Along with Epyx & Cyrez’s retirement earlier this year, Aryx’s decision to stop freeform production has to be the biggest news of 2014 so far. While I’m sure we all wish him well as he heads off to pastures new, his absence will be another massive loss to the freeform.

Thank goodness for last year’s Munted! in London then, as I finally had the chance to play on the same lineup after out first meeting at 10 Years of FINRG. An unbiased observer* said that ours were the two best sets of the night, and it was an honour to be pushing our styles together in an unfamiliar outpost of the scene.

I say our styles – but while I’ve been neglecting production in order to diddle away the years on DJ sets, Aryx has done the hard work to go from a total rookie to one of the very finest freeform artists so far. His The End of All Things remix remains a stupendous track that transports me back to Lahti every time I hear it, but any artist would also kill to have tunes like Chaldea, Morokai, and Polaris on their CV.

Add in the fact that Aryx is one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet, and I’m sure I’m not the only one hoping that we’ll one day see him back in the scene. For now, let’s enjoy Byrgius, and look forward to his next (trance?) tracks in his new guise.

*aka my younger brother