Hello. In most of 2019 and 2020, I took a break from listening to trance music. (Trance music is a part of the Electronic Dance Music/EDM umbrella.) I got back listening to it in late November 2020 in order to get into a more energetic mood and keep my spirits high. Trance music also kind of helps me in productivity. Work becomes less boring with trance music I suppose. I started listening to trance and progressive music from most of 2009 to 2018 along with Armin van Buuren's A State of Trance radio show when I get the chance.
The A State of Trance radio show does include fan interactions. A big feature of the radio show is where listeners can vote for their top five trance tunes of the year. A countdown list of the top tunes voted by the fans is featured in the second last Thursday of the year radio show. In the past, the countdown list featured the top 20 tracks for the year but the recent annual lists featured the top 50 tracks for the year. The countdown list radio show special goes from the usual two hours into an extended four hours. I am not sure why it is now top 50. It could be to promote more DJs, vocalists and producers.
The A State of Trance Top 50 Tracks of 2020 episode is on Thursday from 6PM CET to 10PM or 12PM EST to 4PM EST. Let's see what kind of tracks have been voted in.
My Top 5 Trance Tunes of 2020
My top five trance tunes of 2020 is subjected to a bit of recency bias as three of the five tracks have been released in the third quarter of the year. I did try to listen to some tracks in early 2020 to see what I liked. Anyways, here is my top five.
Five
Alexander Popov & Enzo feat. Cari - Stranger Inside
There are quite a handful of tracks that contain big room sounds out there. This track feels like a breath of fresh air as it has nice piano melodies and nice vocals for my liking.
Four
GXD feat. Elle Vee - Sail
I found it about this track from the Nifra guest mix from an epsiode of Armin van Buuren's A State of Trance radio show. At the first couple of listens, I did not think too much about it. Over time, I grew to like this track.
Three
HamzeH & O.B.M Notion - Our Destiny
Although this instrumental track is from mid 2020, I found out about this track recently from the A State of Trance 2020 Mix CD (on Youtube). It does sound similar to a few of the Armin van Buuren tracks under the Gaia alias. I do enjoy the buildup in this track and the sound from the 3 minute mark onwards.
Two
Ferry Corsten & Unity Project - Free (Official Music Video)
This Ferry Corsten track is very recent as it was released a few days ago. Ferry has collaborated with 20 fans for this unique and upbeat track. The nice sounding vocalist along with the fans saying unity in their own language makes this stand out for me.
One
MaRLo & HALIENE - Say Hello (Darren Porter Remix)
The original track from MaRLo and HAILENE is kind of meh from me. However the faster remix from Darren Porter along with HAILENE's vocals makes it more enjoyable and uplifting.
Honourable Mentions
There were a few tracks that could have made into my top five. I had a hard time deciding whether to put these in my top five or not.
Allen Watts - High Voltage
I do like some of the 138 beats per minute (BPM) tracks that come out from Allen Watts. This High Voltage track is one of them.
ilan Bluestone feat. Jan Burton - Rule The World
It is not normal of me to like tracks from Anjunabeats as I find them mostly slow and boring to my liking. (I do like Anjunadeep for progressive house music though.) This recently released track from ilan Bluestone does send some chills with the vocals of Jan Burton. The line of "No fool should rule the world" along with the piano and Jan Burton's double voice does stand out for me. I almost put this in my top five.
Nifra - Resistance
For some reason, I do like this instrumental track by Nifra. It does sound a bit groovy to me along with the big room sounds.
Markus Schulz feat. HAILENE - Tidal Wave (Daxson Remix)
The original version by Markus Schulz is good but I like this remix a little bit better. HAILENE's vocals are top notch here.
