Belgium's Johan Gielen informs tense house beats with a trace of spiritual and ecological trance. Spinning records since he was a teenager and moving up through local discos and big-name clubs, Gielen's first taste of real success occurred in 1995 in Japan where owners of Tokyo's the Velfarre demanded a weekly residency. Although the distance proved worrying, Gielen agreed and continued to return to Belgium in-between stints to work on his own productions and remixes. The results of which -- Airscape's "Pacific Melody" and Alice Deejay's "The Lonely One" and remixes for Chicane, Vengaboys, Scooter, DJ Tiesto, and Boy George -- showed off a style of open-armed Ibizan benevolence well-suited for the rising late-night ebullient crowds in Holland and Wales. By 2000, Gielen was experiencing his biggest year to date. While working the festival ...
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