While most of us are familiar with mind-warping psytrance, who really knows how it began? Psytrance, is a sub-genre which formed from goa trance, beginning in the early 1990s during a hippie movement in India. Goa trance often has funky, drone-like basslines, similar to the techno minimalism. Check out this old school Goa trance mix via Goa Spirit.
Technically, psytrance music is known to from range 140 to 150 BPMs, and emphasizes heavily synthesized programming and strong lead melodies. Technical terms aside, Psytrance has bloomed into a subgenre with many fans and artists taking the time to foster the sounds created in the early 1990s.
We selected 3 new psytrance singles to soundtrack your day.
3. Gommi – Psychosis
Described as the relate-able feeling of being “trapped by the chains of the corporate world,” the somewhat mysterious up-and-coming DJ from the Philadelphia called Gommi released his debut single and music video called “Psychosis,” earlier in October on Heavyweight Records. The psytrance-laden journey of “Psychosis” contains a charmingly unsettling vibe in its music video as it does in the rapid-fire audio single.
Using a slew of classic stop-motion camera tricks, “Psychosis” features the melodic pop-friendly single plastered against visuals which portray the dank sadness of office life. As anyone who’s worked in an office can attest, the boring certainty can drive a person mad.
Who needs a budget when you have a great director? As mentioned above, the “Psychosis” music video showcases Gommi’s penchant for the weird and whimsical. Although there’s a purveying sense of worry scattered among the visuals, the florescent colors and hallucinogenic special effects maximize the seemingly simple set. The more extreme moments of gore and confusion are always marked with a strange-yet-affable sense of humor. Check out the video above for a rare, thought-out music video pushing the boundaries of fantasy and reality.
Follow Gommi: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
2. Summer Solstice – Tristan
With its recent entry into the top ten of Beatport’s Psy-Trance Top 100 chart, “Summer Solstice” by founding psytrance legend Tristan contains all the pack with less of a pop-punch than Gommi’s “Psychosis”. The twist and turns compared to the former are there, but the true magic of combining 80s jungle influences scattered in psychedelic patterns permeates through a dark, club backbeat.
“Summer Solstice” is the joyful feeling of classic trance when it meets the other plane of existence through unique, organic percussion choices. Maybe psytrance fans aren’t too surprised to see a legend like Tristan on the list, but house-fans and run-of-the-mill trance fans should have no problem in adjusting to the wild world of “Summer Solstice”. The international vibes of the track and the clear production know-how of the genre prepare “Summer Solstice” for the ideal fall season entry-point.
Follow Tristan: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
1. Change the Past – Nikki S
“Change the Past” by Nikki S also made quite the splash on the charts as of late. With some semi-traditional trance in the works, Nikki S utilizes well-spoken vocal samples and a flanging beat with less organic sounds than the last two tracks. The vocal samples detail what seem to be a lecture focusing on accepting the past for what you cannot change blaring among the heavier synth sounds. Nikki S prepares the listener for an 8-minute romp through the solar system by combining a slew of sounds pulled from various genres like house and techno, but staying true to her trance mantras with a tinge of the otherworldly. While it might not be your first choice if you’re looking for something more melodic, Nikki S clearly intended this track for the gritty, sound-heavy hippie in all of us.
Follow Nikki S: Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud
