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-- The state of trance: John 00 Fleming interview
The state of trance: John 00 Fleming interview
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| �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.� |
This caused havoc in the music discussion forum. John had to explain everything because he didn't feel satisfied with how the interview was interpreted.
Read it here.
Excellent. Well said.
This is a Quote from John in the Music Discussion explaining further..
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| Originally posted by John 00 Fleming This is going to be a longwinded response, bere with me�. Wow, it�s amazing to see how an interview can cause so much attention. The downfall with interviews are that not everything I say gets put into writing, so the whole story doesn�t come across. The great thing with technology is that I can personally interact with the public, especially with a forum dedicated to Trance! I enjoy posting here because it makes me feel a little closer to people involved in the scene, but a second downfall I have to watch my grammar, spelling or people may analyze and misconceive anything I say�phew. So I�ll try and be careful how I speak! Firstly to clear things up, I have nothing against; uplifting or melodic Trance or the people who play it, it�s quite the contrary. I love music in any shape or form and my car is filled with all styles of music, I sometimes perhaps come across as a purist but I�m not and only stand up for the music I love to play. I use various styles of music as a tool to build and drop my sets. So I need uplifting tracks for my crescendos and melodic tracks to give people a breather and deep, hard etc. It just a matter of finding these tracks in a unique form. After spending the past few years sifting through 7 � 8 pages of new Trance releases every week in Beatport to find the odd good none generic track can get really frustrating, hence my recent outbursts! If I wind back 10 years visiting my local record shop I�d be spoiled for choice with all sub categories of Trance music, so I had the tools for my set. I�d get frustrated in a good way because I had too much music and couldn�t fit them all into my set, but today we don�t have enough new music and have to make tracks last a few months. This also becomes more apparent when I play the occasional Classic set, I�m spoiled for choice when I sift through some fantastic tacks with huge Wow factor from the mid 90�s. It will be interesting to see what DJ�s will play in 10 years time at a classics night from mid 2000, with they have the same feeling? Yes I�m a DJ that plays a more unique style of Trance, some say perhaps a more pure form (though that doesn�t make me better than the rest, don�t read this wrong!). Remember I was playing Trance when it was born way back in 1991, so I remember Trance music how it was intended and sometimes feel today�s Trance isn�t really Trance. Similar to today�s Electro, it�s nothing like the original form of Electro. So I want to remind people and producers that there is another form Trance music out there as it seems to be completely forgotten about and over looked. I�m very close friends to many of the A-list Trance DJ�s out there (some critics forget this) and they too are finding it difficult hunting for good quality music, I m just the one that speaks out! We all feel the Trance scene has become stale and hasn�t moved forward from a format that has been around for many years. Originally this style of music got named �Trance� because people on the dance floor got completely lost in the music, the tracks where produced to make this effect and structured in a completely different way ensuring they would be completely tranced out in their zone, hence the name tag Trance. Tracks where made for the dance floor and naturally played in clubs and pushed towards the specialist DJ�s because radio stations etc didn�t understand this type of music so got no air play. The track would do the hard work in the clubs until the dance floors reaction would pick one out to be a favourite (anthem) then a major label pick up on this and make a package of remixes that the public would understand. Robert Miles �Children� is a classic example of this. Today�s tracks are made and marketed in the same way a Top 40 track is handled; they want as much exposure as possible for both the track and the artist even before it's released. Most want radio play so that it will instantly appeal to the masses. Then the most powerful marketing machines ensure that that track is everywhere to be seen ensuring the hype is built. This is why we think there is a massive increase in generic sounding Trance tracks, because people are now making music to actually be a hit and following other winning formats. Again please don�t interpret this the wrong way, there is nothing wrong in any shape or form with generic sounding Trance, if you love making and dancing to it you should follow your heart and enjoy it. I�m just a guy who�s hugely passionate about, dare I say, the more underground side of Trance (this is the only way I can describe it!). So what�s wrong with that? As the masses head for the usual style, I like to remind people there is other takes on Trance music. Maybe I�m just too passionate about the scene I�m in? Trance music got me through some terrible times in my life especially when I was in hospital fighting cancer, so I owe so much this scene and it explains why I have been speaking out recently. It�s not until you experience something awful in your life that you takes steps to help or give advice to others. This is why I always share advice and tips in various magazine columns and my website. Again I cover my arse, please don�t misconceive any of my above comments that I�m speaking against anyone�s music or any DJ�s, I have a huge amount of respect for all of them in whatever they do as we�re in the same Electronic Music family. If my words can help preserve the small part of Trance music that I see disappearing then I�ll be a happy man. Phew was a tuff on to write trying not to upset anyone, which will be impossible on a forum!! John |
Cool read. Thanks for sharing (both).
One of the the most forward thinking trance djs IMO!
Fleming has earned his stripes in the industry and should be able to say anything he wants - without remorse. I don't listen to trance anymore, and Fleming is the closest I come to it.
I think trance peaked from 2000-2003. Since then it's been in the shitter.
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| Originally posted by Truepioneer One of the the most forward thinking trance djs IMO! |
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