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Research draft

trance

vr.tr.trance · INF.KNW

Let an agent describe trance music and its subgenres with attribution to music history sources, relay characteristics, key artists and scenes, and separate trance from house, techno and from the psychological sense of trance.

Thing Registry Information and virtual systems

Research draft, second pass

A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.

written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify

Researched by: Claude

Purpose and description

Let an agent describe trance music and its subgenres with attribution to music history sources, relay characteristics, key artists and scenes, and separate trance from house, techno and from the psychological sense of trance.

A genre of electronic dance music that emerged in Germany in the early 1990s, characterised by tempos of about 125 to 150 beats per minute, repetitive melodic phrases, layered synthesiser arpeggios and builds and breakdowns designed to produce a euphoric state on the dance floor; it branched into subgenres from acid and progressive trance to uplifting, psychedelic and vocal trance.

What it is for: Dancing and club culture.

It can be describe characteristics and production; explain subgenres; relay history and key figures with attribution; distinguish from neighbouring genres and from the psychological sense.

Distinguishing features

Melodic and euphoric structure

German origins in the early 1990s

Many subgenres

Festival and club culture

What it looks like

Not visible; heard as layered melodic synthesiser music with long builds and breakdowns.

Physical character

tempo: about 125-150 beats per minute - by subgenre

How it is recognised

Melodic electronic dance music at about 125-150 bpm

Builds, breakdowns and arpeggiated leads

House is slower and groove-based; techno is more mechanical; trance as a mental state is another sense

Related models

is a kind of - the wider genre

electronic dance music

is related to - a sibling genre

techno

is related to - a sibling genre

house music

is confused with - the psychological sense

trance state

In practice

Families and kinds

classic and acid trance

progressive trance

uplifting and vocal trance

psychedelic and Goa trance

tech trance and hard trance

regional forms such as Eurotrance and Balearic trance

Standards and regulation

Copyright and sampling law

Licensing rules for clubs and festivals

Failure modes and hazards

Mixing the music sense with the psychological sense

Misclassifying subgenres

Erasing scene origins

Also called

Eurotranceacid tranceBalearic trancehands upsymphonic tranceneo trancetranceirahard NRGhard tranceprogressive tranceprogressive psytrancevocal trancebig room trancebreaktranceuplifting tranceelectro trancehypnotic tranceraw trancedream tranceKurumba Oracle Chantshi-tech full-ontrance 2.0tech trancetrance danceclassic trancedeep trancepsychedelic trancemelodic trancezenonesquefull-onclassic psytrancetribal psytranceoffbeat psytranceuplifting psyforest psytrancedark psytrancesuomisaundiminimal psytranceGoa trancetwilight psytrance

+4

Where this came from

wikidata · CC0 1.0

Also registered as vr.tr.trance

Drafted structure

Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.

Sound What trance sounds like.

Characteristics.

Characteristics

Musical features.

Characteristics

Characteristics.

  1. What rhythmic, harmonic and structural features define trance? definition
  2. Is the question about the music genre or the psychological state? boundary

Subgenres

Subgenres.

Subgenres

Subgenres.

  1. What subgenres exist, and how do they differ? definition
  2. Which entry fits the specific subgenre? action
History Origins and development.

Attribution.

Origins

Origins.

Origins

Origins.

  1. How did trance emerge in Germany and develop through the 1990s, with attribution? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance

Scenes

Scenes and festivals.

Scenes

Scenes.

  1. Which scenes, labels and festivals shaped the genre? provenance
  2. Which entry fits a specific festival? action
Make Production and performance.

Practice.

Production

Production.

Production

Production.

  1. How is trance produced, and what techniques create builds and breakdowns? provenance
  2. Which entry fits music production? action

DJing

DJ culture.

DJing

DJing.

  1. How do DJs mix and present trance? provenance
  2. Which entry fits DJing? action
Culture Culture and reception.

Context.

Culture

Fan culture.

Culture

Culture.

  1. What role does trance play in club and festival culture? provenance
  2. Is the presentation neutral? boundary

Reception

Critical reception.

Reception

Reception.

  1. How has trance been received by critics and audiences over time, with attribution? provenance
  2. Which entry fits electronic dance music generally? action

What the second pass must settle

  • Should each subgenre be a separate entry?
  • How should discographies and labels be linked?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases for regional variants; should they be split off?