André Tanneberger has been releasing music for over two decades now, and ever since his 1998 hit “9 PM (Till I Come)”, Tannenberger’s career has been one success after another. Working as a D.J. and producer under the name ATB, he was spent that time at the forefront of developments in modern trance music and was ranked No.1 on The DJ List in 2011.
That’s quite a career, and that kind of success doesn’t come without a fair few memorable hits. So today, we’ll be flashing back to 2004’s “Ecstasy” for a taste of noughties nostalgia that never gets old. Released on ATB’s fifth album, No Silence, “Ecstasy” is the kind of upbeat dance track you love to listen to. The song samples Jocelyn Enriquez’s “A little bit of Ecstasy” and includes vocals from regular ATB collaborator Tiff Lacey.
Musically speaking, the song is very much a product of its time. Think fast beats and high-pitched vocals. It’s all built around the chorus, in which Tannenberger utilizes a few slow notes on a keyboard to add a sense of depth to the melody. All of this combined makes for both a memorable and a dynamic sound.
In 2018, ATB released a remix titled the “Morten Granau Remix,” and the difference is instantly noticeable. The percussion and melody are now far more integrated into each other. The track also feels more willing to take its time, coming in at five minutes and fifty seconds, whereas the original was only three minutes and twenty-two seconds. No doubt, this freedom is partially a result of being a remix, but I think it also represents distinct changes in music.
The first is that, as a result of streaming and downloads, musicians are more accessible than ever before to take liberties with their music, no longer feeling constrained by the need to get their song down to that three-minute single sweet spot. Add to that the fact that, with equipment becoming increasingly affordable, more people than ever trying their hand a little DIY DJing, a few more bars of instrumental to play around with certainly don’t go a miss.
The second reason is that, perhaps due to those technological improvements, tastes have shifted in recent years, and audiences prefer spending a little more time with their favorite tracks.
In terms of the charts, “Ecstasy” was popular throughout Europe, reaching the top 100 in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary (both the Dance top 40 and the single top 40), and Poland. Kontor Records released it in Germany on July 5th, 2004, and Radikal Records in the U.S. on October 5th. It has remained internationally famous ever since, with over 19 million views for the official music video on YouTube.
Meanwhile, ATB has continued to play the music that’s blown us away. In the time since No Silence, he’s released six more albums. In addition, he’s continued to collaborate with Tiff Lacey, releasing tracks like “Humanity” (Seven Years), “Missing,” “My Everything,” and “Still Here” (Future Memories).
In 2021 he released “Your Love (9 PM)”, a remake of his first hit, “9 PM (Till I come)”. He collaborated on the track Swedish producer A7S and fellow German Topic. The song peaked at 42 on the U.K. official singles chart on February 5th, 2021.
To this day, “Ecstasy” remains both a nostalgia classic for anyone who heard it when it came out and a great introduction to early 2000s EDM for the younger generation. Just a glance across the YouTube comment sections is enough to see that all these years later, this song remains a classic to thousands of people from across the world.
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