Most of you guys know that ever since I joined (and before that, even), I've been a trance/techno/electronica in general fanatic. Even though I love pretty much all forms of electronica (drum 'n' bass, industrial, rave, house, etc), I've decided to make a thread based on my favorite genre of electronica... trance. (for added emphasis) Don't know why I didn't make a thread like this sooner, honestly. And don't get me wrong; I love a lot of other different kinds of music as well... it's just that trance is one of my absolute favorites.
Anyway, I want to start off by asking what people have heard of trance so far, and if they've liked it. If possible, list some of the trance artists/songs that you've heard so far... I'm curious as to what people here have heard of it, if very much at all. I know there are some other trance fans out there, and that's always good to know. You guys can feel free to maybe post some recommendations here if you'd like... that's always welcome.
As for different artists in the genre of trance, ahh... there are so many of them. And since I feel like it, I'll post some recommendations for those of you that are curious about the genre, and maybe would like to explore it a bit more. By the way, I'm trying not to be so genre-specific now, so I won't list all the complex different sub-genres of trance :P
For starters, there's:
DJ Tiesto - Very prominent, and he knows what he's doing... he has a crapload of material out there, so a simple search on Soulseek or Kazaa or whatever should yield some pretty good results.
Ferry Corsten - He also goes under the names "Gouryella" and "System F..." he's very prominent, similar to Tiesto.
Aquagen - A German duo that makes some of the simplest (but best) trance out there. Give 'em a whirl if you want. Their material is slightly harder to find, though... I'd suggest looking for their "Weekender" album.
DJ Sasha - Ah, one of my personal favorites... this guy's music takes you into another world unlike anything else, I swear. The images that I conjure up in my mind while listening to his music are amazing, I swear. "Airdrawndagger" is literally a flawless album, and his new one, "Involver," isn't far behind.
Infected Mushroom - Yeah, their name sounds weird, and so does their music sometimes... but really, these guys are brilliant. They love performing different experiments with all kinds of instruments in their songs, and they always somehow manage to blend it all into a beautiful harmony, a bizarre piece of music, or a song that sends shivers down your spine. Highly, highly recommended... they also have a plethora of material, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find some stuff by them.
That's all for the time being, even though there are many more artists and such that I love out there. If I feel like it later, I'll post some more recommendations in this thread. And I know I've already given some of the members here a healthy dose of trance, and they all seem to like it. If you want to get into the genre more, and possibly want a CD, PM me and I'll see what I can do. I've been meaning to send some trance samplers out to various people, but I will admit that it is a bit of a hassle. Nevertheless, I want to introduce as many willing people to trance as I can. :P Hey, it's a hobby.
So, yeah... post whatever questions/comments/etc you want here, and stuff.
My brother started listening to techno when he was a little younger than I am now. Ever since that I started listening too. I'm not a HUGE fan though, just a listener. I know a few artists, but not much about them.
Fischerspooner - The first techno I heard. In my opinion their best songs are Invisible, Emerge, Natural Disaster, Turn On, and Ersatz.
Mr. Fingers (Jack Heard) - Good house music. Most of his songs were in the mid-to-late 1980's, I think. My favorite song of his is Can You Feel It, which is on GTA: San Andreas.
DJ Tauscher - My brother has one of his CD's, don't know what it's called. It was the "happy" sounding techno. It wasn't bad.
The only trance that I've been exposed to as of yet are from those cds you sent me (Corrupt) and a two disc Goa Trance various artists album that I picked up at a pawn shop. Man, I love pawn shops so much, I've gotten Manowar, Emperor ('Wrath of the Tyrant'/'Emperor' of all things), Merle Haggard and other various goodies from them. Not to mention the wonderful feeling of legally buying what someone else probably stole. Anyway that Goa Trance album was pretty good but I haven't given it the attention it probably deserves. The cds that Corrupt sent me were absolutely fabulous. In fact I'm listening to it right now to refresh myself on the topic. The tracks from that particular set that stand out most to me are Rob Dougan's "Clubbed to Death", Velvet Acid Christ's "Pretty Toy" and (mostly) Infect Mushroom's "None of This is Real". I'd love to further my knowledge of trance someday since most of what I've heard so far has been impressive stuff.
Edit: I'm still listening to that cd so add Oceanlab's "Satellite" to my list. Holy shit this song is amazing. It almost feels as though there's a fountain of water pouring through my computer speakers to a glorious background soundtrack of beautiful female vocals and other various sounds. I seriously can't believe I didn't take note of this song upon previous listens.
[COLOR=Black]I dont listen to techno that often, but if I do, its usually Mauro Picotto. I love some of this songs like Komodo, Oasis, Proximus, Back To Cali, etc. Then Ive heard a few from Paul Oakenfold, cant remember the songs though. In fact, I think Im going to go to Amazon.com right now and order a few trance cd's, all of my files on my computer seem corrupted.[/COLOR]
I've been awaiting this thread for quite some time now. I was thinking of posting something like it earlier, but it only seemed more appropriate that Corrupt should do so.
Corrupt has sent me over 40 trance CD's via mail so far, so I have become heavily familiar with electronica through him. I had actually introduced myself to the genre a few years ago, but he was responsible for inspiring my passion for it. For that, I am extremely grateful. I was turned on to the deeper aural pleasures of trance at about the same time as I was starting to become rather weary of rock and metal music, which is what I had mostly listened to before. I have already written a more extensive entry in my blog regarding trance, so I shall simply paste it here:
[quote]Certainly, I had known about electronic music before. Techno acts like The Chemical Brothers and rave/house artists like Antiloop have entertained me for years. I simply wasn't aware of how much more the genre had to offer, and how stellar that material was. In my brother's collection of digital music files, I had found a trance composition entitled "Zone of Consciousness" by Ghost in the Machine, and I recall being mesmorised by it. In the same year, 1999, I discovered a few mp3s by an artist called "Infected Mushroom" -- also downloaded by my brother. The music was unlike anything I had heard before, and I instantly became enamored of it. Hence my later obtaining any of their material I could get my paws on.
Until spring of 2004, however, I was exposed to very little electronic music, aside from psytrance/goa groups like Infected Mushroom, and a few techno groups. Fortunately, I met someone who was positively passionate about electronica, and would become a very good friend. Upon receiving the first batch of CD's he burned for me, I was plunged into the incredible world of trance music. I must admit, since it was so dramatically different from metal, the sound took a little while to absorb. I knew right from the first time I heard "Afterglow" by Plastic Angel, though, that this was something special--that this music would undoubtedly become a passion of mine as well. I could not then predict, though, that it would outrank metal as being my absolute favourite genre of all.
It's something about that rhythmic, throbbing beat serving as the supporting foundation of beautiful, harmonious synth melodies. I can usually feel it as if it were my own pulse ... like the music is pumping through my bloodstream, not just through my speakers. Many trance songs feel much like a ride on the back of a giant mythical avian creature through eternal time and space, and the pulsating beat is the heavy flapping of the bird's wings as we ascend higher and higher. When the beat subsides and the multi-textured melodies continue to weave around one another like the vibrant threads of aural quiltwork, I feel as if we are simply floating, effortlessly suspended above the clouds as our hearts witness the beauty that drives our celestial kinetics. The climactic focal point of the song equates to our spiritual transcendence.
So, I believe it's safe to say electronic music is my new me; be it trance, techno, industrial, EBM, drum & bass, acid jazz, or what-have-you. I'm already familiar with countless artists in the genre, and I must have more. In a way, I am disheartened that the genre seems universally ignored by a mainstream audience in America--most Americans are all about their country, or their rap, or their whiny punk/emo, or their awesome metal singers who cough up course-grain sandpaper more often than sing, or their horrible pop stars that more or less define the mediocrity of America as a nation through their formulaic lyrics and dreadfully hackneyed musical contributions. The best music, I have found, is usually foreign.
Yes, you may not want to confuse anyone with such labels as hard trance, progressive trance, old-school trance, atmospheric trance, ambient trance, melodic trance... that wouldn't be good.
Favourite artists include Armin Van Buuren, Corsten, Tiesto, Cosmic Gate, System F, Art of Trance, Darude, Oakenfold, 4 Strings, Antiloop, Oceanlab, et al.
I listen to various kinds of more obscure electronica and IDM. I'm not a huge fan.
I listen to a lot of electronic music, especially trance and psy/goa. I also collect vinyls and CDs and I have developt some poor DJ skills. I used to go to parties every weekend but I think I'm too old for that now. ;) My favourite bands are Infected Mushroom, Yahel, Space Cat, Tiesto, Ferry Corsten, Raver's Nature, Marusha, Dave202, Blue Vortex, Rumble Pack and a lot of others.
If you are interested in electronic music you maybe wanna come to my blog and hang out with me. I'll post album and party reviews and some general stuff about music or psy lifestyle.
http://www.gameoveronline.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75
Does Daft Punk count? I only recently heard their new song Robot Rock...
Anyway, I'm rather interested in Apoptygma Berzerk. I haven't managed to get all of Welcome To Earth yet, but Fade To Black was definitely good.
I've heard a bit of Infected Mushroom's material, and I wasn't particularly interested, although it sounded rather innovative. I'm probably the only person at my school who actually recognises the group in those tour posters that're popping up for them...
Overall, I'm not too interested in electronica as a genre, but it was my main introduction into music, so I suppose it deserves some credit from me.
I have quite a few awesome trance CD's at home, which I shall find once I get there and then edit/post them zomg
Oakenfield does the Fifa theme, does he not?
I love trance. My friend Adam and I live for Trance. We listen to most all we can get our hands on, and more!
I like Benni Benassi, DJ Liquid, his Tetris Remix got him alot of respect. Paul Oakenfold, his songs are hilarious. N-Trance is awesome. Do you think I'm sexy is great! I also liked one of the first CD's my friend and I bought, it is Blank and Jones. Infected Mushroom is great...
I can't think of a whole lot right now, but I will post more later.
[QUOTE=Prince Redon][color=deepskyblue][b]I love trance. My friend Adam and I live for Trance. We listen to most all we can get our hands on, and more!
...
[quote]I like Benni Banassi
*Benny Benassi
[quote]Paul Okenfold
*Oakenfold
[quote]Infected Mushrooms
*Infected Mushroom
I love trance. I don't know very many artists, however. Even if I did, I'm pretty sure I couldn't find the CDs anywhere around here. My favorite trance artist as of now is Astral Projection. They rock, pure and simple. I'd type more right now, but I gotta go to school.
Trance is fun to play.
To those guitarists who are like "wtf, play trance?", it's done like this:
Hook an Ibanez Bass Synthesizer or a Boss Bass Synth pedal through your effects chain and set it to a low response, high resonance, mid frequency reaction. The harder you hit the note, the more it'll get that techno eurogate sound. Mix with distortion and your basic 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and note structure, and you got a tone very close to something Oakenfold would do.