Electronic Music, Part 2: At Least What I Know About Trance

Let us start by talking about a couple of phenoms in the world today, and I guess the first would be trance as a phenom in-itself. No one is exactly sure where trance originated, but from my research I'd guess either the Goa area of Asian India or possibly France. Many wealthy people in the Middle East vacation in Goa, and it is kind of the 'Frisco of Asia. Also, there is a late-House group called "Daft Punk," a very strange glam, psychedelic and satirical kind of House, and the group was playing with beats that were trance beats very early on in the 90's. It could be a case of parallel evolution, and that would be the most likely of the two picks for area of origin.

In America, there was an "x-wave," rave scene for trance, but it was really a very minimal type of event. In Europe and the UK, the movement was so massive that it was causing civil disorder, and the only way you could really know trance is if you had attended the Euro-trance shows and survived the experience. By the way, those are two big "if's." The movement wasn't supposed to be about mutilating your mind on MDMA, but as with many situations, drugs ruled the day and the phenom got more than a little out of hand.

The basic trance beat is a mono-phonic beat. The idea was to have a real big kick with a sharp attack and just the right quick fade that almost totally controlled the stereo-picture, and then to hit the kick on all four beats of a 4/4 bar. The reality is that you only hear 4/4 in trance because we tend to organize music in 4/4 without thinking too much about it, because in reality a trance beat is a mono-phonic beat. Just that kick placed on every whole count, generally directly at or just under 120 beats per minute. Very easy to dance to, and very hypnotic in effect.

The cliche other than that was usually some epic strings and then some cymbal sounds on the backbeat of the bar to create a little interest. That is the basic trance sound, but there is a trance flavor for everything, from more hip-hop influenced styles, to queen styles, to gabber - which is a sort of "heavy metal," trance. There were also goth styles, and there were some shows - generally ill-attended - where they would kick the beat up to around 140 bpm or so and that was called "hardcore trance."

Those were what I would refer to as "tweaker-shows." Someone I talked to recently used the phrase "tweaker-freaker shows," and that is a show that is goth, tweaker, and also full of dangerous freaks. The kind of show that needs a "don't bother showing up unless you want to be durned near killed," on the banner. Those kinds of shows aren't funny, but the phrase-ology is hilarious.

The other phenom is what I call the "tribe phenom." It was always sort of like this, but the 'Net has made the effect incredibly pronounced. I am a pretty solitary guy, but if you would really put a "tribe-label," on me, "Shinobi," which was a Puerto Rican breakdance style that I know just a smattering of moves from, and then "KLF," which is something even a lot of House people don't know about. If you grab the two tracks I mentioned, you're going to hear something that is like a breakbeat, but it really isn't.

It is a House beat, but more towards that "kicky," type of House beat, rather than the smooth R&B groove. Further, KLF has a very specific sound, and the group was large and there are all these elements, but I don't think it gets overly busy. The "Live from the Lost Continent,"-board of "Last Train to Trancentral," is so complex, and every cue and punch is pitch-perfect. The KLF is a very unusual "tribe," to get with, and I know maybe two people who have even heard of them out of the many people I've talked to over the years.

Finally, the KLF group was out of their minds, but rest assured that they weren't talking about bombing the Trancentral. They were a really "queer," group, but they weren't out to blow people to bits. The reference is to the 3 am Trancentral train that runs out of London, and you'll have to try to "get the KLF," if you want to figure out the rest of the references. Remember, I am as straight as liver and onions, but I call myself a, "queer straight." If it isn't unusual, I'm generally not interested in it. That can be a very bad thing - but it is me.

I guess I'd say I pack one more tribe, but we'll get to that bit when we get to the breaks. At least one more, and it has to do with Latino again. The big thing with me is - yeah - it looks like I just arrived at Ellis Island from Sweden, but I have a real Latino type of personality. I really do. I think that is the only reason I got taken in when I was at Stetson the way I did, and further, "got Shinobi'ed," even the little bit that I did.

What I'm getting at is that I'm not in a "trance tribe," and that means that the "trance-tribers," won't tell me anything. I like trance - okay - but I like to know just to know, and that isn't how a tribe works. You don't get to know just because you want to know, you get to know because you've found a niche in the tribe. Period. If you push a tribe too hard where you don't belong, they probably won't literally ace your face, but you are going to be very unpleasantly reminded that you don't belong.

I think the phenom is a good thing, because it gives people a place to work from, but it can be taken to extremes, and when scum like that take things to extremes the way they do, it really ruins it for everybody. Still, the reason I don't know trance is real simple, and that is that I am not a trance-triber. I don't have a trance personality, I don't really get it, and I don't push my luck, which is the way to be with this kind of thing.

I am going to mention the one really classic trance tune I know about. Every trance-triber groans in agony when the track is mentioned, because it was played to death. However, just like certain tunes that come from my tribe that are just the same way, every trance-triber secretly loves the song. It's called "Greece 2000." The best version is the original X-Trance, but I'm only seeing the Oakenfold Ibiza version on Gnutella (KILL OAKENFOLD AND I'M NOT A TRANCER! DIE!) which is horrible. It would be classified as "epic trance," but the way everything works out is like a symphony.

Wonderful stuff, and if you can get away with a short pipe of indigo before you listen, it is a Garden of Eden-type track. I stay away from the stuff myself, but I remember the days when I used to pipe or joint just a teeny bit of fresh indigo. And yes, that sounds like advocating drug use. Everyone experiments, but there is also a time to grow up, and for me, growing up meant, "stay away because every inebriant you touch makes you Gwyd Dahmer." Part two is that I suck down coffee and cigarettes like they're about to be banned, and those are plenty potent as drugs. Trust me.

Next, we hit the breaks, and we are going to have some fun. Big fun. Hang in there, I'll be back.