View source for Psychedelic trance

{{short description|Genre of electronic music}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Psychedelic trance
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Trance music|Trance]]|[[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]]|[[Goa trance]]<ref name="ishkur">{{Cite web |author=Ishkur |authorlink=Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music |url=https://music.ishkur.com/?query=PsychedelicTrance |title=Ishkur's guide to Electronic Music |date=2005 |accessdate=October 28, 2023}}</ref>|[[Eurodance]]|[[dream trance]]<ref name="ishkur"/>|[[hard trance]]|[[acid trance]]<ref name="ishkur"/>|[[techno]]|[[new beat]]|[[acid house]]|[[psychedelic rock]]|[[Industrial music|industrial]]|[[acid rock]]|[[classical music]]|[[Indian classical music|Indian classical]]<ref name=PsyBook2010/>}}
| cultural_origins  = Late 1990s,<ref name="ishkur"/> [[Goa]] (India)<ref>{{cite web|title=Goa Trance|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/goa-trance-ma0000011977|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=3 August 2012}}</ref> and Europe<ref name="psytranceclub"/>
| derivatives       = Psybient
| subgenrelist      = 
| subgenres         = {{hlist|Dark psytrance|full-on|progressive psytrance|suomisaundi|[[uplifting trance]]|zenonesque}}
| fusiongenres      = {{hlist|Psybreaks|hard psy|psycore|[[psydub]]|psy tech trance}}
| regional_scenes   = 
}}

'''Psychedelic trance''', '''psytrance''', or '''psy''' is a subgenre of [[trance music]] characterized by arrangements of [[rhythm]]s and layered [[melodies]] created by high tempo [[riff]]s.<ref name=PsyBook2010>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o_ctCgAAQBAJ&q=full-on&pg=PA116|author=Graham St John|title=The Local Scenes and Global Culture of Psytrance|isbn=978-1136944345|year=2010|publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.dur.ac.uk/anthropology.journal/vol16/iss2/|title=www.dur.ac.uk|access-date=19 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925162549/http://community.dur.ac.uk/anthropology.journal/vol16/iss2/|archive-date=25 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full on, [[dark psytrance|darkpsy]], forest, minimal (Zenonesque), hitech psy, progressive, [[Suomisaundi|suomi]], psy-chill, psycore (fusion of psychedelic trance and [[Hardcore (electronic dance music genre)|hardcore]]), psybient (fusion of psychedelic trance and ambient), psybreaks, or "adapted" tracks from other music genres. [[Goa trance]] preceded psytrance; when digital media became more commonly used, psytrance evolved. Goa continues to develop alongside the other genres.<ref name=PsyBook2010/>

==History==
[[File:Voov experience 2005-02.jpg|thumb|VooV Experience 2005 – one of the longest-existing psytrance open-air events]]

===Origins===
{{See also|Goa trance}}
The first [[hippie]]s who arrived in [[Goa]], [[India]] (a former Portuguese colony)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-08-29-tr-29087-story.html|title=A Little Bit of Portugal on the West Coast of India: Goa, a former colonial enclave, offers tropical beaches and a harmonious blend of colorful cultures.|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=29 August 1993}}</ref> in the mid-1960s were drawn there for many reasons, including the beaches, the low cost of living, the friendly locals, the Indian religious and spiritual practices and the readily available Indian cannabis, which, until the mid-1970s, was legal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minimaetmoralia.it/wp/le-vie-dei-festival-per-i-devoti-psytrance/|title=Le vie dei festival per i devoti psytrance – minima&moralia|date=23 September 2016}}</ref> During the 1970s, the first Goa DJs were generally playing [[psychedelic rock]] bands such as the [[Grateful Dead]], [[Pink Floyd]] and [[The Doors]]. In 1979, the beginnings of [[electronic dance music]] could occasionally be heard in Goa in the form of tracks by artists such as [[Kraftwerk]], but it was not until 1983 that DJs Laurent and Fred Disko, closely followed by [[Goa Gil]], began switching the Goa style over to [[electro-industrial]]/[[Electronic Body Music|EBM]] which was now flooding out of Europe from artists such as [[Front 242]] and [[Nitzer Ebb]] as well as [[Eurobeat]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=FreeNRG : notes from the edge of the dance floor|year=2001|publisher=Common Ground Pub.|location=Altona, Victoria, Australia|isbn=978-1-86335-084-6|chapter-url=http://undergrowth.org/system/files/%5Beb06%5D_FreeNRG.pdf|author=Eugene ENRG (aka DJ Krusty)|editor=Graham St John|access-date=28 March 2011|page=166|chapter=Psychic Sonics: Tribadelic Dance Trance-formation – Eugene ENRG (aka DJ Krusty) interviews Ray Castle}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
| author = Graham St John
| title = DJ Goa Gil: Kalifornian Exile, Dark Yogi and Dreaded Anomaly
| journal = Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture
| volume = 3
| issue = 1
| pages = 97–128
| url = https://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/dancecult/article/view/318/312
| date = 2001
| access-date = 21 March 2015
| quote = Connecting three generations of music enthusiasts, Goa Gil is an imposing figure in the world of psychedelic trance.
}}</ref>

The tracks were remixed, removing the lyrics, looping the melodies and beats and generally manipulating the sounds in all manner of ways before the tracks were finally presented to the dancers as custom Goa-style mixes.<ref>{{Cite book|title=FreeNRG : notes from the edge of the dance floor|year=2001|publisher=Common Ground Pub.|location=Altona, Victoria, Australia|isbn=978-1-86335-084-6|url=http://undergrowth.org/system/files/%5Beb06%5D_FreeNRG.pdf|author=Eugene ENRG (aka DJ Krusty)|editor=Graham St John|access-date=28 March 2011|pages=167–168|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320061921/http://www.undergrowth.org/system/files/%5Beb06%5D_FreeNRG.pdf|archive-date=20 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Goa01.jpg|thumb|left|An indoor event]]

By 1990–91, Goa was beginning to attract attention and had become a popular destination for partying. As the scene grew bigger, Goa-style parties spread like a diaspora all over the world from 1993. Parties like Pangaea and [[Megatripolis]] in the UK helped spawn a multitude of labels in various countries (U.K., Australia, Japan, Germany and Israel) to promote psychedelic electronic music that reflected the ethos of Goa parties, Goa music, and Goa-specific artists, producers, and DJs.<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Reynolds
| first = Simon
| title = Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture
| year = 2013
| publisher = Soft Skull Press
| isbn = 9780571289141
| quote = Psy-trance is an 'equal opportunity' genre when it comes to making the music too: there are leading exponents of psychedelic trance operating in Israel, Australia, Sweden, Greece, Denmark.
}}</ref> Goa Trance as a commercial scene began gaining global traction in 1994. The golden age of the first wave of Goa psy trance as a generally agreed upon genre{{according to whom|date=May 2022}} was between 1994 and 1997.

===Development===
[[File:Stepanida Borisova at Khan-Altay psytrance festival.JPG|thumb|Performance at a Russian psytrance festival, 2008]]
By 1992, the Goa trance scene had established an independent dynamic, though the term "Goa trance" did not become the characterization of the genre until around 1994.<ref name="oranjebus">{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313103124/http://www.oranjebus.com/home-en/item/psychedelic-trance|title=Oranje bus – Psychedelic Trance|website=www.oranjebus.com}}</ref> The Goa trance sound, which, by the late 1990s, was being used interchangeably with the term psychedelic trance, retained its popularity at outdoor [[rave]]s and festivals,{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} but also permanent psytrance nightclubs emerged such as [[Natraj Temple]] in Munich.<ref name="psytranceclub">{{cite web|title=Country: Germany|url=http://www.mushroom-magazine.com/germany-2013/ | publisher=Mushroom Magazine|date= 1 May 2013|access-date=25 March 2017}}</ref> New artists were appearing from all over the world and it was in this year that the first Goa trance festivals began, including the Gaia Festival in France and the still-running VooV festival in Germany.

In 1993, the first Goa trance album was released, ''Project II Trance'', featuring tracks by [[Martin Freeland|Man With No Name]] and [[Hallucinogen (musician)|Hallucinogen]], to name two. Goa trance enjoyed its commercial peak between 1996 and 1997 with media attention and some recognized names in the DJ scene joining the movement. This hype did not last long and once the attention had died down, so did the music sales, resulting in the failure of record labels, promotion networks and also some artists. This "commercial death of Goa trance" was marked musically by Matsuri Productions in 1997 with the release of the compilation ''Let it RIP''. On the back sleeve of the album at the bottom of the notes, “R.I.P : Mother Theresa, Princess Diana, William Burroughs & Goa Trance” was written.

While the psytrance genre began in the Goa trance scene, it went on to proliferate globally.<ref name="acmp">{{cite book |title=Altering Consciousness: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Volume 1 |last=Cardeña |first=Etzel |author2=Michael Winkelman  |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0313383083 |pages=212–213 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1T7enU4PEwsC}}</ref> Its impact was felt in western Europe, Middle East, North America, Australia, Japan and South Africa.<ref name="acmp"/> Psytrance is linked to other music genres such as [[big beat]], [[electroclash]], [[grime (music)|grime]] and [[2-step garage|2-step]].<ref name="asts">{{cite book |title=Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House |last=Collin |first=Matthew  |publisher=Profile Books |isbn=978-1847656414 |page=335 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fc8x9qeCekQC|date=2010}}</ref> The genre evolved in conjunction with the multimedia psychedelic arts scene.<ref name="acmp"/>

==Characteristics==
{{Listen
|filename=Inavon - 3303.ogg
|title=Inavon "3303" (2013)
|description=An example of goa trance
|format=[[Ogg]]
}}
{{Listen
|filename=The Rainbow God.ogg
|title=Amiranu "The Rainbow God" (2013)
|description=An example of full-on psytrance
|format=[[Ogg]]
}}
{{Listen
|filename=Square Punch - Thundercat.flac
|title=Square Punch "Thundercat" (2011)
|description=An example of prog-psytrance
|format=[[FLAC]]
}}
{{Listen
|filename=Aghori tantrik - freaks of byron bay (sonic tantra recs)-02.ogg
|title=Aghori TanTriK "Freaks of Byron Bay " (2005)
|description=An example of dark psytrance
|format=[[Ogg]]
}}
Psychedelic trance has a distinctive, energetic sound that tends to be faster than other forms of trance or techno music with tempos generally ranging from 125 to 150 BPM. It uses a very distinctive [[bass (sound)|bass]] beat that pounds constantly throughout the song and overlays the bass with varying rhythms drawn from [[funk music|funk]], [[techno]], [[dance music|dance]], [[acid house]], [[eurodance]] and [[trance music|trance]] using drums and other instruments. The different leads, rhythms and beats generally change every eight [[Bar (music)|bars]].<ref>[http://www.moodbook.com/music/trance.html Trance music. A definition of genre.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319084451/http://www.moodbook.com/music/trance.html |date=19 March 2008 }}. Retrieved 25 May 2013.</ref> Layering is used to create effect in psychedelic trance, with new musical ideas being added at regular intervals, often every four to eight bars. New layers will continue to be added until a climax is reached, and then the song will break down and start a new rhythmic pattern over the constant bass line. Psychedelic trance tracks tend to be six to ten minutes long. This includes a developed and atmospheric introduction, and a breakdown in the middle of the track of around 30 seconds to over a minute.<ref>Easwaran, Kenny. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110608042952/http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~easwaran/papers/psytrance.html "Psytrance and the Spirituality of Electronics"]. April 2004.</ref>

==Subgenres==
{{see also|List of trance genres}}

===Dark psytrance===
Dark psytrance (also known as dark psychedelic trance, dark psy, darkpsy or dark trance) is the heavier end of the psychedelic trance spectrum with tempos starting from around 150 [[Beats per minute|bpm]],<ref name=neotrance>{{cite news|author=Graham St. Johns|title=Neotrance and the Psychedelic Festival|journal=Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture}}</ref> but may often go faster. Characterized by having obscure, deep, and more [[Eschatology|eschatological]] background that leads into profound meditation of death, night, and transcendence, often with dismal sounds and heavy basslines. The subgenre often samples [[horror film]]s in contrast to the science fiction film samples more regularly used in "normal" psytrance. Dark psytrance emerged as a recognizable genre after 2003 in [[Germany]] and [[Russia]],<ref name=PsyBook2010/><ref name=neotrance/> with Brazilian, German and Russian artists dominating the scene.<ref name="Moreman"/> The German artist Xenomorph (Mark Petrick) is credited as an artist who first brought dark occult aesthetic into psytrance, with his album ''Cassandra's Nightmare'' released in 1998 being a major influence on the subgenre; X-Dream's ''Radio'' is another 1998 album cited as an early influence.<ref name="Moreman">{{cite book |last1=Moreman |first1=Christopher M. |last2=Rushton |first2=Cory James |title=Zombies Are Us: Essays on the Humanity of the Walking Dead | chapter=Rave From The Grave | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nR8mTnCFjwwC |date=10 October 2011 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786488087}}</ref>

===Full-on===
Full-on is a psychedelic trance style which has high energy for peak moments, often having melodic, energetic, and crisp basslines with a fast tempo (usually 140–148 bpm). There are some related styles that are derived from this style and are distinguished as different varieties of Full-On: twilight and night full-on (or dark full-on), having bolder and lower notes in their basslines, morning (light and kind of happy), and uplifting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ektoplazm.com/style/full-on|title=Full-On Releases at Ektoplazm – Free Music Portal and Psytrance Netlabel|last=Basilisk|website=www.ektoplazm.com}}</ref> Artists working in the genre include [[Ajja (musician)|Ajja]], Burn in Noise, Dickster, [[Tristan (musician)|Tristan]] and mitanef.<ref name="PsyBook2010"/>

===Suomisaundi===
{{Main|Suomisaundi}}
Suomisaundi ({{langx|en|Finnish sound}}) is a variety originating in Finland during the mid-1990s.

==Derivations==
===Psybient===
''Psybient'', also known as ''psychedelic ambient'' or ''ambient psy'', is a genre of electronic music that contains elements of [[ambient music|ambient]], [[downtempo]], psychedelic trance, [[dub music|dub]], [[world music]], [[New wave music|new wave]], [[ethereal wave]], and [[Intelligent dance music|IDM]].<ref name="Langobarde">{{Cite web|last=Langobarde|first=Liese|date=October 21, 2013|title=Chill Out & Downbeat|url=http://psytraveller.net/psybient/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217061913/http://psytraveller.net/psybient/|archive-date=2013-12-17|access-date=2013-10-21|website=psytraveller.net|language=en}}</ref> The genre is also known for different alternative names used in different time periods. The earliest developments of the genre within [[ambient house]] and [[chill-out music]] scenes were known as ''psychill'', ''psychedelic chillout'', ''psy chillout'', the later works within [[goa trance]] and psychedelic trance scenes are known as ''ambient psytrance'' or ''ambient goa''. The dub derived developments are known as [[psydub]] and ''psystep''.

Psybient pieces are structured to generate vast soundscapes or a "musical journey". Like psytrance, it emphasizes ongoing rhythm, but due to its ambient and atmospheric sections, it focuses less on beatmatching and allows for a myriad of tempo changes.<ref name="Langobarde"/>

==Festivals==
{{Main|List of electronic music festivals}}
In general, large psytrance festivals are culturally and musically diverse.<ref name="acmp"/>

[[Earthdance]], the world's largest synchronized music and dance festival for peace, arose from the psychedelic trance culture.<ref name="acmp"/>

At the 2004 [[Glastonbury Festival]] in the United Kingdom, psytrance was given an entire day on the [[Glade Festival|Glade]] stage.<ref name="cfu">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/apr/04/arts.artsnews |title=Clubbers fall under spell of Psytrance |first=Anushka|last= Asthana |author-link=Anushka Asthana|access-date=25 May 2013 |date=4 April 2004 |newspaper=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media }}</ref>

The Alien Safari, Vortex, and Synergy festivals are just a few of South Africa's many recurring and long-running psytrance festivals.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.capetownmagazine.com/trance-parties-cape-town|title=Psytrance Party Calendar & Outdoor Music Festivals Schedule|date=27 March 2018|work=CapeTownMagazine.com|access-date=21 September 2018}}</ref>

Rainbow Serpent Festival, Strawberry Fields, and Earthcore (now discontinued) are just a few of Australia's long-running psytrance festivals, dubbed "doofs".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-16 |title=RA's guide to Australian festivals · Feature ⟋ RA |url=https://ra.co/features/1663 |access-date=2023-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116160111/https://ra.co/features/1663 |archive-date=16 November 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Drever |first=Andrew |date=2008-11-28 |title=End of the Earthcore |url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/end-of-the-earthcore-20081128-ge7jk8.html |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Boom Festival]] in Portugal began as a psytrance festival but has since expanded to include [[world music]]. It is held in summer every other year and combines social activism with cultural and spiritual elements.<ref name="btp">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/apr/20/boom-portugal-psytrance-festival |title=Boom time: Portugal's top psytrance festival |author=Gemma Bowes |access-date=25 May 2013 |date=20 April 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media  }}</ref>

The [[Ozora Festival]] in Hungary is an arts-focused event that emphasizes connecting with nature and oneself. Psytrance is still very popular at this festival.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.rtl.be/info/magazine/culture/bienvenue-au-festival-ozora-le-tomorrowland-hongrois-a-l-esprit-tres-hippie-photos--851185.aspx |title=Bienvenue au festival Ozora, un "Tomorrowland" Hongrois à l'esprit très hippie |date=September 15, 2016 |website=RTL Info|access-date=February 19, 2022}}</ref>

==Cultural research==
In 2007, research was conducted on the global psytrance scene. 600 people from 40 countries provided detailed information via an online questionnaire.<ref name="rypl">{{cite book |title=Researching Young People's Lives |last=Heath |first=Sue |author2=Rachel Brooks |author3=Elizabeth Cleaver |author4=Eleanor Ireland |year=2009 |publisher=Sage |isbn=978-1446203972 |page=168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=awZLrt7-TEoC |access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref> The results were published as "Beyond Subculture and Post-subculture? The Case of Virtual Psytrance" in the ''[[Journal of Youth Studies]]''.<ref name="bsaps">{{cite journal |title=Beyond Subculture and Post-subculture? The Case of Virtual Psytrance |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=393–418 |author=Tracey Greener & Robert Hollands |date=September 2006 |journal=Ingentaconnect |publisher= Publishing Technology. |doi=10.1080/13676260600914390 |s2cid=145364780 }}</ref>

In 2012, Graham St. John published ''Global Tribe: Technology, Spirituality and Psytrance'', Equinox. ({{ISBN|9781845539559}}).

==See also==
{{Portal|Music}}
*[[List of electronic music genres]]
*[[Hardcore (electronic dance music genre)|Hardcore]]
*[[Suomisaundi]]
*[[Trance music]]

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==Sources==
* St John, Graham. (ed) 2010. ''The Local Scenes and Global Culture of Psytrance''. London: Routledge. ({{ISBN|978-0415876964}}).
* St John, G. 2011. [http://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/journal/article/view/94 DJ Goa Gil: Kalifornian Exile, Dark Yogi and Dreaded Anomaly.] ''Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture'' 3(1): 97–128.
* St John, G. 2012. [http://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/journal/article/view/111 Seasoned Exodus: The Exile Mosaic of Psyculture.] ''Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture'' 4(1): 4–37.
* St John, G. 2012. ''Global Tribe: Technology, Spirituality and Psytrance'', Equinox. ({{ISBN|9781845539559}}).

{{Electronica}}
{{psychedelic music}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Psychedelic Trance}}
[[Category:Psychedelic trance| ]]
[[Category:Goa trance music]]
[[Category:Trance genres]]