Trance Popularity

[xruntime]

I've been browsing tracklists of Essential mixes, various radio shows, and I see a lot of house...it seems as if house and electro is dominating the EDM world, and trance is nowhere to be found

Even on a Sensation White vid I watched, most of the tracks were funky house, and there was barely even one remotely trance song...

Man, I can't get why you would ditch a song like Daydream or Suru for this cheesey funky house that doesnt get you excited at all..

There's not even that much progressive trance, which I'd have no problems with

 

[in·iq·ui·trance]

It's unfortunate, as trance is the most evolved form of EDM.

Seriously, I just think it's one of those things that DJs play what people are familiar with, and house and electro have been around in the clubs for longer than trance. At massive events you'll get more casual clubbers than at a single DJ event which would attract a more specific crowd, so the material is more generic to match.

Maybe too, most casual clubbers are used to pop/hiphop/RnB radio tracks which are only 3 or 4 minutes long, and hence don't have the patience for the longer buildups in trance tunes.

 

[Bjorn_Akesson]

I think its DJs wanting to become more popular since house is more popular than trance. We see a lot of house coming up and also reaching the commersial areas. Personally I think trance is more popular than ever, growing, evolving. Stop caring abt what other ppl think and listen to what you want =)

/B

 

[Cliffy Burrows]

In the UK Trance is pretty divded. In areas it's not really popular but then they are nights that are held in the country where it is massive. The trouble mainly is due to commercial pop records been labeled Trance by clueless radio stations and record labels. When you get silly complimations with the likes of DJ Sammy and Styles and Breeze included and then branded as a Trance album, people are taken in. This then makes Trance in some cases uncool to people and those vain enough to follow trends instead of actual music, ignore trance alltogether. With the current influx of labels like MOS releases pumping out cheese infested electro to the masses (again another genere suffering from commercial ruin as it is not real electro), most people think it's cool, so the vain masses follow suit.

At the end of the day though the top DJ in the world is a Trance DJ so it will always be still up there.

 

[DistantLand]

Agree trance is turning house/electro! It isnt near good as what it was before, turning to that dull boring style... Trance djs playing tunes from Nic Chagall, Wippenberg, Marcus Schossow, Deadmau5, Sander van Doorn, like if its trance... I guess house music got more money thats why most popular producers turning their back on trance! But there is new talent keeping it alive!

 

[transparance]

I think there are alot of reasons why there is more and more electro/progressive house.
First of all, many (not all) trance producers releases tune after tune that sounds almost like the same tune, they just change the melody and hey, just another "hit".

Look at producers like John O Callaghan and Sean Tyas... the produced a good tune then made tune after tunes using same sound, it's the same kick... same bass, but only melody changed.

This is where I think house is better, it seems like producers are always watching out for their own unique sound... they mess around with samples, they try new instruments etc.

Also, house is a bit more popular in all those regular clubs that mixes various styles.. hiphop, rnb etc... and another thing is that it's alot easier to make your friends listen to house than listen to trance.

I'm not saying house is better then trance, everyone listens to whatever they want, I don't care. Actually I started listening to trance, and I was a big ASOT and Armin fan, but in these days I find trance a bit boring I feel like there is nothing new!

 

[Cliffy Burrows]

Agree trance is turning house/electro! It isnt near good as what it was before, turning to that dull boring style... Trance djs playing tunes from Nic Chagall, Wippenberg, Marcus Schossow, Deadmau5, Sander van Doorn, like if its trance... I guess house music got more money thats why most popular producers turning their back on trance! But there is new talent keeping it alive!

Yeah they are plenty of new and exciting new producers coming through to keep the sound alive. Plus with the advancement of music software and the amount of people taking music techonolgy courses, I think it will be around for a very longtime yet.

 

[Ronny K.]

I mean so we dont have too much pure uplifting tunes and a lot of producers changed theirs style closer to house, cuz house production gives more money.

Im producer and I always did music for ppl, not for money. I like a nice melodies and thats reason why im trying to do uplifting trance. Im married to uplifting and i hope so i will do that for long time.

 

[Robbie]

Agree trance is turning house/electro! It isnt near good as what it was before, turning to that dull boring style... Trance djs playing tunes from Nic Chagall, Wippenberg, Marcus Schossow, Deadmau5, Sander van Doorn, like if its trance... I guess house music got more money thats why most popular producers turning their back on trance! But there is new talent keeping it alive!

agree big time wiht naveed. I hate the way a lot of good producers are changing there style, one that comes to mind is Jonas Steur. Trance is still alive, i personally think its better than ever. Sure classics are classics, but tracks nowadays sound so much more crisper and cleaner and progress a lot better.

 

[T4L]

well EDM is always evolving and a lot of dj/producer as us for example are influenced from the other style.. in my opinion the minimal influences is good for refresh the trance sound that "sounds" always the same... as someone mentioned same kick groove and stuff.... so if you ask me "is it elettro and house good ?" I will answer "depends you can find good tune but basicaly i don't like it much". For me every evolution is good if it bring quality change for the rest i think that it's not important if it's trance techno elettro house or minimal we try to play only quality stuff... obviously trance isn't the same respect the first Ferry Corsten's period but you have to believe that in this period it's not easy find a good trance tune so at the end welcome to other style to refresh the "classic trance" if its must sounds like "always the same with no emotion and no idea inside"

 

[Lazarus]

I think it's always important to remember that it's not the genre itself that changes as such, just the producers.

To coin an analogy, if Sara Lee makes great chocolate cake but then decides she wants to branch out into treacle sponge, it doesn't mean that chocolate cake suddenly becomes treacle sponge. Chocolate cake is just chocolate cake regardless of who makes it.

For the past 15 years or so that I've loved the genre I honestly think I can say that it's been popular, at least in the UK, for about 2 years. The rest of the time other genres have come to the forefront of things, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since most people have vastly more eclectic tastes in EDM than I do.

Throughout this time, there have always been producers out there making great trance, if you're willing to look hard enough for them. However, most producers seem to go through phases of different styles, as do DJs, and this gives the illusion that trance as a genre is continually changing, but I've never believe this to be true. Trance is a definition of a certain kind of sound, and if it's a different sound, then technically, it's not trance.

I despair at people who consider the likes of Marco V or Mauro Picotto to be trance DJs or producers. Whilst I'm not entirely sure what to call their own particular brand of sound ("sonic distortion" is about as near as I've ever heard it put by anyone), the true underlying soul of trance music has remained the same, and just differently interpreted by producers down the years.

Trance hasn't been popular here in the UK for years. In 1999 you'd have at least a dozen weekly trance clubnights running that were full every week without fail, usually with several world class DJs on the line-up. Nowadays you're lucky to get one good event each month. Meanwhile other genres are booming. The hardcore scene must be 10 times the size of the trance scene here at the moment.

But despite all the fluctuations in popularity of the genre, one thing has thankfully remained consistent throughout this whole time. And that has been the efforts of trance producers to continue making the fantastic sounds so many of us love to enjoy so much. I'd have never managed to continue my own personal obsession with it if this wasn't the case :smile1: Granted, there have been certain periods in this time when the good stuff has been much easier to come by, but there's never been a period where there's been none at all

This is why I'm confident that the genre will never die. Despite all the different attempts to redefine the genre down the years (some good, some bad) the true spirit of the genre remains. And providing I'm still breathing that'll always be the case

Popularity, I've decided, is pretty much irrelevant. Does it matter to you if more people out there like treacle sponge? Would that stop you liking chocolate cake?

Damn....I'm hungry now....but I hope you get my gist.....

 

[xruntime]

Oo, many posts here!

Trance still has just as many gems, and you're entirely right in saying there's too much repetitiveness. Tyas tracks have the same drums and even supersaws, and other artists like Sophie Sugar and Neal Scarborough have almost the same sound. Its much harder to find the varied tracks (the good ones), but theyre still around, The Future, Suru, Till The Sky Falls Down, Daydream, etc, etc...

Here in America EDM is not popular whatsoever, except for the ocassional pop trance song, and a little bit of house.

I'm generally into progressive and uplifting trance (some tech), and the things I generally hate about trance songs is when there's no unique synths, its just a supersaw lead or some gated sharp sound with a heavy kick and a reverberated clap that just goes on and on (and sounds loud as shit), and I also listen to some house (the big hits and the trancy house). I used to think Deadmau5 was crap too, but you should really try to absorb yourself in his songs, they really grew on me, and they're pretty freaking awesome. As for the other artists you mentioned DistantLand, bash em all you want, cause I don't think they're anything special either...

Ronny, I agree, for example, Paul Oakenfold used to do pretty trancy songs that were deep, in his last album he did pop trance, and in his latest album its filled with pop and funk house.

On Lazarus's point, I agree, but would define trance as a mood (the trance I listen to at least, cause some dance oriented tracks have a really partyish mood). It's serious. It's sometimes mysterious. It's deep.

Since I got time to kill, I'll write more. Sorry for the tyas bashing, but for deep trance loud drum tracks and synths make it a lot more difficult IMO to achieve the trancy mood...DJ Shah's songs are almost always very trancy, and its facilitated by his style of chill songs...other beauties like Zocalo, White Sand/Aguas Blancas, Daydream, Till The Sky Falls Down, Beachball, Good For Me, etc. etc. are just as chill

Anyways back to the state of trance in America (pun intended), just today a friend overheard For An Angel on my mp3 player (he listens to pop and rap and all) and commented "do you really listen to that gay shit" ...oh well, it's his problem that he's missing out on such good music.

 

[Rick Valentine]

When i first started to mix i was into all the tech trance and uplifting trance i could get my hands on.
Some of my fav artists/djs were M.I.K.E, Paul Van Dyk, Marco V, Armin Van Buuren & Stoneface & Terminal just to name a few.
Then i started going clubbing and i got myself a job at a well know club in the Uk were i met many djs and seen many different nights from Hardhouse, House & the Trance nights and seen nearly every top dj.
And it all got a little too boring i wanted to play something abit different, due to i cant produce for shit i couldnt make my own style but i soon picked up on Markus Schulz and his progressive grooves with elements of trance in.
And as soon as i heard this style i knew this is where my heart will lie, as i carried on clubbing all over the Uk, Holland & Ibiza i noticed a lot of nights especially in the Uk were all the same stuff.
House in one room a warm up set in the main room and the rest of the night was trance and i just got bored with it there was still a few tech trance tracks that stood out for me but today i hardly find any uplifting track that gets me going.
Now i dont think trance is dieing oh no, but there's just more genres and grouping of genres that make the sets a lot more enjoyable.
Now days i play what gets me going and tech house with progressive trance is where it is for me.
I still listen to trance but it just gets abit boring after a few hours been there done that got the shirt.

 

[xruntime]

Yeah man! Progressive ftw!

For anyone who's doubting the genre, take a listen to Sasha's 1999 Xpander EP (available in digital form in some online store I'm sure), it's a collection of several amazing progressive trance tracks.

Uplifting can be really powerful, but for listening, I eventually get tired of "climaxing" (lol), and want to listen to something that just flows on and on. Progressive is that genre.

Let's take for instance my top 2 tunes of all time, Paul van Dyk - For An Angel (PvD E-Werk Club Mix)and Age Of Love - The Age Of Love (Watch Out For Stella Club Mix). Can you really call either of them an uplifting song? Sure, they kind of lift you up a little, but they're not the bangin' uplifts that Airwave or Suru are. I would say its reasonable to argue that they're progressive, especially the second one, which doesn't really build up but flows.

 

[Abominus]

Here in Florida, the main staple as far as Dance music goes are Breakbeats. Personally, they are okay but it can get old at times. A lot of Djs/producers feel "safe" playing and producing Breaks because they are "easy" to play and for the masses to follow. Although we do have a lot of Djs breaking away into House/Electro, there is still this "hardcore" attachment to Breaks, like DJ Baby Anne, DJ Icey and the like.

As far as Trance, well, one thing I found out is that you cannot play Trance if you got a club full of Break-heads. The crowds are way too different. I FEEL that I am probably the only person around that wants to produce a Trance track (entitled "Atmospheric Drag") while everyone around me is wanting to do Breaks ALL the time.

I think that Trance will always be popular wherever you go, BUT it takes a great core of people to play the stuff and get it "out there." Trance to me, has always stood out on its own. It's not your regular "mash-up mix" stuff or anything like that. Trance does not sound like anything out there and the people, from what I have seen, are just, different..............

And that is why I love Trance as a genre, along with Dance music in general.....

Abominus

 

[jedrekmx]

I am sorry that I do not have anything constructive to say, but I agree with a lot of opinions that have been previously mentioned (I am not really in a thinking mood, and I appologize).

 

[dfx]

i've been saying that for years now, electro and so-called techtrance is killing trance! most big names have turned away from the true trance sound, armin has gone mostly techy, markus has gone mostly electro. just listen to asot/gdjb episodes from a few years back, that sound is pure bliss!

and i don't want to hear arguments like "oh, you can't put everything into a box, you have to broaden your view, trance is evolving, blah blah". this is pure BS, "trance" is a word, rather a name for a certain style or genre, with a clearly defined sound. if some track is sounding differently, you cannot call it trance.

productions from people already mentioned (sander van doorn, markus schossow, deadmau5, ...) are sneaking their way into trance scene and weakening the style. recent example is mr. white, why is this called trance? i don't mean to diss those productions, they're very good and the producers also are very talented, but this just isn't trance, and shouldn't be played by trance djs.

and i don't think this has anything to do with money really. trance by itself has worked before, a few years ago, why shouldn't it today? sensation white is a very good example, it used to be a true trance festival. today it's purely house. why? it was always sold out and will always be sold out, so why change styles?

i live in austria, it is really bad here - this is trance desert. but here it was always like that, but at least i could listen to trance on the internet. today even this is becoming a challenge...

 

[Laan]

Real trance is dying. It's old and some new genres had to be created.

What is trance these days?:
-Electrotrance,
-Techtrance
-Progtrance
-Electrohouse
-Progressive
-proghouse

etc.. etc..

When you're listening a trance set, you are basically listening to those styles. Trough many years trance just became a name for all the music that dj's play. As long the genres still have trance influence..

I think only the genre trance is boring and that's why producers evolved it by producing trance withing the influence of other genres.

Like I said, old classic (bad) trance is dying. I think this old trance genre doesn't fit the dj sets these days either. I'm glad trance hit so many sideways. Trance is just a name. Many genres fall under the name of Trance. This way trance only gets bigger.

Real trance sort of died. ( It does not have the power to own clubs anymore ) Next to this, I love the new trance genres which developed the last 8 years.

 

[dfx]

i couldn't disagree more. oldschool trance is not dead nor dying, and it also hasn't lost its power (not to me personally anyway). if anything, it is being killed, intentionally or not, by other genres, or rather by the djs letting this influence happen. real trance as you call it, is still there and alive, it is just not being let through properly, or in other words, it is being weakened by mixing it with other genres. real trance does have a lot of power, and it also isn't boring, but only if it's presented purely and truely. real trance lovers don't like techtrance and don't like electro, so if you start mixing trance with those styles, you will drive trance lovers away and instead attract people with a different music taste. those on the other hand don't like trance as much as the other styles, so this process will just push trance away even more.

if you ask someone what kind of music he likes, and he answers trance, what does he really like then? techtrance? electro? progressive house? you cannot tell if the genres are mixed up like that. think about it, if this process continues and goes to the extreme, at some day influences from other EDM styles will happen as well, and then "trance" will also include d'n'b or jungle, maybe even speedcore or schranz. do you really want that to happen?

armin himself was bickering about people labelling dj sammy as trance, and said this was destroying his job (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjBZzN_Fzk). but now he's doing the same thing himself, not with cheese, but with techy stuff and electroish stuff. maybe he likes those styles too, but not everybody does, so he shouldn't spin it under the name of trance, because it simply isn't.

people with a strong musical taste and a deep insight into the scene will know what real trance is, and will know the difference in sound between real trance and techtrance or electro. however, those people are a very tiny minority. the broad population will not know the difference, and when they hear armin spinning sander van doorn, they will think it is trance, because armin is said to be a trance dj. the effect of this is that the said minority will have to fight for their music. when there is no name for it, it will cease to exist (remember the never ending story?) and this should not be allowed to happen, even if only out of respect for the real trance lovers.

 

[Laan]

I think this oldskool trance couldn't keep going on growing. It has found his right derection Trance has an sick big influence in what dance music is now. Trance is everywhere!


prog, house, electro, tech influence? I don't care I just call it trance! ( although I know what the exact genre is :smile1: )

Trance will never die!