.

 

[Archon]

"well you all had quite a big blast of N3ON last night so just thought i would say a few words about it …. im not going to go on about thr crazy dark times we’ve just gone thru but this album has been written over the last 2 years thru it the thing with being a producer or any sort of artist is letting people see or hear what is inside your head this album has really been a roller coaster ride thru bad times and good times dark places a light places happiness and depression excitement and anxiety all this stuff thats been in my head recorded on over 2 hours of audio plus having a studio and doing this stuff is a way of creating your own worlds when the real one is looking bad i have to thank my kids and my family for there support especially my wife jo she knows my musical moods more than anybody if im happy a track is working if im sad its not. if im loud im working if im quiet im thinking then as soon as music is finished im quiet again becuse im thinking its not good enough is it a failure i know that most producers must go thru this. last night has gave me the lift i needed joof always gives me kind words and support on all the tracks i do. but last night just felt different he really did praise this new album and explained what it stood for thank you john! and then to top it off the coments you guys have been leaving on the soundcloud page are UNREAL thank you i said this was the last album but how can it be now i think neon is here forever and lets hope a few club promoters enjoy it to hopefully around the world so i can and do some neon dj sets for you so thank you again for supporting me.

the digital blonde monday is nearly hear and i hope you all have a great journey with N3ON.

"

This guy's sentences are like his beats. Just go on and on and on and on... Ever heard of punctuation?

In any case, might give it a chance but I didn't like the first one at all so not sure if I'll even like this one. Just not for me. Long, endless, loud, static beats with a bit of sound design somewhere in the middle. And that for the full 2 hours. Remember literally having a headache and ear fatigue in the 2nd half of the album. But I know a lot of TF demographic liked it, which is rare, so maybe it deserves a quick listen at least.

 

[Electronlyman]

This guy's sentences are like his beats. Just go on and on and on and on... Ever heard of punctuation?

In any case, might give it a chance but I didn't like the first one at all so not sure if I'll even like this one. Just not for me. Long, endless, loud, static beats with a bit of sound design somewhere in the middle. And that for the full 2 hours. Remember literally having a headache and ear fatigue in the 2nd half of the album. But I know a lot of TF demographic liked it, which is rare, so maybe it deserves a quick listen at least.

I don't like the first NEON as well. Did enjoy the second one though - worth a listen for sure, if you haven't yet
Based on what I heard from the new one, it's by far the best and most fun to listen of all three.
I'm genuinely excited for its release!

 

[Sleepy Robot]

This guy's sentences are like his beats. Just go on and on and on and on... Ever heard of punctuation?

In any case, might give it a chance but I didn't like the first one at all so not sure if I'll even like this one. Just not for me. Long, endless, loud, static beats with a bit of sound design somewhere in the middle. And that for the full 2 hours. Remember literally having a headache and ear fatigue in the 2nd half of the album. But I know a lot of TF demographic liked it, which is rare, so maybe it deserves a quick listen at least.

There's a big difference between 1 and 2 imo, i think 2 flows better then one as an album.
Although most tracks are longer on 2 with some big intro's so not sure if you would like that.
Give it a spin or just choose a random track to get started.

 

[Uplifted]

Over the past three decades The Digital Blonde has created a cult following, his now legendary 90's hit 'Legato' cemented this journey and from then on he's been delivering a sound that can only be described as his own. Over the years he's stayed true to his take on the Trance world, along with his obsession with synthesizers, we now see this in the third series of his new album 'NEON'. It's a nod back to the 80's synth world where he ground his teeth as a producer, made music with that 80's synth ethos, but with a forward thinking dusting of the Blonde sound that projects it into the future.

Here's a few words from the man himself:

Writing Neon 3 has been a huge challenge for me, as I know the impact the last 2 albums have had on people. So trying to keep the feeling going for the third album was a scary decision to make, it's hard to put into words how much heart and soul goes into these albums, not just because of the music but because of the visions I had with these tracks and trying to bring it all to life so I can share these experiences with people. It's about putting everything I have ever learnt over the last 33 years of writing music with synthesizers and creating a magical fantasy journey. These albums are created so you can mix them in different ways to create different experiences. I truly believe that this is what the spirit of real Trance music is.

'The fade to grey' remake is very special to me, you see all my life I have wanted to remake this but have never felt confident enough to do so. 'Fade to grey' was the first track that opened the synthesizer world up for me many years ago, so my main challenge with this mix was to show the original, with the respect it deserves , and to keep the original feel and vibe of it.

Every track on Neon 3 has it's own story of how it was born, its' a very dark journey this time round but with some nice uplifting sections. There's a lot of futuristic storytelling , the visions and journeys your mind can take you on when listening to these Neon albums are endless, they're actually more like audio movies!

This will be the last Neon album, making the trilogy complete, I hope they have and will take you onto some amazing journeys. I also must add all the hard work, imagination and creativity that has gone into the artwork for all 3 albums has been nothing short of pure genius, so thank you to the great artist Dragomir Bojkilov. I hope you enjoy the brilliance of his artwork as much as I do.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this album as much as I have done making it. These albums have been a crazy roller coaster ride to bring to life, but so worth it.

So once again it's seat belts fastened we're off on another and final Neon adventure.

Pre-order link: N3ON from JOOF Recordings on Beatport

 

[Magdelayna]

Just flicked through the BP samples of all the tracks - this album seems a lot more 'trancey' and 'spacey' than the first Neon album,hes gone away from the 80's synthwave sound - but i thought that was the concept of Neon in the first place? There seems to be some gems on this new album from first listen - some really nice entrancing melodies there.

Age Of Confusion,Magic Fly,Only You were standouts,but i need to hear the full versions of the others.

 

[Electronlyman]

Just flicked through the BP samples of all the tracks - this album seems a lot more 'trancey' and 'spacey' than the first Neon album,hes gone away from the 80's synthwave sound - but i thought that was the concept of Neon in the first place? There seems to be some gems on this new album from first listen - some really nice entrancing melodies there.

Age Of Confusion,Magic Fly,Only You were standouts,but i need to hear the full versions of the others.

Agree on the more Trancey and spacey bit, but wouldn't at all say that he's gone away from 80s Synthwave.
There's still a sizey chunk of that in the album!

This album picks up from where the second NEON album was placed style wise and dives into more, spacey vibes.
It goes deeper, feels very immersive and fun to listen.

Already can say with confidence, this NEON album is easily my favourite of the three!

 

[Magdelayna]

Agree on the more Trancey and spacey bit, but wouldn't at all say that he's gone away from 80s Synthwave.
There's still a sizey chunk of that in the album!

This album picks up from where the second NEON album was placed style wise and dives into more, spacey vibes.
It goes deeper, feels very immersive and fun to listen.

Already can say with confidence, this NEON album is easily my favourite of the three!

Yeah but compared to something like 'Into The Void' on the first NEON - that went totally 'Stranger Things' synth wave style hehe! I didnt really listen to Neon 2 properly,so maybe hes shifted towards the spacier sound - nothing wrong with that though!

 

[dmgtz96]

Hearing the Beatport samples right now...
It's very niche. I can see this being appealing to hardcore The Digital Blonde fans, but it's not my cup of tea.

The synth at 05:19 in Plutox was nice and Blade Runner-esque.
Synthdrive was great thanks to its melodic focus and fast BPM (137). Definitely enjoyed it better than the 120-126 BPM tracks. An album full of tracks like it would have been a future classic and one of the strongest trance releases of the 2020s.
Magic Fly has potential, but it feels like it would have benefit more from a faster pace. Its current 132 BPM hinders it from achieving the energy hinted by the melodies and bass.
Couldn't hear enough of Star Song to assess it properly. I didn't enjoy the sample given to us.
Space Race also has potential, but we don't hear enough of it to know if it's good or not.

Honestly, a lot of these tracks are same-y. Synthdrive is the only one that I would revisit.

 

[Sleepy Robot]

@dmgtz96 TBH most samples on Beatport are useless. They are way too short and often manage to catch the least interesting moment of a track.

 

[Archon]

It's out now! Updated the OP.

Just had a quick listen through the Beatport samples. Yeah they are a bit obscure but I can get the general idea of what the album is like. Not into it, however a track or two caught my interest.

 

[Electronlyman]

Having listened to each full track, I assure everyone, that the BP samples are pretty much useless.
The full tracks have extended intros, outros, countermelodies. Each track is a proper journey.
They're structured in such a way that I didn't notice it's 17 mins long, or 13 mins long.
Very impressed with this album so far!

 

[Vicmarran]

Listened to the whole album on Spotify. Magic Fly, Age of Confusion and Space Race are the 3 tracks that made it into my main listening playlist forever. It’s certainly a stand out this year.

 

[Magdelayna]

Its criminal that this guy doesnt have a much bigger following - hes produced since the 90's,made some Trance classics and only has 3K followers on FB?! And the most played track is 50K on Youtube....wtf.

 

[leon92]

Listened to this album midway through work and I loved it. Very diverse and Aventador and Fade to Grey are my favourites.

 

[Hot Tuna]

Normally I look at an album release and think "I wish the tracks were extended DJ-friendly mixes".

I look at this one and think "I wish the tracks were shorter DJ-friendly mixes".