The announcement of a new Mike Saint-Jules’ Interstellar Mix is one of those events which make lovers of progressive trance sit up and take notice. What began as a side-line for Mike seems to have developed into his main focus, possibly because he is so damn good at this style. An Interstellar mix from Mike focuses on all that is so brilliant about progressive trance music; the slow build, the intricate arrangement, the relaxed pace which allows a groove to emerge and the attention to detail. Vadim Zhukov’s original Travelling (released a few months ago on Pure Progressive’) featured a neat arpeggio lead, and wicked vocoder stabs; all present in this mix but very cleverly worked into a new progression. The sparse bass is deep and solid, the 909 percussion groove is a delight, the emotive piano break is a surprise – but a welcome one. Inspiration stuff indeed.
