From shining, underground sensation to top tiering master, the stunning talents of Johan Ekman has become nothing short of a phenomenal sensation within the last few years due to his highly unusual brand of Uplifting and Tech Trance music. Way back when a few years ago, Ekman was kicking it deep within the underground of Trance with releases such as Vaste Regrette, Duende and Off There on labels such as Flux Delux, Diverted and Critical Fusion off of XPM Recordings. However, he has been steadily growing upon many Trance lovers within these past several years, and has definitely been gaining massive support by some of the hottest talents within the scene today. His unique infusion of Techno influenced melodies and decimating Tech drops have earned him a reputation for throwing down some of the hardest hitting sets this side of Europe and has been a part of major Trance events including The Energy Box in England and Luminosity in Northern Holland. Recently, his exclusive escapades have landed him deals with Mental Asylum on a massive, double EP entitled Rollability and Open Your Eyes and his singles of Rocking, Spinned and Sucker Punch have been unanimously supported by the likes of John Askew, Bryan Kearney, Menno de Jong, Angry Man and Sean Tyas, (to name a few). After his recent single of Never Change on the mighty Edge EDM Records, he sets up his chips to capitalize on that success with a blistering new single on Black Hole Recordings entitled Don’t Give Up, which promises to be one of his greatest Uplifting masterpieces to date.
Instantly starting with brutal, face smashing basslines with the grit set on the high, Don’t Give Up kicks things off with a torrential amount of force and edge that is reminiscent of Jase Thirwall‘s induced Techno drops as a flurry of various vocal cuts fire their hollow point rounds upon the soundscape with cold, calculating accuracy. Slowly, but surely, a multitude of emerging pads bring warmth and clarity towards the entire arrangement, as these pads soften the war hardened basslines with a bit of melodic hue in itself. Throughout the transition into the breakdown, things appear to slow down into a much more subdued state as filters are abound throughout the basskicks and synths, and the inclusion of squealing acid lines add a nice, crisp touch throughout the arrangement. In the breakdown, we start to hear subtle pads and clandestine strings as a multitude of crunchy, blaring synths bring the entire chapter to a chilling, finite conclusion before the second half picks up the slack. This is where we truly start to hear any inclination of pure, melodic material within this track, as repeating, angelic synths continue to tap throughout the padded strings and sublime atmosphere. What results is a gorgeously fast and hard hitting melody that is both wickedly reckless but also emotionally gripping to culminate into a golden arrangement that brilliantly shines with the manta of never giving up hope, even when all seems lost and forgotten to the ages of time.
Johan Ekman‘s fantastic new single, Don’t Give Up, is out now on In Trance We Trust, so make sure you purchase a copy and support real talent today!
Keep the music alive. -Q
Beatport: http://www.beatport.com/release/dont-give-up/1372927
