Monthly Archives: November 2019

Going from dusk til dawn.

Chasers Nightclub is set to host a massive trance and house music night in December, complete with more than 15 acts playing throughout the night.

TR!P XL will take over three rooms in the nightclub, with one room covering hard trance and hardstyle classics, another devoted to standard trance tunes and the final one the home of house hits. Whats more, all sets will be played on vinyl.

Punters can expect sets from electronic legends S.H.O.K.K., Andy Golden, Miss Mel, Sgt Slick and plenty more. With the party winding up at 8am the next day, needless to say youll have to pace yourself throughout the night.

TR!P XL goes down Friday December 20 at Chasers Nightclub. Tickets are on sale now via Eventbrite.

Never miss a story. Sign up to Beats newsletter and youll be served fresh music, arts, food and culture stories three times a week.

See the original post:

A huge trance and house music party is coming to Melbourne next month - Beat Magazine

On his personal Twitter account, Jono Grant of Above & Beyondaddressed one of the more popular debates in the trance community. While many purists believe that "real trance" is 138 BPM, Grant thinks the debate in and of itself is "ridiculous."

In his own words:

"The obsession with a single BPM number (138) is just ridiculous and misses the point. The first records we made together ranged from around 134 to 140. Yes a lot were at 138, but so what? Getting hot and sweaty specifically about 138 is proper face-palm material."

This led to many debates within the Above & Beyond fandom and trance community as a whole. Many different artists weighed in on his take, including the pioneer Ferry Corsten.

A few days later, he went on to post an image of an untitled track in production at 138.1 BPM seemingly as a joke based around the debate due to the inclusion of the additional 0.1.

Above & Beyond have released music across a range of BPMs. If Grant's tweet is any indication of the future, it doesn't seem like the trio will be too worried about their beats per minute.

H/T: We Rave You

Facebook: facebook.com/aboveandbeyondInstagram: instagram.com/aboveandbeyondTwitter: twitter.com/aboveandbeyondSoundCloud: soundcloud.com/aboveandbeyond

Read the original:

Jono Grant of Above & Beyond Tells Producers to Stop Obsessing Over BPM - EDM.com

Relaxing is easier said than done for me.

After doing some research, I came across a trendy wellness treatment known as flotation therapy, which just might be the anxious girls saving grace. Lift/Next Level Floats in Brooklyn became the locale of my very first floating experience. Co-owner David Leventhalhands down the calmest person Ive ever mettold me what keeps his clients coming back. The salt contains magnesium sulfate, which can be absorbed through the skin, he explains. The benefits are so wide-ranging. It can help one deal with stress, insomnia and anxiety better. Psoriasis and eczema sufferers have told me that their skin looks and feels better. Most of us are deficient in magnesium, so in addition to taking it in the diet or through supplements, floating is a great way to top up your reserves.

Like anything new, the first 15 minutes of the 60-minute session felt awkward. I shifted and tried to find comfort in the pod, which was almost the width of a queen-size mattress. After about 20 minutes of stillness, the weightlessness of my body gradually put me in a trance. The real challenge is calming the mind. When youre cut off from sound, human contact and electronic devices for what seems like forever, youre left with your deepest thoughts. Dont worry about who you have to text back, I told myself. Eventually, I let my thoughts drift wherever they took me. To surrender is to win!

After 30 minutes of not moving a muscle, I felt completely hazyin the best possible way. I couldnt tell whether I was spinning around like a crazy carnival ride or floating completely still. The peak state of relaxation felt like the minutes right before you drift off to sleep. Pure bliss.The physical benefits of floating go hand in hand with the mental relief. Lying in a starfish pose against zero gravity took all tension off my shoulders and spine. As for my skin? It was glowing and supple, another plus. If youre looking for a wellness splurge that treats your mind, body and soul, flotation therapy just might be for you.

Know Before You Go

Beware of Braids: Each tank holds 1,000 pounds of saltwater. If youre wearing cornrows or box braids, getting the excess salt out of your hair will be difficult.

Nonswimmers Are Welcome: The saltwater will keep you buoyant. Protect your eyes! Its probably best to remove contact lenses before immersion.

Dont Shave: Epsom salt can irritate cuts in the skin; youll be less comfortable if you have a fresh shave.

Continue reading here:

Black Girl Approved: I Tried Floatation Therapy and It Made Me A Believer - Essence

It can sometimes feel like streaming upstream when I click on one of the services I have, looking for something to watch. I almost put myself into a trance by clicking through one movie or television series after another, not finding anything that strikes my fancy.

When my wife sighs and gets up to pay the bills instead of being subjected to this light show, I know its time to stop and just put on the basketball or hockey game.

But every now and then we pluck a gem out of the stream. We did so recently with the BBC series Maigret. It stars Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean and Blackadder fame, two stalwarts that have always been popular in our house.

The fact that Rowan Atkinson has, like so many comedians, plunged into straight drama is no surprise that seems to be the inner desire of all comedians and the fall of just about as many, as they rarely seem to capture the same magic being serious as they do when they were just out for laughs.

Maigret is different, on so many levels. The series follows the exploits of Chief Police Inspector Jules Maigret, who lives and works in 1950s Paris. I have never read one of the Maigret books, written by Georges Simenon, but I found out there are about 75 of them.

These 90-minute mysteries are full of great set designs and costumes, and one can almost smell the mustiness of the faded wallpaper in some of the rooms. What I like most about the series is that Maigret is not a super sleuth. He is no savant like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot.

Though I have indulged in those books and movies as well, there is always going to be a disconnect, as no one can really be brilliant and super intelligent all the time. As someone who is never super intelligent, it was always a little hard to bond with those characters.

And when you get to other detective/mystery types, the hard-drinking and hard-living Raymond Chandler tough guys or the more modern versions like in the Harry Bosch series of books by Michael Connelly, they are fun to consume but not all that satisfying in the end.

Maigret is not like any of those other forms of the genre. He is not a master genius eccentric who plays the piccolo while recounting the second law of thermodynamics. He is just a solid, hard-working policeman who thinks a lot.

The character of Maigret does more thinking than talking in the series, which is strangely captivating.

Its almost as if you can hear the wheels turning in his head. But when the wheels turn, it isnt because he has deduced that the suspect is a left-handed tennis player with bad teeth because of the evidence he found on a chewing gum wrapper. Its because he has charged his team with running down possible leads until things start to come together, a lot like real police work.

Another quirk of this series that makes the character refreshingly different is his domestic life. From what Ive seen so far, the middle-aged character of Maigret lives in marital bliss with his middle-aged wife in a very compact and simple Parisian apartment.

No struggles with alcohol or drugs, and since Atkinson is playing the part, the thought of a femme fatale throwing herself at Maigret would not only be out of character, but out of the question.

Ironically, in a genre where the hero is almost always the anti-hero with the prerequisite issues, Atkinsons Maigret is happily married, loves his job, and in both episodes I have seen so far, cares deeply about the victims, those who are left behind in mayhems wake, and he is filled with an overwhelming sense of recuperative justice.

Not vengeance, just a need to set things as right as he possibly can given the limitations of his position as a chief police inspector and his talent and abilities. The crimes are not committed by super villains, but by everyday awful people, much like real police work.

In Atkinsons two great comedic endeavors, the aforementioned Mr. Bean and Blackadder, he played either a fool (a kind hearted one, sometimes in Mr. Bean) or despicable cad. In both he was brilliantly funny.

To play a thoughtful, caring, and almost plodding French policeman in the middle part of the last century is a triumph. Unless there are as unseen segments of this series where Maigret goes off the rails and leaves his wife or goes on a vicious crime spree of his own, I think this show will remain on our must-watch list.

The mysteries are good, the main character countercultural in his morality, and its an indulgence without guilt.

Continue reading here:

Everyday morality and real police work in Maigret - Angelus News

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

On Dec. 21, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified in solemn ceremonies at St. Marys Cathedral in Peoria, Illinois. In the Catholic faith, beatification is the final step in a process before one is declared a saint.

Archbishop Sheen was a gifted orator and world famous media pioneer. He began in radio with the program Catholic Hour which aired from 1930 to 1950.

In 1952 Sheen became one of the first and most recognized televangelists when he began the prime time television series Life is Worth Living, which he is most remembered for. The series reached an estimated 30 million viewers a week in its zenith. For it, Archbishop Sheen was twice awarded an Emmy for Most Outstanding TV Personality.

The archbishop came to West Virginia nearly 50 years ago for a two-day radio and television workshop at the invitation of the West Virginia Council of Churches. The ecumenical workshop was held on Feb. 20 and 21, 1970, at the former St. Joseph Seminary in Vienna which is now Ohio Valley University.

The archbishop was the keynote speaker at a banquet held at the conclusion of the workshop. In his remarks, printed in the Parkersburg News Feb. 22, 1970, Sheen said, Any broadcaster has to be in love with the people he is communicating to and secondly the broadcaster must remember it is God who speaks through him; and the broadcaster is simply the agent of Gods grace.

In further prescient remarks given that evening Sheen noted that the common enemies of all Christians are indifference and apathy.

This author was present that night at the banquet while a student at St. Joseph Seminary. It was a powerful address given with heart and urgency.

Later that evening I was sent on an errand to the seminary chapel to fetch some articles. Archbishop Sheen was in the chapel alone, kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer. The archbishop was unaware I was in the chapel. Before proceeding to my chore I observed him in deep prayer.

He appeared to be in an almost trance-like state. It made a powerful impression on a young teenager and I felt I was in the presence of a saint. I came to find out later that Archbishop Sheen spent one hour a day in prayer and continued that practice until the day he died.

A miracle must be attributed to a person before they are beatified. The Catholic Church verifies it through extensive investigation before certifying that a miracle occurred. In Sheens case on Sept. 15, 2010, James Engstrom was stillborn in Peoria, Illinois, due to a knotted umbilical cord.

Doctors worked on the infant for over an hour. Just as they were ready to record a time of death the baby started breathing normally.

Doctors feared that he had suffered permanent brain damage, but he had none and today is perfectly normal. In keeping with the Catholic belief that each of us can ask for the intercession of one in heaven just as one might ask a friend to pray for him, the parents had prayed to Bishop Sheen to intercede to God to spare their child.

Archbishop Sheen will be rightly honored by the Church for a life of heroic virtue. We are proud that this soon-to-be saint once visited the Mid-Ohio Valley.

MARIETTA As they work to reintegrate into civilian life, many veterans and their family members seek help from ...

The rest is here:

Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified | News, Sports, Jobs - Parkersburg News

Pete Tong reunites with The Heritage Orchestra (Her_o) for Chilled Classics, a new album released through Universal Music which is out now.

Chilled Classics is the follow-up to the chart-topping 2016 and 2017 albums Classic House and Ibiza Classics, which saw the revered DJ, broadcaster and dance pioneer rework classic tunes with the orchestra, conducted and arranged by Jules Buckley. This third collection sees Tong and Buckley introduce a number of new tracks, fitting seamlessly in amongst the classics as if they too were unearthed from the vaults. Were trying to make timeless music, says Tong, and we think these fit in. The first taste of the album is, fittingly, one of these original compositions Go Crazy featuring legendary New Jersey house and garage producer Todd Edwards, a joyous ride channeling Daft Punk via Chic and Kool and the Gang.

Todd used to be signed to me back in the day at FFRR, Tong reveals. We always stayed in touch, and he moved to LA and I kept bumping into him. I gave him all the references of what I was looking for, sent it over to him, and a month later he came back that with this. He came up with the line, go crazy, which was a no-brainer for us, for the show, for everything. Im super-pleased to be reunited with him and really proud of it. Its an amazingly powerful three minutes, with the Heritage Orchestra vocalists backing him up.

With Chilled Classics, the overarching aim was to continue to develop and evolve the original idea at the heart of the project, the original idea being classical, orchestrated interpretations of Ibiza, house and techno classics. Key, Tong says, was to push things forward on all fronts: inspired song choices, inventive interpretations, ambitious collaborations.

As he acknowledges: Wehope our versions are true to the visions of the original songwriters, producers and artists but equally, they have to stand alone as a worthwhile tribute, alternative and complement to those visions. He is quick to clarify that the chilled concept is meant in a specific context, however.

To Tong, a man who knows the scene better than most, if not everyone, this new selection of tunes is chilled in the sense of a sunset set Ibiza. So that doesnt mean its all ambient or meditation music, he notes with a smile. Its what a DJ might play at Caf Mambo for Caf del Mar as the suns going down. So it can have tempo, and be quite soulful, too.

At the higher end of the BPM scale are new versions of Dutch trance anthem Greece 2000 (a 1997 UK dance Number One by Three Drives on a vinyl), The Cure and The Cause from 2005 and originally by Irish production duo Fish Go Deep) featuring Rudimental and Wiley collaborator Sinead Hartnett, and Touch Me (Rui Da Silvas ground-breaking progressive house 2001 track, a UK Number One) featuring a thrilling turn by Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince of The Kills.

Perhaps one of the most unexpected moments on the album is grime don Wileys take on Underworlds Born Slippy. That song has always been in the frame for this project, from the very first prom, explains Tong. Its one of those tracks where, if youre mess with it, you better make sure you do it right! But how do you do that? The answer: half-step it and take it down to grime tempo. Suitably inspired, Wiley came up with bars that are a tribute to the Ibizan experience. With the Heritage Orchestra vocalists singing the original verses, the result is a classic reboot of a classic.

Switching it up again, he had 17-year-old Au/Ra sing on Alright by Red Carpet, one of the all-time great Positiva releases, a prog-house-stroke-trance tune. The teenager rubs shoulders with another blazing youthful talent, Zara Larsson, who brings chilled class to Every Heartbeat. I had a strong history with the original Robyn track, notes Tong of his own dance mix of the 2007 hit. Here weve turned it upside down and made it an acoustic chill-out version. [We] thought it would be great to get the new Swedish prodigy, whose idol is Robyn. And thats how we ended up with Zara Larsson.

Then, alongside new versions of Neneh Cherry and Youssou NDours Seven Seconds, The Beloveds Sweet Harmony, St Germains Rose Rouge, Groove Armadas At The River and, perhaps most intriguingly of all, Samuel Barbers Addagio for Strings, are those brand new tracks. Alongside the aforementioned Go Crazy feat. Todd Edwards, Tong enlists MNEK for Peace and Harmony, in Tongs words a conscious house tune, like Ce Ce Rogers and Ten City did back in the day, referencing the current London knife crime and gang crisis. Darkest Days, meanwhile, features fast-rising singer, songwriter and actress Shungudzo.

Last but definitely not least Tong reconnected with the iconic Boy George on the glorious Symphony Of You, almost 40 years since a young Tong booked Culture Club to appear at The Barracuda in London. I wanted this Philly International vibe, Aint No Stopping Us Now meets I Love Music, and George felt like the perfect fit to sing it, it was his key and vibe. And he loved it.

These, then, are Chilled Classics. Some things old, some things new, some things borrowed and some things inventively, boldly, brightly and excitingly reimagined. And when the Pete Tong, Jules Buckley, Heritage Orchestra and special guest vocalists touring phenomenon hits the road again later this year, including a return to Londons O2 arena on 13 and 14 December, the party will be bigger and better than ever.

Chilled Classics is out now. Scroll down to read the full tracklist and buy it now.

Chilled Classics:

SWEET HARMONY ft. Nina Nesbitt7 SECONDS ft. Grace Carter and Langa MavusoROSE ROUGE ft. Robert OwensGO CRAZY ft. Todd EdwardsSYMPHONY OF YOU ft. Boy GeorgeTHE CURE & THE CAUSE ft. Sinead HartnettEVERY HEARTBEAT ft. Zara LarssonAT THE RIVEROFFSHOREPERFECT HARMONY ft. MNEKDARKEST DAYS ft. ShungudzoTOUCH ME ft. Alison Mosshart and Jamie HinceGREECE 2000ALRIGHT ft. Au/RaSHOW ME LOVE ft. Moss KenaBORN SLIPPY ft. WileyADAGIO FOR STRINGSEVERY HEARTBEAT (FULL ORCHESTRAL)

Link:

Pete Tong & The Heritage Orchestras New Album, Chilled Classics Is Out Now - uDiscover Music

Ten-year-old Olivia Mack walked around Calgary's WinSport Arenas in a trance this weekend after meeting one of the newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame: Hayley Wickenheiser.

"She's my inspiration," Olivia said softly during a break from patrolling the blue line for the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs at the 10th annual Canadian Tire Wickenheiser World Female Hockey Festival.

"I want to be just like her when I grow up."

Wickenheiser launched her hockey festival affectionately known as Wickfest after the 2010 Olympics with the express purposeof growing the women's game. Over the last decade, more than 30,000 players have taken part in the event designed to teach them about success in hockey and in life.

Over the last two weekends in Calgary, more than 2,500 girls and young women filed into Wickfest with sticks in hand and hockey bags slung over their shoulders.

The irony is not lost on Wickenheiser, who used to slink into the arena hoping to go unnoticed as the only girl on the team.

"These days, a little girl with a bag and stick walking into a rink is no big deal," Wickenheiser said. "Whereas when I was that little girl, heads would turn because it wasn't all that common."

Fresh off the Nov. 18Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Wickenheiser rushed home to write a medical school exam Wednesday before shuffling over to WinSport's Canada Olympic Park to nurture her passion project.

Although the Canadian Women's Hockey League is defunct and the best players in the world are boycotting the National Women's Hockey League in the U.S. Wickenheiser believes the future is bright for the women's game.

"I think the NHL has a plan moving forward," said Wickenheiser, 41. "If women's pro hockey is going to happen, it's going to have to be with NHL involvement.

"I see it as possible: four to six teams probably based in the eastern part of Canada and in the U.S., just for money and geography. And I think it'll happen. I actually think it will happen within the next year or two. So we'll see, but it's really the next way to elevate the women's game outside of the Olympics, because people need to see the women play more often."

In the meantime, she sees Wickfest as a vital tool to help nurture and develop the next generation. The festival is set to expand to Surrey, B.C., in the new year, and she hopes Halifax and Toronto will be next.

"I feel like the coaching and development for young female hockey players isn't where it should be," said Wickenheiser, who is also the assistant director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"And it's also important to expose kids to other sports so they learn that they don't have to play hockey 12 months a year you can do a lot of other things, as well."

Georgia Simmerling, an Olympic track cyclist and ski cross racer, stopped by the Wickfest Saturday to teach the kids exactly that.

"It's good to be involved in different sports, and I'm here to talk about navigating that," Simmerling said. "And I think that's a message that's important for the parents to hear as well."

Erica Wiebe, an Olympic gold medallist in wrestling, talked to the girls and their parents about mental resilience under pressure. Team Canada hockey netminder Shannnon Szabados lectured on game-day preparation and how the mind is the biggest asset for a goalie.

Team Canada forward Natalie Spooner took the girls through a dryland session to teach them how to warm up for a game like an Olympian. And Olympic curling silver medallist Cheryl Bernard told the girls to think of their lives like a book, warning them against letting anyone else hold the pen.

"Sports gives you confidence to walk into a boardroom and apply for a job you might not know if you qualify for," said Bernard, president and CEO of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. "Promoting sport is not about getting everyone to stand on a podium or win Olympic medals. It's for values, the teamwork and the confidence that all translate to life later on."

Olivia's dad ,Graeme Mack, played minor hockey growing up, and there was one girl on his team.

"Just the one," he said. "It's very different now. Even the small towns have girls' hockey teams now.

"This whole event is phenomenal. Hayley is joining the girls on the benches. They're just in awe."

The rest is here:

Wickenheiser optimistic women's hockey will have new pro league in 2 years - CBC.ca