Song to get you through the weekend: "Seven Cities" by Solar Stone

Remember 2000? Back then I lived in NoVA, had an unspectacular steady job, and proclaimed to be a DJ - it was much more of a bedroom hobby than a paying gig, really - and one of my favorite songs at the time was "Seven Cities" by Solar Stone. I primarily spun hip-hop, drum 'n' bass, and Big Beat (why must subgenres have to die?), but I found this pop trance song irresistible. Sure it follows the standard formula for this radio/club-friendly type of music: a pulsating, relentless techno beat that leads to a quiet, syrupy melodic breakdown, only to build to a glorious climax*. But it does so expertly.

I had first heard "Seven Cities" on a Paul Oakenfold/Fatboy Slim mix CD and bought the vinyl single right away. It's funny that until today when I found this video and watched it for the first time, I never knew that this song had vocals. I only was familiar with the instrumental remixes. While I believe that the lyrics obscure the simple beauty of the music, I figured it was best to post the original video rather than a boring fan vid (do check out that superior mix, though, if you have six minutes to kill).

Today, my turntables are in storage and my many crates of records are gathering dust, but I still love this song.

*Kind of like a date with me, now that I think about it.