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New into the Trance genre as a whole, looking for some guidance.


naa

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Hello, psynews' members,

 

I have entered the Trance scene quite recently and find myself overwhelmed by the amount of content and subgenres.

 

Concerning Goa/Psy, I have acquired a taste for Filteria's Lost In The Wild, Mindsphere's Patience for Heaven and Etnoscope. I am an avid listener of the intense, fast, aggressive goa/psy. In summary, music to dance to at the top of your heart whilst travelling between its endless layers.

 

In the Progressive side of things, Neelix as a whole was somewhat pleasurable.

 

Regarding Full on, Indra in general, 1200 Microgram's 1200 Mic's (its latest album), Astrix's Artcore, as well as some The Misted Muppet have gathered my interest.

 

Apropos of Dark/Forest, I am enjoying Kiriyama. However, this is the subgenre I have less experience with and feel the most lost. I do not even know if it is all right to categorize Dark and Forest together, but the differences go still unnoticed to me.

 

All in all, I would be glad to receive some recommendations on albums/artists for each Trance subgenre I am getting into, as well as other genres I might be overlooking. As I have said, there is too much content around and I feel kind of astonished.

There is no concern on my part in the sense of tracks' release dates: old, new; as long as it pleases my ears, I am fine with it. Just throw around some 3 albums/artists that you consider the best since the birth of Trance to this very day and I will be grateful.

 

With kind regards,

naa

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For progressive, try Atmos, Shiva Chandra, Beat Bizarre, Stereofeld, Human Blue. Tarsis - Vacuum also shouldn't be missed; it's from 1998 and falls somewhere between progressive and oldschool goa trance.

 

For goa, you can't go wrong with the Blue Room Released label; make sure to hear the classic albums of Juno Reactor, Total Eclipse, and Koxbox. Also the old albums of Cosmosis, Transwave, Prana, The Infinity Project, Shakta, Sandman, and Electric Universe are all amazing.

 

Three must listens:

 

Juno Reactor - Beyond The Infinite

Koxbox - Dragon Tales

The Infinity Project - Feeling Weird

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For oldschool goa (pre2000) check out:

 

Hallucinogen - Twisted, The Lone Deranger

Etnica - Alien Protein, The Juggeling Alchemists......

Astral Projection - Trust In Trance, Dancing Galaxy

Cosmosis - Cosmology, Synergy

Doof - Let's Turn On

KoxBox - Forever After

Electric Universe - One Love, Stardiver

Other good stuff - Man With No Name, MFG, Dimension5, Prana, Pleiadians, Total Eclipse, Miranda, Shakta, Transwave, Deviant Electronics, Eat Static, Juno Reactor.

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HI there! Welcome to the community, and we are all happy about your interest for the psyworld :)

 

There is quite a lot of psytrance out there, each having a respective genre attached where many follow and many turn their heads in the other direction. You will find genres you hate all together, but you will also come across legendary atmospheres you never expected. I have been studying psychedelic trance for a few years now, continuing my musical journeys from house and trance. The following is just an opinion, but lets start with the basics...

 

As far as old school / new school goes, it is up to you which one to choose. Yes, you can choose both! I decided to start with old school to understand the roots of the music we have in our lives today. This helps me respect the advancements and appreciate the textures on a whole 'nother level. This site has a large amount of old schoolers, and many of them will express their praise on the psytrance pioneers. Etnica, Talamasca, Hallucinogen, Astral Projection, and others are frequently mentioned around these parts. Instead of naming multiple albums from them, I will let you dive into their styles and listen for yourself. My personal favorite is Talamasca, for his rich progression into proper euphoria. Do yourself a favor and read up on them, if your into that sort of thing. They will introduce you to many other artists, and in turn will help you understand the evolution of Goa and Full-On.

 

A lot has changed since the days of 90s Goa. Many, many other styles have risen, beginning in the early 2000s. As you journey through the past 30 years of psy, you will come across Darkpsy, Forest, Psycore, Glitch, Morning, Twilight, Full-On, Goa, PsyDub, Suomi, Hi-Tech, Ambient, and Downtempo. There are more, such as Zenonesque and Techtrance, but they are lesser known at the moment. As you can tell, there are a lot of genres out there. Which one do you start with? Let me show you a website that will host your studies for the next... well, forever. It is always updating with fresh albums, all free from the artists who provide them. Well known throughout the pay work, Ektoplazm is an intricate collective of the aforementioned styles. Check it out and read the Beginners Guide to Ektoplazm. It will be worth it, trust me.

 

I think the most loving thing about this music is the culture standing behind it. Sure, most music has a culture behind it, but the hippie-loving-wonderful-awesome guys and girls who care about each other as much as they care about the music is a real plus. You will go to festivals, sit down in a random circle, and everyone will immediately feel like family. We all connect to each other as we do to the sound. The DJs express the dancers as the dancers express the music. There is always diversity in the crowd, just as there is always a flux in the psytrance world. Its always moving, and it always will be. Its a good place to get lost in. Oh yeah, and we have the best album covers. Period.

 

To give you some more worlds to suck in, here are some labels and websites I have discovered throughout the years.

 

Parvati Records (Mostly "Psychedelic Trance" Very psychedelic indeed)

Suntrip Records (Focuses on Goa, Morning, Twilight, and other euphoric styles)

NeoGoa (A Newschool Goa paradise)

Ultimae (Ambient, Downtempo, and other emotional journeys. Carbon Based Lifeforms and Solar Fields live here)

Jellyfish Frequency Recordings (Darkpsy, Psycore, and a dab of very, very interesting Forest. I write for these guys, my personal fav. Home of Spruce)

Anomalistic Records (Darkpsy, Psycore, and "artists and music that do not have any idea how to fit in". Check out CinderVOMIT)

 

I hope this helps! You will discover quite a lot in your journeys... let it encompass you and have a wicked time! :)

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For oldschool goa (pre2000) check out:

 

Hallucinogen - Twisted, The Lone Deranger

Etnica - Alien Protein, The Juggeling Alchemists......

Astral Projection - Trust In Trance, Dancing Galaxy

Lol, I didn't even see this. Like I said, typically everyone here loves Hallucinogen, Etnica, and Astral Projection. hahaha.

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Thanks for the tip... However reason we newbies ask for recommendations is because there are so many albums out there that it's often very confusing to decide what to listen to first... But as you said it's also good to explore on ektoplazm...

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Thank you for the amazing read, FatKidWitAJetPak. I will be sure to enjoy this journey I have started, it does indeed sound marvelous. I have already checked many albums recommended in this thread and loved most of them, there a certainly good times coming! After I finish my backlog, I will check Ektoplazm, seems to be a rich resource. Concerning the genres, I believe to have already some grasp of it, after watching Ormion's playlist.

 

Once more, thank you for the welcoming.

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Thank you for the amazing read, FatKidWitAJetPak. I will be sure to enjoy this journey I have started, it does indeed sound marvelous. I have already checked many albums recommended in this thread and loved most of them, there a certainly good times coming! After I finish my backlog, I will check Ektoplazm, seems to be a rich resource. Concerning the genres, I believe to have already some grasp of it, after watching Ormion's playlist.

 

Once more, thank you for the welcoming.

 

Just curious, got any favorites yet?

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Nobody (I don't think) has mentioned the following albums, all which were landmarks:

 

X-Dream - "Radio" - this is perhaps the single most influential album in all of psytrance (Hallucinogen - "Twisted" would be the other) - it marked the shift from "goa" style to a progressive, tech-trance type sound - and it's an absolutely spectacular album. The X-Dream album listed above "We Created Our Own Happiness" is solid also - but it's not groundbreaking - "Radio" changed the landscape of psytrance forever.

 

Hux Flux - "Cryptic Crunch" - this album followed the X-Dream "Radio" album by about a year, defines the "Scando"/scandinavian sound - The sounds are mindblowing - this is album is so psychedelic and massive - nothing sounds like it - the sound style is very "computerized" and robotic - synthetic tryptamine sound - they sample R2D2 to give you an idea - there's a humor and a darkness to it - perhaps my favorite psytrance album ever.

 

Infected Mushroom - "The Gathering" - before they went commercial IM released some tremendous albums - this one started it all, and I still love hearing tracks off it - dark and twisted style for sure - much like with Hux Flux, you won't confuse the tracks on this album for anything else.

 

Here's a track from each album:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1bUnWeMNHU

 

 

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Just curious, got any favorites yet?

From what I have listened to so far, I eagerly appreciated Goasia, Astral Projection and Pleiadians; but most certainly I cannot decide on favourites yet, as I think every album deserves more than one listening (unless it is really bad on the first one). Not only that, but my backlog is still a little big. Many albums still to be checked out.

 

Concerning Dark and Forest, I still could not give a thorough look at it, however, from a superficial glance, some musics are entertaining, but some seem "off". I think I still do not fully understand the genre. Will try it on a different setting and on a different mood next time.

 

I am also still listening to some of what I mentioned in the opening post. Despite that, I am slowly getting away from most progressive and full on; they began sounding a little shallow and repetitive (with some exceptions, of course. And I still have to check Earwall's suggestions on some progressive albums and Delirious Noon mentioned by Ranback. I hope to get me back on track).

 

Overall, this is being an extremely pleasant journey and I hope to never let go.

When my opinion is fully formed about favourites and dislikes, I will let you guys know on the thread.

 

I feel comfortable whilst listening to Trance. At ease. At home.

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