Darren's Journal

The future

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 13:32:21 GMT

Been a long time since I updated this thing so here goes.

Updates of the last 2-3 months are as follows:

* - Met a wonderful woman called Marci on myspace and i'm planning to see her in the summer if we are both still comfortable with things. She lives in Oklahoma, USA.

* - Got my grades back from Uni, can't be bothered to check them but I know grades are roughly C,B,B,B

* - Gonna be living in student dorms next year along hopefully with Will, Ash and Tim

* - Downloaded a fair bit of new music, with a number of the latest tunes

* - MP3 headphones died on me week or two back and I invested in some Shure ones, glad I did as they rock

* - Beginning to formulate plans for my 21st on 28th May, perhaps a trip to Gatecrasher in Leeds?

* - I am now on every Instant messenger known to man

Thats all for now folks :-)

Have a good Easter

Here's a toast...

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 23:56:46 GMT

To 2007...

To living life how it should be:

- With a smile :-)
- With a good tune playing *drum roll*
- With sunshine --*--
- With love <3

Darren

Update at last

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 18:24:08 GMT

I am sorry to say I have been neglecting my Livejournal account lately, poor thing.

Semester 1 finished for me yesterday, and I can honestly say, I have never been happier to end a study period. Exams went ok overall, few things that are niggling in the back of mind about grades but whats done is done. So lets look to the future.

Last night I treated myself to some downloads, here is what I hauled in:

Transmigration - Hiroyuki Oda
Injection - Hiroyuki Oda
Edge of Space [Whiteroom Mix] - Zirenz
Lift [Sean Tyas Rework] - Sean Tyas
On The Edge - Mark Pledger

Updated 27/01/07 +

One With Sanctuary - Incolumis
The Passion [John O' Callaghan Remix] - Hemstock & Jennings
Timeless [Deepwide Mix] - Will Holland
Velvet Morning [AAlto Remix] - Kyau & Albert
Escape [Phynn Mix] - Fictivision & Phynn

I already downloaded this lot a week or two back:

Arisen [Original Mix] - Arksun, Arisen [Airbase pres. Parc Remix] - Arksun
Escape - Airbase
On The Edge - Mark Pledger
Super Nature - Stoneface & Terminal
Without You [Dogzilla Dub] - Dogzilla

Along with the tune 'Breeze - Ferrin & Low' I have a enough of my fav unmixed tunes to make a decent mix out this lot. :-) All I need to do is get my mitts on the software and I will be away mixing this goodness together.

Plan for the next week is to chill out and hopefully meet some new peeps. Then onto Uni semester 2 which holds much more promise for me and genuine excitement.

I'll leave you lot with that for now...

Take care all,

Darren

x

2007...AND BEYOND!! - GO GALACTIC MAN!!!

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 17:05:52 GMT

It's been a while since I last updated so gonna have an attempt at doing so now. I am very optimistic for the year 2007, I feel it's gonna bring many great things to my life. Got some real ambitions I want to achieve this year, if u wanna know what they are check out my myspace at www.myspace.com/darren_daz

New Year's went well, went to a restaurant with few friends. Mark suprisingly showed (a good suprise) as I thought he was ill, oh yeah and Laura too, can't forget her ^_^. The objective was to meet friends and not get stuck indoors that night so all went well.

Was first day back at Uni today, was dreading returning, but I quickly settled back in. Seeing my mates, Will, Tim, Ash and Stephan saves me from a bad day at Uni, always manage to cheer me up.

Picked up a very old album at lunch, Chicane's 'Behind The Sun' album. Despite being a full 7 years old, still sounds great. I had not heard the tune 'No Ordinary Morning' before. It's the best vocal/melody combination I have heard. Not a Trance album really but chillout. It was so relaxing driving home I could have fallen asleep at the wheel, not a good thing!

Got chatting more in depth to a few people, Chris and Nicola in particular. Both great people who I am very much wishing to meet later this year. If I am able to get my hands on Reason 3.0. The year for Chris and I as a music collaboration project is looking very appealing : )

It's very rare for me to be so optimistic for a new year, but this one just feels different, feels like it's gonna be special. I am much more determined than usual to see my New Year's Resolutions through.

Got events galore in the summer, can't wait till it comes round. Have the prospect of getting 4 of us going to Global, and hopefully even greater numbers for Armin Only later in the year. Now it is very unlike me to organise anything, let alone a trip to Holland!

Good 2007 everybody!

Darren <3

P.S. Forgot to post that I finally imported Armin's debut album '76' in. Very nice with 2 suprises on there, it arrived in pretty poor condition but CD was fine. Another gem to add to the collection.

Parade of The Athletes - Tiesto

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:56:48 GMT

You don't have to tell me I am late with this one, with it being the maestro's soundtrack to the Athens Olympics back in 2004. I saw this in HMV for £5 so I picked it up. Armin van Buuren's album Shivers is available for just £4 so GODDAMN WELL PICK IT UP YOU FOOLS!!!

*cough*

Anyways, on to the review, this is my second listen through the mix available. All I can say is that its a very nice cohesive set up tunes. No vocals present anywhere on this one, it was asked to be that way by the event organisers. What you do get are some pretty catchy tunes along with his greatest hits to date, bar his remix of Delerium's Silence. But that can be found on 100's of compilations worldwide. The tunes on the album are not epic by any means, but they make for very nice listening, and most are quite catchy. Designed around the theme of the Olympics you can get hints at what emotions and feelings the man was trying to evoke. For £5 I say go and pick it up now, you cant go wrong.

My fav track of the album forgetting the hits present has to be the opener, 'Heroes'

A shit time of year

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:09:37 GMT

Yes, Christmas is at last fucking over... Radio DJ's accross the country rejoice, you can play some decent stuff at last and not have to put up with such tripe for any longer.

My Tree this year was looking rather empty, thats cos most of us werent getting much, suppose I shouldnt complain but I was looking forward to at least one album to listen to on Christmas Day, alas all I had was a full wallet come the 26th.

This is this years haul

1 x Calender
1 x Blue top
1 x £150 cash

I have lots of money but I honestly dont care, the reason I asked for stuff this Christmas is so I am saved the hassle of shopping for everything. Christmas really inst special anymore for me, as a kid I would get all excited because it was the one time of year I could get something that was way beyond my spending scope, now it's about.. well nothing really. Anything I really want I can afford or save up for these days. I bought Armin's '76' album yesterday, should arrive on 3rd Jan or thereafter, and tried getting some HDJ-1000's. Was on the final screen before confirmation of order, and then saw they were demanding $61 shipping costs...$61!!! FUCK THAT!

I woke up today at 4pm, and all thats happened so far is that I have been put into a bad mood by myself, not having been helped by the attitude of some others. My sleep cycle the past few days has been as follows and now I really am feeling fucked.

Saturday - wake 2pm, sleep 4am
Sunday - wake 2.30pm, sleep 5:30am
Monday - Wake 11.30am, sleep 2.30 pm
Tues - wake 4pm

and that brings us on to new years, I am not sure what I am doing yet as I have offers from several corners for the night. All I do know is that I dont wanna be stuck indoors and I want to make it go with a bang. Made a few aims for 2007...

- Meet Chris aka MOV
- Get a Girlfriend
- Get some money together
- Go to 'Armin Only 2007'

Events I have booked for 2007, it's all in the summer *cries*, wheres the fast forward button.

- Wimbledon Tennis Tournament
- Global Gathering 2007
- Paintballing/Karting
- various club nights
- Armin Only 2007

That finishes my rant/look into the future, could finish this in a happy way but I cant be bothered, nor am I in the mood.

C U IN 2007!

D A Z

Arisen - Arksun

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 02:18:31 GMT

Tune of the year award goes to this tune, it's simply beautiful, thankyou Laurence Rapaccioli!

Move aside Death, I am taking the reins!

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:39:33 GMT

If I was the Grim Reaper, I would ensure that every man and woman listens to this fully before they die

A State of Trance Year Mix 2005 CD2

11/10

It'd be a fecking awesome death!

It's the ultimate CD, what I listened to on the way to Bristol few weeks back, excellent for driving

Now only a few weeks before I get my mitts on 2006, muwahahaha

Top 5

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 01:42:25 GMT

My top Five tunes that I have heard this year, some are old, very old but seeing I was introduced to them only 9 months ago, can you let me off please...

1. Arisen - Arksun
2. Venus - Darren Tate
3. Yet Another Day - Armin van Buuren
4. Point of Impact [Mike Koglin Mix] - Pulser
5. Escape - Airbase

The biggest German export to 'My Life'

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:06:46 GMT

Thats right its those two guys, Kyau & Albert taking center stage again. Just picked up there latest album 'Worldvibe' from HMV. It's a 2 CD album, the first containing mostly new material apart from the hit's 'Walk Down', 'Are You Fine?' and 'Kiksu'.

The second is a collection of some remixes, some that they have done, and some from other artists done on their tracks. Looking at the listing for that there are two gems. Kyau & Albert's remixes of 'Sirens of The Sea' by Oceanlab, and the other is 'Find' by Ridgewalkers feat. El.

I am listening to the 1st disc now and it's got off to a good start, first track Walkdown is nothing new to me and Albert's vocals still seem to fit the tune nicely. 'Always a fool' was nicely melodic, gentle tune with some dreamy female vocals. Kiksu another tune which doesnt need much mentioning... and onto 'Run' which has some prominent female vocals aided by accompanying synths and distort, the vocals on this dont really seem to add to the tune but are more of a background distraction. The mixing on the album seems to be very light and quite short, a good thing if a DJ wants a tune to use for mixing. Argubely there biggest Club track is next, 'Are You Fine', again with Albert's vocals at the forefront... the vocals on this seem to be either a love or hate affair. I cant say I love them but they are indeed growing on me as most things do.

And now, the album takes a noticable twist in sound with Metrosun, which is introduced with some chanting, a lot of melodies kick in then with the chanting fading in and out during the tune, which I am not that much of a fan of to be honest. The synth work on the tune is very very nice though, and reminds me of those you'd find on the Anjunabeats label. The tune fades out and 'The Jitters' starts with a very nice dark opening before, and the start of this track I am liking very much : ). I am now failing to really describe how this sounds, but it's unlike anything I have heard from these two producers, lots of techy effects going on here, and a absence of vocals so far. A melody in the background sounds strangely reminiscent of that in 'Small Step On The Other Side' by Basic Perspective, so far this is my favorite tune on the album.

Next tune up is '7Skies' and just from the beginning of this tune u feel it's going to be a big one, Albert's vocals are slowly faded into this one before a breakdown happens. The vocals on this sound similar to Are You Fine? although they are completely different, must be the way they are thrown into the track. Now onto 'Our Own Devices', which doesnt sound Trance like at all, more experimental, so many effects and changes in tune thats the only way it can be described. In order to know what it's like u will have to listen to it. 'Riding On A Star' starts off quite nicely upbeat and with that classic Kyau & Albert sound, you'll get to know it. Soon some looped vocals and some heavy delays come into play, the beat then becomes more intense.

The album slows a lot for the next track, 'Hide and Seek', basic vocals from 'Albert' in this one, a lot more insrumental this track with some Violin being heard. Before they kick in with some of there effects again. Quite different to the other tracks and doesnt really do it for me.

The strangely titled 'Teddybears' now and an accordingly strange intro with some Experimental sounds. A subdued beat kicks in and the whole thing sounds like its from another world. About 1 min 20 seconds in a second melody kicks in and slowly invades the tune, so many effects going on though that you arent left bored. This would be a experimentation track if ever I heard one. The last track of the CD 'Hooked on Infinity' starts off in a very dreamy and it's apparent I need some new headphones because my headphones dont seem to be able to cope with the start of this tune lol. Very gentle beginning with some light synths forming a melody around a minute in. It's a very basic tune but sounds very nice, perhaps because its my fav style of trance which for those who don't know is this...

'Heavily layered effects, dreamy distorted vocals and a catchy melody with high levels of delay'

A very dreamy end to the album.

And now for an overall rating... difficult to do for this one, because it is such a varied disc, some tunes dont stand out as they should do on the second half but are nice in there own way. It's good, but not a great album, with the inclusion of the second disc you do get your moneys worth though, I say 7-8/10

Armin Only 2007

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:37:01 GMT

I know its ridicuously early, but I am already excited about this...

I want to go see Armin van Buuren play an exclusive event in Rotterdam next year, around October/November time, it's whole night of him playing with live performances of people he has produced/collaborated with.

People like renouned vocalist Justine Suissa & Nadia Ali should make an appearance

This guy is my musical Idol hence why I am even bothering to make the effort

For those who don't know who Armin van Buuren, here's a profile of him:

He's (currently) rated no.2 in the DJ charts which are a prestigious award, he had been locked in 3rd place for sometime beforehand...

I am unsure about prices at this time, because we would have to:

A) Pay for the event
B) Travel and Accomodation costs
C) Food + Drink etc
D) blah... blah...

Here's a review of the debut event back in 2005, should give you all some idea of what to expect : )

Let me know what you think, want as many people to come along to the event as possible

Take care everybody x

Darren : )

...

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:47:33 GMT

Programming wants to make me commit *Seppuku*...

That is all

Anjunabeats Worldwide 001

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 12:17:09 GMT

Bought this album whilst in Edinburgh, I remember briefly giving it a look when online a week or two back and thought yeah that'd be nice to get when it comes out....

I am glad I did, I can safely say it is the best Dance album I have ever bought, every track is fresh, intelligent, uplifting, melodic and ... you get the idea

Now I have known Anjunabeats / Jono Grant and Paavo Silijamaki for about 9 months now, they are slowly but surely gaining a place in my heart. Where other labels seem intent on getting the top tracks in, these guys go for fresh excting, and melodic sounds. They are the best Trance label in my opinion. I have the Above & Beyond Tri-State album as well as Anjunabeats 3/4. This album beats em all, the track selection may not look killer, but it most definately sounds like it... Let me for a second explain why, I also bought at the same time as this one, Mondo Collections 001, another album from Darren Tate's record company Mondo.. it is nowhere near as good in quality, it has some top tunes, but I am coming to realise that Trance music isn't about killer hits being played one after another, Its about effect.

Now the tunes on Anjunabeats Worldwide 001 or 'WW001' for short are great in combination, they all take the listener through a journey, it's all in the blend. The perfect Mix isn't from sticking that killer tune in, it's about getting the balance right and the journey in the right order.

And yeah... I highly recommend this album 'Anjunabeats Worlwide 001', I award it 10/10... I felt better cos I picked it up with student discount and for less than a tenner in HMV! It's only 10 days old and has two Mix CD's, and over 3 exclusive tracks on there, bargain!!!

:D

Edinburgh 29/11/06

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 23:29:42 GMT

WARNING LONG POST AHEAD, THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS STAY CLEAR

What you have all been waiting for, the Blog of my trip to Scotland! :D

Well it started on Weds morning, I had to drive to Bristol to catch a flight with my friend Mike, and his associate who I didnt know then. Curtis. I had never been to Bristol before, or even made a journey of such length in my car. The night before thoughts of my car breaking down arose but I put them off.

So Wednesday morning, I awoke at 7am, jumped into my car by 8 and set off for Bristol. The route was:

A40 > M40 > M25 > M4 > M32... 130 miles roughly

We had arranged to meet at 11.30 but by the time I eased into Bristol, stuck in traffic and not having a clue where to park my car, I was running a bit late, however everything went smoothly enough and we got onto our flight.

We flew with Easyjet this time around, ironic considering he was knighted by the Queen the same day we flew... anyway! Back on track, yeah the flight took roughly one hour, apart from some serious head pains/issues when coming down in altitude it went smoothly.

We arrived in Edinburgh, grabbed a bus into town and were dropped of right in the heart of the City, It looked stunning. Edinburgh city has to be one of the nicest places I have seen, for one, u have the main highstreet with nothing but buses and Taxi's flowing down it, on one side, a parade of shops, and the other a nice Faiyre all lit up like a Christmas Tree, there is a valley just away from the shops then it climbs steeply towards Edinburgh castle. Edinburgh castle really is a sight to behold, it stands tall no matter where u are on the main street.

We wandered around trying to find the hotel, eventually we came accross it, to find it covered in scaffolding. The interior however was very nice so no complaints there, especially for the price we paid for the night there, Not bad at all....

After settling in, we went into the City again, looked at places, and settled down in Pizza Hut for a bite to eat. After the meal finished we headed off to the venue. A tiny place it was, whoever quoted 400 capacity should be shot, I reckon 300 max and that would be like Sardines!

Anyway, we got there fine, only to find about 50-100 people had bothered to show, 99% of which were really striking the Gothic look, chains included ofcourse! I bought a round, and we settled down to the first performance... a group performing on there debut called none other than... wait for it....Anowrexiya

They started, and everybody just stood still, maybe cos the drinks had'nt got flowing, but in my opinion it was becase they were shite. The keyboard was good, the singing (screaming) was terrible.

Enough of them, now onto Ayria, the group Mike had travelled several hundred miles to see + spend several hundred on. They were a good act. Sang to tunes I could appreciate and the lyrics were catchy. The stage and venue were so close that crowd interaction was at a maximum. Mike was literally two ft away from her and singing all the lyrics, clearly enjoying the moment : ). Jennifer Parkin took notice it seems as we chatted to her afterwards. Mike got lots of stuff signed and got his picture taken to boot!

The third act I was unprepared for... Mike said they were good and I wasnt disappointed. Now I am not a particuarly big fan of Gothic/Dark Electro bands, and I had never even heard of em before, but the 'Cruxshadows' quite literally blew me away with their show. Dressed the part and with Bluetooth Mic's they sang there hearts out and really got involved with the crowd. The lead singer sounded really good, just discovered his name is Rogue... for that he gets Brownie points... also he really reminded me of the character from Sci Fi series Lexx, 'Kai' (Last of the Brunen Gi)... yes I loved that show.

At several points during the performance he came and sang amongst the crowd, even dancing with one member of the audience, as the night progressed he decided to test his acrobatic skills by hanging off railings and standing on stools, all whilst singing.

A woman who played alongside him had an electric Violin, this easily wins awards for most stylish instrument, it sounded class and looked the part too. She really made the band sound so much better.

As the night came to a close, Cruxshadows recieved not 1 but two encore's, and they replied with tunes to entertain the crowd both times. With one ending with the entire lower floor of the venue on stage :D

Afterwards we chilled out upstairs, talked to jennifer Parkin a little more and decided to leave. Before we left I went up to Rogue, shook his hand and said thanks... It takes a hell of a lot to impress me performance wise, and he managed it so well done mate.

Cruxshadows have been a storm in America, reaching no 1 in Singles Dance billboard and 7th in Singles Billboard, not bad then, seeing such a prestigious band at a 300 capacity hall in Edinburgh.

We went back to the hotel satisfied with the days proceedings

Next day we woke, and decided to explore Edinburgh, we did plenty of walking but not much doing as both the Faiyre/Ice Rink, and Edinburgh Castle were closed due to high winds, I was a little disappointed to say the least, I wandered into HMV and bought two new albums, 1 average, 1 excellent. Also popped into a store selling nothing but pure Scottish merchandise, we were all extremely tempted by the chance to own a sword in there called none other than 'Excalibur', at only £90 it was a bargain :P... but alas, we didnt think we would have been met with a kind reception at the airport if we were seen strolling up to the metal detectors with a sword... those security folk are no fun! Afterwards we had time to kill so went to a pub and got a meal, Curtis and I tried some local beer (it was lush), and we all ventured into trying Haggis for the first time. It tasted similar to Blackpudding/stuffing, once we finished said goodbye to the funny Australian waiter and headed back to the airport.

Got there quite early, not that it mattered, the trip back was riddled with problems, firstly the flight missed its first landing back in Bristol due to high winds so we had to do a circle round which added 15 mins to our journey, then we found out our coach was delayed, so we froze in the cold for 30 mins. Because of this delay Mike and Curtis eventually ended up missing their train back home, I strolled back to my car half dead, and stuck on one of my albums for the drive home.

Let me tell you, driving at night after 6 hrs of travelling for 130 miles at 1-2am in the morning aint fun. I was so tired I was swerving quite a bit. I made it back in one piece however and got in at 2am. It's good to be back , I had an amazing time and really hope to go back and visit Edinburgh again.

Thanks for reading (you must have strong eyes and high level of boredom right now)

Take care all and speak soon! Much love to you all xxxxx

Darren

Seeing the world at night

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 03:11:26 GMT

Well that was fun, just driven over 100 miles to collect my friend 'Will' from Leighton Buzzard and return him home. He was stranded outside work with no way home, and no money for a cab.

Road trips are always fun, regardless of the company, and I like driving anyway so wasnt too bad, just shame M1 was half closed, journey has taken 3 hours + to complete and the time is now 3:10 am

Should be going to see either Borat or Bond film with mates tomorrow, and then off to a preppy club in Watford, damn I hate those places :@

Anyway, gives me a chance to get out and see a few friends, all the excuse I need these days to be honest...

Take care everybody and speak to you soon hopefully : )

Darren xx

Thank You

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:51:24 GMT

I got a message from a friend this morning who I may not be able to see for some time...

This is a thank you to all the things you said, I won't forget you...

If you are ever able to get in touch again, please do so, i'd love to hear from you...

Hopefully see you someday :-)

Take care and remember if life ever gets you down, think of me and my smile :-)

xxx

Unusual but familiar feeling

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 01:32:25 GMT

Feeling odd today, only way I can put it, I have a mix of these emotions:

(anxiety, sadness, regret, optimism, hope)- dont know why I feel this way though, cos I have had a normal day.

Went Uni, saw mate or two, drove back home, chatted to peeps etc

Going out tomorrow night for the first time in a long while, my mate Greg is coming back from America for the first time in over 9 months. Will be good to see him :)

Uni assignment due in Friday as norm

Speaking to some new people online, all fun... apart from that its business as usual.

Love all xx

Darren

Memoirs of an Emo kid

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 18:37:59 GMT

I got a photo from Mark a few days back on msn, it shows my schoolmates and I on the last day from school.

One thing dawned on me....

I don't have a single photo, or picture from my school days hanging about, I thought why. I think back and I know the reason why, I didn't really enjoy it. People used to make fun of me all the time for being depressed. And I was, so it didnt really help me. Why was I depressed? Mainly because, (for some reason) I fell in love with someone who had no feelings for me.

For some reason I found it impossible to deal with those feelings so instead of finding a way to get rid of them, I stamped them down everytime they came up. Seeing someone who brings up those feelings everyday caused me a lot of heartache, and it carried on that way for about 2-3 years.

Now I realise the way I thought and acted back in those days was beyond stupid, but theres no point regretting whats already happened. So I have dealt with it, did about 9 months back, and scared a few people in the process.

I don't even know why I am writing this blog to be honest, maybe to get the last of what got to me out of my system. I don't know... but it does help in a way.

Also, I have to say, music really does take on a new meaning when you in Love, I used to listen to Jimmy Eat World everyday back then, everytime I hear a certain song these days, it takes me right back to then. It's why the band will always mean something to me, they are a part of my life.

Darren x

Update 09/11/06

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 18:15:12 GMT

Just an update of whats been happening lately, if anybody other than Mike or Stephen read this I will be very suprised.

So whats new...

Not much to be honest, I have been in Uni all day trying to get my Director game of Pac-Man working, annoyingly I havent had much success in that department, and have only managed to get two way collisions working so far with it. Also had a graphics exam that didn't go too well this morning. Seems I wasnt the only one who did badly so a reasonable grade is still achievable.

My ears ... or rather my right ear still aint 100%, If I listen to music for 30 mins it decides to give me hassle, nether the less I have beaten that cold and the breathing probs now so im feeling a bit better.

Went for a alternate route yesterday getting home from Uni, its quite scenic and runs through both St Albans and Harpendale town centers, was an enjoyable journey, until a Merc driver decided to change lanes when I was next to him. Not too fun but I managed to get through unscathed.

Now just to try and get that game working.... Also Armin album comes out on Sat, featuring his best tunes of past 10 years, looks like its gonna be an addition to the musical family.

Take care everybody (Mike and Stephen)

Darren

Wake up call

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 14:44:11 GMT

Ok, I woke up this morning barely able to breathe, I have had asthma plenty of times before but today was just silly. I couldn't have walked to the shops this morning without keeling over and dying so I asked to be taken down to the hospital to get it sorted. It's not something I would normally ever consider but after having 18 hours of shortness of breath and no relief I felt I had to.

So I went to Hospital A&E this morning, there's me struggling to breathe and they ask me questions such as... what religion am I etc. Officially I am Roman Catholic I reply, I mean does it really matter???

I then get checked out and they give me a nebulizer to breathe in for about 15 mins, I then get taken in for an X-Ray, and another nebulizer before being released.

It's quite a scary experience not being able to breathe properly let me tell you, anyways, glad I am relatively good now. Just the trail end of a cold infection to fight off but thats nothing.

Today and tomorrow I am going to finish off my 2D Graphics assignment. Then I think I will go down the pub with any willing participants and enjoy a good pint.

Love ya all, Darren xx

Losing things

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:57:01 GMT

Why is it in life we never truly value anything until we loose it?

The thing that brought this to mind is that I am badly ill at the moment, I have:

A) A thumping headache
B) Chest problems
C) Extreme shortness of breath
D) Hearing trouble with my right ear, ringing plus a strange sensation in my head

Thats my health gone for the moment

I also have several assignments I have to get in next two weeks, 4 in total and I am feeling like absolute shit at the moment. I have an exam on Thursday that I am not feeling too confident about, would be nice if I am actually good and well by that time but there's no guarantee.

Any love in the world available at this moment, it would be greatly appreciated in this corner

For now, goodnight and God bless xxx

Darren aka Sick Rat

P.S Thanks Claire for trying to help Sat night, it was appreciated

Jimmy Eat World

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 13:44:57 GMT

Yup, they are getting their own blog.

I was feeling quite different this morning, not just from being ill and having impaired hearing. But emotionally different. So instead of sticking on my usual Van Buuren tunes, I decided to listen to a band that meant so much(and still mean so much to me) instead.

Jimmy Eat World's Clarity album is what I listened to in my car on the drive to Uni this morning, at a lower volume level than normal because of my hearing problems at the moment.

This band, still hold a place in my heart, they are the only band that I have liked for four years plus. Listening to their tunes this morning took me back to being 16 years old again, a time in my life when I have felt the highest emotionally that I have ever felt... and the lowest too. So listening to their tunes sure takes me back.

I kinda just wanted to say, Rock music does still have a place in my life, or at least Jimmy Eat World's music does, it makes me feel like nothing else, and takes me back like nothing else. Just wanted to say thanks to the band for being a part of my life, their music has been with me many times in the past, and i'm sure it will be in the future too...

Clubs = Pain, or as Dayou would say C implies P

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 19:30:31 GMT

I seem to have a knack for coming out of clubs feeling like I have been hit by a train. I was clubbing on Sunday, and my hearing from my right ear still ain't right, I have got ringing and no its not just me being paranoid. The question I ask is why??....

A) I don't often go clubbing, if a regular party goer felt like I did after Sunday night they would have vowed to never go out again

B) I wore ear plugs which should have protected me slightly, cut down the noise level by at least 10 decibels

C) I didn't go stupid and fall asleep against a speaker or anything so why am I feeling so rough???

Now all I can do is sit and pray my head sorts itself out and I dont wake up each morning with fecked auditory perception for the rest of my life, i'm giving it a week from now, if it ain't sorted by then I am seeing the doc. I know what the diagnosis will be...

Love 4 Trance Episode 1

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 18:56:02 GMT

A mix i'd like to hear

1. Arisen - Arksun
2. Untitled Audio - P.O.S
3. Fire (Ron Van Den Beuken Mix) - Ferry Corsten
4. Point of Impact (Mike Koglin Mix) - Pulser
5. Beyond Horizon - Enmass
6. Northern Lights - Smith & Pledger
7. The Silence 2005 - Mike Koglin
8. Tundra (Fierce Dub) - Menno De Jong
9. Let The Light Shine In - Darren Tate
10. Sublime (Thrillseekers Remix) - Ferry Corsten
11. In Silence - Randy Katana

WiLD CHiLD 4th Birthday Party!

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 20:25:45 GMT

Advertised with the 'You Only Live Once' message, I first thought... 'No shit Sherlock!', but then it dawned upon me, I might as well go, its got artists there I like and I have a willing buddy to join me.

So I took the plunge, Stephen came around yesterday and we had a few drinks and a chinese down my local town before setting off. The event started at 7am but we thought that'd be a bit too harsh on our bodies staying there the full 12 hours, so we decided to get down there for around 11.00.

The place was near to London bridge and after a little scouting around we found the entrance, down a manky old tunnel with a queue about half a mile long. We proceeded to queue and after about 40 mins we got in.

The place itself consisted of a number of arenas, it had a 4000 person capacity. That was all good but the layout of the place was shite and people had to bustle past one another when changing arenas, there was different genres playing in each room from Trance to Hard Dance. We saw a few artists but as there was no times or anything given we didnt know who the hell we were listening to half the time. Ended up we missed Lab 4 which is who Stephen wanted to see especially so that sucked.

Unfortunately I wasnt feeling too good about 3am, my energy level just dropped, developed a headache and felt ill. I endured the rest of the night until 5 am when I had to finally submit and leave the place. I am still feeling just as bad writing this now.

I can't fault the music in some of the arena's especially the Trance zone. Some of Above & Beyond's tunes were getting hammered on the decks. I remember the tracks 'Untitled Audio', 'Good For Me' and Oceanlab favorite 'Satellite' being played. Sander Van Doorn's remix of Control Freak also went down a storm. It Was a good night but I just wish I could have lasted longer.

Then we had the misery of our journey home, and the clocks going back without me knowing which meant we had to wait an entire two hours in the cold. We ended up going for a walk through London at 5am, went on the Millenium Bridge when it was abandoned, past the Tate and the Globe theatre and saw a few monuments on the way. Then ended up back at London Bridge station.

We had to wait around for an hour so searched for a place to stop and relax, having been turned away by a grumpy 'Costa' owner who insisted his establishment was not a waiting area we moved on downstairs and found an unused Cafe. We decided to set up the tables and chairs for the vacant owner called 'Paul'. ;-)

Stayed there for a bit, then when the time came we got our train, boarded it and a few mins later the Jubilee line was suspended cos of signal failures. After several problems our nightmare journey ended and we got back to my place and crashed out.

Having just slept the past 9 hours I find myself writing this blog, feeling ill and battered. I hope I rest up well enough for the Uni week ahead.

Pics hopefully coming soon!

Person who partied too hard

Glowstick master Stephen

Millenium Bridge first