I have way too many guilty pleasures; honestly, at times it seems like I just can’t help it!  Lately – and in no particular order – they’ve been: sparkly jewelery, suede riding boots, skinny pants in rich colors, pristine white t-shirts, one of a kind gaudy purses and music.  When I was driving back home last week for Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to go through my old CD collection; and when I say “collection” – I mean it.  There were some that dated back as far as middle school and freshman year of high school – and then through college and up to my years in Los Angeles.  What was supposed to be a cathartic six hour drive back to San Francisco turned into an assorted hodgepodge of the highlights of my childhood; what it drove home was how my brain and my ears evolved from loving the dirty basslines of old school hip-hop and gangsta’ rap, the soul soothing vibrations of the kick drum and the acoustic guitar and the effortless angelic vocals within folk rock.  For the longest time, I thought all of this had been lost on me – but now I realize that it’s been here all along, hiding in plain sight.  It’s in the timbre of drum and bass, the ephemeral qualities of vocal trance and the harmonic dissonance of dubstep and tech house.  But, no matter how I spin it, my heart will always and forever be in the hands of trance.

During the work week there are so many trance podcasts to pay attention to that it’s hard knowing just which one to listen to – I’ve bounced around from Ferry Corsten, Tiesto, Armin van Buuren and Max Graham – all equally talented, and offering something totally different than the others.  Lately, though, Above and Beyond have been pulling me back into their grasp – especially their Trance Around the World show from India.  In my opinion, they have some of the best, brightest and talented musicians on their label – and it shows in both their live shows and in the production quality of the hit-after-hit singles they release.  Above & Beyond’s latest show was in India, where they celebrated the 450th Episode of Trance Around the World with some of their favorite DJs.   So turn your volume up, tune the world out and get ready for a musical journey…