The Middle East seems to be a desired breeding ground for many highly talented Trance artists and none are hotter right now than the United Arab Emirates champion that is Harmonic Rush. While starting out under his MilamDo moniker, he has since decided to shift the focus on his side project that has exploded into one of the biggest names in Tech Trance and Psy. Recently, he has been on remix duties for the legendary John Askew on Giving You Acid and Angry Man & Future Disciple‘s The Smuggler From Bombay, and has been smashing the charts with his latest single on Monster Force entitled Head Rush. Additionally, 2014 marked the beginning of his brand new label entitled Dark Soho, which is meant to represent Blue Soho’s twisted and evil side to the family of labels. There, his second official Psy single entitled Complicated! received huge support from high end Tech Psy artists such as Indecent Noise, Jordan Suckley and Eddie Bitar. Back in September of last year, he released his first single under his new name entitled The Dark Side Of Persia on Edge EDM Records and its immense success eventually gave way to a 2014 update by the legendary Ahmed Romel for a double dosage of Arabic sounds and styles. Romel is most known as the curator of the Vital Soho record label and has crushed many of his singles such as Prism and Victory, as well as unofficial reworks of Gaia‘s Tuvan and Max Graham‘s The Evil ID. His rework to The Dark Side Of Persia shies away from the titanic force of Harmonic Rush and gives it the Orchestrance treatment complete with a spectacular breakdown and a beautiful end release.
Kicking things off with an iconic, harmonic-minor string riff, the beginning’s sinister disposition is well supported with Techno high-hats, grumbling basslines and piano lines that gives off a ‘Friday The 13th’ kind of feel. This is quickly brushed aside however, as the onslaught of power packed synth strikes deftly punch through the soundscape with unregulated fury until the reveal of emotional Middle Eastern vocals signal the beginning of the monumental breakdown. A furious multitude of various congas and Psy sounds enter the foray as the vocalist continues through her culturally rich minor scale as it transitions into the true beginning of the section. Suddenly, an expansive exchange commences between overarching string slashes and roaring tribal drums beautifully set the stage for a truly epic breakdown that spans both the heavens and the sandy grounds in which these two Trance behemoths finally meet. With a swirl of voluminous white noise, the phrase smoothly transitions from the cinematic backdrop to the Electronic realm as carefully selected timbres make their way towards a self sustainable melody that’s rich with the embodiment of the Middle East. As the rise in drums and energy rolls through the buildup, it quickly drops into a fantastic melody that contains the rich passion and soul of a true artisan such as Ahmed Romel. The combination of paired down basslines and Techno percussions allows the melody to sing at its highest volume and the sheer veracity in its overall tone of mood makes it one of the most fascinating and inspirational pieces to come forth for 2014.
Ahmed Romel‘s brilliant remix to Harmonic Rush‘s The Dark Side Of Persia is now available on Edge EDM via Beatport, so make sure you purchase a copy and support real talent today!
Keep the music alive. -Q
Beatport: http://www.beatport.com/release/the-dark-side-of-persia-ahmed-romel-remix/1324054
