For a time, Mister Mattias Paul stradled between two worlds within trance's domain, somehow existing at the crossroad between UK progressive elite and Dutch ultra-melodic bombast. It made him one of the scene's most popular producers and DJs, one I even fell sway to in his late '90s / early '00s heyday. As my interests wandered elsewhere, I lost touch with Paul van Dyk's output, but that didn't mean I hadn't kept tabs. Hell, some of TranceCritic's earliest internet infamy involved his projects! Still, his career trajectory didn't seem to be one I wanted to follow, so let him be.
Then he had his near-fatal stage accident, which I can't say personally shook me or anything, but did 'reconnect' me after a fashion, as shortly after, I heard he'd 'reconnected' with trance music as well. Well that's interesting, thought I, but was I really
that curious to hear such a comeback? Not initially, but every so often, I'd replay some of his old music from
45 RPM and
Seven Ways, leaving me to wonder, did I do myself a disservice in dismissing so much of his discography? Like, I hadn't heard
Out There And Back since it came out, and never even gave
Reflections a chance. Hmm, albums both new and old I should be checking out? Sounds like a prime candidate for a 'sportsing survey' to me!
Looking back on this, I'm surprised how many times I name-dropped ATB. Is it because I did a survey of him as well, so he's just the freshest in my mind in referencing popular eurotrance producers? Maybe, though I noticed the Wonky Angle dude was making similar comparisons too. Not to mention Paul and Andre seemed to occupy the same space within DJMag's poll, no matter how high or low they placed. Methinks the two Germans should collaborate. I'm serious!
As for who's next, I'm going back to a poll on Mastodon before deciding. I've a good feeling I know who'll win it, but then I was totally wrong in who'd win in the last one. No way I could have predicted Cypress Hill and Paul van Dyk would tie!
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