ALPHA 9‘s story dates back to 2009. While simultaneously releasing under his primary handle of ARTY, Artem Stolyarov set out to construct an alter-ego to freely tap into the universe of progressive trance that he grew fond of growing up. And while he conceived a long-player under the ARTY umbrella in 2015—Glorious—the same wasn’t able to be said for ALPHA 9. That was until 2022 when the seeds for an extended ALPHA 9 effort were planted through ALPHA 9: The Story So Far, a three-disc compilation that took a journey down nostalgia lane which. Not even a month later and all album speculation was put to rest when ALPHA 9 capped off his slot during Above & Beyond’s milestone ABGT500 celebration at Los Angeles’ Banc of California Stadium with the declaration of the project’s debut Anjunabeats album New Horizons would be due on January 13.
As its title plainly suggests, New Horizons sees ALPHA 9’s narrative move into its next era, with him explaining that the LP bears “ALPHA 9’s signature, instantly recognizable sound, but it’s also future-facing and explores new horizons. It’s called New Horizons because it’s the journey from the first steps of ALPHA 9 to maturity.” Its trio of previews—”Calling” with Scorz and Tom Bailey, “Down to Love” with Dancing Astronaut Supernova Jonathan Mendelsohn, and “Final Frontier”—already set the wheels in motion to support that characterization. And on release day, New Horizon brings its tracklist to a total of 14, converting some IDs that listeners may also recognize from ABGT500—like one of Dancing Astronaut‘s most-anticipated IDs of 2023 “Letter To Beloved One” and also “Into The Unknown”—into building blocks of ALPHA 9’s album. New Horizons irreproachably encapsulates the matured form that he alludes towards, staying true to his early beginnings while modernizing his progressive trance reach and proving that even after almost a decade and a half, the ALPHA 9 project still has plenty to offer in the coming days, weeks, months, and years.
Stream all of New Horizons below.
Featured image: Jasmine Safaeian
