If there was ever a shadow of doubt that tech trance was in its ascendancy, Transmission Aloha banished all niggling thoughts. Amongst Hawaiian leis, blow-up palm trees and a stage set-up that evoked images of the Pacific Ocean, tech trance (of both the hard and soft persuasion) reigned supreme. Perhaps if one had spent the evening in the ingeniously named ‘Honolulu Wakeup’ house/electro arena they might have argued differently, but seeing as the main stage has always been the focus of any Transmission party, the argument still stands.

Whether you’d albel it unfair or not, US duo Filo & Peri were the only international act granted a two-hour set. They made excellent use of it however, slowly building the night with a careful blend of electro/tech/trance. My attention was particularly captured towards the closure of their set when they bombarded the crowd with quality tunes – Fonzerelli Moonlight Party, the Durand remix of Lethal Industry, and their own The Anthem. Interestingly they chose to end their set with 1999 classic Seven Cities, although this was abruptly cut-off by the intermission which spanned each set (reminiscent of the European dance parties).

Marcel Woods delivered a more exciting set than I had anticipated. For starters, he threw in the Marco V remix of Café del Mar, a quintessential and much-loved trance classic. And although predictions were for him to play 60 minutes of his own tunes, he proved the bookies wrong by including Sander Van Doorn Riff, a remix of U2 Beautiful Day and a remix of current pop hit Destination Unknown. Of course no Marcel set would be complete without some of his own production and he ended in predictable, but fully enjoyable style, with Advanced and Cherry Blossom.

It would not be exaggerating in the least to say that Scot Project is a hard trance legend, having pioneered his own style and created some of the biggest dance floor destroyers ever to amaze and excite EDM fans. His last massive release L (Want Your Love) was released in 2004 and not surprisingly, he has moved on since then. Despite many a crossed finger that Project would produce a classics set, we only got one – Overdrive – and what a moment that was, the crowd reaction proving that old favourites die hard. Never fear that the Project magic has disappeared though, his latest effort TOCS2 sounded splendid.

I will be completely honest and say I have no idea what UK wunderkind Vandall played. I can tell you three things though. Firstly, it was damn fast (and thus fantastic for dancing). Secondly, he didn’t play his best known tunes (like Seratonin Rush). And thirdly, it was heavily tech influenced and not the euphoric sound people were expecting. I enjoyed it though, so if anyone can ID his set (or parts thereof), please PM me!

“Bass in the Place London”. Yes, you all know it. Operation Blade by Public Domain. And yes, you heard it, alongside their remix of Order 66 Rise and the slightly cheesy Love You More. Despite tipping the cap to their earlier sound, much of the set was, in keeping with the musical flavour of the night, tech-based. I had expected a high-energy set (possibly lumping them musically with UltraSonic), but perhaps their new sound is being directed by group member Mark Sherry who, in conjunction with Transmission chief Nervous, commandeered the decks for the 2-3am slot. Whilst most of the set spanned the tech/hard trance genres, including the massive Chopperchunk, they did end with Zany & MC DV8 Nothing Else Matters.

Brennan Heart shone the hardstyle flag for the evening. Highlights of his set included the Defqon1 2007 anthem Get Wasted (Brennan Heart & JDX remix), One Master Blade, and a new track which he appeared to have written especially for the evening. The pace was kept unusually slow – under the typical 150bpm+ for hardstyle – yet the crowd showed their appreciation for Showtek FTS, yelling along to “I live for hard styles, I live for hardstyle baby”. Displaying creative flair, Fabian mashed up Beastie Boys seminal Fight For Your Right, alongside recently hardstyle hits from DJ Isaac Waiting For and The Hose The Pressure. As previous sets had run overtime, Brennan Heart unfortunately missed getting his full hour. Nik Fish took to the stage with Victoria’s Dr Willis, and cheekily showed his appreciation for the word “fuck” by continuing the FTS sample into the closing set. They ended yet another successful Transmission with an outstanding balls-out hard dance set including the ever popular Walt Let The Music Play.

Transmission delivers yet again! And with rumors abounding of another massive event for the end of the year, it appears that we can look forward to many more bangin’ parties to come!