ASOT 182 is one of my favourite episodes of the #1 globally-listened-to radio show. And track #9 happens to always bring up a smile on my face whenever I hear it. The track is like love at first sight – so beautiful and so amorous, you can actually make love to it, LOL!

But on a serious note, you can actually make out the amount of passion and dedication Mr. Otten put into crafting this spectacular wonder. I’m sure he knew this was going to be a classic and would eventually define the twinkling-synth breed of progressive music. Hail the Dutch!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/crossroads.mp3

Photograph taken from Mark D. Martin’s photostream on Flickr

Mike Saint-Jules might have just outdid himself with the release of his colossal "Summerlives". Vocal cream of 2011, the full and luscious tune melts my soul into a sea of bliss. Light, slow, beautiful, delicate and gentle with an interesting bass line make for an atmospheric fantasy journey.

If it were real, Heaven would be listening to this track!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/summerlives.mp3

Lyrics:

Feel the rumble from the skies,
See the dawn rise through the night,
New beginning,
Empty out your history,
Let it sit, oh let it be,
New beginning…

So here we stand,
Let us walk our lives, walk them through the sand,
So here we stand,
Let us walk our lives, walk them through the sand…

What will come cannot be seen,
But what I know is I’ll be free, yeah I’ll be free,
And what was done now it is through,
Welcome time to spend with you,
With you…

Photograph taken from KatoKay’s photostream on Flickr

Simply the most intense tune ever – this shit instantly blew my mind when I first heard it on Durand’s radio show. I can guarantee that once you start listening, you’ll easily point out that this is nothing short of an anthem! The synth line and Aneym’s vocals are light years away from any tune recently released! And it’s always a blast to listen to this.

I myself could relate a lot to the wonderful lyrics in here. Aneym truly touches your heart.

Anjunabeats released a video of the Original Mix which can be played below.

Click here to watch the video!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/followyou.mp3

Lyrics:

I’m ready to leave it all behind,
Your love works wonders, the ruler of my heart,
I let go of my ego, just like you said,
I come into being hopeful again…

You open my eyes and carry me,
I don’t hold on to limiting beliefs,
I give up all my wealth, just like you said,
I won’t keep you waiting, I’m on my way…

Follow you, I will do, I will follow you,
Follow you, I will do, I will follow you,
Follow you, I will do, I will follow you,
Life is pointless when you’re not here by my side…

All I would like to say is that this tune is pure beauty. I happened to discover it in Gabriel & Dresden’s super compilation ‘Bloom‘.

A deep dark bass line, with a wonderful shimmering melody to complement it. The break is so lush, it takes you on a journey, and in my case, always gives me goosebumps, especially, when the track crashes in again. Progressive trance at it’s best!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/externalkey.mp3

Photograph taken from MetArt’s ‘Diaxia’ issue on Vanda B.

Critics of Armin have always been bashing him about his cheesy quality music, saying he doesn’t produce his own stuff. Too much commercialization and blah blah blah. Who gives a shit about that? Armin is a genius in all aspects and this track just proves this fact!

The tune soothes out any repressed feelings and emotions I have within me. It’s like I’m flying away to some place which is absolutely fabulous!

Like I had posted on Twitter some time back, this tune is porn for my ears. I don’t own this track… but this track owns me!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/idontownyou.mp3

Lyrics:

I don’t own you, I,
I don’t own you, own you,
I don’t own you, own you,
I don’t own you… [repeat]

Photograph taken from Mittnick.nl’s photostream on Flickr

Released last year, this tune was recommended to me by my colleague and good friend Harshada. Right when I was just about to mess up myself in huge amounts of code, this tune quickly pulled me out of it and there I was, sitting and daydreaming while looping this beautiful piece of musical engineering over and over again.

Originally a commercial number by Mr. Benassi, EDX takes the hand here and reworks the tune in a more spacey way and manages to maintain a really chilled atmosphere all the way through. The track is well ahead of it’s time and a great listen to just relax yourself after a mental day at work. I’m talking Hed Kandi here.

Sample the tune below and buy it if you must. Highly recommended!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/spaceship.mp3

Lyrics:

Sitting on top of the world,
Watching the stars go by,
I got my head in a dream,
Got my head in a cloud,
I can fly, I can fly, I can fly…

So get high, get high,
Get high, get high,
So get high, get high,
Get high, get high…

Photograph taken from Wolfy’s photostream on Flickr

A fantastic and a very energetic masterpiece. So much emotion has been put into this work of sheer beauty making the frequencies resonate deeply with you. It is truly an honour to behold such opulence with the upmost gratitude & respect. Stunning tune from Oza.

A N T H E M ! ! !

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/dukecantgohome.mp3

Lyrics:

Come home, come home…

I can’t come home…

Photograph taken from MetArt’s ‘Presenting Luiza’ issue on Luiza A.

With its white landscapes and snow-puppets, winter may be a very beautiful time of year. But there’s one thing missing: summer. Luckily there’s the Magic Island label to keep you warm.

This time, headmaster of the Balearic chill movement, Roger Shah, turns cold snow to white sand and warm, fuzzy feelings. This track doesn’t only have the summer soul, but also a variety of influences. Ever open to new talent, Roger once again collaborated with a promising producer on his new single "Lay Down". Ross Lara, hailing from the US, had the honour to share the production desk with him. With Todd Wright’s remarkable voice on top of happenings, the trio delivers a catchy, melodic piece that’ll get stuck in your head for days!

The same goes for Johnny Yono’s deep translation of the tune. His remix transforms the original to a progressive piece of bold bass and vocoded vocals – without ever losing its heartfelt atmosphere.

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/laydown.mp3

Lyrics:

Suddenly, somehow,
Everything’s strange,
And pieces of my heart,
Fairly arranged,
The moment you got here,
Everything changed,
Suddenly, somehow,
Everything’s strange…

I want you to lay down next to me,
Your head on my shoulder,
So I can sing you back to sleep,
If you wake up,
When you stay over…

I’ll be your guard here,
Outside your door,
You don’t have to be,
Afraid anymore,
I know you’ve ever been here before,
But I’ll be your guard here,
Outside your door…

And you can lay down next to me,
Head on my shoulder,
And I will sing you back to sleep,
If you wake up,
When you stay over…

So la-daa-da-daa-da-daa-da-lay down,
la-daa-da-daa-da-daa-da-lay down,
la-daa-da-daa-da-daa-da-lay down,
Don’t be afraid to close your eyes,
Don’t be afraid to close your eyes…

Writeup courtesy Armada Music

I begin 2011 by featuring this tasty tune by one of my favourite vocalists Aruna who’s got one of the best voices in the industry! An already beautiful track given a notch up with Chagall’s golden touch. The slowed down tempo in the break down blows me away in such a relaxing way and gives me total goosebumps. It’s a widely accepted fact, that with Nic Chagall on duty, your ears have no other option but to stop listening to anything and everything else.

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/letgo.mp3

Kill the lights,
I’m fading tonight,
I don’t wanna be here,
You got me tongue-tied,
Losing my mind,
Every time that you’re near,
You know its over, we’re just wasting time,
In search of happy days you know we’ll never find… (x2)

For love, I fought, I’ve waited,
All that I had inside, I gave it,
Tried to believe, in time, I’d save it,
Sometimes the truth is hard to take,
There’s nothing to do but walk away…

Anthem alert! Anthem alert! Anthem alert!

Top Dutch talents Armin and Ferry rigged the dance floors back in 2001 with their massive collaborative effort "Exhale". And almost a decade later, they get together again to completely devastate the floors this time.

My last complete week has been full of "Minack". Hope my neighbours like this track! :P

I’m so glad trance still lives on! Strong!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/minack.mp3

Photograph courtesy OllieIn82 at Webshots

Sometimes you luckily come across one of the most amazing pieces of gems in music. Fonzerelli’s "Spirit – Wanna Stay Here Forever" is one of them. Although this track has housey roots, it still manages to touch my heart in special ways.

The track can be described as one of Fonzerelli’s masterpieces, which doesn’t fail to ignite my emotions through amorous vocals and a very catchy house groove. The overall effect is such that myriad pictures of my love reel before my eyes, and her angelic face emerges all divine. Add a beautiful piano break down, which further pushes me beyond my infinite ecstatic imaginary levels!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/spiritwannastayhereforever.mp3

Lyrics:

Wanna stay here forever,
Wanna stay here forever… (repeat)

Photograph taken from Watch4Beauty’s ‘Underground’ issue on Melisa

I have a habit of loading my entire music collection in one single playlist and playing them on random. This is how I happened to discover this beautiful track which instantly blew me away. And this is ten years old, woah! Where was I and how did I manage to miss this gem? Sad really, when I start to think about it.

The vocals of Steven hit you emotionally and you can’t help but smile! Very moving & touching. This track was so epic but never really got the accolades it deserved.

Searched for it on YouTube and came across it’s official video which is just so awesome. One of the best videos I’ve seen in years. It actually has an interesting concept, unlike 90% of dance music videos these days. It’s also kind of sad when you pick up on the plot of it. The protagonist being deaf and all the other people around her really taking hearing for granted. But that doesn’t stop her from having a good time!

Click here to watch the video!

Preview track:

http://priyanksharma.com/tunes/outside.mp3

Lyrics:

When you’re lonesome, tonight,
You got to know,
I’ll be there for you…

I’m outside, I’m outside
You’re outside, you’re outside,
I’m outside, I’m outside
You’re outside, you’re outside…

Photograph taken from Mittnick.nl’s photostream on Flickr