Ok first off....i know this topic has been brought up before but not since ive been around so Lets hear everybodys story.
I was first introduced to EDM back in 1998 when i joined the Air Force right out of high school. At the time i didnt have a clue what techno music was I got stationed in Ft. Walton Beach Florida (about 45 minutes away from Panama City Beach.) A friend that i met that lived in my doorms took me out to this club called Club La Vela in Panama City one night and thats when i was exposed to 'techno'. The UnderGround Room (as they called it) played nothing but florida breaks all night....bringing in dj's like DJ Craze, Rick West, DJ Icey, Babe Anne, DJ X, and DJ Clueless. We started going there every weekend and i can still remember my dumb ass trying to dance with glow sticks till 6 in the morning lol. Back then i was all into Breaks and D&B cause thats all they played around there. Then in 2000 i went to my first "Rave" in New Orleans called Zoolu. It was held at this old opera house called the State Palace Theatre and it was just insain. It was Micro that got me addicted to Trance....his set was just amazing and thats when i knew trance was my home

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Nice story VTech.

Ok here it goes:



I've loved various forms of electronica since I was around 11 or 12 years old. Like most kids that age, I used to enjoy playing video games quite a bit.

Back in 1995, I read about this revolutionary new game system that was comming out called "sony playstation." I knew I had to have it so I somehow saved up $300, and bought myself one the first year it was released.

One of the first games that I'd ever played on this amazing new system was "wipeout" the racing game. The graphics, and gameplay were amazing, but the true beauty of this game was it's soundtrack. The first wipeout featured tracks by the producer "cold storage" who has gone on to remix some famous artists...There were also some tracks by the future sound of london, the prodigy, and chemical brothers.

The second "wipeout" game featured an even greater sound track than the first. Two of the best songs on it are the ones produced by Fluke whose tunes regularly got play from Sasha and Digweed in those days...

Of course I had no idea who sasha and digweed were then haha.

So then I started to explore music from some of the artists I'd heard on the wipeout series. MTV used to play "commercial" electronica as well in those days. I would lose myself in the sounds of NIN, Future Sound of London, The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Crystal Meathod etc. Crystal Meathod's "vegas" CD is still one of the best!

I was also very much into alternative rock as well in those days(especially rage against the machine, and nirvana, etc). Now alternative sounds so much the same, and it's lost most of it's innovation (not unlike most modern trance being produced today). I can't even stand that kind of music anymore (newer poppish alternative rock I mean).


Anyways, in late 2000 some friends of mine introduced me to "trance."

I had no idea what it was, but I knew I liked what I heard!


Some of the first songs that I really loved were "legend b- sexuality," stuff by transa, tracks by amethyst...castles in the sky ROFL.

I also began to love Hybrid's early stuff around this time (their first groundbreaking album).

I started going to raves when I was 16....

The music, feeling of unity, and the vibe all appealed to me. Of course I realized much of the atmosphere was drug-induced, but I still enjoyed it.

I never dropped E however, and I never will knowing how it's fucked up some of my friends. That's a different issue though.


A big moment for me was In June 2001 when I went to ZenFest in Dallas TX. That's still the best party I've ever been to in my entire life.

Tiesto absolutely killed! I became an instant fan of his, and followed him until 2003 when he chose money over his fans, and basically just declined as a DJ in most every way imaginable.

It was also becomming apparent to me in 2003 that most trance artists were re-hashing the same tired formula over and over again in most of their new productions...

I began to look for the greener grass on the other side, and I've found it for the time being.

This year I've been exploring the world of progressive trance, progressive house, and tribal house. It's funny that I've had an old Sander K essential mix on my computer since 2001, and thought it slow and boring then. Now I realize how brilliant a set it is (easily one of the best I've ever heard)!

Music is always an evolution....a progression...so don't think you'll listen to predominantly one style of music your whole life.

You won't.

Without innovation there's stagnation, but I still enjoy quality innovative productions in most genres of EDM.

I look back in the past, and it's filled with great memories all because of EDM.


I know there's many more memories to be made...

So now you know my cheesy history.

Dave

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http://www.discoboomer.com/forums/

nice story dave! and let me say, i may be going out on a limb here, but i think we've all tried the progressive side of electronica. while i do enjoy the stuff by sander & holden, i don't think that i will EVER enjoy any progressive track as i enjoy the stuff like gouryella (listening to it right now actually... still the best trance track ever), out of the blue, we came, Tranceport, etc. imo, the best trance will always be the best of electronica.

anyway, now as for how i got started into trance. fairly simple actually. like dave i was into video games and liked that type of electronic music. one of my favorite sound tracks from a video game (yes, i passed into that realm of geek hood long ago) is fianl fantasy 6 or 3, whichever you prefer. then one day while listening to the radio for no apparent reason, i heard a commercial for a cd called tranzworld. i thought it sounded so cool. i immediately went out and bought it. i feel in love. so i went back to the store and went straight to the 'techno' section to search for any other good electronica. seeing that it was called TRANZworld, i looked under the heading TRANCE. i saw something called Tranceport, mixed by Paul Oakenfold. i bought it. game over.

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*can't imagine it feelin' much better...
i wish it would just last forever.
and so, to feel like that?
i'd pay any price just to get that back.*

i got into EDM with composing techno .MODs (4/8/16 track songs kinda like a bunch primitive version of how EDM is made today)... this stemmed from the underground digital art/music scene around 1992-93.

back then if you even downloaded any 'warez' you'd see such art and music playing with loaders... kinda a mini demo a'la future crew and others

ehh, i just realized you have to be a major geek to know what i'm talking about...

anyway, it was really repetitive techno, sometimes with cool melodies i like to think of as a precursor to today's trance, and that got me into real techno, psy-trance, house, trance, and prog. house...

quote:

Originally posted by vtec junkie Ok first off....i know this topic has been brought up before but not since ive been around so Lets hear everybodys story. I was first introduced to EDM back in 1998 when i joined the Air Force right out of high school. At the time i didnt have a clue what techno music was I got stationed in Ft. Walton Beach Florida (about 45 minutes away from Panama City Beach.) A friend that i met that lived in my doorms took me out to this club called Club La Vela in Panama City one night and thats when i was exposed to 'techno'. The UnderGround Room (as they called it) played nothing but florida breaks all night....bringing in dj's like DJ Craze, Rick West, DJ Icey, Babe Anne, DJ X, and DJ Clueless. We started going there every weekend and i can still remember my dumb ass trying to dance with glow sticks till 6 in the morning lol. Back then i was all into Breaks and D&B cause thats all they played around there. Then in 2000 i went to my first "Rave" in New Orleans called Zoolu. It was held at this old opera house called the State Palace Theatre and it was just insain. It was Micro that got me addicted to Trance....his set was just amazing and thats when i knew trance was my home

Did you ever go to Groove at laga? Or how about those wednesday night Spun events at the beehive? Hehe old times.

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Retro ...

Well, it all started for me when I was around 10, and I lived in Switzerland. A friend of mine gave me a CD by DJ Bobo that I loved the first time I heard it I also listenened to some Scooter, etc.
When I moved to the US, it all changed and I got into Rock, specially when I started playing guitar. Later, around 2000, my favorite guitarrist, Joe Satriani, made an album called Engines of Creation, inspired in electronic music. Liking the album, I decided to give electronic music a chance, and started listening to it again. Robert Miles - Children was one of the songs that kept me interested. Later when I started with college I became addicted to trance, since my roommate liked some of it and gave me a few of his CDs and that's how I decided to become a TA, even though I knew the site for quite a while.
Now, I just can't stop listening to it, I still like Rock and I haven't stopped playing guitar, but EDM is so addictive, that I can't stop listening to it all day

mine is plain and simple.

i was 11 years old and i broke away from listening to hip hop because i felt it wasnt me. stuff like my sister's alice deejay cd, chemical brothers, crystal method, prodigy, ATB and all that good stuff (or not soo good stuff) grew on me as time went on. after developing my tastes in all things like trance, breaks, house, and happy hardcore....

i saw paul oakenfold spin for free at the virgin megastore


...that sealed the deal with me and trance music and here i am today.

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either 1996/1997 was my first real contact with it.
though, I dont remember the exact event/circumstances at all
my favorite stuff was usually "big-beat" style techno, infact, I really disliked any trance...and then I heard PvD in 1998, and fell in love with trance for life

hehe, I definatley remember that game wipeout, but I was already pretty into all the music it featured before it came out. I remember my friend used to get stoned and sit around for hours playing that game

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8.28 - Butane + Pezzner LIVE
9.25 - Par Grindvik


Take a trip... there's acid in my fridge...

Crystal Method and ChemicalBrothers on this cd called Digital Empire did it for me as well as videogame soundtracks. I too started browings the electronic sections of music stores and I got Tranzworld 1, 2, 3 all with free passes to Webster Hall.

Got a bunch of really cheezy rave til Dawn Cds too, but i relied on quantity not quality back then. I got over 400 electronica CDs now.

Also late at night on sundays after 120 minutes on MTV the show AMP got me hooked too. Anyone remember Brainbug's Nightmare video. Very lo-fi 1950 b-movie monster appeal. Also i remember watching all the cool CGI videos from Man with No Name and Astral Projection. Very cool stuff.

MY first real venture into the clubbing Xperience was at HFStival, 1999. I wasnt old enuff to go into the real clubs yet so the Buzz tent was what really opened my eyes to the sights and sounds of EDM. Lieven, Scott Henry, Thunderball, Feelgood, Micro, Sandra Collins.. yeah i pretty much went to the HFStival only to stay in the Buzz tent all day!

Well i could go on but thats just my beginnings.

On a side note, i think it was Crystal Method that opened it up for me. i'd been listening to techno and trance compilations since 95/96 but it was in a car ride witha friend. he had a souped up honda with the trick lights all over the place, lowered everything, and i was riding bitch in the back , my head between two speakers and he had a massive system which was blaring Bad Stone. Speeding down some curvy roads in OWings Mills MD listening to Crystal Method was where i realized that EDM was gonna be a part of my life forever

I've been in Electronic music (notice that i didnt mention edm or more cliche 'electronica' words) since i was 13 years old. So it goes back to '90. I was into harsher and darker side of electronic music (I still am) I used to listen to Absolute Body Control, Klinik, Front 242 etc. Now i'm more into IDM, for example Beefcake, Squaremeter, Axiome, P.A.L etc. The techno/edm side of me flourished back in early to mid 90's when i started listening to artists from Nova Zembla record label. It's more of a quirky and intelligent sounding EDM. for example, Xingu Hill, Zen Paradox, Starfish Pool, Brain Pilot etc. but the EDM is that most of the people are familiar with....to me Astral Projection is what got me into it. and i still think they're one of the best out there as far as EDM goes. I listen to other EDM as well, I like M.I.K.E, Starecase and J00F in particular. so thats how it all started for me.

quote:

Originally posted by occrider Did you ever go to Groove at laga? Or how about those wednesday night Spun events at the beehive? Hehe old times.

Holy shit man you went to Laga and the BeeHive? HaHa....small world. My best friend and I discovered Tranceaddict around the same time around November 2000 and everytime i would come home on leave, him and I would go to Laga. Even thought there never was a Trance Scene in Pittsburgh, we still had fun seeing Dj's like the Zeltch Brothers, 7up, Clevr, and so on. The only time we went to the BeeHive was this one night when Danny the Wildchild was there but he never showed but Alaska still tore it up that night
occrider.....did you ever go to Metropol? im sure you heard about the time they booked Oakenfold and they didnt have the right tables for him to play on so they just put one of his mix cds in

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This is always a fun topic to reminisce over….

I always had a thing for upbeat music, whatever dance music came out and was mainstream I would listen to (probably a little bit more than anything else). Stuff like: C & C music factory, Capt. Hollywood project, and 2 Unlimited

It was around 1994 that a friend had me listen to this one CD with some song called “in the name of love” by rt2 Belgium or something like that. I liked it along with the other techno on that CD. So I started browsing the dance music section of stores, judging the CD’s mostly by how the covers looked since I had no clue about who was good, etc. When I got a little more advanced with this, I would look and see where most of the groups/record labels were from that were on these CD’s. If they were anywhere from Europe (namely Amsterdam), I was particularly drawn to these.

It was when I picked up a CD entitled “technosonic 4, a journey into hard trance” and became interested in songs with big buildups/breakdowns that you could say I first got into trance. I had grown up with a heavy classical music background, as it was what my parents listened to, and so music without words was nothing new. So I think of it as my parents who made it easy to appreciate trance. By the way, I too had at least one “rave till dawn” CD.

Moving along, a few years later I was still listening to pretty much whatever I could find, enjoying stuff like Robert miles, the prodigy, and the blade soundtrack (the fact that they used the song confusion was the only reason I ended up going to see that movie in the first place).

It was when some friends took me out to this club Egypt in Philly (fall 1998) that I became immersed in the club scene. Then the summer of 2000 changed me for good. Again some friends took me out clubbing (to Soundfactory this time) and I was hooked. Clubbing in NYC blew my mind. I was able to find most of the music I was hearing in the city on the boardwalk at Seaside hts. and near Rutgers in some store called music blowout. Although I liked a lot of the mainstream club music I was hearing on these CDs, the harder trancier stuff was what did it for me.

What pushed me through the door into the full-fledged world of trance was Tiesto. When I heard silence for the first time I was amazed. I started looking for Tiesto sets on Napster and found his zoom Israel and energy 2000 sets. I was getting to where I am now but it wasn’t until….

I found my first Pvd set that I was completely addicted to trance. His rosenmontags rave 02 set blew me away and to this day it is still my favorite set. When he dropped space brothers – everywhere I go around the 22-minute mark, I knew that my tastes in music would never be the same.

So, through this site and napster, audiogalaxy, and now soulseek have I come this far. What the future holds I cannot predict. All I know is that trance has become a major part of my life and I cant see myself not listening to it.