Tom Trago returns to Rush Hour after 10 years with a wonderfully accomplished mini-album, tip!

During the years he spent living in Amsterdam, when his DJ career seemed to become an unstoppable juggernaut, Tom Trago was a regular visitor to Deco Sauna, a local institution that helped him “decompress” and de-toxify his body. Eventually, a more extended period of “decompression” was needed, with Trago moving to the coast to reassess his priorities and spend more time with his young family.

‘Deco’, his sixth album and first for Rush Hour in a decade, was recorded following an extended absence from club dancefloors, as Trago cut back on DJ commitments to prioritise family life. When he returned to the studio, often with his daughter by his side, Trago initially struggled to get back into the groove. The desire to make dancefloor-focused music had – temporarily, at least – deserted him; instead, he found himself drawn towards a desire to create “electronic lullabies” and music that reflected his more pastoral environment (his home backs on to a patch of woodland in which he would walk every day).

Returning to his most familiar synthesisers – and specifically the first synthesiser he bought, on credit, as a young DJ and wannabe producer – Trago set about navigating different musical routes without the straight-jacket of club-focused dancefloors. Occasionally, old friends from Amsterdam would join him in the studio – Tracey and Maxi Mill, both of whom are part of his Voyage Direct label roster, contributed to tracks on the album – but for the most part the production process was a solo endeavour: musical therapy for an artist determined to do things differently after years spent making club hits and sweat-soaked peak-time workouts.

The results are rarely less than spellbinding. Trago sets his stall out with opener ‘Dark Oak’, a gorgeous, colourful, sun-bright scene-setter co-produced by Tracey that layers tumbling lead lines, chiming melodic motifs and kaleidoscopic chords atop the gentlest of bubbly beat patterns. Maxi Mill lends a hand on ‘Central Park’, a deep and hypnotic excursion marked out by rhythmic bleeps, minimalistic beats and layered melodies, and the summer sun-down rush of ‘Never Peace a Puzzle’, where kaleidoscopic synth sounds, meandering solos and looped electronic stabs rush towards a dancefloor of the mind.

Trago’s desire to create “electronic lullabies” for his young daughter comes to the fore on ‘To Be Left Unlocked’, a hypnotising fusion of spacey electronic motifs, Steve Reich style (synth) marimba melodies and slowly building musical intensity, while the echoing Fender Rhodes riffs, squelchy synth-bass, glistening guitar notes and sparse, snappy post hip-hop beats of ‘When The Sky Is Watching Us’ doff a cap to the producer’s roots as a bedroom beat-maker.

Given the project’s genesis, it’s perhaps fitting that Trago chose to conclude proceedings with ‘It Might Be Forever’ and the digital only ‘Blue Dope’, the album’s most rejuvenating, immersive, and vibrant moments. Both feature sustained chords painted with vivid aural brush strokes and come blessed with the merest hint of a rhythmic pulse – a thread that subtly runs throughout Trago’s most mature and musically rich album to date.

Matt Anniss More

Fresh material from the most talented Mr Trago.

Locked in during 2020/21, Tom Trago kept himself busy by increasing his daily music-making activities. As he had done pre-pandemic, Trago set aside time each day to improvise and record tracks in the studio attached to his home in Bergen on the Netherlands’ North-West coast.

Tide Will Turn, Trago’s third release on the Jong Nederlands label he established to share his work, showcases three such outings. As with previous EPs on Jong Nederlands, each of the tracks was created using a small selection of electronic instruments, drumcomputers and effects units.

EP opener ‘Number Own’ is typically emotive and quietly colourful, with chiming lead lines, sustained synthesizer chords, stirring riffs and fluid electronic motifs rising above bustling, body-popping beats and a smooth, jazzy bassline. Bubbly and ear-pleasing, it’s the aural equivalent of watching sunlight bounce off the waves that wash up on the beach just a few hundred metres from Trago’s studio.

Title track ‘Tide Will Turn’ is an altogether more relaxed and becalmed affair. Its drowsy chords and gentle, undulating melodies slowly sashay their way between clicking drum machine percussion and slow-motion beats. Trago picks things up again on ‘Understood’, wrapping attractive synth stabs, cascading lead lines and fizzing electronics around a pulsating bassline and breathless, all-action, electro-influenced beats. It provides a fittingly attractive and emotion-rich conclusion to another fine batch of straight-to-tape improvisations. More

Earlier this year, Tom Trago established the DIY label Jong Nederlands as a vehicle for the improvised, straight-to-tape tracks he records every day at his home studio in Bergen, a sleepy town on the Netherlands’ North West coast. His intention was to surprise and inspire in equal measure, delivering emotive musical material crafted with a small selection of electronic instruments, drumcomputers and effects units.

It's down to this ethos that no two label releases follow the same direction – as listeners will discover when they tune in to this speedy sequel to JNL001, which hit stores early in the year. Opener “From Above” is poignant and melancholic, with bittersweet synth-strings, spacey motifs and bubbly lead lines riding a lo-fi drum machine groove, while the track that follows, “Young Janet”, offers warmth in morning-fresh musical sunshine via rich Rhodes motifs, chunky drums and sparkling synthesizer riffs.

Darkness, and late-night intensity is provided by title-track “You Deserve Better”, a mind-mangling, acid-fired excursion where trippy, razor-sharp TB-303 lines rise above tough but dusty drums and a suitably weighty bassline. Trago’s basement-bothering intent can also be heard loud and clear on the EP’s final excursion, “Passenger Seat”. Here he readies an imaginary starship for take-off, reaching for flighty, Italo-disco style lead lines, increasingly forthright motifs and the kind of crunchy electronic drums that have long been a feature of futuristic and far-sighted machine music.

The sleeves are all hand stamped by Pieter Bijwaard More

Since relocating from Amsterdam to Bergen on the Netherlands’ north west coast, Tom Trago has gone back to basics. Every day he jams out tracks in his home studio using a small selection of electronic instruments, drum computers and effects units, a process that allows him to quickly capture ideas, emotions and the intense moments he experiences while making music.

It’s these diverse and sometimes surprising musical moments that will be showcased on Trago’s new DIY record label, Jong Nederland. The imprint is named after the building where he now lives and works, an historic and storied place that has been home to artists of all descriptions since the 1960s. Each vinyl release will feature tracks made by Trago using his improvised, straight-to-tape technique, packaged in handcrafted sleeves illustrated by internationally renowned Dutch artist – and fellow Bergen resident – Pieter Bijwaard.

The Jong Nederland story begins with two tracks of undulating, slowly shifting dancefloor voodoo rich in crunchy drum machine hits, lilting electronic melodies and instinctive dancefloor warmth. On the A-side you’ll find “Whisper”, a hypnotic but fluid affair where hushed melodies tumble down over off-kilter polyrhythmic machine drums, spaced out effects and bubbly, ever-changing analogue electronics.

B-side “Belltower” sees Trago up the tempo a little and bounce us towards the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Utilizing a rubbery rhythm track full of sturdy but supple kick-drums and hissing cymbals, Trago layers up fizzing synthesizer lines, poignant minor key chords, wiggling acid-style motifs and starburst electronics to fire the synapses and stir the senses. Like its’ A-side companion, “Belltower” gently twists and turns throughout, reflecting the real time, hands-on changes made by its creator during the spontaneous sessions that led to its creation. More

The Portuguese say that ‘saudade’, the emotional state of nostalgia and the emotional thrills it can trigger, is an extremely powerful thing. It’s certainly hit Tom Trago hard in recent times, with the Dutch producer naming his new self- released single – his first since 2017 – after this distinctively warm and fuzzy heightened emotional state.
Trago’s nostalgia pangs were a direct response to his new life on the Netherlands’ North Sea-facing West Coast, a move that provided the musical inspiration for his 2018 album “Bergen”. While happy in his new home studio, Trago found his mind wandering back to countless happy days and nights spent jamming with friends and contemporaries in his basement studio beneath Volkshotel in Amsterdam.
“Saudade”, Trago’s latest single, was made during one of those all-night Amsterdam studio sessions alongside JP Enfant, a DJ/producer best known for his residency at De School and releases on his LET Recordings. The A- side “Main Mix” fizzes with excitement and the possibilities of the night ahead. Sentimental, emotion-stirring chords, lilting lead lines, chiming melodies and ecstatic electronics rise above a chunky, hot-stepping drum machine rhythm. It’s nostalgic but immediate: a musical marriage of two giddy producers living for the moment.
On the flip you’ll find the “Ambient Mix” set to soundtrack slow-burn sunrises the world over. All immersive synthesizer chords, yearning musical motifs and seductive melodies, it sees Trago delivering a suitably tactile and loved-up soundtrack with which to usher in the dawn of a new day. More

Bergen is the next, and natural step in the expanding career of Dutch producer Tom Trago. The acclaimed producer behind Voyage Direct will release his fourth LP, with the label and crew he's built a close relationship with over the past ten years - Dekmantel. With a new studio and approach to music, Bergen is Trago sounding at his very finest, returning to his roots with a focussed, and dedicated production ethos. More

5 Track EP. Yamaha’s DX series of synthesizers has long been a source of inspiration for Tom Trago. The DX7, in particular, appeals to the Dutch producer thanks to a unique sound that he describes as “glassy but classic and icy”. 34 years after it went on sale – the same year as Trago was born, interestingly – the synthesizer’s sound still bristles with futurist appeal. More

Tom Trago's new 12", the album sampler to the upcoming album The Light Fantastic. Featuring the dancefloor stomper "Two Together" which was co-produced by Steffi, "True Friends" featuring Breach on the vocals and the non-album track "Avenido". Big TIp! Tom Trago is back, giddily dancing out of the studio into the dizzying light of a European summer. Tucked under his arm are the masters for his third album, The Light Fantastic. Since his most recent appearance on Rush Hour last autumn, Trago has spent most of his time in the studio. Over four memorable months, he constantly jammed, recorded, tweaked and produced tracks, until he had enough strong material to put together what might just be his best full-length to date. Along the way, he was joined by an impressive guest list of guests and collaborators from Amsterdam and beyond, all of who were roped in after “popping into the studio to hang out”. You’ll have to wait to hear the album, but the good news is that there’s an enticing teaser of what’s to come in the shape of this formidable three-track taster. One of the tracks, the chiming, loose-limbed, bass-heavy workout “Avenido”, is exclusive to this 12”. When he sat down to make The Light Fantastic, Trago was keen to recapture the essence of his early work, and particularly the melodic warmth, kaleidoscopic chords and robust grooves that characterized his 2009 debut album, Voyage Direct. This time, though, he wanted to rely less on samples and apply the lessons learnt from four years of largely acclaimed production work. As a result, The Light Fantastic oozes a gleeful sense of fun, whilst retaining the depth and definition that has always been a hallmark of Trago’s work. The two album tracks featured on this sampler confirm the rich dividends that this new approach brought. “True Friends”, featuring the combined talents of Brit-in-Amsterdam Ben Westbeech and local hero San Proper, bristles with loved-up positivity, all bubbling electronic melodies, fuzzy vocoder vocals and jaunty, bottom-end bounce. Then there’s the small matter of “Two Together”, an extra large helping of the kind of loopy, feel-good deep house funk with which he made his name. Expertly teased, tweaked and produced, it sees nagging hooks, darting synths, jazz keys and disco stabs riding a relentless, full-throttle groove. Co-produced with Berlin-based Dutch producer Steffi, it’s nothing less than a wide-eyed late night rush. If it doesn’t have you tripping The Light Fantastic, nothing will.
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After Tom Trago's 'Use Me Again' took dance floors across the world by a storm this summer, 'Rise Up' / 'Sky High' is his follow up single which should fire up the crowd during the winter. Tom Trago and Cinnaman (local Amsterdam DJ) got together in the studio and out came 'Rise Up'. They somehow managed to mix freestyle, minimal, low-fi and bass together to create a cross-over house explosion. Based around a quirky bass line and vocal, the track keeps building until a catchy synth stab drops in which elevates the track to the next level. 'Sky High' sounds like a late night basement session, which is actually the case, recorded in the studio of the Serendeepity/Barking Dogs crew from milan, with San Proper and friends joining in on vocals. A bittersweet love song in which San yearns for a simultaneous high, which is backed up by a deep, silky house groove. A late night production made for late night entertainment. Comes as vocal dub and as original demo mix. Get down and rise up! More

Four dancefloor oriented dubs from Tom Trago's latest album 'Iris' by Tom Trago himself! More

The Portuguese say that ‘saudade’, the emotional state of nostalgia and the emotional thrills it can trigger, is an extremely powerful thing. It’s certainly hit Tom Trago hard in recent times, with the Dutch producer naming his new self- released single – his first since 2017 – after this distinctively warm and fuzzy heightened emotional state.
Trago’s nostalgia pangs were a direct response to his new life on the Netherlands’ North Sea-facing West Coast, a move that provided the musical inspiration for his 2018 album “Bergen”. While happy in his new home studio, Trago found his mind wandering back to countless happy days and nights spent jamming with friends and contemporaries in his basement studio beneath Volkshotel in Amsterdam.
“Saudade”, Trago’s latest single, was made during one of those all-night Amsterdam studio sessions alongside JP Enfant, a DJ/producer best known for his residency at De School and releases on his LET Recordings. The A- side “Main Mix” fizzes with excitement and the possibilities of the night ahead. Sentimental, emotion-stirring chords, lilting lead lines, chiming melodies and ecstatic electronics rise above a chunky, hot-stepping drum machine rhythm. It’s nostalgic but immediate: a musical marriage of two giddy producers living for the moment.
On the flip you’ll find the “Ambient Mix” set to soundtrack slow-burn sunrises the world over. All immersive synthesizer chords, yearning musical motifs and seductive melodies, it sees Trago delivering a suitably tactile and loved-up soundtrack with which to usher in the dawn of a new day. More

Dirty maximal house rebellion track from Berlin. Dark analog beats clunking out of a 606 drum machine mixed with deep bass hits. Long approach before the chant begins. Long synth stretches highlight. A late night epic. EP is complete with instrumental mix and accapella. More