The music of Evan Pearce holds a special place in trance history. Sonically pristine and conceptually rich, each of his songs provide a euphoric escape that has helped him capture the hearts of tastemakers the world over.
Between releases on such record labels as Black Hole Recordings, Armada Music and Vandit Records, four of his tracks have placed in the Beatport Trance top 10 – and over 20 have found their way into the top 30. His accolades as a producer have afforded him opportunities to perform as a DJ throughout North America as well as Europe and Asia. His music has gained the support of such trance heavyweights as Armin van Buuren, Aly & Fila, Paul van Dyk, Sean Tyas and Simon Patterson – and two of his songs even appeared on Ministry of Sound compilations.
Born Evan Pearce Dackerman in Los Angeles, California before relocating to Denver, Colorado, his journey through trance couldn’t have blossomed from a more picture-perfect origin point. While attending a boarding school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he overheard “Children” by Robert Miles while walking by the dorm room of a German student who then taught him the ins and outs of the genre.
Pearce immediately knew that he wanted to pursue music as a career, so he attended Point Blank Music School in London shortly after graduating high school. When he returned to Colorado, he landed a weekly residency at a local nightclub called The Snake Pit which has gone by the names Beauty Bar and Pearl’s in years since. On the local level, however, his big break arrived when he participated in local promoter Triad Dragons’ 15 Minutes of Fame competition at The Church Nightclub, which put him on the radar of Denver promoters.
It wasn’t long until he had delivered DJ sets at local fixtures like Beta Nightclub, Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Club Vinyl and Casselman’s Bar and Venue in addition to music festivals like Caffeine, Glo, Frostbite, Global Dance Festival and Hallowfreaknween. He landed his first out-of-town gig at Seattle nightclub Trinity in 2012, and went on to perform at Therapy Miami during Winter Music Conference the same year as well as Studio Paris in Chicago, Exchange in Los Angeles, and Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. His career even took him overseas in 2013 as he embarked on a short Malaysian tour before performing one-off gigs at Ibiza mainstays Tropi Trance Bar and Es Paradis, the latter of which was a headlining set during an edition of Judge Jules’ Judgement Fridays series.
Parallel to his DJing, Pearce also built the sort of discography that aspiring electronic music producers dream of. He adopted the moniker Tangle and launched the duo Tangle & Mateusz to release a series of remixes and originals that would establish them as a force to be reckoned with in the world of trance.
Tangle & Mateusz’ first release was a two-track EP consisting of the tracks “Evergreen” and “Solstice” which came out on High Contrast Recordings in 2012. The former reached the 70s on the Beatport Trance Top 100, and the latter received support from superstar DJ and producer Markus Schulz. A major turning point came when the duo remixed Lange and Gareth Emery’s “Another You Another Me.” Despite it being an unofficial remix both artists supported it on their radio shows and Lange requested that they produce original singles for his own label. Also, their remix of Heatbeat’s “Chow Mein” came out on Armada Captivating.
Pearce also came out with solo releases on another Armada sub label called IHU Records. In addition, he released singles titled “Azure” and “Kimberly” through Black Hole Recordings sub label Tytanium Recordings in addition to a song called “Sahara” through Jordan Suckley’s own artist label Damaged. He also released numerous tracks through both Paul van Dyk’s Vandit Records and through Lange Recordings, the most notable on each being “Vertigo” and “Firebird,” respectively.
Further expanding his influence as one of trance’s more enterprising minds, he went on to launch his own artist label, Tangled Audio. The brand saw enough success that he was able to sell it to Alter Ego Recordings and it still provides a platform for up-and-coming talent to this day.
When you hear Pearce’s productions, his long list of accomplishments makes perfect sense. Between heavily layered melodies and raw, distorted bass lines, his soundscapes speak to his keen attention to detail as a musician. Most importantly, his sense of storytelling as a DJ and producer enables him to work within the confines of trance in such a way that he captures the emotional intelligence of the genre in a way that few can.
After signing to Heatbeat’s AERYS Records (a sub label of Armada Music) in 2017, Evan Pearce will build on his repertoire with a series of solo releases sure to take the electronic music world by storm. Count him among your artists to watch as the rest of his story unfolds.
