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Beginner

Greetings all,

I'm new here and do not see a specific forum for those who are complete and total noobs when it comes to trance music. Apologies if I have missed this and am posting in the wrong place.

I have recently discovered trance music and am totally enthralled with it. However, I grew up firmly in the rock world and so have am coming to this art form from this perspective and find it somewhat difficult. My introduction to trance has been through the Sirrius radio shows by Armin Van Buuren and Above and Beyond. From browsing this forum, I get the feeling that I've listened to only "pop" type trance and not the real deal.

I would very much like recommendations on trance music that now has reached "classic" status. In rock music this would like naming The Beatles "Sgt. Peppers", The Rolling Stones, "Beggars Banquet", Led Zepplin "IV", etc.

Often when I find an artist I like they have no albums, just singles. I find it very hard to get traction with an artist when there's just a few singles. I'm an album type listener and so am somewhat floundering at times in my efforts to dive deeper into trance.

Web searches have only taken me so far and so I'm looking to this forum to help me learn more about trance.

Many, many thanks in advance.

RM

Artist albums are not particularly important in this genre, although there have been a few good ones. The main "unit" of long-form listening is the DJ mix. There have been an enormous number of "trance classics" mixes and CD compilations released down the years, many available for free online. I'd even go as far as to say trance is obsessed with classics, a tacit acknowledgement that the best days are long gone.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Artist albums are not particularly important in this genre, although there have been a few good ones. The main "unit" of long-form listening is the DJ mix. There have been an enormous number of "trance classics" mixes and CD compilations released down the years, many available for free online. I'd even go as far as to say trance is obsessed with classics, a tacit acknowledgement that the best days are long gone.

Yeah, I figured that albums were not critical since I was having such a hard time finding one. Can you recommend a particularly classic DJ mix from the formative years of trance that I can check out?

Hard to believe that the best days of trance are long gone. I just got here!!!

Thanks for your reply.

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Originally posted by rattymouse Can you recommend a particularly classic DJ mix from the formative years of trance that I can check out?

Ferry Corsten - Mixed Live: Live at Spaundae
Tiesto - Magik 6
Paul Oakenfold - Never Mind The Bollocks
Armin Van Buuren - Universal Religion
Paul Van Dyk - the Politics of Dancing
John Askew - Live AS...

About single tracks, hard to tell suggestions that will fit your taste, since personal taste is... personal. Whatever, if I remember correctly, the "top 400 trance tracks" from listology was very educative for me, almost like a rich pool of tracks that I instantly fall in love. I just checked and looks like they are down, but webarchive exist to save us lol.

https://web.archive.org/web/2016040...tracks-all-time

enjoy

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Originally posted by rattymouse Yeah, I figured that albums were not critical since I was having such a hard time finding one. Can you recommend a particularly classic DJ mix from the formative years of trance that I can check out?

Well, when I was a young lad and trance was on the radio, in the charts, and enormously popular in the UK, the three big CD series were Trance Nation, Euphoria and Gatecrasher, and these were the first entries:

Ferry Corston - Trance Nation
PF Project - Euphoria Vol 1
Gatecrasher Black

But if I were to pick one trance mix from the glory days, it wouldn't be a famous "classic", just a great mix that embodies good trance as it once was:

Paul Van Dyk - Essential Mix 20.04.1997

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Well, when I was a young lad and trance was on the radio, in the charts, and enormously popular in the UK, the three big CD series were Trance Nation, Euphoria and Gatecrasher, and these were the first entries: Ferry Corston - Trance Nation PF Project - Euphoria Vol 1 Gatecrasher Black But if I were to pick one trance mix from the glory days, it wouldn't be a famous "classic", just a great mix that embodies good trance as it once was: Paul Van Dyk - Essential Mix 20.04.1997

Thank you. I found this on sound cloud and will be listening to it over my lunch break in about 30 minutes. I'm excited to hear this!

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Originally posted by Kilixpree About single tracks, hard to tell suggestions that will fit your taste, since personal taste is... personal. Whatever, if I remember correctly, the "top 400 trance tracks" from listology was very educative for me, almost like a rich pool of tracks that I instantly fall in love. I just checked and looks like they are down, but webarchive exist to save us lol. https://web.archive.org/web/2016040...tracks-all-time enjoy

I appreciate the reply. I'll mine this list for weeks.

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Originally posted by rattymouse Thank you. I found this on sound cloud and will be listening to it over my lunch break in about 30 minutes. I'm excited to hear this!

I can't promise you will like it. We're talking about a radically different style of trance to what AVB and A&B are playing in 2018.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I can't promise you will like it. We're talking about a radically different style of trance to what AVB and A&B are playing in 2018.

45 mins into this set now and I find it absolutely awesome. Thank you so much for the recommendation.

While I can recognize to a small extent how different it is from the trance that I am hearing today, I cannot put it down into words since I am so new at this. Can you state succinctly the differences?

I wish to follow trance from its beginnings up until today. Similarly as one would start with the Beatles and move up into other groups following the transitions that rock music took from the late '60s into its modern form.

Thanks again. Really enjoying this Paul Van Dyke set.

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Originally posted by rattymouse 45 mins into this set now and I find it absolutely awesome. Thank you so much for the recommendation. While I can recognize to a small extent how different it is from the trance that I am hearing today, I cannot put it down into words since I am so new at this. Can you state succinctly the differences?

Glad you like it. If you can appreciate something that's twenty years old, there is a whole galaxy of music that awaits your exploration.

In all honesty, it's been a long, long time since I tuned in to anything Armin or A&B have played, but I find the stuff being made under the "trance" moniker in 2018 to be very crass, emotionally limited and lacking in any degree of subtlety. On a technical front I also find it really over-produced with far too many layers and no space in the mixdown. To me, trance these days is incredibly shrill and silly.

Of course, trance has never been the coolest genre of electronic music, and its critics down the years would say it's always been emotionally over-blown and overly busy. Even in 1997, there were people in the house, techno or jungle scenes who detested the kind of music PVD is playing in that Essential Mix. And those criticisms are true to some extent. There are big "cheesy" moments in that set as well. What has steadily happened in the 20 years since that era is that these aspects of the music have become amplified and amplified as each generation of musicians tries to raise the bar above their predecessors, and the restraint the older music had - which balanced out the cheesy moments - has long since been lost.

I think it's important with trance to note that this is, to some extent, inherently silly music. However, if you acknowledge that, you can get swept up in its exhilarating rush of sound. The expression I use for this double-think, this surrender to its charm, is "Putting your trance trousers on". Because even melodramatic music can be extremely well made, and the best trance music has some wonderfully complex, unique, twisted sounds in it that never get boring to listen to.

The biggest problem with a lot of trance fans is that they have been guilty of taking it all far too seriously.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Even in 1997, there were people in the house, techno or jungle scenes who detested the kind of music PVD is playing in that Essential Mix.

I'm also interested in House & Techno music, but have not really gotten my feet wet in those genre. For the last 15 years or more I was into Tangerine Dream's school of electronic music. I'm quite familiar with this style but am starting all over again with Trance.

I have found that learning about these types of EDM is much harder, at least on your own. None of my friends has any interest in this type of music at all, leaving me to fend for myself! I should have searched out this forum a long time ago.

House and Techno are the OG genres. If you were interested in classics, or listing in chronological order, you'd start with disco and old electronic music and go from there, way before you get to trance.

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Originally posted by wotyzoid House and Techno are the OG genres. If you were interested in classics, or listing in chronological order, you'd start with disco and old electronic music and go from there, way before you get to trance.

What is OG?

I'm well versed in old school electronic music: Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze, etc. I dont know much about post 80's electronic music.

Aphex Twin is started me down the path into 90's electronica.

What?! You skipped one of the best decades if not the best. The birth of House, Techno and Hip-Hop music and era of piping hot Italo Disco, RnB and Electro and just generally good Pop music even.

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Originally posted by wotyzoid What?! You skipped one of the best decades if not the best.

I grew up in the '70s and '80s so am quite familiar with a lot of music from that era. Not really interested in it anymore.

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Originally posted by rattymouse I'm also interested in House & Techno music

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Originally posted by rattymouse Not really interested in it anymore.

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Originally posted by wotyzoid

I was talking about Stevie Wonder and Italian Disco.

Seriously, trance fans are a slimy, disgusting, cringey bunch. Why do I even bother?

One of the earliest Trance records. Trance to me is the greatest thing ever. It's so beautiful that it shouldn't exist but it does. Sadly though, it']s beauty is fading because of dirty politics and people wanting cash in on how precious it is but I still love this music a lot. It's helped me through the roughest of times. I owe everything to this music. Enjoy the journey because there is nothing that comes close to the euphoria and emotions that trance brings.

Check these compilation series for early 90's stuff:

Trancemaster (started in 1992) https://www.discogs.com/label/298031-Trancemaster

Trance Nation (started in 1994, the older one, not the Ferry Corsten one, although Ferry's is good too): https://www.discogs.com/label/380504-Trance-Nation-2

Here's my contribution...

The synth lead when the vocal hits is still cutting edge sound even today imo, dying to know which synth is being played at the minute.

You'll get all kinds of replies and all sorts of trance recommended in this thread, but since you're familiar with Armin and A&B if you want to hear what *in my opinion* represented them at the peak of their powers, I'd go for:

Armin van Buuren Essential Mix 2003

Above & Beyond Essential Mix 2004

On the Paul van Dyk tip, if I was going to recommend one artist album it would be his 'Out There And Back'. It's mixed like a DJ set so it would be better to listen in one go rather than just finding the individual tracks on Youtube.

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Originally posted by Omnisphere One of the earliest Trance records. Trance to me is the greatest thing ever. It's so beautiful that it shouldn't exist but it does. Sadly though, it']s beauty is fading because of dirty politics

What politics is ruining trance? I find this comment facinating and want to learn more.

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