Ten years on, the Trance genre of electronic music shows no signs of burning out. I'm listening to the top 20 tracks from 2007 from the radio show A State of Trance. I've been faithfully listening to every episode this year. It was around 1997 or 98 that I first heard a mix, by Paul Oakenfold, and immediately went out to get a CD of his, namely Tranceport, which is still one of my favorites.
What I like about trance is how it creates a hybrid of electronic with melodic. Many parts of a typical track are typical of electronica, with repetitive synth layers and drum machines laying down a dead simple beat that humans would be bored to tears trying to play. But the human aspect is that the songs are so melodic, rising and falling, sometimes slowing sometimes speeding, in grand anthemic sweeps. A great track will do both of these simultaneously. It is the first truly cybernetic musical form.
What's more is the continuing variety of the art form. The simplicity of the genre (4/4 beat, a few synths, sometimes vocals or other samples) means that superficially, any trance track sounds like any other. But if you listen just a little closer, you discover the endless variety that it has to offer, that DJ's and other master mixers continue to explore.
