GENRE RESEARCH

GEORGE PICTON-CLARK

This is the word cloud I have created for the conventions of my genre of Trance. I have listed words showing things related to the genre, as well as terminology of things I would like to see edited into my own music video which I am creating. I chose the silhouette of a lady dancing as it shows emotion and you can see what she is doing, this form of dance is also relevant to the music video I am creating.

Genre DevelopmentThe genre of trance originated back in the late 1980’s and 1990’s in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Strictly speaking, trance music is the use of repeating melodic phrases and other forms of musical effects that help to build up distinct and emotive tension for the listener. The style often uses peaks and drops to increase the levels of tension which are incorporated into the genre. There are also typical instruments which are associated with the genre and feature in most of the songs that are produced within the genre boundaries, these are: Synthesizer, keyboard, drum machines and sequencers. Early artists of this genre are Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima who collaborated together back in 1991-1994 for electronic soundtracks which featured of video game series such as ‘Streets of Rage’ this style of music was heavily adopted and promoted in nightclub scenes across Europe, specifically Megatripolis, a London nightclub. This scene made it internationally acknowledged.

Early Productions of Trance

Early productions of trance music were heavily influenced by the underground parties and nightclub scenes in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. A place where vibrant effects and colours filled small rooms full of excited partygoers. This kind of scene has always been seen as a landmark within the genre as it is where the roots originate from, many people in this time went to these clubs to fulfill the full potential of the genre with all of the equipment such as synthesizers, strobes, and massive speakers which all brought huge excitement, to this day this kind of socially engaged enjoyment within the genre is similarly practiced. From early productions from the genre, vinyl distributions were heavy and were distributed a lot around the world, however as the world developed with technological advances, these seem to have disappeared with very few being available still.

Modern Day

The genre as a whole has also benefited from ‘retromania’ which sees older practices where original equipment is brought back and put into songs, instead of it all being done completely digitally, which can be seen in projects by Tiesto. This has developed a resurgence of early sounds into the broad genre. Within the genre of trance, many of the artists who produce the music don’t necessarily feature in their videos. Quite a lot of the time, the videos are very abstract and may just feature actors and stories, a lot of videos are just solely strobe effects and very bright colours, many songs from this genre don’t even have videos. This could be due to the audiences, many people who produce trance music don’t have their eyes set on critical acclaim but do it primarily because they enjoy it and use it as a pastime. The main ideologies of trance music are focused on finding different states of emotion with different musical techniques such as peaks and drops, also a mixing of layers of musical tension build up to climaxes. The different melodies and atmospheric tones stand alone throughout periods of time to create different emotions for the listener. From the earliest days within the genre, drugs seemed to have a heavy influence, this can be seen from late 80’s and 90’s nightclub scenes in places such as London where this drug taking was very popular, and alongside the music, people took drugs to reach a higher state of euphoria to add to the emotional aspects of the music.

Artists that fit into the genreGRIMES

SPOOKY BLACK

WATERMAT

TIESTO

This is a music video which exemplifies the genre of modern day trance.

From researching my genre of trance, I have discovered many of the early scenes within the genre and how the instruments and equipment played such a major part within the development of the music. I also discovered how nightclubs and underground scenes were so important to many people who are huge fans of the genre and how important these types of places are even nowadays, a social hub for the genre to continue thriving.