Farius and Elevven join forces to gift a hearty helping of progressive trance and end the Digitally Enhanced series’ near-decade-long hiatus.
While progressive trance isn’t the most popular genre in the dance music realm, it has its fair share of heavyweight labels. Of those labels, U.S.-based Enhanced Music is one of the most revered. Over the years, genre greats such as Arty, Daniel Kandi, and Matt Fax have graced Enhanced and several of its sub-labels such as Enhanced Progressive and Colorized. Like many labels, a compilation series typically showcases the sound and artists they intend to lean towards – for Enhanced, that’s Digitally Enhanced.
A lot has changed since the last volume of Digitally Enhanced that arrived nearly a decade ago. This is the first in the series not mixed by label founder Will Holland, and all three artists taking the reins on this volume were in very different stages of their careers the last time it surfaced. Elevven had not officially teamed up and were successful artists on Silk Music (now known as Monstercat Silk) and Adrenalin Room (as Eskai and SNR, respectively), while Farius was lighting up the London progressive trance scene in his own right.
Being asked to mix one half of the latest edition of Digitally Enhanced is a big honour – I spent most of my twenties listening to the previous volumes and they subsequently had a big hand in shaping the music that I make myself today.
Farius
However, one thing that remains at the heart of the compilation is its mission of showcasing the best in trance and progressive signed by Enhanced and its sub-labels. Take a listen to Digitally Enhanced Volume Seven on Spotify or your preferred platform, and keep reading for our take on the return of a progressive staple and the inspiration behind it from the mixers!
Stream Digitally Enhanced Volume Seven – Mixed by Farius & Elevven on Spotify:
Farius opens the journey with the first of the two mixes.
For those unfamiliar with the London-based Enhanced Music A&R, producer, and DJ, Farius delivers one hell of an introduction through his mix. Starting with label regular Lycii and a slice of progressive served up by Darren Tate under his DT8 moniker, Farius’ first direct contribution comes in the form of a collaboration with series regular Estiva (under the alias Kudus). A groover showcasing both artists’ styles, “Select Player Mode” is a modern take on classic arcade sounds combined with light-hearted progressive from the pair.
Down the line, Farius delivers some silky cuts from David Broaders and Tygris, showing off the deep sounds that grace the Colorized discography and some peak-time progressive from Koyah and Axis. Taylor Torrence’s first contribution closes out the first half of the mix, a collaboration with Julia Ross called “Karma,” which will surely help remind everyone why Enhanced Progressive is a progressive trance powerhouse.
Sonically, I feel this volume really shows how Enhanced continues to push the trance and progressive sound onward whilst maintaining the staple sound that fans have come to love over the years.
Farius
The second half of the mix raises the intensity. It shines with contributions from the likes of Sendr and Tephra as Farius adds his remix of label bosses Tritonal’s “Signals” with Sarah De Warren and his recent collaboration with Cristina Soto “On My Mind.” Several more Enhanced Progressive contributions close out Farius’ mix for Digitally Enhanced Volume 7 in dazzling form. The Enhanced A&R delivers the best of both progressive worlds, perfectly floating between Colorized’s more laid-back style and Enhanced Progressive’s peak-time anthems.
Elevven puts the pedal to the metal on the second half of the compilation.
California-based outfit Elevven (comprised of long-time friends Shahin Kanafchian and Neel Ukhalkar) have seen their star shine in the last few years. The pair start their mix for Digitally Enhanced Volume 7 in a groovy manner with Rafaël Frost’s remix of Taylor Torrence’s “Oxygen.” Several progressive cuts follow before Elevven tips their first hand.
As long-time fans of the series, Elevven said they “wanted to pay homage to the earlier CDs” and deliver with a dark and techy remix of the Enhanced Progressive favorite “The Wall” by Arty and Tania Zygar. With a fun mix of progressive, the duo showcases some of the most innovative producers in the progressive scene, such as Hausman and Kudus. Halfway through Elevven’s mix, Rodg contributes the intense and brooding “Secrets,” while familiar faces Noise Zoo return to Enhanced with the heavy-hitting “Secret Weapon” later on.
We started off initially expecting to pull together a fairly trancey compilation, much like the previous installments of the Digitally Enhanced series, but ended up finding ourselves leaning more in the progressive side of things.
Elevven
The first of the final three tracks of the mix see Elevven bring out an original collaboration with Sarah Mark. This progressive trance hybrid track called “Shallow” sees Sarah Mark’s vocals intertwine with groovy production to create a ride that will keep crowds dancing from the moment the clap comes in. Adrian Alexander follows up with “Something About You,” a modern progressive trance tinged with nostalgic energy reminding us of the early 2010’s progressive house era. Versatile producer Dan Stone seals Digitally Enhanced Volume 7 with “The Wave,” a fun slice of progressive made to uplift dance floors.
Farius and Elevven showcase some of the most innovative sounds in the realms of melodic house and progressive trance throughout both sides of this compilation. The return of the Digitally Enhanced series marks a bright and exciting future for Enhanced, making plenty eager for the releases to come in the next few months.
What did you think of the first Digitally Enhanced compilation in nine years? Let us know in the comments below and follow Farius and Elevven on their socials!
Digitally Enhanced Volume Seven – Mixed by Farius & Elevven – Tracklist:
Disc One – Mixed by Farius
- Lycii & Demi & Verest – Escape
- DT8 Project – Half Awake
- Notaker – The Distance
- Kudus & Farius – Select Player Mode
- David Broaders – For A Lifetime
- Tygris – Garden Of Eden
- John Grand & Dave Raval – Midnight Sun
- Johan Vilborg – Relight
- Koyah – Don’t Worry
- Axis & Bertie Scott – Holding On
- Taylor Torrence (feat. Julia Ross) – Karma
- Leonard A – Ikaris
- StanV – Our Own Ways
- Phillip Castle & Sendr – Control You
- Tritonal & Sarah de Warren – Signals (Farius Remix)
- Tephra – Count On Me
- Farius & Cristina Soto – On My Mind
- Patrik Humann & Gid Sedgwick – Falling (Eugenio Tokarev Remix)
- Rodrigo Deem – Centaur
- Cubicore & July Mell – Remember Me
Disc Two – Mixed by Elevven
- Taylor Torrence & Ava Silver – Oxygen (Rafaël Frost Remix)
- Hausman – Four To Three
- Shane 54 & London Thor – Kingdom
- Titus1 & Jennifer Rene – Circles
- ARTY (feat. Tania Zygar) – The Wall (Elevven 2022 Remode)
- Notaker – Momentum
- Judah & Matt Fax (feat. Luke Coulson) – Alone
- David Broaders – Moonkilla
- Hausman – Techtonic
- Unterberg & Sisko – Under My Thick Skin
- Tephra & Sakura – Believe
- Rodg – Secrets
- Kudus & Johan Vilborg – Awakening
- Whiteout & Gid Sedgwick – Breathe
- Tom Boldt – Purple
- Kudus & Mirjam Tumaini – Never Be Alone
- Noise Zoo – Secret Weapon
- Elevven & Sarah Mark – Shallow
- Adrian Alexander – Something About You
- Dan Stone – The Wave
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