Paul Oakenfold - Voyage Into Trance

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Music reviews of Voyage Into Trance

Music Review: Hello? What planet are you from?
Rating: 5 Stars

If you're late to the party and think that trance means scantily-clad chicks in fluffy bras dancing on podiums to soppy, angelic vocals and ten-minute cheesy breakdowns, then you'll hate this CD. You'll probably call it techno like most ....

If however, you've got a clue, you'll know that this is an early template of a sound that's known as psychedelic - or more traditionally, Goa - trance. Most of the music on this CD is from '93 & '94 when psy-trance (a darker, more tripped-out development of acid house and techno) was emerging and making its way from Europe to the infamous beach and forest parties of Goa, India. It was powerful, deep, transcendent music (acid the preferred stimulant), written in Europe, exported to India and then re-exported back to European clubland via pioneering club DJs such as Paul Oakenfold.

Psy-trance was a brief flirtation for 'making-it-big' Oakey though. He mainly played this sound at more underground parties and particularly on the festival circuit. When it came to 'breaking America' - as this man has clearly done in commericial terms - it was the cheesier side of trance, as most people know it today, that was championed. Big screaming synths, club divas spouting rubbish about climbing mountains, and every possible hook used to bring in people that wouldn't normally listen to dance music.

Don't get me wrong, there are clearly some great defining, euphoric moments on CDs like Tranceport. But this kind of ultra-melodic stuff is dating very, very badly (they're even using it on car commercials now) - unlike the tracks this CD which are more than twice as old and still sound powerful and dynamic.

Since this CD was released the psy-trance scene has been growing, and spreading to party hot spots round the world such as Tokyo, South America, South Africa, Greece, Spain, USA (San Francisco, Burning Man) - anywhere where you'll find spiritually-inclined travellers gathering and celebrating under the stars. Psychedlic trance is probably the most cohesive, global, non-commerical form of electronic dance music there is, and this CD is a great example of the roots of the sound. It's inevitable, but it really shouldn't be confused with 'trance' as it's known these days.

Best heard on a 30k sound system outdoors with the sun coming up over the ocean and a great crowd connecting, communing... 'in a trance'. Not slumped in the corner of a club in baggy pants, with a pacifier hanging from your mouth...

Description of Voyage Into Trance

Dance & DJ CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop