The end of the Canadian summer gives way to milder and much wetter weather than expected in Southern Ontario, yet the sun finally decided to shine on us trance fans for Sean Tyas at REDNightclub on Friday, August 21st, 2015. I was super excited for another edition of TRANSIT Fridays at RED. The last time I was at this club was for Menno De Jong, the positive memories from that night were still very fresh in my mind.
I enter the venue at about 10:45PM, just in time to catch some of Baranov‘s opening set. Upon entering I instantly regretted not coming earlier, Baranov started the night strong with some tech-trance to warm the crowd up! Shortly after when 11PM rolled around, Baranov dished out some of his darker tech-trance sounds, further building up the evening. Toronto talent never ceases to impress me, Baranov’s track selection is always incredible – ID’s after ID’s. I often found myself standing on the dance floor awkwardly when Shazam cannot find the tracks Baranov is playing.
Next up was another hometown trance favourite, Saad Ayub. He stepped into the booth at 11:30PM and started off with the A State of Trance 500 theme Status Excessu D by Gaia! Saad knew how to fire up that RED Funktion One system and moved into some progressive psy-trance and vocal tracks like Counting Down the Days, a newer one by Above & Beyond! When the clock was about to strike 1AM, Saad pumped out some of his personal work like his remix with Sunset of I Remember by Deadmau5 & Kaskade! Saad has been busy in the studio lately and it shows with his recent booming success putting Toronto’s trance scene firmly on the map!
Before Saad’s last track played out, the man of the evening stepped into the spotlight. Sean Tyas wasted no time as he mixed in without stopping. Now the whole crowd was on the Tyas trance wave! This is the way artist transitions should happen, nonstop energy flooding the room from the start!
It quickly became obvious Tyas was taking no prisoners, the relentless rolling psy-trance basslines pleased the Toronto trance fans. Only 15 minutes into his set, Tyas played his massive remix of These Hands I Hold by Greg Downey and Bo Bruce! The vocals are perfectly paired with the Tyas rolling bassline creating an outstanding track with many emotions. Afterwards, Tyas aggressively and confidently mixes into the Giuseppe Ottaviani remix of Lights by Paul Van Dyk featuring vocals by Sue McLaren. An amazing transition indeed, the crowd threw their hands in the air absorbing the incredible moment. The unique RED ceiling lighting was thrown into overdrive, pumping up the atmosphere!
Rolling basslines gave way to some groovier sounds at 2AM with tracks like Keeping the Faithby Coming Soon!!! featuring Michele Adamson! Not one person stood still, and it was easy to hear why. Right after, Tyas throws in Vini Vici’s hottest track The Tribe, cheers erupt from every corner of the venue. No psy-trance fan is unfamiliar with this one. The Toronto Trance Family is not foreigner to this track, that’s for sure!
At 2:15AM came Tyas’s recent track released on Subculture, Da Doo Da Dah! Having heard it the last time at RED during Menno De Jong’s set, it was nice to hear it live again on the Funktion Ones. Even more appropriate this time because Tyas himself is at the decks dropping his very own massive track! It’s been getting played everywhere in sets and on popular radio shows like Armin Van Buuren‘s A State of Trance.
Tyas has been playing at major shows lately, including several Future Sound of Egypt 400 dates, and he couldn’t resist playing the FSOE 400 anthemA New Ageby Aly & Fila with Omar Sherif & Jonathan Carvajal. A proper choice, the track combines cultural sounds from Arabic string instruments with massive pumping trance energy.
What an incredible evening we were having, but it was far from over. Coming into the mix at 2:30AM was another Tyas original, a brand new release called Reach Out. Released last month on Who’s Afraid of 138, the track definitely had the crowd reaching out and capturing the final 30 minutes of Sean’s set.
The last 30 minutes of his set comfortably brought more melodic offerings easing the crowd into the morning. Tracks like Brace Yourself by Jochen Miller received a warm welcome from the Toronto trance fans who were determined to dance until the very end. Tyas then closed his set with the epic remix of Armin’s track Serenity, choosing of course the incredible Bryan Kearney remix! The spine-tingling track features piano artist Jan Vayne creating a powerful breakdown. It was here when the crowd threw their hands in the air one last time for Sean Tyas.
Tyas stepped off the decks at 3AM to leave way for Shane Halcon who was on closing duties. Shane professionally mixes in non-stop just like Tyas did, proving why he’s a powerhouse in trance himself. He brought the crowd into more uplifting and psy-trance to close the night, punching out some classic trance tracks for the final moments of the evening. We heard the Super8 remix of Voller Sterne by Mirco De Govia in there. Toronto is serious about their trance, because as 3:25AM hit and Shane played his last track, the crowd called for an encore.
Every single set was very memorable for myself and I’m sure for many others as well. From Sean Tyas, booming energy all night running at the redline. His years of experience is evident in the way he controlled the crowd as a DJ. We are all humbled Sean!
Prior to playing at RED, Sean met with #TeamEDMTOR Manager Adele and Photographer Mitch to sit down and be interviewed. Watch the video here!
A big thank you has to go out to all of the supporting DJs, Toronto is very fortunate to have such amazing local talent! Of course we can’t forget about RED Nightclub, our gracious hosts for the evening. I look forward to the next trance offering at RED Nightclub, and seeing you soon TranceFamily!
Edmund has been an electronic music fan since his childhood. He is first and foremost a music lover and has been especially influenced by trance. The Toronto music scene has become a big part of his life, and now he gives back through his writing. Never could he have imagined the power dance music would have on him. You can find him wherever the hottest show in town is on any given night, ready to dance the night away with you.
