In the mid-nineties, the legendary Mazzo nightclub in Amsterdam formed several record labels to showcase a diverse array of electronic music styles heard within their walls. Founded in 1995, the M-Track imprint was chartered to release trance and techno—most of which was written by local Dutch producers like Synchro (Jeroen van Garling), Cwithe (Jens Waldebäck and…
Valves is the second full-length album from Ololiuqui, a project led by German producer Volker König, on the now-defunct Spirit Zone Recordings. Although he is commonly overlooked I will admit to being quite a fan of his distinctive style, which typically blends funky and pumping progressive beats with sunny atmospheres and often memorable melodies. There is a strong…
Total Eclipse (Loïc Van Poucke, Serge Souque, and Stephan Holweck) were among the earliest pioneers of psychedelic trance. Along with artists like Man With No Name, Hallucinogen, Astral Projection, and Juno Reactor, they helped to define the scope of the burgeoning mid-nineties Goa trance movement. This vinyl record is perhaps their most overlooked early record; neither track received nearly…
Sebastian Krüger (SBK), Linus Wessel, and Victor Harder began working together in the mid-nineties as part of the group Digital Sun, eventually releasing their full-length debut The Spiral of Power on Polytox Records in 1997. That same year, Wessel and Krüger founded Tarsis to explore a more progressive approach to trance music, emphasizing slow-building arrangements and (at that time)…
Youtube users have been incredibly resourceful in unearthing video content previously unavailable to anyone interested in the history of trance. The following clip, dating back to 1994, is a brief Channel 4 (UK) news report on the emergence of Goa trance as a social phenomenon, right around the time it first oozed into the public sphere of awareness. Since…
Authentik is a French act formed by Jocelyn Jaigirdar and Stéphane Hoareau, better known from their Three Point Turn project. Appearing on the scene in 1999, they were instrumental in defining the more techno-influenced aesthetic that was to become the main focus of psychedelic trance production in the divisive years of the millennium. Preamplified is designed to showcase the…
Concept In Dance was a short-lived division of XL Recordings responsible for releasing Man With No Name’s debut album and two compilations essential for any old school Goa trance fan. Featured here is an all-star line-up of some of the biggest names in trance then and now, with stellar contributions from Simon Posford, The Infinity Project,…
This is the live recording from my set at Dark Matter 2, an indoor party held in Toronto on June 9th, 2007. Featured here are several different styles of full-on psychedelic trance, moving from dark and aggressive beats through a series of heavy hitters into an upbeat and euphoric conclusion. With a full two hours to work with, I was…
Digital Alchemy is the debut compilation from Concept In Dance, one of the very first UK imprints to specialize in the emerging sound of Goa trance. It was a major release at the time, particularly since it was promoted by Paul Oakenfold, who wrote the liner notes and featured four of these songs in his legendary Goa…
The following piece is an article I wrote about the Toronto psytrance scene for the 2007 edition of the Trancer’s Guide to the Galaxy, an annual publication with a circulation of 30,000 copies worldwide. This 80 page postcard-sized magazine provides a high-level overview of trance activity around the globe. It is aimed at the neo-hippie jet set: globe-trotting “trancers” keen…