The underground trance scene is thriving at the moment and one of the forces behind this is Pharmacy Music, a label which has established itself as one of the very best on the scene and run by a very familiar name, Christopher Lawrence. Here, is the fourth edition of what their sound is all about…
I get very excited when there are mutterings of a new Pharmacy release. The excitement reaches overload when the discovery of a new compilation. The label is the brainchild of trance legend Christopher Lawrence who is one of the most established producers and DJ’s on the scene today. He is a name many young producers aspire to be and take inspiration from not only his music of yesterday but his music of today. The Pharmacy label did take a while to get off the ground with Christopher having to get through a lot of red tape and politics to have it established. He used to reside over in Australia but in recent years has moved back to America.
The ‘Phase’ compilations are all about what the label has to offer from its very impressive armoury of producers. The previous volumes have all been favourites of mine and without even having a listen to number 4 I can see no reason why this won’t be added to that list as well. One full on Pharmacy mix by Christopher Lawrence is up on the pitchers mark and its ready to throw a glove splitting fast ball.
:: Listen to the album preview right here
TRACKLIST
1. Lisa Lashes - Dia del Presidente 2. Frost Raven - The Beast 3. Kessler - Mission Confidential 4. Kessler & Skydance - Planetarium 5. Dub Tek - Psyched Up 6. John 00 Fleming & Christopher Lawrence - Predator (Casey Rasch Remix) 7. Chris Oblivion & Astro-D - Step Beyond (Chris Oblivion Remix) 8. Liam Wilson - Tangled 9. Fergie & Sadrian - Soplo (Champa Remix) 10. Christopher Lawrence - The Dark 11. Splattered Implant & Nicholson - Outta Control 12. Christopher Lawrence - Whatever You Dream 13. Seven Ways & Planet Disconnect - The Samurai 14. Christopher Lawrence - Terminus 15. Digital Basement - Cosmic Traveller
I make no apologies for being a keen Pharmacy Music fan. In a scene where EDM and cheesy ‘shit’ music (As Paul van Dyk described once upon a time) are far to common the ill informed may well make the wrong choice when looking for some trance music. The underground side of the genre is thriving like a free hooker house in central Amsterdam. There is such a good flow of music coming through those not well into it could do with a nudge in the right direction. In the case of Pharmacy’s Phase 4 mix you’re not going to get a nudge, you’re going to get full on smack because it’s some serious stuff.
Just take a look at the line up for a start; you’ve got some legendary heavyweights with the likes of Christopher Laurence himself, John 00 Fleming and Lisa Lashes, who having carved out her reputation on the hard house scene, moving towards the psy style of sound is welcome choice. There is also the new breed of producers Pharmacy has in its arsenal with Digital Basement, Kessler, Frost raven and Liam Wilson on show. This is one full on mix of hard psy sounds, pumping melodies and addictive beats that will leave you gagging for more, you might as well just leave the repeat button on.
The new sound of Lisa Lashes is one I welcome and its one which gets this superb mix by Mr Lawrence off to a banging start. It’s like her hard house style all grown up. I’m sure many of you remember the hard house boom of the 2000’s and wondered what a lady like Lashes would do after the sound just sank back into the underground and got all mixed up in this hard style nonsense. What I do like about this mix is does have a tidy variation going through. Weather you like the bouncy beat of Dub Tek’s ‘Psyched Up’ or the rough aggressive riffs in Kessler’s Mission.
While I could go through and describe every track on this mix to you, there really is no need. All you need to do is to take a listen. If there is a trance fan in you, especially one that enjoys the psy style edge to the genre then this is essential audio. Christopher Lawrence continues to pour his passion for the music, as is evident by the four tunes by himself in this mix the scene will be in very safe hands. It’s also good to know when he’s ready for tea and biscuits by the fire, the Pharmacy Label will have some serious firepower to keep the war raging. This is what music is all about.
Conclusion:
The Pharmacy label keeps on pushing the boundaries of underground trance and like Space, I don't see any limit to where they can go. Super tasty psy edged trance from a label which very few can even get close to. You should seriously get your ears around this mix, it’s rather good.
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