The State of Trance

LA CityBeat music critic Dennis Romero has been getting some heat for his claims that trance music is about to die very soon, if not dead already. "I have to come out of the closet: I'm an anti-trancite," Romero writes in his latest Groundswell column. He also calls for leaving this "tired genre to the trendy and aim for real innovation". Well yeah, tell me something new.

"If electronic dance music is a beacon for the future path of pop music, trance has become an anchor of same-old sounds. The ultra-arpeggiated sound of trance hasn't much evolved in the decade since it first appeared. [...] But by the millennium, trance had melted down into an ecstasy-fueled orgy of synth arpeggios-gone-wild."

Basically, Romero claims that trance is lacking proper innovation and hasn't progressed much over the past decade. That, in fact, is 100% correct.

Looking back, trance and the whole glowstick culture that is often associated with it both seem to be the victims of its own success. The part of the problem could be that over the years, "trance" producers have been more focused on quantity rather than quality, always going for guaranteed financial return and trendiness instead of taking the music to another level and moving the genre itself a step forward. The trend-setting British media, always feeding us with crap, also played a huge part in this, championing the "Superstar-DJ" concept to death. DJs are brands now, earning tens of thousands of dollars per gig, selling sneakers, computer operationg systems, etc.

Anyway, It is sad to see this trance being so washed out and boring nowadays but everything must end at some point. Yup, it's evolve or die.

But let's not forget and give credit when credit is due. There's no doubt in my mind that many people — not just us 20-something youngsters — got into this whole dance music thing while listening to trance and progressed from there. Many folks claim records such as BT's IMA or Paul Van Dyk's 45RPM and Seven Ways as their starting points when it comes to electronic music. Even myself, growing up in Eastern Europe there wasn't that much to choose from: no record shops, no Internet.. no parties. Oh, and claims like "Trance? No way! I was listening to Kraftwerk in kindergarten" or similar bullshit — you can tell that to your mother.

"It's a cheesy scene, one abandoned long ago by the American dance-music trade magazines, ranging from URB to BPM to XLR8R."

Who cares what American music magazines are writing about anyway? Just look at XLR8R now. Two years ago they wrote about cutting edge stuff, embraced experimental music and artists nobody else dared to write about. Now they're covering Justice and similar hipster faves. Please.

"It certainly isn’t in the super-clubs, where Armani Exchange-adorned dorks with glow sticks and bottle-service tables have turned the trance scene into a satire about the shallowness of contemporary capitalism. And still, at their mega-hyped DJ shows, stars such as Tiesto, van Buuren, and van Dyk spin trance at its most audacious and grating — all victory signs, sky-high strings, and thin, jack-rabbit kick drums."

I think that Mr. Romero keeps forgetting the fact that dance music is no longer underground as it once was. Promoters and large clubs will always book DJs and artists who guarantee financial returns. That's just the way it is and we need to live with that. If some folks are stupid enough to drop $60 or more to see a shit DJ and $350 afterwards on a bottle of vodka that actualy costs $30, well, that just makes a good laugh. But my question for Mr. Romero is: why do you care? I don't. And why should I? If some people like that kind of music and entertainment — then let them have it. I couldn't care less. Eventually they will get tired of it. Sooner or later.

I know that next week I'll be seeing Derrick May. I also know that I'll be wearing a pair of jeans and a regular t-shirt, drink cheap house vodka & tonic and hang out with like-minded people... all that while dancing to the music I like.

Life is beautiful. It's all about choices you make. Same with the music.