Review: RAM & Susana - RAMelia (Tribute To Amelia)
Written by Richard Ronchetti on 4 January 2014 in Reviews
The act of writing music is simultaneously the most introverted and extraverted thing a person can do.
Days alone with yourself in a dark studio living on 2 litre bottles of coke and Monster Munch are suddenly juxtaposed by the act of putting the finished track out for the world to hear. It's wearing your musical heart on your sleeve and hoping your audience welcomes and appreciates the product of your passion.
Now it would be foolish of us to believe that every artist today pours their heart and soul into every track, because the fact of the matter is that dance music is a business. That said we are certainly not short of passionate artists who are willing to put a piece of themselves into their music either. Whether it's Josh Gabriel sampling his unborn babies heart beat to use in his solo release 'Alive' or Paul van Dyk dedicating 'For an Angel' to his wife, these heart-felt expressions have always been embraced by the Trance Family. After all that's what we are: one big global family unified by the music we love, the events we attend and the social networks we use. We dance together, we sing together and sadly (but thankfully only occasionally) we come together to mourn and lend support when one of our own passes on.
You will probably as a result of the togetherness that I've just described above be all too aware of the tragic event that befell DJ RAM and his family back in early October. The news of the sudden and devastating loss of his wife Amelia Boon was met by waves of condolences and well wishes from dance music fans all over the world, the majority of which (including myself) had never met RAM or Amelia. The volume of tributes and messages of support offered by the clubbing community over the following weeks and months was a heart-warming display of unity and sympathy.
But the biggest and most powerful tribute was yet to come. RAM himself along with Geert Huinink, Dennis Schimonk and vocalist Susana would cement the loving memory of Amelia into dance music history forever. Their release RAM & Susana - RAMelia (Tribute to Amelia) is nothing short of one of the most powerful and personal peaces of Trance music that has ever and probably will ever grace dance floors. Now this is quite a bold statement I know but armed with the knowledge of RAM's loss it would be nearly impossible not to feel a strong emotional reaction to this track and its immensely personal lyrics.
Kicking off the track RAM stays true to his trademark uplifting Trance sound, layering the beginnings of what is to become a beautiful piano bed for the vocals with some euphoric and uplifting synth lines. The opening two and a half minutes lay, what I'd describe, as an emotional foundation for the vocals to come. But, importantly everything about the opening build up of this track is still geared toward the dance floor.
At two and a half minutes the layers of this track are stripped completely back to the bare bones making way for the haunting piano line and most notably the amazing vocals. I spoke earlier of the introverted and extraverted nature of writing music. This is the epitome of that theory. RAM's lyrics are as personal as words can be but as beautiful as this track demands of them. Delivered to the masses respectfully and emotionally by the very talented Susana, her vocal builds in velocity and passion as do the strings accompanying her. All supported throughout by that beautiful piano line.
From the drop onwards this track is pure Trance all the way. Big room synths and trademark drum compression lift the roof in a way that only Trance music can and I have to say that this track is done so perfectly. It's a celebration of a life lived and will act as a coming together wherever it's played. It's dance music with substance, passion and emotion. We all wish that it didn't have to exist, but as it does, it couldn't have been done any better and it is an ever-lasting testament to Amelia's memory.
I'm sure you will all join me and the TrancePodium members in wishing RAM and his family a positive and happy 2014 as well as thanking him and his collaborators for being brave enough to bring us this unforgettable piece of music.
"The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will." - Chuck Palahniuk
Richard Ronchetti is a DJ, producer and reviewer from the UK with an unhealthy obsession for grated cheese.
He plays and produces essentially Trance with lots of House and Progressive influence and will be posting a bi-monthly promo mix on Mixcloud, Facebook and Twitter. Each mix will (if his levels of creativity and grated cheese allow) contain his own tracks, mashups and remixes.
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RAM & Susana - RAMelia (Tribute To Amelia)