Gabriel & Dresden

San Franciscan trance duo Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden first appeared on the scene in 2001, at the peak of the U.S. electronica boom. Dresden was a DJ with 15 years’ experience who had grown up on new wave, alternative, and industrial dance; Gabriel was a CalArts music graduate and computer wunderkind who had pioneered loop-based music composition with his software Mixman.
The pair met at the Miami Winter Music Conference, where Gabriel was handing out his debut single to DJs. Dresden passed the single to Pete Tong, for whom he was working as a talent scout; Tong loved it and played it on his show. When Tong later asked Dresden to do a remix for him, the DJ called up Gabriel to help him work on it, and their collaboration was born. The pair started out as remixers before releasing their debut single, “Lament,” in 2002. The following year, they broke big with “As the Rush Comes,” an international smash they recorded under the name Motorcycle, a trio with vocalist Jes. Their remix of “Beautiful Things,” a track by Gabriel’s side project Andain, also became a huge hit.
In 2004, Gabriel & Dresden signed to Nettwerk, featuring prominently on the label compilation Bloom, which they compiled and mixed. Their eponymous debut artist album was released in 2006. Showcasing their pop/rock-influenced, song-based style, it produced the hit singles “Tracking Treasure Down” and “Dangerous Power.” The mix album Toolroom Knights, Vol. 2 followed in 2007. The duo took home the Best American DJ award at the Miami Winter Music Conference two years in a row before splitting amicably in 2008 to focus on solo careers.
They reunited in 2011, initially only for a series of festival appearances, but continued working together. That year they released the mix album Mixed for Feet, Vol. 1 through Armada. They continued to play live, host a monthly Internet radio show, and sporadically release singles before launching a crowdfunding campaign in 2016 so they could record a second album. Upon its completion, Gabriel & Dresden signed to Above & Beyond’s Anjunabeats label for the record’s release. Entitled The Only Road and issued in December 2017, it continued the song-based approach of its predecessor but featured a more retro, synth pop-inspired style. The duo also crowdfunded their third album, which arrived much quicker than their second. Remedy was released in 2020, once again through Anjunabeats. Recorded in their isolated studio in Spokane, Washington, it took inspiration from the calming power of nature and featured vocals from Sub Teal, Jan Burton, and Centre. ~ John D. Buchanan