(Why) are there no new ideas in trance?

Magdelayna

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I think once youve found a unique style of your own thats got really popular with listeners,you tend to pretty much stick to it,its what they want.

I really admire the producers that tried different styles like Ferry Corsten with stuff like 'Punk' which was far removed from his anthemic 99 Trance. But that proved popular aswell.

The problem in todays Trance scene is theres hardly anyone with a unique style. They just stick to that tried and tested generic style that sells a few copies in the Beatport charts. Thats enough for them.
 
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dmgtz96

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I think once youve found a unique style of your own thats got really popular with listeners,you tend to pretty much stick to it,its what they want.

I really admire the producers that tried different styles like Ferry Corsten with stuff like 'Punk' which was far removed from his anthemic 99 Trance. But that proved popular aswell.

The problem in todays Trance scene is theres hardly anyone with a unique style. They just stick to that tried and tested generic style that sells a few copies in the Beatport charts. Thats enough for them.
I think all the purists (ex. on tranceaddict) and anthem trance fans were not fond of Punk. I wouldn't be surprised if members of this forum dismissed the early to mid-2000s electro-trance sound of Flashover as "not real trance."
 

TRANCEBLASTER

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I think all the purists (ex. on tranceaddict) and anthem trance fans were not fond of Punk. I wouldn't be surprised if members of this forum dismissed the early to mid-2000s electro-trance sound of Flashover as "not real trance."

The genre was called electroclash..
 
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Magdelayna

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I think all the purists (ex. on tranceaddict) and anthem trance fans were not fond of Punk. I wouldn't be surprised if members of this forum dismissed the early to mid-2000s electro-trance sound of Flashover as "not real trance."

Maybe not at the time as it was too different,which proves my point entirely - Ferry was trying different stuff when he already had a wildly successful style. I listen back to Punk now and think what a high quality production - same as Rock Your Body Rock. He even went that 80s style at the same time aswell with Soul On Soul.
 
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Bobby Summa

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Mid 2000’s i was still looking for Trance albums/compilations that really tranced like the 90s stuff. Different more modern sounds used in the way i thought they should be used. I was never really 100% satisfied with what i found. Probably not even 70% satisfied.
There were tracks but not enough appeared on compilations. I swerved Ferry’s Punk. Clever but didn’t give me any thrill really. ( ive just heard ‘into the dark’ on there and assumed it was a remake of Motorcycle As The Rush Comes… is it meant to be related ? quite a few bits sound exactly the same musically. I remember back then feeling its not as good as Kenkraft 400 Zombie nation (1999) in bits of it. Probably no commodore technology used by ferry. My search for Ferry tracks that day was actually because i had heard Galaxia ( not the moonman version) and didn’t know what album or what it was from.
Now Galaxia is smooth beautiful uplifting Trance.

Some years later after bypassing the more dirty gritty side of electronic music by Trance artist, I came across a beautiful compilation with many tracks combining beautiful sounds with grit. Perhaps what fit my interpretation Electro Trance at its best. When i heard the first track that i sampled on the internet Side 2, L.E.D there be light- Rank 1. I knew something had either started, or reached its height where Punkish Trance introduced my idea of overwhelming beauty too. The perfect juxtaposition.

 

Archon

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I used to listen to maya alot by banco de gaiya. Back in the day, early 90s. Thats when all sorts of instruments got sampled and used in electronica. Check out amorphous androgynous - tales of ephidrena. Lots of different instruments beautifully blenden in tracks with electronic sounds and obscure beats or samples.
Banco de Gaia's Last Train to Lhasa and Big Men Cry are some of my favourite albums of all time. This is what gets me, we rarely have stuff like this these days. No enthic influences in music, it's all completely melted into one big globalized pile of blandness. No more personal style either. Talking mostly about trance, but if some know what I'm looking for, feel free to sent it.

I listened to that album, it's fucking brilliant. I jizzed extensively at Swab.

 
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Hot Tuna

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The genre was called electroclash..

Electroclash was a pop genre that came and peaked before some trance producers started moving in that direction. Goldfrapp, Fischerspooner, Tiga, Miss Kittin, even the likes of Scissor Sisters could be counted under that umbrella.

 

Bobby Summa

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Banco de Gaia's Last Train to Lhasa and Big Men Cry are some of my favourite albums of all time. This is what gets me, we rarely have stuff like this these days. No enthic influences in music, it's all completely melted into one big globalized pile of blandness. No more personal style either. Talking mostly about trance, but if some know what I'm looking for, feel free to sent it.

I listened to that album, it's fucking brilliant. I jizzed extensively at Swab.


Completely agree!

Those guys are actually Future Sound of London
 

TRANCEBLASTER

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Electroclash was a pop genre that came and peaked before some trance producers started moving in that direction. Goldfrapp, Fischerspooner, Tiga, Miss Kittin, even the likes of Scissor Sisters could be counted under that umbrella.


Here in my part of Europe was also something like 'Lexy & K-Paul - Freak' or 'Laurent Garnier - Flashback' called 'Electroclash', even guys like 'Mr. Oizo' or 'Zombie Nation'
 

Progrez

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I disagree with the topic - It's not the lack of good ideas but a lack of stand out tracks that you would look back on and something has a nostalgic shine to it.

I mean have a listen a Super 8 - Cre8 or Perasma - Swing 2 Harmony (Deserves An Effort Symphony Dub Mix) both so euphoric as fuck.

But observing it melancholic tracks seem to gain more appeal to a wide audience just have a listen to Universal Nation by Push.

Super 8 & Tab - Suru is another awesome melancholic track with that gorgeous melody and breakdown and the key change.
 
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Bobby Summa

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The use of sound and some of the construction aspects of this 2019 remix of an above and beyond track is one of my favourite electronic tracks of all time. I haven’t heard these ideas all that much, well not done in a track with such feeling, invention and journey as this remix. So atmospheric.

I know there are others of similar style . Still not sure what style it is, and not 100% sure I care. But he truly Nails It.

Spencer brown is so talented


(would you believe it, as i was writing this, a track comes on after spencer brown,. Im thinking, wow I like this, the melody is so sweet, then i check who it is… Ah, Its that geezer. I know him
@jetflag


 
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Jul 20, 2020
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I wouldn't say there are no new ideas. We had new ideas and most have been failures. New ideas doesn't always mean a good thing, we should be careful what we wish for. Looking at the past 10 years here is how I see it....

Trouse & Trance 2.0 (2012-2016)
Labels: Anjunabeats, Enhanced
Tracks: Andrew Bayer - Nobody Told Me, Above & Beyond - Sticky Fingers, Andrew Rayel - Zeus etc
Thoughts: The genres no-one asked for, that could not get as removed from the roots of Trance if it tried harder. Sometimes original on the Anjuna side, but when you're compressing fart noises that aggressively you always run the risk of them becoming a solid.
Rating: 4/10

"Underground" Trance (2012-2018)
Labels: JOOF, LCD
Tracks: Airwave - Gaijin/Tigris Euphrates/Atlas Winds, Simon Templar - Wasteland pt 2, Digital Blonde - M, JOOF - Imperial Echoes of Devestation
Thoughts: It blended darker and serious tones of trance, psy and prog together into something not seen before. Unfortunately not enough artists tuned in to GTG and caught on. As time went on the style descended into various forms of monotonous and unremarkable prog and techno. RIP
Rating: 7.5/10

Commercial Trance (2015-Today)
Labels: Armada, Spinnin etc
Tracks: Dont make me search for it
Thoughts: Sometimes pure pop with heavy breakdown, sometimes blends with steroid or commercial psy. Through association it unfortunately remains part of the Trance scenes identity. Today this is what most people think Trance is I honestly believe.
Rating: 2/10

Commercial Psy-Trance (2016-Today?)
Labels: Fuck knows
Tracks: Anything by Vini Vici or Highlight Tribe
Thoughts: Shocking, classless genre, assembled in minutes from the most generic sample packs around, for a guaranteed blow your socks off experience tailored for the Gen-Z cosmonaught. Check Armins recent EDC set opening tracks, for what is an eye opener, both in the pure capitulation of the genre and the abundance of scantly dressed Californian asian women.
Rating: 4/10

Steroid/Modern Uplifting (2015-Today)
Labels: FSOE, Always Alive, PURE Trance Neon, Nocturnal Knights, Skullduggery, Armada, Subculture (EVERYONE)
Tracks: Photographer - Airport, Harmonic Rush - Were Ghosts

Thoughts: Kick helplines around the world at breaking point due to the rising levels of abuse. Kids pushing white-noise in backdoor sample packs. Almost every label penetrated, in the unhealthiest relationship Trance has had since Euro-dance. The harder it tries the more generic and louder it becomes. RIP my ears.
Rating: 3/10

Revival (2020 - Today)
Labels: Bandcamp and Soundcloud minnows
Tracks: Niles Cooper - In My Mind, Aguila - La Luz, Steve Marie - Trancier, Bliss Inc - Pangea, Energy Breakthrough (Adam Pits' Lightspeed Mix)
Thoughts: Trance stopped being cool, but due its undeniable allure, producers found a hack where they just take pieces of the genre and add it to their house and techno tracks, thus maintaining their edgey disposition whilst also summoning the unicorns from within. I'm just happy to have enjoyable music outside of Activa in all honesty.
Rating: Too early to tell (but I predict 7/10)

Did I miss anything :p
This is a very good post and it really touches on many of the pretty bad ideas Trance has been having in the last ten to twelve years or so, although, I feel that I have to correct you in some cases:

Both Steroidlifting and Pop Trance, or Commercial Trance like you call it are actually older than you mention them to be.

Steroidlifting, for example, traces its origins to as early as 2006 when Sean Tyas rose to prominence with "Lift" and many remixes of his own, it started to become more prominent in 2007 when Aly & Fila first became extremely popular and by 2009 pretty much all uplifting was steroid, it only got much worse from then on with releases like Photographer - Airport, of course but the ultimate disgrace for this genre was when it started to effectively mix itself with Pop Trance creating the current ASOT TOTY formula the show is still majorly victim of.

As for Pop Trance, or Commercial Trance, as you mention it, just like Steroidlifting is older than you think it is, in fact, I can trace one track from 2007 as pure commercially-driven Pop Trance which is Filo & Peri feat. Eric Lumiere - Anthem, that track for me was already way too poppy and commercial-sounding than most Vocal Trance being released back in the days and things only got worse from then on, 2008 saw the release of at that time one of the poppiest Trance albums which was "Imagine" by Armin van Buuren with "Going Wrong" being the biggest offender in that remark. Then 2009 Dash Berlin released one of the cheesiest Trance albums of that time called "The New Dayglight" which included incredibly cheesy hits like "Man On The Run", "Never Cry Again" and the god-forsaken "Waiting" feat. Emma Hewitt, one of the poppiest vocalists ever to appear in the Trance scene, and to make matters worse, from 2010 on Gareth Emery decided to become to new ambassador of Pop Trance after the release of tracks such as "Sanctuary" and "Fight The Sunrise", but the major offense would finally crystalize itself in 2014 when Pop Trance and Steroidlifting decided to finally join forces in what would become the ASOT TOTY of that year, Gareth Emery feat. Bo Bruce - U (Bryan Kearney Remix), the absolute definition of laziness and the absolute proof that the Trance scene no longer cared about actual quality, it only really cared about the same freaking formula over and over again, that track in particular epitomizes everything that has been wrong in the Trance scene for the last ten years or so, basically, nowadays, you don't even need to be that much creative to be rewarded, all you need is to hire some generic Pop-Trance vocalist, if it's Emma Hewitt, Susana, Christina Novelli or Roxanne Emery you gain extra points because for some weird reason these ones are heralded as "the best" by the #trancefamily and Armin stans, use generic 138/140 Steroidlifting presets, make them sing about how Trance music is so great even though I can hardly call their music Trance or make them sing about how love is amazing or an absolute mess depending on how well it goes for you or any typical silly topic to sing in a song and that's it, you have your ASOT TOTY, in fact, last year these people had the ultimate chance to prove that Trance was way more than that when they had the opportunity to vote for one of the best ASOT-supported tracks released in years, Ferry Corsten & Ruben de Ronde - Bloodstream, as their TOTY but no, instead they gave such prize as yet another boring generic cheeselifting vocal pop trance tune just because Armin and Aly & Fila produced it perpetuating even more the really annoying and unbearable stereotype of the "ideal Trance track" which is exactly the reason why Trance is seen by many people as a genre for pretty dumb idiots who idolize some wacky retarted puppet who likes to pretend he's some sort of rock-star when he really isn't.

As for your comment about Eurodance having been a bad influence on Trance Music, I assume you're talking about the also incredibly poppyfied form of Epic/Vocal Trance that used to be extremely popular in most Western Europe and even a bit in the U.S. fronted by acts such as Ian van Dahl, Lasgo, DJ Sammy, Sylver, Alice Deejay, Milk inc, Kate Ryan and many others, right? If it is so, I have to say one thing about this: I would much rather have that kind of music back than any of the post-2014 steroidlifting pop trance any day of the year, in fact, I would even take it over most post-2007 Armin/Dash Berlin/Gareth Emery kind of Pop-Trance, if you ask me.

Also Trouse started to infest the Trance scene a bit earlier, people were already massively complaining about it in several forum posts back in 2011 and Armin started playing Swedish Cheese Mafia and Avicii already back in 2010, unfortunately.
 
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Bobby Summa

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Cosmic Baby - The Space Track (1992) Id love to hear a trance track as pure as this made today. I wouldn’t be surprised if in 10 years time this kind of trance is bought back to a lot more than just the minority. I bought a compilation in 1993 and was so exited to hear it after seeing the advert in mixmag.
Trance Europe Express vol 1. Many incredible tracks but this i thought was the ‘only’ one that was trance, hearing this track is when i found the kind of music id been hoping existed.

 
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Bobby Summa

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[QUOTE="

I listened to that album, it's fucking brilliant. I jizzed extensively at Swab.

[/QUOTE]

Heres one of my favorite albums ever made. From 1993. They just don’t make em like this anymore….

Make sure you have some kleenex Gagi! 😉
 
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Bobby Summa

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Also Trouse started to infest the Trance scene a bit earlier, people were already massively complaining about it in several forum posts back in 2011 and Armin started playing Swedish Cheese Mafia and Avicii already back in 2010, unfortunately.
[/QUOTE]

I remember listening to this when i first saw it. I was in a record shop in 2011. I had been a big fan of ISOS series. So thought this might be interesting and the front cover looked very appealing.
I was extremely excited at the thought of a new good compilation series.

On listening I felt trance had been completely violated
 

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Cosmic Baby - The Space Track (1992) Id love to hear a trance track as pure as this made today. I wouldn’t be surprised if in 10 years time this kind of trance is bought back to a lot more than just the minority. I bought a compilation in 1993 and was so exited to hear it after seeing the advert in mixmag.
Trance Europe Express vol 1. Many incredible tracks but this i thought was the ‘only’ one that was trance, hearing this track is when i found the kind of music id been hoping existed.

Thirty years later and this tracks still sounds as amazing as it did back then, for me it's the definition of Pure Trance, simple yet so captivating, always evolving during its +8min run, this is where Trance needs to return as soon as possible, in my very humble opinion.

Also Trouse started to infest the Trance scene a bit earlier, people were already massively complaining about it in several forum posts back in 2011 and Armin started playing Swedish Cheese Mafia and Avicii already back in 2010, unfortunately.

I remember listening to this when i first saw it. I was in a record shop in 2011. I had been a big fan of ISOS series. So thought this might be interesting and the front cover looked very appealing.
I was extremely excited at the thought of a new good compilation series.

On listening I felt trance had been completely violated
[/QUOTE]

You know? The interesting thing about Trouse is that it claims itself to be some sort of hybrid between Trance and House when in reality is neither because it fails to have the deep emotional feeling of Trance Music while also failing to have the warmth and groove of House Music, instead it's just a weird fidget-spinner kind of sound which exists only for the sake of being "festival music" and the even more interesting thing about it is that contrary to what people like Tiësto, Laidback Luke and Jono Grant were saying back in those days that kind of music wasn't even new, this kind of Fidget-Spinner "House" Music has been a thing for as early as the late 80's when The KLF produced their Stadium House Trilogy, what happened is that this whole thing morphed into a lot of different things as time went by, when Rave Techno was popular back in the early 90's Anthem House heavily borrowed from that kind of music like on this track for example:


When Pizzicato became a thing in the EDM scene thanks to Faithless with tracks like Insomnia & Salva Mea, Anthem House became that, before this there was also Hardbag which was also another incarnation of this kind of music:


Since Anthem House was also influential enough in the creation of UK Hard House due to its early Hardbag incarnation there are some UK Hard House tracks that could be considered Anthem House as well like this one:


And throughout the 2000's Anthem House flirted a lot with whatever was popular at the moment, when Funky House was popular we had Funky House with Anthems, e.g. Chocolate Puma - I Wanna Be U, when French House was popular we had French House with Anthems, e.g. Daft Punk - One More Time, when Electro House was popular we had that with anthems, e.g. Hi-Tack - Waiting For You and there are many other examples like Eric Prydz - Call On Me, Uniting Nations - Out Of Touch, Laurent Wolf - No Stress, Grum - Heartbeat, Narcotic Thrust - I Like It and lots and lots more, what happened in the late 00's and early new 10's is that instead o copying whatever was popular at the moment people like Avicii and Swedish House Mafia decided it would be better just to simplify the whole thing once again and this is how Trouse became a thing, of course all these producers would claim that this was actually a fusion between Trance and House music when in reality it really isn't, they just picked on old formula and "reinvented it for a new generation", that's why terms like Big Room or even Anthem House are way more befitting than Trouse because the genre itself is not really trying to emulate Epic Trance, if anything it sounds way more similar to the Hardbag and Pizzicato sounds of the 90's, not really so in relation to Epic Trance. Of course mainstream or mainstage Trance producers weren't stupid and seeing all this happening decided to incorporate that "Trouse" sound into their own sets eventually starting producing and/or releasing it in their own labels and this is how Trance 2.0. came to life, Trance 2.0. is basically what happened when the fusion between Mainstage Trance and "Trouse" became complete which happened more or less in 2012, if you ask me. If there is one track that defines Trance 2.0. for life is this one by ilan Blluestone:


You see? The perfect Trance 2.0./Trouse track that everyone from Above & Beyond to Armin kept playing incessantly already in late 2012 but even more so for the greater part of 2013 and since then the whole "Trouse" thing has been firmly established in the Mainstage Trance scene with probably Above & Beyond being their main supporters, of course, nowadays, with the rise of genres such as Melodic and Peak-Time Techno, Trouse nowadays has lost the extreme relevance it used to have for the most part of the last decade but it hasn't fully died yet because producers like Andrew Bayer and Above & Beyond still waste their time producing it but I predict that in a few years no one will still be producing this kind of music because as this decade is rolling by this kind of music is starting to sound more and more dated just like Poplifting, eventually all things must die and I predict that in a few years both Poplifting and Trouse will cease to be things, at least I sincerely hope so.
 
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Jetflag

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I would like to see this aesthetic in trance:


@Magdelayna @jetflag what would it take to create a trance track in this style?

@Daysleeper does it make sense to include elements from this track in trance?

love this actually, summerish shoegaze electronica. Reminds me of surf trips to Spain/Portugal.

there is (but not speaking for @Magdelayna here). A lot of stuff to work with imo:

the vintage lead in the beginning and the processed bells are quite reminiscent of some of the stuff Steur used to do. Same goes for the arpeggio later on.

I think the most difficult thing would be to find a sexy mexican vox at a suitable tempo but other then that consider this a musical project 2023 for me.
 
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