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historyof Goa/Psytrance


deadcityradio

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I am trying to find out more mainly about the very early creation of goa trance but also its development

i have just finished Simon Reynolds book Energy Flash. Good book but not much stuff about goa/psy.

 

I have read through these sites. not sure how trustworthy they are?

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/psychedelic_tr...story_part1.htm

http://www.psytrance.co.za/psytrance_history.html

 

If someone could explain what the different genres mean that would be awesome? i thought this question would have been asked before but i searched for it and couldn't find anything. I listen to loads of psy but to me its all just psy and i don't know what all the morning/goa/psy/forest etc etc distinctions mean except dark which is obvious really

 

I would like to read the full article this is from if anyone knows if its on the internet somewhere or could scan it for me id be super gratefull.

http://www.goagil.com/mushroom.html

An Excerpt from an Article on the History of Psychedelic Trance

Mushroom Magazine

First International Edition in English

January 2002

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Forest psy is kind of dark psy IMO... Derango for example

 

Morning is often soft with melodies... Stuff you will listen to after a hard night of dancing to agressive nightpsy!

 

Goa is hard to descripe, but stuff like Astral projection is goa... I don't like goa very much, so maybe im not the right person to tell you about it :D

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Lol, I have every single album that you put as pictures there. Man, I am going to put on some Etnica now :)

Wow thats really awesome! Right now I have none of them o_0 though hopefully that situation will be remedied when I get a job.
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I am trying to find out more mainly about the very early creation of goa trance but also its development

i have just finished Simon Reynolds book Energy Flash. Good book but not much stuff about goa/psy.

 

I have read through these sites. not sure how trustworthy they are?

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/psychedelic_tr...story_part1.htm

http://www.psytrance.co.za/psytrance_history.html

 

If someone could explain what the different genres mean that would be awesome? i thought this question would have been asked before but i searched for it and couldn't find anything. I listen to loads of psy but to me its all just psy and i don't know what all the morning/goa/psy/forest etc etc distinctions mean except dark which is obvious really

 

I would like to read the full article this is from if anyone knows if its on the internet somewhere or could scan it for me id be super gratefull.

http://www.goagil.com/mushroom.html

An Excerpt from an Article on the History of Psychedelic Trance

Mushroom Magazine

First International Edition in English

January 2002

I'd just like to add that the whole trance phenomena didn't just come in the early 90s like many online "guides" tracing the origins of trance say, it was a continuously morphing phenomena that is as old as electronic instruments existed (and even older than that if you'd consider tribal druming and chanting as "trance music"). Obviously I'll be limiting myself to "electronic trance" since this is the main issue.

 

Basically the origins of "electronic trance" started with the "arpeggio" technique. Arpeggio itself isn't new, it basically means a rapid succession of notes (anyone with a basic training in classical music will recognize the word). But in the electronic music world it started having a new meaning: some musicians realized that by creating a rapid succession of a synth sound it can corespond more or less to the frequency of theta waves which is a wave that our brain naturally produces when sleeping and meditating. They've realized that by playing a sound at the theta frequency it produces a wierd state on the listener, a state half between sleeping and being awake... a TRANCE! This is usually coupled with atmospheric pads (a kind of long synth sound that "fills up the space" and gives the track a certain colour. These 2 elements are IMO THEEE most important and easily recognizable elements in a trance song. And this might come to you as a surprise but they have already existed in the 1970s, trance didn't create anything new!!

 

 

 

 

Then there is a long list of 1980s EBM that was played in parties in Goa and which eventually morphed into what we call trance today (well for me this WAS trance before it was actually called trance;)). The main addition that the 80s has given is putting all those syth ideas on a 4/4 (or 4 on the floor) kick, borrowed from disco music and which became the trademark of dance music ever since. BTW it's called 4/4 because electronic music is generally made out of loops. Each loop is made of bars which are divided into notes. 4/4 means that you have 4 beats per bar, each beat being 1/4th note. With this kick the music became danceable, you could listen to it on the dancefloor rather than by chilling in your room and smoking a joint.

 

 

Anne Clark - Sleeper in Metropolis (1985) -- ps this song was blatantly ripped off by Visions of Shiva (Paul Van Dyk and Cosmic Baby) 8 years later and was presented as one of the first trance ttracks ever ;)

 

The Neon Judgement - TV Treated (1985)

 

A Splic Second - Flesh (1986)

 

Acts of Madmen - The Dream (1987)

 

The Caravan - Somewhere in Arabia (1987)

 

KLF - What Time Is Love (Pure Trance Version) 1989

 

Acts of Madmen - What's The Matter (1988)

 

Basic Two - Face to Mecca (1988)

 

Amnesia - Ibiza (1988)

 

Konzept - Hypnautic Beats (1990)

 

 

and here are the very first tracks to be oficially called "trance".

 

Dance 2 Trance - We Came In Peace (1990)

 

 

Jam and Spoon - Stella (1992)

 

Dance 2 Trance - Hello San Francisco (1992)

 

 

there I hope this helps ;)

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anyways, checked the tracks out quite soon after u posted them

 

 

just was too lazy to post i guess :D

 

 

still, find it remarkable what u said, let me quote :)

 

Basically the origins of "electronic trance" started with the "arpeggio" technique. Arpeggio itself isn't new, it basically means a rapid succession of notes (anyone with a basic training in classical music will recognize the word). But in the electronic music world it started having a new meaning: some musicians realized that by creating a rapid succession of a synth sound it can corespond more or less to the frequency of theta waves which is a wave that our brain naturally produces when sleeping and meditating. They've realized that by playing a sound at the theta frequency it produces a wierd state on the listener, a state half between sleeping and being awake... a TRANCE! This is usually coupled with atmospheric pads (a kind of long synth sound that "fills up the space" and gives the track a certain colour. These 2 elements are IMO THEEE most important and easily recognizable elements in a trance song. And this might come to you as a surprise but they have already existed in the 1970s, trance didn't create anything new!!

 

still.. the legato technique is quite present in trance :)

but ok, staccato as well, both probably in arpeggio hehe =)

 

 

anyways, thanks for the refreshing insight/perspective on this matter

it definately makes sense to me

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