Taken from www.beatportal.com

“The meaning of trance has been trashed,” John 00 Fleming tells Beatportal. With a DJ career spanning 20 years, there are few people out there more qualified than him to comment on the current state of trance.

“In the UK trance has become a commercial commodity and magazines and clubs are guilty of turning it into pop music.”

Never one to shy away from speaking out, John 00 Fleming is likely to upset a few folk – but J00F thinks sod it, it’s about time someone stands their ground and says what needs to be said.

“When trance first emerged in 1990 it was pure,” says John.

“But now it’s very difficult to find real trance – there’s so much music out there now that is labeled as trance, but how anyone can call it trance I don’t know.”

According to the online dictionary answers.com the word trance means ‘the condition of being so lost in solitary thought as to be unaware of one’s surroundings…a hypnotic, cataleptic, or ecstatic state.’

The term trance first came into common usage in dance music as a way to describe the type of electronic music that was emerging in underground clubs in the early 1990s – it was so powerful that it actually induced a trance-like state.

As John 00 Fleming explains: “It got named trance because you got completely lost in a wonderland of music.

“People tranced out and got lost in musical bliss.

“That’s what trance used to mean, but now it means a cheesy vocal, an obvious breakdown and a rubbish video.”

Hippy ideals? Maybe, but the fact is unlike techno, drum & bass or house, trance creates a direct emotional response in the right environment.

In a dark club that has a highly charged atmosphere complete with dance music’s eternal friends – the obvious stimuli of light and sound – trance can make you feel lost.

It’s like the sun setting, except you can reach out and touch it.

But the odd British culture of bandwagon jumping has ruined the trance scene in the country.


“The way the media works in Britain is that they build something up by saying it’s really cool and the next big thing, and then they write it off as being unfashionable and uncool a few months later,” reckons John.

“They jump on whatever is new – and for a while trance was the coolest scene in youth culture.

“Now trance is just a commercial commodity – no longer an underground movement, but a way for corporations to make money.”

Speak to any trance fan and they will regrettably admit that a lot of trance music that is produced today is formulaic.

A big build up, an arpeggiated bassline, a melodic trance riff, a huge breakdown. That’s trance music.

“The problem is that there are few producers out there making music with their hearts,” reckons John 00 Fleming.

“Most producers today just want to become famous so they look at what has previously been a hit and try to recreate that obvious trance sound.

“In the old days, I don’t want to sound like an old fart, but people made trance music because they loved it not because they wanted to have a hit.

“Producers in dance music used to come up with different pseudonyms so that they didn’t become famous.

“I once made a crossover track that ended up in the UK Top 40 chart and I hated it.

“I didn’t want my music in the charts, I didn’t want to become a pop star, so I rebelled on my next release and made a totally underground track that I knew wouldn’t get played on the radio.

“I urge any producers out there to switch off their ears to whatever has come before and make what they love.”

There is one obvious reason why producers are desperate for a hit, it means more money.

Producers need to eat, and a hit guarantees a decent meal.

But John is quick to shoot down the statement.


“You’ll sell just as many records in the long run by doing what you love, as you would trying to make a hit.

“A hit is short-lived – you develop a big audience very quickly, but they soon move on.

“But if you consistently produce quality music from the heart, you’ll develop a core network of fans who respect you and your sound.”

Dutch DJ Sander van Doorn is one obvious example of a trance producer and DJ who has become successful by doing something from the heart.

He doesn’t copy anyone else and as a result he is unique.

“It would be great if more producers and DJs thought like Sander – outside of the box,” says John.

John 00 Fleming’s new CD ‘Unfold’ for Dutch label Fektive (out now) showcases his approach to trance.

There are no cheesy vocals or obvious riffs.

It’s simply underground, thought provoking and unique.

Tracks by relative unknowns like Whirloop, Human Blue, Wizzy Noise and Koxbox show that John puts his money where his big mouth is.

“I always try to support new talent, like with my ‘White Label’ compilation series,” he says.

“The problem is there aren’t enough new producers coming through that are doing something different.

“If anything, I want this interview to encourage producers to make music they love, from the heart.

“That is the key to the survival of trance music.”

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My new oldskool TRANCE mix!