There’s something inherently different about a trance show from house, progressive house, or any other kind of EDM out there. It’s the deep synths, the gradually building chords, and the over-exaggerated drops that travel through your entire body, rather than just through your ears. Pacha NYC is one of our regular hangouts for big name DJs, but this weekend trance duo Cosmic Gate came to the hard-house inclined club, and delivered a marathon set that had everyone entranced. Whether it was the head-bobbing beats or well timed multicolor lights, you know you want to click past the break for details.

Fellow German DJ and producer Wippenberg held down Pacha from 11-1AM, and the main dance floor slowly but surely accumulated hundreds of sweaty partiers eager to soak in the trance. He got right into things with his very own anthem “Pong,” followed by the Angello / AN21/ Max Vangeli’s remix to “The Island.” He continued with David Tort’s “Jack It Up,” before another Wippenberg original, “Phoenix.”

Wippenberg – Pong (Original Mix)

We found ourselves singing along with other privileged VIPs in the DJ booth when Alesso’s remix of “Save The World” came on, and continued when he dropped a smooth bootleg of Thomas Gold’s remix to “Reach Out” with the “Leave The World Behind” accapella. Hints at the crazy night ahead of us started when Nari and Milani’s banger “Kendo” came on, only to be followed by R3hab’s remix of “Koko.” To round out the set, he finished with the Wippenberg classic “Chakalaka,” before it was time for the Cosmic Gate invasion.

 Sander Van Doorn – Koko (R3hab Remix)

Cosmic Gate arrived in the booth to support their fellow German a full 30 minutes before their 1AM set time, and were nothing but smiles from the start. We confess that we haven’t been true Cosmic Gate fans for long, but their Essential Mix turned us into believers (and if you’ve never heard it, head over to this link to make things right in the world). After we gushed about our obsession for that mix, we put in our one song request for the night: Marcel Woods’ remix of “Unprepared.” Anyways, they got in, and got right down to business, opening with Pryda’s amazing trance anthem, “Mirage.” From the minute we heard the intro sequence, we knew we were in for a treat.

Pryda – Mirage (Original Mix)

Things got pretty heavy pretty fast, as Mat Zo’s “Superman” came on in the club. That trend continued as the signature piano chords of Arno Cost’s “Lise” began to make their way, only to be followed by DA favorite, Marcel Woods’ remix of “Unprepared.” Other songs like “Knas Is Coming Home” and “A Thing Called Love,” also got some airtime while Cosmic Gate furiously jumped around smiling and soaking in the Pacha Love.

Mat Zo – Superman (Original Mix)

Marco V – Unprepared (Marcel Woods Remix) 

We’ve had our fair share of DJ booth experiences, but Cosmic Gate was one of the most enthusiastic acts we’ve ever had the pleasure of being in the booth with.Their energy stayed up the entire night without faltering as they continued dropping bombs like “Koko Prutata,” Tristan Garner’s remix of “Rapture,” and then their very own remix of “Departures.” The entire room seemed to erupt when the beginning of Robbie Rivera’s masterpiece pumped through the speakers, and it kept them going strong into the next section of the set.

Nadia Ali – Rapture (Tristan Garner Elevation Mix)

Robbie Rivera – Departures (Cosmic Gate Remix)

That next portion started with Above & Beyond’s summer trance anthem, “Sun and Moon,” which was followed up by the Alexander Popov vocal remix of “Raging” — a track that we’ve thoroughly enjoyed since first hearing it in their Essential Mix. They rounded out the set with their re-work of Ferry Corsten’s “Punk,” before bringing things full circle and dropping two massive Cosmic classics in sucession: “Fire Wire,” and “Exploration of Space.”

Cosmic Gate – Raging (Alexander Popov Vocal Remix) (feat. Jan Johnston)

Cosmic Gate – Exploration of Space

Cosmic Gate did what only a trance duo could do at Pacha NYC, and their marathon set was everything we could’ve wanted. Wippenberg did an amazing job as an opener, but there was a tiny bit of unnecessary repetition between the two acts if you ask us. As we mentioned, these DJs were about as friendly as could be and genuinely seemed to be feeding off the club’s energy for the entirety of their set before calling it a night somewhere around 4AM. This was definitely a night to remember, and everyone there experienced something magical.

If the text above isn’t enough, be sure to check out this video from the USA Trance Movement blog to pretend that you were there. You might even spot a certain unnamed DA editor. Oh, and don’t forget to head over to our Facebook page for even more photos of the night!

Categories: Music