2008 according to…Martin Roth

2008 according to…Martin Roth

16 December, 2008 | 12.00PM

• Written by: Kirsty Kane
• Filed under: Music News: 2008 roundup, lunatique, martin roth

Trance as a genre gets an unfair amount of criticism, and much of that is to do with ignorance: it’s all giant breakdowns, obvious chord changes, cheesy vocals and DJs with a ‘van’ in their name, isn’t it?

That’s the cliché. But in 2008 there were a number of trance producers who proved that the genre could evolve into new and exciting sounds, whilst still retaining the core element of trance that its followers find so intoxicating: hypnotism.

German DJ Martin Roth did it better than most, and that’s why he’s our top trance artist of the year.

Roth recognized that he had created something different when he finished his remix of Mind X ‘Sensation Seekers’ in April for Sirup Records.

The dark electro-fueled bassline sounded more Pryda than Paul Van Dyk, and the pace of the track was much more in the electro house range.

It still had trancey pads and melodic key changes, but it wasn’t your standard trance record.

And by tagging it as ‘NuStyle’, Roth effectively signaled to the trance community that he wanted to push things forwards and start something new. The remix blew up.

“I’ll remember 2008 as the year of breakthrough, where styles melted together and many people accepted there is also a left and a right and were finally interested in what is beyond,” muses Martin Roth in his home in Berlin.

Roth moved from Frankfurt to Berlin earlier on in the year, and the move “gave me energy and inspiration, and made me feel so relaxed and easy,” he says.

“Initially it was for finding time and space for doing my album but it led to many other great productions. I think I haven’t ever been this busy and haven’t had this much output in 10 years, but on the other hand it was the easiest and most relaxing year of my life.”

It seems the warmth and creative spirit that Berlin gives techno artists also plays true for trance producers.

Martin Roth continued to push his NuStyle trance sound with a techno-inspired remix of Scot Project ‘S2 (Sueno)’, a dark progressive version of Phuture Dust ‘Data On The Moon’ and an aggressive electro house reinterpretation of Blank & Jones & Bernard Sumner ‘Miracle Cure’.

Collectively they didn’t quite represent a new dawn for trance, but certainly suggested Roth had planted the seeds of a new branch.

As Roth hopes, “This will help EDM to develop to a more interesting future and allow me as a DJ to give party people a more unique experience.”

Martin Roth’s Top 3 tracks of 2008

1. Mind X ‘Sensation Seekers’ (Martin Roth NuStyle Remix) [Sirup Records]

The was the best example of how NuStyle rocked Beatport and the world in 2008. I have no special favourite of my NuStyle remixes but this one was the most successful by far.

2. DJ Eco ‘Tonight Is Forever’ (Martin Roth Edit) [Lunatique]

Marchello Pacheco aka DJ Eco from NYC kept the trancy side of my label Lunatique alive and ‘Tonight Is Forever’ opened the next door for him.

3. Aril Brikha ‘Winter’ [Kompakt]

Techno is trance and trance is techno these days, even if it is from 2007. This track showed how styles merged in 2008.

• (2) Comments
• (1839) Views
• Check out Martin Roth on Beatport