Category Archives: Trance

ATTLEBORO, Mass. I distanced myself from my son Patrick, not as a precaution against the virus though he is an emergency room nurse and in the thick of things but because a novice fly fisherman poses enough danger.

Stand too close and that whip of line he has aloft, tipped with a tiny hook masquerading as a bug, can take a wayward path and snag your shirt. Or your ear. I know this.

The sun was low in the trees and the stream now slid by like ink. A trout nosed the surface beside a half-submerged log and Patrick was in range if he could just keep that line out of the brambles around him. I watched the scene play out from the road bridge while I blew cigar smoke at the midges flitting around my head.

Years ago I sat along streams like this with my oldest brother, Dennis, and watched him roll cigarettes while we scanned the water for the telltale ripple of a feeding trout to target. We were younger and more irresponsible, dropping everything in spring to travel to the Catskills, or the Rockies or the White Mountains anywhere for the chance to catch magic hours like this when hungry trout rise in waning light and a trance-like stillness closes in.

Now, as I watched Patrick, I felt a twinge of melancholy. Denny, now in his 70s and a dozen years older, lives hours away and we share fewer spring adventures. It didnt help that in this time of self-isolation and daily death toll announcements he said during one of our more frequent phone calls now that he and his wife, Devina, were getting their affairs in order. All of them. It just seemed timely and prudent, he said.

Weve settled on cremation, he said.

Our mother once termed the early 1970s the worst years, so much societal unrest and worry over Dennis, her oldest. Fresh out of college and then the Peace Corps, Denny had a wanderers spirit that took him from coast to coast and to Denver in between. He would light home for a time but then with little warning hed shoulder his backpack and hike for the highway, to hitch a ride somewhere.

Why dont you ask Dennis to take you fishing? she once asked, her motive clear even to a boy barely a teenager. Keep him close.

PATRICK AND I LEFT THE STREAM without fooling a fish. Two nights later we were standing on the bank of a nearby pond, ready to try again. Patrick, who is 27, had not until recently shown much interest in my fly-fishing passion. But this virus, he confided one day after another 12-hour shift caring for the gravely ill, has everyone appreciating things more. Teach me, he asked.

He watched closely as I tied different flies on our lines and spared me any wise remark as I expounded on the life cycle of trout bugs, from their submerged origins as crawling creatures to their transition to flying adults. Just pay attention to whats coming off the water, I said.

I hooked a nice trout on a submerged nymph pattern and it jumped completely out of the water to try to shake the hook. I handed my rod over to Patricks girlfriend, Meg, so she could feel the fish. The trout swam in close and with slack in the line, eventually slipped off. L.D.R., I said. Long distance release.

We kept at it for a while but grew frustrated as the magic hour commenced and the trout were leaving bull's-eyes all over the water but beyond our casting range. Wed decided to call it a night when a stranger walked up holding a plastic shopping bag sagging with something heavy inside.

He spoke with a Russian accent, and with his few words of English we came to understand he had a big trout in the bag he wanted to give us; he didnt know how to cook it and did not want it to go to waste.

Caught four, he said. Let go the others.

Four?, I said, impressed. What were you using?

Marshmallows.

Marshmallows?

He nodded. Mini, he said, and pressed his thumb and forefinger together to emphasize the small variety.

So much for weighted nymphs and artificial gnats.

We accepted his generous offer, and Meg snapped a photograph of Patrick and I with the fish.

Well, that was different, Patrick said, and as we laughed, I thought how Id retell the story to Denny the next morning, sending first just the photograph as a tease and saving the best part for the question I knew would come: What fly did you use?

Perhaps someday Patrick will remember that the first trout he ever held with the fly rod I bought him, came that spring of the virus when we were all social distancing and simultaneously being drawn closer together.

Thomas Mooney is a journalist in Attleboro, Mass., and a lifetime practitioner of social distancing each spring with the advent of trout season.

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The Trout Were Socially Distant, but Not the Family Memories - The New York Times

HALIENE, born as Kelly Sweet in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is an electronic music singer who has worked with the likes of Seven Lions, Ferry Corsten, and Illenium. As someone growing up in a musical household, HALIENE began singing at state fairs, community festivals, and stage theaters during childhood. When HALIENE started her music career, she sang pop tracks under her real name for advertisements and TV series such as Passions, One Life To Live, and Believe. As a pop singer, HALIENE released two albums, We Are One in 2007 and Ashes of My Paradise in 2014. Since transitioning to EDM in 2015, HALIENE has become a recognizable voice in the genre, particularly in dubstep and trance. Here is One EDMs exclusive interview with EDM singer HALIENE, who is currently based in Los Angeles.

HALIENE: I am rewatching the entire series of my favorite TV show, Battlestar Galactica! Its still SO GOOD. I have also enjoyed watching all my DJ and producer friends doing their live streams. It is amazing to see everyone be so creative lately in finding new ways to reach our fans.

It was magical. There was always so much creativity around me and I think that really shaped my own creative mind. I am also an only child, so my imagination got to run wild and I loved making up stories into music. My father often accompanied me on piano when I would sing or perform, and those moments were very special for me.

I never felt me or my voice fit in pop music. It always seemed like everyone just didnt know what to do with me. When I found dance music, it was like my whole world suddenly made sense. Especially when it comes to trance, I see it as classical electronic music, which is both ofmy loves combined. It feels like dance music is where I was always meant to be.

Seven Lions Throes of Winter EP release show was my first show as HALIENE, and I could not have been more thrilled to have that incredible opportunity. It was a dream come true. I remember being in awe of howincrediblehis fans are, and how reactive and responsivetheyare to music. They truly live and breathe it. I had never performed for fans like that, and it stole my heart. Since then, he and I have worked on a lot of stuff together, have performed many times together and he is still one of my favorite collaborators of all time.

Working on Blueprint with Ferry Corsten was incredible. Ferry is an absolute class act genius, and I truly admire everything he creates. We got to work closely with him on all the songs in the studio together, which is actually surprisingly very rare in this dance music world. I really connected with the character I played, Vee. I feel like she is me and I am her in a different universe, haha!

Not in particular, no. I do tend to write more rhythmically when it comes to housier or poppier dance stuff, but the difference between melodic dubstep and trance is not actually that much. They both call for beautiful dynamic legato melodies with long notes andetherealheartbreakinglyrics.

I am very proud of the lyrics I wrote on that one, and I feel they really apply to this time. Some of my favorite lines are: Somewhere up above the clouds I know the sun is rising, somewhere in the world there is a place we arent divided. It really rings true to what we are all going through in this pandemic.

I recently put up my performance of Whats Done Is Done from my live set on Dreamworld Online Music Festival on my Instagram! I actually wrote that song over a year ago now I think, and the instant I heard the track I knew exactly what it needed to be. Its always incredible to hear where Jeff takes it after I deliver the vocal to him! My full live set is now up on my YouTube channel, check out the performance now!

Performing at Kinetic Field with Tritonal at this past EDC Las Vegas in 2019 was one of the most wild and amazing things Ive ever gotten to experience. I had the tiniest little platform to perform on the biggest stage imaginable, in front of 65k+ people in one of my favorite places on earth. EDC is truly magical, and I feel so lucky to have performed there five times now. We also had 40mph+ winds that nearly closed the stage that day, so that was a little terrifying but it made for even more magic!

PLAY LIVE SHOWS! I cant wait until it is safe for us all to come back together and share music IRL. I miss my fans so much, I miss meeting them and hearing their stories with my music. Until then, you can find me streaming weekly on Twitch (click here), as well as on Instagram (@HALIENE)!

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Exclusive Interview with Top EDM Singer... - One EDM

Express News Service

KOCHI: Perhaps, the only thing we can control when the world is going crazy is how we handle it. Ask musician and composer Rishad Mustafa and singer Anand Sreeraj. The duo, who previously worked together for a Malayalam track in 2018, released its new English electronic album Hold me tight recently. Though the virus hindered post production and video shoot, the team is now on its way to complete it.

Anand and Rishad entered the music scene with their first single Nilave, a Malayalam EDM creation, that now has over three million views on YouTube. Anand, who also penned the lyrics for Hold me tight, started his musical career at the age of 15. Since then, he has been part of various bands in and outside Kerala, including Deepak Devs venture. Rishad, the music producer, started composing and producing music when he was 13. Since then he has worked with movies and advertising films across multiple languages.

Making independent music was always my main focus. Having worked with sound so far, I have an infatuation with electronic music, which I am meaning to pursue, says Rishad.The Kygo-like mystical progression of the song, paired with deep lyrics sends you into a comfortable trance. In memories we reside, theres no turning back writes Anand, who has proved his versatility in handling multiple genres and languages. As the track progresses, you will also notice the unexpected influx of Indian music and instruments, the flute, which blends back into the frame before you can catch it.

Electronic music has a certain freedom. You are free to create, to experiment and work on what you want to develop. You can do that in a studio, he says. The fact that a disease-struck world today needs that kind of self-sufficiency may be an added advantage.

The duo is now aiming at digital platforms to get their music to people. We are pitching to Spotify and Apple. That is where everyone is listening now, at least till things get better and we can hope to do a live concert. But till then, the world still needs music, he says. Anand and Rishad are planning to release five more original compositions in the near future.The track is available on YouTube and Spotify.

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Tune to hold tight - The New Indian Express

Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim's magical love story is our all-time favourite and many fans look up to them when it is all about love, promises and togetherness.

It is rightly said that marriages are made in heaven and a lot of celebrity couples make us believe that fairytales do exist. One of our favourite celebrity love stories is of Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim, who fell in love with each other during the shooting of their film, Bangalore Days. They are not just the best on-screen couple but also off-screen. Their beautiful and romantic social media pictures are a proof that they were destined to be together. They are setting major relationship goals for all the couples and show their fans what true love means in reality.

Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim's magical love story is our all-time favourite and many fans look up to them when it is about love, promises and togetherness. Fahadh and Nazriya Nazim are the perfect partners and setting goals for us. They met each other for the first time on the sets of Anjali Menon's Bangalore Days (2014). They played the role of husband and wife in the film. Interestingly, not Fahadh but Nazriya proposed her partner while they were sitting in a room post pack-up. During one of the interview, Nazriya Nazim revealed, During the shooting of Bangalore days, we were sitting in a room. Only two of us were there. So I asked him Will you marry me?. I promise I will care for you."

Though the actor had experienced love in the past, he had never faced such an honest question from any girl. The Trance actor immediately said 'Yes' Fahadh also revealed that their parents had been pivotal in arranging the marriage. Fahadh Faasil's mother was super impressed by Nazriya in the first meet itself. One of the stunning couples in the Malayalam film industry got engaged on 20 January 2014 and got married in the same year on 21 August.

Sharing about how he decided to spend the rest of his life with hs Bangalore Days co-star, Fahadh said, "Even though I have been in love in the past I have never looked at anyone the way I looked at her ( Nazriya)." They show faith in destiny and decided to spend the rest of their lives together.

Nazriya Nazim, already an established and popular actress in Malayalam films took almost a four-year-long break from acting. Post her wedding, Nazriya Nazim returned to films in 2018 with Anjali Menons Koode.

In between, there were a lot of reports that the couple is expecting their first child together. However, Nazriya Nazim took to social media and rubbished the news.

Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazims last film together was Trance. Directed by Anwar Rasheed, the film released earlier this year.

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Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim's Love Story: From proposal on the sets of Bangalore Days to their marriage - PINKVILLA

John Acquaviva knows more than most about the impact of social isolation, not just on the economy but our psyche.

The London native an international star on the electronic dance circuit was among the first people in the city to contract COVID-19 in early March and rarely has left his home since.

Saturday, Acquaviva and five of the citys most accomplished DJs are busting out and heading to an empty London Music Hall, from which theyll live-stream a show dubbed From Our Place to Yours as a benefit for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Were just trying to get a little awareness out there for mental health, said Acquaviva, whose stay at home has been the longest hes experienced in three decades.

This pandemic has certainly been a test for all people in isolation and the weather hasnt been helping either for getting out for a walk or cycling. Its been so damn cold. Its tough for everyone. With all the support that Ive been getting from the community and what everyones doing to fight this pandemic, the least we could do is help and band together and do something.

Music DJ, producer and entrepreneur John Acquaviva has been diagnosed with COVID-19 after returning March 8 from an overseas trip.John Acquaviva

Also on the bill are Jesney, Gilles Bernard, Alex Hawken, Aaron Winter and Joel Demoor, who will mix house music, techno, tech-house and trance in a family friendly show. Winter will serve as host of the show, organized by the London Music Hall and promoter Jason Carpenter, of N.E.C. Productions.

The show can be accessed online at http://www.twitch.tv/necevents and starts at 7 p.m. Donations can be made online at gofundme.com/f/lmh-live-stream with all proceeds going to the CMHA. More than $1,000 already has been raised toward the $5,000 goal.

Carpenter said many DJs have continued to broadcast online from their homes.

I think we have some of the best sound (DJs) around in this city, and I thought it would be cool to do something from the London Music Hall, which is probably the best live venue in the city, said Carpenter.

We wanted to do something to showcase the local talent but also to draw attention to the importance of mental health in these times with people losing their jobs and the overall stress this situation (pandemic) is causing. I know people would rather have the whole, live experience. This is almost like a Band-Aid until we can get together again and see each others faces.

Carpenter said hes thrilled Acquaviva, whos been DJing since the early 1980s, agreed to do the show.

Hell probably appeal more to the older crowd, but hes still recognized as the biggest talent to come out of London and hes definitely still relevant, said Carpenter, noting those who sign up for a free Twitch account will be able to chat and interact during the show.

DJ Bryan Jesney also is excited about the prospect of sharing the stage with Acquaviva.

Hes been pushing this music since the 1980s, so hes a pioneer in electronic dance business, said Jesney.

I think its great to be doing this, with all thats going on in the world. Its exciting to be doing something and sending a positive message out there at a benefit show and to be playing in front of John Acquaviva, who is not only a veteran of electronic dance but a survivor of the coronavirus.

In 1989, Acquaviva and fellow DJ Richie Hawtin founded Plus 8 Records, which became one of the worlds most popular and influential techno labels. They also co-founded Definitive Recordings in 1992, which has produced six No. 1 tunes on Beatport.com, including Gail in the O, the second longest running No. 1 song in Beatport.

When the music world went digital, Acquaviva and Hawtin again were at the forefront with the development of Final Scratch, a software program that allowed DJs to connect digital files to turntables and have instant access to thousands of songs without crates full of records.

Today, Acquaviva is crisscrossing the globe on business trips often mixed with music, still doing about 50 or 60 shows a year.

This is the longest period of time Ive spent at home and havent travelled in 30 years, said Acquaviva.

I dont need to be up on stage anymore, but I do love it and I really enjoy connecting with people. I think that now that I havent been able to do anything in a while, Ive started to think about it and miss it.

Acquaviva, who has performed in stadiums in front of tens of thousands of fans, said he will miss the live audience but Im not going to do anything that risks someone elses health, not when Ive been through it and know what this virus can do.

I know we all miss that social interaction and many of have a feeling, a sense of emptiness, and loss, and sadness. Who knows when we can come together again, physically? But, for the most part, I think a DJ should be listened to and I dont think the live component is as compelling as it is with a live band, said Acquaviva.

Up on that stage, Im not going to be able to see people dancing, but the production levels for the audience are top class with the lighting and sound. You dont have to wear a mask, just enjoy the show and leave a positive message.

jbelanger@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/JoeBatLFPress

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COVID-19 survivor and DJ John Acquaviva joins other London DJs at benefit for mental health - St. Thomas Times-Journal

Help, I think my Deliveroo habit is out of control. I cant stop ordering tasty takeaway treats to be delivered straight to my door. Or even non-tasty things that make you feel as though your insides have been grouted.

It doesnt have to be Deliveroo. It could be Uber Eats, Just Eat Takeaway delivery companies have been very active during lockdown, and should be commended for supporting key workers. However, theyve also become increasingly active at my house. What used to be an infrequent occurrence, chez Ellen, has turned into Moped Food Delivery Central.

Sometimes, its like a gathering of a low-end Hells Angels chapter at my kerb. Once, after some particularly shameful over-ordering, I realised that two separate delivery bikes might end up arriving simultaneously in an unseemly vegan junk food collision. Im going to call this rock bottom, even though I know it could easily get worse.

How did it come to this? Like many Britons, I started lockdown with high hopes for delicious, well-balanced, home-cooked meals, perhaps with harp music playing in the background, as I mused wisely on world affairs. Instead, its been a two-month downhill slide from self-improvement to self-debasement. For all my pompous vegetarian yakking, too often Ive descended into a trance-like state, ordering from the depleted selection of local restaurants. In my area, well-known names regularly vanish into the mists, and all that remains are places with names like BurgerChipsCheap, PizzaChipsCheap, or WrapsChipsCheap. And often it is cheap; much cheaper than eating properly. Thats the problem. Its delicious too. Thats the other problem.

I always tip, socially distance and thank the delivery person profusely. Im not an animal. I genuinely dont want anyone risking anything for me, and certainly not to sate some base urge for a lukewarm jackfruit burrito on a Wednesday evening. And yet still I order. Why? Clearly, at some point, I mentally rebranded takeaway food delivered to my door as a treat. While past generations could go stoically months, even years, without a food-based indulgence, my pathetic 2020 western brain cant handle even a brief period of pressure, cant be dissuaded from spoiling itself with a damp veggie burger from a freaky-looking food-fusion company Id never even heard of before lockdown.

I didnt behave like this before, so something must be going on and that something is my own lack of self-control. In a way, thats fine. Perhaps, those hopes were unrealistically high at the start of lockdown: people envisaged a halcyon time of renewed passions for art, culture and the human spirit. In reality, the most creative thing some of us were going to do was find ever more bizarre ways to process our escalating stress. If my way of coping is a sudden predilection for food prepared by a strange hand, delivered on a strange moped, then whos to judge? Still, it cant go on. Deliveroo, we need to talk. More specifically, we need to stop talking.

Prince Andrew must have thought the pandemic had pushed his association with the convicted sex offender, the late multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein, out of the news cycle. Even though the FBI and US prosecutors were still pressing him to talk to them. Even though the famously non-sweaty royal had made such an armpit-gushing mess of that Newsnight interview. Now the public was otherwise engaged.

Then up pops Netflix with the documentary series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich. The series is due at the end of this month, and, going by the trailer, looks set to give the Duke of Yorks chief accuser, Virginia Giuffre (she of the cosy photo with his arm around her), a pivotal role. As she says: You took our freedom, now were going to take yours. Ive yet to see a clip of staff from the Pizza Express in Woking (I did not knowingly serve warm dough balls to this man), but it doesnt look great for Andrew.

Its all very modern, isnt it? Time was, even huge stories would fade as news cycles moved on. Of course, newspapers could be trusted to revive interest; hard-hitting documentaries were made. However, these days, theres also the phenomenon of Netflix to contend with. Anything interesting, especially with a criminal and/or topical angle, and Netflix is all over it before you can say: Big-budget four-part true crime mini-series.

It was inevitable really. Michael Jackson and R Kelly are just two of the famous faces to have been Netflix-ed in recent years. Not that anyone wishes to encourage a culture of trial by Netflix the legal process is as important as ever. This is just about extinguishing that last bit of hope that certain people may harbour that their ignominy may miraculously float into the ether. In the era of the Netflix documentary series, big stories have less chance of conveniently expiring than ever before.

Nadine Dorries is a Tory minister, whos been the MP for Mid Bedfordshire for 15 years. Id be inclined to think that she knows how to behave, on social media, and everywhere else.

So, why did Dorries retweet a video of Labour party leader, Keir Starmer, which had been doctored to make it look as though he was reluctant to prosecute grooming gangs, when the truth was the exact opposite? It would have taken a dim-witted child precisely nought seconds to deduce that retweeting this item was a stupid, dangerous and unprincipled thing to do, not least because the video came from a far-right Twitter account.

Dorries wasnt alone in retweeting the video fellow Tory MPs Lucy Allan (Telford) and Maria Caulfield (Lewes), also did so, and all three were rebuked by No 10. However, is this good enough? Surely its beyond fake news, or even abject stupidity? Dorries, above all, isnt some Westminster ingenue. Nor is she an amusing character, whose actions could be dismissed as harmless eccentricities. Dorries is a health minister and seasoned parliamentarian, with enough experience to know exactly what she was doing, and why. When youre ready, were all ears, Ms Dorries.

Barbara Ellen is an Observer columnist

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My self-control has gone. I'll take anything that's delivered to my door - The Guardian

Simon (James McAvoy), a fine art auctioneer, teams up with a criminal gang to steal a Goya painting worth millions of dollars, but after suffering a blow to the head during the heist he awakens to discover he has no memory of where he hid the painting. When physical threats and torture fail to produce answers, the gang's leader Frank (Vincent Cassel) hires hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson) to delve into the darkest recesses of Simon's psyche. As Elizabeth begins to unravel Simon's broken subconscious, the lines between truth, suggestion, and deceit begin to blur. (c)Fox Searchlight

Rating:

R (for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, some grisly images, and language)

Genre:

Mystery & Suspense, Special Interest

Directed By:

Written By:

In Theaters:

Apr 5, 2013 limited

On Disc/Streaming:

Jul 23, 2013

Box Office:

$4,856,227

Runtime:

101 minutes

Studio:

20th Century Fox

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Trance (2013) - Rotten Tomatoes

Uniting and connecting millions of fans around the world week after week, Tomorrowlands United Through Music always presents a daring and diverse lineup, gathering different musical styles.

On this weeks program, the People of Tomorrow will be able to dance to four hours of exclusive and eclectic live performances by German trance music legend Paul van Dyk (live from Berlin, Germany), Belgian longtime Tomorrowland resident Yves V (live from Antwerp, Belgium), young Dutch talent Mike Williams (live from Hilversum, Netherlands) and multi-platinum award-winning artist and sustainability pioneer Sam Feldt (live from Amsterdam, Netherlands) hosted by One World Radios presenter Adam K (live from London).

Similar to the previous editions, these four world-class artists will be brightening up the world with their magical sounds, ranging from trance to house and tropical tunes, playing brand new and exclusive mixes and each broadcasting live from their own homes.

The worldwide success of Tomorrowlands weekly United Through Music streams has reached millions and millions of viewers and listeners throughout the past few weeks, each edition featuring fans from across the globe on the Livestream. The Belgian festival continues to bring a magical experience into millions of living rooms all over the planet. Relive some of the previous United Through Music editions right here.

Tune in to the sixth edition of Tomorrowland Presents: United Through Music and be part of the show on May 5 from 15:00 CEST on Facebook,YouTube,Twitch,VK ,Tomorrowland.com/unite(via video conferencing) andOne World Radio

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Tomorrowland takes on another week with its unique live broadcast United Through Music - Rave Jungle

Here is interesting information about Trance. Those who have watched the film must be aware that the climax portion was set in a red light area in Amsterdam. However, it has now been revealed that the team did not shoot those scenes in the real location but had sets erected in Kochi. Reports are that the filmmakers were keen on shooting the portions there and had applied for permission but it was later denied. Following this, the sets were erected in Kochi.

Trance was one of the biggest hits in the Malayalam film industry this year and Fahadh Faasils performance in it was lauded by the critics. The film was released on the OTT platform Amazon Prime and is doing well among the netizens.

Trance, scripted by Vadakkan Vincent was produced and directed by Anwar Rasheed. The film starred Fahadh Faasil in the lead role with Nazriya, Vinayakan, Soubin Shahir, Chemban Vinod, Sreenath Bhasi and Alphonse Puthran also included to the star cast.

Fahadh Faasil's next release will be Malik, directed by Mahesh Narayanan. The technical crew of Malik includes Sanu John Varghese for cinematography, Sushin Shyam for music, Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar for sound designing and Santosh Raman for production designing. The film is bankrolled by Anto Joseph under his banner.

On the star cast roped in for Malik, we hear that Parvathy and Kunchacko Boban, who had both worked with Fahadh in Take Off, have been assigned important roles. Biju Menon, Vinay Forrt and Nimisha Sajayan have been roped in as well. Malik is expected to hit the marquee this year.

The stars other projects areThankam and Bilal andare in the post-production mode.

Fahadh Faasil has also signed up for another new project. The film, which will be directed by Sajimon, will also have Joju George playing an important role.

(Content provided by Digital Native)

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Here's where the climax scene of 'Trance' was shot - The News Minute

Paul van Dyks name is synonymous with trance. A pioneer of the genre before it even had a name, the German producer and DJ established its characteristics with his early productions and remixes. Most notable of these is his track, For An Angel, and his remix of Humates Love Simulation at the start of the 90s.

With these productions and the rise of Stateside DJ culture, van Dyk shifted into international superstardom. Forbes named him one of the worlds greatest DJs in 2012. He occupied a top 20 spot in DJ Mags Top 100 DJs for 15 years, hitting No. 1 twice, in 2005 and 2006. When the Grammys introduced the best electronic/dance album category in 2005, van Dyks Reflections was nominated. (He won a Grammy in 2008, for his remix contribution to The Dark Knight soundtrack, which won best score soundtrack album for motion picture, television or other visual media.)

In the past 16 years, van Dyk has released nine artist albums and sold millions of records. His 10th LP, Guiding Light was set for release this spring, but due to the pandemic, van Dyk is instead releasing his fifth remix album, Escape Reality.Many years in the making and out on his own longstanding VANDIT Records,Escape Reality reimagines some of van Dyks most memorable songs into non-dancefloor versions better suited to the at-home listening audiences are presently confined to.

During quarantine, Van Dyk has also been giving fans a weekly livestream -- Sunday Sessions, at 7 p.m. CET, from his home in Berlin. This program is in addition to van Dyks VONYC weekly show on Dash Radio, which recently passed its 700th episode.Upon the release of Escape Reality, van Dyk discusses growing up in East Berlin, the resurgence of trance and shifting gears in these unprecedented times.

1. Where are you right now and what is the setting like?

In Berlin, at home, in my home office/studio, cant go anywhere. Im in a different room than where I do the livestreams -- but its in the same, lets say, facility.

2. What was the first album or piece of music you bought for yourself and what was the medium?

I grew up in East Germany, but my grandma was allowed to travel to the West. She smuggled a record back for me. It was the vinyl album of Orchestra Manoeuvres in the Darks [1980 synth-pop album]Organisation. It was extremely influential. Early electronic, but also melodies and poppy elements, the general imprint of what later came for me in music.

3. What was distinctive about where you grew up and/or where you spent the specific years that shaped you as a musician?

Where I lived in East Berlin was 600 meters away from the Berlin club, UFO. The Berlin Wall was between me and the club, which created a certain hunger to experience this music live. I was listening to the radio all the time and hearing about whats going on in the clubs in West Berlin, and I could never go. That energy and that vibe definitely had an impact on me. Music wasnt just a sound I was excited about. It was also the gateway to a free society for me. Listening to this music behind the Iron Curtain connected me to the world.

4. What did you parents do for a living when you were a kid and what do they think of what you do for a living now?

My mom was an interior designer. I had an apprenticeship in East Germany as a broadcast technician, which stopped when we moved to Hamburg when I was 17 and I started an apprenticeship as a carpenter. My mom raised me very grounded, to have a proper profession, to have a job. When I told her Im not going to do this carpenter thing anymore, Im going to do this music thing, she said she trusted me. The way she raised me, she was sure I wouldnt do this lighthearted.

5. What was the first track you made?

It was a remix for a project called Effective Force called Illuminate the Planet in 1993. The remix was called New World Order Mix, because I was a fan of New Order and because it was two years after The Wall went down and everything was different. My first own track is called My World in 1994. To me, all music fills the room. Trance music goes through the world, all the way to the horizon. Maybe that has to do with where I grew up and how I grew up. When you grow up in a confined space, the world and the universe is what you dream of.

6. What was the first thing you bought for yourself when you started making money from music?

I didnt have any money at all, so when I was booked to play my first paying show, I went to the promoter and asked him if he could pay me some of my fee upfront so I could buy some more records to play a better set.

7. What was your first ever gig?

At Tresor in Berlin. I wasnt paid for that. I was just invited to play in the beginning when nobody was there. That was my first gig in front of a few people. But my first real booking was at a club called Turbine in Berlin.

8. What moved you toward dance music as far as a particular club, party or raving experience?

When I was a kid, I used to listen to the West Berlin radio stations when I did my homework. When I heard The Smiths for the very first time, I thought, Wow, this is awesome, its so different. At the same time, I had this taste for electronic-sounding stuff like OMD and Depeche Mode and Yazoo. I started to listen to specialized radio shows and heard stuff we would call early house music. It was interesting, because there wasnt actually anyone singing and telling you to be sad or to be happy or whatever the lyrics might say. It was the instrumentation and the energy that moved me. That was so exciting to me, especially since I didnt speak any English anyway -- we learned Russian in school in East Berlin -- so I didnt understand what they were saying.

9. Do you remember how it felt when you got a reaction in terms of people actually dancing?

My first emotional memory is fear. I was a typical bedroom DJ. I was at home, never turning the music up really loud, turning the bass down. Then suddenly I was in the club, where I heard the same records very, very differently. I heard all these things that I was never able to hear before at home. It was frightening. The thing was, I believed so much in the music that I was playing that I didnt doubt that people would like it. At that age, when youre just beginning, youre so nave, you think this is the best music ever, everybody must love it. Until you realize a lot of people have different tastes and different approaches to things. No one left the club when I was playing. That made me happy and gave me hope.

10. If you had to recommend one album for someone to get introduced to dance music, what would you give them?

Gargantuan by ['90s progressive house duo] Spooky. They laid a phenomenal groundwork with this album in regards to sound and a different approach to music. Its a very inspirational record. In regards to production, BT Ima is phenomenal. It was because of that album that we got introduced and made music together.

11. What was the last text message you sent and to whom?

The last text message I sent was to my IT guy because one of my software plugins wouldnt work. There are these programs where you can remotely log into the studio system and go on to the computer and see the problem. I wanted to see if he could do that.

12. You were originally scheduled to release a different album, Guiding Light, this spring. What was the idea behind releasing the ambient remix album, Escape Reality, instead?

I was finalizing everything for Guiding Light, and at the same time, the lockdown became more and more intense. Im banging 138 BPM. Im really excited. I would love to go out on the weekend and play in front of people, see their reaction, but its not possible when everyone has to stay home.

Im a huge fan of straightforward club music, but thats not necessarily what Im listening to right now. I thought it would be a good moment in time to finish the Escape Reality project and release it now when people are posted at home and actually listening to and enjoying music. Releasing club music right now is like going fishing in a pond where there are no fish. You throw the bait in, but it cant be consumed when there is nothing there to consume it.

13. What was your intention with the creation of Escape Reality?

I compose a lot of music on keyboard or guitar with proper songwriting. In the clubbing context, sometimes the actual song is undermined by the electronics of the music. I wanted those tracks to feel like individual parts of the composition rather than the energetic vibe. Someone like Luke Howard or Niklas Paschburg, who make very reduced piano-based, electronic-influenced music that is meant to be sat down and listened to -- I find really inspiring, and thats what I tried to achieve.

14. What effect do you hope the album has on people during this specific point in time?

As the title says, maybe a little escape. Maybe sit and look out of the window and listen to the music and get some hope. It will be better. We just have to be patient. We have to get through this together. Maybe the whole album, or just one or two tracks will become something that give that little glimpse of hope in rather miserable times.

15. The general opinion is that this is a productive time for making music, without knowing when, or if, your music will ever be released. Does that feel true for you?

I would make music without it ever coming out. Thats one of the reasons why Escape Reality took so long. I was working on it whenever I felt like it. I finished each individual track without ever having a plan about if its going to be released or when it will be released. Every artist is different, so every approach to art is different.

16. Youve had your tour dates postponed indefinitely. What are some impacts of these changes?

The uncertainty, not just for me, but for everyone, is whats nerve-racking. For example, in Germany yesterday they said there are no big events allowed until the 31st of August. The next sentence was: "then we will see." It doesnt give you anything. The only way to stay sane is to be active and communicative. The term social distancing is incorrect. We have to distance ourselves physically, but, if anything, we should socially stay far closer together these days. We should be there for each other and communicate with each other.

17. You do a weekly livestream, Sunday Sessions. What do you hope your fans will get out of these?

My main aim for the people on there is that they all communicate with each other. They all logged on together, at the same time, a big community that is together, connected through the music. Im just the vehicle they use to communicate through and be together. Playing music is the only thing I can do right now and through that create a communication platform. It feels good to see people from all over the world talking to each other.

18. Youve always been active and articulate about politics. How do you feel you can use your position to create awareness and have influence?

The complexity of the world and especially the political decision-making process needs much more than [the number of characters you're allowed] on Twitter. It doesnt make much sense these days to use social media to make a statement. First, you will be ripped apart. No one takes the time anymore to really think twice about why I may have made a statement and what led me to think in a certain way. It seems that the world is conditioned to no longer read. I learned that it makes more sense to connect behind the scenes with politicians and decision makers to work on changing things and initiate a positive thinking process.

19. As a trance pioneer, what are your thoughts on its recent resurgence?

Trance was never gone. I love this music, and I listen to it every day. I hear all the amazing up-and-coming talent. To me, its still the most creative electronic music form -- because artisticallyyou have to be able to bring an idea across through a composition, not just a soundscape that is created by plucking on a filter. You have to be able to play a melody, to play chords and also to produce. It takes much more from someone to make this kind of music.

It goes back to my nave way of thinking when I started: "I love this music so much, everybody must love it." Its good for the musical genre as a whole that its coming back and gaining more popularity again. A young kid who starts making trance music, its not the latest, super-duper-popular stuff. They know theyre in a niche, and you know theyre in it for the music.

20. What piece of advice would you give to yourself at the beginning of your music career?

Dont take disappointment too close to heart. If youre a passionate musician, if youre a passionate DJ, one way or another, you will run into a situation where somebody rips you off or sidelines you or does other things to you. Dont take it to heart, and believe in your music.

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20 Questions With Paul van Dyk: The Trance Icon on Growing Up in East Berlin & Why Social Distancing 'Is Incor - Billboard