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Stereotypes about psytrance


Ormion

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I've heard this type of thing a lot from "metalheads". The "Classic rock" listeners are very anti-trance too I've found. They just want to listen to the same Led Zeppelin records for the rest of eternity it seems, and anything made in the last 30 years sucks. The ironic thing is that is exactly what many people said about Led Zeppelin (or similar bands) back then. The only thing they seem to hate more than electronic music is hip-hop. ;)

 

It just always amazes me that people can be satisfied with such a limited musical selection, but to each their own. :) I know a lot of people won't like psytrance, but to stick to one strict subgenre of music just seems weird.

 

Jokes aside, Led Zeppelin is a fantastic band.

 

:)

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The "Classic rock" listeners are very anti-trance too I've found. They just want to listen to the same Led Zeppelin records for the rest of eternity it seems, and anything made in the last 30 years sucks. The ironic thing is that is exactly what many people said about Led Zeppelin (or similar bands) back then. The only thing they seem to hate more than electronic music is hip-hop. ;)

 

A lot of those people have a problem with the concept of quantized beats and notes. I can understand how people would feel that way, but in my opinion they're looking at it the wrong way. Or, at least, we're looking at it a different way.

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It just always amazes me that people can be satisfied with such a limited musical selection, but to each their own. :) I know a lot of people won't like psytrance, but to stick to one strict subgenre of music just seems weird.

Agreed. I used to listen to Metal non-stop for 15 years, which ended up killing the genre for me. I reckon every type of music represents a range of possible experiences. Once you've been through them all, all that is left is nostalgia and repetition. I've seen more than 800 Metal concerts. I've seen every band I ever wanted to see and much, much more. So there's really nothing for me there anymore. Those intense 45 min rituals now feel like 10 hours of boredom whenever I attend. That doesn't mean Metal doesn't have any merit. It's just that I've seen and heard it all much too many times. So on to something new :)

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- That's music for teenagers (or ..to play in a circus)

 

in india they do play it at the circus: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvash_goa-track-at-indian-circus_travel#rel-page-3

;)

 

i've heard "what do you mean infected mushroom is not goa?" (of course referring to new stuff)

and of course the typical comments "boom boom", "anyone can make that music", "it's always the same", "it has no melody" (wtf? we're talking about goa), "it's not real music because there are no musicians".

but also:

someone: "a dj is not an artist anyway"

me: "a good dj can be. but the tracks are made by the producer anyway"

someone: "wtf? that music is made by djs!"

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The worst thing someone who (clearly) didn't know jack about psytrance at all told me was when I had just discovered psytrance.

 

Him: "Psytrance? That's that minimalistic electronic music without beat right?"

 

Me: "Well, it can be minimalistic, but there's definitely a beat, it's dance-music you know."

 

Him: "Dude, you're full of shit, I've heard psytrance before and it has no beat, whatsoever, none, nada, noppes!"

 

 

I actually tried to explain to him that psytrance does have a beat, but he wouldn't believe me... Wasted 10 minutes of my life on that one...

 

 

Another fine moment was when I was spinning some Dark at my local student-cafe (Yes I do like to shake people out of their ruts by putting on electronic music they are not accustomed to :P ).

 

Some guys enter the place when I had I believe it was something by savage scream on: "Whoooo hardcooooooooore! Yeah!"

 

I facepalmed in response.

 

 

Other than that it's the standard stuff: drugmusic, yadayadayada...

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i heard this alot of times over the years lol - The only way to listen to psytrance is to be on drugs.

and thats total BS, i been listning to psychedelic trance for more than 17 years without any drugs.and still get a happyrush i gues drug-users will give u more or less.

and this -It's easy to write this music. You just add random noises. ahh are u kidding lol , ofcause u can do it like that, but that will be a trance-sin times 1000 if u ask me ;o) ,and must be one of the main reasons so much crappy trance get released these days.people care more about get there name out than the music itself.

but far the most people and friends i know that dont listen to electronic music daily (whatever its trance or chillout) they really like it,and that makes a old trancer like me happy hehe.

i have "including myself" converted alooot of pop and metal freaks into psychedelic tranceheads over the years :lol:

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They just want to listen to the same Led Zeppelin records for the rest of eternity it seems, and anything made in the last 30 years sucks. The ironic thing is that is exactly what many people said about Led Zeppelin (or similar bands) back then. The only thing they seem to hate more than electronic music is hip-hop. ;)

.

 

Same thing happens in Psytrance...all those people saying that 99% of the stuff released after 1998 is crap. And they're convinced of it, too. :)

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And what do you think about this?

 

"velocidades de 145 o mas , reventarte la cabeza con las

distorsiones y fusiones de sonidos que no te abren la cabeza

sino que te queman las neuronas totalmente, perdida de la

sensualidad de la noche, del glamour , del baile tranqui ,

del ganarte una minita con todas la parla y no por el

beneficio de estar drogada y no saber ni donde esta ."

 

^That's taken of a funny but, for somebody, offensive thread (it's in Spanish): http://www.buenosali...este-estilo.htm

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Write here all the stereotypes ppl outside the scene think/say about psytrance.

 

Top stuff I have heard when I tell them I listen to psy:

 

-I went to a psychedelic party once. Everyone there was on drugs.

-The only way to listen to psytrance is to be on drugs.

-It's easy to write this music. You just add random noises.

-It's easy to write this music. You just program the computer to add random noises. (Alternative)

-All I can hear is the beat. Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom...

-There are no lyrics?

-I have a friend that listens to psy. (They all have a psyhead friend. All of them. Apparently every friend of them that listens to dance music is psyhead).

-I've been to psychedelic parties (=I've been in techno, trance parties)

-I used to listen to psy too. Holymen, Cherouvim, Cyan... *facepalm* (that's for Greece).

 

 

 

Write yours

 

 

umm well like with all stereotypes there IS a grain of truth in there... for the drugs well I'm sorry but that IS the impression you get when you're at a festival. And on a personal level, of course I can enjoy this kind of music when clean, otherwise I couldn't keep a dayjob, but everything does sound a million times better when high... also the music itself (certain styles more than others, like dark psy IMO) is clearly made with drug usage in mind, the little sounds designed to freak you out, the ultra-fast bassline made to stimulate your trip, the "spiral way" the melodies are built coming back and forth. Also, not until I've tried drugs did I realize why psy parties had a tendency to end around 10AM, because that's about the time when the LSD everyone takes around midnight wears off... So, of course, I'm not saying that you HAVE to be high to appreciate all this but saying that is no relation between the scene and drugs would be major denial.

 

And for the random noises... TRUE!! I was actually one who started by thinking on the contrary that psy artists were superhuman masterminds that carefully put in every little sound at an exact place for a certain effect. I also actually believed that arpeggios were actually PLAYED note by note by the artist on a synth and amazed on how fast they could play (I have a bit a classical piano training in my background). Now some years later I started fiddling with some DAW software myself and realized just how much a little device called an arpeggiator was conviently used in there. When I fiddled around a bit and ended up with a melody sounding like MFG... my respect for these artists was greatly diminished... Of course, I'm not saying that you don't need talent but still, randomness DOES indeed play a big role in electronic music creativity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've heard this type of thing a lot from "metalheads". The "Classic rock" listeners are very anti-trance too I've found. They just want to listen to the same Led Zeppelin records for the rest of eternity it seems, and anything made in the last 30 years sucks. The ironic thing is that is exactly what many people said about Led Zeppelin (or similar bands) back then. The only thing they seem to hate more than electronic music is hip-hop. ;)

 

It just always amazes me that people can be satisfied with such a limited musical selection, but to each their own. :) I know a lot of people won't like psytrance, but to stick to one strict subgenre of music just seems weird.

 

 

Well, the problem is that people will forever be imprinted with the music that was around when they were teens. That's just how it works, hence all the nostalgia related to a certain scene. Personally I'm fully conscious of this and try to keep in touch with modern stuff yet whatever I do I still hold the "old days" close to my heart and always end up thinking that new music, no matter how much I appreciate it, is still somehow inferior to how it used to be.

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And for the random noises... TRUE!! I was actually one who started by thinking on the contrary that psy artists were superhuman masterminds that carefully put in every little sound at an exact place for a certain effect. I also actually believed that arpeggios were actually PLAYED note by note by the artist on a synth and amazed on how fast they could play (I have a bit a classical piano training in my background). Now some years later I started fiddling with some DAW software myself and realized just how much a little device called an arpeggiator was conviently used in there. When I fiddled around a bit and ended up with a melody sounding like MFG... my respect for these artists was greatly diminished... Of course, I'm not saying that you don't need talent but still, randomness DOES indeed play a big role in electronic music creativity.

 

There are many artists that don't use arpeggiators at all and write their melodies note by note.

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Well, the problem is that people will forever be imprinted with the music that was around when they were teens.

 

Really? Personally I think that the majority of what I listened to as a teenager was dogshit, it's not until my early 20s that I started forming strong connections with music that are still there today.

 

Actually, scratch that - there's quite a bit of music that I loved before I was a teenager that I still love. My teenage years were just a temporary dip in music taste.

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There are many artists that don't use arpeggiators at all and write their melodies note by note.

 

arpeggiators were just an example... you also have delays and various FX that make you music sound "cool". Again, I'm not saying EVERYONE does is that way, and I certainly admit that even with the randomness element you still need a heavy dose of talent (otherwise I'd be the new Simon Posford lol)

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I don't think so. If you have music churned out by people without a good understanding and love of music, you'd just have crap.

 

I don't want to listen to music made by anyone who can figure out how loop a beat and press an arpeggiator button.

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"Do you really think C# C# C# C# is music?" That came from a lousy bass player, so his argument is invalid. And we're back into the total misunderstanding of what electronic music is all about. Nonetheless, I know quite a bunch of psytrance loving metalheads.

"The best psytrance artists come from Israel: Astral Projection, Infected Mushroom, Hallucinogen..." Besides the obvios, this bird needed to upgrade her playlist; we had this conversation in 2008. But I agree, there's a certain Israel-psytrance connection. I've never had someone say to me "Psytance? Wow, I bet you're into the English morning thing".

And my favorite stereotype is "white guys with dreadlocks". It's kind of funny, admit it.

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I've never had someone say to me "Psytance? Wow, I bet you're into the English morning thing".

 

Well around here it's more like "Psytrance? What's that?" :P

 

 

Well, the problem is that people will forever be imprinted with the music that was around when they were teens. That's just how it works, hence all the nostalgia related to a certain scene. Personally I'm fully conscious of this and try to keep in touch with modern stuff yet whatever I do I still hold the "old days" close to my heart and always end up thinking that new music, no matter how much I appreciate it, is still somehow inferior to how it used to be.

 

I agree a lot of people don't really explore music after their teenage years. Really you could go even further and say a lot of people don't really explore new ideas in general after reaching a certain age. You don't see too many people change their political/ideological/philosophical/religious views when they are 40 years old either. I can't really relate though. I look at some of the things I believed/said/did as a teen and wonder "what the hell was I thinking?"

 

I feel like we are in a golden age of music right now. There is just such a vast amount and variety, and it's so easily accessible compared to the "old days". There really is something for everyone no matter how weird/obscure your tastes. Even the 60s/70s (which I consider to be another "golden age" for music) didn't have the variety of sounds we have now.

 

 

Isn't the whole idea of the "musician" essentially a "rockist" thing? To worship that is in my opinion essentially a total misunderstanding of what electronic music is all about.

 

I used to feel the same way when I was younger, but I eventually realized it's not the technical ability on an instrument that makes music special, it's the creation/writing. There are a lot of people who can play Coltrane on a sax, Hendrix on guitar, or Bach on Piano, but only Coltrane, Hendrix, Bach were able to write/create such great music. I still appreciate technical ability on an instrument, but without the original creativity that technical ability would be a waste.

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My God, SO many things I would want to quote... All very very recognizable! I opened a similar thread on psychedelic.be some time ago.

 

But one very odd opinion (switch) that I have heard lately and that has not yet been mentioned here:

My collegues at work were very interested in me when I came to work there, we get along very well, and one of them always asks me what I've done in the weekend and thinks these goa parties are very special. She even suggested to come with the entire team to one of my parties. So she was totally open minded about this, even though it's not her cup of tea.

 

But lately the only things she can say about my party life are getting like "Yeah ofcourse you got home late because you went out with them drug taking hippies"...

 

She probably thought it was easier to just go with the clichés... Oh well :)

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umm well like with all stereotypes there IS a grain of truth in there... for the drugs well I'm sorry but that IS the impression you get when you're at a festival.

 

Also, just wanted to add:

 

A lot of people I took to a party with me or I've showed a video to had the same first impression. But if you ask me, that is because people that have gone into trance just look like they're really far away, while actually they're very one with everyone around them and with themselves. If you go and talk to them, you can often have quite a meaningful conversation. More than on any other dancefloor I've been.

 

But ofcourse, quite some people are also totally drugged out and just by themselves... so I get why some people get this overall impression, but I don't think it counts for the entire scene.

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