INTRODUCTION:
Ever since the birth of Our Trancelations, Dutch artists have been quite prominent in building up the base. ASOT hosts, Armin van Buuren & Ferry Corsten, have already made multiple appearances. However, there’s still worthy space for the co-host, Ruben de Ronde 🇳🇱. Before taking on that role, he was A&R at Armada Music during the mid-00s. He also formed his label Statement! which has been consistently developing over the years when it comes to progressive Trance & House, as well as a sharp fanbase known as ‘Statemates’! Throughout his career, he released 4 studio albums including a collab album with Rodg. Another peculiar fact is that he began streaming on Twitch in 2015, way before the rush that ensued after the pandemic. This year also saw him become a brand ambassador for Dutch Esports organization Team Liquid as a result of his contribution & passion for gaming & music. But today, the focus is on ‘Lean On Me’ which he wrote with his Statemates & Shadowlike 🇬🇧!
PRODUCTION:
Deep beats commence the ambient intro emerging with a strong groove. Shadowlike’s voice graces the background, the bassline intensifies with additional rides, and it all results in a solid progression. The vocals then hit the foreground as they speak about counting on the right people, no matter how difficult things are. The attached melodies are emotional with a small taste of late 00s Trance and a nice deep taste of modern vocals at all phases. Next is a breakdown padded with warm bright strings and loose plucks ready to take you to another dimension.
CONCLUSION:
During these hard times, this is a much-needed entrancing message that both Ruben & the vocalist conveyed brilliantly. If you follow him on Twitch, you’d know he has so much new music in the pipeline. We respect his major contributions to Trance, Progressive, & ASOT. Last but not least, we still hope to see a collaboration with Armin someday, it would also close the circle between the ASOT trio!
