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| 2025-12-31 |
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| Greetings all! 2025 is almost over and so I bother you one last time for the annual Top 30 tradition. Narrowing it down to this final form was as tricky as it has ever been but I think I can say this selection best captures the spirit of my 2025. And I have to conclude that this year belonged to one man in particular as far as I'm concerned: Benno de Goeij. He brought back Rank 1 with a vengeance through b2b solo singles "Strobo" and "Lytherion", even gifting us an incredibly relentless "Deeper Dub Mix" for the former. Next to that he also gifted us four new BnO tracks, his solo project that so far seems to range from Tropical/Melodic/Deep House ("Moment With You", "Feel Like Tomorrow") to '90s inspired uptempo jams ("Before You Love Me") and even Pedro & Benno-esque bouncy Club tunes ("On Repeat"). But as the year drew to a close, in October he launched something truly special. A completely different alias called "Ben Norderfeld" with which he focuses on SciFi themed Ambient soundscapes. For anyone that loved his work as GAIA on the legendary "Moons Of Jupiter" project, you have to check out these Norderfeld masterpieces! Eight singles(!!) have already been released with a lot more on the way... One of those singles in particular was the only 2025 track to move me to tears by the sheer beauty of its Arp. "Blaksaeter" is at once an embodiment of the pure beauty we may find in Nature or experience in life in general, whilst there is a VERY, powerful nostalgic core to this piece that fills my veins with a homesick and longing feeling. In a way, it perfectly encapsulates this turbulent year. There was a lot of beauty in this year but there was also loss... And yeah, as mentioned above, that Palooka track was never NOT going to make it into this Top 30, it might be one of Benno's GREATEST millenial Trancers... How it never saw a release is beyond me!! If 2024 belonged to Ferry Corsten, then 2025 truly belonged to Benno de Goeij. But despite his massive contributions to my Yearlist 2025 in general and my Top 30 2025 in particular, Benno didn't do it alone. Many of the included legends had stellar years of their own and some crafted some really amazing Trancers. Special mentions I feel have to be given to Craig Connelly's "Here 4 U" as well as Markus Schulz' "What Remains Of Us": the former reminded me strongly of the Intuition Recordings style that was unique back in the day because it had evolved beyond the millenial classic sound without resorting to cheesy formulas (remember Menno de Jong, Mark Otten, Kimito Lopez and a certain Leon Bolier?). The latter meanwhile sounds like a Gouryella-meets-Mark Spoon kind of anthem with such full and powerful synths... This track is an event in and of itself! The trio of Daniel Skyver with "Kaval Sviri", Super8 & Tab with "XX" and Ben Gold & SUPERSTRINGS' "The Whip" (for the longest time it seemed to be my Tune Of The Year contender btw) is probably one of my favorite sequences of Trance tracks this year... The fit together PERFECTLY. :D And that's just five of the entries, there is still so much more beauty to be heard! So please, on this Festive Day, enjoy the phenomenal aural craftsmanship from the hands and minds of Ferry Corsten & Ruben de Ronde's NRG2000, Ben Gold & SUPERSTRINGS, Markus Schulz, Solarstone, Craig Connelly as CIRCA96, Super8 & Tab, Daniel Skyver, KI/KI, HI-LO, Stoneface & Terminal, LUSU and many more! |
| Razormane Top 2025 |
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| Ben Norderfeld - Aurelian |
| Ben Norderfeld - Fusion |
| Ben Norderfeld - Blaksaeter [Razormane Tune Of The Year 2025] |
| Siri Umann & Teles Moreno - Friends, Sun & Beach |
| Willie Graff & Tuccillo - Crystal Ball |
| Kraak & Smaak feat. Kosta G - Nothing Is Forever |
| Kraak & Smaak feat. Ivar - Travel Light |
| Todd Terje - Inspector Norse [Classic #1 of 2025] |
| BnO & Lulleaux feat. Nova Tropics - Moment With You (Extended Club Mix) |
| Mark Eteson, Echoes & Bluebird Woord feat. After Eden - Home Is Here (Extended Mix) |
| Alex Sonata & TheRio x Elevven - Blue Java (Extended Mix) |
| Hausman - I'm Feeling Ya (John Grande Extended Remix) |
| Ferry Corsten - Lose Myself (Extended Mix) |
| Unity Street - Say Ho! (Extended Mix) [Classic #2 of 2025] |
| Mike Efex - The Unseen Path (Extended Mix) |
| Markus Schulz - What Remains Of Us (Extended Mix) |
| Palooka - Growing Together (Original Mix?) |
| Craig Connelly presents CIRCA96 - Here 4 U (Extended Mix) |
| Solarstone - sonata 12" |
| Rank 1 - Lytherion (Extended Mix) |
| Daniel Skyver - Kaval Sviri (Extended Mix) |
| Super8 & Tab - XX (Extended Mix) |
| Ben Gold & SUPERSTRINGS - The Whip (Extended Mix) |
| KI/KI - What's a Girl to Do in '25 (Extended Mix) |
| HI-LO - REESE (Extended Mix) |
| Mike Cervello & Wiwek present LUSU - Drums Of The Night (Extended Mix) |
| Stoneface & Terminal - Flash And Bang (Extended Mix) |
| Ferry Corsten & Ruben de Ronde presents NRG2000 - Rise Up (Extended Mix) |
| Rank 1 - Strobo (Deeper Dub Extended Mix) |
| T78 & Roberto Molinaro - Bombacid (Extended Mix) |
| Honorable Mentions 2025 |
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| Ben Norderfeld - Past Memories |
| Ben Norderfeld - Paralyzed |
| Sam Rufillo - Es Buena (Extended Mix) |
| Kraak & Smaak feat. iogi - All I Need |
| Kraak & Smaak feat. Kainalu - Real Love |
| geods sored - Someone Somewhere |
| Roy Stroebel - My Heart |
| Cosmic Gate - You (Extended Mix) |
| NOMADSignal - On The Hunt (Extended Mix) |
| EBENEZER - ArenA (Extended Mix) |
| Jerome Isma-Ae - Rise (Jerome's Extended Discotheque Remix) |
| Albion & The Thrillseekers - Air (Extended Mix) |
| The Thrillseekers - Everything Now (Extended Mix) |
| BLR - Bonaire (Extended Mix) |
| Morees - Depths Of Your Mind (Original Mix) |
| Armin van Buuren & BLR - Bach To The Future (Extended Mix) |
| HI-LO - United in Trance (Extended Mix) |
| Peran & Bob ltd. - Unbelievable (Extended Mix) |
| Deepest Blue - Deepest Blue (Ferry Corsten Extended Remix) :P |
| Ferry Corsten & SUPERSTRINGS - Have Me (If You Want Me Too) (Extended Mix) |
| T'was an eventful year for me: I lost a former colleague; I ended my 22-month relationship; I signed a permanent contract for work (whoop whoop!); I got to attend five(!) Electronic music events for the first time since the '10s; I finally got to hear the illusive Smash Traxx release 013 "Growing Together" by Palooka, an undocumented alias by Piet Bervoets & Benno de Goeij; I watched Portugal lift their third(!!) international trophy in my lifetime; I also got to see Cape Verde qualifiying for the World Cup for the very first time in their history; Metroid Prime 4 was FINALLY released; one of my besties got married and three of my other friends had kids (two of them for the first time)... And okay, fine... I'll mention that too for those it concerns: Tiesto finally "came home" after 17 years. Set to the backdrop of all of this was the incredible music of 2025. Now it's time to say goodbye. May 2026 be a year of good health and worthy achievements for you. Keep rocking, keep Trancing, and let's manifest another year of phenomenal music! Be safe out there tonight and see you next time! - Papa Razor |
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