Max Kane

They have undergone a huge change in sound (aimed squarely at Radio 1 airplay and commercial success). If anyone remotely criticises this on their forum they start PMing people telling them not to and then ban if they persist. Their message board used to be a great place to interact and I got to know a lot of good people from there but now the only ones who post on there are fanboys who spout the #trancefamily bollocks proclaiming A&B as 'gods' and talking about when they last cried to the breakdown of 'No-One On Earth'. Thankfully the former loyal members founded the Unjuna boards (get it?) which are fantastic

People that become your friend through your fame/success and are after nothing more than being a 'hanger-on' will bring you down. You need to have trust and faith in those that were present before you 'made it' and also stay grounded in reality. Sure there will always be some people who slag you, but instead of sweeping it under the carpet (I'm talking to YOU Above & Beyond) by banning them from forums and ignoring them, try to listen to what they say. Often it's easy to tell the difference between a true fan giving a constructive criticism and a 'hater' slagging you for no good reason. That said if Jules is enjoying himself, likes the sound he now plays and is still coining it in then who are we to argue with him and tell him what to do?

Side note: isn't it great to have an active debate thread without needless digression!

I think it's a bit of both. Jules seems totally commited to what he plays and I think Briggsy said that when he has emailed him about he gets the 'it worked well and the crowd loved it' reply. I guess Tristan and others could be telling him that and making him feel like it was better than it really was (he could be telling himself this too). I don't think it automatically happens but it is widespread. PvD had a really cheesy phase (seems to be back on a bit more now), Tiesto has lost his mind and sold out (though he seems to have done this through choice) and Armin is getting more and more cheesy and commercially orientated. Paradoxically though look at guys like Sasha & Digweed - they are more reverred now than ever and are still pioneers, though I guess they have always been more underground in their thinking. Ferry Corsten has maintained credibility throughout too - even his LEF sound wasn't that cheesy and commercial and he has always retained his focus on proper trance music, even when he was working with Simon Le Bon

This is a huge problem for anyone who achieves anything like the success Jules has and (more relevant imo) when bands get really big. The world is full of people losing touch with that which made them great in the first place. I think Jules could roll up and play whatever the hell he wanted now, those more into the 'serious' side of trance music have given up on him (anything other than a dissapointment is a bonus) and his general fanbase love the cheesy nonsense he now purveys.

Welcome aboard dude, hope you enjoy your stay. I'm no RnB fan but watch the racism

Welcome aboard mate

Welcome Mike

Welcome aboard - the forum has gotten mighty random the past few weeks but it's still a friendly place

It shouldn't surprise me but seriously! Bruno Mars? :ill: :pinkman:

Welcome Steve

Never really liked vonyc, mainly for the reasons Jason mentioned. It was really annoying when they had an exclusive & you had to use paypal

Only other one I have used in the past is DJTunes.com it's not the best but sometimes it allows you to buy tunes which are territory restricted elsewhere

I used to use Audiojelly more than anywhere else but they gradually increased their prices & started charging for using a debit card. I avoid them at all costs now. Their only saving grace is they sometimes get the Armada exclusives but they rip you off for those too. I know beatport can seem a little pricey sometimes but at least they don't hike up prices to £2.39 for exclusives

CDJShop is pretty good, I used to hate shopping there but the use of loyallty points is a nice touch

DJDownload are awesome, easily the best player & their customer service is magnificent. Definately the winner imo. I do like beatport but today I'm having real trouble as the audio clips won't work on the site.

Great to see Jules really supportiung David's (Murtagh) tune, also amazed to see him playlist a track from Harem, such an underrated label

I hate to say it but I feel there are a few tracks there that, while they were ok at the time, have aged terribly. On the other hand some absolute belters in there aswell

That set looks magnificent

Three classics in there

Any downloads I grab I always make time to comment, good or bad. Only trouble I have is with all the mp3 downloads I have to purchase for my own sets I don't have the disc space to download as many sets anymore without compromising performance

Disc Two owns virtually every other compilation CD ever, every track on there is fantastic. 'Bulgarian' 'Luvstruck' & 'Violin de la Nuit' are my picks from disc one

Definately see what you're saying mate & i think you've hit the nail on the head with the part of your statement about songs being catchy, Pearce's audience lust for cathy throw-away pop dance songs, they don't wana have to pay attention to a record for 10misn they just want a radio edit that they can have on in their car with some drunken scouse bird saying what a great night out she had in Oceana