Tune #113: Paradise 3001 - Several Huge Yellow Snaplike Somethings

If anyone follows the scene of electronic dance music, he/she could identify that the revival of old trance/progressive sound is evident during the last 2-3 years. I do not know if the current situation is caused by the lack of new styles that would fill the dancefloors, but I am very pleased for two reasons; the first one would be the production of new tracks that present similar vibes to the ones evoked of the old banging tunes from the 90's and the second one is the re-issue of forgotten obscure tracks that went under the radar.

One of the latter examples is the following:

PARADISE 3001 - SEVERAL HUGE SNAPLIKE YELLOW SOMETHINGS

Behind Paradise 3001 we can find the Dutchman Aad de Mooy. AdM started his involvement in music composition back in 1983, when he played guitar in various new wave bands. Fascinated by the endless possibilities of analogue syntherizers (Korg MS10) and drum machines (Roland TR606 & TR707), he has been engaged in electronic music production since 1989. He achieved international success in the club scene with his second D-Shake release Yaaaaaaaaaah / Techno Trance. Since then he adopted several pseudonyms across various music styles (Alex Cortiz, D-Shake, Time Warp, Flygang, Hallucination Generation, Cat Scanner, Dish Cuts, etc.). A supportive force in his journey was Go Bang! Records, an electronic dance label founded in 1990 by Ruud Jacobs which left its important mark in the rave history of the Netherlands. In parallel with music production, Aad de Mooy created video clips for tracks of his own and other producers (such as Kraze, Todd Terry, MC Extince) and curated a show on Amsterdam radio stations.

Today a track from his Paradise 3001 alias is presented with the perculiar title "Several Huge Snaplike Yellow Somethings". Under this pseudonym, 2 studio albums and multiple 12" singles have been released, lying mostly in the spectrum of ambient trance. However, the specific track is an absolute banger! A compilation of Paradise 3001 tracks (including also this tune) has been issued in 2020 by Banoffee Pies, a Bristol based record label founded in 2013.

Since 1998, Aad de Mooy rebooted himself and embraced his "Alex Cortiz" persona, focusing on lounge music compositions with more than 10 studio albums, leaving behind the wild days of killer grooves that rocked the clubs.

P.S. I recently acquired the book "Hypnotized: A journey through trance music 1990 - 2005", accompanied with a 3xLP compilation of the Dutch trance sound. I would strongly emphasize that Aad de Mooy undoubtedly deserves an acknowledgment for his contributions in the genre and the club scene in general. From my point of view, Paradise 3001 would be one of the best examples how Dutch trance should sound and not the mega-euphoric supersaw arpeggios imposed by the likes of Tiesto & Ferry Corsten at the turn of the millenium!

Tune #92: Rocco - Saharien Child

France greets Morocco:

ROCCO - SAHARIEN CHILD (ORIGINAL MIX)


Sémakdji Mourad started DJing with the encouragement of his older brother at local clubs of Lyon, France in his teens. Serving initially as supporting cast for jocks like Laurent Garnier, Carl Cox, Louie Vega and DJ Deep, he developed his craftsmanship as a DJ.

In 2001, he collaborated with Alex Santos (Alex S) and Emmanuel Kossi (Manoo) to form Rodamaal, whose output caught quickly the attention of Ben Watt (of Everything But The Girl fame along with Tracey Thorn) and was published in his label Buzzin' Fly. The most popular tracks of the group were Musica Feliz’ and Insomnia (remixed by Âme), licensed in several compilations.

In the meanwhile, Sémakdji produced his own tracks under the Rocco moniker. His pseudonym resulted from a shortening of his initial name, Morocco, as suggested by a club manager in his early DJing years. Influenced by the veterans of the scene like Todd Terry, Masters At Work and Dimitri from Paris, he established a solid appreciation for deep house music.

After producing several tracks for various labels (Freerange, Defected, MN2S, Real Tone), he marked his name in the club scene. The success of tracks Someday and Memories gave him the opportunity to travel the world, sharing his music. A strong bond has been established with South Africa, a place he visits 3-4 times a year, where he enjoys mostly the appreciation of the crowd for deep house. Even his solo album The Bridge was released by SA label House Afrika Records in 2013, featuring artists and vocalists from South Africa and US.

Although Rocco's favorite place to DJ is found in the southern part of Africa, today's track is largely influenced by Moroccan tradition (I can only guess that Sémakdji has Arabian heritage judging from his name). Saharien Child was released in 2011 by Deeper Shades Recordings, a digital label set up by Lars Behrenroth. The vocal sample is taken from an old folk Moroccan poem, whose content is unknown to me, since I do not speak the Arabian lingo. However, this unfamiliarity does not prevent the listener to be moved by the emotion of the lyrics, combined with the ethno flavoured melody. For full listening experience, I would suggest the Lars' versions:

ROCCO - SAHARIEN CHILD (LARS BEHRENROTH REMIX)


ROCCO - SAHARIEN CHILD (LARS BEHRENROTH REPRISE)


It is a pity that the track is not available in physical format, a must have for appreciators of high quality music!