Sneijder feat. Victoriya - Need You Here [Who’s Afraid of 138?!]

[Archon]

Not a fan of those vocals at all, and I think the entire track is a bit flat and unconvincing, although it's definitely ok overall. Have to say my judgement - not including the vocals - is impacted by the fact that I've heard lots of tracks like this one already, and this doesn't bring anything new to the table in my opinion. Only just above the current average. It doesn't grab me at all - and it could've!

That said, I do understand the need for translating one's feelings into music, especially when a loved one passes away. It's a part of a healing process.

 

[Magdelayna]

Just listen to music before 2010 then, you will be all good !

must check out those GO & Atkinson sample packs, wasn’t aware they even existed

How come none of the Irish producers have ever done a Trance version of Riverdance!? You could even call it River Trance....

 

[Progrez]

Just listen to music before 2010 then, you will be all good !

must check out those GO & Atkinson sample packs, wasn’t aware they even existed

ALL vocal trancers after 2010 is just a shadow of its formers self imo... to me everything sounds the same. kick-heavy, sample pack from Parkinson/Attkinson/ GO one-note melody, washed out vocals.. no journey, shallow kind of feels...

And all the mediocre 2010 producers set the standard of it, which is very low in all reality.

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I do agree the quality has greatly diminished over the last 10 years. It's not easy to turn your back on something you love greatly and have followed since childhood and I am talking back in the mid 90's. The vocal and instrumental stuff did sound like it was more musically well produced and executed and they are a lot more memorable. I am not saying producing is easy hell I have tried it and I don't even want to imagine how tough it can be for some people especially you. I feel trance producers have either forgotten how to make music or because of the internet they don't seem to put too much value in music anymore because most of the musicians out there make money off doing Djs gigs and live shows. We would love to hear of what you guys used to produce back in the past where tracks had a range of emotions they weren't a giant sine wave of white noise which is what is nowadays. The subtly, journey, emotions and the enjoyment and fun has been lost. Listen to Kamil Polner - Sonata although not his best track but it's been the best track since years and so was Matahari - Hoopoe and Enigma, enigma state in my fantasy and Enigmatic were both excellent releases. They sound better than most of the stuff produced by the established guys like Daniel Kandi, Ferry Tayle and yourself and the stuff played on ASOT these days.

The stuff made on Bandcamp sounds a lot better than the stuff released by most of the old labels like Bonzai, Armada, Vandit etc etc

 

[Sneijder]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I do agree the quality has greatly diminished over the last 10 years. It's not easy to turn your back on something you love greatly and have followed since childhood and I am talking back in the mid 90's. The vocal and instrumental stuff did sound like it was more musically well produced and executed and they are a lot more memorable. I am not saying producing is easy hell I have tried it and I don't even want to imagine how tough it can be for some people especially you. I feel trance producers have either forgotten how to make music or because of the internet they don't seem to put too much value in music anymore because most of the musicians out there make money off doing Djs gigs and live shows. We would love to hear of what you guys used to produce back in the past where tracks had a range of emotions they weren't a giant sine wave of white noise which is what is nowadays. The subtly, journey, emotions and the enjoyment and fun has been lost. Listen to Kamil Polner - Sonata although not his best track but it's been the best track since years and so was Matahari - Hoopoe and Enigma, enigma state in my fantasy and Enigmatic were both excellent releases. They sound better than most of the stuff produced by the established guys like Daniel Kandi, Ferry Tayle and yourself and the stuff played on ASOT these days.

The stuff made on Bandcamp sounds a lot better than the stuff released by most of the old labels like Bonzai, Armada, Vandit etc etc

The answer is simple

back in those days producers made enough money from tracks that any money from djing was a bonus if they even wanted toit

now, the money in actual sales is nothing, so shows is now the revenue steam, music is now a means of getting the shows, more a quick promotional tool, and with the speed of social media and peoples short attention spans, mainly down to tik tok etc the shelf life of music is 2 weeks max then it’s onto the next track

what’s happened is this has spawned a generation of producers who make desposable music which is more aimed at gimics and social media presence in order to get shows, music has nearly become secondary to social content


truth also is production quality back then was very average, Im not taking about musically, actually mixing and mastering, yes some tracks were great, but most not so great, so don’t sit in with current dj sets, hence remastered versions or reworks

it’s a sad reality, I however always make my music from the heart and to the best of my ability, some might not like it, that’s cool, you can’t please everyone, but I treat it with respect as I really value the scene or what’s left of it

it’s not easy for producers that want to maintain credibility but compete with the new generation and stay relevant amongst the wave of tik tok djs, so bare this in mind when jumping on peoples track ideas

 

[Sneijder]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I do agree the quality has greatly diminished over the last 10 years. It's not easy to turn your back on something you love greatly and have followed since childhood and I am talking back in the mid 90's. The vocal and instrumental stuff did sound like it was more musically well produced and executed and they are a lot more memorable. I am not saying producing is easy hell I have tried it and I don't even want to imagine how tough it can be for some people especially you. I feel trance producers have either forgotten how to make music or because of the internet they don't seem to put too much value in music anymore because most of the musicians out there make money off doing Djs gigs and live shows. We would love to hear of what you guys used to produce back in the past where tracks had a range of emotions they weren't a giant sine wave of white noise which is what is nowadays. The subtly, journey, emotions and the enjoyment and fun has been lost. Listen to Kamil Polner - Sonata although not his best track but it's been the best track since years and so was Matahari - Hoopoe and Enigma, enigma state in my fantasy and Enigmatic were both excellent releases. They sound better than most of the stuff produced by the established guys like Daniel Kandi, Ferry Tayle and yourself and the stuff played on ASOT these days.

The stuff made on Bandcamp sounds a lot better than the stuff released by most of the old labels like Bonzai, Armada, Vandit etc etc

It also depends on what you want from a track, I make club music, music to play in my dj sets, as I’m a dj first, producer second, so my tracks will not appeal to guys who like softer trance

like I said, you can’t please everyone, you can only make what feels right for you

 

[Progrez]

It also depends on what you want from a track, I make club music, music to play in my dj sets, as I’m a dj first, producer second, so my tracks will not appeal to guys who like softer trance

like I said, you can’t please everyone, you can only make what feels right for you

Well, I do like hard trance believe me I listen to tracks from ovnimoon which are psy trance but they sound hard and fast too. I just feel most of the higher bpm just lacks journey, emotions like some of the older tracks. It's not that they don't sound the same they lack soul and sound very plastic. I find myself listening the harder stuff from the techno and psychedelic trance and goa trance which has elements of the trance of the old like the percussion, atmosphere, emotions, melody and amazing groove. I disagree music from the 90's and 2000's were great commercial music has become more and more distant from the underground scene as the years have gone. Back then underground and commercial music used to be pretty close.

The answer is simple

back in those days producers made enough money from tracks that any money from djing was a bonus if they even wanted toit

now, the money in actual sales is nothing, so shows is now the revenue steam, music is now a means of getting the shows, more a quick promotional tool, and with the speed of social media and peoples short attention spans, mainly down to tik tok etc the shelf life of music is 2 weeks max then it’s onto the next track

what’s happened is this has spawned a generation of producers who make desposable music which is more aimed at gimics and social media presence in order to get shows, music has nearly become secondary to social content


truth also is production quality back then was very average, Im not taking about musically, actually mixing and mastering, yes some tracks were great, but most not so great, so don’t sit in with current dj sets, hence remastered versions or reworks

it’s a sad reality, I however always make my music from the heart and to the best of my ability, some might not like it, that’s cool, you can’t please everyone, but I treat it with respect as I really value the scene or what’s left of it

it’s not easy for producers that want to maintain credibility but compete with the new generation and stay relevant amongst the wave of tik tok djs, so bare this in mind when jumping on peoples track ideas

I was actually talking about music back then was musically beautiful that's what missing and that you can relate or connect to on a deeper level and they were highly addictive too. Now let's compare Universal Nation, sure each individual person may have their own opinion on this some prefer the original and some prefer the Ferry Corsten remix and I think back then it was catered to a wider audience where everyone can enjoy it. Nowadays not so much it's become harder for that maybe move from analogue to digital may have been the reason.

 

[Propeller]

Haha what a sad state of affairs. DJs competing with each other on social media to get attention and gigs. Music is secondary or irrelevant. I'd say most tunes these days are forgotten in 2 days and not 2 weeks. And then onto the next one. I appreciate Sneider being honest and not sugar coating anything, even if I don't like this style of music.

 

[Bully is back]

I think the problem with modern trance is that it's mostly made by fans like you and me. Unfortunately they don't have any musical talent, they have just been committed enough to learn how to produce. Fair play to them to that I take my hat off to them for it. Doesn't change the fact that they don't have any musical ability though and as a result the stuff they produce is terrible.

Back in the day the producers were musicians and yeah they may have only jumped on the trance bandwagon whilst there was money in it but at least they had some musical ability and could hold down a tune and create atmosphere.

 

[Magdelayna]

I think the problem with modern trance is that it's mostly made by fans like you and me. Unfortunately they don't have any musical talent, they have just been committed enough to learn how to produce. Fair play to them to that I take my hat off to them for it. Doesn't change the fact that they don't have any musical ability though and as a result the stuff they produce is terrible.

Back in the day the producers were musicians and yeah they may have only jumped on the trance bandwagon whilst there was money in it but at least they had some musical ability and could hold down a tune and create atmosphere.

What a load of rubbish.

 

[Sneijder]

I think the problem with modern trance is that it's mostly made by fans like you and me. Unfortunately they don't have any musical talent, they have just been committed enough to learn how to produce. Fair play to them to that I take my hat off to them for it. Doesn't change the fact that they don't have any musical ability though and as a result the stuff they produce is terrible.

Back in the day the producers were musicians and yeah they may have only jumped on the trance bandwagon whilst there was money in it but at least they had some musical ability and could hold down a tune and create atmosphere.

I have news for you, 90% of the ‘back in the day’ producers your prob talking about are ghost produced

 

[Sneijder]

Haha what a sad state of affairs. DJs competing with each other on social media to get attention and gigs. Music is secondary or irrelevant. I'd say most tunes these days are forgotten in 2 days and not 2 weeks. And then onto the next one. I appreciate Sneider being honest and not sugar coating anything, even if I don't like this style of music.

Don’t hate the players, hate the game

 

[Hensmon]

now, the money in actual sales is nothing, so shows is now the revenue steam, music is now a means of getting the shows

Yeah the awkward truth. The listener/consumer is what got us to where we are today, not really the producers. Internet allowed for hyper consumption and then Spotify era just amplified it to new levels, sucking all cash and longevity mindset completely. If we paid for ever 15% of the music we streamed the picture would be drastically different.

But one question I have is why do bangers or tracks with high club energy have to feel so separated from musicality or more nuanced approaches? That's whats difficult to understand and we keep seeing, for like 10 years now. 138+ has remained too static and predictable for way too long. There were plenty of high energy old tracks had that bang but also so much nuance, tension, phases and even softness (not always explosive). Above & Beyond and Armin were really good at it and of course many others. It's like they were great for club and home, didn't matter which.

 

[skyriderz]

I think the problem with modern trance is that it's mostly made by fans like you and me. Unfortunately they don't have any musical talent, they have just been committed enough to learn how to produce. Fair play to them to that I take my hat off to them for it. Doesn't change the fact that they don't have any musical ability though and as a result the stuff they produce is terrible.

Back in the day the producers were musicians and yeah they may have only jumped on the trance bandwagon whilst there was money in it but at least they had some musical ability and could hold down a tune and create atmosphere.

Think you are living in the past only. Not all the stuff is terrible lol. Atleast listen to the modern trance stuffs borderline records is putting it recently, tracks by Activa, S&T,Hoopoe and many more etc. Tracks by @EnigmaState , @Magnevi released his first release on Trancefix Recordings as Julian del Agranda, there tracks will tack you in early 2000's. I too also don't like much of the tracks produced now compare to older tracks specially steroid trance with white noise and no clear melody but there are still good music to listen and gr8 talents out there. As the time has changed the music has also changed, softwares, hardwares have been upgraded.

 

[Julian Del Agranda]

their tracks will tack you to the early 2000's

Well, thank you very much for the compliment. It might sound strange though. But I actually agree with "Bully is Back".

It's simply because trance is a smaller genre than in 2000. So way less producers spend time making it. This automatically results in less 'musical wizards'.

The "desire to be on ASOT" for the leftover producers doesn't help the market at all either. Everyone starts making the same shit in an attempt to be on the show. I truly don't understand the current trance scene. If you take the Beatport top 100, there's 80 tracks that sound like it's from one producer. They could all be from Sneijder. All the same 138-steroidkick-rollingbassline-16thnote-pluck sound.

Sure, sometimes there are nice ones within that sound. Even from Sneijder. I liked Stay (Sneijder Remix). Into The Light had some nice touches. But overall those tracks could have been from anyone. JOC, Kearney, RAM, Arctic Moon, Will Reese, Jordan Suckley, and HUNDREDS of amateur who also copy that exact same style.

I'd love Sneijder to think about this. Even if you truly love this style and are sort of good at it. Let's face it, the whole scene makes what you make. What does that with your motivation? Is it an honor? Is it cringy? Are you a pioneer? Would you prefer making a completely different sound just to get rid of all the copyers? How do you see this?

I however always make my music from the heart and to the best of my ability
----
it’s not easy for producers that want to maintain credibility but compete with the new generation and stay relevant amongst the wave of tik tok djs

The question, is this even possible? To both make music from your heart, and in the mean time stay relevant in the wave of tiktok?

I believe - like you said yourself - social media etc is only about branding. Music isn't the main product (weird for a musician). For me the conclusion is: no. If you REALLY want to make pure music for yourself, then focussing on branding should be secondary (or non-existent at all). You can't have it both ways.

 

[Daysleeper]

I too also don't like much of the tracks produced now compare to older tracks specially steroid trance with white nois

But you still insist in posting them?

 

[Magdelayna]

Well, thank you very much for the compliment. It might sound strange though. But I actually agree with "Bully is Back".

It's simply because trance is a smaller genre than in 2000. So way less producers spend time making it. This automatically results in less 'musical wizards'.

The "desire to be on ASOT" for the leftover producers doesn't help the market at all either. Everyone starts making the same shit in an attempt to be on the show. I truly don't understand the current trance scene. If you take the Beatport top 100, there's 80 tracks that sound like it's from one producer. They could all be from Sneijder. All the same 138-steroidkick-rollingbassline-16thnote-pluck sound.

Sure, sometimes there are nice ones within that sound. Even from Sneijder. I liked Stay (Sneijder Remix). Into The Light had some nice touches. But overall those tracks could have been from anyone. JOC, Kearney, RAM, Arctic Moon, Will Reese, Jordan Suckley, and HUNDREDS of amateur who also copy that exact same style.

I'd love Sneijder to think about this. Even if you truly love this style and are sort of good at it. Let's face it, the whole scene makes what you make. What does that with your motivation? Is it an honor? Is it cringy? Are you a pioneer? Would you prefer making a completely different sound just to get rid of all the copyers? How do you see this?


The question, is this even possible? To both make music from your heart, and in the mean time stay relevant in the wave of tiktok?

I believe - like you said yourself - social media etc is only about branding. Music isn't the main product (weird for a musician). For me the conclusion is: no. If you REALLY want to make pure music for yourself, then focussing on branding should be secondary (or non-existent at all). You can't have it both ways.

I totally agree with you about producers having no individual style or sound. This track couldve indeed come from one of over 30 producers. In fact the buildup sounds like Aly & Fila. But ive been saying this about the Trance scene for years lol.

I didnt agree with Bully that you have to be a 'musician' to be sucessful though. I cant play an instrument.

 

[Sneijder]

Well, thank you very much for the compliment. It might sound strange though. But I actually agree with "Bully is Back".

It's simply because trance is a smaller genre than in 2000. So way less producers spend time making it. This automatically results in less 'musical wizards'.

The "desire to be on ASOT" for the leftover producers doesn't help the market at all either. Everyone starts making the same shit in an attempt to be on the show. I truly don't understand the current trance scene. If you take the Beatport top 100, there's 80 tracks that sound like it's from one producer. They could all be from Sneijder. All the same 138-steroidkick-rollingbassline-16thnote-pluck sound.

Sure, sometimes there are nice ones within that sound. Even from Sneijder. I liked Stay (Sneijder Remix). Into The Light had some nice touches. But overall those tracks could have been from anyone. JOC, Kearney, RAM, Arctic Moon, Will Reese, Jordan Suckley, and HUNDREDS of amateur who also copy that exact same style.

I'd love Sneijder to think about this. Even if you truly love this style and are sort of good at it. Let's face it, the whole scene makes what you make. What does that with your motivation? Is it an honor? Is it cringy? Are you a pioneer? Would you prefer making a completely different sound just to get rid of all the copyers? How do you see this?


The question, is this even possible? To both make music from your heart, and in the mean time stay relevant in the wave of tiktok?

I believe - like you said yourself - social media etc is only about branding. Music isn't the main product (weird for a musician). For me the conclusion is: no. If you REALLY want to make pure music for yourself, then focussing on branding should be secondary (or non-existent at all). You can't have it both ways.

It’s hard to answer this one, yes it is possible to stay social relevant and still make music you love, but to do this you must be a production machine and make tracks of high quality quickly, that way you can tick all those boxes

but alot of producers have families, other commitments that limit that time and are not locked in the studio all day, so personal circumstances is a major factor

as for my sound, I make the music I love and honestly don’t pay attention to the sound of others, so I can’t and won’t make my music to sound any different as it does it for me like it is, it’s also like every creative career, you can’t please everyone and you won’t.

I would say the difference in those names you mentioned is production quality and the fact also that 70% of producers now days are ghost produced by the same 2-3 guys, who will just use templates, ie the same sounding tracks, but no one cares, as the music is just a promotional tool, but if you look at the guys with a busy DJ diary, you can be sure they have something different and stand out to the rest

 

[Julian Del Agranda]

At least you are here to explain thoughts and arguments. I respect that.

 

[Magdelayna]

it’s not easy for producers that want to maintain credibility but compete with the new generation and stay relevant amongst the wave of tik tok djs

I dont think thats possible to stay credible aswll...youre going to have to make something really catchy or cheesy to appeal to the instant tiktok generation. I recently got over a million plays on tiktok,but thats cos it was a remix of Hans Zimmer - and hes well,Hans Zimmer.

 

[Sneijder]

Credibility can be achieved and maintained if you use cool content with it, the tune can still be cool and not cheesy and the footage more catchy and can go viral, there’s many different ways, you just need to be smart about it

not being funny but Hans Zimmer isn’t going to appeal to the younger generation of dance music fans, yes attaching his name will pump up numbers on all platforms, but it’s completely out of context if your using it to further a dance music/dj career imo