TuneLab
Ilario Alicante
Awakenings Summer festival 2023
We've all been there: squinting at the Awakenings mainstage screen, trying to decode Ilario Alicante's opening track while the bass rattles our teeth. Another summer festival, another dose of peak-time trance masquerading as techno, and honestly, we're not complaining. The vibe is pure Dutch festival grandeur—vast fields, setting sun, and a sea of people collectively deciding that, yes, this is the moment to lose our minds. Alicante anchors the set at a relentless 140 BPM, predominantly in the euphoric key of 12A, crafting a driving, low-end-heavy foundation that's all about sustained momentum.
The energy profile is classic big-room trance: thick, pulsing lows dominate, with melodic mids gradually rising to create those hands-in-the-air crescendos we secretly crave. His mixing is tight and functional, favoring long blends that lock the harmonic progression, allowing each track to breathe and build. The balance is expertly managed, never letting the highs overwhelm the physical thump that keeps the crowd locked in. For the crate diggers, the set is a treasure trove of both modern weapons and nostalgic nods.
Rngd's 'Outrun 1.2' provides a sleek, modern drive, while Aly & Fila's 'Altitude Compensation' is a full-throated trance anthem that feels like a guilty pleasure. The inclusion of Armin van Buuren's 'This Light Between Us (Great Strings Mix)' is a masterstroke of emotional manipulation, and dropping Tiësto's 'Traffic (Radio Edit)' for an extended 11-minute run is the kind of brazen, crowd-pleasing move we have to respect. It's a journey that starts in the dark with an unknown opener, peaks with those soaring trance strings, and winds down gracefully with the atmospheric depth of Introversion's 'Laika'.