Martin Garrix, Matisse & Sadko, and John Martin hold the progressive house crown on ‘Won’t Let You Go’D3ZRBJaAAz6cN

Martin Garrix, Matisse & Sadko, and John Martin hold the progressive house crown on ‘Won’t Let You Go’

A seventh (official) meeting between Martin Garrix and Matisse & Sadko seemed to be written in the stars, although throwing John Martin into the fold goes way beyond any variation of what could be deemed a bucket-list trio. And technically speaking, it somewhat happened the last time the Dutch duo crossed paths exactly two years ago on “Hold On,” which tapped both Martin and his VCATION counterpart Michel Zitron—who led its vocals—for writing responsibilities on a sixth consecutive classic from Garrix and Matisse & Sadko. It didn’t take long for visions of yet another sequel to start to surface after the surprise release landed during 2019’s final moments, and the STMPD RCRDS head put that daydreaming to bed the very moment he stepped back on stage following an 18-month touring intermission. No one knew exactly when “Won’t Let You Go”—formerly known as “Wide Awake” to most—was going to see the light of day, but after we tweeted a video of it last week from Garrix’s EDC Las Vegas set, the idea that it could follow in its collaborative predecessor’s footsteps with an end-of-December appearance felt somewhat realistic. And—of course—that’s exactly what ensued a week later.

Requests for Garrix to reconvene with progressive house came in spades in the months trailing “Higher Ground,” but—as we’ve relayed before—he fairly chose to hold off until crowds could experience those types of tracks in person again. That all shifted during Austria’s Electric Love Festival at the end of August when Garrix deployed “Won’t Let You Go” as his grand re-entrance to the mainstage—and “Diamonds” shortly thereafter—sending everyone into pure chaos as a fan-recorded video slowly started to make its way across Twitter. From 2015’s “Dragon” all the way down to 2021’s “Won’t Let You Go,” the status quo of Garrix and Matisse & Sadko’s chemistry hasn’t wavered in the slightest—with the latter labeling it as a “family relationship” during our exclusive conversation earlier this year—as they have a Dancing Astronaut Supernova and one of dance music’s most recognizable voices in John Martin join the next extension in their six-year collaborative lineage. When three Goliaths like the ones on “Won’t Let You Go” find themselves sharing a title, anything resolving beneath an unanswerable magnum opus of progressive house is a sheer impossibility, with Martin Garrix, Matisse & Sadko, and John Martin working their hallowed magic to painlessly grant themselves last-minute access into our looming discussion surrounding 2021’s track of the year.

Featured image: STMPD RCRDS/Instagram

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