Stayin' Alive

Top one, nice one, get sorted. Ah, the '90s revival is well and truly back with a vengeance. N-Trance is the proverbial 'blast from the past' thanks to their international hits in the '90s like oh-so-cheesy cover versions of the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive, Rod Stewart's Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? and Ottawan's D.I.S.C.O. Brings back memories, right?

The difficulty with covering disco classics in an entertaining but partisan way is it tends to define a group's sound and leaves little wriggle room to change punters' perception. Luckily, for early ravers N-Trance, they're probably remembered for their rave classic and ultimate whistle posse anthem, Set You Free, which arrived before the disco covers. “It's such a great track and sounds just as fresh today as it did when we first released it. Whenever it gets played in clubs it always destroys dancefloors,” tells founding member Kevin O'Toole.

O'Toole and Dale Longworth formed early rave outfit N-Trance back in 1990 after they met at college where they studied sound engineering. Around the same time, teenagers were getting wet and sticky in warehouses, dancing their chops off to acid house and hardcore. So N-Trace got in on the act with their first foray into the world of electronic music – a remix of a kids' TV show tune, Roobarb.

Despite going under a variety of monikers, they eventually settled on N-Trance and recorded what would be a monster hit, Set You Free, in 1992. However, after record label troubles and a measly chart position of 83 in the UK singles chart, it took another two release attempts for Set You Free to catch on. But catch on it did, as in 1995 it became a colossal hit. It reached number two on the UK singles chart and became a worldwide hit. O'Toole laughs, “We always knew it was a good record and it was a case of believing in it and believing in ourselves. It became bigger than we ever thought it would.”

Although the linage from disco to house, house to rave and everything else has been told numerous times, the direction N-Trance took next was a surprise: they covered the Bee Gees. “For some artists they may get a bit apprehensive about things like that but we like to make fun of each other and do fun things,” tells O'Toole. True, their cover of Stayin' Alive became an international hit but it would define their sound, largely thanks to the larger-than-life 'rapper' Ricardo Da Force, formerly of KLF fame.

Although all has been relatively quiet on the N-Trance front, O'Toole and Longworth have been as active as a marathon runner. Around 2006 they released So Much Love To Give under the alias Freeloaders, with an album, Freshly Squeezed, released via digital download.

After a few N-Trance albums, more singles, more solo ventures, departures and reunions, N-Trance reformed – or re-invented themselves, in 2009 with a new singer, Lynsey-Jane Barrow, and the return of Longworth. Barrow says she joined the group after a stint Down Under. “At the time I was travelling in Australia, doing the back-packer thing, when I heard N-Trance was advertising for a singer. I got the plane back to England and luckily became the new singer,” she tells.

Fast-forward to 2012 and the former ravers are about to tour Australia. “We'll test the water with our new material,” tells Barrow. “The reaction so far has been position and hopefully everyone will like our new music.”

An album is in the pipeline that will feature a mix of genres, including dubstep. “There are no covers on our album as it's all new material,” insists O'Toole.

So what next? Can the '90s nostalgia fest keep going? “The sky's the limit for us as dance music doesn't stop evolving. If we replicate what we had in the '90s we'll be happy,” he laughs.