Visionquest’s journey began in 2011 when Shaun Reeves, Ryan Crosson and Lee Curtiss (and Seth Troxler at the time) decided to join forces to create what has become one of the most influential labels in the electronic music world. Their brand of melodic, emotive and uplifting deep house and techno has helped launch the careers of such names as Tale of Us and Chaim among many others. This week marked the 50th release for the label and to celebrate the occasion they’ve released a 3-disc compilation of stand out tracks from their collection, as well as a mix from DJ Three.
Although the album is a look back on the label’s past offerings, the relevance the songs still have in today’s changing musical landscape tell you how forward thinking their releases have been since day one. Tracks like “Dark Song” from Tale of Us, or Lee Curtis’s “Body Twitch” showcase the early work off the Visionquest archive. Maceo Plex’s disco infused basslines from 2011 can be heard in “Fallin”, and it’s easy to see how his unique style has evolved from it to become one of the most sought after sounds in the underground.
On the second CD, standout songs include an early My Favorite Robot release that cemented the group as one of the breakout vocal deep house acts. As with Maceo Plex, many of the artists featured on the Visionquest Ultraviolet 1 compilation have gone on to launch their own record labels, none more prevalent these days than Guy Gerber’s Rumors label, which grew out of a solid foundation of releases including “The Mirror Game” and the euphoric “Claire” with Clarian.
A few personal favorites on the release explain why Visionquest is such a progressive label. Chaim’s recent “Underwater” helped catapult him into a new league of producers who are capturing the emotion and sensitivity that can be found in techno. It’s songs like that, or Matthew Styles’ remix of Dinky’s “Falling Angel”, with echoed vocals ringing through overtop of a relentless rhythm, that inspire us to create something meaningful through music. On that note, we give you DJ Three’s compilation mix, turning an impressive collection of songs into a journey that captures those successes so far of the Visionquest family. Grab your 3 disc release from Beatport today for the full experience.
