Occupying a singular place in the genre’s history, ‘Need To Feel Loved’ is the trance anthem that was never meant to be. Caught between the emphatic prog house intentions of its producers and a trance remix that supercharged it to classic status, it was released on the cusp of an evolutionary moment in Cosmic Gate’s history.

Bossi from the group elaborates: “the release of the original ran in almost complete parallel with a time our sound was undergoing its first significant change. During pre-production on ‘Earth Mover’, the depth and emotional complexity of ‘Need To Feel Loved’ was highly influential on Nic & I. For their interpretation Cosmic Gate spent many an hour forensically re-exploring what made ‘Need To Feel Loved’ so unique. “What was most important to us in reinterpreting it, says Nic Chagall, was that we didn’t retrace any musical ground already covered. What we’ve come up with gives us the perfect new version to play on the 20 years tour!”

Their mix brings drum, percussion & depth charge bass, which prefaces its deliberately elegiac pianoforte and Thomas Newman’s almost impossibly moving Road To Perdition strings. Break-side it equalises with trance synth shimmer, LFO-generated sub riffs and the heartfelt chime of its mainline. To do full and complete justice to their version, an extraordinary vocal from a singer of singular and very specific tone was required. The search ended in Holland at the door of Forêt. The very epitome of ‘bittersweet’, her quiet implore, mixed with the unending reach of her delivery swings an emotional wrecking ball through the track’s heart.

The next piece of Cosmic Gate’s 20 years celebrations (more info on which here) is in place and ready to stream/purchase here. Having already touched Australia, phase-2 dates for the 20 Years tour, which continues through to the early summer, have just been announced. They’ll see Cosmic Gate make a return to Ultra in Miami, alongside much requested dates in New York, London, Moscow, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. Full details and tickets available here.

Upcoming 'Forward Ever, Backward Never' tour dates:

Feb 15 Dom Pechati Yekaterinburg, Russia Tickets
Feb 16 O2 Green Concert St Petersburg, Russia Tickets
Feb 23 Jaarbeurs Utrecht, Netherlands Tickets
Mar 01 The Showbox Seattle, United States Tickets
Mar 02 Harbour Event Centre Vancouver, Canada Tickets
Mar 08 Gothic Theatre Englewood, United States Tickets
Mar 09 The Regency Ballroom SF, United States Tickets
Mar 14 NOTO Philadelphia, United States Tickets
Mar 15 Concord Music Hall Chicago, United States Tickets
Mar 16 RYSE Nightclub St Charles, United States Tickets
Mar 22 Stereo Live Houston Houston, United States Tickets
Mar 23 Stereo Live Dallas Dallas, United States Tickets
Mar 31 Miami Marine Stadium Miami, United States Tickets
Apr 05 Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, United States Tickets
Apr 12 Avant Gardner Brooklyn, United States Tickets
Apr 20 Клуб 1930 Moscow, Russia Tickets
Apr 21 Bootshaus Köln, Germany Tickets
Apr 26 Colosseum Jakarta Kota Jakarta Barat, Indonesia Tickets
May 03 Ministry of Sound London, United Kingdom Tickets
May 04 Levazım Mah. Beşiktaş, Turkey Tickets
Jun 21 Expo Center Trenčín, Slovakia Tickets
Jul 21 Tomorrowland Boom, Belgium Tickets
Jul 21 Parookaville Weeze, Germany Tickets