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-- for all you experts out there: here's a stupid question
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for all you experts out there: here's a stupid question

what exactly is the difference between techno and trance? what is electronica? isn't that a totally different thing from EDM? like, how do you define them?

i just don't want to be one of those ignorant fools who labels everything as techno and thinks techno and electronica are the same thing.

Whistle-stop answer: techno originated in the early 1980s in Detroit, evolving out of electro. Cold, futuristic robot music. Trance emerged in early 90s reunited Germany, and was originally techno with the addition of more spacey and melodic elements. Now they're very different. For a really quick and rough guide to just how different they sound in 2008, go on Beatport and listen to five random tracks labelled techno, then five labelled trance.

EDM = Electronic Dance Music, an umbrella term for all electronic music played in clubs and mixed by DJs.

Electronica = Media buzzword for all modern electronic music, usually in a home listening context.

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Electronica = Media buzzword for all modern electronic music, usually in a home listening context.

Alternatively, it's the "we can't categorize this properly so let's just lump it all under this"-genre.

contrary to my username, techno is cooler.

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Whistle-stop answer: techno originated in the early 1980s in Detroit, evolving out of electro.

Waitwaitwait. Early 80s?

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Originally posted by paulandrews Waitwaitwait. Early 80s?

The first Cybotron records came out around 1982, those early electro/techno ones where you can hear the evolution I'm talking about. I usually say early 80s because I think of techno as just a little bit earlier than house, and Chicago house was mid-80s.

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Originally posted by paulandrews Waitwaitwait. Early 80s?

A Number Of Names - Sharevari

Cybotron - Alleys Of Your Mind

Although first sounds more like disco and second like electro, these two are generally considered first Detroit techno tunes. I'd say proper techno started with Metroplex and first Model 500 releases around '85.

The difference.....

The kids want Techno, the kids do not want Trance.

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Originally posted by sljiva A Number Of Names - Sharevari Cybotron - Alleys Of Your Mind Although first sounds more like disco and second like electro, these two are generally considered first Detroit techno tunes. I'd say proper techno started with Metroplex and first Model 500 releases around '85.

Hmm Disco? I wouldn't say so...Italo-Disco maybe. Those were purely Electro tunes. Very cool.

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Originally posted by PETRAN Hmm Disco? I wouldn't say so...Italo-Disco maybe

You're nitpicking here. What is Italo disco than just a subgenre of disco music. Plus, Italo Disco was neither the first nor the only version of disco with colder, futuristic sound.

Techno is more repetitive and centers more heavily on developing a series of complex rhythms. It utilizes a great deal of percussive sounds.

Trance is more thematic and less minimalist. It centers generally on melodies and hypnotic sounds, using more tonal elements, typically in lydian, dorian or phryigian modes.

These are, of course, gross generalizations, and many tracks can and do deviate quite a lot from the prototypical styles.

Great user name, OP.

Ok, here's another stupid question. What's the difference between Goa and Psy? Never really listened to either so I can't tell which is which.

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Originally posted by thoughtlessjex Techno is more repetitive and centers more heavily on developing a series of complex rhythms. It utilizes a great deal of percussive sounds. Trance is more thematic and less minimalist. It centers generally on melodies and hypnotic sounds, using more tonal elements, typically in lydian, dorian or phryigian modes. These are, of course, gross generalizations, and many tracks can and do deviate quite a lot from the prototypical styles.

this is more that a gross generalization, it is misleading. trance doesn't need a melody, and techno can be arhythmic...




also, did any one else notice that beatport uses 'electronica' as a label for all electro/cyberpunk?

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Originally posted by nefardec also, did any one else notice that beatport uses 'electronica' as a label for all electro/cyberpunk?

Yes. It's the "anything that doesn't fit elsewhere in our little list" category.

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Originally posted by Armitage Ok, here's another stupid question. What's the difference between Goa and Psy? Never really listened to either so I can't tell which is which.

Wikipedia says:
Goa Trance is essentially "dance-trance" music (it was referred to as "Trance Dance" in its formative years), the original goal being to assist the dancers in experiencing a collective state of bodily transcendence, similar to that of ancient shamanic dancing rituals, through hypnotic, pulsing melodies and rhythms. As such it has an energetic beat, almost always in common time (4/4) meaning 4 quarter note pulses per bar. Time is marked with kicks (bass drum beats) on each quarter-note pulse, a snare or clap on the second and fourth pulse of the bar, with an open hi-hat sound every second eighth note. A typical track will generally build up to a much more energetic movement in the second half then taper off fairly quickly toward the end. The BPM typically lies in the 130 - 150 range, although some tracks may have BPMs as low as 110 or as high as 160. Generally 8-12 minutes long, Goa Trance tracks tend to focus on steadily building energy throughout, using changes in percussion patterns and more intricate and layered synth parts as the music progresses in order to build a hypnotic and intense feel.

Psychedelic trance has a distinctive, speedy sound (generally between 140 and 150 BPM) that tends to be faster than other forms of trance or techno music. Psychedelic trance uses strong bass beats that pound constant throughout the song, and overlays the bass with varying rhythms drawn from funk music, techno, electro, Middle Eastern music, and trance using drums and other synthesized instruments. The different sounds and rhythms and beats generally change every 32 beats.[1] This gives the music time to develop slowly, building up to a climax before breaking back down to rebuild again. Layering is used to great effect in psychedelic trance, with new musical ideas being added on at regular intervals, often every 4 or 8 bars. This buildup will happen until a climax is reached, and then the song will break down and start a new rhythmic pattern over the constant bass line. Psychedelic trance tracks tend to be 6-10 minutes long.[2] Psychedelic trance also makes heavy use of the cutoff frequency control of the modulating filter on the synthesizer. Reverb is also used heavily, with large, open sounding reverb present on most of the lead synthesizers in the track.

You should check out some. I prefer goa trance like Man With No Name, Total Eclipse, Astral Projection...
For Psytrance check out Growling Mad Scientists (GMS), Infected Mushroom and Hallucinogen

edit: ishkur says:The difference between Psychedelic and Goa Trance is really negligible, and if you ask anyone involved they'll readily say that there is no difference, much the same way that junglists will say there is no difference between Jungle and Drum n Bass (even though there is). To put it succinctly, Psychedelic Trance removes the hindu/middle-eastern influences and melodies and full-on blasts you with mindfuck music...teleport zappers, star trek tweeps, nintendo twerps, theremin squeels, feedback hums and radio antennae frequency squelches. Well...Goa might have all that stuff too. Hmmmm. Let's say this instead: Goa is more organic, and Psy is more cybernetic. But they're both futuristic sci-fi music. Okay, fine: they are the same damn thing. But there's just so much good music here to only squeeze in one genre.

Techno is more raw, metallic and primal, in a mechanical kind of way.

Techno (but house too?) LFO - LFO (1990)




Techno or House?: D-Shake - Yaaah (1990)



House: SIL (Olav Basoski) - Windows




In Holland we use CLUB as a genre were others would call this techno. Correct me when I'm wrong. To me the rhythm of this one is 100% club. So a club trance combination?:

Ali Wilson - Shakedown (2008)

Of course, someone just had to drop in with a series of unrelated youtube videos. Why would my page load fast and without problems?

And Club is THE stupidest term for describing a certain genre of music. I though electronica was bad, but there are some bands like Mouse On Mars, ISO68 and CLP that really don't fit anywhere else except in electronica. However, there's just no excuse for using Club to describe a genre.

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Originally posted by sljiva And Club is THE stupidest term for describing a certain genre of music. I though electronica was bad, but there are some bands like Mouse On Mars, ISO68 and CLP that really don't fit anywhere else except in electronica. However, there's just no excuse for using Club to describe a genre.

Sure, I just made that up.....NOT.
Has been that way for many years now.

http://www.artiesten.nl/genre/house/club

Also often they use MELLOW.

I'm not saying you just made it up, I just say it's stupid and shouldn't be used ever again.

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Great user name, OP.

+1

Everyone is talking about early techno and early trance, but the thing is, nowadays' music sounds quite different and it's a lot easier to give proper recent examples, than trying to categorize those 80s, early 90s tracks when everything was still a bit experimental...

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Originally posted by nefardec this is more that a gross generalization, it is misleading. trance doesn't need a melody, and techno can be arhythmic...

What part of "many tracks can and do deviate quite a lot from the prototypical styles" were you completely blind to? I was giving an idea of the first thing that pops into my mind for each style. If the first thing that pops into your mind when you think "techno" has no rhythm at all, then you're only listening to a very small subset of what is called techno. If you first think of something with not even a single melodic element when you think of trance, then I applaud you, but you must not listen to the greater body of trance music.

If I had tried to be all-inclusive, I could have not provided any definition whatsoever, besides "techno is techno and trance is trance."

Speaking of Ishkur and Italo, does anyone know where I can listen to MC Brain - Loving You Forever? It's the second song under 'Italo'. I've listened to that little sample on the Guide about 100 times and I need to find it. All of those Italo songs he has are amazing but that one is the best imo.

Ishkur, if you still post here, you need to upload that shit to youtube right now.

edit: Sweet Connection - Heart to Heart is amazing also

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