1980年代からDJとして活動し、Nettwerkをはじめとする数多くのレーベルでの製作に携わってきたディレクターDave DresdenとミュージックプロデューサーJosh Gabrielによるユニット Gabriel & Dresden。
2001年にそのキャリアをスタートさせた彼らはProgressive HouseのグルーヴとTranceのエモーショナルさを併せ持った全く新しいProgressive Tranceサウンドを確立。Satoshi TomiieのSAW Recordingsからデビューシングル"Lament"をリリースし、New OrderやPaul Pakenfold、Way Out West、Tiesto、Duncan Sheik、Sarah McLachlanといったアーティスト達にRemixを提供した事で彼らの名は一躍世界中を駆け巡った。
ホームレーベルであるOrganized Natureを中心としながら、多くのダンスレーベルに楽曲やRemixを提供しており、彼らの最大の理解者であったTiestoのBlackhole RecordingsからはボーカリストのMavie Marcosを迎えたサイドプロジェクトAndainとして、またArmin Van BuurenのArmada Musicからはトランスシーンを代表する女性シンガーJESとのMotorcycleとしてリリースをするなど、レーベルの枠を超えた活動を展開。
また、この頃には"Arcadia"や"Serendipity"といったオリジナルトラックをはじめ、Arminとの合作"Zocalo"やMarkus Schulzとの"Without You Near"、A State Of Trance 2004のベストトラックにも輝いたAbove & Beyond "No One On Earth"やジャンルを越えて大ヒットを記録したPerasma "Swing 2 Harmony"のRemixといった名作、名Remixを次々と発表しているが、特に"Beautiful Things"と"As The Rush Comes"、そしてGabriel & Dresdenとしての最大のヒット曲である"Tracking Tresure Down"の3つのリリースは今もなおトランスシーンにおける代表的なトラックとして挙げられるなど永遠のアンセムといえるだろう。
2008年にはそれぞれがソロ活動を行うためにしばらくの間その活動を休止させていたのだが、2010年末の奇跡的なリユニオンをきっかけに2011年から活動を再開。DJとしてもライヴアクトとしてもこれまでにSensationのオフィシャルMix CDやToolroom、Armadaを含むメジャーレーベルからアルバム、Mix、コンピレーションを多数リリースしており、今もなお精力的な活動を続けるレジェンドとしてその地位を確立している唯一無二の存在だ。
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A shared passion for music brought Gabriel & Dresden together after a chance meeting on a Miami rooftop during the Winter Music Conference in 2001. As a duo, the two fit like some kind of creative yin and yang, quickly rising to the top of the electronic music genre and winning the coveted "Best American DJ" prize twice by the International Dance Music Awards (IDMAs) as well as creating a dominating string of timeless hit songs and remixes in the studio..
Conjuring an artful amalgam of trance, techno, and house and pop that transformed the landscape of 21st century EDM; Josh Gabriel, with his formal training in music composition from California Institute for the Arts and the Netherlands' Institute of Sonology, and Dave Dresden, with an esteemed club DJ career that included work as a Billboard club chart reporter, music director for a prominent online radio station, and a curator for the legendary Pete Tong's Essential Selection, struck a genuine synergy that captivated listeners around the world.
Their smash hit in spin-off project Motorcycle, "As the Rush Comes", topped Billboard's "Hot Dance Airplay" year-end chart in the US and landed at #11 in the UK Singles Chart. Their compilation, Bloom turned heads globally, while their self-titled artist album that featured "Tracking Treasure Down" (with vocalist Molly Bancroft) and “Dangerous Power” (featuring Jan Burton) both screamed into the #1 slot onto Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart, solidifying their status as leaders. Everybody from Britney Spears and Madonna to Annie Lennox, Tiesto and Above & Beyond sought them out for official remixes, while the likes of FX and Rockstar Games licensed their music to enhance their visual narratives.
After a three year hiatus that officially ended in 2011, the two embarked on an exhaustive reunion tour; playing high-profile global festivals like EDC, Creamfields, Tomorrowland, Electric Zoo, Spring Awakening, Sunburn Festival as well as club dates in over 20 countries around the world.
Despite the envelopment of EDM in popular culture, the two are sticking to their guns and following their most innate impulses. "It is always about being timeless," affirms Dresden. "We don't pay much attention to trends. We choose sounds and words that we feel will mean something to a lot of people and at the same time, make them put their hands in the air." Gabriel concludes. "We want everyone to be able share that with experience with us."
When it comes to their productions, there are few electronic dance music world who have a remix portfolio comparable to that of the duo. One just has to listen to their remix album from 2006, simply titled ‘The Legends: Collected Remixes’, to see that their appeal is not just among the Progressive House crowd; It is in fact loved across the board. From their remixes of Way Out West – Mindcircus to 4 Strings – Into The Night and from Above & Beyond – No One On Earth to Britney Spears and Madonna – Me Against The World, no set genre of music is safe from the midas touch of the duo.
From house to pop and trance to commercial, the mass appeal of Gabriel & Dresden is not just their passion for the music they play, but also the way that they take a much loved piece of music into the studio and leave with a completely new track that they have not only made their own, but have also given the original the respect it deserves.
Just as they have achieved with their 2014 releases, ‘New Ground’ and ‘Rise Up,’ Gabriel & Dresden are taking everything you thought you knew about this current electronic music scene and are flipping it on its head, proving that it’s not all about “the drop.” With support from people like Eric Prydz, Above & Beyond, Seven Lions, Dash Berlin and Andrew Bayer, there has never been a better time, or better pair of DJs, to feed the hunger felt on the dance floor for something different.
"It's all about making exciting music," Gabriel says. "We understand the power of great music." Dresden leaves off. "I think the best is yet to come."
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