What Is Trance?
As the name suggests, trance music aims for a hypnotic state with a combination of hard, up-tempo, four-on-the-floor beats, arpeggiated sequences, and euphoric, anthem-like refrains. While trance gained popularity at both underground clubs and raves, the movement proliferated in countries such as the U.K., Belgium, Holland, and Germany, in tandem with the rise of ground-breaking talent such as Art of Trance, Jam and Spoon, and Sven Vath. The style gained popularity and play in European clubs such as Ministry of Sound, Ibiza, and Cream. Meanwhile in India, in the coastal state of Goa, a form of electronic dance known as Goa, or psychedelic trance, arose alongside an international backpacking community. Live acts such as Infected Mushroom characterized the sound with abrasive, repetitive, 4/4 rhythms and winding acid loops. During the ’90s, artists such as Sasha and John Digweed and hard-trance forefathers Pascal FEOS, DJ Scot Project, and Cosmic Gate helped trance diversify into different styles in the U.K., including progressive trance (synonymous with progressive house). New producers and remixers entered the fold of trance rather quickly with new forms and styles that embedded the melodic ’’epic’’ feel of the music style. Labels such as AM:PM, Manifesto, Perfecto, and Positiva Records championed the sound commercially and spawned the likes of U.S. producer and DJ Christopher Lawrence, who is today’s leading U.S. trance DJ alongside trance empress Sandra Collins.