I wanted to use the title "Your Early Memories - Introduction To Trance", but that didn't seem to fit.

For me, EDM defines the more appropriate music genre that i got hooked into in the early stages before a gradual pull towards Trance.

It would be good to know how each of us got pulled into trance/EDM and the early memories.

For me, it would be difficult to recall when exactly the genre transition happened. In fact, as a fan of Pop & New Wave right upto the beginning of the new millenium, i was not aware as to when i started listening to the Electronic Music. The introduction was rather non-existent as i didn't know that what i was listening to was actually what can today be classified into Techno, Trance, (Or some into Dance, Electronica, Euro-Dance, House and what not).

My earliest memories of songs which didn't quite sound what i was used to listening to or used to usually listen to, but sounded good anyways were:

Gigi D'Agostino - I'll Fly With You
Livin' Joy - Dreamer
Orbital - Halycon (And On & On)
Darude - Sandstorm

This goes back to early 2000. A lot of credit goes to 103.5 The New KTU, a Radio station in NY/NJ that i was fond of and used to listen to on my long drive (50 miles one way!) to work. In those days, i wouldn't miss their top-10 on Saturdays for my life. It so happens that their top-10s as also the regular airplay featured a good number of EDM tracks.

Interestingly, i do remember some defining moments in that early transition phase though, and special mention goes to Alice Deejay - Better Of Alone. I used to love it! Then there was KernKraft - Zombie Nation. In between, there were lot of tracks that can be identified as EM/EDM and made for good tunes..

The Phase, around early 2001 also defined a transition in my professional life as it coincided with dot-com crash and with it, the doom of many a companies that had nothing to do with dot-com, including my employers, the Lucent Technologies. I was least concerned about spending time figuring out new songs/tracks or what genre i was beginning to like all of a sudden. I do rememeber one beautiful girl who did take me by storm though - Dido. The arrival of "Take My Hand", a beautiful electronic track coincided with my emotional state at that time and "Take My hand ... if i am lying to you .... i'll always be alone ... if i am lying to you... take your time ... if i am lying to you ... i know you'll find ... that you believe me ...you believe me ... you believe me" just kept reverbrating through every known corner of my heart and mind for days! It may not be such an excellent track for many, but it's impact on me, given my emotional state at that time, was HUGE.

Today, when i see that Dido is an integral part of so many beautiful trance tracks, i just look back to that phase, and smile.

I can't claim that i wasn't introduced to Electronic music until the new millenium though. The Early 90s brought a good number of EM tracks. It's just that there was no big shout about them being a different genre and things like that, nor did most of us bothered to find. An artist who deserves special mention here is Robert Miles. Robert miles, to me, defines a crossover phase for the electronic music. In mid-90s, his tracks were a massive hit in our college campus. His "Children" (along with it's umpteen mixes) and "One and One still it's one" were a massive rage in the limited dance scene of our campus. If i look back today, maybe EM had arrived in a big way already. And It does owe a big thanks to Robert Miles. Unfortunately, i was quite oblivious and to me, Robert Miles - Children was still an extension or some variation of the popular 90s music. I had a huge impact though and i can arguably claim it to be a ground-breaking electronic music that was gonna have some lasting impact for years to follow.

2000, 2001 until late 2002 had their own share of my expirements with different genres including the, yes, Hip-hop. Almost everyone seemed "hip-hop" and since everyone was hip-hop, i assumed it must be something really cool. Gave it a lot of time and fair share of listening before deciding it wasn't meant for me. At best, i can tolerate some of them on the dance-floor.

I got hooked into regular-clubbing by late 2002 and the club devoted a fair time of it's airplay to trance. The club played live music for a popular radio-station and mostly played a healthy combination of Techno, Trance, Breakbeats and House. That was the decisive push into the genre-transition. I started to know what i liked most out of them. It has been trance and trance and almost mostly trance ever since.

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Dance like no one is watching