Like real friendship or true love, cold beers or decent coffee, dream jobs or summer vacay – some things in life really are worth the wait! Or when two of your favourite electronic music makers finally make their schedules click and rock up with a festival igniting floor-roar that’s somehow even better than you dared to imagine.
“A dozen?!” says Markus, trying to get a read on how many years he and ATB have been chewing over an in-studio team-up. “Maybe even longer” Andre reckons. “Whatever, you can’t rush these things, can you?!” When the two managed to catch up in their home country at the end of last summer however, they finally got the job done. The perfect production crush, their first studio collaboration drops today and behold, these titans of the dance scene are kicking the door to spring wide open!
During a recent trip to the German city of Bochum, Markus Schulz decided to pay a visit to his old friend ATB. What started out as a catch-up coffee turned into an impromptu studio session.
The result is Heartbeat – the debut track for ATB’s very own Ruhrtone Records, released via Kontor.
It’s amazing to consider that this is the first time the guys have worked together as they immediately found themselves on the same wavelength. The complementary talents of both artists are clearly in evidence on Heartbeat – The Original Mix unifies majestic piano chimes and sweeping, classical Barber-esque strings, leading into the mainline brilliance we associate with Andre & Markus, going straight for the heart. At its point of greatest intensity – through cascading synths and emotional, lamenting vocals – the mix hits its highest peak!
The Festival Mix, meanwhile, expands ‘Heartbeat’, instinctively zeroing in in on its club-driven core. “This is how collaborations should be” DJ Mag noted in their 8.5/10 April review – the mag went on to hail it “a feel-good blast, full of big string sequences, instinctive notes and a simple, yet devastatingly effective vocal”. Now what’s not to like about that?!
‘Heartbeat’ is out through Ruhrtone Records and is now available to stream/buy here.
Tracklist:
01 ATB & Markus Schulz – Heartbeat (Original Mix)
02 ATB & Markus Schulz – Heartbeat (Festival Mix)
The track can be heard at Radio DEEA, during tonight’s “Lost in Trance” radio show, hosted by Sundancer.
