Miércoles 14 May 2008, 22:52
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n28/Jatup/unionjack4.jpg?t=1210813667
This journal is dedicated to what is in my opinion one of the greatest trance projects of all time, Union Jack. Hopefully, I will write a series of journals like this one, trying to promote little known artists (preferably under 50 thousand scrobbles), and encourage good music fans to give them a try.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n28/Jatup/unionjack1.jpg?t=1210798267
Background
Union Jack was formed in the UK in 1993 by Simon Berry and Claudio Giussani. Claudio was a DJ and a part of Urban Shakedown, a drum n bass project. Simon recently started his own label, Platipus, which was one of the first trance labels based in the UK. He already released a few singles as Art of Trance and Poltergeist. Claudio wanted to try something new, but he did not have enough equipment to work on his own. As a result he turned to Simon and they released their first single, "Two Full Moons And A Trout" (1993) under Labworks Germany, and later that year under Platipus.
Style
Some call it acid, others call it goa or psytrance. Both of these apply to Union Jack, but in my opinion it is simply genuine trance at it's best. When you listen to Union Jack, you can tell where the name trance comes from. Besides that, Union Jack also released some very high quality chillout which shows how versatile the producers are.
Reasons for listening
I would recommend Union Jack to anyone who is interested in quality music. It is very different from today's trance, but if you consider yourself a fan of trance, you should at least find it interesting and actually fresh even though most of their work is over 10 years old. If you don't listen to trance at all or even dislike it for some reason, Union Jack is a good way to start. Their music does not involve meaningless vocals and unoriginal sounds and melodies which often discourage people from giving trance a chance. The only vocals you will find in their music are wonderfully used samples. It also involves a variety of sounds taken straight from nature like water flowing, birds singing etc., which sound amazing and unique.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n28/Jatup/unionjack2.jpg?t=1210798909
Releases
Union Jack's only album, "There Will Be No Armageddon", was released on 7/1/1995 by Platipus. There are not many albums I would give a full 10/10, but this is one of them. If you consider yourself a trance fan, this is definitely a must. Each track is truly a masterpiece.
1. Red Herring (8:36)
2. Cactus (9:42)
3. Water Drums (9:06)
4. Two Full Moons And A Trout (14" Mix) (7:57)
5. No Life Can Survive Here (5:56)
6. Fromage Frais (6:37)
7. Lollipop Man (7:12)
8. There Will Be No Armageddon (10:13)
9. Toucan (8:19)
10. Epilogue (1:11)
Union Jack released six singles under Platipus:
2 Full Moons & A Trout (2006)
Two Full Moons And A Trout (1998)
Yeti/Cockroach (1997)
Red Herring (1995)
Cactus/Morning Glory (1994)
Two Full Moons And A Trout (1993)
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n28/Jatup/unionjack3.jpg?t=1210812506
Examples
Their most popular tracks are probably Red Herring and Two Full Moons And A Trout. Both are perfect examples of what I call pure trance music. Majority of Union Jack's tracks are over seven minutes long, so you can just sit back and enjoy :)
Union Jack - Red Herring (1995)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M4HkQOSyOl0
Red Herring was my first Union Jack track. I used to listen to very commercial trance back then, but this sounded so different I just couldn't resist listening to it. I still consider it one of the best tracks ever produced.
Union Jack - Two Full Moons And A Trout (1993)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fe1URrOBklA
Their first release. A true classic. This is the original version, but many excellent remixes have been released afterwards.
Union Jack - Fromage Frais (1995)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uoef_a19lak
An electronic version of Ave Maria by Johann Sebastian Bach. This track is a little less known for some reason, but it is just as excellent.
Union Jack - Cactus (1994)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Akhc8pNAgLM
Another fine example of proper trance.
Union Jack - No Life Can Survive Here (1995)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8JN4qy1vtw4
Still trance, but a little different from the rest.
Union Jack - Water Drums (1995)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1lIj-oTb9UE
An amazing chillout track. Just as the title indicates, water IS used as drums!
Where are they now
Simon continued to work solo as Art of Trance which became one of the most respected trance projects. He is still the head of Platipus which later started releasing more uplifting trance and chillout compilations.
Claudio released two albums solo as Terra Ferma, but hasn't been very active since then.
Union Jack reunited in March 2008 for a special appearance in Miami. A new album is expected to be released later this year, but there are no details if it's going to be a compilation or an artist album.
Thanks for visiting my journal and hopefully reading it and listening to some music. Let me know know your opinion on Union Jack and the journal itself so that I know if I should continue writing :)
Connections
Connections to similar artists, artists affiliated with Platipus, most popular trance and overall artists:
Moogwai, Keo, Clanger, Quietman, Libra, L.S.G., AMbassador, , Paragliders, Vicious Circles, Clanger, Robert Miles, Technossomy, Man With No Name, Blue Planet Corporation, Astral Projection, Electric Universe, The Art of Trance, X-Dream, Juno Reactor, Emmanuel Top, Cosmic Baby, Hallucinogen, Banco De Gaia, DJ Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk,
ATB, Paul Oakenfold, Ferry Corsten, Tiesto, Above & Beyond, Infected Mushroom, Blank & Jones, Chicane, Markus Schultz, BT, 4 Strings, Darude, Delerium, Faithless, Radiohead, The Beatles, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Muse, Metallica, Linkin Park, Nirvana and Death Cab For Cutie.