I Love Progressive - Trance, Progressive, Track Lists, Raves, Uplifting, A State of Trance, Armin Van Buuren, Progressive House

BLAKE JARRELL

The past two years have brought this extraordinary young artist a plethora of serious achievements.  From his ongoing summer residency at the legendary Amnesia club in Ibiza, to a 40 country world tour to complement his successful 2-disc DJ mixed compilation for the Armada Dancefloor Sessions series.  Blake Jarrell is one of the fastest rising stars in the dance music industry today.

It is hard to believe that just a few years ago Blake’s fortunes we’re anything but good.  Blake arrived in his adopted hometown of Chicago in 2005 shortly after packing up all his belongings and fleeing the Mississippi Delta from the menace of Hurricane Katrina.  The Windy City’s vibrant electronic music community embraced Blake’s natural fan making ability and he was making waves in no time.

Blake quickly rose through the ranks of local jocks and a big break was just ahead.  Some high profile bookings brought on a chance meeting with Armada Music’s head aficionado Armin Van Buuren.  After listening to a few of his original productions, Armin contacted Blake and soon after he joined the Armada artist roster.  Since that time Armin has invited Blake on several of his world tours as an exclusive special guest performer.  Finally, Blake cemented his relationship with Armada Music when he joined a select group of international stars for full summer residencies at Armada’s weekly shindig at Amnesia in Ibiza in 2007 and 2008.

Battle tested indeed, after traveling to over 90 cities, the New Orleans kid turned Chicago hometown heavyweight remains busy and is looking to climb further up the DJ charts with an intense schedule of original productions and remixes.  Blake’s studio skills are what earned him an undisputed reputation and his creativity is enjoyed and heavily supported by Markus Schulz, Tiesto, Ferry Corsten, Paul van Dyk, Pete Tong, Matthew Dekay, John Digweed, Paul Oakenfold and of course Armin Van Buuren.

Blake recalls his 2008 hit Punta del Este and his remix of Moussa Clark’s She Wants Him as just some of the highlights of his young career.  The former was featured on Armin Van Buuren’s acclaimed A State of Trance 2008 compilation, and the latter held the #1 position on Beatport’s trance charts for several weeks.

It is this blistering pace of success that has kept Blake grounded which explains his dedication to expanding his monthly radio show Concentrate.  The show continues to evolve and reach new audiences by featuring signature mix sets from Blake Jarrell and special international guests.  He believes in his fans immensely and works tirelessly to give back to the people that have supported him and his records.

Blake is set to kick off 2009 with an international tour in the better part of February in support of his upcoming project for Armada Music.  A unique compilation that will feature some of Blake’s original work as well as high profile remixes.  The album will debut at the Winter Music Conference in Miami at the end of March with a CD release on Armada Music scheduled shortly after.  The tour will see Blake off to Riga, Stockholm, Helsinki, Vancouver, Toronto, Miami, Boracay, and San Francisco, among others.  Blake Jarrell sets the bar awfully high for aspiring young artists from Chicago, New Orleans and beyond, but it is his perseverance, dedication, hard work, and most of all passion for his craft that sees him through to the top and across the world.

RADIO

You can catch Blake’s weekly radio show “Concentrate” on DI.fm every 3rd Thursday of the month at 4pm US Eastern Time (Progressive Channel).  Expect shows filled with the newest, freshest, most exclusive progressive house, techno, and trance mixes and live sets from all over the globe.  Visit www.di.fm.

::. Taken from www.blakejarrell.com

Markus Schulz is a man on a mission. He dreams of meeting the world. This dream just might be possible. Currently 13 on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll and 5 on the TranceAddict.com Top 250 DJs Poll, Markus has been travelling the world playing his personal brand of “dark, moody, melodic trance” and meeting as many people as possible.

Over the past three years, Markus has crossed the globe on an almost constant basis. From Australia to Russia and as far away as China and Trinidad. Along with playing his hometown of Miami. Markus was also found in Ibiza at his summer residency at Amnesia; The Two Tribes Tour in Australia and New Zealand; Tomorrowland in Belgium; Mysterland and Trance Energy in The Netherlands; Nature One in Germany; Distant Heat in Jordan as well as clubs and in Kuala Lumpur, Romania, Czech Republic, Mexico, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, UK, Boston, Los Angeles, New York and the list goes on.

Global DJ Broadcast, Markus’ weekly radio show, can now be heard on over 30 stations worldwide. His very special “Ibiza Summer Sessions” debuted in the summer of 2006. Wanting to give the listener the feeling of being part of the Ibiza summer, Markus planned each week with the best guest DJs and hottest music from the Balearic Islands. The mission was to bring Ibiza to those who couldn’t be there and add to the experience of those who were. And it worked. New stations the world over grabbed up the show for their audiences. Markus reached out through the airwaves to meet more people and touch their lives.

His stunning second artist album, Progression, is a cumulation of these experiences, and offers listeners a slice of his trademark dark, melodic trance alongside beautiful chilled tracks, guitars, and sublime vocals. Says Markus, “Progression was conceived in the summer, whereas the debut album was done and released in winter, so Progression is less dark, and more influenced by sunny days in Miami. ‘Trinidad to Miami’ was actually written while I was flying over the ocean with the sun shining on the water, and encapsulates that feeling of optimism and happiness.”

While some artists might find it hectic putting together an album with so much going on, Markus thrives on the inspiration he finds in his two bases – Miami and Berlin – and gigs everywhere in between. “I can’t do one without the other - playing for the crowd makes me excited and gives me ideas for getting into the studio. When I’m in the studio, I can’t wait to play out what I’m making and seeing people react to it – the processes feed off each other.”

“When I grew up listening to music it had a huge influence on me, and made me who I am, so when I make my own music I do it with the listener in mind and try and recreate that one on one feeling I’ve always had. It’s something that gets you through hard times, is a soundtrack to good times, and touches you in a unique way.”

2008 kicks off with the release of his fourth compilation for Armada Music, and Markus couldn’t be happier about its origins – Amsterdam is his spiritual home thanks to the overwhelming passion of the people resident there. “I always choose cities that are dear tome for my annual mix compilation” says Markus. “I just love Amsterdam, I feel a real connection there – my friends there are like my family. The people of Holland were one of the first to embrace and accept me and my sound, so it was the natural choice to do the 08 mix there.”

2008 is set to bring more dates in Australia, as well as Asia and South America

With no plans for slowing down anytime soon, Markus just might meet the world after all.

Taken from www.MarkusSchulz.com