Roger Shah breathes new life into Siam Kosheen's 'Hide U', delivering a refreshingly, original take on this legendary dance classic. Revolutionizing his sounds through his 'Openminded?!' artist album, sees German producer/DJ Roger Shah experimenting with different styles. The charismatic Magic Island label owner hasn't left his beloved Balearic trance sound, but there's definitely some new angles to be heard on this artist album. Same goes for the second single and follow-up to Moya Brannan collab 'Morning Star'. Being a huge fan and having all of her albums, made collaborating with Kosheen a dream come true for Shah. Roger:"We spoke about options to have her join me to perform live on stage for my shows and after we confirmed this, I came up with the idea to do a new version of 'Hide U', which has been her worldwide top 10 hit record. I just did the new version to have it for our live performances but when it was finished everybody was like 'wow, why just using it live?'. So our both managements made it happen, that we can release this huge track of her as an official collaboration and new release of this all-time classic. For the past 10 years, there have always been bootlegs or cover versions around, but this is the first official re-release of this classic, so I have to admit that I'm a little bit proud of it!" The new version of 'Hide U' is seductive and powerful, riding a sound that lays between progressive and trance. Energetic stabs, intense vocals by Kosheen and the absolute power to move you, that's what Roger Shah & Kosheen's new 'Hide U' is all about! Dutch producer Mischa Daniels, no stranger of taking on the remix duties for big room vocal anthems, gave 'Hide U' a firm house shake. Consistently building tension, but giving you that real housy punch, makes his remix a great addition to this must-have pack! Tracklist 1. Hide U (Pumpin' Island Mix) 2. Hide U (Mischa Daniels Dancefloor Mode) 3. Hide U (Radio Edit)
Pre-order on iTunes: http://bit.ly/OpenMindedPO Pre-order the CD: www.ArmadaShop.com Following his two DJ Shah albums and three long-players under his synonymous Sunlounger alias, this release represents the first track collection from Roger under his own name. Lining up an all-star vocal cast from the EDM world and beyond (including Sian Kosheen and Moya 'Clannad' Brennan), Roger asks the question all music lovers should be able to answer: Are you Openminded!?
As its title subtly suggests, this album is something of a departure from the 'endless summer' style of Balearic trance that Roger has been renowned for to-date. 'Openminded!? consciously widens his electronic dance focus, forging down several new stylistic avenues. Coming as a 2 disc set and sporting parallel Club and Album versions, it provides maximum adaptability for the listener. The Album versions transport you from the dancefloor to more pacific locales. Bringing sparser beat arrangements, live instrumentation, World Music influences, acoustic track treatments and all out beat-free chill out tranquillity, it provides a wholly different angle to Roger's music.
For the dancefloor though, it's the Club versions all the way... 'Openminded!?' overtures with the grand orchestral splendour of its title composition. With its swelling strings and big brass instrumentation, it conjures an emphatically Hans Zimmer-like filmic vision. Halfway in its dramatic beats fade and are meaningfully replaced by the album's abiding 4/4 drum dynamic.
From there 'Openminded!?' commences delivery of one vocal virtuoso performance after another. Moya 'Marie' Brennan (lead vocalist with Celtic superstars Clannad, sister of Enya' and the voice behind Chicane's 'Saltwater') lends her in-demand Gaelic tones to 'Morning Star'. Roger fuses them stunningly with house-pointing drums, Spanish guitar inflexions and haunting Uilleann pipes for a track that Mixmag's called "exquisite" and DJ Mag hailed as "a coup".
Very much could be said for the three outings on the album that feature Sian Kosheen. Channeling the house stylings of Tim Berg/S.H.M. et all, 'Shine' gives Sian a platform to do just that. 'In The Light' meanwhile sees her step marginally deeper and into more atmospheric territory. So pleased were Sian and Roger with the outcome that they later reconvened to cover Kosheen's breakout smash 'Hide U', which towers at the front quarter of the album. Shah has fleshed out the original production, toughening its production elements, but keeping the track's instantly recognizable strings positioned firmly in its centre-stage spotlight.
Whilst over in the States, recording parts of the album Roger ran into Carla Werner -- the vocalist behind his favorite all-time trance track 'Southern Sun'. A collaboration was quickly convened and the result, 'One Love', is a ready-to-roll Balearic kiss -- one that's destined to make a big impression at Roger's Gatecrasher Ibiza residency this summer. Broadening the album scope further still is 'Porque' (or 'Why'). Roger's first Spanish language track, its vocalled by Salma Ros, the winner of the Armada' Music's 2010 Search for a Singer contest.
Alongside all the new vocal blood, Roger's regular singer/songwriter troop lie in wait with another new assembly of matchless material. With 'Obsession', Chris Jones (who top-lined Roger and Armin van Buuren's top 5 hit 'Going Wrong') delivers another extraordinarily powerful moment. Things become big & uplifting on the Inger Hansen sung 'Dance With Me' and Lorilee's latest vocal opus 'While The World's Asleep'.
The album's few instrumental tracks fly likewise, as 'Guess' and 'Symbiosis' (co-produced by regular Shah faves Nuera and Kim Svärd respectively) supply an apex of pulse-quickening 4am moments.
This long-player will provide a new sonic standpoint for Roger Shah. Come the 29th of July, it'll be open-your-mind time!
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity", a Roman philosopher once said. In the case of Roger Shah's first single of his new album, it's more than just luck. It's an extraordinary piece of music, an ensemble of the great Irish lady Moya Brennan and Balearic trance producer Roger Shah. It's 'Morning Star' that's going to indulge the trance loving souls from its very first play on. When the opportunity came by to collaborate with the first lady of Celtic Music, Shah didn't hesitate a second. Moya Brennan, a living legend, has a musical history most of us can only dream of. 25 albums lie behind her, as well as 20 million record sales. She won a Grammy award and BAFTA, worked with the world's leading producers in both music and film and is still going strong after nearly 40 years of singing professionally. Roger Shah is one of the few EDM producers that's had the chance to work with her, so it's no surprise he tried to make the best out of it. 'Morning Star' builds like a typical Shah record: rippling the electronic waters with an energetic yet gentle build-up, unfolding into a warm, mesmerizing and melodic tour de force. Moya's angelic, calming voice arouses like a cozy dream to wake up from. She carries 'Morning Star' to a higher level, as the mind shivering beats of Roger Shah will get move you in much more than a physical way. 'Morning Star' is a dream within a dream and will highlight each moment it's carried upon the sound waves. If you're in need of some trance fury, the Signum remix will take you in with a danceable, tech-trancy remix of this beat-beauty. The 'Pumpin Island remix' on the other hand, goes for an edgy rocktronica sound, bursting into feel-good energy at its grand finale. Last but not least, there's the Uplifting Dub, for those that need a combo of the emotional original, with an energetic kick of the dub. Less vocals, more melody.
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