TuneLab
ANNA
at our virtual Gashouder for Awakenings Festival 2020 | Online weekender
A virtual Awakenings set in 2020—we were all desperate for any semblance of a rave, even if it was through a laptop screen. ANNA’s offering was a welcome blast of big-room techno energy into our lonely living rooms. The vibe is that of a festival mainstage beamed into your home, all strobe simulations and phantom crowd noise. Technically, this is driving, peak-time techno with a strong trance influence, averaging 132.2 BPM and frequently modulating into the epic, soaring key of 12A.
The energy is a powerhouse of relentless low-end drive, with melodic hooks and vocal samples providing the mid-range lift, creating that classic, hands-in-the-air festival dynamism. The tracklist is a fascinating time capsule of peak EDM and techno crossover. Opening with Afrojack & Steve Aoki’s ‘No Beef’ is a gloriously unsubtle power move. The trance homage is strong with Tiësto’s epic ‘Adagio for Strings’ and Armin van Buuren’s ‘Our Origin’.
Distant Sun’s ‘Machine lernt’ offers a tougher, contemporary techno edge, and the journey through ‘Traffic’ is a nostalgic rush. They begin with the bombastic ‘No Beef’, build to the trancey euphoria of ‘Adagio for Strings’, and close on the high-energy pulse of Addicted Craze’s ‘Hold Me Tight’ remix.