History
Psytrance, or psychedelic trance, grew out of Goa trance s1s2. It developed in the late 1990s as producers moved from tape and hardware to digital music software s1. The names Goa trance and psychedelic trance were used interchangeably for a time s1. The music is fast and energetic, with a constant bassline and many layers of sound s1. Tempos are usually between 125 and 150 beats per minute s1. Tracks are often six to ten minutes long s1. Israeli producers, such as Infected Mushroom and Astral Projection, became internationally known in the mid-1990s s2. Psytrance spread to Europe, Israel, Japan, Australia, South Africa and the United States s1. It is closely linked to outdoor festivals such as Boom in Portugal and Ozora in Hungary s1. The style has many subgenres, including full-on, progressive psytrance and dark psytrance s1s3. Some of these names come from the mood or the time of night the music suits s3. Psytrance remains a global underground scene with its own artwork and festivals s1.
Sound
- A fast, rolling bassline
- Many layers of synthesizer
- Weird or 'squelchy' sound effects
- Tracks that build over several minutes
- Speech samples and sci-fi sounds
Key figures
- Infected Mushroom — Israeli duo who became internationally known
- Astrix — Israeli producer of full-on psytrance
- X-Dream — German duo whose album Radio influenced the sound
- Goa Gil — DJ who carried the Goa sound into the psytrance era
Labels
- Hommega — Tel Aviv , 1996
- BNE — Tel Aviv , 1996
- Dragonfly Records — London , 1993
Defining tracks
Connections
Came from: Goa Trance , Trance
Led to: Dark Psytrance , Full-On , Progressive Psytrance , Suomisaundi
Sources
- Psychedelic trance — Wikipedia
- Trance Music History - From The Early 1990s Till Today — Beatportal (2023)
- 10 Trance Subgenres You Need to Know — Insomniac (2015)