Assaf's 'Lost Souls' featuring Nathan Nicholson Out Now on Black Sunset | Armada

Magical. Tormented. Alive. The ethereal, hauntingly evocative music of DJ and electronic dance music producer, Assaf, is at once filled with angst and beauty. His music has the ability to impart the sensation that time collapses upon itself, as though eternity stretches backwards and forwards simultaneously to the point where both ends meet. Teaming up with Nathan Nicholson, the lead vocalist of the band, The Boxer Rebellion, Assaf releases his latest single. Assaf featuring Nathan Nicholson's "Lost Souls" (Black Sunset | Armada) is out now.

The Radio Edit kicks-off with a stirring, rapidly-strummed guitar from the outset like a psy-trance track. There's something wonderful about the atmosphere of this song that's as mysterious as it is of-the-moment. An acoustic piano interlude tugs at one's heartstrings and it's a dynamic foil to the high swells and pounding rock-'n-roll infusion that meld with ear-catching synthesizers. The Extended Mix stretches out in its gooey, low-end glory and churns the warm and wide 4/4-beat until the listener is utterly mesmerized. Nicholson sings the refrain, "We are / two lost souls," drawing-out the vowels of "are" and "lost" with such effect that the trembling of the soundwaves harkens back to the late-90's heyday of trance music. The song is urgent, essential and soaring. The Intro Mix is characterized by the atmospheric, highly cinematic intro. This version easily doubles as a film score, as one imagines scenes of flying close and fast over the sands of Outer Mongolia during the reign of Kublai Khan. Danger, uncertainty and breathless drama lurk behind every shadow, though splendor also abounds.

Assaf (real name, Youhanna Assaf) is a Canadian electronic dance music DJ and producer specializing in the sub-genre known as trance. By far the most popular form of electronic dance music, trance is noteworthy for its usually soaring, melodic composition and Assaf assails the norm by incorporating elements of intrigue and longing into his original productions. Together with business partner, Jeremy Vancaulart, Assaf heads the niche Black Sunset Music imprint, recently signed to leading trance label, Armada Music. Assaf featuring Laura Aqui's "After Dark" was the breakout track that grabbed the attention of trance superstar Armin van Buuren in 2015 and caused the latter to sign Black Sunset as a sub-label. In the summer of 2016, Assaf released his original, "Vela," on van Buuren's A State of Trance imprint. To this day, those two recordings join Assaf's remix of Dan Chase featuring Diana Leah's "Voice Inside" as being among the works for which Assaf is most well-known. As a live DJ, Assaf has performed at the legendary (though now-shuttered) Guvernment nightclub in Toronto and his music is supported by fellow trance luminaries, Markus Schulz, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Andrew Rayel and Armin van Buuren, among others. Said Assaf of his production style, "My sound is all about tragedy, loss and most importantly, hope. I fancy myself a storyteller and each song is a reflection of my emotions." Maturity and deep introspection are not normally found in abundance in men of Assaf's young age, but then again, Assaf is anything but ordinary.

Listen to Assaf featuring Nathan Nicholson, "Lost Souls," here: https://blk184.lnk.to/LostSouls

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