Deep trance: the darker tones of happiness [Magazine Featured]

Trance is back without actually having gone anywhere. Its genesis goes back a few decades and its peak was at the beginning of the 90s. Today we see splashes of trance across all genres, from the most commercial to the most underground. It has become a refreshing and highly nostalgic ingredient that connects people to music.

Trance hasn’t remained static over time and it’s been transforming more and more, and we can now see some branches coming to life. Recently, Beatport welcomed a new genre, a branch of trance. Deep trance is the atmospheric relative of the usual 140 bpm trance, which brings a more contemporary musicality. What is deep trance about? We introduce you to the darker tones of trance.

Trying to talk about the origin of trance presents the same challenges as the origin of any other genre of electronic music. We can locate the origin of trance in the mid-80s, with the peak of its identity in the early 90s. Globally, it is believed that the birthplace of trance is in Germany and that the genre quickly spread throughout Europe, with a particular focus on the British underground scene, which also crossed the ocean to America. Klaus Schulze, Sven Väth, Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima are some of the names mentioned as pioneers of the genre. Here, too, the experts are not in agreement. Trance is characterised by a repeating melody and a musical form that builds tension through highs and lows. The tempo is between 135 and 150 bpm. As trance has become more popular, it has evolved to meet the different musical demands of fans and the different creative variations of artists. Acid trance, classic trance, dream trance, Goa, hard trance, Balearic trance, neo trance, progressive trance, psychedelic trance, tech trance, vocal trance, uplifting trance… and so many more. Now it’s time to bring deep trance into the spotlight.

This is the ideal time for trance to take on yet another subgenre. We live in times of change, of constant evolution. We see cycles closing and repeating. Rebirth. Rebellion and evolution have always run in the blood of trance. It is a niche genre but also mainstream. A bipolarity that has been unbalanced over time towards the commercial side and perhaps that was the seed that gave birth to this new underground branch. Deep trance emerges as a natural metamorphosis that offers a darker, more paused and atmospheric side. The extreme of the spectrum, opposite to fast-paced trance.

Image credit: Anette Kölling from Pixabay