#90's trance

[posthumanwanderings]

Hard Trance Live 1998 (Dj chipstyler special)

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Megadeth - Almost Honest [Danny Saber Mix]

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

Headliners: 01 - Live at the Gallery by Tall Paul 2000 Progressive House / Trance / Progressive Trance / House

Ugh. I really hate to besmirch the often excellent and eclectic DJ Tall Paul here, but this man was simply *not* bringing it for this Ministry of Sound double-disc back in 2000. What we have here to kick off this ultimately fleeting Headliners series is an unfortunately jumbled up and incoherent mess of house and trance tunes from the turn of the millennium, some of which are quite good, but most of which are quite bad 😑.

And that, more or less, really just seems to sum up Ministry of Sound in a nutshell; some bangers to be sure, but also, a lot of these hulking superclub-type entities that operate branches in multiple cities—while also having their very own record labels too—seem to have this inevitable penchant for pushing out a whole torrent of mind-numbingly tacky crap, don't they? 🤷‍♂️

*sigh*

Anyway, with all that in mind, I really did enjoy certain parts of both of these discs. Paul chooses to close out each set with conventionally great trance runs, with the finale on disc 2, Rob Searle's remix of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love," probably being the best of the bunch. But the paths that he takes to get to both of these runs are largely windingly unentertaining, with yawn-inducing turn-of-the-millennium progressive house marring disc 1, and then a spat of mindlessly bouncy Euro gunk in the middle of disc 2. And to jam all these different types of dance music in here like this just feels so forced and awkward in the first place, resulting in a classic case of failing to please anyone by trying to please everyone 👎.

But actually, the variety was totally winning me over in the beginning, mainly because Paul was keeping steady and connecting good tunes together from different genres that you wouldn't be likely to hear in succession otherwise. He opens up the first disc with a satisfyingly quirky bit of quiet, eerie, and jazzy deep techno from the great Laurent Garnier, then follows it up with a pulsating and wavy piece of breakbeat-infused trance from Germany's Nalin + Kane, and then gets into a literally bubbling and locked-in house groove with UK duo Tin Tin Out. But after that, he departs from this fun grab-bag, genre-hopping concept, and just proceeds to dig himself into a pit mainly comprised of progressive house emptiness, until he finally decides to climb his way out and finish up the first set with some quality trance tunes 🫤.

So, there's definitely some great y2k-era dance music on here—and the totally memed-to-a-bloody-pulp Darude's "Sandstorm" too!—but really not worth the listen, overall. A genuine miss from the legendary and beloved Tall Paul 😔.

Listen to CD1 here. Listen to CD2 here.

Highlights:

CD1:

Laurent Garnier - "The Man With the Red Face (Original Mix)" Nalin & Kane - "Superfly 20019 Live at the Crystal Palace (Alternative Club Mix)" Tin Tin Out - "Anybody's Guess (Mr. G's Out Dub)" Cygnus X - "The Orange Theme (Solar Stone Remix)" Chris + James - "Darkstar (Original Mix)" Moonman - "Galaxia (Solar Stone Remix)"

CD2:

Agnelli + Nelson - "Embrace (Original Mix)" Darude - "Sandstorm (Original Mix)" Push - "Till We Meet Again (Original Mix)" Parker + Clind - "Cosmos (Original Mix)" Frankie Goes to Hollywood - "The Power of Love (Rob Searle Club Mix)"

[dankalbumart]

Namlook V by Namlook FAX +49-69/450464 1994 Ambient / Trance / Ambient Techno

[knightofleo]

Vitesse X | Repress Reprise

[indigoheaven001]

Indigo Heaven (formally Auden) - Element Remixes (2020)

Singles covers and shoots.

[entheo-music]

Peter Lazonby - "Sacred Cycles" /Original video 1994/

Peter Lazonby - "Sacred Cycles" /Original video 1994/

[mitjalovse]

There are some musicians whose introductions don't change much in the long run. For instance, Chicane had a great debut and his career is still going on, but we mustn't forget – the LPs don't matter for him. Yes, I'm selling them short – they're fine, most of the times –, though he belongs on a dance floor, which means that any album can mostly serve as an approximation of him concerting. Remember what I said a long time ago – the players like him, i.e. trance DJs, have their own set of rules, they have their own world to attend to, where the outside doesn't really equate much. While the idioman visit the charts, they do not mean much to their gigs, which remain the main reason for their tunes. True, I may be overexagerrating here, the reality is somewhere else.

[pick-me-up-im-scared]

heyy loveee !!

I don’t know if this is super weird, but yk what a hurricane shot is ? I was thinking maybe bartender!ellie giving a hurricane shot to reader. (and smut in bar bathroom maybe ??) hmm idk, js an idea!

What Can I Get For You, Cutie? (Ellie Williams x Reader) (Smut)

⚠️Warning!⚠️: This story contains smut, slapping and consumption of alcohol

Words: 3501

It was all your friends idea. You didn’t even know what it was. But based on their unstoppable giggles you should have known. You made your way through the packed club, being waaay closer to people than you wanted to, before finally making it to the bar. You let out a sigh as you placed your hands on the countertop, as if to compose yourself. Despite the few shots you’ve taken before this the nerves still crept up on you. You eyed the girl you’ve been gushing over the whole night as she prepared a drink for a girl who barely looks old enough to get in. You found it odd and you couldn’t help but wonder if she got in thanks to a successful fake ID. But you soon shook the thought out of your head. Who are you to wonder about that? Are you the police? Your eyes went back to the bartender who worked her skilled hands behind the desk. Grabbing different utensils before neatly putting them back in place. Despite the busy and noisy environment she kept her focus, zeroing in on the cocktail glass in front of her. She’s experienced. You stretched over the countertop a little more, just so you could see her slender fingers grasping the tequila bottl-

“Hey, (y/n)!” was announced loudly behind you before a hand was placed on your shoulder. You jumped at the unexpected touch, but relaxed when you turned around to see Bailey, one of the people who forced you out tonight. Also, your best friend since middle school. It’s one of those friendships that would have never happened if you hadn’t met each other when you were 9. Growing up you kinda chose different paths in life, and if it wasn’t for you magically choosing the same collage you’re pretty sure you’d never see her again.

“Hey!” Bailey yelled, getting the gorgeous girl behind the bar’s attention. Her pretty emerald eyes made eye contact with your friend, almost making you jealous cause you wish you would have the pleasure of looking into them. “She wants to order once you’re done!” she said while pointing at you, giving away one of her charming smirks. You quickly got pulled out of your trance and widened your eyes in terror. “Nonononono!” you felt the embarrassment creeping up on you as you tried to waft away her hand. Somehow the thought of the pretty girl not knowing you'd ever existed seemed more pleasing than having your friend get her attention as if you're a kid who can´t make an order for themselves.

But the bartender looked you over before giving you a little smirk followed by a nod to assure she heard Bailey’s statement. You hid your face in your hands as you slowly hunched over the bar desk that smelled of spilled alcohol. You're pretty sure you're hair soaked up a worthy of $90 of drinks, but you couldn´t care less. The embarrassment of looking at the perfect girl after this interaction was way more horrible. Bailey just chuckled at your act. She knew you hated stuff like this, but she’s pretty sure you’ll thank her after. “Good luck, (y/n)” she whispered in your ear before giving you a friendly back dunk, harder than usual. “Ow!” you threw out as you looked back at her making her way to the rest of the group again.

“What can I get for you, cutie?” you turned around to be met with one of the pretties smiles you've ever seen. Even thought it´s used to drain your bank account you can´t help but feel a little giggly inside. She placed her hands on the worktop in front of her as she leaned in, waiting for your order. All while wearing that smirk that´d make you throw your credit card at her. You lost the ability to think for a second. If anyone asked for your name you're not sure you´d be able to give it. She´s even more gorgeous up close. Freckles decorated her face and the glimes of the décolletage behind the button up shirt. You sure got a thing for freckles, but the girls you've hooked up with before couldn´t even compare. Seeing all the things you couldn´t from the distance before would keep you busy for days. Being able to point out all the things that made her unique while combing your fingers through her shoulder-length, auburn hair would be the dream. She even got a cut in her eyebrow! Like the one every lesbian guide tells you to get. Except this one looks like a real scar, which makes it 10x hotter. You're willing to risk it all for a girl you don´t even know the name of.

“Hi” you nervously laughed, “I, uhm….I would like a….”. Ellie found you absolutely adorable as you stumbled over your words, while you wanted to bash your head open on the fucking desk in front of you! She made sure to keep a soft expression while patiently waiting for you to get your order out. She’s no new to nervous costumers, though she more often come across more cuddly people who has a hard time standing up by themselves. Patience is key when you have a costumer who’s having a hard time getting their words out. Little does she know her face is the exact reason you're stubbling over your words like a fucking moron. “…..a hurricane shot, please”.

Considering Ellie's been kinda wishing you’d come over and make an order all night she almost thought her mind was playing a trick on her. She payed attention to you pretty early. Whenever the bar was rather slow she’d steal a few glances at you. Searching the room for your cute face. Usually everyone in this type of surrounding looks kinda the same, but something about your body language caught Ellie's attention. She could bet money you're not the one who came up with the idea to come here. Your uncomfortable and displeased manner sure made Ellie crack a smile. You seemed so out of place and somehow that amused her. Despite not thinking you'd stay more than 30 minutes she still hoped you'd made an order. Just so she could get the chance to interact with you. So hearing you order that made her think you could read her mind. But you looked innocent enough to not mean it in that way.

Guys would usually order a hurricane shot when they thought the bartender was super hot. Probably a weird degrading kink or something. You had made it very clear you found the bartender really attractive from the second you laid your eyes on her. And your friends insisted on you taking the next order, specifically asking for said shot. You had never heard of it before, but you’re open to try anything. Ellie´s questionable expression made you think she hadn´t heard you over the blasting music. But before you could repeat your last sentence, an octave higher this time, she asked with a chuckle “Are you sure?"

You nodded, though your mind was hesitant. What the fuck could this be if even the bartender seems hesitant? A mixture of all their strongest liquor? Ellie lets out another chuckle as she shakes her head in disbelief, mumbling "As you wish". She placed a shot glass in front of you on the desk, effortlessly grabbing the vodka bottle to fill it up. Once she´s done she turns around to grab a water glass and fill it up from the tap. Your eyebrow frowned, but you assume you have to trust the progress. But the wrinkles remained when she placed the untouched glass of water beside the shot. "There you go!" Ellie announced, sliding the two glasses closer to you. The gears in your head were working hard. Is this it? A vodka shot and a useless glass of water? Or is this some type of inside joke? What am I suppose to do first? Drink the shot or the water? Or is it one of those submarine ones where you’re supposed to drop the shot into the glass? Then what’s the point of the shot?

You reached over and grabbed the small glass with the strong liquor. As you did you notice Ellie making her way around the bar, on her way to....you. You widened your eyes and quickly looked down at your lap. You could feel her presence beside you, but you didn’t dare look her way. Thought you did pay attention to the black, beat up converse right beside your barstool. An awkward silence took over. Despite the loud music you could hear the cartoon crickets. Ellie waited another few seconds before breaking the silence “Sooo…are you gonna do it?”. “Ehm….I-I actually don’t-.....I don´t know what to do“ you finished with an awkward laugh. Why did you even get an order you knew nothing about? This is the last time you'll agree on something Bailey says.

Ellie was a little surprised by your statement, but it reassured her prediction you hadn’t come up with the order yourself. Someone told you to. A quick glance over her shoulder left no questions about it. Your friend group could barely contain their laughter as they watched the interaction between you two. Ellie shifted her attention back on you again. Your unsure eyes eyeing your recent order made you look so lost, so….innocent.

“Ellie!” both of you shot your head in the direction of the girl’s voice. “Hurry up! You need to come back and take up more orders” her stressed out coworker complained. Ellie? So that’s her name. “Yeah, yeah, I’m on it” she replied with a not so joyful tone, but it quickly switch when she turned back to you. "Do you, uhm......do you want me to tell you what it is?" Ellie could feel her usual confidence slowly wash off. Something about you didn´t just make her feel hot. It made her feel...nervous. She felt too much sympathy for you to just slap you across the face without warning. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to not do it! To just give you the shot as it is and claim you've got a hurricane shot. But considering your friends close eye on you she didn’t want to be called in by her boss and be yelled at for not doing a correct order. She’s here to do her job, take up orders and make sure the costumers are satisfied.

“Ellie! Just do it!” the other bartender once again interrupted, stressing Ellie even more. She let out a sign before handing you the shot glass, guiding you to take it. You do as informed, a little shocked at the touch of her skin on yours. It took everything in you not to make a face when the strong liquor hits your tastebuds, but you didn’t want to make a fool out of yourself in front of Ellie. Not more than you already have.

Ellie hesitantly grabbed the glass of water on the counter, shaking more than she should. She gave you a quick glance before throwing it your way. The cold water hits you right in the face, ruining any chances of your makeup still looking good considering the sweaty bar atmosphere. The couple sitting behind you turned around after feeling some of the droplets hitting them too. You let out a surprised gasp, louder than it would have been if you could have controlled it. But you didn’t have much time to think before you felt a sudden sting on your left cheek. Despite Ellie holding back as her hand meets your rosy face it still was a proper slap. And the water didn’t make it any better, just adding onto the burning feeling.

Oddly enough it felt like the whole bar had stopped at the sound of the smack. Of course that wasn’t the case, the music was still loud enough to be heard 6 blocks away. But you’re sure a few people turned their heads to look. You on the other hand were in complete shock. Your jaw was hanging low, eyes looking like they might fall out any second. And Ellie’s face was no different, though she tried to keep it professional. You were both completely frozen. You raised your hand and softly graced your abused cheek. The sting made you flinch a little, and you’re sure Ellie saw it cause her eyes switched from shock to utter pity. But before she was able to reach out and help you whip away the mascara that’s currently making streaks down your cheeks the same girl who’s been stressing her grabbed her by the arm and janked her back behind the bar. Thought Ellie’s eyes never let you. Baliey came running down with one of the other girls to help you down from the barstool. Ellie couldn’t hear what she told you, but based on her expression she seems thrilled, in comparison to you. A lump in her stomach started to form and a huge wave of guilt hit her like a wave. But she’s quickly forced back into the stressful tempo of being a bartender.

The leather seat felt nice as Bailey crashed you down beside her on her previous spot. Another one of the girls, Nathalie, come running with a bundle of paper towels. Bailey grabbed them one by one as she tried to dry you up without having too much of your makeup coming off with it. While the third girl, Lindsay, tried to dry up the remains of the water from your hair and clothes. “So……” Bailey began “Did you like it?”. You gave her a death stare that was enough to draw out an amused laugh from her. But matter of fact the wet stain in your underwear has been bothering you ever since Ellie’s hand left your cheek. But you couldn’t let Bailey know that. “Next time, don’t bring me into one of your weird kinks” you playfully said while rolling your eyes. Lindsay chuckled while throwing another crunched up paper towel in the near by trash can. Bailey smirked “But you thought she was hot, right?”. You nodded your head, looking up as she tried to correct the smudge eyeshadow on your lower lash line.

When the girls was done helping you to look as representable as possible with the circumstances everyone went back to their previous conversation. Almost like they completely forgot about the event that had just taken place. But you sure didn´t. How could you? The hottest girl you've ever seen had just slapped you across your face. You´d never tried anything like this before, but if Ellie were the one doing it you'd gladly take another round.

You made sure to sneak a few glances at the bar, not long enough to catch any of your friends attention. You could see Ellie effortlessly move around behind the desk, looking like she was built for the job. Her coworker whispered something in her ear that made her burst out in laughter. Oh my god, she’s perfect. As she continued to put the clean drink glasses in the rack her eyes locked with...you. You quickly turned your head towards your friend group, pretending as if you´d been apart of their conversation the whole time. Ellie chuckled for herself at your cute act. She couldn´t believe you still had problem looking her in the eyes after your latest exchange. The guilt was still there, though it looks like you’d repaired pretty well. She turned around to grab another batch of the glasses from the dishwasher that Sophie, her coworker for the night, had brought over to her. But when she spun around she´s met with a familiar pair of eyes that had issues looking into hers.

You nervously played with your fingers under the desk as you tired to not embarrass yourself any further. "I, um.....can I have another one?" you asked with a hesitation. Ellie smirked "Another what?". She was 99% sure she knew what you referred to, but she wanted you to say it. You took a deep breath, pushing away any nagging thoughts "A hurricane shot. Can I get another hurricane shot?". She could see her imprint starting to form on your chubby cheek. Ellie gave you another smirk before saying "How about you save your money and hold on for second?". You gave her a confused look but mumbled a "Okay". She nodded as if to reassure herself, "Good! I'll be right back!". You observed as Ellie mumbled something to Sophie before making her way to the back. Still confused you tried to build an idea of what she was up to.

After a few minutes a pair of hands grabbed onto your shoulders, making you jump. You thought it was either Bailey who had spotted you and now knew you had lied about going to the bathroom, or a creep who tried to make a move on you. But neither of them were right, cause the face that met you when you turned around belong to the bartender who´s got you wrapped around her finger. "Hi" she said while giving you another one of her charming smiles. God, just take my card and clear it already! "Hey" you answered with a nervous giggle. She didn´t waste another second before grabbing your wrist and drag you past the dance floor. She tried to avoid mixing DNA with the dedicated dancers that filled the floor.

You looked down at her hand firmly holding onto your wrist and saw a tattoo wrapped around her forearm that you somehow hadn´t noticed before. “Wait, where are we going?” you confusedly asked while trying to keep up with her footsteps. She glanced back at you before answering “You wanted to get slapped again, right? Or did you like the taste of the vodka shot so much you had to get another one?”. You made a face at the memory of the aftertaste that Ellie was able to see before turning her attention forward again. "No, you're right" you admitted while feeling your cheeks starting to heat up. “Right. So I’m just doing my job” she shrugged. Your heart skipped a beat at the realization. "Wait, wait, wait. I-I don´t even know your name". Lie. You sucked up that information the second her coworker said it the first time. But you didn't want to admit you'd payed such close attention to it. "Ellie” she said nonchalantly “My name is Ellie”. “Well, nice to meet you, Ellie. My name is-“ “(y/n). I know” Ellie interrupt. You were confused “Your friend said it pretty loud. I’m not sure anyone in this club missed it”. You laughed, she’s pretty funny too.

As the toilets came in view you could feel your nerves starting to freak out. Ellie opened the door to one of the unoccupied toilets while gesturing with her hand for you to go in “Ladies first”. You made your way into the cramped up booth, but before you got the chance to open your mouth Ellie spun you around and crashed her lips on yours. She quickly pulled away and a deep shade took over her face "I´m sorry, I´ve been wanting to do that all night, but maybe you-" you put your lips on hers to make her shut up. You found it rather amusing how you were the one stumbling over your words, but now she's the one being nervous. "I´ve wanted this too, Ellie. I´ve been eyeing you this whole night" you reasured her. "Yeah, I´ve noticed that" she added with a cocky smirk as her hand slide up your skirt.

You playfully hit her on the shoulder "I´m not the one slapping people in the face!". "You were the one ordering it!" Ellie quickly defended herself. "Yeah, yeah" you mumbled "Now come over here. I wanna see what those talented fingers can do". “Yeah? Oh, I’ll show you just how talented they are” she added while sliding her hand underneath your underwear. A cocky smile took over her face when her fingers met your mess “You really like being slapped, huh?”. You rolled your eyes and hit her on the shoulder again. She didn’t waist any more time before slowly sliding in her middle finger in your wet hole. You let out a satisfied moan, not believing this is actually happening. Ellie pays close attention to your blissful face as she moves her finger in a steady pace. “One more. Please, one more”, she quickly lined up another one of her fingers to your entrance before pushing it in. The stretch was everything you looked for, so when Ellie’s knuckles meet your wet folds your eyes uncontrollably rolled to the back of your head.

You took a steady grip on the color of her white shirt as she continued to slide her slender fingers into you. “Fuck, Ellie!” You moaned, letting your head hit the graffiti covers wall. Your jaw was slack as all sorts of sounds left your mouth for anyone in the bathroom to hear. And that’s when it happened. A slap to your left cheek made your eyes shot right open to land on Ellie’s concentrated face. The same hand then grabbed a hold on your face as she force you closer to hers. “Who knew you were such a slut, huh? Getting this needy from a hurricane shot” she mumbled close to your face. You let out a whine before desperately grabbing onto her outwashed, black jeans. But her hand leaves your face to stop you from pulling down her zipper. “I don’t have much time, pretty. I need to get back out there. So let’s focus on you. I know you’ve been uncomfortable for long enough with such a mess in your panties”.

[posthumanwanderings]

Toronto - Skydome (trance, 1997)

[coolnameloading]

Second place

Summary: Your relationship with Shauna is reaching a boiling point after months of feeling neglected. Will your anniversary dinner fix everything or is it time to move on?

You were Shauna Shipman’s girlfriend—well, you were supposed to be, but lately, you have felt more like her side piece. 

When you first started dating she made it very clear that if Jackie needed her for anything she would be by her side no questions asked. And at first, you were fine with that.

You thought it was cute that your girlfriend was such a loyal friend so you told her it wasn’t a problem.

Oh, what a love-struck idiot you were. 

At first, your relationship was great. You were like a couple pulled straight out of a 90’s movie. You’d wear her jersey to her games, your friends would roll their eyes at how sappy the two of you were, and old couples would see you walking down the street and give each other a knowing look remembering when they were your age.

Everything was absolutely perfect.

Until it wasn’t.

You didn’t truly understand the position you put yourself in until about 10 months into your relationship. 

Suddenly Jackie was having problems with her boyfriend Jeff, which meant that your weekly date nights became the stuff of history, and the only time you got to see your girlfriend was briefly at school before she was whisked away to soccer practice, or class, or Jackie.

And even when you did get to see her all she’d talk about was how hard Jeff was being on Jackie. 

“He should be glad Jackie even gave him a chance, she could do so much better.”

She sighed leaning against your car.

“Yep”

You mumbled back only half listening to her while grabbing something from your trunk.

“I mean she’s pretty, popular, and the captain of the women’s soccer team.”

“Mhmm”

Suddenly your door slams shut, you look up and see she’s giving you an annoyed look.

“Are you even listening?”

You sigh and nod, “Sorry Shaun but all we’ve talked about for the last two months is Jackie’s love life.”

Shauna rolls her eyes but reaches for your hand, “Sorry baby but I get so upset with how Jeff treats Jackie.”

“I get that but you’ve been so busy with her and soccer I only get to see you for like fifteen minutes in the morning and all you talk about is Jackie.”

You mumble looking down at your intertwined hands trying not to fidget.

“I just want to spend some more time with you.”

You whisper anxiously.

Shauna doesn’t say anything for a minute and you freak out, you open your mouth to make up some excuse but she cuts you off with a kiss.

“Look our one year is coming up on Saturday, what if we go to that burger place you’ve been wanting to try then we catch a movie?”

She whispers kissing the back of your hand while looking at you with her big puppy dog eyes that always make you melt.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah”

“No Jackie?”

“Nope.” 

You nod and kiss her cheek, “Can’t wait.”

Saturday comes, and you arrive at the restaurant. Seeing that Shauna isn’t there yet, you sit down in a booth and wait.

After 10 minutes you start to wonder what’s holding her up.

After 15 you get worried and send her a text ‘Hey I got us a booth, you almost here?’

After 20 minutes and the waitress refilling your water twice you finally get a text back. 

‘Hey baby sorry to do this so last minute but Jackie and Jeff just broke up and she needs me. Hope you understand.’

You stare at your phone for a while, unsure what to text back. You don’t know how long you were staring but the waitress circles back snapping you out of your trance.

“Hey, honey are you ready to order yet?”

She whispers kindly while glancing down at your phone, you tilt it down trying to hide the screen.

You want to answer but you’re afraid you’ll start sobbing the second you open your mouth.

“I-”

“I’m so sorry babe!”

Suddenly Lottie slides into the booth next to you.

“Practice ran late and then my phone died and I couldn't call an Uber to get here so I walked.”

She rambles on and on wrapping an arm around your waist.

You’re too stunned to speak but the waitress laughs and hands Lottie a menu.

“Oh thank goodness I thought the poor thing had been stood up.”

She says smiling at the two of you.

“No ma’am,”

Says Lottie smiling back at the older woman.

“Just ran a little late.”

The waitress walks away leaving the two of you alone in the booth.

“Lottie? What are you doing here?”

You ask watching her look over the menu carefully.

You don’t know much about Lottie. You’ve talked a few times while you waited for Shauna to get out of the locker room, and one time, she asked you for a pen in your English class and never gave it back.

“Well I came to get something to go but then I saw you here and heard the staff whispering that you’ve been here for like a half hour.”

You mumble hiding your face in your hands.

You look over by the entrance and see a group of waitresses whispering and looking at you. When they notice you’re looking, they all split up, and you watch one of them take plates away from a table that is clearly still eating as she tries to look busy. 

“God, can this day get any worse?”

“So why are you here by yourself? Where’s Shauna Isn’t today your anniversary?”

You peek at her from behind your hands.

“You know when our anniversary is?”

She nods chuckling with a small smirk.

“Kinda hard to forget the day Shauna got so annoying. So where is she?”

You take your hands away from your face and sigh trying to keep your voice from cracking.

“She’s with Jackie…I guess she and Jeff broke up and Shauna wanted to stay with her.”

Lottie puts the menu down looking at you in shock.

“You’re fucking with me.”

The waitress comes back and takes your orders. Lottie orders a grilled chicken sandwich with fries and you get a cheeseburger with fries.

As the waitress walks away again Lottie turns back to you.

“And she told you all this last minute?” 

You nod your head looking down at your water cup.

“Yeah, she texted me like 30 seconds before you showed up.”

The waitress comes back with your food and Lottie thanks her handing her a hundred-dollar bill.

“That’s enough right? And you can keep the rest as a tip for keeping my girlfriend here company while I was running late.”

The waitress nods thanking Lottie and walks away probably to brag about her tip.

“You usually don’t pay until you’re done eating ya’ know?”

You mumble trying not to blush, how can she call you her girlfriend so easily and just keep going like nothing happened?

“And what’s with the whole girlfriend comment?”

Lottie eats some of her fries with a grin.

“Well I figured you wouldn’t want them circling back with the check and I called you babe when I first got here so I thought I’d keep playing along.”

The two of you finish your food just talking and having a pretty good time overall, which is shocking given how the day started.

When the two of you get up to leave you grab onto the sleeve of Lottie’s sweater.

“Hey, I um…I got tickets to Beatlejuice Beatlejuice for me and Shauna. Do you wanna….”

Lottie smiles at you, not like her usual confident grin or her haughty little smirk but an actual smile. You let go of her sleeve and look down trying to get the butterflies in your stomach under control.

“Yeah sure lets go.”

[randomvarious]

1990s German Trance Playlist (YouTube)

Chicago had house, Detroit had techno, and with both of those world-changing dance genres managing to resonate so profoundly throughout much of Europe, you just knew that that continent was gonna then take all that inspiration from those two styles and eventually create something of their own that could stick too. And the big genre that they came up with was trance, which in its earliest days, was heavily nurtured like no other in the city of Frankfurt, Germany.

Now, although he's not strictly known as a trance musician or DJ, it's safe to say that trance music would not exist in its current form if it weren't for the legendary Sven Väth. Sven, a native of Frankfurt, co-founded Harthouse Records in the early 90s with some other folks, and that label would then prove integral to both the rise and spread of trance and hard trance. Sven was someone who had spent many a vacation in the party capital of the world, Ibiza, Spain, and he had also been to the tiny, coastal Indian state of Goa as well, where the beach parties there had DJs spinning all sorts of psychedelic tunes in order to induce their revelers into a state of trance 😵.

And Harthouse's first release was a trance record by Sven himself, along with his trusty sidekick Ralf Hildenbeutel, who seemed to have more of the technological knowhow in order to make Sven's ideas into a reality. Together, under the name of Barbarella, they released "My Name Is Barbarella," a 1992 song that sampled a line of dialogue from the French-directed Jane Fonda sci-fi flick that they had taken their own name from, and also sounded deeply inspired by Ibiza as well. As an undisputed early trance classic, the 9-plus minute version of this one is currently sitting at over 163,000 plays across a bunch of different uploads on YouTube, and it's the song that kicks off this little ten-song playlist here.

And right after "My Name Is Barbarella" then came another Harthouse classic: "Spectrum," by Metal Master, which was a duo that Sven Väth was also a part of, along with one of Harthouse's other co-founders, Matthias Hoffmann. The record that this song comes from, Vol. 1, is the one that started to establish Harthouse's harder edge towards trance, as its first Barbarella release was actually a much softer affair. True to the name that they'd given themselves, Sven and Matthias seem to have incorporated some metal guitar into this one, in the form of long, atmospheric, and distorted chords, which when combined with string synths, really manage to cinch the whole song together, making for quite an astounding piece of dance music 🤩. Currently nearing 112,000 plays with its multiple uploads on YouTube.

But while those two tracks are wholly important in the history of trance music, I also bring them up here because Sven Väth's other halves from both of those duos happen to have trance tunes of their own that are excellent too. Ralf Hildenbeutel had a song that's really hard to believe was made all the way back in 1993—because it sounds so much more modern!—called "Hypnoticharmony (Part II)," which he released as Progressive Attack. As its title suggests, this one is indeed hypnotic, as well as deep, and more than any tune in this playlist that precedes it, also feels like a blueprint for what trance would soon become. And across multiple YouTube uploads, it currently has under 18,000 plays.

And Matthias Hoffmann's contribution is simply one of the most breathtaking pieces of trance that I've ever heard in my life. Back in 1994, he released a song as Brainchild called "Symmetry (C-Mix)," which was put out on another label that he and Sven Väth had also helped co-found called Eye Q Records, which was closely associated with Harthouse itself. Then in '99, "Symmetry C" was re-released on Multiply Records, a subsidiary of UK label Telstar, and on it came a whole bunch of remixes, including a "Breakbeat Remix" that was done by the UK's Lange. And this is a tune that currently brings the whole playlist full circle too, as it serves as the final song while also taking us back to trance's origin point of Frankfurt. Currently sitting at over 341,000 YouTube plays across many different uploads.

Now, we're almost done here, but I'd be remiss if I didn't, at the very least, make mention of a few more tracks on this thing, all of which come courtesy of Hardfloor, a duo from Cologne, who, although they'd become more known for their techno prowess, applied their mastery of the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer (the machine that yields electronic music's famed acid squelch) to some trance tracks, including "Trancescript" and "Into the Nature," both of which appear on their acclaimed 1993 debut album, TB Resuscitation. "Trancescript" is currently at under 85,000 plays and "Into the Nature" has over 130,000. And I also included an excellent remix that they did of Chicago native Robert Armani's "Circus Bells" as well, which currently has over 146,000 plays.

This playlist is ordered as chronologically as possible.

Barbarella - "My Name Is Barbarella" Metal Master - "Spectrum" Hardfloor - "Trancescript" Hardfloor - "Into the Nature" Robert Armani - "Circus Bells (Remixed by Hardfloor)" Marco Zaffarano - "For My Love" Progressive Attack - "Hypnoticharmony (Part II)" Paul van Dyk - "Words (PvD's Words for Love Mix)" Pitchrider - "I Know" Brainchild - "Symmetry C (Lange Breakbeat remix)"

And this playlist is also on YouTube Music too.

So with this opening shot, we start with ten songs that clock in at a total of 75 minutes; a bunch of classic, historic tunes along with some that have lower play counts too.

And next week will not be nearly as much of a cohesive history lesson, but I'm planning on revisiting these German 90s with a slate of favorite techno bangers 👀.

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

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