X-Dream
Encyclopedia
X-Dream are Marcus Christopher Maichel (born May 1968) and Jan Müller (born February 1970); they are also known as Rough and Rush. They are producers of psychedelic trance
music and hail from Hamburg
, Germany
. Although their music retains the 4/4 drum patterns of Goa trance music and has a dependence on riffs, X-Dream have a unique sounds different from most other artists in the genre.
, and was already making electronic music
in 1986. In 1989 the pair first met when Marcus was having problems with his PC
and someone sent Jan to help fix it. That same year they teamed up to work on a session together. Their first work concentrated on a sound similar to techno with some hip hop
elements which got some material released on Tunnel Records
.
scene in Hamburg
and decided to switch their music to this genre. They have since made a large number of releases as part of projects like Children of Paradise, and The Pollinator. The earlier albums of X-Dream such as Trip To Trancesylvania
and We Created Our Own Happiness
are much closer to the original formula of psychedelic trance, although featuring the unmistakable "trippy" early X-Dream sound.
In October 1996 X-Dream reached an agreement with the new UK
trance label Blue Room Released
. Working with Blue Room, they released the famous single "The Frog" (featuring authentic frog sound samples from Mexico
) and contributed the track "No" on the Trip Through Sound compilation. In 1997 their single "As A Child I Could Walk On The Ceiling" (released by The Delta) became widely played by many top trance DJs including Mark Allen. They have also remixed several tracks for other artists including Koxbox
and the Saafi Brothers
.
and two new singles, "Brain Forest" and "Radiohead". Instead of complex melodies familiar in prior Goa trance releases the Radio album featured a more industrial
, darker, feel where the melody would become apparent only after several listens. In their review of the album ElectronicMusic.com described the track "Electromagnetic" as a "robotic orgasm
sequence". The basslines were also harder in many of the tracks, making the music very danceable.
Even though Radio was a significant departure from their earlier work, due to its more minimalist sound, X-Dream went back to their earlier style with the two next album, Urban Alien
(as Children of Paradise) and Panic in Paradise. These would be their last non-minimalist releases. The 2002 Irritant
album was their first authentic minimalist release on the Global Trance Network
label and sold out all the copies within only a few days of the first printing.
singer Ariel (Jan's wife). The lyrics are actually her poetry
, written ahead of the album. The album has a very much industrial
sound and is in some ways similar to the work of Kraftwerk
. The lyrics deal with subjects such as technology
, censorship
, cyberspace
, cloning
and robotics
.
Psychedelic trance
Psychedelic trance, psytrance or just psy is a form of electronic music characterized by hypnotic arrangements of synthetic rhythms and complex layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. It appeared in the mainstream in 1995 as with reporting of the trend of Goa trance. The genre offers variety...
music and hail from Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Although their music retains the 4/4 drum patterns of Goa trance music and has a dependence on riffs, X-Dream have a unique sounds different from most other artists in the genre.
First work
Muller was educated as a sound engineer. Maichel was a musician familiar with techno and reggaeReggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, and was already making electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
in 1986. In 1989 the pair first met when Marcus was having problems with his PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and someone sent Jan to help fix it. That same year they teamed up to work on a session together. Their first work concentrated on a sound similar to techno with some hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
elements which got some material released on Tunnel Records
Tunnel Records
Tunnel Records is a record label founded by DJ Dean. It is based in Hamburg, Germany.Tunnel was once home to X-Dream, a German trance project....
.
Trance
During the early 1990s they were first introduced to the tranceTrance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
scene in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and decided to switch their music to this genre. They have since made a large number of releases as part of projects like Children of Paradise, and The Pollinator. The earlier albums of X-Dream such as Trip To Trancesylvania
Trip To Trancesylvania
Trip To Trancesylvania is a psychedelic trance album released by X-Dream in 1993. It is the first album released by the group. "Trancesylvania" is wordplay on transylvania....
and We Created Our Own Happiness
We Created Our Own Happiness
We Created Our Own Happiness is a psychedelic trance album released by X-Dream in 1997. The title of the album comes from the voice sample in track 6:They created their own society. -- That's right. We created our own happiness, that's what we did....
are much closer to the original formula of psychedelic trance, although featuring the unmistakable "trippy" early X-Dream sound.
In October 1996 X-Dream reached an agreement with the new UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
trance label Blue Room Released
Blue Room Released
Blue Room Released was an independent record label from London, UK. It operated from 1994 until 2002.It was led by Simon Ghahary and had solid financial backing from Bowers & Wilkins, British loudspeaker company. Their first compilation titled “Outside The Reactor” was released in April 1995 and...
. Working with Blue Room, they released the famous single "The Frog" (featuring authentic frog sound samples from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) and contributed the track "No" on the Trip Through Sound compilation. In 1997 their single "As A Child I Could Walk On The Ceiling" (released by The Delta) became widely played by many top trance DJs including Mark Allen. They have also remixed several tracks for other artists including Koxbox
Koxbox
Koxbox is a Danish musical group formed in 1990 that produced psychedelic trance. It consisted of Peter Candy and Frank É Madsen. Ian Ion, their studio producer, is also sometimes mentioned as part of the group.- History :...
and the Saafi Brothers
Saafi Brothers
The Saafi Brothers are a psychedelic trance music project from Germany, consisting of Gabriel Le Mar and Michael Kohlbecker. Alex Azary used to be a member of the group, but he quit after the release of their first full album, Mystic Cigarettes....
.
Radio
In 1998 they released their most celebrated album RadioRadio (X-Dream album)
Radio is a psychedelic trance album released by X-Dream in 1998. Widely considered one of the most successful albums in the genre, this was one of the first albums to introduce a darker, more minimal sound which was later emulated by other artists...
and two new singles, "Brain Forest" and "Radiohead". Instead of complex melodies familiar in prior Goa trance releases the Radio album featured a more industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
, darker, feel where the melody would become apparent only after several listens. In their review of the album ElectronicMusic.com described the track "Electromagnetic" as a "robotic orgasm
Orgasm
Orgasm is the peak of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, characterized by an intense sensation of pleasure...
sequence". The basslines were also harder in many of the tracks, making the music very danceable.
Even though Radio was a significant departure from their earlier work, due to its more minimalist sound, X-Dream went back to their earlier style with the two next album, Urban Alien
Urban Alien
Urban Alien is a psychedelic trance album released by Children of Paradise in 1999.-Track listing:#"Z's Y"#"Alien Nation Part 2"#"New Cop"#"El Niño"#"Bloodsuckers"#"Alien Nation Part 1"#"Fairy in the Dragonforest"#"Concrete Canyon"...
(as Children of Paradise) and Panic in Paradise. These would be their last non-minimalist releases. The 2002 Irritant
Irritant (album)
Irritant is a psychedelic trance album released by X-Dream in 2002.-Track listing:# "Irritant" – 8:24# "Rewind" – 7:43# "No Process" – 7:58# "Thorazin" – 7:11# "Peter's Hoover" – 8:34# "Fall Out" – 6:07# "Universal Chaos" – 7:30...
album was their first authentic minimalist release on the Global Trance Network
Global Trance Network
Global Trance Network is the German parent label of several smaller labels including d.Drum, Liquid Audio Soundz, Sector, and Velvet Inc.It is a sublabel of Nova Tekk Records....
label and sold out all the copies within only a few days of the first printing.
Latest album
The latest X-Dream album, We Interface, includes vocals from TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
singer Ariel (Jan's wife). The lyrics are actually her poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, written ahead of the album. The album has a very much industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
sound and is in some ways similar to the work of Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
. The lyrics deal with subjects such as technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, cyberspace
Cyberspace
Cyberspace is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place.The term "cyberspace" was first used by the cyberpunk science fiction author William Gibson, though the concept was described somewhat earlier, for example in the Vernor Vinge short story "True...
, cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
.
Singles
- Children Of The Last Generation (Tunnel RecordsTunnel RecordsTunnel Records is a record label founded by DJ Dean. It is based in Hamburg, Germany.Tunnel was once home to X-Dream, a German trance project....
1993) - The Frog (Blue Room ReleasedBlue Room ReleasedBlue Room Released was an independent record label from London, UK. It operated from 1994 until 2002.It was led by Simon Ghahary and had solid financial backing from Bowers & Wilkins, British loudspeaker company. Their first compilation titled “Outside The Reactor” was released in April 1995 and...
1996) - Radiohead (Blue Room ReleasedBlue Room ReleasedBlue Room Released was an independent record label from London, UK. It operated from 1994 until 2002.It was led by Simon Ghahary and had solid financial backing from Bowers & Wilkins, British loudspeaker company. Their first compilation titled “Outside The Reactor” was released in April 1995 and...
1998)
Albums
- Trip To TrancesylvaniaTrip To TrancesylvaniaTrip To Trancesylvania is a psychedelic trance album released by X-Dream in 1993. It is the first album released by the group. "Trancesylvania" is wordplay on transylvania....
(Tunnel RecordsTunnel RecordsTunnel Records is a record label founded by DJ Dean. It is based in Hamburg, Germany.Tunnel was once home to X-Dream, a German trance project....
1993) - We Created Our Own HappinessWe Created Our Own HappinessWe Created Our Own Happiness is a psychedelic trance album released by X-Dream in 1997. The title of the album comes from the voice sample in track 6:They created their own society. -- That's right. We created our own happiness, that's what we did....
(Tunnel RecordsTunnel RecordsTunnel Records is a record label founded by DJ Dean. It is based in Hamburg, Germany.Tunnel was once home to X-Dream, a German trance project....
1995) - RadioRadio (X-Dream album)Radio is a psychedelic trance album released by X-Dream in 1998. Widely considered one of the most successful albums in the genre, this was one of the first albums to introduce a darker, more minimal sound which was later emulated by other artists...
(Blue Room ReleasedBlue Room ReleasedBlue Room Released was an independent record label from London, UK. It operated from 1994 until 2002.It was led by Simon Ghahary and had solid financial backing from Bowers & Wilkins, British loudspeaker company. Their first compilation titled “Outside The Reactor” was released in April 1995 and...
1998) - IrritantIrritant (album)Irritant is a psychedelic trance album released by X-Dream in 2002.-Track listing:# "Irritant" – 8:24# "Rewind" – 7:43# "No Process" – 7:58# "Thorazin" – 7:11# "Peter's Hoover" – 8:34# "Fall Out" – 6:07# "Universal Chaos" – 7:30...
(Global Trance NetworkGlobal Trance NetworkGlobal Trance Network is the German parent label of several smaller labels including d.Drum, Liquid Audio Soundz, Sector, and Velvet Inc.It is a sublabel of Nova Tekk Records....
2002) - We InterfaceWe InterfaceWe Interface is the latest X-Dream album released in 2004. Many of the tracks feature vocals and poetry from Jan Muller's wife, Ariel. The first sentence of "We Interface" is in Japanese and translates to "this information is disinformation", which is also said in the English part of the...
(Solstice Music International 2004)
Other
- Trip To Trancesylvania - In The MixTrip To Trancesylvania - In The MixTrip To Trancesylvania is a re-release of X-Dream's sold out Trip To Trancesylvania album from 1993. The cover art was changed and some tracks changed around...
(Tunnel RecordsTunnel RecordsTunnel Records is a record label founded by DJ Dean. It is based in Hamburg, Germany.Tunnel was once home to X-Dream, a German trance project....
1997) - Panic in Paradise (Tunnel RecordsTunnel RecordsTunnel Records is a record label founded by DJ Dean. It is based in Hamburg, Germany.Tunnel was once home to X-Dream, a German trance project....
2000) - The Best 1991-2001 (Solstice Music International 2006)
- We Interface - The Mixes (Solstice Music International 2007)
As Children of Paradise
- Alien Nation EP (Blue Room ReleasedBlue Room ReleasedBlue Room Released was an independent record label from London, UK. It operated from 1994 until 2002.It was led by Simon Ghahary and had solid financial backing from Bowers & Wilkins, British loudspeaker company. Their first compilation titled “Outside The Reactor” was released in April 1995 and...
1997) - Urban Alien (Nova Tekk Records 1999)
- Alien Nation part 3 EP (M.A.S.H Records 2000)