014. Cassidy - Implode

In conversation trance as become a dirty word. I could never imagine saying to anyone that I liked, or listened to ‘trance music’. This may seem somewhat pretentious position to take. Perhaps these are the deluded ramblings of a disillusioned elitist. But, the vast majority of music going under the name of trance has no connection to what I feel trance should sound like. If I say trance, people will think something completely different to that which I mean. This isn’t a problem confined to this genre, say you like techno to someone and the first thing they think of is 2 Unlimited. Add a prefix of Detroit or Looped and they look at you blankly wondering which planet you come from. This is somewhat understandable since they are specialist genres thus providing a central reason why I say I like ‘electronic’ music in favour of stating a particular genre.

However, back to the genre in question. I in no way wish this to collapse into a diatribe about how good trance was back between 1998-2001. That has been argued a million times over, and no doubt will be again in the future. And, irrespective of the merits or de-merits of that claim, the debate misses a key fundamental. Instead, I wish this to read as a general comment over general trends in trance production. Simply put, the majority of trance misses the true essence of what trance music should be. We are constantly subjected to over produced, euphoric nonsense: music which is supposed to be emotional, which is supposed to make you happy, which is supposed to be uplifting. That is not trance.

Let me use Cassidy’s Implode as a paradigm case of what is right with this genre. Trance music should be hypnotic, futuristic, and introspective. Music which has the ability to make you close you eyes on the dance floor and draw you into you own small universe, separate from the existence of others. A place where only you can go. It is to the detriment of music, and trance as a genre, that tracks like Implode are in the minority.

Cassidy - Implode
[Intrinsic : INT 001]
(1999)