Posted by Shrey on Jan 26, 2012 in
Music 
Hello guys….!! What a bangin year that was.! Another year passed by in trance ofcourse, which has brought me to tell my story in music for 2011. Presenting the year mix consisting nothing but the best, which defined music for me.
Format is this year is same as YearMix 2009 and YearMix 2010. Both mixes are very different in nature, since I have classified the tracks according to 2 distinct moods; spread across 240 minutes. (120+120). That’s 4 hours of Trance Turbulence for you…!!!
1st cd is titled ‘Cryogenics’ (study of very low temperatures) as it contains some groovy progressive and balearic tracks handpicked for this compilation. Tempo is slow & chilled out, but it’s spot on to shake your body…!!
2nd cd is titled ‘Thermogenics’ (study of high temperatures/heat) as it contains straight up epic uplifting trance; full with classical overlays and some tech thrown up, it’s destined to make you reach for the heavens. This one is smokin’ hot, so handle with care….!!!
With over 40 tracks; this one is a massive compilation by all means. Some of the tracks are heavily edited by me to maintain the flow of the mix.
So, here we are; beginning the new era with a bang….!!! Ever experienced goosebumps? If your answer is no, then grab these while it’s hot…!!! Yeah, now that’s what I call music….!!!
Read more for the Tracklist and DOWNLOAD links.
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Posted by Shrey on Jan 10, 2012 in
Music 
People love christmas across the globe for many reasons. But for me, there’s only one: Doctor Who’s Christmas Special.! Steven Moffat wrote this highly ingenious episode, a wonderful nod to the ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ by C.S.Lewis. The transition form wardrobe to gift box, opening the portal to another universe, plus the signature sci-fi take on christmas tree and mother nature; brilliantly executed as always with cheeky humor and warming emotions. There’s always something magical about Matt Smith when he’s supported by kids. Really looking forward and pumped up for next season..! Trailer
So, that was December, the last month of the year, ended with a bang as usual for me! A 2 hour powerpacked show on this new Indian EDM radio Tenzi.fm, was really an amazing opportunity to trance-form the listeners.! Also, on a completely different front, was really digging this whole cloud phenomenon last year, and hence I pondered on the changing identity of Hewlett-Packard (HP) as a company and its repercussions. You can read my views on it over here on iGyaan. It was on my radar for a long time, and I thought it was about time, to churn out a complete coverage following an eventful year.
And back to TV. It was so refreshing to see a work of art like “Homeland” from the exec. producer of ‘24’. Howard Gordon tried every possible scenario in the high voltage action/espionage genre, to keep ‘24’ amazingly exciting over the course of 8 seasons. But, as with everything, it was time to move on. And I never thought that he will again plunge deep in the same arena with his trusted co-creator Alex Gansa. This time it was spot on. Though it was “inspired” from a show from Israel, but they managed to wonderfully craft the storyline in the 12 episode run of the first season. Subject matter is fairly familiar with a threat to the nation from a radical extremist. But, with a wicked twist, where loyalties of a US Marine are tested to death. A whole new facet of the western world has been revealed in the last decade, and the writers put this in right perspective with utmost sincerity. Performances were unlike anything I’ve seen recently on a US TV show. The way the characters are written, the psychological depth it offered, with so many subtle nuances; there’s so much to ponder after each episode, as it creeps right under your skin. There’s much more than grey shades to the characters, tormented by the loyalties and beyond. The finale ripped everything apart with its nervewrecking progression, making this a standout drama of 2011, and definitely my pick for the best new show of last year!
And now upto some music…Here’s my latest mix compilation for December2011.
So, here I present my special three-way intro mash-up (or should I call it thrash-up perhaps? 
)to begin this new year! Sensi’s 2 blissed out tunes coupled with ResuRection’s groove on rampage..! More progressive gems in queue with Shogun’s latest blockbuster track ‘Lotus’, Orjan Nilsen’s remix of Armin’s classic oldie ‘Blue Fear’. Upping the energy a notch is upcoming producer Aureal’s “Black Ice’, just rumbles the eardrums, followed by Alex Morph Dub of ‘The better half of me’. And then we begin the uplifting flight with Etasonic’s ‘Resume’, Luke Bond’s ‘Amaze’ and brand new remix of ‘Lift’ by Darren Porter. 140 bpm takes the centerstage with Sy Garder Mix of ‘We’ll Never Die’ and closing with Sergey Nevone and Simon O’Shine’s massive tune: Last Goodbye, featuring athat amazing 3 minute break..! Turn it UP.!
Read more for the description of the mix, tracklist and DOWNLOAD links.
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Posted by Shrey on Dec 14, 2011 in
Music 
“The winter solstice on Friday 21st December 2012 is not being sold or marketed as just any solstice. It’s the Great Solstice, source of all solstices and all equinoxes. According to some enraptured evangelists, 21.12.2012 is about apocalypse and ascension. The end of the world is coming, a comprehensive destruction of everything we hold dear. Life as we know it will end and the winter sun of 2012 will usher us into 72 days of ‘upheavals’, during which time will have no meaning and chaos will reign before the cavalry arrive and a ‘new order’, of some kind, is installed.”
The other day I was browsing through my feed reader and came across this post at HumanityPlus. The same bunch of folks who have started the movement of Transhumanism. Longevity and human transgression with the help of science and technology, is forced to kneel before the ominous event. That might seem contradictory but an emphatic rebirth of this rotten society should set us all free, so to say! At least my laptop felt that way in the chaotic last month, when it decided to die in my umm..lap? (yes, it was fried!) Ripping through the dunes of technological amputation, a new machine arrived with ample firepower, which will hopefully survive for another 4 years..! Finally I can indulge myself into some smoking hot gaming action with a gig of DDR3 graphics backing the beast! I’ve missed it in the past 4 years, but I guess it was for good, ‘cause this is the right time, with all my studies complete and there’s behemoth of time on my side to venture into the ‘uncharted’ territory.! Next year seems to be uber exciting as it will mark the return of some of the most respected, ingenious and cinematic gaming franchisees of my life: Max Payne 3, Hitman:Absolution and GTA V! More on my gaming chronicles next month.!
And it was about time to witness the amazing Tintin’s motion capture adaptation helmed by Steven Spielberg. So bleeding cool that was! More gushing about it can be found at my first impressions of the movie! Also finally get to watch ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ in HD. 100 minutes and 40 inches of chimp frenzy (with the outstanding act by Andy Serkis as ‘Ceaser’- the motion captured ape) was truly remarkable. It just came alive in my room to say the least! The brilliant Mossad thriller ‘The Debt’ made it through my queue this month. Fantastic performances all over, including Helen Mirren. Jess Chastain is the breakout actress of this year in my opinion. Getting meatier roles gradually, watch out for her in ‘‘Coriolanus’ next year, directorial debut of Ralph Fiennes and possibly the best adaptation of any Shakespeare drama!
And now upto some music…Here’s my latest mix compilation for November2011.
A symphonic trance track from Ernesto vs Bastian & Kay Wilder is absolutely spot on to open this month’s mix. Further dreamy progressive melodies from Akira Kayosa, Madison and Ronny K makes you lose in the rhythm! Uplifting bangers are up ahead as usual with JvD’s ‘Spotlight’, Running Man’s ‘Eternity’ and Stonevalley’s massive remix of ‘Counting Stars’ should make up for one smashing melodic journey! For the finale, ‘Gundam’ from young UK lad James Dymond ruptures everything in its way with its powerful lead and infinitely energetic bassline! Turn it UP.!
Read more for the description of the mix, tracklist and DOWNLOAD links.
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Posted by Shrey on Nov 16, 2011 in
Movies 
So, then I asked myself: why Tintin is the only comic book I firmly remember through all these years? Why it’s the only comic book out there which rips apart the fabric of time & space to feel like a breath of fresh air? The answer took me 15 years back, when my uncle brought me my first Tintin comic:’ The Shooting Star’. And the journey started! It was distinctly different from uber popular US works like << insert your fav superhero here >>. The stories took shape in real world without any glossy fantasy elements, incorporating the best of historical, scientific and cultural drop-backs, maintaining the adventurous and fun vibe throughout! I mean there were the likes of Stan Lee and Frank Miller, they were quite over-the-top and stressing more on glitz and fantasy, though incorporating real world themes, which was never bad. But the way Herge carved the tales of Tintin and his friends, was outstanding because he managed to capture the adventures in a highly cinematic manner, without sketching them as kitsch, way back in 1940s..! Like many others I was instantly hooked on it (though I couldn’t read a word at that time!) because it featured many exotic locals. It spawned off a couple of live action movies in 60s and a complete animated series, the later one I really loved, (found them three years ago in digital format and had to grab it!)
And fast forward to early last year, when the news broke that none other then Steven Spielberg is bringing Tintin to silver screen, I was like whoo.. can he pull it off? Because it wasn’t announced as a full-fledged live action, but shot using motion capture. But then Peter Jackson joined him and that was it. This team seemed totally off the hook, especially when Peter’s vfx company Weta Digital was in charge of complete motion capture and CGI rendering part. It took Spielberg 25 years to decide going for it from acquiring the rights to make it. (Just after his first Indy flick got released, the tone of which resembled to Tintin..!) Robert Zemeckis first adopted motion capture technology with his ‘Polar Express’ (followed by ‘Beowulf’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’) which looked a bit smudgy at that time. These guys perfected it and added 3D to enhance the compositions, which just looks sparkling…!
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Tags: Reviews
Posted by Shrey on Nov 8, 2011 in
Music 
“Six billion of us exist today and that number must be reduced to 4 billion over the next 2 decades or severe famine, induced by the end of oil, will do it for us. That’s 4 billion people who must be strategically eliminated to avoid anarchy. And so society’s gluttons came with their own contingency plan, one they didn’t exactly publish on their website. Instead of conserving energy and weaning America and western society off fossil fuels, the world’s elite decided to seek out alternative methods to selectively ‘thin the herd’ while allowing their entities to make even more money: Pandemic or War.”
Speculative fiction can’t get more epic. Just finished this book: “The Shell Game” (by Steve Alten) sometime back and boy, it was totally worth it.! If you thought the above excerpt from the book was horrific, there’s behemoth of more disturbing revelations to look out for in the book. It might be hard to digest the facts like how this whole 9/11 incident was rigged, but in retrospect all the pieces eventually fits to reveal what a huge mess that was. A decade later a hypothetical scenario is devised here in the book by Alten, following the major oil crisis human race is currently facing. I dont usually hunt for conspiracy theories, but this one was way too intriguing to let it pass.! This century might spur wars, which will be fought for energy supplies, because we’ve reached to a stage where everything else can be made in a jiffy! Hence we’ve got neoconservatives, who just needs a reason to take down Iran because of their nuclear capabilities. So, Los Angeles gets nuked, Iran gets blamed for it. Well, USA is infamous for its imperialism and its not without a reason. The book opens with an explosive statement by Ahmadinejad and leaves you gasping for air with its furious pace combined with amazing facts about oil and hegemony surrounding it. The Saudi Arabia angle is also quite interesting. The story depicts a worm siphoning trillions of money from uber rich Saudi bank accounts to US, making them vulnerable and loosening grip on the oil stranglehold. Worth a try, might I say! Highly recommended read..!
Besides, tried my hand at some technology writeup with my article on Blackberry’s fall in 2011 got published by India leading tech portal:iGyaan. Here’s the link to it: http://igyaan.in/2011/10/blackberry-bleak-tale-glary/ The company is bleeding hard and still they don’t seem to get it. From technology, to operations, to management: all the areas are explored in detail here. Have a look.!
And what a month for TV that was! It was time to bid adieu to my all time fav British spy drama ‘Spooks’. It has been a thoroughly engaging 10 years, though they produced only 6 to 8 episodes per year. For the major finale, season 10 focused on the section chief’s Harry’s past, going deep down to the cold war era. The recent rise of Russia, and strengthening bond with UK came with a price in this outstanding final 6 episode season. Deceptive veteran spies, power struggle and a huge moral dilemmas, everything was very intricately threaded together to deliver a breathtaking conclusion. Brilliant writing as usual with tour de force twists, delicate emotional moments and superslick progression. BBC never disappoints!
The other show which hooked me all this month was the 2nd season of another British show ‘Strike Back’, coproduced with USA’s Cinemax. This is a must-watch for all the actionjunkies out there, putting global terrorism on the forefront. Series unfolds in a quite conventional manner, but the production is very lush, absolutely cinematic. The globetrotting hunt takes the clandestine section 20 of UK, from India to South Africa, Sudan, Kosovo and Hungary. A bit more commercial approach here but quality effort! Managed to catch the whole series because of the severe dearth of movies this month, with only ‘Real Steel’ proving to be the real deal! Full-throttle adventure with some gorgeously choreographed bot-on-bot action..!
And now upto some music…Here’s my latest mix compilation for October2011.
Well, festival proceedings had to end, but not the music! Here’s the majestic festival edition with a double dose of the best in trance of October. The 2 hour ride starts with huge progressive gems such as Mat Zo & Mike Foyle’s piano anthem: Simple Things, Heatbeat’s groovy ‘Roses Never Cry’, Andrew Rayel’s brilliant 2011 remix of the classical inspired track by Faruk Sabanci: ‘Maiden’s Tower’, Killer new Gaia single: ‘Stellar’ and many more. The later half is pure bangin’ uplifting trance. We’ve got Romania’s Hoyaa with the massive ‘On The Edge’, Ronny K’s 5Yamc anthem: ‘Unstoppable’, newcomer James Poulton’s magical ‘Anodyne’, Matt Bukovski’s remix of Paul Miller & Ronald De Foe’s ‘Aqua Virgo’. Saved best for the last as usual with the maestro Alex MORPH’s huge new ch00n: ‘An Angel’s Love’. If this doesn’t elevate you, dont know what will! This set makes up for the monstrous melodic trance turbulence, which must grace your speakers! 
Read more for the description of the mix, tracklist and DOWNLOAD links.
Click here to read the complete post…
