BPM 63: The Sound That Stayed

Sup Kids. This year has been a ride. This year I’ve seen some really decent progression with BPM. Here we are Mix 63. Some mixes start with a theme. This one found its theme along the way.

BPM 63 started as a return to trance after the Happy Hardcore detour of BPM 62. I had a folder full of new 2026 records, a 90-minute target, and no real concept beyond building another proper BPM journey.

Then, in the middle of the night while listening to BPM Radio, an old Tiësto set came on. Tiësto, Live at Nocturnal Wonderland, Lake Havasu, September 1, 2001. That set carries a little more history for me than most.

I was actually at Nocturnal Wonderland in 2001, but because of a timeslot change, I missed Tiësto’s set. Nearly twenty-five years later, I finally heard it.And something about it immediately pulled me back.

The long progressive opening. The patience. The darker atmosphere. The way the journey slowly develops before locking into that unmistakable early-2000s trance sound.

It reminded me why those old Tiësto sets had such an influence on me in the first place.

Another major reference was Tiësto, Live at Gatecrasher NEC, Birmingham, April 13, 2002, a mix I played constantly back in 2002. Along with sets like Live @ Club Eau in 2001, those recordings helped shape what trance sounded like to me while I was developing my own style behind the decks.

Suddenly I knew what BPM 63 needed. I started pulling records from that exact era. Tranquility Base. Plastic Boy. Faithless. Vitalic. Katana. Mass Effect. Frank T.R.A.X.

Not random classics. Records connected to that sound. Placed together, they became a seven-track journey back into 2001 and 2002:

Razorfish → Silver Bath → We Come 1 → La Rock 01 → Fancy Fair → Alphascan → Nebuchan

Listening to that sequence before I had even mixed it gave me goosebumps. Once it was actually recorded, it became the centerpiece of BPM 63.

And Frank T.R.A.X. – Nebuchan had to close that chapter. Nothing else felt right after it. It became the final statement before the mix leaves that era behind and returns to the present.

From there, BPM 63 moves back into 2026. And somewhere along the way, the track titles started sounding less like a playlist and more like pieces of real life.

Destination. In And Out Of Love. Hear Me Calling. Force Of Gravity. Over & Over. Strange World. The Awakening.

None of that was planned. But hearing the finished mix back, some of those records landed much harder than I expected Then came one final connection.

Armin van Buuren’s Everlasting (Rising Star Extended Remix) kept triggering something in my memory. There was something in those synths that I knew, but I couldn’t immediately place it.

Then it clicked. Armin van Buuren feat. Justine Suissa – Burned With Desire (Rising Star Remix). 2003. So BPM 63 ends with the two together.

Burned With Desire (Rising Star Remix) into Everlasting (Rising Star Extended Remix)

Twenty-three years apart. Different production. Different time. Same DNA. And that ending pretty much explains the entire mix. BPM 63 isn’t about going backwards. It’s about realizing how much of the sound that shaped you never really left.

This one surprised me. This one hit my feels.

I’ve made mixes that I thought were technically great, harder, cleaner, or more ambitious. But during the final listen to BPM 63, this one hit me emotionally in a way I wasn’t expecting. There’s only been a handful of sets that brought me to tears. This was one of them.

Maybe that’s because some sounds don’t disappear.

They wait.

And then one night, they find you again. Funny how the universe works… BPM 63: The Sound That Stayed. Built on passion. Driven by sound. Turn it up!

BPM #63 Playlist

01. Rank 1 & Notelle – Serotonin (Extended Mix) (2026) [High Contrast]
02. Chris Metcalfe – Yamore (Extended Mix) (2026) [Subculture]
03. Above & Beyond pres. Tranquility Base – Razorfish (Above & Beyond Progressive Mix) (2001) [Anjunabeats]
04. Plastic Boy – Silver Bath (Original Mix) (2002) [Bonzai Trance Progressive]
05. Faithless – We Come 1 (Rollo & Sister Bliss Remix) (2001) [Cheeky]
06. Vitalic – La Rock 01 (Original Mix) (2001) [International Deejay Gigolo]
07. Katana – Fancy Fair (Original Mix) (2001) [Silver Premium]
08. Mass Effect – Alphascan (Original Mix) (2002) [Bonzai Limited]
09. Frank T.R.A.X. – Nebuchan (O.R.G.A.N. Extended Remix) (2002) [Neo]
10. Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Rank 1 & Ruben de Ronde – Destination (Andrew Rayel pres. EXTASIA Extended Remix) (2026) [A State of Trance]
11. Armin van Buuren feat. Sharon den Adel – In And Out Of Love (Ben Hemsley Extended Remix) (2026) [Armind]
12. Sneijder – Hear Me Calling (Extended Mix) (2026) [Afterdark]
13. BT feat. JC Chasez – Force Of Gravity (Mark Sherry Extended Remix) (2026) [Black Hole]
14. Bryan Kearney & Ready In LED – Over & Over (Original Mix) (2026) [Kearnage]
15. Push & KAS:ST – Strange World (Extended Mix) (2026) [Armada]
16. York – The Awakening (Quake x Rob Tissera x Technikal Extended Remix) (2026) [Armada Captivating]
17. Armin van Buuren feat. Justine Suissa – Burned With Desire (Rising Star Remix) (2003) [Armind / United Recordings]
18. Armin van Buuren x SACHA – Everlasting (Rising Star Extended Remix) (2026) [Armada]

Download the MP3 Here!