Allen Watts turns John O’Callaghan’s “Music Takes Me Higher” into a harder-edged 140 BPM uplifting Trance weapon, preserving the vocal emotion of the original while surrounding it with darker tension and more peak-time impact. Released via Subculture on October 2, 2026, the remix gives an already powerful vocal record a distinctly different job on the dance floor.
Allen Watts gives the uplift a darker engine
John O’Callaghan’s original “Music Takes Me Higher” hardly lacked energy. Released in September 2025, it paired a direct, memorable vocal with the melodic lift and driving production expected from the Subculture boss. Allen Watts therefore faces the more interesting remix challenge: not fixing the record, but finding another purpose for it.
His answer is pressure.
The remix retains the central vocal and emotional payoff while giving the track a darker, tougher foundation. The tempo remains at 140 BPM, but where the original is listed in F major, Watts moves his remix into D minor. That tonal change immediately shifts the balance away from uncomplicated euphoria and toward tension, drive and a more aggressive peak-time feel.
The vocal remains the emotional centre
That contrast works because Watts leaves the song’s strongest identifier intact.
Hailey J’s vocal carries a deliberately simple message about the way music can lift the listener beyond the moment. She is not named in the release title, but is credited as vocalist and co-writer alongside John O’Callaghan and Paul Skelton on the original recording.
Rather than competing with that hook, Watts builds around it. The tougher rhythm section and darker harmonic environment increase the tension, making the return of the vocal and melodic elements feel even more expansive.
It is a familiar Trance technique, but an effective one: the darkness exists to make the light hit harder.
Allen Watts brings his peak-time identity to Subculture
The production also feels completely consistent with Allen Watts’ current output.
Throughout 2026, his catalogue has repeatedly occupied the faster end of Main Floor Trance, frequently around 140–143 BPM and occasionally crossing directly into Tech Trance territory. “Music Takes Me Higher” sits naturally inside that world without losing the melodic DNA of a John O’Callaghan record.
That balance is important. Watts does not turn the track into an anonymous tech-trance workout. The remix still sounds like “Music Takes Me Higher”; it simply reaches the destination with more force.
The record had already started finding that peak-time context before release, appearing on A State of Trance 1296 on September 24 alongside some of the harder Trance selections in the show.
TranceAttack verdict
The clever thing about Allen Watts’ remix is that it understands what does not need changing.
The vocal remains memorable. The emotional message remains intact. The uplifting payoff is still the reason the record works.
What changes is everything underneath it.
Watts adds darker tension, greater physical weight and the kind of peak-time drive that gives DJs a genuine alternative to John O’Callaghan’s original rather than simply another version of the same idea.
Released barely more than a year after the original, this is not a nostalgic reinterpretation. It is a functional reframe: the same emotional core, rebuilt for a tougher part of the night.
⭐️ Rating 9 / 10
🎧 Perfect for
- Peak-time Trance sets
- Festival moments
- High-energy vocal sections
- DJs looking for uplifting emotion with a harder edge
Release details:
Artist: John O’Callaghan, Allen Watts
Track: Music Takes Me Higher (Allen Watts Remix)
Style: Uplifting Trance
BPM: 140
Label: SubCulture
Release Date: October 02nd, 2026
Get your copy here: https://subculture.lnk.to/MusicWatts
Connect with John O’Callaghan:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnocallaghanofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joc81
X: https://www.twitter.com/jocofficial
Connect with Allen Watts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllenWattsMusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allenwattsmusic
X: https://www.twitter.com/AllenWattsMusic
Connect with SubCulture:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SubcultureJOC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/subculturejoc
X: https://www.twitter.com/SubcultureJOC
