Earlier this month Electric Escape launched their newest concert series U4RIA: Trance Collective. I was at the debut show and it was outstanding. The next installment of the series will take place on February 25, 2017 at Nest and celebrates the 10th anniversary of Andy Moor‘s label AVA recordings. Joining Andy behind the decks will be fellow AVA artists and Canadian talent Sheridan Grout, Michele C, Somna and a special guest from Europe, Alex M.O.R.P.H.
For the past decade, the name Andy Moor has been synonymous with trance music although he’s been active as a DJ and producer since the turn of the century. While Moor has been involved in a number of projects he truly came into his own when his collaboration with Above & Beyond produced one of the most iconic trance tracks ever: Air for life.
The year following its release, Andy formed his own label, AVA recordings, which since its inception has released over 150 tracks. Originally a sub-label of Armada, AVA was bought by Black Hole Recordings in 2014 and has been operating under their auspices ever since.
Joining the lineup and billed as special guest will be German DJ Alex M.O.R.P.H. With over 20 years in the industry and dozens of tracks and remixes under his belt M.O.R.P.H. is a force to be reckoned with in the trance scene. In 2015 Alex launched his own radio program Universal Nation and 2016 saw the release of his latest studio album “Not All Superheroes Wear Capes”.
The first Canadian artist on the U4RIA lineup is Ottawa native Sheridan Grout. Sheridan entered the scene in 2013 and has quickly cemented himself as one of Canada’s finest trance exports, solidified after having landed himself a slot at Montreal’s beloved Trance Unity at Circus. Just recently, his latest offering Holding On was voted the Future Favourite on Armin Van Buuren‘s A State of Trance Radio show.
If Sheridan Grout is Ottawa’s favourite son of trance music then Benjamin Leung is Vancouver’s. Better known by his DJ alias Somna, Leung has released numerous tracks on AVA Recordings. Somna has debuted tracks on an impressive array of other top trance labels, such as Armada, Black Hole, Lange, Perfecto, FSOE and Go On Air. His collab with Andy Moor, One Thing About You, was Beatport‘s Number 1 track for 3 weeks, and was the most streamed track of 2015. A number of Somna’s other releases also hit the Top 30 on Beatport including collaborations with Jennifer Rene and fellow Vancouverite Michele C.
The last, but certainly not least, Canadian artist to grace the stage at U4RIA will be acclaimed trance vocalist Michele C. Having worked with most of the artists on the U4RIA line-up, her lovely voice should provide something extra to the proceedings. It’s not often one sees a live vocalist perform at a trance show, so it’s always a pleasure when it happens. I, for one, look forward to seeing what Michele will bring to the table on the 25th.
Visit EDM TOR’s Facebook page for a chance to win tickets to this show. Winner will be announced on Feb 14th. We will see you on the dance floor at U4RIA!
LINKS:
Electric Escape
Nest
U4RIA Event Page
Ava recordings soundcloud
Black Hole Recordings
Andy Moor
Facebook
Soundcloud
Alex M.O.R.P.H
Facebook
Soundcloud
Sheridan Grout
Facebook
Soundcloud
Michele C.
Facebook
Somna
Facebook
Soundcloud
Scott Copeland – EDM TOR
