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So now Armin van Buuren is producing "psytrance"


Meltwater

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And now Andrew Rayel is getting on board the "psytrain," producing "psytrance."

 

 

Chanting? Check.  Rolling or chugging bass? Check. Random triplets? Check.

 

 

I blame Vini Vici for this. 

 

Yup, heard it as well on ASOT a few weeks ago.

 

Psy is literally gonna be THE hype in EDM for 2017-2018, as it seems. The 'regular' trance & EDM producers that are jumping the psy-bandwagon are everywhere.

 

That's not all, even hardstyle producers are raving about psy since the end of 2016. Read: http://www.hardnews.nl/en/psytrance-the-newest-hype-within-the-hardstyle-scene/

 

This is what's going on. It's for real.

 

And yeah, Vini Vici is the main reason, as far as I can tell his remix to Highlight Tribe really caused a huge ripple in mainstream EDM land. Amazing how hypes work, actually. :)

 

 

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Sesto Sento have made substantial contribution into transforming full-on into some sort of pop music. Now this guy does the same thing to progressive. I guess he will make a forest project next.

 

Well, they're pretty much the same group right?  Sesto Sento just has fewer 16th-note bass rolls.

 

 

Of course, Vini Vici hasn't done any The Police remixes yet :D

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  • 3 years later...

I bump this thread, because I think it's interesting to see how things have progressed since this thread was started. And I find that this thread touched very good on the state of Psytrance in 2016/2017, with some nice reflections from our dear forum members whom are all part of the scene in one way or another. So what's the latest development with regards to the mainstream EDM producers interest in Psytrance? Is there still a buzz? Or did it fade somewhat?

I tend to think that perhaps the emergence of Techno as the new event sibling to Psytrance (at least here in Sweden). Has pushed Classic Goa and Neo Goa back somewhat. As I can't seem to find any events/venues playing Goa, which I would love to enjoy once more. Goa used to be the logical partner to Psytrance, but not anymore it seems. So what this basically means for me is that Goa has become like a rare special interest with very few people to share that interest with in Sweden. The active Swedish Goa producers seem to be very few as well. The few I know about are basically Filteria and Ethereal, and Ethereal doesn't seem to have released any new music in a while? Not since 2014 according to discogs. Which basically makes them an inactive project for the time beeing, except for the live show they were supposed to play at the now canceled 2020 Apsara Festival. So the natural thing then becomes to explore what's out there and and enjoy what's on offer.

This weekend I attended a very nice outdoors event located in a forest, the Techno floor played Acid and Techno, and it was not bad at all, very hypnotic 303 grooves. Reminded me a lot of the music played at raves in the 90's in Sweden. The Psytrance floor was even more enthralling, with Twilight music and other styles fit for a night in the forest. I'm quite thankful that they didn't play some of the more dull Full-On styles touched upon in this thread(at least they didn't during the few hours I attended) like Vini Vici etc. But yeah I can understand the appeal, certainly for newcommers. As someone in this thread mentioned, I also believe that this more shallow commercial version of Psytrance can serve as an introduction, and a starting point for some deeper explorations of what the genre has to offer.

At the end of the day I think what matters most to people is if the music works on the dancefloor, is it dance friendly? One thing I noted was that when switching back and forth between the Techno and the Psytrance floors, is that Psytrance seems to have an edge productionwise over Techno. There was just something much more refined about the very polished futuristic alien sound image of the Psytrance, compared to the more old school sounding nature of Techno. The Psytrance has a distinct clarity in the sound image. Perhaps this is what draws the commercial EDM producers to Psytrance? That there is something appealing about the very high production standards in Psytrance? Even when I compared the mixing quality of Psytrance to the regular Trance of the mid 2000's I found that the Psytrance seemed to be ahead a couple of years with regards to the perceived sound quality. The regular Trance at the time often sounded quite muddy in comparison. So I guess regular Trance might benefit from the production tricks learned from Psytrance. As a consequence of the convergence between the styles by ASOT and others.

Perhaps this thread should've been named "A State of Psytrance" :P

 

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I think you're right about techno buddying up next to psy, lots more psy v techno sets happening nowadays too. For me it felt like the logical step was techno v goa as they both share a lot of similarities in song structuree while the psy i hear out n about is designed to be flipped into a new track every 3 minutes. I think the clean punchiness of psy and hard style work well together though and that makes sense to me.

I also notice a lot more 3-4 minute tracks from people like Reality Test, who isnt vin vici but is a pretty close step as far as mainstream psy goes. Her stuff rocks though so no problems there.

My main problem with the psy v techno arrangement is that festivals bring in the techno crowd, then online you see lots more vocal demand for House music to be added to the lineup next year. This is where i'd always draw the line. 

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4 hours ago, Tsotsi said:

I think you're right about techno buddying up next to psy, lots more psy v techno sets happening nowadays too. For me it felt like the logical step was techno v goa as they both share a lot of similarities in song structuree while the psy i hear out n about is designed to be flipped into a new track every 3 minutes. I think the clean punchiness of psy and hard style work well together though and that makes sense to me.

I also notice a lot more 3-4 minute tracks from people like Reality Test, who isnt vin vici but is a pretty close step as far as mainstream psy goes. Her stuff rocks though so no problems there.

My main problem with the psy v techno arrangement is that festivals bring in the techno crowd, then online you see lots more vocal demand for House music to be added to the lineup next year. This is where i'd always draw the line. 

Yes there's lots of things happening right now, the scene as we knew it is changing at a rapid pace. The crowd certainly is different now, gone are the people in Psy-attire. Atleast what I've seen, the majority are teens, which I suspect have either an inclination towards Techno/House or just attend the parties to listen to whatever weird music is playing. :) And not necessarily listening to this type of music in private or beeing particularly invested. It's pretty much the Tik Tok crowd attenting. Some I suspect beeing under 18, drawn to the illegal nature of these outdoor events. Where alcohol is sold to anyone, and drugs are offered openly by drug dealers who have realized the market value of said parties.

This combination of youngsters and lots of drugs/alcohol I think has the potential to become politically toxic, once the society is back to normal(if ever) from the Corona outbreak. The focus of the police seems to be elsewhere for the moment.

I didn't know about the phenomenon of Psytrance tracks getting shorter? That's certainly a clear sign of adapting a more mainstream-friendly structure, perhaps for the radio broadcasts. Only examples I knew about before was some Infected Mushroom tracks, but those were really more of synth pop tracks. So it made sense, when there is a verse/pre chorus/chorus/bridge type structure going on, that's the logical thing to do.

Here is an example from the golden age of a radio/TV friendly edit/remix of a Goa Trance track, music video and all, broadcasted on one of the two big music channels in Sweden at the time ZTV, the other beeing MTV of course. So yeah we've perhaps come full circle now.

 

It would've fitted even on ASOT with its commercial Trance aspects.

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2 hours ago, psychedelic chipmunk said:

Why can't they just call their music something else? Is there really money to be made by calling something "psytrance", when it so clearly is Not psytrance? Call the genre "club smasher" or something, I'm sure it'll get much more traction than poor ol' psy.

 

Well it's just history repeating I guess. The same thing happened with Goa Trance back in the day. It was a huge commercial success for some labels/artists. One might forget that, and think that Goa always was some kind of underground resistance movement. :D

In middle school pretty much everyone had a copy of some Destination Goa, Goa Head or Distance to Goa compilation here in Sweden at least. Both guys and girls. Same with the Acid Flash compilations, and none were really into the scene or anything. Some older teens in college I knew about were though. Just like all the kids who purchased The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation, weren't necessarily ravers.

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2 minutes ago, Anoebis said:

The big change last years... Melodies are dissapearing again (the techno influence) so trance is less and less trance... But it goes in waves :D 

Yeah indeed, waves is an apt description. Soon enough people will be complaining about "too much cheesy melodies" again. :P

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3 hours ago, Tsotsi said:

I think the clean punchiness of psy and hard style work well together though and that makes sense to me.

Well I wouldn't mind that, I think hardstyle has some really nice euphoric melodies, and memorable/clever intros and interesting production values. :) Perhaps the hardstyle thing with keychanges affecting even the kickdrum, as the kickdrum in hardstyle is essentially the bassline+kick at the same time. That could perhaps work within the psy/goa style who knows.

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On 12/10/2016 at 3:02 AM, Imba said:

It's a 'Future Prog' as they call it... kick and bass mostly, Schmeisser-like sounds lol

 

 

They really follow trends and stick to them, gated vocals, shamans, oriental styles combined with kick bass is what people want so they deliver it. Why to make underground psytrance or goa and get couple hundreds euros per gig only, flight with Ryan Air when you can have 5k per gig and first class or charter flights? It's very simple actually. It's simply business. Good money and everything that comes with it. 

 

 

Scene today is more like mafia or corporations or is it same? You have some huge known agenciens and some that stay in shadow with loads of money and investements. They made one 'good' track and became 'face of psytrance' over night just like that? Psytrance is business  :wacko:

 

 

This is the 'future' lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDIoPN9DKp4

Interesting points. Where do you think things are heading in todays Psytrance scene compared to back in 2016? Perhaps when Armin Van Buuren and the likes become bored with Psytrance, Goa Trance might become the next buzz word again? :) I wouldn't be suprised at all if Suntrip Records gets contacted by him in the future.(If he hasn't already).

Or maybe Armin and them feel like they've got that base covered, since a lot of Psytrance is marketed as Goa Trance?

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@AstralSphinx

Hey, the Miranda track above is quite nice, but has not much "PSY" in it at all and yes 3 minutes is short for trance/techno. Edit, yes I note it is not a very complex track and mostly arps thrown together...

Btw. there are rap/hiphop titles often with 2.00 -2.30 length part of the WHY? is that Spotify gives you a play count for a 2Min. track already. There was one guy who uploaded 1 Min. snippets to Spotify etc. then promoted the shit out of it and played it with bots etc. millions of time. He made good money before someone noted the fraud...other reason is attention span of most people shortened which also is true for music. Even a 1Min. intro might be to long for todays listeneres and they just skip the track if it not brings beats or melodies etc. early on..

 
But what is "ASOT"? 

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29 minutes ago, Multi-Media said:

Hey, the Miranda track above is quite nice, but has not much "PSY" in it at all and yes 3 minutes is short for trance/techno

Indeed but as I wrote: "radio/TV friendly edit/remix of a Goa Trance track" 

There was a deliberate effort from the record companies involved at the time to create interesting touch points between closely related genres. For example the Antiloop remix of Mars Needs Women.

As a means to add variation and put the spotlight on other artists/genres within their stable of artists.(Or as a collaborarion between labels). Which I think was a very clever move, as it would no doubt attract a wider audience and fans of Antiloop who saw the Miranda albums with perhaps a sticker citing Antiloop remixes, or by checking the tracklist on the backside of the album.

I could definitely see Afgin doing something similar with ASOT or Future Sound of Egypt, in a not too far off future.

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I think Van Buuren's collab with Vini Vici was an one-off.

Sean Tyas who used to be a household name in commercial trance, has made some psy tracks which sounded decent but quite generic

 

Protoculture, who had migrated from psytrance to commercial trance long ago, returned into psy as Shadow Chronicles (still with a lot of EDM/mainstream trance elements but not really cringeworthy)

I think psytrance may be something of interest for mainstream trance producers as a production challenge, for being highly techncially advanced music. 

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Well one off or not, what has happened once can happen again. And take surprising directions, the future is unwritten and full of possibilites.

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On 8/3/2020 at 2:11 AM, AstralSphinx said:

the emergence of Techno

The unfortunate side effect of this is that what used to be "the chillout" at psytrance parties has in recent years turned into "the alternative stage" with people playing mostly techno and/or house with some chill in the beginning and/or end, at least here in Finland it has mostly gone that way. It used to be that when I was too physically and/or mentally exhausted to be on the main floor, I could go to the chill and just relax and melt into the music, and I can't really do that much anymore :/

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3 hours ago, Paul Eye said:

The unfortunate side effect of this is that what used to be "the chillout" at psytrance parties has in recent years turned into "the alternative stage" with people playing mostly techno and/or house with some chill in the beginning and/or end, at least here in Finland it has mostly gone that way. It used to be that when I was too physically and/or mentally exhausted to be on the main floor, I could go to the chill and just relax and melt into the music, and I can't really do that much anymore :/

 

Yeah I noticed that as well, no chillout area. Well not that I care :) that used to be mostly a place for people to binge their laughing gas balloons. Not that they don't do their balloons now, it's even worse now lol. People passing out in the middle of the dance floor like dead zombies. Since the laughing gas has become one of the biggest revenues for the organizers, besides the entrance fee and smuggle beer.

I can see how the chillout can be as you say an effective spot to recover, certainly on festivals. But on these short illegal forest raves, I don't think it's such a big deal. When people feel they've had enough, it's time to head home. :D

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Anyone knows "Die Grube" ? Was in the Sauerlandish woods? I remember we went there 3-4 times, it was mostly Goa what they played and the chill area was a chill area not a techno area. Was surprised to read Die Grube is even included in the German Wiki for Psy - must be closed now for some years.

Then the last time we went there, we were dissapointed what they played...sounded more like techno to our (goa) ears. I asked a girl she said, "this is progressive psytrance", did not like it much at first. Later the sound grew on me and I even found some faves like Atmos, Vibrasphere. I need to remember other names I like from the progressive departement. But the chill was still chill.. the prog stuff was played on main floor.

From what I read on Wiki being included in ASOT, would be quite a boost....

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On 8/3/2020 at 10:22 AM, AstralSphinx said:

Where do you think things are heading in todays Psytrance scene compared to back in 2016?

this

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On 8/4/2020 at 4:31 PM, Multi-Media said:

Then the last time we went there, we were dissapointed what they played...sounded more like techno to our (goa) ears. I asked a girl she said, "this is progressive psytrance", did not like it much at first. Later the sound grew on me and I even found some faves like Atmos, Vibrasphere. I need to remember other names I like from the progressive departement. But the chill was still chill.. the prog stuff was played on main floor.

OMG dude, do they still play that stuff? Old Skool Progressive Psytrance ... I'd travel some distance to hear that again, played on a dancefloor... :wub:

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28 minutes ago, RTP said:

this

Lmao :lol::mellow::ph34r: and that's a wrap for today, enough psy-trance for this weekend I think.:D That's like some Günther or Basshunter meets Psy type stuff.

If that's where things are heading, then I think a Crazy Frog & Infected Mushroom collab isn't too far away.

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16 hours ago, RTP said:

OMG dude, do they still play that stuff? Old Skool Progressive Psytrance ... I'd travel some distance to hear that again, played on a dancefloor... :wub:

Guess not, cause this location is closed... but I just googled and it seems in fact they re-opened but now are closed again this time "Corinna" is the reason..

But... from what I gather at this site they have moved away from Goa/Psy anyway 

"Das Frühjahrs-Programm stehe fest. Rock, Punk-Pop, Elektro-Punk, neuer Pop und Motiv-Partys und zwischendurch auch die “Brot und Butter” Techno-Veranstaltungen."

https://www.schiebener.net/wordpress/die-grube-siedlinghausen-weg-vom-techno-image-hin-zu-musik-und-kultur/

But at least they have the new years goa/psy parties still:

https://www.goabase.net/party/silvester-knallts-die-grube-201920/105576

 

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