If I had to choose any artist that has symbolized trance music for me, it would have to be Brian Wayne Transeau, or better known simply as, BT. As much as I shall try to critically review this album, I am an out and out fanboy, so this is a forewarning of sorts. There is no genre by which you can categorize BT’s music ever, the man is a chameleon when it comes to music, and whether it’s trance, ambient or glitch, you just never know. In my opinion, it’s this very versatility which BT possesses, has led to him gaining a steady command over electronic music over the last 20 years or so!
Coming to his album, his latest masterpiece is called A Song Across Wires. I, for one, have personally waited with bated breath to hear fresh, new magic from this undoubted virtuoso. I love the fact that BT pays such close attention to every element of a single track, and his eye for detail is unmatched by none. As a classically trained musician from Berklee College of Music, BT also moonlights as an acclaimed producer for background scores of movies such as Monsters Inc. and Fast & The Furious (2001). ASAW is a fantastic album, it’s got beautiful tracks that are well-written, and its beats take you through all the highs and lows in succession. Not many albums provide you with such a emotive musical journey, but this is far unlike the rest. It’s this sort of music which one would be akin to hearing on the dance floor one night, and curing a hangover with the very next morning. (true story, this).
With regard to ASAW’s tracks, 4 of them have made it to Beatport Trance’s #1! Having already dropped a few tracks before the album release (thank you sincerely), we were given a brief glimpse as to what BT had to offer, and now that the complete package of the dozen tracks has released, it’s honestly like Christmas has arrived early. Like I had previously mentioned about surpassing genre barriers, this album speaks for itself. BT has produced not only trance, but he has delved into dubstep and electro-house too. I may be biased, but in my opinion, this album contains some of BT’s finest work. With collaborations with talented musicians like tyDi, Arty, Tritonal to name a few as well as enlisting the vocal support from Emma Hewitt, Nadia Ali, Christian Burns to name a few, BT has dished out an all rounder of an album. It’s got something for everyone.
To sum it up, it’s safe to say that I was actually floored by this album. Each track is a whole new discovery, and I’d urge you all to pay close attention. After all, it’s always the little things.
BT is reaching out into all of the genres that interest him and from these elements he coalesces music that is stylistically his own; much in the same way that the album itself seems to coalesce from the soundscape of the world around it, as it emerges at the beginning of the first track and finally dissipates into the air at the end of the last.
‘A Song Across Wires’ is another masterpiece from a producer who lets his passion and his curiosity drive his art. It brought tears to my eyes the first time I listened to it. It has a heartbeat that beats in time with our own. It is constructed in a story that can be listened to in entirety from start to finish (as all BT albums) even while the tracks are fully functional on their own and sure to tear the roofs off of festivals across the globe. Pre-Order it today on iTunes or grab it from a local retailer for yourselves August 16th.
BT is also not one to play at every festival in every city all summer long. You might see him at a club performance here and there, which makes each show super special and unique. Such can be said of the celebration at Marquee New York earlier this year, where he celebrated the 100th episode broadcast of his radio show Laptop Symphony. This Saturday, August 17th, BT returns to the venue for his A Song Across Wires album launch party. The venue boasts one of the best sound systems in the city, and for a trained musician like BT to host his party there, really compliments the newly renovated venue. Get your tickets for the show
A talented multi-instrumentalist and gifted songwriter, Transeau’s productions are even larger than the so-called bloated EDM bubble of 201