Andy Moor & Somna - AVA 10 Years: Past, Present & Future

On August 7th, 2006, Andy Moor’s highly praised, singular vision for two genres crystalized into one record label. It was called AVA Recordings and by the end of that year, the progressive and trance fraternities weren’t talking about much else. ‘Hot’, doesn’t come close to touching it - AVA was lava.

With infinite stylistic balance and the zeit-i-est of zeitgeist timing, Andy’s first salvo of AVA releases spanned the divide between the two stylistic tenements. 10 unstinting release years later, its position as one of the legendary labels inside those genres has long since been cemented. It’s set many a neophyte producer on their path; become first port of release call for the already established and been the platform from which the majority of Andy’s own productions have taken flight. Last month, through the reflectively titled ‘Look Back’, it celebrated its 150th release. This November – through its extraordinary ‘AVA 10 Years: Past, Present & Future’, its comprehensively marking its decade as a frontline label entity.

Criterion compiled and mixed by Moor and label manager/master-sergeant Benjamin ‘Somna’ Leung, it features exemplary music and mixes from beginning to end. By proxy, it brings studio work from the veritable trance & progressive pantheon. Amongst them are producers like Lange, Mat Zo, Gareth Emery, Andrew Rayel, Orkidea, RAM, Sean Tyas, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Omnia, Eximinds, Solis & Sean Truby, Bryan Kearney, Indecent Noise and many more besides. 

The ‘Past’ mix starts the ball rolling from, near enough, where it all began. The Railpressureflip of David West’s (AVA002 outing) ‘Make U Mine’ heralds a frontend run of early highlights. Included in that number are Jav D & Mat Zo’s ‘Silver Lining’ and famed Andy Moor collaborations with Lange, Orkidea and Ashley Wallbridge. Further in there’s seminal years standouts like RAM & Alex M.O.R.P.H.’s rework of the former’s ‘Grotesque’, ‘Lekta’ from Sean Tyas and Ben Nicky & Linnea Schossow’s ‘Tears’. Naturally there’s a mass of Moor’s own solo material too: ‘I Be’, ‘Fade To Light’, ‘Love Again’, ‘Faces’ and ‘Fight The Fire’ to mention but a few.

As its title alludes, the album brings panorama to not just its formative years, but also its more current times. The second disc pushes the needle further into the here-and-now with some of AVA’s latterday floor-ward thinkers. Among them are ‘A Priori’ from Hazem Beltagui, the Northia rebuild of Joseph Areas’ ‘Montego’ and Yang/Amy Kirkpatrick team-up, ‘Hearts At War’. Beltagui strikes again with his remix of Lange/Moor rocker ‘Stadium Four’ and the 150th release champing Moor x Somna collab ‘Look Back’. Antillas & Dankann’s 2016 rewire of Andy Moor & Sue McLaren’s ‘Trespass’, ‘Robot Future’ from Mike Saint-Jules, Eximinds’ ‘Andromeda’ and others round out the second disc.

Andy aside, there’s no other individual in its history that’s had more of an influence on AVA Recordings than Benjamin ‘Somna’ Leung. Bringing that into the sharpest of perspectives, disc 3 platforms no less than 7 of his releases and remixes, ‘Because You’re Here’, ‘Hands’ and Back To Life’ (all featuring vocal muse Jennifer Rene) among them. In and around those, you’re also in line for Bryan Kearney’s re-fire of Easton & Roxanne Emery’s ‘Healing Rain’, Davey Asprey’s summer-scorching ‘Guardians’ and Adam Ellis’ remix of Betsie Larkin & Andy’s ‘Not Afraid’.