Moonrise Festival Artist Profile: Trance Edition

We’re less than two days away from the second edition of the magnificent Moonrise Festival, set to take place during the weekend of August 8-9 at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. To prep for the fest, we’ve gone ahead and looked into the best that Moonrise will be offering in the fabled style of trance music: none other than Andrew Rayel, Myon & Shane 54, and the legendary Above & Beyond.

Andrew Rayel

He may only be 23 years old, but Andrew Rayel has already made headway towards the apex of trance. The man from Moldova’s stock has skyrocketed since the release of his first hit single “Aether” on AVB’s ASOT radio show, which was voted as the Tune of the Week. Shortly afterwards, he made his debut on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ’s poll, ranking in at #77. The following year, he rose all the way up to #28, thus earning the title of “highest climber” for that year’s poll, a clear indicator of his growing popularity on a worldwide scale. 2014 saw Rayel place his stamp as a true artist, by producing his first album, titled “Find Your Harmony“. The success of the album only worked to solidify him as one of the world’s biggest trance acts today. Already seen as the leader of the next generation of trance through his ability to combine his expertise in classical music and harmonic balance, creating a new, progressive sound in the realm of dance music.

While the so-called modern-day Mozart has only performed in the DC area once, he has quickly managed to create a fan base in the District large enough to make several of his peers jealous. The #RayelFamily is alive and well here in the Nation’s Capital, making Rayel’s midday Saturday set one of the most anticipated of the weekend.

Myon & Shane 54

Myon and Shane don’t consider themselves as trance artists. They’ve reiterated this time and time again. This stance stems from their dislike of labels and genres, and while it is difficult to perfectly classify their eclectic sound into a specific style, it can safely be said that they play trance. Looking through their CV would support this claim: countless supporting sets on ASOT shows around the world, as well as several releases on trance staples such as Anjunabeats and Armada. For them to hold this belief is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it is a mark of a true artist to dismiss the motion of allowing a genre to limit and hinder their creativity. In a scene where the repetition and regurgitation of certain sounds happen consistently, attitudes like Myon’s and Shane’s are breaths of fresh air. They are a duo that put the music first, before all else. These are guys who aren’t afraid to break the rules, they proved this at ASOT 450 where they ended their set with the original version of Nirvana’s classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit“, sparking an unforgettable reaction from the crowd, and from Dash Berlin, who told Myon and Shane that he had no clue as to how to follow up on that track.

The masters of the mashup have in a relatively short amount of time garnered a strong fan base in DC. Starting from their very first excursion into the District through a debut set at Fur in December of 2011, to an intimate set with Late Night Alumni at Ultrabar in Febuary of 2014, to later acting as support for ATB’s Echostage debut in August of the same year. Make no mistake, their 6 PM set at the Stellar stage on Sunday evening will be a highlight of the weekend.

Above & Beyond

If someone were to ask a dance music fan today to name a single trance track that perfectly embodies the emotions that a person has following a bad break-up, 99% of the time they’d say “Sun & Moon“. Above & Beyond are arguably the best in the business at creating songs that people can relate and identify with, songs that describe everyday situations that we all deal with in life. What makes them so great at this? In an interview with fellow Moonrise colleague Shane from Myon & Shane 54, he described how exactly A&B have garnered such a popularity for their ability, “That’s why some of today’s acts are so incredibly popular, like Above & Beyond, because they write songs. Listen to this people: THEY. WRITE. SONGS. That is the most vital part of any track. If you have a good song that can touch not only people’s lives, but also their hearts for whatever reason, then you’ve got yourself the golden ticket. And if it’s a good song, the radio will play it. If the radio plays it, then you’re going to be popular.” Tony, Jono, and Paavo have been in possession of this golden ticket for years now, through the connections that their music has had with fans all over the world. With every lyric, melody, harmony that they play live, they have been able to touch the minds and souls of countless individuals, converting casual listeners into hardcore followers. It is without a doubt that they are a can’t-miss set for Moonrise.

A&B have found a true home in the DC area, especially in recent time, hence why they have performed here 5 times in the past 2 years (4x at Echostage, 1x at Thank You Festival). The DC-Metropolitan area has shown a great love for them time-and-time again, producing massive moments that are revered over for years. We will continue to make memories with this legendary trio come August 9th as they close out Moonrise Festival 2015.

There’s still time to get tickets to Moonrise! Trust us, you will not want to miss out on this weekend. Grab your tickets here.

Words by: Daniel Chamorro