I've been fan of Trance music for years, but never as big as I've become this year. I have introduced myself to almost every Trance major radio show and known plenty of Trance Family members on Twitter. It's a really rewarding experience and almost everyone who likes Trance are very happy, friendly and nice people. I almost wish I could meet them in person for an Armin Van Buuren or Cosmic Gate gig anywhere in the planet.
I knew Trance had a strong and loyal fan-base all over the world that's mostly located in Europe but I had perceived it very small for what I came to discover this year. Even in North America, where the most popular music genres are country and hip-hop/R&B, festivals are held almost every month and I've been stunned by the size of the crowds that attend to them.
Trance has also a huge underground and festival-driven fan base in Latin America to whom worldwide household DJs delight with at least a yearly gig (but that's on huge territories like Mexico and Argentina), yet they still deliver to their whole audiences and keep them active with regular radio shows, where they premiere lots of new tracks and showcase new talent, and promotional releases such as compilations and remix bundles.
Since my experiences with Trance have been very deep this year I've grown to have an ear for what's inventive enough to be a step out of the box from Trance's core musical progression and composition. Many things can make a track stand out from the rest: breathtaking and heart-felt vocals, melodic beats and synths, smartly used plug-ins, the use of additional (non-programmed and programmed) instrumentation (I'm a junkie for piano breaks I have to admit), the largeness of the breakdown (how 'high' it takes the listener) and how massive and poignant is the transition (build-up) from that breakdown to the rest of the track. All this elements can either make the track a very uplifting experience or a crazy fist-pupping experience, but both are sure to race your heart-beat rate.
Last week, on ASOT 533, a very interesting track by "The Air Night" was premiered, which I loved instantly because of its smart use of melodic beats and the rest of track uses uplifting elements that makes it rise, rise and rise above.
When it comes to vocal trance there're many vocalists out there who completely give the track such a strong element of vulnerability that every time they breathe the lyrics the whole world around falls apart. When it comes to remixes, this is the strength of many DJs, taking a track from it's original version to a new dimension that highlights an element of the original. Here's a track that showcases both.
This other one is an example of Classic Trance progression. It's a preview that's obviously starting on the breakdown with a massive string section, then an arousing build-up that keeps growing bigger and bigger up until the rhythm tracks kick in. The track keeps growing and growing with the same beat tracks until it slowly fades away on its own on top some smooth distant melodies.
I said I was a junkie for piano breaks. ;)
To know more about my love from trance you can check my YouTube Playlist, which is continually updated with tracks that I like.
Have a massive day. =)
