VISIONS OF TRANCE

TOP LABELS: Lightning Records Umbrella label of an independent Belgian record-company, bankrupt as of March 2003 but partially resurrected under the name Banshee Worx. Some sublabels of the old Lighting Records have been continued by Banshee Worx: Bonzai Classics, Bonzai Club Grooves, Bonzai Limited, Bonzai Trance Progressive, Camouflage, Green Martian, Progrez, Tripomatic Records, XTC. The old Lightning sublabel Scanner has split off to become an independent label. Parent Label: Lightning Records NV Sublabels: !Danger, 4 DJ's Only, Axma, Basic Tunes, Bonzai Jumps, Bonzai Records, Buddja, Cash Records, Diablo, For DJ's Only, Future Shock, Looney Tune Records, Onesider, Rebelgrooves, Say Some More Records, Sputnik, Tetsuo Belgium, Unique Vinyl Movement, Yaf Records, Zounds  

TOP LABELS: Fairlight Records A German Trance & Hard Trance label founded in 1999 by Sasha Graune, Thomas von Gregorsitz and Matthias Wagner. The label was then formed by Thomas Schatz, also known as Mario Lopez and Daniel Körber, also known as D.Mand. The releases were sold exclusively by A45 Music. The label has released tracks by Mario Lopez, Marc van Linden, Lightforce, R.E.D. S.E.C.T.O.R., Shaun Baker and William Hawk. Label codes: LC 2692 / LC 02692 (first releases with FR catalog numbers) LC 10728 (cooperation with A45 Music) Sublabels: Fairlight Studios 

TOP LABELS: 2 Play Records  Defunct Dutch Trance & Tech Trance record label. Formerly part of BPM Dance under the name 2-Play. Their songs have been released by such famous artists as Leon Bolier, Daniel Wanrooy, Simon Patterson, Fred Baker, Genix, Tom Colontonio, Ron van den Beuken, Re:Locate, Sied van Riel, DJ FEEL, Rene Ablaze and many others. Parent Label: Spinnin' Records https://www.beatport.com/label/2-play-records-spinnin/2127?srsltid=AfmBOoqa1g5SnLYc0zPPb-OrWgyceu56q3lirxuB8dFOaQ_MjLnTy74M

TOP LABELS: Le Petit Prince "Le Petit Prince" was founded in July 1993 by Klaus Derichs and Marc Romboy. It was distributed via MMS Euro and N.E.W.S.. The first 11 records are made in Belgium by Disco-Press. The label has released artists such as Future Breeze, RMB, Marc Et Claude, Emmanuel Top, Microwave Prince, Nikolai, Zero Gravity and many other lesser known artists. Their releases can be found on CDs and vinyl. Parent Label: Alphabet City Sublabels: Friends, Limité 

 TOP LABELS: Deviant Records  Founded by Rob Deacon who had previously headed up Sweatbox and the famous book-with-a-CD compilation series Volume. The final release in Volume's Trance Europe Express series, "Trance Pacific Express", appeared via Deviant. Deacon was convinced by friend Mark Reeder to launch Paul van Dyk onto the UK market via Deviant. Several years of success for Deviant followed, but when the Out There And Back album floundered, van Dyk jumped ship. Fed up with the industry, Rob chose to dissolve Deviant in late 2006/ early 2007 to pursue his other passions - photography, visual arts, Chelsea football club and scuba diving. Rob Deacon died on September 8 2007 in a canoeing accident. Owned by Phoenix Music International Ltd since 2007. Parent Label: Phoenix Music International Ltd. Sublabels: Breakbeat Science

TOP LABELS: Massive Drive Recordings  A Dutch trance label focused on uplifting trance music, as part of parent label Midtown Records. Founded in May 1997 by Mark Van Dale, later managed by Erik de Koning (aka Three Drives). Parent Label: Midtown Records Sublabels: Massive Drive Gold, Massive Moment https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067650878873 https://www.instagram.com/midtownrec?igsh=MTdwaGJ2cXBhNmppNA== https://youtube.com/@backcatalogue900?si=7sMpubIRLGiIpxXG

TOP LABELS: Urban Former German House & Trance label, which turned to almost exclusively Rap, Hip-Hop and R&B artists in 2005. Urban Records was founded by Sascha Basler in 1993 as a sub-label of Polydor Germany. In 1994 Urban became a sub-label of Motor Music. In 1995 it became the most succesful dance-label in Germany. In 1999 Urban became part of Universal Records, due to the Polygram-Universal merger into Universal Music GmbH. In a later stage, things changed a little bit and Universal decided to merge Urban/Universal Records with the rap-label Def Jam Germany into the Urban Def Jam label-group. In 2007 was launched a new dance imprint called Sound Of Urban. Urban also marketed & distributed various music releases by labels like Kontor Records, Superstar Recordings, Vandit Records, Strictly Rhythm, Tracid Traxxx and Low Spirit Recordings. Urban Records had a lot of great artists in the past like Talla 2XLC, WestBam, Nalin & Kane, Robert Miles and Energy 52 and more

TOP LABELS: Superfly Records Progressive and Trance label from Germany, founded in late 1995 by Nalin & kane. Artists like Nalin & Kane, Jam & Spoon m, Oliver Moldan, Sven Palzer, Freefall, Jan Johnston, Hooligan, Dial M For Moguai, Van Bellen and others have released their tracks on this label. It wasn't much, but a few classics have stood the test of time and are still mentioned at the top of the list. Sublabels: Superfly, Supercow, Superfly Studios

TOP LABELS: Kontor Records Independent label from Germany. Specialised in Electronic Dance Music. For copyrights use Kontor Records GmbH when the legal suffix is printed. Labelcode: LC 2182 / LC 02182 Name variations as found on this profile: - Kontor Records - Kontor The label has released songs by such famous trance artists as ATB, CJ Stone, Sunbeam, Blank & Jones, Special D, Trance Allstars, Gouryella and many others. Parent Label: Kontor Records GmbH Sublabels: Do It Yourself Entertainment (Germany), KNM Special Marketing, Kontor - House Of House, Kontor - Top Of The Clubs, Kontor Christmas Chill, Kontor Festival Sounds, Kontor Maximum Trance, Kontor Summer Jam, Kontor Sunset Chill, Kontor Trapical, Kontor.tv, Musicismusic, Starshit Recordings https://www.facebook.com/kontorrecords https://www.instagram.com/kontorrecords?igsh=aXN0OHY4ZTZvNDY5 https://kontorrecords.de/ https://youtube.com/@kontorrecords?si=WIe6nfjEupb3gbv4 https://on.soundcloud.com/6g3Ba  

TOP LABELS: Unsubmissive Records German label founded in 1994. She had to change her name due to the fact that there was already another label with the same name. The label continued under the name Incendiary Records. It ceased its operations at the end of 2003. Although its activity did not last long, it built a solid brand for itself. Artists such as Mythos 'N DJ Cosmo, Tandu & Ayla, DJ Pascal Dollé, Hiver & Hammer, Essential DJ-Team, Axel Konrad, Derb, Ferry Corsten aka Pulp Victim and other less known artists released their songs there. Label code: LC 2220 / LC 02220 Name variations: - Unsubmissive Records - Unsubmissive Rec. - Unsubmissive Parent label: Edel Records GmbH Sub-labels: Popmissive Records 

TOP LABELS: Zeitgeist  Zeitgeist was the exclusive Label of Polydor Zeitgeist, a department of Polydor. It later became part of Universal Music Domestic Division (Universal Music GmbH). Zeitgeist is a German expression meaning "spirit of the times" or "spirit of the age". This expression refers to the intellectual and cultural climate of the era. In German, this word has more meaning than the translation would suggest. Famous artists such as Schiller, YORK, Mauro Picotto, Paul Van Dyk, Resistance D, 4 Strings, Vincent De Moor, Pulsedriver, DJ Quicksilver, Trance Allstars and many others released their songs on this label. Label code: LC 10432 Parent Label: Universal Music GmbH

TOP LABELS: Tsunami A Dutch label founded in 1997 by Ferry Corsten and Robert Smit. The most releases are works by Ferry Corsten under the System F and Gouryella projects. His projects with other artists should also be added, such as Discodroids, Elektrika and Soundcheck. Solo projects Eon and Sidewinder. Other artists who released their songs on this label include Ronald van Gelderen aka Kid Vicious aka Smiter, Matt Darey, Matti Laamanen, Stargate, Angelic, Tony Walker, Pirate, Luis Paris, Scintilator, Nick K., 2HG, Left & Right, Galen Behr & Mathijs Van Wijk aka Syndique, Roger Goode and Robert Smit. Parent Label: Purple Eye Entertainment BV Sublabel: Tsunami Special Blend http://www.purple-eye.com/#about

TOP LABELS: High Contrast Recordings  Netherlands based electronic dance music label founded in 2005. High quality. High energy. High Contrast. Over the past ten year’s Be Yourself’s sibling ship of musical exploration has served the high end of electronic music with many unforgettable moments. With a seal of approval spanning industry tastemakers, iconic DJs and dance floors across the continents, their last decade has immortalised High Contrast as a place where incredible people go to make permanent memories in electronic music. If the story so far is anything to go by, the next ten years are unlikely to differ. Tailored to the changing tides of trance music and embodying its exciting progressions at every turn, High Contrast remains adamant that just as talent should be fostered, evolution should be embraced. Having harnessed the likes of Ernesto V Bastian’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and Marcel Wood’s “Advanced,” its focus on the next generation has set an equally exciting precedent f

TOP LABELS: Captivating Sounds Captivating Sounds was a fully owned subdivision of Warner Music Benelux BV from 2000 until 2003. From 2001 to 2002 it had a sister label called Captivating Red. In 2003 Captivating Sounds became a label of Dutch company Armada Music B.V., starting with the release DJ Danjo & Rob Styles - Aragon. In August 2014, Armada Music announced that Captivating Sounds will be discontinued and re-branded as Armada Captivating. Parent Label: Armada Music B.V. https://youtube.com/@armadacaptivating?si=h5oWxPJMzlGLP9sR

TOP LABELS: ID&T  Dutch label founded by Irfan van Ewijk, Duncan Stutterheim and Theo Lelie (= I, D & T). It all started when these three guys organized a post-graduation house party (gabber) called "The Final Exam" in 1992 in Utrecht. After this first major success, they hosted many more events such as Thunderdome, Mystery Land, and Global Hardkor Nation. However, in the late 1990s, hardcore and gabber music lost popularity, and ID&T (which employed over 50 people at the time) decided to abandon its traditional style of music. In 1999, they organized Innercity in Amsterdam, an indoor event without hardcore music. Over the course of a few years, the company went through some changes. In 2005, the label became the property of Be Yourself Music, which also sold its publishing house. To stay in the music industry, they founded Dance-Tunes.com, one of the largest legal download sites in the Netherlands. In January 2005, the name of the radio station ID&T Radio was

TOP LABELS: Magic Island  Balearic Trance/Progressive Trance label, founded in 2005 by Roger P. Shah under the slogan "Music for Balearic People", as a sublabel of Shah-Music. On April 7, 2008, it was announced that Magic Island Records had joined Armada Music B.V. Since 2013, Magic Island Records has been part of Black Hole Recordings. Roger Shah has the idea and philosophy to combine all his activities under one trademark and become more than just a music company, or maybe more of a lifestyle company with different parts. Parent Label: Black Hole Recordings Sublabels: Magic Island - Music For Balearic People, Magic Island Deep, Magic Island Elevate https://www.facebook.com/magicislandrec https://www.instagram.com/magicislandofficial?igsh=MXBtc2U3NjlrNTJlNw== https://youtube.com/@magicislandtv?si=MVirYwYCgL3vDjnN https://www.beatport.com/label/magic-island-records/3266

TOP LABELS: Overdose German leading hard trance label. Label Code: LC 4728 / LC 04728 The GVL-registered label name is Overdose Production (as depicted in the label logo). The label started in February 1994 and stopped in 2005. It was founded by Jesse B. Foerster and run by Jesse B. Foerster, Bernd Breiter and Rainer Kempf, who later left the board. The label was known for its hard and danceable sound and quite a few tracks made it to the official charts in several countries, like UK, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Spain and many others. Distribution by DMD Discomania. Sublabels: bkb dance department GmbH, Dance Expansion, DJ Inc, Dorian Gray, FFM Dance Department, Made In Frankfurt, Massive Records, Overdose Production, Overdose Recordings, Pulse, Pyjama Party

TOP LABELS: Tetsuo Music TETSUO is German Trance Label owned by Talla 2xlc. Originally released and marketed by Music Research GmbH, but went bankrupt in 2001. Relaunched in early 2008 through Samsonido. If you have to name 2 labels which ruled the decade of the Ninetees with their sounds, then its for sure "Tetsuo" and "Suck me Plasma". The master-mind of those Labels "Talla 2XLC" stood up in september 2007 combined the strength of both labels to relaunch under the brand "Tetsuo" and of course writing soundhistory again. "Tetsuo" a strong name with japanese origin stands for power, energy and innovation. https://www.facebook.com/TetsuoMusic https://www.beatport.com/fr/label/tetsuo/8344

TOP LABELS: Time Unlimited  Founded by Joachim Keil, Konrad Best, Miguel Abel & Frank Rohnacher in September 1992, Time Unlimited was the first of the Under Cover Music Group UCMG Germany family of labels, specializing in Hard and Progressive Trance. Originally distributed by MMS in Germany, later on by Intergroove across Europe. Home label for a variety of successful trance producers, most notably Bernd Augustinski aka Nostrum, but also releasing multiple releases from Andreas Kettenbach aka Roughage, Michael Kores aka Albion, Roger Beglinger aka DJ Energy and many more. Since 2017 is Time Unlimited a part of UCM.One. Label Code: LC 6247 Parent Label: UCM.One Sublabels: Club Hits,  Time Unlimited - Section 1,  Time Unlimited - Section 2

TOP LABELS: Suck Me Plasma Suck Me Plasma is a label founded in October 1989 by Andreas Tomalla aka Talla 2XLC. For the most part, this is a good label. It has its fillers especially for later years, but there are artists like Komakino, Dance 2 Trance, Aqualite, Sean Dexter, Sunbeam, YORK, Talla 2LXC or Kai Tracid . Some lesser known projects like D-Lay, Shortybone, Tranceformer. They gave this label a longer life than other labels of similar music such as Eye-Q, Abfahrt Records, Frankfurt Beat etc. This label will always be in my hierarchy of old labels that can be associated with fairly good releases. One of the best Trance & Hard Trance labels of the 90's. Unfortunately, not as widely recognized as it should be. Hear countless songs from this label on major compilations like the Trancemaster series. I highly recommend that you browse through this label's releases. You will certainly find some gems for yourself. Parent Label: Music Research GmbH Sublabels: Aural X-Perienc