TranceFix Best of 2023 - VOTE OPEN! - Thoughts on this year?

[ChurRuy]

I rate this year as 6.5/10 for the taste and scenes I resonate with, which is more mainstream than a lot of you here. It would a much lower score if hasn’t have got the really strong compilations from Activa and Solarstone, which I have a hard time choosing between. Borderline releases grow on me more and I really liked all the Noble Six tracks and Enigma State tracks, two of my favorite producers.

No good mainstream albums is crazy. I feel that maybe next year we will get them. I already saw Thrillseekers is making new Hydra, so maybe that will be an album, as it’s 7 years since his last one.

Favorite label is PURE.

Great to see everyone’s votes already.

 

[SaltAcidFatHeatAcid]

imho 2023 was not so strong for trancey releases as the previous 3 years... I rate this year from the 'Trance' side 6.5/10

Agree 100% with this. I’ve collected a lot in the same space as you and will post my top soon, but in sifting, the quality is overall lower (though there are plenty of exceptions). There were barely any good comps in the underground scene. Also WTF happened to Goddezz?

 

[HTY]

Synthazia aka Digital Blonde - Siren….. TOTY! What a journey. Underrated in this forum? Let’s see when the results come in. Easily a top 10.

Borderline, no two ways about it they are the best Trance label. Those underground labels release one or two actual trance tracks a year. Borderline has like 20 and it’s consistently decent at a minimum, with moments of very good Trance. Only UTE have consistent Trance in the underground, but not that many releases in a year.

Movements clearly best comp, not that we have much to choose from. Not selling Activa short though, he did a great job with that one, can only hope this is a yearly thing.

Album - fuck knows! Maybe need a refresher there. Adam Pitts one probably.

Anywho, happy voting everyone, please share your selections it’s interesting to see where we all land in the end.

 

[trancedanne]

Overall an okey year, for the past decade its always the same producers who makes the good stuff. Assuming there are no tracks left to add, my list will be the following:

1. Activa - Velika (Club Mix)
2. Enlusion - Amethyst (You Are My Salvation Remix)
3. Lloyd Barwood - Whole New World (Facade Remix)
4. Astral Projection - Let There Be Light (2023 Remix)
5. Fiery Dawn - Feelings (Median Project Remix)
6. Fiery Dawn & Astronobios - Distant Stars
7. Activa - I Wanted You (Club Mix)
8. Coredata - GeoMetric (Extended Mix)
9. Øna - Øna (Extended Mix)
10. Man with no name - Teleport (Alienapia & Atlantis Remix)

Artist: The Digital Blonde
Label: Global Sect Music
Album: Artifact303 - A Trip Down Memory Lane
Comp: Activa – Movement: One

Honorable mentions:

Shpongle - Nothing Is Something Worth Doing (You Are My Salvation Remix Lazy dj edit)
Synthazia - Lumi
Vaim - I Am Free
Morphic Resonance - Theater Of The Eye
Idiosyncrasy & The Digital Blonde - Galactic Symphony
Jikooha - Bay Hall Magic (2023 Mix)
Fiery Dawn & Atlantis - Parallel Universe
+ a bunch of GOA stuff

 

[Hensmon]

Just added more to the track suggestion shortlist. Hope you guys find this feature as useful as I did when we put it together. I typically forget 50% of the tracks from the first 3 months of the year.

The genre tags I used were an attempt to make it easier to browse, but honestly did these fairly quickly and casually so don't hold me to them, and some tagging may be debatable. I just chose a generic 'underground' tag to signal out some of the nu-trance, nu-prog,nu-breaks or hard to genre tag items as got too much to think about genres.

Anyway shout out to all the producers who treated us with the quality music found on this list, especially those who make appearances here on the forum @jetflag @Magnevi @LostLegend @EnigmaState @Narel @Enlusion @Sneijder @Sleeping @Andre Maier (aka NuroGL) @Coredata @facade1984 @allende @rambalcochet @ssstodorovic @aleexr @GlynnAlan @Horizons Landscapes Music @Peter steele dj @Grant Trowbridge @MarnixMulder @unitedtrancedivision - cheers guys!

 

[HTY]

still not sure about my TOP 10, so here are my most played trancey tunes of 2023 (TOP 30)

will listen to these thanks.

where’s that dude @Devito he usually posts some list of random underground tracks. Last year took a load. Sharing is caring amigo.

 

[LostLegend]

Definitely felt like a bit of a slower year.
I think a lot of artists went in hard over lockdown and this was the first year completely lockdown free, so maybe it was just everyone settling back to normal?

Still plenty of good tunes around though!

 

[Sleepy Robot]

Overall an okey year, for the past decade its always the same producers who makes the good stuff. Assuming there are no tracks left to add, my list will be the following:

1. Activa - Velika (Club Mix)
2. Enlusion - Amethyst (You Are My Salvation Remix)
3. Lloyd Barwood - Whole New World (Facade Remix)
4. Astral Projection - Let There Be Light (2023 Remix)
5. Fiery Dawn - Feelings (Median Project Remix)
6. Fiery Dawn & Astronobios - Distant Stars
7. Activa - I Wanted You (Club Mix)
8. Coredata - GeoMetric (Extended Mix)
9. Øna - Øna (Extended Mix)
10. Man with no name - Teleport (Alienapia & Atlantis Remix)

Artist: The Digital Blonde
Label: Global Sect Music
Album: Fiery Dawn - I Come From Outer Space
Comp: Activa – Movement: One

Honorable mentions:

Synthazia - Lumi
Vaim - I Am Free
Morphic Resonance - Theater Of The Eye
Idiosyncrasy & The Digital Blonde - Galactic Symphony
Jikooha - Bay Hall Magic (2023 Mix)
Fiery Dawn & Atlantis - Parallel Universe
The Digital Blonde - Spectre
Stoneface & Terminal - Got My Need (Extended Mix)
+ a bunch of GOA stuff

Great to also see some GOA stuff mentioned. This year i broadened my horizon with (among others) many Global Sect releases past and present. Liquid Symphony is problaby my most played compilation album this year.

 

[Sleepy Robot]

Great to see the lists posted here. I see many tracks i haven't heard yet so have lots to discover still

 

[SaltAcidFatHeatAcid]

I haven't quite thought about the top 10 yet, but I finally narrowed down to a top 100, nearly exclusive to underground stuff. Last year I did the top 50 but I am too tired to go through this list any further, apologies. Maybe this list will help some of you catch up on this stuff! While the more mainstream stuff from the better labels like Borderline are certainly well produced, my ears and brain are tired of the same sounds and track structure. The underground is not giving me exactly what I want most of the time, though I am grateful for the boundary pushing and experimentation. It's the only way IMO to rebuild a healthy and thriving scene. And, the underground scene is indeed growing in a sustainable way in pockets across the globe, but it's not trance focused either. Back to the old days of hearing multi-genre as the norm. Bring it. Also, I'm not as anchored exclusively to trance as some on here either, so fair warning, a few of these tracks will be less trance and more trance adjacent. Hard to categorize some of this given the hybridization of many genres in the scene.

Best Of
Artists: Rambal Cochet, Omformer, Alan Backdrop, Rigson, Shjva and Abdul Raeva
Labels: UTE, Space Trax, Translucid, Common Ancestors
Album: Sleep D - Electronic Arts, Alan Backdrop - Insane World, Adam Pits - Synthetic Serenity, Omformer - UTE011
Comp: Space Trax, SPTV04 - Neo Tokyo

1. AbduI Raeva - Goa-X (132bpm)
2. AbduI Raeva - Codeine (126bpm)
3. Abdul Raeva - Elemental Warfare (132bpm)
4. Abdul Raeva - Invasive Overdrive Track (135bpm)
5. Aeryeen - Ocular (Stellar Mix) (155bpm)
6. Alan Backdrop - A Space For Love (147bpm)
7. Alan Backdrop - Cikada (145bpm)
8. Alan Backdrop - Back To Forward (145bpm)
9. Alan Backdrop - Vortex (144bpm)
10. Alan Backdrop - Void Fertile (143bpm)
11. Aloka - Bica (148bpm)
12. AlpenX - Kid on the Bus (144bpm)
13. Alpha Tracks - May/01 (158bpm)
14. Alpha Tracks - June/03 (156bpm)
15. AMAYLIA024 - Rumya (126bpm)
16. Andre Maier - Es Vedra (140bpm)
17. Atikka - Slackline (155bpm)
18. Bliss inc. - Mind 2 Mind (127bpm)
19. Bliss inc. - Higher, Vision (135bpm)
20. Chevals - EuroMadness (Extended Mix) (141bpm)
21. Coredata - GeoMetric (Warehouse '91 Extended Mix) (120bpm)
22. Cristofeu - Acapulco (Drua Remix) (144bpm)
23. D. Tiffany & Maara - Pound Or Be Pounded (136bpm)
24. Dev - The Soul Of The Forrest Is Dying (155bpm)
25. DJ Life - Fermented (133bpm)
26. DJ Normal 4 - Who Am I? (150bpm)
27. Donnie Cosmo - Solar Waves (130bpm)
28. Earth Trax - White Carnations (130bpm)
29. Enigma State - Lunar's Theme (E-State Remix) (150bpm)
30. Enigma State - State Of Mind (143bpm)
31. ESOK - Milky Way (132bpm) *
32. ESOK - Lavender (130bpm) *
33. Faster Horses, DINA - Cosmic Flutter (144bpm)
34. Fazack - Sick 'N Twisted (134bpm)
35. Glen S - La Disco Tech (129bpm)
36. Glen S - Goa Way (130bpm)
37. Glen S - Bleeps And Bloops (135bpm)
38. Gneiss - You Want Me (Ayuji Remix) (140bpm)
39. Guy Contact - Out of My Head (Into My Body) (126bpm)
40. Hannd - Ortre (118bpm)
41. Henrik Villard - Atop (126bpm)
42. IN2STELLAR - Euro Possum (131bpm)
43. Jeku - Falafel Nights (134bpm)
44. Jeku - Astral Dream (136bpm)
45. Jotel California - Bulldoze (133bpm)
46. Jotel California - Borrowed Time (137bpm)
47. kanyalang! - Tales Of Genji (129bpm)
48. KI/KI - To the vibe (rework) (148bpm)
49. Kosh - Despair (138bpm)
50. Kristi - Bronze Upper Lip (135bpm)
51. Lisene - Sense/Net (135bpm)
52. LJR - The Last Satellite (132bpm)
53. LUXE - A Team (138bpm)
54. LUXE & Tom Place - Moonquake (140bpm)
55. Martinou - Devotion (125bpm)
56. Maruwa - Chronodrive (142bpm)
57. Match Box - Earth Face (140bpm)
58. Mick Gristle, Hasvat Informant - Swordbox (Omformer Remix) (147bpm)
59. Mikkel Rev - Insula (136bpm)
60. Mikkel Rev - Vectorial Wave Equation (140bpm)
61. Narciss - Gimme Ur Luv (Never Enough) (145bpm)
62. Omformer - Yengo 3AM (150bpm)
63. Omformer - 10.000 Ohm (150bpm)
64. Penera - Radio Planeta (155bpm)
65. Pletnev - I Stole It Somehow (132bpm)
66. Proteus - Deeper Trance (132bpm)
67. Rambal Cochet - Talpa Lionis (130bpm)
68. Rambal Cochet - Hypnotic June (135bpm)
69. Rambal Cochet - Virus Funk (Remotif Remix) (108bpm)
70. Rambal Cochet - Virus Funk (130bpm)
71. REALSENSE - Friendly Nocturno (133bpm)
72. Reflex Blue - Swamp Zone (125bpm)
73. Reflex Blue - Free Ur Mind (134bpm)
74. Repulsive Force - Prauge (Presented by Oprofessionell) (142bpm)
75. RIGSON - Two More Weeks (136bpm)
76. RIGSON - Princess of Disks (Rambal Cochet's 5AM Mix) (130bpm)
77. RIGSON - Ayys (140bpm)
78. Running Hot - We Got Love (135bpm)
79. S.P.Q.R. - Hypnotic State (Extended Vocal Mix) [feat. Lea Heart] (132bpm)
80. S7RENS - Overtime (146bpm)
81. Rambal Cochet - Archangel (108bpm)
82. Seo John - Circuit of Light (128bpm)
83. Seo John - miQro (129bpm)
84. Shjva - Nova (130bpm
85. Shjva - Singularity (128bpm)
86. Sleep D - Planet Waves (134bpm)
87. Sleep D - Red Rock (IVX23 Wet Version) (137bpm)
88. Spray - OT Rails (134bpm)
89. Spray & Baraka - Think of Me (140bpm)
90. Subsism - Airy (142bpm)
91. suki - Phonosynthesis (119bpm)
92. Tadan - Metamorph (136bpm)
93. TDJ - Levitate (136bpm)
94. Tofistock - Hyper Love II (135bpm)
95. Transki - For Orinoco Flo (155bpm)
96. Tywi - Reality Checkpoint (Maruwa Remix) (140bpm)
97. Volta Cab - Titanium Stresser (122bpm)
98. Willem - Neo Exotic (138bpm)
99. Wormbox - The Loon (124bpm)
100. YASSCORP - I'm The Problem (Blissdub) (138bpm)

*unreleased but goddamn @aleexr you should release them please

 

[EnigmaState]

I haven't quite thought about the top 10 yet, but I finally narrowed down to a top 100, nearly exclusive to underground stuff. Last year I did the top 50 but I am too tired to go through this list any further, apologies. Maybe this list will help some of you catch up on this stuff! While the more mainstream stuff from the better labels like Borderline are certainly well produced, my ears and brain are tired of the same sounds and track structure. The underground is not giving me exactly what I want most of the time, though I am grateful for the boundary pushing and experimentation. It's the only way IMO to rebuild a healthy and thriving scene. And, the underground scene is indeed growing in a sustainable way in pockets across the globe, but it's not trance focused either. Back to the old days of hearing multi-genre as the norm. Bring it. Also, I'm not as anchored exclusively to trance as some on here either, so fair warning, a few of these tracks will be less trance and more trance adjacent. Hard to categorize some of this given the hybridization of many genres in the scene.

Best Of
Artists: Rambal Cochet, Omformer, Alan Backdrop, Rigson, Shjva and Abdul Raeva
Labels: UTE, Space Trax, Translucid, Common Ancestors
Album: Sleep D - Electronic Arts, Alan Backdrop - Insane World, Adam Pits - Synthetic Serenity, Omformer - UTE011
Comp: Space Trax, SPTV04 - Neo Tokyo

1. AbduI Raeva - Goa-X (132bpm)
2. AbduI Raeva - Codeine (126bpm)
3. Abdul Raeva - Elemental Warfare (132bpm)
4. Abdul Raeva - Invasive Overdrive Track (135bpm)
5. Aeryeen - Ocular (Stellar Mix) (155bpm)
6. Alan Backdrop - A Space For Love (147bpm)
7. Alan Backdrop - Cikada (145bpm)
8. Alan Backdrop - Back To Forward (145bpm)
9. Alan Backdrop - Vortex (144bpm)
10. Alan Backdrop - Void Fertile (143bpm)
11. Aloka - Bica (148bpm)
12. AlpenX - Kid on the Bus (144bpm)
13. Alpha Tracks - May/01 (158bpm)
14. Alpha Tracks - June/03 (156bpm)
15. AMAYLIA024 - Rumya (126bpm)
16. Andre Maier - Es Vedra (140bpm)
17. Atikka - Slackline (155bpm)
18. Bliss inc. - Mind 2 Mind (127bpm)
19. Bliss inc. - Higher, Vision (135bpm)
20. Chevals - EuroMadness (Extended Mix) (141bpm)
21. Coredata - GeoMetric (Warehouse '91 Extended Mix) (120bpm)
22. Cristofeu - Acapulco (Drua Remix) (144bpm)
23. D. Tiffany & Maara - Pound Or Be Pounded (136bpm)
24. Dev - The Soul Of The Forrest Is Dying (155bpm)
25. DJ Life - Fermented (133bpm)
26. DJ Normal 4 - Who Am I? (150bpm)
27. Donnie Cosmo - Solar Waves (130bpm)
28. Earth Trax - White Carnations (130bpm)
29. Enigma State - Lunar's Theme (E-State Remix) (150bpm)
30. Enigma State - State Of Mind (143bpm)
31. ESOK - Milky Way (132bpm) *
32. ESOK - Lavender (130bpm) *
33. Faster Horses, DINA - Cosmic Flutter (144bpm)
34. Fazack - Sick 'N Twisted (134bpm)
35. Glen S - La Disco Tech (129bpm)
36. Glen S - Goa Way (130bpm)
37. Glen S - Bleeps And Bloops (135bpm)
38. Gneiss - You Want Me (Ayuji Remix) (140bpm)
39. Guy Contact - Out of My Head (Into My Body) (126bpm)
40. Hannd - Ortre (118bpm)
41. Henrik Villard - Atop (126bpm)
42. IN2STELLAR - Euro Possum (131bpm)
43. Jeku - Falafel Nights (134bpm)
44. Jeku - Astral Dream (136bpm)
45. Jotel California - Bulldoze (133bpm)
46. Jotel California - Borrowed Time (137bpm)
47. kanyalang! - Tales Of Genji (129bpm)
48. KI/KI - To the vibe (rework) (148bpm)
49. Kosh - Despair (138bpm)
50. Kristi - Bronze Upper Lip (135bpm)
51. Lisene - Sense/Net (135bpm)
52. LJR - The Last Satellite (132bpm)
53. LUXE - A Team (138bpm)
54. LUXE & Tom Place - Moonquake (140bpm)
55. Martinou - Devotion (125bpm)
56. Maruwa - Chronodrive (142bpm)
57. Match Box - Earth Face (140bpm)
58. Mick Gristle, Hasvat Informant - Swordbox (Omformer Remix) (147bpm)
59. Mikkel Rev - Insula (136bpm)
60. Mikkel Rev - Vectorial Wave Equation (140bpm)
61. Narciss - Gimme Ur Luv (Never Enough) (145bpm)
62. Omformer - Yengo 3AM (150bpm)
63. Omformer - 10.000 Ohm (150bpm)
64. Penera - Radio Planeta (155bpm)
65. Pletnev - I Stole It Somehow (132bpm)
66. Proteus - Deeper Trance (132bpm)
67. Rambal Cochet - Talpa Lionis (130bpm)
68. Rambal Cochet - Hypnotic June (135bpm)
69. Rambal Cochet - Virus Funk (Remotif Remix) (108bpm)
70. Rambal Cochet - Virus Funk (130bpm)
71. REALSENSE - Friendly Nocturno (133bpm)
72. Reflex Blue - Swamp Zone (125bpm)
73. Reflex Blue - Free Ur Mind (134bpm)
74. Repulsive Force - Prauge (Presented by Oprofessionell) (142bpm)
75. RIGSON - Two More Weeks (136bpm)
76. RIGSON - Princess of Disks (Rambal Cochet's 5AM Mix) (130bpm)
77. RIGSON - Ayys (140bpm)
78. Running Hot - We Got Love (135bpm)
79. S.P.Q.R. - Hypnotic State (Extended Vocal Mix) [feat. Lea Heart] (132bpm)
80. S7RENS - Overtime (146bpm)
81. Rambal Cochet - Archangel (108bpm)
82. Seo John - Circuit of Light (128bpm)
83. Seo John - miQro (129bpm)
84. Shjva - Nova (130bpm
85. Shjva - Singularity (128bpm)
86. Sleep D - Planet Waves (134bpm)
87. Sleep D - Red Rock (IVX23 Wet Version) (137bpm)
88. Spray - OT Rails (134bpm)
89. Spray & Baraka - Think of Me (140bpm)
90. Subsism - Airy (142bpm)
91. suki - Phonosynthesis (119bpm)
92. Tadan - Metamorph (136bpm)
93. TDJ - Levitate (136bpm)
94. Tofistock - Hyper Love II (135bpm)
95. Transki - For Orinoco Flo (155bpm)
96. Tywi - Reality Checkpoint (Maruwa Remix) (140bpm)
97. Volta Cab - Titanium Stresser (122bpm)
98. Willem - Neo Exotic (138bpm)
99. Wormbox - The Loon (124bpm)
100. YASSCORP - I'm The Problem (Blissdub) (138bpm)

*unreleased but goddamn @aleexr you should release them please

I'm liking all the love in here for Alan Backdrop. I'm a big fan of his work!

 

[Contraband]

@EnigmaState you fucking killed it this year. Transolar was my summer tune and then you finish with State of Mind and Sacred Art, the strongest EP of the year! Just checked out that E-State remix too, that’s dope. My final list will mainly be unknown underground stuff found on this forum and other places, but you and digital blonde take me right back to the good years.

By the way @mods you have his tracks Needle and Emotions listed but they are not released yet.

 

[EnigmaState]

@EnigmaState you fucking killed it this year. Transolar was my summer tune and then you finish with State of Mind and Sacred Art, the strongest EP of the year! Just checked out that E-State remix too, that’s dope. My final list will mainly be unknown underground stuff found on this forum and other places, but you and digital blonde take me right back to the good years.

By the way @mods you have his tracks Needle and Emotions listed but they are not released yet.

Yeah they're not going to be released until early 24 now.

 

[Hensmon]

By the way @mods you have his tracks Needle and Emotions listed but they are not released yet.

Thanks. I often add tracks to this throughout the year to keep on top of it and obviously expected it to be out and forgot to remove.

 

[Juna]

Voted

Best label is Forescape! Best artist is Digital Blonde, best album is Origin Remix and best comp is Movements.

 

[facade1984]

glad to see enigma state getting lots of love. this just shows me that people are hungry for actual trance rather than the carbon copy stuff. well done Nath, stay killing shit bro

 

[Chirs Milosz]

For me the best track without a doubt is Siren by Synthazia (Pure Trance), The Digital Blonde and Project Dino made one of the most unique, hypnotizing, energetic and deepest Trance that I've ever listened.

Synthazia - Siren [Pure Trance] | Music & Downloads on Beatport

"Synthazia - Siren [Pure Trance]" | Find the latest releases here | #1 source for DJ Sets and more

www.beatport.com

 

[Hoahoa]

Bunch of great music this year and Movements Vol. One was the highlight. Let’s hope for many more.

Top 10 so far. Ordering and final selection to come later. Will definitely go through the track suggestions in more detail and make edits, I am sure.

Enigma State - Waiting For You
Enigma State - Transolar
Alan Morrow - Willingness
Activa - Into Pieces (Apogee Remix)
Mac & Monday - Karla’s Theme
Sunda and ByDesign - Pillars
Cape - Town Tears of Jupiter
Synthazia - Siren
Sniejder - Dawn
Activa - Velika

 

[BladeRunner_]

My choice for TOTY

 

[Electronlyman]

EarthLife - Trasporto [SPECTRUM MUSIC]

Massive track that's been played by Joris Voorn in many sets now.

Feels like when I have discovered Universal Nation for the first time.
Holy chromoly, my hair definitely do raise,
when those pads enter the sonic sphere !!

For me it's definitely in top 10 of the year,
but it's not been released yet.
Release date unknown so far.