Chicane

Most trance producers were building cathedrals of sound for the club, but Nick Bracegirdle was always chasing the sunset. As Chicane, he practically defined the sound of Balearic escape in the late ‘90s. His 1996 debut single, “Offshore,” felt less like a rave track and more like the end credits to a film you wished would never end. He solidified that cinematic approach with his biggest moments: sampling Clannad’s Máire Brennan for the ethereal lift of “Saltwater” and, most improbably, coaxing a heart-on-sleeve vocal from Bryan Adams on “Don’t Give Up.” Running his own Modena Records, Bracegirdle continues to craft that same feeling—a specific, widescreen euphoria that still feels like a secret whispered from an Ibiza shore.