Trance
Trance was born in the early 1990s in Germany. The word »trance« in its original meaning describes a half-conscious state between awake and asleep where fantasy and emotions are easier accessible, a state of hypnotism. According to its name, trance tracks are atmospheric with monotonous, repetitive and hypnotic elements. Sometimes, trance is described as a »mix of techno and house« or a »mixture of 70s disco and 60s psychedelia«.
Typically, trance has a tempo between 128 and 150 bpm. The beats are similar to techno beats, i.e. 4-on-the-floor, offbeat hihat and snare/claps on beats 2 and 4. Other than techno, trance puts more emphasis on melodic and harmonic elements, usually preferably in minor keys, and often features one central hook. Further characteristics include pulsating arpeggios or arpeggiated synthesizer chords, long breakdowns or build-ups (often introduced by snare rolls) and the »Super Saw« sound by the Roland JP-8000 synthesizer. Also, classical influences can be found, i.e. strings or other acoustic instruments like guitar or piano.
Trance evolved from different genres like synthpop, hi-NRG, ambient, house and techno. Earliest roots can once again be found in the 1970s with German band Kraftwerk and tracks like »Autobahn« and »Trans Europe Express« as well as Giorgio Moroder's »I Feel Love« by Donna Summer. Artists like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Can with their atmospheric compositions can also be seen as genre predecessors. Schulze used the term »trance« in the titles for his albums »Trancefer« (1981) and »En=Trance« (1987) while British duo The KLF – known e.g. for »What Time is Love« (1988), »3 a.m. Eternal« (1989) or »Last Train to Trancentral (1990) – even called their music in general »pure trance«. Early examples of a trance-like sound are Illegal City's »Hypnotize« (1989) or »Papua New Guinea« (1991) by Future Sound of London, the latter actually being a breakbeat track yet featuring lots of typical trance elements like an atmospheric sound, hypnotic arpeggios and dreamy pianos.
Breeding ground for the trance genre was Frankfurt/M. in Germany, with artists like Rolf Ellmer aka Jam El Mar and Markus Löffel aka Mark Spoon. As duo Jam & Spoon they created kind of a genre blueprint with their 1992 track »Stella«. The same year they successfully remixed »The Age of Love« (Watch-Out-for-Stella- Remix) by Italian duo The Age of Love. International and commercial success came in 1993 with the track »Right in the Night (Fall in Love with Music)« and many more followed, e.g. their »Tripomatic Fairytales« albums. Ellmer was also part of the duo Dance 2 Trance (together with Dag Lerner aka DJ Dag), known for the genre classics »P.ower of A.merican N.atives« (1992) and »We Came in Peace« (1993). The new genre had become part of the »Sound of Frankfurt«. Eye Q Records, founded in 1992 by German techno pioneer Sven Väth, should become one of the most important genre labels, being home to important producers like Ralf Hildenbeutel or Steffen Britzke aka Stevie B-Zet as well as Matthias Hoffmann aka A.C. Boutsen – known for e.g. his 1994 tracks »Symmetry« (released under the alias Brainchild) or »The Orange Theme« (released under the alias Cygnus X) – and Oliver Lieb, whose 1994 track »Hearts« (released under the alias L.S.G.) is regarded as one of the trance classics of the 1990s. Another important Frankfurt trance label was FAX +49-69/450464, founded in 1992 by Peter Kuhlmann aka Pete Namlook, known e.g. for the 1993 track »Eternal Spirit« (released under the alias 4 Voice).
The other German hotspot for trance was Berlin. With his label MFS (Mastermind For Success), British musician, producer and manager Mark Reeder founded one of the most important trance labels in 1990. In 1992, MFS released the first trance compilation, »Tranceformed From Beyond«, including now-genre classics like »Perfect Day« by The Visions Of Shiva (consisting of Cosmic Baby and Paul van Dyk ) and »High on Hope« by Microglobe (an alias of Mijk van Dijk). Together with Kid Paul, Harald Blüchel aka Cosmic Baby also created one of the most-known trance tracks ever, »Café del Mar«, released under the alias Energy 52 in 1993. In 1994, his Visions Of Shiva partner Paul van Dyk released his debut album »45 RPM«, featuring the track »For An Angel«. When re-released in 1998, this track marked the international breakthrough for Paul van Dyk who would become one of the most successful djs/artists ever in trance or electronic dance music in general.
Despite Germany being regarded as the cradle of trance, the UK soon embraced the new sound. Simon Berry aka Art of Trance – known for his 1992 tracks »Two Full Moons And A Trout« (as Union Jack) and »Poltergeist« (as Vicious Circles) – founded the trance label Platypus in 1993. The same year, Paul Oakenfold hat a notable UK chart hit as part of the group Grace with the track »Not Over Yet« (and again when re-released as a remix under the alias Planet Perfecto in 1999). Other notable UK trance artists include Welsh dj/producer Sasha and Nicholas Bracegirdle aka Chicane whose 1996 debut single »Offshore« became an Ibiza trance anthem. In the second half of the 1990s, the Netherlands became important in the further development of trance, resulting in the euphoric, positive, fast and melodic »Dutch sound« which is mainly tied to the so-called »Three Musketeers of Dutch Trance«: Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren and Tijs Verwest aka Tiësto. Corsten’s notable 1999 hit »Out Of The Blue« (under the alias System F.) was a seminal track as it featured the so-called »SuperSaw« sound of the then-new Roland JP-8000 synthesizer which should become a staple for anthemic trance tracks. Armin van Buuren, often referred to as »King of Trance«, had his first success in 1997 with the track »Blue Fear« and in 2001 started his weekly radio show »A State Of Trance« where he presents the newest trance tracks in a two-hour set. Tiësto had his breakthrough in 2000 with his remix »Silence (DJ Tiësto In Search of Sunrise Remix)« of Delerium’s »Silence«, his debut album »In My Memory« (2001) was a big international success and his 2003 »Tiësto In Concert« was the first stadium gig of a solo dj with an audience of 25.000 people. As duo Gouryella, Tiësto and Ferry Corsten produced typical Dutch epic trance with tracks like »Gouryella«, »Walhalla« and »Tenshi«. Other notable Dutch genre artists/tracks include Signum (Pascal Minnaard and Ronald Hagen) and »What Ya Got 4 Me« (1997) as well as Rank 1 (consisting of Piet Bervoets and Benno de Goeij) and »Airwave« (2000).
Like house and techno, trance spawned several offsprings: apart from the aforementioned Dutch trance (aka uplifting trance or epic trance) hard trance, Goa trance, tech trance (e.g. »Hearts« by L.S.G. (1994)), acid trance ( e.g. »Your own Reality« (1997) or »Trance & Acid« (2002) by Kai Tracid), Ibiza trance aka Balearic trance (e.g. »Offshore« (1996) by Chicane or »9 PM (Till I Come)« (1998) by ATB), progressive trance (e.g. »Xpander« (1999) by Sasha), deep trance (e.g. »Elucidate« (1995) by Earth Nation) or dream house (e.g. »Children« by Robert Miles or »Seven Days And One Week« by B.B.E. (both 1996).
Trance had its heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s. Recent examples of successful trance tracks include »Gravity« (2019) and »Somebody Loves You« (2020) by Egyptian duo Aly & Fila, Italian dj/producer Giuseppe Ottaviani's »Magico« (with Armin van Buuren) and »Be The Angel«(with Lucid Blue) (both 2021) or »Feel It« and »Nothing To Hide« (with Dana Miro) (both 2021) by German veteran trance duo Cosmic Gate.
