Ashtrax - Helsinki
Think of Hybrid. Think of their sound. They are the leaders of the 'breaktrance' revolution. I guess, if there is one, they are most certainly the leaders of it. Right now breakbeat is a bit on the D n B and hip hop side. The word trance has such a stigma attached to it now for those that produce or listen to serious music, that everytime I'm told (presumably because of what I listen to) that some cool DJ I've never heard of is trance, there's always an apologetic tone or a kind of hesitant or goofy facial expression accomodating this horrific news. Fuck that. I love melodies just as much as anyone else, and I want them in my stew. And Ashtrax are one of the few groups I can think of that are making truly solid breakbeats underneath their truly uplifting sounds. You can hear that during Helsinki in all its synth pounding glory. This is one of the prettiest tracks in many a breakbeat moon, and it'll be remembered, as it has kind of been retired now. I love it just the same, and I hope to hear more from a curiously absent Ashtrax in the future.
