Released in November 1997 on Rotterdam's Massive Drive label, "Greece 2000" is the work of Dutch duo Three Drives (On A Vinyl) — Ton van Empel and Erik de Koning. It is, structurally, almost nothing: a rolling progressive groove, a two-chord bed, and one ascending riff. That riff, however, happens to be perfect, and the record has spent nearly three decades proving it.
The track found its spiritual home on the Ibiza terraces — those open-air morning sessions where a patient build and a sunrise are the whole show — before the UK caught up. Licensed to the mighty Hooj Choons, it cracked the UK Top 20 in 1998 and became a fixture of every trance and progressive compilation of the era. Remix packages have arrived in waves ever since, but the original mix remains the version DJs reach for when the sky starts turning pink.
"Greece 2000" is the archive's purest example of the less-is-more school of Dutch trance: no vocal, no gimmick, no second idea needed. One riff, endlessly rising — and a room full of people rising with it.