Acid trance
Encyclopedia
Acid trance is a style of trance music
that emerged in the late '80s early '90s focusing on utilising the acid sound. The trademark sound of "acid" is produced with a Roland TB-303 by playing a sequenced melody while altering the instrument's filter cutoff frequency, resonance, envelope modulation, and accent controls. This real-time tone adjustment was not part of the instrument's original intended operation. Acid trance is the best known form of trance music in Belgium
. The form was first showcased at the popular Antwerp Rave 24 in Belgium, and has created four national number one singles in the country since.
Acid trance may be considered a descendant of acid house
, since the genre of trance had not yet been invented during the advent of acid house (or acidhouse).
The first volumes of Trancemaster
compilations contains a few tracks in acid trance style, just as classic trance tracks. The difference is, while acid trance tracks focus more on the changing TB-303 lines, classic trance (e.g. Dance 2 Trance
, Cosmic Baby
, Age of Love
& Jam & Spoon
) tracks are more atmospheric, they use "softer" synth-lines, often stings and other ambient music
elements. The line between these two styles is quite blurred, they also emerged about the same time.
Acid Trance artists are often confused with their psychedelic, classical, and Goa counterparts. It is not uncommon to see many of the first Acid Trance artists featured on Goa Trance compilation albums. However, many of these artists never considered themselves part of the Goa or Psychedelic scene and these compilation albums were often done by their record labels who published Acid Trance alongside Goa artists.
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
that emerged in the late '80s early '90s focusing on utilising the acid sound. The trademark sound of "acid" is produced with a Roland TB-303 by playing a sequenced melody while altering the instrument's filter cutoff frequency, resonance, envelope modulation, and accent controls. This real-time tone adjustment was not part of the instrument's original intended operation. Acid trance is the best known form of trance music in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The form was first showcased at the popular Antwerp Rave 24 in Belgium, and has created four national number one singles in the country since.
Acid trance may be considered a descendant of acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
, since the genre of trance had not yet been invented during the advent of acid house (or acidhouse).
The first volumes of Trancemaster
Trancemaster
Trancemaster is a long-running CD compilation series, issued by the label Vision Soundcarriers, a sub-label of Eurovision Soundcarriers.-History:The series began in 1992 with 'Trancemaster Vol. 1', at a time when the genre of trance was in its infancy...
compilations contains a few tracks in acid trance style, just as classic trance tracks. The difference is, while acid trance tracks focus more on the changing TB-303 lines, classic trance (e.g. Dance 2 Trance
Dance 2 Trance
Dance 2 Trance was a German trance duo composed of Rolf Ellmer and DJ Dag Lerner. They had a small number of hit singles in the mid 1990s and were associated with Jam & Spoon.-Musical career:...
, Cosmic Baby
Cosmic Baby
Harald Blüchel is a German electronic artist who is mostly known under his alias Cosmic Baby. Blüchel is also well known for his participation in dance acts such as Energy 52 with Paul Schmitz-Moormann and The Visions of Shiva with Paul van Dyk.- Biography and musical career :Harald Blüchel was...
, Age of Love
Age of Love
Age of Love can refer to:* Age of Love , a reality television show on NBC* Age of Love , a 1997 studio album by Scooter* "The Age of Love" , a 1997 single by Scooter...
& Jam & Spoon
Jam & Spoon
Jam & Spoon was an electronic dance duo from Frankfurt, Germany, that consisted of composers and producers Rolf Ellmer and Markus Löffel . They also worked under the pseudonyms Tokyo Ghetto Pussy, Storm and Big Room...
) tracks are more atmospheric, they use "softer" synth-lines, often stings and other ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
elements. The line between these two styles is quite blurred, they also emerged about the same time.
Acid Trance artists are often confused with their psychedelic, classical, and Goa counterparts. It is not uncommon to see many of the first Acid Trance artists featured on Goa Trance compilation albums. However, many of these artists never considered themselves part of the Goa or Psychedelic scene and these compilation albums were often done by their record labels who published Acid Trance alongside Goa artists.
Notable artists
- Art of TranceArt of TranceSimon Paul Berry, known by his alias Art of Trance is a trance music artist from England. Berry is also known as Poltergeist or Vicious Circles, and has been a member of the trance groups Clanger, Conscious and Union Jack. In addition to his work as an artist, Berry was the co-founder and head of...
- Atomic Babies
- HardfloorHardfloorHardfloor is a German techno and acid trance duo, consisting of Oliver Bondzio and Ramon Zenker. Their most famous track is "Acperience 1" ....
- Union JackUnion Jack (band)Union Jack is a trance music collaboration between Simon Berry and Claudio Giussani, a trance music producer from England. The duo has focused on acid and tech trance and has been closely associated with the Platipus record label, which was founded by Berry....
- Eternal BasementEternal BasementEternal Basement is Michael Kohlbecker, a German trance artist. Kohlbecker is also known as B-Flame, Camou, Fünf D, Lasziv, Magnat, Masun, Negative Return, Paragon, S.M.I².L.E., and Subscientists...
- Laurent GarnierLaurent GarnierLaurent Garnier , is a French techno music producer and DJ. Garnier began DJ-ing in Manchester during the late 1980s. By the following decade, he had a broad stylistic range, able to span deep house, Detroit techno, trance and jazz...
- Emmanuel TopEmmanuel TopEmmanuel Top is a French acid techno music producer from Lille popular in the 1990s for his releases on his own record label, Attack Records.His most famous track is titled "Turkish Bazaar", released in 1994, which contains warped, looping vocal lyrics, originally written by Jim Morrison: "the...
(early works)
- Electric SkychurchElectric SkychurchElectric Skychurch is an electronic or acid trance band based in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 1991 by composer and producer James Lumb, who initially involved vocalist Roxanne Morganstern and percussionist Alex Spurkel in the project. Over time, Electric Skychurch has also included...
- Nostrum
- Solar QuestSolar Quest (artist)Solar Quest is a one-man ambient and acid trance music project founded in 1993 by George Saunders and its aim is to combine renewable solar energy with electronic music....
- Re-Pitcher
- Phobia
- Kai TracidKai TracidKai Tracid is a German Trance DJ and producer. The name Tracid originates from the combination of the two music genres trance and acid....
- DJ Choci
- The KLFThe KLFThe KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
Labels
- Attack RecordsAttack RecordsAttack Records ran originally from 1969 to 1980 as an imprint of Trojan Records. Notable artists included The Pioneers, Gregory Isaacs, I-Roy, Big Youth and The Upsetters....
- Dance Opera
- Eurovision Soundcarriers
- HarthouseHarthouseHarthouse is a German record label specializing in techno music. The label has been responsible for many success stories in the electronic world including Oliver Lieb, Eternal Basement, Hardfloor, Sven Väth and Koxbox....
- Labworks
- Le Petit Prince
- Moonshine MusicMoonshine MusicMoonshine Music was an electronic music record label founded by Steve Levy in Los Angeles in 1992, and later headquartered in West Hollywood, California. Moonshine released over 250 compilations albums, many of which were DJ mixed. Moonshine helped to launch the career of DJ Keoki and his side-kick...
- Platipus RecordsPlatipus RecordsPlatipus Records was a popular trance music record label that was based in London, UK. It was founded in 1993 by Simon Berry. The early releases were almost exclusively limited to Berry's various projects, including Union Jack, Clanger, and Art of Trance...
- Rising High RecordsRising High RecordsRising High Records was a leading British record label, established in 1991, specializing in rave, techno and ambient chillout music. Founded by Caspar Pound, who had had chart success with a Homeboy, A Hippie and a Funky Dread, the label went on to be at the forefront of dance music in the 1990s,...
- TarotTarotThe tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
- Two Thumbs