THROWBACK THURSDAY: Jones & Stephenson – The First Rebirth [1993]
Belgium has a lot to be proud of when it comes to electronic music, having kickstarted the EBM and New Beat scenes, and segueing effortlessly into techno and trance in the 1990s.
These days, DJs like Amelie Lens and Charlotte de Witte among others are continuing to keep the home fires burning, with more than a nod to the musical cornucopia laid down by their predecessors.
Such as this hard trance masterpiece by Frank Sels, alias Franky Jones, and David Brants, alias Axel Stephenson – known collectively as Jones & Stephenson.
Released in 1993, just as the term ‘trance’ was beginning to be applied to atmospheric electronic music, The First Rebirth was released on the then-fledgling Bonzai Records, and has lost none of its allure in the quarter century since – combining a melodic, ambient wave with a scything hardcore kick drum across five minutes and fifty one seconds of aural bliss.
It’s also a nod to a time before genre-fixation shaped the dance music scene … is this trance, hardcore, techno, or even gabber? Who knows, and who cares?
Also worth checking out is the B-Side, The Life of Flow, an altogether more low-key, trippy experience.
[Kudos to Metheud for the YouTube upload]
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