EVENT REVIEW: Trance Sessions presents Dan Stone @ Populus 13-05-17

This spring has been an interesting one for Trance music in our city of Toronto, and for those of us who enjoy a more classic and uplifting sound, the name on everyone’s lips has got to be Trance Sessions. This spring alone they have brought several headliners to bless us with Trance’s more melodic subgenre, including an awesome triple header back in April. Fast forward to May and the anticipation for another uplifting maestro, Dan Stone, another Toronto debutante no less, was palpable.

On Saturday, May 13th, 2017, the day arrived and around 10PM, with the sky overcast and already dark, the doors of Populus opened once again for the uplifting crowd, like it had so many times before albeit formerly as Toika. We were treated to an unprecedented back-to-back set from local Trance prodigy Brian Longmire and his over-the-border amigo, M45.

For those fortunate few who made it in early enough to catch it, the dynamic duo opened with a slow sultry progressive number by Michael Gin & Dan Robinson called Running With Butterflies. An appropriate intro track title, since that’s what listening to these guys feels like. An early crowd favourite was definitely The Vision by Rise And Fall. Slowly but surely, Brian and Nick began to up the tempo with a very groovy progressive first hour during which we heard Dosem – Runnerpark (Jeremy Olander remix).

These two fresh-faced trance DJ’s continued their on-deck, off-deck bromance by relentlessly and seamlessly mixing in some melodic progressive goodness. Lucky for those who missed out, Brian and Nick’s B2B opening set was recorded and is featured on Trance Sessions new Radio show, Trance Sessions Radio (TSR) – listen to it now!

The excitement in the air was real, and the energy of people ready to throw down on the dancefloor to some euphoric melodies and epic basslines was intense. That’s when Armin van Buuren vs. Rank 1 feat. Kush – This World Is Watching Me (Solid Stone remix) was played. This created even more of a rise in intensity from the attendees. As the time for Dan Stone drew near, and the openers made it clear that they were taking no prisoners. With their proggy goodness, they laid out tracks like Headcase by Jaytech and the Matty Sonero remix of Armin van Buuren and Jaren’s Unforgiveable – another crowd favourite.

Around midnight Dan Stone entered the DJ booth to a very welcoming cheer from the crowd. The time had come to spread our wings while Dan Stone started us off on a four hour journey, diving straight into the Uplifting Trance genre. The atmosphere was electric. Dan was in fine form early on playing a mashup of a crowd favourite, Above and Beyond’s We’re All We Need with Roman Messer’s Closer made by Ben Gold.

We also were treated to a lot of Dan’s own productions, including his very own Macy and Colorado Avenue which you can listen to on his SoundCloud (links are listed at the bottom of the article). Dan has his own remixes of some major trance tunes everyone seems to love, like See the Sun by Matt Darey and featuring Kate Louise Smith, We Control the Sunlight by Aly and Fila and Jwaydan, and The Way Back Home by Ferry Tayle and Poppy, all three which were joyously received by the crowd.  Later we heard Ferry Tayle’s rework of Saltwater and one of Dan’s biggest releases to date which he recently made with Ferry Tayle called Vona.

Other beautiful tracks included Akemi by Fady and Mina and Every Sun remixed by Factor B. However the highlight of the night, the track that stole the show for me, is actually one that’s too well known but has one of the most beautiful melodic buildups I’ve heard this year. I present you with Last Sight by Franco Riccobaldi – you uplifting fans must check it out!

Dan Stone kept us in the clouds until the end of his set, even coming back for an encore to the delight of the crowd. Not only did he mingle and chat and take pictures with the trance faithful until they were being ushered out by the club staff, but I was able to chat with him outside in the parking lot, and even was validated in my guess that he is a soccer fan and supports his local team Norwich FC. That was my personal cherry on top of everything. The best thing about combining Trance Sessions parties with Populus and writing for EDM TOR is that there is always a sense of intimacy, the artists almost always take the time to mingle with their fans, and I get to share that with others.

What a night for Trance Sessions and the Toronto Trance Family! If you want to see more, go check out the photo album by our Manager Adele on our Facebook page. Summer is almost upon us; I can’t wait to see what Trance Sessions has planned next! See you on the dance floor very soon.

LINKS:

Brian Longmire
Facebook
SoundCloud

M45
Facebook
Soundcloud

Dan Stone
Facebook
Soundcloud
Website
YouTube
Twitter

Rory  Harrison – EDM TOR