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Dune – Million Miles Away From Home
A lonely, nostalgic rave on the other side of the moon.
Released: 1996 | Orbit Records | Hard Trance, Happy Hardcore
With a shimmering cosmic palette, this light, bittersweet track transports listeners to simpler, happier memories. Suppose the lyrics do quite a good job at encapsulating this track’s generally wistful mood:
I was sent to outer space
To find another happy place
Now I’m left here all alone
Million miles away from home
Floating through the galaxy
All the stars in front of me
Now I’m left here all alone
Million miles away from home
Million miles away…. -
Camellia – NIGHTMARE † CITY
A bewitching track that screams and tears through luminous, midnight streets.
Released: 2019 | Camellia | Speedcore, Hardstyle
NIGHTMARE † CITY turns up the heat with rapid-fire noise and fervent instrumentals. These intense elements are balanced with delicate, illuminating piano segments to create a track that both burns and glimmers, like an uncontrollable flame reflected alongside cold moonlight on water.
Buy on Bandcamp
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Venetian Snares – Eurocore MVP
A mirthful track that plays like a frenzied Y2K computer virus takeover.
Released: 2008 | Planet Mu Records | Breakcore, Jungle
Eurocore MVP is a colorfully vivid and punishing demonstration of Venetian Snares’ control of chaos with structure. Mix in some ragga samples and a wonky time signature, and the end result is a pummeling track with a cheeky and malicious attitude.
Buy on Bandcamp
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180 (NAOKI) – PARANOiA
The original heart-pounding electronic nightmare boss song.
Released: 1998 | Konami-Bemani | Jungle, Drum & Bass, Video Game
And so, the curtain is lifted to reveal the true reason behind this SoundLounge venture: to just shill the classic tracks of Dance Dance Revolution to the masses.
Jokes-not-so-jokes aside…
Beloved for being the first “boss track” in the series, PARANOiA is exemplary of its name. Between the unsettling jacket art, alarming audio stabs, and fast tempo, this track became an instant classic that would spawn a grand number of remixes, all more difficult than the last.
No purchase section but go check out Naoki Maeda’s hellacious cowboy getup in DDR. We all owe him at least that much for creating such an iconic series of songs.
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Cxldr3 – Snapback Remix
A groovy track bolstered with the frenetic, high-energy jungle vibes of 90’s video games.
Released: 2022 | Cxldr3 | Jungle, Breakbeat
A feel-good track that marries colorful palettes of sound with energetic breakbeats.
The original track is a pleasantly subdued melody reminiscent of 90’s video games, but it’s Cxldr3’s introduction of frenetic breaks and jungle flair that make for a truly nostalgic experience: a proper throwback to the glory days of jungle’s influence on video game sound.
Buy on Bandcamp.
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Sub Focus – Sound Guy
A dense, rumbling track with delicious Jungle flair.
Released: 2004 | Frequency | Drum n’ Bass, Jungle
With a moody, chiaroscuro intro that tumbles into full-on growling Jungle sound, Sound Guy brings tightly pressurized levels of bass and drums in this nonstop ride of a track.
It’s the the “triple chocolate mousse cake topped with whip cream and chocolate chips for extra measure” of the drum and bass world. It’s just that richly dense.
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Bassnectar – Bass Head
Classic anthemic bass-driven ride.
Released: 2010 | Basshead | Dubstep
A popular track in its heyday for good reason: it is elegantly simple and infectiously addictive in its execution. For its reputation as a mainstream anthemic track, Bass Head is a surprisingly methodical and ambling ride, with never a dull moment in spite of its repetition. What could have become another hackneyed tune is instead a wobbly, bass-driven track served with an evident amount of care.
With less pretention: It’s just a plain fun beat that goes incredibly hard on a good system.