Activa - Origins

On the surface ‘Origins’ origin story is a relatively straightforward one. “Its main theme, states Activa is to re-represent the music I grew up with. Throughout ‘Origins’ production, I always knew I wanted the release to work in a dual capacity. Both as a traditionally laid out artist album, that someone could move in & out of as their mood takes, but also as something that could be experienced mixed, as a start-through-finish one. The structure of that version on the release is highly representative of the music compilations I listened to and was inspired by in my youth”, Rob says.

This though is only half its story. It’s the motivation behind the motivation that makes ‘Origins’ that much more intriguing (and arguably even unique). Essentially, for Stevenson, the album is something of a do-over - a go-around or perhaps even ‘a second run’. Contextually, Rob’s production career began after the trance space race had already been won - its ‘moonshot’ certified. To a degree, he was caught in its second substantial producer wave - a time when enthusiasm & access were skyrocketing. 

Rob is the first to admit that he wasn’t immune to this. As with many, production values weren’t always in step with quality. It’s something that sticks regularly in the gut of many an artist – both inside the genre and out. Unlike others though, it was something that he couldn’t get past and felt compelled to address. Rather then than remix/re-master his tracks of old, he decided to record an album that tonally had its head in the heyday game, but with production capabilities, 20 years more progressed and finessed.

Tracklist

1. Activa - For Emily
2. Activa & Lo - Leave A Light On
3. Activa & Rolo Green featuring Julie Harrington - Reach Out
4. Activa & Orkidea - Z21 (Activa’s ‘Origins' Mix)
5. Activa - Let Them Know
6. Activa - Fade From View
7. Activa & Shelley Segal - Fall In
8. Activa - Journey Home
9. Activa - Anamara
10. Activa & Shannon Hurley - Return To Life
11. Activa - Into Pieces
12. Activa & John Dopping - A Future Memory (Activa’s ‘Origins’ Mix)
13. Activa - Polestar
14. Activa & Jennifer Rene - Stranger
15. Activa - Epilogue [Outro]