Old School/Classic Trance Producers in 2020 (and beyond)?

SaltAcidFatHeatAcid

Senior Member
Jul 19, 2022
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So I know this is a bit late but if you notice the direction Trance Music has taken over the last 18 to 24 months then you will notice a return to the "Classic Trance" Identity. The intros & outros are longer, breaks longer more intricate, drops more Melodic and vocals are amazing. However Modern Trance will never have the Classic Analog Sound because nobody is using synthesizers or hardware to make music. It's all software and digital. Which doesn't take away from why Trance is Back! About 18 months ago Sean Tyas was streaming on Twitch for his weekly Wet Wednesdays Stream. If you have ever been in the chat you would know anything goes and there are tons of artists & producers & industry people in his chats. So he asked the question "How do we get Trance back to that "Classic Trance" sound and arrangements. And 3 hours of discussion led to agreements that labels will stop relying on quantity over quality. The focus need to be back on the passion of the producers and the effort they are putting into their tracks. So as you have heard the Trance Scene has shifted...labels have broken away from their parent labels to be more independent. And I promise you that 2023 is going to blow you away with the tracks, album's and Trance Sound that is coming. I personally work for an Uplifting Trance Label, I get all the demos, and I turn away alot but not without providing the proper constructive criticism that I was given from all the artists and labels back in the 90s and 2000s. Because if we don't ever teach the younger producers then how can they learn.
Quality over quantity is a big one, but there are bigger structural issues with most of the music that's coming out of the big labels. All of the examples you listed have the same issue. It's different flavors of the exact same idea. Almost the same type of intro structure, quite noisy from the get-go (almost no white space to let ideas develop, disappear, and re-emerge), the break happens about the same time in each track, the breaks are long and the melodies are not particularly inspired. Dancing just stops during breakdowns. Same type of buildup and release. It's like eating porridge for 2000 days straight. You may have put cranberries in today instead of raisins, but it's still porridge with all the flaws that come with having no surprises over many years. To be fair, prog house is mostly in the same predicament. Same track structure over and over and over.

What I like so much about a huge % of the music in this thread is that it's not trying to be trance in most cases. The structure of the tracks is frequently completely unpredictable. The producers just do what they want with the arrangements with no 'label sound' in mind. One label release is techno, the next electro house, the next trancey but still not trance. Blending genres is absolutely normal, most times I have a hard time classifying the tracks in my library. I tend to buy tracks that have trancey elements as I like the more melodic journey, but very very few of them resemble anything mainstream from the past 10-20 years. Almost like the producers actively avoid it. And to me, that is so refreshing. Also - these tracks all use modern production. The sound is not the issue, it's the lack of new ideas.

There are some mainstream labels releasing some gems that are veryyyyy modern sounding but still are somewhat unpredictable and quite good. The more techy-stuff from Atkinson and some others is often quite unique. Forescape Digital was releasing some quite-cool proggy stuff that was different, Coredata leading the pack (Love me some Facade, Narel, Subtara, CJ Art as well). Solarstone's EA4 of last year was refreshing (not quite trance), and there have even been a few gems from his other labels. Proteus' - Break Above the Waves was a lovely release that did not follow the template. Stoneface & Terminal's - Lose My Need was a killer track as well, one of my favorites of 2021.

TLDR: Big labels need to shred their template and start encouraging their producers to do the same. Start over. The biggest challenge? Very little new $$ to motivate talent and there is still a fanbase supporting the same 'ol. Why should they take the risk of re-inventing themselves when so few of us buy music to begin with? I do not have the answers, but I do spend a lot of money on Bandcamp and will continue to do so. Viva la revolución.
 
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erickUO

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Jul 13, 2020
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About 18 months ago... tons of artists & producers & industry people in his chats... led to agreements that labels will stop relying on quantity over quality
18 months is quite long to come up with almost nothing. Over that period, labels and artists posted in this thread has released dozens of tracks, albums/compilations, radioshows, events. Even the vinyls are often sold out.
 
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SaltAcidFatHeatAcid

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Jul 19, 2022
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As a follow up to the last mix made with a ton of tracks from this thread, I made another mix with more of the goodies from y'all, and a whole bunch more. Full of deep house and trance grooves, breaks, arps and ethereal melodies, with a psychedelic twist. Dark at times. 3.25 hours, starting a mellow 120 up to 150. Starting to dig more in to the higher BPM stuff, there are some gems out there waiting to be found I am sure!

https://soundcloud.com/user-948052372%2Fstress-strain-vol-12-interstellar-exploration-2022-nutrance
1. Remotif - Komorebi
2. Animalia - Sam & Jack Brickel - LSB
3. Tangerine Dream - Continuum
4. Guy Contact - Desert Portal
5. Capofortuna - Super Poteri
6. Ferrari - Outside World
7. Guy Contact - Doors of Perception
8. Glen S - Gatewayed Rugs
9. Fantastic Man, Francis Inferno Orchestra - Brent Lewis - 1739 (Fantastic Man Remix)
10. amuwa - Amalgamate
11. Rambal Cochet - High Tech Education
12. Tifra - Plastic Replicant
13. Solar Suite - Still Life
14. SEO JOHN - Dreams Collide
15. Gai Barone - Familia (Original Mix)
16. Solar Suite - Big Drift
17. Reflex Blue - Lost At Sea (Dub Mix)
18. Glen S - Zooming
19. Bliss Inc. - Get Some
20. Vitess - No Latitude
21. Inner Zone - High Loon
22. Harley Ferris - Collider (PG's Disassociation Mix)
23. brazilianx - Dream Within A Dream
24. Glen S - Hyperspeed (Short Mix)
25. Adam Pits, Space Cadets, Lisene - Warp Drive
26. Aiden Francis - Espeon
w/Sugarfix - Give Me More (Original Mix)
27. Glen S - Infinite Vape
28. Adam Pits, Space Cadets, Lisene - Moral Panic
29. Monophonik x Riva - Morsing
30. Narciss & Vixen - Feather Boa Constrictor
31. Willem & Cybernet - Exit Phase
32. Willem - Dream Turbine
33. Rael - Mmyeah (zwyrg Remix)
34. Earth Trax - Metal
35. Maara - Ultimate Revenge
36. Acid Vatican - The Truth
37. Dylan Forbes - Thru & Thru
38. Rove Ranger - CS80
39. ECG - Cymbiotik Beans
40. Mikkel Rev - Age Of Plastic (Peachlyfe Remix)
41. Narciss - Lovechild (Outrun Mix)
42. ΣNDYM - Voyageur
43. ECG - Bliss
44. Bruno Wolf - Shinto (Pro Athlete Remix)
 

Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
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Sweden
Proggy goa-trancey goodness. Most of the stuff I've been playing isn't THAT melodic, this one definitely is tho:

That one I can stand by. Thats not just close to trance, that is pure trance basically. Its just a little hollow/simple/drum presets on old analogue drum sampler/modern nostalgia produced if I have to to be critical.
 
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Bobby Summa

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Sep 7, 2022
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@Hensmon @Gagi @Daysleeper @TRANCEBLASTER @TranceLifeStyle17 @erickUO
@brandonl @SaltAcidFatHeatAcid

Ive Read most of the things on this page of the thread and heard some of the tunes. ( many great tracks)

During the 22 years when I was not producing music, between 1998 and 2020
I started to get into trance in a huge way in 2004.
Bought some great classic trance compilations from the likes of Gatecrasher etc. Then i investigated stuff of the time ( music written in 2004 onwards) much of which the compilation names were completely new to me.
What struck me was how extremely different they sounded from the 90s stuff. To me, I always seemed to search desperately for a track that really hit me. A Wham to the emotion centre. Although many of the tracks on the what became long series compilations were interesting and good to listen to. I often only found a maximum of 2 tracks on a 24 or 28 etc track compilation I recognized as Trance. This confused me ( and slightly disappointed me) but I continued to buy compilation cd’s in shops like HMV because i thought ‘surely this will be the one thats full of Trance’ It took many years of mostly not listening to them but without trying, some of those non trancey tracks have become very pleasing for me to listen too these days. To some they are trance but for me they are artists getting away from that big trance sound and trying to create a new sound of its time. ( im still talking 2004/5 onwards here)

Sometimes back then when i first bought them, if there was (for me) an impactful trance track, it stuck out like a Lamborghini Countach and I listened to it on repeat in complete bliss.
——
- just to add
There have been some compilations that were pretty full of trance or those which took a while to gel with me.

what i do feel is that somewhere over the last 6 or 7 years there has been more trance available with the trancey feel. Plus some amazing deep house / trance. ( think appropriately big reverbs , thought provoking melody sound combinations and a new style of percussion) I think right now 2022 everything has actually become game.
I think ( hope) people have realised its the emotion or mind sky reaching (or even stranger ) and sometimes just the simple direct hypnotic tracks that do things for people.

incidentally I hate noise pretending to be trance, esp when huge established dj’s promote and spin it
 
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erickUO

Senior Member
Jul 13, 2020
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Upcoming Maruwa EP, second track ftw

Maruwa - Liquid Night EP
https://soundcloud.com/x-kalay%2Fxk029-maruwa-liquid-night-inc-rudolf-c-remix
wow the first track is very frankfurt-styled, maybe some parts are taken from 'LDC - Plasma'?)
Not sure which parts are taken from Plasma, but both has similar vibes

What struck me was how extremely different they sounded from the 90s stuff.
90s tracks used to sounds outdated to me. Didn't like it that much back then.
But they're easy to enjoy, this makes it quite refreshing to me nowadays.
 

TRANCEBLASTER

Elite Member
Jul 21, 2020
1,207 Posts
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People & Places present their inaugural EP from Anthens’ Anatolian Weapons. Throughout the 4 tracks, we are immersed in a sonic exploration of trancey-inspired techno cuts.

Anatolian Weapons - Cloud [People & Places] October 15, 2022

Anatolian Weapons - Lost [People & Places] October 15, 2022
 
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Bobby Summa

Senior Member
Sep 7, 2022
907 Posts
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Brighton UK
Website
soundcloud.app.goo.gl
Anatolian Weapons - Cloud [People & Places] October 15, 2022

Anatolian Weapons - Lost [People & Places] October 15, 2022
Ooooh, thats nice. Love it when you mix a 303 ( or 2) with floaty high melodies and a decent beat! Nice old school sounds! Since recently joining, This forum has seriously reminded me of what good electronic music is🫶
 
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