Gig Review: Ben Gold at Blue Frog, Mumbai

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When an artist’s name has “Gold” in it, as an audience member, one cannot expect anything less than perfection and absolute divinity like the much sought after bling. 26-year-old Ben Lawton, better known to the world as Ben Gold, delivered just that with an extraordinary set at The Blue Frog on August 30, 2013 as his signature trance sounds combined with seasoned electro bangers gave the dance-happy fans of Mumbai much to cheer and rave about.

 

Ben Gold is one of the most prolific artists of his generation as his compositions transcend musical boundaries with his elevated synths and pounding basslines. Characteristically, his sound is capable of creating a euphoric tension in a room as much as it justifies his abilities to headline major festivals and parties around the world-the like of which include the prestigious ASOT celebration parties, Global Gathering & Creamfields. At the tender age of 15, self-taught and highly motivated it took Ben just one year for his first original material to be signed by the prestigious “Trance Nation”. “Dream Dance” followed soon meanwhile as luminaries such as Paul Oakenfold quoted “Ben Gold is a talented young producer and definitely one to watch out for in the future”. With tracks such as “Say the words (feat Senadee)”, “Break the Rules (With W&W)”, “Fall with me(Feat The Glass Child)”, “Amplified, “Where life takes us” and the ever enchanting “Mesocyclone”, he has cemented his place as one of the top notch producers of his time. Today, Ben Gold is signed to the formidable Gareth Emery’s Garuda and with releases on Armada, High Contrast, Discover & Musical Madness, he has accelerated to the upper ranks of the trance world. Delivering a magnificent performance as part of the ASOT 600 celebrations with an outstanding opening set at Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, the stage was set for Ben to come down to India and gift trance loyalists their own pre-season festival-synonymous party.

Starting, what was promised to be a night of varied musical verticals, was the hugely talented Nakul Ambilkar aka Sequ3l from Pune. Known for his deep tech and deep house sounds, Sequ3l provided the audience members with one of the most memorable warm up sets of the season. Starting with the warm and fuzzy sounds of deep tech, he progressively shifted towards progressive house and progressive trance as dance enthusiasts cheered and reveled in the blissful and harmonious sounds being rained down upon them.

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With tracks ranging from “Fantasy Reality” by Guy J (https://soundcloud.com/guy-j/guy-j-fantasy-reality-original) to Perfect Stranger’s “Leap of Faith (Human Element remix)” (https://soundcloud.com/dj-martin/perfect-stranger-leap-of-faith), Sequ3l provided an undercurrent of basslines as the crowd steadily built through the course of the night. “Fixation” by Guy J, added that midas touch as the delectable “Broken” by Ben Coda  added that familiar sense of elation that deep and progressive sounds usually lends to our ears. A special intervention was when Smooth Vision & Alaris’s “Liberty (SEQU3L Remix)” was followed by a relatively unknown remix of Pryda’s“Shadows”.

Those familiar vocals drifted away as the bass lines kicked in and created a ceremonious atmosphere in the club. With arms raised we welcomed Manufactured Superstars feat. Selina Albright’s “Serious (Calvin Harris Remix)”  and soon after, a beaming Ben Gold onto the stage.

1187075_10151607288216592_612094317_nDespite being aware of his infectious energy as a performer, we were delighted as Ben danced his way onto the stage and straight into the onset of his set. Kicking in with D# Fat(Original Mix) by Armin Van Buuren & W&W  and Cosmic Gate’s “Crushed (Mark Sixma Remix)” , Ben took the lid off the roof instantaneously! And without warning he dropped his beautiful “Mesocyclone” conjoined with the massive “Rewind (Mikkas Remix)” by Emma Hewitt . The crowd were going absolutely ballistic as the set exploded with insidious energy as he dropped anthem after another.

Shortly after he unleashed a couple of trance beauties under the guise of Daniel Kandi & Jack Rowan’s enthralling “Arigatou (Original Mix)”  and the electric “Requiem” by Mark Sixma ). Sending audience members into a tizzy of dance euphoria, he dropped the crowd favourite “XIING” by Orjan Nilsen  before playing one of the finest trance records of the night. With deep and dark synths and a destructive bassline, Estiva’s monster track “Dinodrums (Original Mix)”  got any and everybody left on the dancefloor into Jump-mode! Recalling some ASOT memories, he dropped the wildly praised Fisherman & Hawkin’s track “Apache (Original Mix)” before playing his own version of Gareth Emery’s “Tokyo (Ben Gold Remix)” .

1170858_10151607286356592_1830301117_nBen Gold showed an undisputed authority as the DJ for the night, as he balanced trance anthems with club bangers quite effectively keeping a palpable balance between euphoria and energy, not allowing any member to shy away from the dancefloor even if for a moment!

With the monster mashup of Hardwell vs. Above & Beyond’s “Thing Called Spaceman (W&W Mashup)” .He quickly followed it with a double of W&W when he played Lift Off! (Original Mix)  &Thunder (Original Mix) .

Some of the trance anthems that we serenaded across through the course of the night included Marlo’s mighty “BOOM (Original Mix)” , Ferry Corsten’s “Black Light”  and taken from his freshly released album, a voiceless version of Ørjan Nilsen’s “No Saint Out Of Me (Original Mix)”  Martin Garrix’s Animals (Original Mix)  made its way to the console along with his own tracks such as Nenes’s “Platinum (Ben Gold Remix)”  and the absolutely massive “Fall With Me (Tom Fall Remix)” by himself ft. The Glass Child.

The night was high for trance fanatics as well as more gems followed with Tritonal ft Fisher’s “Slave(Tritonal & Ben Gold Club Dub)”  & then everyone’s favorite, Gareth Emery feat Christina Novelli’s “Concrete Angel (Original Mix)”

1235035_10151607286486592_1607516025_nAs the clock struck 2:30 am, we were getting the sense that the delightful night was drawing to a close as our sense of Musical Indulgences were being gravely satisfied. Finally, bringing it all to a close with Dash Berlin feat. Emma Hewitt’s “Waiting (W&W Remix)”, Ben was dripping in sweat and a gleeful smile, as were we, as we brought a memorable night with diverse musical experiences to a close!

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Special Thanks to Power Struggle Music

Reviewed by Akshatha Hegde & Hamed Khalidi

Edited by Shule Puri

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2 responses to “Gig Review: Ben Gold at Blue Frog, Mumbai

  1. Pingback: The Best of Bangin Beats: September 2013 | The Bangin Beats·

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