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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
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