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High Contrast Recordings | Cat# HCRD070
Released: Friday July 31st 2020
Buy here: N/A
01. | 135 BPM | E_Maj | 02:56 | Transatlantic Communication
02. | 135 BPM | C_Min | 02:14 | Elements Of Nature
03. | 135 BPM | G_Maj | 01:47 | Awakening
04. | 135 BPM | G_Maj | 02:52 | Superstring (Rank 1 Remix)
05. | 135 BPM | E_Min | 02:29 | Predictive Memory
06. | 135 BPM | G_Min | 02:31 | No Name
07. | 135 BPM | D#Min | 02:21 | Beats At Rank-1 Dotcom
08. | 135 BPM | A_Maj | 03:47 | Paris Nice Cannes
09. | 135 BPM | C_Maj | 02:11 | Such Is Life (Deep Dub)
10. | 135 BPM | F_Min | 02:36 | L.E.D. There Be Light
11. | 135 BPM | F_Maj | 03:12 | Airwave
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Discogs & additional info
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Note: this "album" was only ever released on streaming services.
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2021-02-18
The Throwback
This week it marks exactly one year ago that ASOT #950 took place in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. Who knew back then that it would be the last music events any of us would attend for over a year? Yet here we are. No need to be sad though, let us instead revisit a particular set that night. The Rank 1 live performance by Piet & Benno where they sprinkled their synth magic over us in the space of half an hour... Last July they did the most unusual thing and they released this performance as a live album for you to listen to on Spotify.
The only other time they released a performance was on the DVD that they came with their debut album Symsonic, all the way back in 2002. That DVD captured their legendary Trance Energy 2002 performance and is still loved dearly by Trance fans the world over. 18 years later they added another chapter to their live reportoire. Let us go back to that incredible half an hour.
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The Form
The first thing to note about this live act was how it was a new format for the guys. Whereas past live performances centred around the tracks being built from scratch on the spot and the melodies being performed on (often alternative) synth sounds which Benno would be playing live, this performance was a bit of a live-meets-DJing hybrid: though Benno was once again playing synths live, he was actually playing "alongside" the tracks whilst Piet mega-mixed their most relevant parts and made sure no track had more than 3 minutes air time. They used the tracks in their original forms but blended them into themselves: this compact hybrid style of live act allowed them to showcase 11 tracks in a little less than half an hour time.
To me this live act was a testimony to their ability to continually reinvent themselves 23 years onward from 1997 when they first met! Though they might have opted for this format more out of time constraint (they seemed to have been added to the line-up rather late or out of the blue even) than out of a conscious choice for innovation. Regardless, it did not diminish the experience for fans that adore the truer sounds of Trance...
Now let us revisit that glorious night!
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The Substance
The opener Transatlantic Communication had a very playful, whimsical, slightly distorted synth motif when melodic background guidance was added with a very '99ish sounding supersaw pad. The intro lead's filters kicked up and a reverberating effect indicated the drop was imminent: a very bouncy bassline exploded across the venue and so Transatlantic Communication revealed itself to be a Transatlantic celebration, a full-on euphoric party in progression! Up next was the first monster collab between the guys and M.I.K.E. from 2013. Before there was Origami or Anahera, there was 7 Instead Of 8 and Elements Of Nature. Here Piet and Benno make an epic mash-up of its first and second breakdowns, to keep the anthem levels high. When I noticed what they were doing at the time I grinned from ear to ear, Rank 1 utilizing Mega Mix techniques during a live act?? Genius! That would mean more tracks in less time which could mean more new tracks to be premiered.
Awakening was the third pick of the night: a beloved Classic by them but curiously, it never quite gets the love their other Classics receive in these live shows. Piet zoomed in on the track juiciest part whilst Benno provided some riff-tastic synth back-up as we quickly rolled on with one of the Greatest Of All Time in our scene, Superstring (Rank 1 Remix). The crowd roared as Benno rocked those keys like he had done so many times before in the past 20 years. In the final measure he harmonized alongside the main lead, brief as it was, it was an indication of pure love for this track and the joy of performing. And then...
*gasp* It was THAT track, the Tribal-meets-Tech monster they dropped at Dreamstate 2017 which received the rather mysterious and contradictory title Predictive Memory. Benno unleashed the synths in the break as well as the drop. Sadly, due to the format it was about only one third of the length it got in 2017 and because of that we didn't get to enjoy its tribal build-up but I was over the moon for getting to hear it live, having thought that was never going to happen. The next smasher is another Dreamstate ID and once again Piet & Benno showcased their humor by calling it No Name... Which was basically another way of saying it was called "ID". Oh you! :^) No Name's outstanding feature was its colossal bassline, especially once dropped: hearing it on a low-quality recording vs. having that bass rolling in your stomach are experiences which are two universes apart. DAMN. The second drop last shorter as a something sinister approached fast... Is that...? No way... Impossible. It couldn't be!
...But it was. In the former home of Trance Energy, 16 years after its inception and 15 years after it was last performed there, the gargantuan, industrial reverbed lead of Trance Energy Anthem Beats At Rank-1 Dotcom thundered throughout the Jaarbeurs mainstage, Benno slamming those keys with equal gusto as he did in 2005. I lost my shit. It wasn't the first Piet & Benno track I ever heard but this track was my first acquaintance with the name "Rank 1" effectively making 2004 their Year Zero for me. I was still stunned with joy over the inclusion of this sensational floormonster when I heard a weird voice morphing from the depths whilst Beats At's bass faded. Armin popped up to urge us to show our appreciation for Rank 1 and we roared. I didn't recognize anything here so this had to be another new track! Turns out it was Paris Nice Cannes and it was Rank 1 deciding to blend a very Techno-oriented track with a Millennial Trance breakdown: it had some incredible Push-vibes which soon made way for the weird vocal and a stomping, driving Techno drop with atmospheric pitchbends and effects, built on a L.E.D.-like synth stab. Cutting-edge genre blender, do these guys ever stop being amazing? Spoilers: Nope!
After the freshest, newest Rank 1 tune we plunge back 19 years in time to one of the very oldest: the beautiful Such Is Life (Deep Dub) with the great Shanokee's soothing and empowering vocals. Those strings are Trance History. Blissfull delight upon the 1000th play.... Those stabs are perhaps a little less memorable but even though the Deep Dub has always been yours truly's least favorite Such Is Life version, it obviously made sense tracklisting-wise to drop it here. Furthermore, it made the next track all the more enjoyable.
The 10th track of the night is quite possibly the ultimate Rank 1 live track. And it wouldn't surprise me if the guys love performing this one more than Airwave or Superstring of which you know that they hold a special place in their hearts. This track had everything a proper Rank 1 track should have. Gorgeous strings, captivating build-up, great energy and a KILLER riff. Simple but super effective. It was none other than the immortal L.E.D. There Be Light, another track elevated to Trance Energy Anthem status by the hands of Piet Bervoets and Benno de Goeij. Since late 2008, no Rank 1 live act has taken place without it and for good reason. Of the era following the Golden Age of Trance, this track stands as one of the most iconic modern-classics.
Of course, there was no way that they would leave Airwave out either. The one track that made all of the previous possible speaks for itself of course. Perhaps the biggest of The Class Of '99... That is a debate that will never be settled. But what I do know is that those of us that were there for the music had had the best 30 minutes of the whole event given to us by two humble guys from the South of the Netherlands.
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The Conclusion
The live act has been a feature that has set Rank 1 apart from their peers from the very beginning (alongside their infamous dislike for interviews as well as mass/over-promotion). They don't do one every year, but each and every time they DO decide to do one, it is fully worth the effort. What was so incredible about this one is how it featured two brand new unheard tracks, two previously unreleased tracks (which were new to the majority of the crowd) and selection of seven Classics that typified Rank 1 throughout the ages, touching upon the different ways these two guys have approached the genre. And the format they used to do it! It felt a bit like a history lesson with some contemporary material woven in to it to showcase that Rank 1's Trance might be different every two/three years, but it has never been dull. He who solely eats potatoes every day, doesn't live a single day in his life. And even though they only had 30 minutes to play, they out-Tranced every other Main Stage act that night.
Rank = #1. Now and forever.
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