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Trance 1999 - 2009
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| drewfactor |
I'm just sorting out a bunch of CDRs full of music that I'd backed up from my computer years ago -- mostly tracks going back to 1999-2003. Wow! what a blast from the past listening to some of these classics.
It just got me thinking about how it's been a decade since this music got popular. How would you say things have changed over these years? I know it's a huge topic, but for example, how has the music production gotten better? How has djing changed i.e. vinyl to mosly cdr to computers mixing? How has the party scene changed -- for better or worse? etc.. etc.. Last time I posted here, it was said that trance is dead and if so, what has replaced it or are there sub-genres that are superior to your generic big room trance sound? Are drugs more a part of the scene now, or is the association less than it used to be?
Curious to know thoughts on this general topic. |
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| E2EK1EL |
| My fav years would be 98-99, that's when producer really sat down and made some PROPPA . |
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| Elendil |
| Honestly, for me, production has gotten so much better as far as psychedelic elements and the ability to create massively deep soundscapes. While I will say that I always hold a space in my heart for the epic classics, I listen to music as much for the melodies as for the production value - and thats something that is always on the rise. I love it! |
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| pmoisse |
*disclaimer - this isn't meant to bash digital tune sales / beatport / cdj's / laptop dj's *
I think a lot of the great music from these years, whether it's trance, house or techno, has a lasting quality. Because only X records were pressed (or repressed) when there's a big tune, it makes it that much more exciting when you can find a copy to buy.
To me, I think some of the newer music loses some of the lasting quality in the "thrill of the hunt".
I can't really comment on newer trance since I haven't been following it much since around 2004/2005 ish. Having said that, I was close to hitting Transce Energy this year just for s n giggles. The music still holds a special place for me for sure. |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| quote: | Originally posted by E2EK1EL
My fav years would be 98-99, that's when producer really sat down and made some PROPPA . |
+1....I would say go back even further to 94 or so.
Although technology has made it possible for many advances in electronic music I think its also hurt the quality of the final products coming out. |
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| Invasionmix |
I would have to say that trance from 10 years ago melodic wise was a lot better than what it is now. The production quality however is better today, the samples are more clear, kick drums more thump, etc.
What really dilutes all the trance nowadays is the whole digital age. Anyone and their mother can run a record label, anyone that has the most minimal concept of production can release a track on beatport or whatever the download median is available hence flooding the market with all these excessive tunes.
Back then tracks would be filtered out by record labels by seeing if it was deemed worthy to be pressed on vinyl with, because of the expensive procedure and the limited amount of copies available. Now with these websites you can produce a mediocre track and they would upload it to their massive hard drives cause the file is only 15-20 mb big and can be downloaded hundreds of times without worrying that the track would run out.
Also the software available to produce music is so readily available to anyone who has an internet connection and has some sort of interest in producing music. Lot of the times it can be any one with very little musical knowledge with a little melody that they thought of making these tracks. So the quality wouldn't be as high as someone who has musical training and spend weeks/months putting together a track. If you look at producers like deadmau5, Sean Tyas, Eric Prydz who would release a new track every 2-3 weeks there really isn't that much time and effort put into a track. |
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| drewfactor |
| I agree with what has been said so far. There is definitely a big improvement in production quality as far as "depth of soundscape" as Elendil said. Maybe because a lot of the old tracks I have are vinyl rips at 128 kbs, with all the crackles a pops audible, and they sound very flat without the crisp snappy sound you get with the newer stuff. |
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| mUSER |
| quote: | Originally posted by Invasionmix
I would have to say that trance from 10 years ago melodic wise was a lot better than what it is now. The production quality however is better today, the samples are more clear, kick drums more thump, etc.
What really dilutes all the trance nowadays is the whole digital age. Anyone and their mother can run a record label, anyone that has the most minimal concept of production can release a track on beatport or whatever the download median is available hence flooding the market with all these excessive tunes.
Back then tracks would be filtered out by record labels by seeing if it was deemed worthy to be pressed on vinyl with, because of the expensive procedure and the limited amount of copies available. Now with these websites you can produce a mediocre track and they would upload it to their massive hard drives cause the file is only 15-20 mb big and can be downloaded hundreds of times without worrying that the track would run out.
Also the software available to produce music is so readily available to anyone who has an internet connection and has some sort of interest in producing music. Lot of the times it can be any one with very little musical knowledge with a little melody that they thought of making these tracks. So the quality wouldn't be as high as someone who has musical training and spend weeks/months putting together a track. If you look at producers like deadmau5, Sean Tyas, Eric Prydz who would release a new track every 2-3 weeks there really isn't that much time and effort put into a track. |
Sorry man, but I just don't completely buy this way of thinking.
All we're seeing right now is a liberation of creativity from the traditional hierarchical accessibility of it prior.
The only thing stopping people from excercising their own creative spirit before? Money. Your average person couldn't produce music because they couldn't afford to. What we're talking about here is the same thing people are talking about in every genre, and in every profession for that matter. "Back in the day, things were better - they just built it with more quality!". While this may be the case for consumer market goods at large, it is certainly not a rule. There is BRILLIANT music being made every day, by far more people than ever before, simply because now people are able to make it. Trance back in the day was not any better melodically. It was simply new, and whats new is exciting. Those ideas are no longer exciting, which is why the only decent artists nowadays are the ones pushing their own limits.
You know whats great about that? Now, instead of a few labels with money, and a few people who can afford to explore their creative persona, we have thousands of both - all leading to the potential that so much more genius is going to be channeled and put out there. I don't need labels to filter out music thats good or bad - I can do that myself; in fact, I love doing that, because it makes the discovery of a great work even more exciting.
I suppose it's really just a glass half full half empty kind of thing, and I can't help but look at it as half full and getting fuller. |
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| drewfactor |
| quote: | Originally posted by mUSER
"Back in the day, things were better - they just built it with more quality!". While this may be the case for consumer market goods at large, it is certainly not a rule. There is BRILLIANT music being made every day, by far more people than ever before, simply because now people are able to make it. Trance back in the day was not any better melodically. It was simply new, and whats new is exciting. Those ideas are no longer exciting, which is why the only decent artists nowadays are the ones pushing their own limits.
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I think this is a good point here. What's new is exciting is right. So my question is who would be some better-known producers who are pushing the boundaries? One of the things that I thought was getting boring was the same repeated formula with the build, then breakdown, drumroll, release, outro pattern without any significant deviation from that. Or at least different kinds of breakdowns that build tension in different ways are important etc.. I think that some of the developments in the deeper sounds of trance are really interesting as of late...for example I'm really liking the stuff on anjunabeats new sub-label anjunadeep. The cross between progressive, house, and trance etc.. |
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| DJOS2 |
| quote: | Originally posted by ChemEnhanced
+1....I would say go back even further to 94 or so.
Although technology has made it possible for many advances in electronic music I think its also hurt the quality of the final products coming out. |
Completely agree - we through our first "trance" event in 1992 but 94 is when it really started to become established.
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| mUSER |
| quote: | Originally posted by drewfactor
I think this is a good point here. What's new is exciting is right. So my question is who would be some better-known producers who are pushing the boundaries? One of the things that I thought was getting boring was the same repeated formula with the build, then breakdown, drumroll, release, outro pattern without any significant deviation from that. Or at least different kinds of breakdowns that build tension in different ways are important etc.. I think that some of the developments in the deeper sounds of trance are really interesting as of late...for example I'm really liking the stuff on anjunabeats new sub-label anjunadeep. The cross between progressive, house, and trance etc.. |
Border Community normally hosts a variety of artists all doing something more or less unique at any given time. Nathan Fake is fantastic, James Holden is obviously ridiculously good. However, they're just the standouts - many other great artists out there. Check out "Oddlogic" on myspace, his track "Sextremic Enemic" is a good example of someone doing something really interesting in electronic music (for me at least). You can find his page linked off mine at www.myspace.com/iamthemuser . Robert Babicz has some good stuff, sonically, as does Umek (her and there). Honestly, I come across fantastic music all the time, without even looking all that hard for it.
I'm always trying to push my own abilities musically, and trying to find inventive ways to make interesting sounds. Thats what I love in music, and I think as the technology improves the possibilities for this just increase by leaps and bounds. |
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| activate |
| quote: | Originally posted by drewfactor
It just got me thinking about how it's been a decade since this music got popular. |
it's been a lot longer then that! |
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