J Cannons & Apocalypto ft. Chris Arnott “Sweet Dreams” (Club Mix)

Drastic things are bound to happen when you lock Apocalypto and J Cannons in the same room together. In their own right, the two Aussies have been hammering out highly reactive numbers that have been diffusing across dancefloors in a festival-focused fury. So it seems almost unfair to let them team up on a tune. Yet here they are, handing over a whale of a big-room collab with enough spunk to put the most charged-up bangers to bed.

On “Sweet Dreams,” they take the uplifting feels to full capacity. The emotion-packed crooning of Chris Arnott flies high without any resistance, as the vocals float freely atop skittering basslines and airy chord progressions. The mainstage crowd will feel this one deep in the pits of their stomachs.

Available now via Vicious.

Was there one particular moment in the recording or mixing process of this track that made you feel as though you were creating something pretty damn special?
J Cannons: The moment we put the vocals over the track, it fit so well and gave me shivers. I turned up the speakers, and I could picture this being played in a big festival setting with the crowd singing along.

Describe the best setting/activity to hear this track.
Apocalypto: This is absolutely a festival mainstage, peak-time track—the energy the drop has, and the elegance of the vocal, makes it perfect for any DJ looking to get the crowd excited.

What’s your favorite sound/synth/effect/etc. used here?
A: The bassline on the drop is awesome. J Cannons created it and then I applied my processing on top of it to beef it up and make it tougher, and the result is something special.

J: I hate to say it, but Nexus… Nexus sometimes gets a bad rap from people; however, there are so many different sound sets for it available, it’s great. I very rarely use Nexus just on its own; I usually layer it up, add a variety of FX and reverb to make the sound come to life more. Nexus was used a bit in this track—mainly the big pluck lead in the breakdown, playing the big chords under the chorus. This was created using several sessions of Nexus, with lots of FX and some reverb. This is my favorite sound in the song by far; this is where I get shivers!

Choose one feeling that sums up this release, and describe it to us.
A: Pure joy. When I hear this track, I picture playing it to a festival full of punters, and it makes me happy.

J: Euphoria. The song makes me remember those days or nights when I’m out with my mates at a club or festival, and you hear a solid track and get that feeling!

Do you think advances in computer technology and gear have affected your creativity?
J: For sure. When I started making music around eight years ago, I used to sit there with Reason and make my sounds from scratch, spending whole days just making cool sounds and getting inspiration from that. Nowadays, with so many new synths/samplers with solid presets such as Xexus or Omnisphere, I can scroll through them and find inspiration from certain presets. Sometimes, you can make a whole song off the inspiration from that one preset. It’s also helped with reducing the total time that it takes to make a track.

Have you played this one out in any of your sets? If so, what was the response?
A: Yeah, I’ve been playing it every set for a while, before it had been previewed. I like to make sure I give everything a test in the club before it goes out. The reactions have been sick so far, and no one knew what it was. People were losing it to the drop; you can instantly feel the energy from it, even if you’ve never heard it before.

Buy “Sweet Dreams” on Vicious.