All Photos by: Mike Elezovic for Pacha NYC
In recent months, Pacha NYC has brought world-class trance DJs to the decks on Thursdays. Finally, on May 31st, it was Kyau & Albert’s turn to grace the stage with their presence. Kyau & Albert are two of my favorite trance producers, and I was excited to finally see them live. The trance masters played a monster set that proved why Kyau & Albert are some of the best in the business. The duo unleashed an electrified set full of hot trance tracks and their own originals.
Based in Germany, Ralph Kyau and Steven Moebius Albert are a couple of the biggest names in trance. Over the years, they have developed a reputation for being brilliant producers, having releases on some of the biggest trance labels in the world. “Let Me In,” their first single, was released in 1996. In 1997, Kyau & Albert founded the record label Euphonic, which is the longest running trance label in the world. They were known as Kyau vs. Albert until 2006, when they began performing under the name Kyau & Albert. Ralph and Steven became known for writing and singing their own songs. For years, Above & Beyond played their tracks on the radio as well as in live sets, and they continue to do so. Kyau & Albert’s 2011 album “15 years” celebrated 15 years on the scene. The album featured floor-smashing songs like the Arty remix of “Are You Fine,” Kyau & Albert’s 2011 rework of their classic “Always A Fool,” and the Ronski Speed remix of “Megashira.”
Danny Veltri, the opener for the night, played an excellent warm up set. His progressive house set got us in the mood to dance. Although there were few people in the room at the beginning of the night, we were enjoying ourselves early on. Danny kept it interesting by playing songs with catchy melodies and groovy rhythms.
At 1 AM, I noticed Kyau & Albert appear in the DJ booth to begin 
setting up. After the last song of the opening set was finished, there was a brief silence. Everyone cheered in anticipation. The two men from Germany had us jumping up and down from the very first song. Their first track was the immediately recognizable “Nothing Inside” by Sander van Doorn. “Nothing Inside” has quickly become a favorite among house DJs, and the emotional break in the middle of the song made it an excellent opening track for Ralph and Steven. At this time, the floor was well populated, but not too crowded. It allowed for plenty of space to dance around when the bass dropped. The LEDs on the DJ booth flashed “Kyau & Albert” in large letters, causing us to shout out their names.
Kyau & Albert carried on by dropping another house bomb in the form of Axwell’s remix of “In My Mind,” by Ivan Gough, Feenixpawl and Georgi Kay. This tune drew a number of cheers from the crowd. The duo then decided to crank it up with the Arty remix of the duo’s Euphonic hit, “Are You Fine?” This was the first trance song of the night, and we showed our appreciation by shouting out and singing along. Kyau and Albert sang along as well.
Kyau and Albert stunned the crowd with their beautiful track entitled “The Box.” This new trancer had everyone smiling and moving to the music. The colorful lights and strobes complimented the uplifting melody of the track. Then came Rafael Frost’s “Channel 4,” a tune that has been doing serious damage to dance floors in recent months. Armed with a deadly bass line and a stunning melody, “Channel 4” had us dancing harder than ever. The two DJs put their hands up and smiled as we continued to dance.
Ralph and Steven dropped their remix of Above & Beyond’s “You Got To Go.” This remix has been a crowd favorite, and has made frequent appearances in Above & Beyond’s live sets. Pacha’s large room gave us ample space to dance around like freaks. We put this room to good use when Kyau & Albert played their beautiful track called “A Night Like This,” one of my favorites from them. Excited fans happily sang along to the lyrics. Kyau & Albert were on fire and we loved it!
Halfway through their set, they turned up the heat with the Ronski Speed remix of “Megashira, ” released on Euphonic records. We found the gritty bass line impossible not to dance to. After that, the duo hit us with Cosmic Gate’s mega hit, “Be Your Sound.” Once again, we sang along as the LED screens filled the room with bright lights. From the smiles on the faces of the people in the crowd, it was easy to tell that Kyau & Albert were taking us on an amazing journey.
The dynamic duo continued on with their amazing remix of Ronski Speed and Stine Grove’s “Run to the Sunlight.” The rolling bass line and excellent vocals had me in high spirits. Kyau & Albert were having fun in the DJ booth, dancing and waving their arms. The two DJs hammered out the famous Mat Zo remix of their “Be There 4 U.” This track was one of the hottest tunes of 2011, and has been used by many top DJs to bring the house down.
Around 3am, Kyau & Albert finished with “Witness,” a new track by Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren and Rank1. This stunning vocal track was a great way for the German duo to end an amazing two-hour set. Near the end of “Witness,” Bissen took the stage. Bissen is a local wonder with several releases under his own name, and is known for his exciting trance sets. Bissen has a long track record of success, releasing several floor shaking tracks, such as “The Vault,” and “Exhale.” The fact that he produced award-winning music for over 120 national and international television shows and commercials is a testament to Bissen’s talent. The last time I saw Bissen, he played an outstanding set at D36. He delivered the goods once more at Pacha with a thrilling closing set. Pounding out some massive trance tracks, Bissen kept us dancing until the very end. Before I knew it, the lights came on and it was time to leave. However, we weren’t quite ready to go home yet. We cheered “one more song,” and Bissen obliged. After he finished, he received a round of applause from satisfied fans. I left Pacha with a huge smile on my face.
Kyau & Albert were nothing short of phenomenal. Ralph and Steven showed us what over 15 years of collaboration can bring. The duo destroyed the dance floor an excellent trance set with a few house bombs sprinkled in. They kept us jumping and dancing the entire time. When we weren’t singing along, we were dancing hard. Although Pacha was not jam packed, Kyau & Albert played as if they were performing in front of thousands. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I can’t wait to hear what Kyau & Albert have in store for us in the future.
-Jean-Luc Mosley for EDMNYC
Partial set list:
Sander van Doorn – Nothing Inside
Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl Feat. Georgi Kay – In My Mind (Axwell remix)
Kyau & Albert – Are You Fine? (Arty remix)
Gareth Emery – Saga
Arty – Open Air
Kyau & Albert – The Box
Rafael Frost – Channel 4
Kyau & Albert – This Love
Above & Beyond feat. Zoe Johnston – You Got To Go (Kyau & Albert remix)
Kyau & Albert – A Night Like This
Sander van Doorn – Chasin’
Kyau & Albert vs. Marc Marberg – Megashira (Ronski Speed remix)
Cosmic Gate – Be Your Sound
Ronski Speed – Run To The Sunlight (Kyau & Albert Remix)
Dash Berlin feat. Chris Madin – Silence In Your Heart
Kyau & Albert – Made of Sun (Stoneface and Terminal remix)
Kyau & Albert – Be There 4 U (Mat Zo remix)
Orjan Nilsen – Endymion
Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren with Rank1 – Witness
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