Why does big-room progressive still get me every single time when I can see every move coming a mile off? Mysteria is a Revealed Recordings release through and through, which means it is widescreen and melodic and built for the exact moment a festival crowd loses its collective mind. Doppenberg structures it like a short film: a moody atmospheric intro, a slow-burn build that keeps stacking layers, then a melodic drop designed to be played under a wall of pyro. I know precisely what is being done to me and my arms go up anyway, which is either a weakness in me or a strength in the format. The melody is genuinely pretty, a wistful minor-key lead that carries more feeling than this style usually bothers with. The label has a signature sound and this sits right inside it, but Doppenberg brings enough melodic conviction to keep it from feeling like a template getting filled in. There is a reason this blueprint has survived a decade of people loudly declaring it dead. Sometimes you just want to feel enormous for four minutes, and this obliges.
January
Chrome Daydream
Chrome stars, jelly hearts and holographic colour. A nod to the glossy, optimistic graphics of the early web.