Centraal Trance Topic (68): Way Out West

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Way Out West when the luscious tones of 'The Gift' first catapulted onto Top Of The Pops in 1997, it was immediately obvious that Way Out West had more going on than the usual dance act. Just as co-creator Nick Warren, with his gamekeeper past, comedy writer cartoonist brother, and high quality DJ career that has included Massive Attack and superclub Cream, clearly has something more than the average DJ. With its eerie, evocative vocal from Brit-soul diva Joanna Law and its gorgeous, fluttering melodies, 'The Gift' connected as deeply with people never found on a dancefloor as it did with die hard clubbers. Even the Halifax Building Society felt moved enough to include 'The Gift' on a TV advert - though they still turned Nick Warren down when he applied for a mortgage.

Three years later Way Out West, Nick Warren and former child prodigy Jody Wisternoff, are back with their second album, 'Intensify', and a single, the title track from the album, that will set hearts fluttering. The 'Intensify' album is a seamless collection of powerful house music that wears discrete emotions on its sleeve and rides beats that kick like an angry horse. There are innovative vocal numbers that weave magical webs of rhythm over ethereal voices; and there are sleek, nasty grooves. "It's a dance album but then I do think it sounds like an artist album and so many dance albums don't," says Nick of an LP that demonstrates Way Out West have a widescreen vision that only the best electronic acts - Moby, Underworld, Chemical Brothers - achieve.

26 year old Jody Wisternoff, the other half of Way Out West, released his first record when he was just 15: a home-made hip hop collaboration with his rapper brother Sammy, that came out wrapped in Bristol cool. The child prodigy spent all his time DJing at illegal raves and making tunes in his bedroom studio so the family did a deal. "There was an agreement that I had one year to make money, otherwise I had to take my A Levels," Jody remembers. While Jody divides his time between obsessional studio sessions and an international DJing schedule, Jody enthuses about new vocalists like singer Aly Kennon, the breathy, slightly folksome voice on the sweetly sad 'Intensify', who he found singing in a restaurant. The restrained emotion in her voice connected instantly with the moodier edges of Jody's musical psyche. "Every time I sit behind a keyboard, the chords I play are melancholy. There's always a tearful edge," he admits.

When Nick Warren was a gamekeeper in the wilds of Oxfordshire, he used to walk Gary Glitter's dog. Living in Bristol in the late 80s he was a key DJ on the city's underground music scene. He toured America, as Massive Attack's official DJ then became a resident at Cream, Liverpool. Now he's one of the most respected DJs in the world - though he prefers to play abroad because he can create the kind of cutting edge soundtrack British clubs, more mainstream than ever, can't handle. "The best crowds are outside the UK. Northern Ireland is fantastic but really, I go to Israel or Hungary or the States or South America and the people are really into good music."

Family is as important to Nick as it is Jody: Nick's brother Mark is the cartoonist and comedy writer behind Private Eye's 'Celeb' strip, and three years ago Nick's wife Sarah gave birth to their daughter Esme. "Once you have a child your perspective on life completely changes," says Nick. "But I love the DJing and I feel I'm playing the best I've ever played in my life." There is no danger of Nick Warren ever falling out of love with dance music. "It's the repetitive nature of it. That's the main thing. There's so many more surprises in dance music than in rock music. We're making sounds that have never been heard before." Jody, meanwhile, just wants to keep chasing the perfect track around his studio and the perfect club around the world. "It's one of the nicest things we do, going out, dancing, communicating with people, eye contact," he says. It's as simple as that. 'Intensify' will be released on Distinctive Records on August 20th, preceded by their single, also titled 'Intensify', on July 30th.

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Op zaterdag 13 oktober 2007 14:14 schreef DreamAway het volgende:

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Luminosity presents Phynn & Friends
Saturday 17th November
22:00 - 07:00
Club Poema - Utrecht
Genres: (Pure) Trance, Progressive, Classics
Doorprice: 12,50 Eur
Pre-sales: 12,50 Eur (link)
Line-Up:
Phynn 4 hours solo! (Black Hole Recordings/In Trance We Trust/Karma)
Mark Norman (Blackhole Recordings/In Trance We Trust/Magik Muzik)
Leon Bolier (Spinnin/Be Yourself Music/Armada) (Trance Energy Anthem 2007)
Re:Locate (Five AM/Armada/United Recordings)
Galen Behr (United Recordings)

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