Trance anyone?!

[Ar7]

Anybody like Trance music? I believe that Trance is the symphony music of the future. Of course many think that it is just computer sounds that the people dance to after they take some drugs, but they are seriously wrong. Trance has a melody, it builds itself through the song, reaching a peak and then slowly declining, resolving in a perfect harmony, the best music out there. Especially when you compare it to Rap or Pop or stuff like Britney Spears

So whacha all think

[Byzantine Prince]

I most definetly agree with you. It is kind of like the classical music our generation. People that say "oh it's just conputer sounds" are wrong as you said. So what if the computer makes them. Computers are just another form technology just like all the musical organs used in the classical period. It's the same thing.

Especially when you compare it to Rap or Pop or stuff like Britney Spears

If you listen to all rap, pop and most Britney tracks what do you notice? They are all made up from electronic sounds. Without the rapping and singing what do you notice. It's our generation's classical soundtrack.

[Togakure]

I love a lot of the trance music I've heard. One album I have, I like in particular--it's a tribute to Depeche Mode, but all trance in style, by various artists. It's great. A few years ago I went out and bought a bunch of trance records without knowing who was good and who wasn't. I enjoyed most of what I found. I tend to put it on when I'm programming or doing similar cerebral work.

I don't know if they'd be considered Trance, but they're close. Ever heard of a group from Germany called Hard Floor? I found a CD in a used CD store and decided to try it because it looked interesting. I LOVED it, and promptly bought several other records by them. The one I bought first, I like best. It's called RESPECT. Cool sounds, trippy rhythms, patterns that repeat in an exceptionally cool way. Highly recommended if you like Electronica/Trance.

[Ar7]

Just one correction. If you take the words out of rap, pop etc, you will not have anything compared to Trance, sure it will be a collection of electronic sounds, but it will just be a simple bass line and some enchantments to it. While trance has a much more complicated and melodic structure. Trance focuses on the music, while others focus on words, and with the words being as they are....*cough* Britney Spears *cough*... pretty simplistic and boring.

Another thing that is great about Trance is the fact that is not overly commercial, most people compose because they want to make good music and not because some producer made them a star. So it is music because of music, not because they need to clip an X amount of songs to release another album.

[Byzantine Prince]

One Trance/electronica song I love is Rapture by the artist Paul Van Dyk. Try to download it, it's an amazing song.


I also love Depeche Mode. I just recently found out about them though so they are still fresh. MAster and Servant is a great song, especially for me since I'm a fan of S'n'M, lol.

[Hetman_Koronny]

Transe is my personal fav for any party, though I do not listen to it daily. Good post Ar7, I share your feelings about trance

[Ar7]

Transe is my personal fav for any party, though I do not listen to it daily. Good post Ar7, I share your feelings about trance

Good to know somebody agrees

[Dramicus]

I have over 45 hours worth of Trance and Techno music on my portable mp3 player, I listen to it almost all the time, especially whenever Im doing work or writing stuff.

Ive had some people refer to it as "video game music" lol. Then I have them actually listen to it and next thing you know they are buying trance cds

Once this rap and punk wave dies down, techno will be the next big thing you know its true... All the movies about the future have people listening to techno

[Shottie]

What is a good trance song that I can DL and listen to? Because I havnt heard any before.

[Fragony]

Not really fond of trance, I like the good old hard as nails techno. Trance has too much melody, the beauty of house-music is in the rythem.

[Mr Durian]

This just reminds me, there is an absolutely amazing band called
"E.S. Posthumus". They use a combination of chorus and trance/electronic. I highly recommend getting their album "Unearthed". One of the best songs is called ebla.

And if you like trance, try the artist "Infected Mushroom". They're from Israel, they some really good songs.

[Ar7]

What is a good trance song that I can DL and listen to? Because I havnt heard any before.

Well after going through my large library I decided to choose one song to recommend, if I would have chosen more the list would be endless, kind of hard to stop Anyways, try to get Nu Nrg - Free fall ( either the song itself or the album named after it, with another 12 songs ), this is a real classic and is really "trancy" so to say, it describes the genre really nicely.

@Dramicus

I know what you mean, it is not normal when I do not have my player in my ears

[Hosakawa Tito]

Is it similar to "Topographic Oceans" by Yes, or the electric violin pieces by Jean Luc Ponte?

[Togakure]

Not really fond of trance, I like the good old hard as nails techno. Trance has too much melody, the beauty of house-music is in the rythem.

Melody? Hmm, maybe what I know of as Trance here is not considered Trance where you are. Trance, as I am familiar with it, is predominantly rhythm--a collection of simple motifs, introduced a few at a time, that interact with each other in unobtrusive and yet fascinating rhythmic ways (if it's good Trance). The pieces often begin quietly, building in both complexity and intensity, then cycling back to where they began in a fairly predictable pattern. Often common throughout is a persistent kick drum on the quarter note, removed at intro, and after the central climax (I'm generalizing here, but it is a common Trance form). Tempos are usually medium fast to fast, but not driving like techno can be sometimes. The best Trance has an almost hypnotic effect on the listener as long as one doesn't concentrate too hard when listening to it--hence the term Trance. It is usually much more repetitive than the average techno, smoother and using sounds that are "easier" on the ears. Trance rhythms don't usually interrupt as often as do Techno rhythms.

Anyway, I was surprised at the mention of melody, because there is very little melody in the Trance with which I am familiar. "Melodic" trance would be interesting, but for me--given my intense attraction to nice melodies--it would cease to be trance-like if melodies were present. They would focus my attention.

[Ar7]

Trance has melody, Trance is usually divided into Hard, Melodic/Uplifting and Goa Trance. When you listen to melodic trance, yes it has elements that repeat, but they do in a way that make a melody evolve through the song. As you said, it begins slow with an intro, then the main melodic theme is introduced and it becomes clearer and more intense as the time passes and then fades away as the song ends. This all makes a certain melody, harmony if you will. If it is good melodic trance, then after listeting through a whole track you can certainly remember a melody, unlike techno, where there are short synth sounds repeating themselves at a very fast basis, making it more energetic and "hard" but in my opinion it also lacks a certain feeling that would make the track seem like a whole.

Perhaps you do not understand me, I find it hard to explain as I have no musical education, but melodic trance certainly gives a good feeling while listening too it, I think harmony is the right word. Of course many people think that "machine music" can not have a melody, but that is their opinion.

Perhaps I understand melody differently from other people, but for me there is a melody in trance

[Togakure]

Very interesting. I have not heard any new Trance in several years. My Trance phase was maybe 3-4 years ago or so. Hard Trance is a term with which I am familiar. I have not heard, or heard of, Melodic/Uplifting or Goa Trance. Do you have any recommendations for these types of Trance, so that I may get an idea of what they sound like?

"Remembering a melody"--yes, this is different from the Trance I have heard, in which there isn't really much that stays in your mind after a song is finished, except maybe the rhythm and the unusual sounds. I would be interested to here Melodic Trance; As I mentioned, I am a big fan of good melodies (there are so many bad ones I hear nowadays, lol).

Maybe what I know as Trance here is Hard Trance or more Techno than Trance. Based on your description, it sounds like it. Admittedly, Trance/Techno are not something I listen to frequently, just occasionally. I am definitely no expert about them, just a fan.

[Ar7]

Good examples of melodic trance are, as I have mentioned earlier, Nu Nrg - Free fall and Nu Nrg - Butterfly, they should give an actual example of what I am trying to say here, though of course there are many more.

As for Goa, I can not comment on it as I do not like it at all. It totally differs from any other trance and to be honest I can not give any example of it. But you can try www.di.fm for an example.

I am also not an expert at dividing them all into categories, it is often quite hard. For me it doesn't matter much, if I like it, I listen to it.

[Togakure]

Is it similar to "Topographic Oceans" by Yes, or the electric violin pieces by Jean Luc Ponte?

Hmm ... it's been AGES since I listened to Yes or JLP, but I would say that they are not like Trance at all. Trance is an offshoot of modern-day electronica. I was trying to think of an old-school rock song that had elements of Trance in it, but I've been having trouble.

There is one song from "Dark Side of the Moon" that has elements of Trance in it. I think it's called "On the Run." There is a rapid, cycling arpeggiator playing throughout, with recorded sound effects mixed in. If you removed the sound effects, introduced a Roland TR-707-like electronic dance beat, and tailored the song so that it began sparsely, introduced simple new things a bit at a time, climaxed (maybe a few sound effects here) and then de-evolved back to where it began, then you would have a Trance-like song. I guess.

Prolly the best thing is to tap into the link AR7 has provided and just listen to some. Describing music with words is a tuff nut.