Back catalogue: Trance

Review: Beyond the Outer Limits by Cult of the UFO is a new solo recording produced by Anthony Barker of Overlords of the UFO.

Due to Anthony being an integral contributor to the music of Overlords of the UFO, the four tracks maintain the trademark retro analogue sci-fi vibe of Overlords of the UFO, although with a more contemporary edge.

This is the 3rd release by Enlightenment Records.

Review: "Remembering is not the opposite of forgetting," Casey MQ sings at the start of Later that day, the day before, or the day before that, his new LP and Ghostly International debut. It's a phrase fittingly misremembered from something the LA-based, Canadian-born composer came upon, as he spiraled into unconscious and subconscious-led writing sessions at the piano. Musing on the joys of the selective-amnesiac tendency of the creative flow state, MQ makes riveting use of classical-synthetic composition - piano parts run through copious effects chains, vocal parts run through subtly humanised, formant-shifted and note-bent pitch correctors - to produce a sublime amnestic union. But to forget is also to forgive: hence the word 'amnesty' and its common root with amnesia. This is a profoundly forgiving record, with 'Grey Gardens' and 'Me, I Think I Found It' finding a profound space of acceptance for the days coming and going, for solitude and for new leaves uncovered in amnestic carvings-out and turnings-over.

Review: Journeys through melodic electronica by blending new material with club-ready reworks like the Radio 2-supported (!!) 'Love Love Love - Here I Come.' True to Chicane's aesthetic, the album is rich in atmosphere, optimism and nostalgia and is great for both relaxation and dancefloor workouts. The 2025 vinyl release for Record Store Day marks the first time these mixes and extended versions have appeared in physical format. With a global tour, club shows, and a Royal Albert Hall orchestral concert on the horizon, Trampolines kicks off another great chapter for Chicane.

Review: Chicane's 1997 album Far From The Maddening Crowds not only reappropriated a famous Thomas Hardy literary title, it also helped lay the groundwork for a new form of breaks-driven trance music. Now on Modena comes a brand new version of the album, its Symphonic Rehearsals version: a full rerub consisting of total string versions of each track, with brand new string compositions written and performed by Joe Duddell (whose extant performance credits also include James, Elbow and Daughter). The new versions are utter tearjerkers, and not merely for the nostalgia value either; all build on the originally subtle apogees of the original LP, and remind us of why it was so well-received as a landmark release in the first place.

Review: Complementing the main LP release of this career-bookending Chicane release comes the CD edition of the new symphonic edition of Far From The Maddening Crowds. The original trance uplifter LP blew us all away at its initial '90s moment, proving producer Nicholas Bracegirdle's fine talents to the world. Now, however, comes the full orchestral version, sating our tireless retroactive desire for symphonies after trance; every track on the original album hears a full-blown symphonic orchestral rerub, utilising the collective talents of members of the The Halle and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and combining them with glistening SFX and studio embellishments to lend an epic neoclassical vibe to an all-out classic.