Unpopular trance/electronic music opinions

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
Big room EDM would have been much more interesting without:
  • Pryda snares, risers, supersaws, and excess white noise
  • Awful song structure with no climax
  • Boring vocalists whose words don't flow well with the track
Fix all 3, and you just have pop.
 

TRANCEBLASTER

Elite Member
Jul 21, 2020
1,207 Posts
1,463 Thanked
Techno is massively overrated

In some ways I give u totally right.. the 'Bigroom/Melodic/Hardcore-Trance Techno' is definitely awful and tasteless, but I think thats the fail of the other genres like House, Trance or DnB, that they can't speak to the new generations of clubbers and ravers.. Techno was never so popular like at this moment.

Ofc. there are many sublime Detroit, Ambient Techno, Dub or Deep (not the JOOF stuff) Techno releaeses that are 'vinyl only' and only true insiders know about them.. the true undergound Techno still exists
 

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
In trance (and honestly, electronic music in general), supersaws are great as a tool to add more epicness and atmosphere/ambiance to the track, but they don't work well as a main melody (ex. Rank 1, The Mystery stuff).
 

BS_BlackScout

Senior Member
Jul 13, 2020
255 Posts
125 Thanked
Age
24
Hell, Brazil
FSOE/Aly & Fila have terrible mastering (white noise master) but their tracks are good (well I mean A&F tracks, I don't actually listen to FSOE stuff enough).
Pure Trance isn't as amazing imo. It is however a lot better than many labels who proclaim to release "Trance" but release everything but that.
Something, something 138.

The spicy one:

Paavo is the only reason A&B still exists, the good tracks are made by him, the melodic stuff was made by him. When he's not involved everything sounds like farts because Jono/Bayer. Not even Tony is to blame as he has released tracks done by mostly himself under the A&B alias which didn't sound awful to listen. I jokingly but also somewhat seriously blame Jono for the downfall of their sound. You think I am crazy? Listen to these tracks in order:
@tak - The Alien [he's credited, pay attention to the bass, crashes, sfx] -> P.O.S - Gravity -> Delerium - Underwater (A&B Remix) -> Tranquility Base - Surrender -> OceanLab - Satellite -> A&B - Alright Now.

You will notice that despite some of these being completely different from each other the typical elements from his work are there. (Plucks in the background, rising chord progressions)

Want salt to the wound? Cassandra Fox - Touch Me (Mike Koglin vs Jono Grant Remix) vs Mike Koglin Vs POS - Autumn (Original Mix)
Both released at around the same time. Mike has a more abrasive style but guess which is closer to their A.I. / Balearic Balls / Andrew Bayer - Celestial sound?
Listen to the breaks, melodies and emotion. Don't be fooled by the drums.

Don't get me wrong. Jono knows a LOT but I don't think he is that good of a composer. Neither A&B in general. They reuse their own melodies and progressions VERY often. They always did it and will continue to do it.
 
Last edited:
  • Thanks
Reactions: dmgtz96

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
FSOE/Aly & Fila have terrible mastering (white noise master) but their tracks are good (well I mean A&F tracks, I don't actually listen to FSOE stuff enough).
I don't really have an opinion on modern Aly & Fila, but I steered clear from FSOE when Bjorn Akesson's Painting Pyramids trended 10 years ago. I just associate their label with the awful work done for that track. It does *not* sound good at all.
Don't get me wrong. Jono knows a LOT but I don't think he is that good of a composer. Neither A&B in general. They reuse their own melodies and progressions VERY often. They always did it and will continue to do it.
I don't disagree. I very much hold this opinion about most electronic music producers. They're not trained musicians, and composing music isn't necessarily their biggest strength. They're primarily producers, DJs, and entertainers.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: BS_BlackScout

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
More like a random thought than an unpopular opinion:

Airwave - Chase Childhood Monsters would be an AWESOME intro track for an Airwave concert.

For a more unpopular opinion,

Airwave's experimental tracks on Dark and Bright Lines are the peak of his artistic career. His earlier work under Fire & Ice / Green Martian, and his album Trilogique might have all been more popular, but Dark and Bright Lines show the true potential and talent of Airwave as a musical and electronic artist.
 
Last edited:

Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
3,913 Posts
2,809 Thanked
Airwave's experimental tracks on Dark and Bright Lines are the peak of his artistic career. His earlier work under Fire & Ice / Green Martian, and his album Trilogique might have all been more popular, but Dark and Bright Lines show the true potential and talent of Airwave as a musical and electronic artist.
Ironically enough, for an Airwave superfan as I consider myself, and as proven by Deezer, I still haven't went through the Lines albums. Shame on me, shame!

When I do click Play though, I'd still want to hear how this can top raw emotions and inspiration he had earlier on.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: dmgtz96

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
Trance became popular during a very unique time, and arguably one of the most peaceful eras (for the Western world, anyways).
The 90s were more or less peak humanity. We weren't as divided in terms of politics. Economic growth was booming, and there were few active wars.
When 9/11 happened, the party was over. It just didn't make sense anymore to write and dance to ultra-happy, fast-paced tunes.

Cue the economic recession, increasing division, take over of the alt-right/fascism in the West. The world as it exists right now does not let a happy genre like '90s trance to survive.
 

Magdelayna

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
1,490 Posts
1,217 Thanked
West Yorkshire,England
Website
soundcloud.com
Trance became popular during a very unique time, and arguably one of the most peaceful eras (for the Western world, anyways).
The 90s were more or less peak humanity. We weren't as divided in terms of politics. Economic growth was booming, and there were few active wars.
When 9/11 happened, the party was over. It just didn't make sense anymore to write and dance to ultra-happy, fast-paced tunes.

Cue the economic recession, increasing division, take over of the alt-right/fascism in the West. The world as it exists right now does not let a happy genre like '90s trance to survive.

An interesting theory,and i also agree the 90s were more innocent times - although we did have the gulf war at the start of the decade,but even that spawned great games like Desert Strike on Megadrive hehe. I dont agree after 9/11 people didnt make good happy Trance - 2002 was actually one of the best years.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: dmgtz96

Jetflag

Elite Member
Jul 17, 2020
2,701 Posts
2,168 Thanked
Here's an unpopular opinion. I for once, completely and 100% agree with no reservations and/or political, ethical, ideological or practical reasons with what dmgtz96 just wrote there.
 
Last edited:
  • Thanks
Reactions: dmgtz96

Magdelayna

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
1,490 Posts
1,217 Thanked
West Yorkshire,England
Website
soundcloud.com
I think the boom of the internet in the 2000's and then social media in the years to follow has really ended that 'carefee' and more 'innocent' times we had in the 90's....the times you use to talk on your home landline,listen to CDs,read magazines etc - it just all seems more innocent to me - does it to you? Of course this depends on how old you are,as the decade of the 90s i was 8 to 18 years old...so thats pretty much the biggest part of me growing up. And im quite thankful i grew up in that era. Look at the state of things now...
 
Last edited:

Jetflag

Elite Member
Jul 17, 2020
2,701 Posts
2,168 Thanked
I think the boom of the internet in the 2000's and then social media in the years to follow has really ended that 'carefee' and more 'innocent' times we had in the 90's....the times you use to talk on your home landline,listen to CDs,read magazines etc - it just all seems more innocent to me - does it to you? Of course this depends on how old you are,as the decade of the 90s i was 8 to 18 years old...so thats pretty much the biggest part of me growing up. And im quite thankful i grew up in that era. Look at the state of things now...
yeah i'd hate to be a zoomer at that age growing up in this Era. One of the reasons (though not the primairy one) for me and my wife to move outside the cities into a more rural setting is having the children growing up into a stable, carefree more outside then inside environment where, aside from the odd-cellphone once and so often, children are for the most part playing in the streets, playing hide & seek/tag, tinkering with dirtbikes or helping out on farms for fun etc.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: dmgtz96

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
An interesting theory,and i also agree the 90s were more innocent times - although we did have the gulf war at the start of the decade,but even that spawned great games like Desert Strike on Megadrive hehe. I dont agree after 9/11 people didnt make good happy Trance - 2002 was actually one of the best years.
yeah, I should have strictly specified in the Western world. The '90s saw genocides* and brutal, bloody wars in Africa, but the West was mostly spared from those conflicts

Here's an unpopular opinion. I for once, completely and 100% agree with no reservations and/or political, ethical, ideological or practical reasons with what dmgtz96 just wrote there.
hahaha I guess we've found our middle ground!

edit: I'm an idiot and got my genocides mixed up
 
Last edited:
  • Thanks
Reactions: Jetflag

Jetflag

Elite Member
Jul 17, 2020
2,701 Posts
2,168 Thanked
edit: I'm an idiot and got my genocides mixed up
lfmao. Don't worry about it m8, happens to me all the time.

When i'm sleep deprived and/or intoxicated the night before I can't for the life of me remember which demographic I slaughered first when I was an unruly dictator :sneaky:
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: dmgtz96

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
lfmao. Don't worry about it m8, happens to me all the time.

When i'm sleep deprived and/or intoxicated the night before I can't for the life of me remember which demographic I slaughered first when I was an unruly dictator :sneaky:
Hate it when that happens!!! Haha
 

LostLegend

Senior Member
Dec 5, 2020
843 Posts
970 Thanked
Liverpool, UK
Website
www.beatport.com
So the amount of producers offering one-to-one tutorship is crazy. Obviously there's not much money in making trance so people are using their skills how they can - no issue with that on my end.

But it brings up a pet hate of mine. Learning how to produce is more accessible than it's ever been. Between hundreds of thousands YouTube tutorials, one-to-one tuition and even the cheats method of pre-made templates and midi-packs.

The issue is that a lot of people are learning how to produce before they learn how to make good music.
I'm not talking about theory, but the actual creativity itself. Learning what works and doesn't, how to use you ears and get a feeling for where a track should go and how it flows - that has to be learned with experience and is very personal for each musician/producer.

That's why we are getting so many releases that are produced to a very high technical standard, but have all the soul of a swarm of locusts.
 

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
More of a random thought than an actual unpopular opinion:

Airwave probably had "BBE - 7 Days and One Week" in mind when he created "Cloud 69 - Sixty Nine Ways." To me, both tracks feel like they're related somehow even though they have very different styles (light vs dark), melodies, and likely are in different keys. I think it's because they use their lead synths in the same way. They don't really have an overarching melody, except for a small snippet of melody that appears and disappears constantly.
 

dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
Nitrous Oxide's Dreamcatcher album is one of the best trance albums from the modern era (2008-today) and is also possibly the last album from a major artist before steroids overtook the genre.
Dreamcatcher should be the first album that new trance fans hear if they ever want to move away from the steroid part of the genre.
 

Recharge

Elite Member
Sep 26, 2020
1,004 Posts
544 Thanked
Age
38
So the amount of producers offering one-to-one tutorship is crazy. Obviously there's not much money in making trance so people are using their skills how they can - no issue with that on my end.

But it brings up a pet hate of mine. Learning how to produce is more accessible than it's ever been. Between hundreds of thousands YouTube tutorials, one-to-one tuition and even the cheats method of pre-made templates and midi-packs.

The issue is that a lot of people are learning how to produce before they learn how to make good music.
I'm not talking about theory, but the actual creativity itself. Learning what works and doesn't, how to use you ears and get a feeling for where a track should go and how it flows - that has to be learned with experience and is very personal for each musician/producer.

That's why we are getting so many releases that are produced to a very high technical standard, but have all the soul of a swarm of locusts.
That's actually very insightful, I feel A lot of modern music lacks soul even if it produced at a very hard standard.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: LostLegend