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Biography
Considered as one of the founders of the Dutch trance sound, Rank 1 is comprised of musicians Benno De Goeij and Piet Bervoets. Having previously collaborated on other projects, Rank 1 proved the duo’s winning formula, with their debut single “Black Snow / The Citrus Juicer” arriving in 1999. It was Rank 1’s subsequent single however “Airwave” that propelled the duo to national and international notoriety. Rising to No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, “Airwave” made waves across the trance scene, with the single finding regular rotation in clubs the continent over.
In 2002 Rank 1 issued their debut full-length album “Symsonic”, which was led by the singles “Such Is Life” featuring Shanokee, and “Awakening” featuring Olga Zegers. Around the same time Rank 1 began regularly remixing tracks by other artists including York, Tunnel Allstars, System F, and Mary Griffin. An EP of “Awakening” remixes appeared in 2002, followed by the subsequent remix EPs “Breathing (Airwave)”, and “It’s Up To You (Symsonic)” in 2003. The unreleased collection, “Unreleased Tracks From the Album Symsonic”, appeared in 2004, and was followed by the remix album “A Trip in Trance 4” in 2006, featuring remixes of tracks by Sandler, Benjamin Bates, and Inner State.
The following year the trance duo issued the EP “Life Less Ordinary” complete with three mix tracks, after which Rank 1 released the EP “And Then…” alongside Jochen Miller. The singles “L.E.D. There Be Light” and “Symfo” arrived in 2009, followed the year after with “The Great Escape” and “100” featuring Nic Chagall and Wippenberg. Continuing their prodigious output, the pair released the singles “Wild and Perfect Day”, “Witness”, and “7 Instead Of 8” in 2012 and “Elements of Nature”, “Floorlifter”, and “13.11.11” in 2013. Following a remix of Giuseppe Ottaviani’s “Love Will Bring It All Around”, Rank 1 released the single “Juno” alongside M.I.K.E. in 2015.
Live reviews
I caught Rank1 at a festival I attended while backpacking through Europe in the summer of 2001.
Although I didn’t know this at the time, they are considered one of the greats of the Dutch Trance scene. All I knew that night was that these guys were making some amazing music and I danced until I was just about a sweaty pile of jelly. I saw a ton of electronic bands and DJs that weekend but Rank1 truly lived up to their name, as they were probably the best of the whole bunch.
The whole dance/ trance scene over in Europe is so much different from anything we have here in America. It’s vastly more popular and the crowds are friendlier and less strung out.
By the time I wandered over to the stage where they were playing, the sun was starting to set. This was great because the light show was amazing and perfectly complemented the hard driving beats coming from the stage. Like they were one organism, the crowd surged forward when the grooves started flowing and then the dancing began in earnest.
What a wonderful feeling, to be bouncing around to some beautiful music and seeing all these happy smiling faces everywhere you turn. Rank1 was a highlight of my night and of my trip and I hope to one day see them again.
