proto-trance

The Timeless mix of “Time’s Up” is one of the most forward-thinking and genre-defying tracks of the late 1980s. Released on October 16, 1989, just weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall, it belongs to the first phase of the proto-trance era (1987–1989). This formative period saw a growing...

A Split-Second – Flesh (1986) is not only a landmark track in the Electronic Body Music (EBM) scene, but also a crucial link in the early evolution of trance. Originally released as a fast-paced industrial-style track with distorted vocals and driving rhythm, it already carried a strong melodic...

Few people are aware of Dance 2 Trance (the track, not the artist), which was actually on the A-side of the same record that holds We Came In Peace, a much more well-known and influential tune from 1990. I may still consider both of them proto-trance, but I think D2T deserves its place in the...

Introduction This is an extension/prequel to my previous post I made a few days ago, in which I talked about the finest examples of proper trance music from the early years of the genre. This writing also focuses on the years between 1988 and 1992, but its main goal is to help you better...

Introduction The Classic Trance Database (a freely available online resource I've created) lists around 150,000 individual tunes released between 1988 and 2009 that have any trance-related style tags on Discogs. In an effort to discover and highlight all the greatest releases from the classic...