A fan emailed me today saying that TranceCritic.com has just reviewed my “System” EP release (PGR038.) I checked it out and was blown away; the reviewer was extremely positive! Here was his conclusion:

“Erm… there’s nothing wrong this release. Nothing. Production, writing, dancefloor efficiency, home listening value… Zircon has delivered a release that is airtight in every relevant department, and more than that is refreshing. Here is a track that harks back to the best of dance music’s past and yet manages to seamlessly integrate such influences with production that is bang up to date. Full marks for singles are very rare because the format is limited generally, and there’s usually one duff remix to drag the whole affair down a mark or two. Not here. 10/10 seems overly profound a score for two tracks that don’t clock up ten minutes between them, but as the mantra goes: quality over quantity.”

Definitely the most glowing feedback I’ve received from a reviewer before. Consider that a strong recommendation to pick up the EP, which is available on iTunes, Juno Records, Beatport, and all other major digital retailers.

You can read the review in full right here.

Last May, I mentioned that I got a two-song breakbeat EP released through an electronic music record label - Progressive Grooves. I also hinted at a bigger release slated for the Summer, and now, it’s available.

Breathing You In is an 8-track EP centered around the titular song, which features the vocals and vocal melodies of Jillian Goldin. Also included is “Antigravity”, also featuring Jill, and a remix of that. Here’s the full tracklist:

* Breathing You In (Original Mix)
* Breathing You In (Original Instrumental Mix)
* Breathing You In (Mikas Positronic Remix)
* Breathing You In (Mikas Positronic Instrumental Mix)
* Breathing You In (Indecent Noise & Andre Glensk Remix)
* Antigravity (Indecent Noise Balearic Remix)
* Antigravity (Indecent Noise Balearic Instrumental Mix)
* Antigravity (Original Mix)

The remixes are all excellent, and in my opinion, the highlight of the EP. Mikas’ Positronic Remix is progressive trance, a bit more minimal and pulled back, but very cool. The Indecent Noise/Andre Glensk mix, which Global Trance featured in one of his DJ sets recently, is also done in a trance style, but it’s much heavier and more anthemic. Both are great in their own right. The Antigravity Balearic mix is an interesting, downtempo trance take on the original track, which was more New Age to begin with. If you’re into darker, atmospheric tunes, you’ll definitely like it.

The Breathing You In EP is available from just about all major digital retailers…

WHERE TO BUY

Here are some links to just a handful of my favorite stores which are carrying this new album.

* Progressive Grooves Homepage (previews, links to all the stores)
* Beatport
* iTunes - Note that the track names don’t show which mix is which for some reason, which was a flub on Apple’s end, but at $7.99 for the iTunes Plus (no DRM) version, it’s still a great deal.
* Juno Download (MP3)
* DJTunes
* Amazon MP3

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As of this posting, BYI is #23 on the JunoDownload “Trance” charts for the week and it looks like it’s gonna hit the top 10! Progressive Grooves (the label) is going to be promoting this one heavily, which is definitely an honor. If you like it, drop them (or me) a line, post here, tell your friends, tell a DJ… I’d really appreciate it

I recently discovered Adam Huszar (aka “Retroid”), a DJ/producer and the owner of the Morphosis Records label, which specializes in progressive electronic music. If you haven’t heard of this label, and you’re a fan of my music and artists like BT, Way Out West, and Hybrid, definitely check it out - their releases are fantastic. You can pick them up on sites like Beatport and listen to previews on the main Morphosis site.

Retroid is a fan of my music and I’m hoping to do a release through Morphosis sometime this year. Until then, you can check out a progressive breaks promo mix he released just a few days ago called Angelion. It’s a free download at RetroidMusic.com and features “System” and “Mindbender”, as well as cuts from artists such as Hybrid, Burufunk and Hyperion.

Enjoy!

Got a Guitar Center nearby? Drop in anytime this month and you might hear a remix of Mindbender playing! Jimmy Hinson (aka Big Giant Circles) works at a GC, and through an internal company contest, got his “Circular Breakdown” remix of Mindbender on to “GC Radio” across the country! You can download the remix, which was the winner of my recent remix contest, here:

zircon - Mindbender (Circular Breakdown Mix)

Congrats again to Jimmy for winning the contest and for earning this excellent remix a spot on GC Radio.

Last year I sent a demo to the Progressive Grooves, a progressive trance, breaks, and house record label. They’ve got 37 releases to date and some awesome digital distribution on every major music website. We signed a non-exclusive contract and now my first release through them is out - the single, System. The release actually has two tracks, the full-length version of “System” as well as a remaster of “Ladder to the Sky” from Antigravity (definitely sounds better than the original!)

You can pick up the release of System on any online music retailer, from Amazon MP3, to eMusic, iTunes, Juno Download, DJDownload, BeatsDigital, etc. I personally recommend Beatport, since the MP3s are very high quality and have no DRM. However, Juno is good too - I’ve purchased from both and they’ve got a great download system. The full release is priced from $2-4 depending on where you buy it (the higher quality versions cost a bit more) or you can pick up either of the tracks without the other.

Here are a few direct links:

Download from Beatport
Download from iTunes
Download from JunoDownload
Download from Amazon MP3

I look forward to doing another release through Progressive Grooves within the next few months. Until then, check out System and let me know what you think!

If you’re a fan of mine, by now you’ve no doubt heard of Jillian Goldin: vocalist, composer, producer, and now, solo artist! Today marks the release of her debut solo album, “Origins”…

Blending exotic instrumentation with passionate and ethereal vocals, Jillian takes you on a journey through the earth’s awakening, and invites you to celebrate in its mysteries.

Jill describes her style as New Age/World a la Loreena McKennitt, also influenced by artists like Enya and Sting. However, I don’t even think this description does Origins justice - it’s truly breathtaking, and highly unique compared to virtually all other New Age and World music out there. In fact, though the album was just released today, the first track, “Hajime”, has already garnered critical acclaim, being featured as one of the “Tracks of the Year” at the popular Mystic Soundscapes podcast, and winning the grand prize at OurStage out of over 15,000 songs.

If you liked “Antigravity” (the song, that is) or “Deliverance of the Heart”, you’ll love Origins - check out previews on Jill’s website to listen for yourself.

So where does one get their hands on this release?

* The physical copy ($12.99) is available from Jill’s own website.
* The DRM-free, high quality MP3 copy (also $12.99, but no ship) is available at CD Baby.

You can also expect to see it on other major digital distributors. I personally recommend the physical copy, so you get to see the gorgeous artwork which the artist herself created and designed.

Now, you might call me a little biased because Jill is my girlfriend, and I helped with the mixing/mastering of the album, plus a bit of production and writing. But don’t just take my word for it - check out the tunes for yourself. Suffice it to say, even if you don’t normally like New Age music, you won’t be disappointed.

You may have noticed that the index page of Zircon Studios now defaults to the HTML version of the site. This isn’t a mistake - over the next month or so the site is going to be getting a revamp. The “music services” section in particular is going to be vastly improved, and the whole thing will be running on a smoother, more customized backend. I’ll be sticking to HTML rather than Flash for a number of reasons, such as search engine optimization and better loading times, but if you were digging the old layout don’t worry… I have it saved, so it may come back in upgraded form at some point!

Fresh off the front page of OverClocked ReMix, “Nuclear Flash” (with Sixto Sounds) is a killer drum and bass take on Flash Man’s theme from Mega Man 2. Lots of influence from Pendulum, so if you liked “Slam”, “Blood Sugar”, or “Granite”, you’ll definitely like this one.

Download it for free at the VG remixes page!

Over the last two months I’ve been submitting my music to OurStage, which is a monthly music and video contest. Artists can submit tunes in about 30 genres, then users go to the site, listen to randomly-selected song pairs, and pick which ones they like more. Over the course of the month, the numbers get whittled down until only the #1 tracks of each genre remain. Genre winners get $100, and the overall highest rated song of any genre gets a whopping $5,000. Awesome idea for a site.

I was very happy to see that my song “Breathing You In” topped the Techno/Club/Dance genre at #1, with “Mindbender” at #2. My girlfriend (and vocalist) Jillian Goldin scored #1 in New Age/World with “Hajime”, and fellow OC ReMixer sgx was #1 in Electronic with “Coactive (Over My Shoulder Mix)”.

In the end, Jill actually came in #1 in the entire contest, out of 15,000 entries, winning the $5k grand prize! Needless to say, I’m very happy for her. But sgx and I also did well, with our tracks coming in at #4 and #3, respectively. We all entered again this month so hopefully we’ll make it to the finals this time, too. A huge thank you for ANYONE that helped vote for our songs in March, and anyone who is helping this month. People like you make being a musician truly worth it.

As a token of my appreciation, here’s a free, full-length track off an upcoming album…

Nimbus - MP3 Download

Enjoy!

If you haven’t been following Capcom news lately, you might have missed that in addition to their upcoming Street Fighter IV title, they are also working on a complete remake and upgrade to the classic game Super Street Fighter II Turbo for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. This update, titled Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (or just “HD Remix” for short) features entirely redrawn art with 1080p sprites, rebalanced gameplay, new moves, and an entirely new soundtrack.

As you might imagine, the music for HD Remix is why I’m posting here. The game designers have chosen to use all arranged and remixed music for the new soundtrack, with all the musicians being from OverClocked ReMix. Pretty awesome, eh? A lot of the tracks are coming from the SSF2II Turbo remix album Blood on the Asphalt but there’s also a lot of new and revised stuff as well.

I was honored that one of my own remixes, “Flying Heaven” (Fei Long’s theme) was selected for use in this upcoming game, which I’m really excited about. The actual track in game is split into two versions, a normal and a fast edit, both of which are revised and polished compared to the original remix from BoTA.

Another neat thing: GameTrailers.com decided to use my song for about 95% of the new interview & gameplay trailer posted a few days ago. Thanks GT!

UPDATE 3/21: Looks like GT used “Flying Heaven” exclusively in another SF trailer, this one for Street Fighter IV!