Do you REALLY hate tarnce/tracne?

[nasenmann]

Well, it would be funny if someone actually bothered to put a trancy synth engine (sylenth quality level) and a tarnce creation algo together into one vst. I'd especially enjoy it if it was just a black box with its own mind.
Maybe if you donate, you get access to a few knobs like "OMG DROP!!" or "Put ur hands in the air!!".

[Sendy]

Well, it would be funny if someone actually bothered to put a trancy synth engine (sylenth quality level) and a tarnce creation algo together into one vst. I'd especially enjoy it if it was just a black box with its own mind.
Maybe if you donate, you get access to a few knobs like "OMG DROP!!" or "Put ur hands in the air!!".

What if it was free, but you had to buy "fuel" for the cutoff knob, so if you ran out of fuel, no cutoff tweaking for you?!

[highkoo]

Id make each different gate-timing an expansion pack.

"1/16 only 79.99!"

[ariston]

I'd like to repeat my question: can anyone point out some intelligent trance music? I know that perceptions of what constitutes "intelligence" differ, but I'm sure you catch my general drift.

I was totally against hip hop until I found Cypress Hill. I hated all electronic music until I heard Aphex Twin. I never liked country until I heard Lyle Lovett and Merle Haggard. You know what I mean... I'm sure there are trance artists out there that are interesting, I just wouldn't know where to start.

[ZenPunkHippy]

Hypnocoustics are currently ripping up dance floors around the world. Very, very good (if you like psy trance). The album is called In to the Light (all tracks on Youtube). Here's a random track from the album:



Note for those playing at home: one of the members is a properly qualified musician who I believe trained as a violinist from quite a young age.

Peace,
Andy.

[ZenPunkHippy]

To preempt any comments regarding the so called intelligence of this music here are some excerpts from an email exchange between a friend of mine and one of the guys in Hypnocoustics:

... while listening to some of your songs, it ‘feels’ the same way in the brain as listening to some of Mozart’s violin sonatas.

Anyone can relate to what he's saying, even if not able to directly apply it to the music I posted.

I do have some classical training! Played the violin all my life and lots of orchestras/ string quartets and stuff.

Make of that what you will, but it seems pretty unlikely to be pure chance ...

Peace,
Andy.

[ZenPunkHippy]

This album from 1997 is one of my favourites. Shakta - Silicon Trip:

[bmrzycki]

I'd like to repeat my question: can anyone point out some intelligent trance music? I know that perceptions of what constitutes "intelligence" differ, but I'm sure you catch my general drift.

I have no idea what intelligent means when talking about music. I just like what I like.

Trance has some pretty big variations in style across the decades. Take Cosmic Baby for instance. It's what I'd consider some of the earliest Trance as an independent genre breaking away from House and Techno:


Compare to late 90s Ibiza Trance:


It's important to notice across both of these tunes that the changes to the music over time are subtle. There's no massive drop or 3 minutes of stupid orchestra samples. It's meant to pull you in and almost disappear, like you black out for short periods of time and then think, "wait, when did the song change?". That's Trance as I remember (and still like) it. This new stuff seems to be europop or dubstep remix of the week. Sad really. I look forward to a return to the subtle...

I've always been a sucker for the wistful sound of Ibiza Trance done right. The mix of euphoria with a bit of longing and a touch of Mediterranean beach always draws me in.

[ariston]

Thanks for those suggestions, I'll give them an intense listen.

I do realize that Trance is mainly functional music, and not really meant to be listened to. But it seems that there are similarities to Ambient, is that about right?

[Tricky-Loops]

I have no idea what intelligent means when talking about music. I just like what I like.

That's a good phrase. Is fun intelligent? If so, my music would be intelligent, too...

[Tricky-Loops]

I do realize that Trance is mainly functional music, and not really meant to be listened to. But it seems that there are similarities to Ambient, is that about right?

Trance music is music to dance whilst ambiente music is music to sit & listen, to relax... In both cases, reasoning about the lyrics isn't the main purpose...

If intelligent lyrics are important for you, I'd recommend something like "Zweitraumwohnung" which is good pop music with a bit of trance flavor.

[Frantz]

Hypnocoustics are currently ripping up dance floors around the world. Very, very good (if you like psy trance).

Well, I listened to that Hypnocoustics track you linked to twice. To me it seems to be very polished and well produced but ultimately functional, monotonous, "trippy" dance muzak. It doesn't do anything interesting. No disrespect intended. Just giving my opinion on it.

For now, I'd rather rock out with the Random Trance Music Generator because at least it's kind of funny.

[ghettosynth]

It's something that cannot be accomplished by the best of musicians and it has a different affect on the mind precisely because the machine has more discipline and physical commitment than any human can muster. That kind of repetition plays with the mind, but, it becomes boring if you don't introduce human variation in some way. The thing is, when you play notes in time on a traditional instrument, you have no choice but to introduce human variation in very specific rhythmic ways. When you use a machine, you can choose to apply that variation in other ways.

You've tied yourself up in knots here.

No, I haven't, as usual, you read something that isn't there.

"the machine" has no mind.

Define mind.

It has no discipline. That is insane.

Your simplistic literal interpretation of what I wrote completely misses the point. I'll spell it out for you so that it fits in the tiny box that you inhabit.

Machines obey instructions to play precisely in time to a degree that musicians are incapable of achieving.

Then you destroy your own premise by admitting the boredom of that. Then the human has to do something.

No, but I am bored with trying to explain things to you.

One of your premises is that the human cannot help but specifically vary the rhythm? Well there is a whole lot of music that disagrees with that.

No, there isn't any music that disagrees with my premise. You may know music that disagrees with your naive understanding of my premise, but, you don't know any music that defies neuroscience.

How does one come to the place that one argues such shite:

Good question Jan, I think that I have a pretty good idea how you got there, but, I'm going to let you try to figure it out for yourself.

Yes, the human is not going to be a perfect clock.

Well, we agree on something then.

Who would want it?

Humans, apparently.

[ariston]

I do realize that Trance is mainly functional music, and not really meant to be listened to. But it seems that there are similarities to Ambient, is that about right?

Trance music is music to dance whilst ambiente music is music to sit & listen, to relax... In both cases, reasoning about the lyrics isn't the main purpose...

If intelligent lyrics are important for you, I'd recommend something like "Zweitraumwohnung" which is good pop music with a bit of trance flavor.

The similarities to Ambient as I see them are: lack of strong and varied progression within a song, using sound to capture a mood (as opposed to harmonies + melodies to "tell a story"), and having to "go with the flow" as a listener.

I really didn't mean lyrics at all, I meant musical intelligence. Are there lyrics in trance? Apart from "everybody... hands in the air... sheik yerbouti", I mean.

I know Zweiraumwohnung very well... it's what many Germans call "Cappuccino music"... to me, it's the musical equivalent of cottage cheese. The kind of music that people who don't care about music love to buy, something to enhance their lifestyle. Not my cup of tea at all, sorry. I fondly remember the Humpe girls in their heyday (DÖF & Ideal), but Zweiraumwohnung and Ich + Ich... ugh.

[Tricky-Loops]

I know Zweiraumwohnung very well... it's what many Germans call "Cappuccino music"... to me, it's the musical equivalent of cottage cheese. The kind of music that people who don't care about music love to buy, something to enhance their lifestyle. Not my cup of tea at all, sorry. I fondly remember the Humpe girls in their heyday (DÖF & Ideal), but Zweiraumwohnung and Ich + Ich... ugh.

I'm not a big fan of them but I like Zweiraumwohnung because they combine well-crafted pop music with some electronic elements as Tommi Eckart made trance music before this project. For me it's a progression because German Schlager & Diskofox music are the worst things I've ever heard in my life (besides "Volksdümmlicher Musik"). And Zweiraumwohnung is a bit different!

I'm a big fan of Egotronic but that's not directly trance music, it's rather electro punk...