Hailing from the great city of Amsterdam, the Electro Trance talent of Antillas returns to the scene with a brand new single off of his upcoming album debut. Antillas rushed into the scene in early 2012 with the release of his single, Damaged, which featured the lovely vocals of Fiora. This release was universally praised by many leading artists such as Gareth Emery, Paul Oakenfold, Dash Berlin and ATB, and catapulted his career to greater heights than before. Usually, he is mainly known as one half of the Dankann & Antillas team and their discographies include remixes of This Is What It Feels Like and We Are Here To Make Some Noise by Armin van Buuren, Letting Go by BT & Fractal and Nothing Without Me by Markus Schulz. While these two are both considered as bright, upcoming talent by the Armada crew, it is a bit of a rare occurrence to witness solo work from them. However, Antillas‘ new single of Silenced really caught us by surprise, as it seems to beautifully blend key elements of Trance and Progressive House into one, gorgeous piece. The vocals of Destineak, which comprise of two Canadian vocalists, also add a dash of versatility to the mix, as well as an added dose of brisk, emotional impact. Normally, I wouldn’t cover this kind of track because Progressive House isn’t really my style anymore, but Silenced is different and offers so much more than the usual anthem fare heard during festival seasons.
It opens up on a warm, Indie Rock section with rolling basslines and serene guitar riffs as the vocals of Destineak unveils her story of heartbreak and self perseverance. The lyrics do sound a tad mainstream, but there’s something about that voice that features subtitles that are always prominent with Trance vocalists. As the lyrics, “Safe. I’m a fool. Alone. Afraid.” progress, a somber, lonely piano ostinato releases drops of sorrow that patters all over the soundscape. However, the vocalist’s message takes a turn with the better, and Antillas coordinates that with the addition of snare hits and clipped claps as the rush of white noise brings forth a glorious melody to be utilized in the drop. The sudden rush of harmonic textures clash in a multitude of ways: from the complex, risky chord changes to the crunchiness of the textures themselves; they are all wonderfully connected with a nice touch of Electro infused power. The result is an incredibly powerful Progressive House progression that infuses the best of Trance and Electro with a heavy dose of hopeful euphoria, and its beautiful colors shine on like a bright diamond in the sun.
Antillas‘ single of Silenced will be out on March 17th on Armada, so make sure you mark this release in your calendars, Trance fans.
Keep the music alive. -Q
