Trance is a genre ofelectronic dance music^[11] that emerged fromEBM inFrankfurt, Germany, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and quickly spread throughout Europe.^[12]

Trance music is typically characterized by a variable tempo between normal rates like in generic songs and by a simple or high-fast tempo or even both into one, simultaneously. Low-tempo sounds are usually loud and are compensated with a seemingly 'after-' effect that is in a fast tempo so the tempo israndom in Trance.^[13]

It is still described as repeatingmelodicphrases^[7] and amusical form that distinctly builds tension and elements throughout a track often culminating in 1 to 2 "peaks" or "drops".^[7] Although trance is a genre of its own, it liberally incorporates influences from other musical styles such astechno,^[4][2]house,^[1][2]chill-out,^[4]classical music,^[4][5]tech house,ambient andfilm scores.^[5]

Atrance is a state ofhypnotism and heightenedconsciousness.^[14] This is portrayed in trance music by the mixing of layers with distinctly foreshadowed build-up and release. A common characteristic of modern trance music is a mid-song climax followed by a soft breakdown disposing of beats and percussion entirely,^[4][7] leaving the melody or atmospherics to stand alone for an extended period before gradually building up again. Trance tracks are often lengthy to allow for such progression and commonly have sufficiently sparse opening and closing sections to facilitate mixing byDJs.^[4][7]

Trance is mostlyinstrumental, although vocals can be mixed in: typically they are performed by mezzo-soprano to soprano female soloists, mostly without a traditional verse/chorus structure. Structured vocal form in trance music forms the basis of thevocal trance subgenre, which has been described as "grand, soaring, and operatic" and "ethereal female leads floating amongst the synths". However, male singers, such as Jonathan Mendelsohn, are also featured.^[15][16]

The KLF's "What Time is Love? (Pure Trance)" was released in the UK in 1988. The earliest years of Trance were defined by Frankfurt labels such asEye Q,Harthouse,Fax +49-69/450464, Force Inc., and others. Producers such asPete Namlook,Oliver Lieb, andRolf Ellmer created noteworthy tracks such as "Eternal Spirit" by 4Voice, "Hearts" byL.S.G., and "We Came in Peace" byDance 2 Trance.^[17][18]

Much of the development of trance can be traced to Sven Väth, who was heavily influenced by his experiences traveling toGoa where DJs were using psychedelic rock and other sounds to induce a trance state at beach parties.^[19]Väth, Dag Lerner, andTorsten Fenslau had an affection for hypnotic dance sounds and the music atDorian Gray and Omen began to reflect this.^[18]

Väth launched Eye Q with Heinz Roth and Matthias Hoffman in 1991, followed by Harthouse in 1992, releasing some of the most well-known trance tracks of the era. Eye Q took a softer approach to trance with records such asCygnus X's "The Orange Theme," Brainchild's "Symmetry" and Vernon's "Wonderer." Harthouse focused on a harder trance sound with tracks such as Quicksand bySpicelab, Spectrum by Metal Master, Human by Resistance D, and Acperience byHardfloor.^[17][18] The sound of Frankfurt was the sound of trance. DJ Dag Lerner, one half of Dance to Trance has stated that he was the first to call his music trance and "gave the child his name."^[20] The genre got its name from the trance-like state the music attempted to emulate in the 1990s before the genre's focus changed.^[21]

In a 2006 interview with Resident Advisor, Sven Väth acknowledged the role of his labels Eye Q and Harthouse in helping to create what people know as trance music today, going on to say that "people are getting a wrong interpretation of what trance music is all about" and differentiating his own form from modern forms saying "They are following a format -- always producing the same structure. It's a pop format for trance."^[22]

As German Trance made its way back to Goa, a new subgenre emerged that was more organic in sound with an oriental aesthetic in its melodies, often with references to Eastern philosophy.Goa trance would go on to spawn many sub-genres of its own, including psytrance, psybreaks, and others.^[23]

In 1991 in Berlin,MFS Records began to gain a trance profile, signing Mijk van Dijk, Cosmic Baby, and Paul van Dyk, soon releasing some of the most well-known early trance tracks such as Love Stimulation by Humate and Perfect Day by Visions of Shiva, as well as perhaps the first ever trance compilation, Tranceformed From Beyond.^[24] While writer Bom Coen traces the roots of trance toPaul van Dyk's 1993 remix of Humate's "Love Stimulation",^[1] there is little evidence to support this contention. In fact, van Dyk's own Trance roots can be traced further back to his work with Visions of Shiva, van Dyk's trance project withCosmic Baby coming earlier.^[25] Early on, Paul van Dyk had been relatively sidelined on the scene, but his collaboration with Cosmic Baby quickly led him into the heart of the scene.^[26]

In the UK, the British approach to trance music and house music was similar: progressive chord structures, crescendos, longer breakdowns, and more organic instruments.^[27] In 1993Platipus Records was launched bySimon Berry as an outlet for Barry's various projects, includingUnion Jack, Clanger, Art of Trance. Platipus would become one of the most consequential progressive trance labels. Another influential label of progressive trance wasHooj Choons with notable trance releases from artistsTilt,Oliver Lieb,Solarstone, as well as the well-known Three N' One remix ofCafe Del Mar byEnergy 52.

In Australia, Christopher J. Dolan fromMelbourne, who performs asQuench produced one of the most iconic trance anthems of the 90s, "Dreams" in 1993. It was re-released in 1994 and was nominated for theARIA Award for Best Dance Release at theARIA Music Awards of 1995. It peaked at No. 9 on theFrench singles chart, and No. 75 on theUnited Kingdom Singles Chart. By October 2000 it had sold over a million copies worldwide. Dreams is widely considered pioneering in the sounds of trance and has influenced DJs and Trance Producers for decades.

In Germany, a harder sub-genre of trance emerged. With a faster tempo and gated pads, hard trance introduced the breakdown-build-anthem template that would become nearly ubiquitous in later trance sub-genres. Hard trance would inspirehardhouse, hard uplifting,jumpstyle, NRG, andhardstyle. Perhaps the best known label for this subgenre of trance wasBonzai Records, a sublabel of Lightning Records with notable tracks includingJones & Stephenson's The First Rebirth, Cherry Moon Trax's The House of House,^[28] Blue Alphabet's Cybertrance^[29] to name a few.

By the late 1990s, uplifting took over the scene with its fast tempo, characteristic builds, long breakdowns and big drops.^[30] In the early 2000s, pop-style vocals began being added into the music.^[4] The development of another subgenre, epic trance, finds some of its origins in classical music,^[4] with film music also being influential.^[5] Trance was arguably at its commercial peak in the second part of 1990s and early 2000s.^[31][32]

From the late 2000s to the mid 2010s, popular trance music providers such asArmin van Buuren'sA State of Trance,Paul van Dyk, andAbove & Beyond remained popular, while lesser known DJs changed to other sounds.^[33] In 2017 a new wave of underground DJs such asNina Kraviz began incorporating trance music into their sets.^[33][34]

In 2023, an effort byJohn 00 Fleming and others ledBeatport to split their trance genre category into two: Trance (Main Floor) and Trance (Raw/Deep/Hypnotic). The latter designed for the underground side of the genre.^[35]

Trance employs a 4/4time signature,^[7] generally a tempo of 125 to 150BPM,^[7][30] though the music can be any tempo, and 16 or 32 beatphrases.^[36] Akick drum is usually placed on everydownbeat and a regular openhi-hat is often placed on theupbeat.^[7] While the majority of trance music uses the same "four-on-the-floor" beat as house and techno, in trance the kick drum is often de-emphasized to give space to the bassline, whereas in house and techno the kick drum is heavily emphasized, often being the loudest sound in the mix. Extra percussive elements are usually added, and in recent years major transitions, builds or climaxes are often foreshadowed by lengthy "snare rolls"—a quick succession of snare drum hits that build in velocity, frequency, and volume towards the end of a measure.^[7]

Rapidarpeggios andminor keys are common features of trance, the latter being almost universal.^{[citation needed]} Trance tracks often use one central "hook", or melody, which runs through almost the entire song, repeating at intervals anywhere between 2 beats and 32 bars, in addition to harmonies and motifs in different timbres from the central melody.^[7] Instruments are added or removed every 4, 8, 16, or 32 bars.^[7]

In the section before the breakdown, the lead motif is often introduced in a sliced up and simplified form,^[7] to give the audience a "taste" of what they will hear after the breakdown.^[7] Then later, the final climax is usually "a culmination of the first part of the track mixed with the main melodic reprise".^[7]

As is the case with many dance music tracks, trance tracks are usually built with sparser intros ("mix-ins") and outros ("mix-outs") to enable DJs to blend them together immediately.^[4][7]

EDM-infused forms designed for festival main stages often incorporate other styles and elements of electronic music such aselectro andprogressive house into its production. It emphasizes harsher basslines and drum beats which decrease the importance ofoffbeats and focus primarily on afour on the floor stylistic house drum pattern. The BPM of more recent styles tends to be on par withhouse music at 120 to 135 beats per minute. However, unlike house music, recent forms of Uplifting continue to feature melodic breakdowns and longer transitions.^[37]

Trance music is broken into a number of subgenres includingacid trance, classic trance,hard trance, progressive trance,^[4] anduplifting trance.^[4]Uplifting trance is also known as "anthem trance", "epic trance",^[4] "commercial trance", "stadium trance", or "euphoric trance",^[7] and has been strongly influenced by classical music in the 1990s^[4] and 2000s by leading artists such asFerry Corsten,Armin Van Buuren,Paul Van Dyk,Tiësto,Push,Rank 1 and at present with the development of the subgenre "orchestral uplifting trance" or "uplifting trance with symphonic orchestra" by such artists as Sound Apparel,Andy Blueman, Ciro Visone, Soundlift, Arctic Moon, and Sergey Nevone & Simon O'Shine, among others. Closely related to uplifting trance isEurodance, which has become a general term for a wide variety of highly commercialized European dance music. Notably late in the 1990s, German producerATB revolutionized the scene of the aforementioned Eurodance with his hit single "9 PM (Till I Come)". Several subgenres are crossovers with other major genres of electronic music. For instance,tech trance is a mixture of trance and techno, andvocal trance "combines [trance's] progressive elements with pop music".^[4] Thedream trance genre originated in the mid-1990s, with its popularity then led byRobert Miles, who composedChildren in 1996. Recently, there is also a very small subgenre called "medieval trance", which combines medieval elements together with trance elements, e.g. Maestro Giano, Green Clouds and other artists, which are effectively a kind of "reverseBardcore".

AllMusic states on progressive trance: "the progressive wing of the trance crowd led directly to a more commercial, chart-oriented sound since trance had never enjoyed much chart action in the first place. Emphasizing the smoother sound ofEurodance or house (and occasionally more reminiscent ofJean-Michel Jarre thanBasement Jaxx), Progressive Trance became the sound of the world's dance floors by the end of the millennium. Critics ridiculed its focus on predictable breakdowns and relative lack of skill to beat-mix, but progressive trance was caned by the hottest DJ."^[38]

The following is an incomplete list of dance music festivals that showcase trance music.

Notes: Sunburn was not the first festival/event to specialize in India in trance music. Much earlier pioneers of Goa parties^[2] held events as early as the late 1980s and through all of the 1990s^[8]

• China:Spirit Tribe is a regular event outside of Kunming, Yunnan, China.^[39]
• India: TheSunburn Festival was launched in December 2007 as South Asia's first electronic music festival, and featured heavyweights like DJCarl Cox and John '00' Fleming. Located by the seaside in Goa, on India's west coast, the festival has its roots inGoa trance, centered aroundAnjuna beach. Sunburn had more than 5,000 party-goers attend a three-day event in December 2008. At the 2009 festival, DJs such asArmin Van Buuren andSander van Doorn headlined when audience numbers were approx 15,000. At the 2010 festival, when the likes ofPaul Van Dyk and many other DJ's played the estimated attendance rose to about 30,000 people. The 2015 the festival achieved a record-breaking attendance with over 350,000 people attending the event to experience world-class DJ's with the likes ofMartin Garrix andAfrojack.^[40]
• Thailand:Full Moon Party, since 1985. Held each month on the island ofKo Pha-ngan. Thousands of people from across the world gather on Haad Rin Nok (Sunrise Beach) to dance to trance during full moons.Transmission, originally from Prague, also holds events in Bangkok.
• Japan: Rebirth Festival
• Israel: Total Eclipse.
• Vietnam: Ravolution Music Festival.

• Germany: Waldfrieden Wonderland,Stemwede, since 1997. The forest peace wonderland is an international open-air music festival, which takes place every year in August. The main style of music is psychedelic trance.^[41]
  We Are One, Berlin, since 2010. Headed byPaul van Dyk, the event plays several different styles of trance.
• Lithuania:Yaga Gathering. A transformational festival hosted in a clearing in Ežeraitis Forest, at the edge of Spengla Lake in the Varėna District of southern Lithuania. The festival has no corporate sponsors and is financed by ticket sales. The site of the festival is about 60 kilometers (37 mi) south of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Classes and activities are among the festival's other attractions, including open-air cinema, the Discovery stage featuring lectures, a Healing area with yoga and meditation sessions, a handicraft workshops area, and a children's area.
• Hungary:Ozora Festival
• Poland: Euforia Festival, Electronic Family Poland, Mayday, Sunrise Festival
• Portugal:Boom festival (the last edition was in Idanha-a-Nova), since 1997. This event is an outdoor festival running every two years with a duration of several days, focusing in psychedelic Goa trance. The festival also features workshops, presentations, and cinema. Freedom Festival;Kin and 4 Elements Festival, and many others.
• Romania:Untold Festival,Dakini Festival, SAGA Festival
• Switzerland:Street Parade,Zürich, since 1992. The world's biggest electronic music festival (more than one million visitors attend this event yearly).
• Sweden: Monday Bar Cruise has been arranged four times a year since 2002 and takes place on a 2000 people cruise ship between Stockholm and the Baltic countries. Styles include trance, psytrance, hardstyle, and hardcore.^[42]
• Belgium:Tomorrowland,Boom, since 2005. The largest Belgian open-air electronic music festival. DJs such asArmin van Buuren,Tiësto,Arty,Cosmic Gate and many more have been fixtures at the festival.
• Czech Republic:Transmission, Prague, since 2006. The biggest indoor trance music event in middle and eastern Europe.Markus Schulz is a frequent headlining performer at the event.
• Finland: Summer Sound,Helsinki, since 2011. Starting as a one-day festival in 2011 and held in Suvilahti, Helsinki, it has since grown into 3-day festival partly inside and partly outside. Every summer, DJs such asTiësto,Armin van Buuren, andFaithless headline the event.^[43]
• Greece: Dreamland,Ancient Olympia,Elis, since 2014. An event which aims to promote different types of electronic music, culture as well as the ecological awareness. Since 2018, it takes place in thecoast of Kyparissia, under the name "Mythody".^[44][45]
• Turkey: ANKA or Psy-ANKA and AJAX, since 2009 and 2011. Festivals which represent different genres of electronic music are hold in Turkey annually.^[46]
• Spain:Ibiza has hosted trance parties since the 1990s.^[47]
• United Kingdom:Spiral Tribe,Tribal Gathering,Glade Festivaletc;Gatecrasher also promote sporadic events and have in the past also used venues such asBirmingham N.E.C.

Electronic Music festivals in the Netherlands are mainly organized by four companiesALDA Events,ID&T, UDC andQ-dance:

• Armin Only,Jaarbeurs,Utrecht: As the name states, the only DJ to mix at this event isArmin van Buuren. Organized by ALDA Events. Armin Only 2005 was held inRotterdam Ahoy. The 2008 and 2010 editions were held in Jaarbeurs Utrecht. The 2013 event was held at theZiggo Dome, Amsterdam
• Dance Valley,Spaarnwoude: an outdoor festival organized by UDC.
• Sensation,Amsterdam Arena. Organized by ID&T.
• Energy, (formerly Trance Energy) Jaarbeurs, Utrecht: Previously Trance only under the name "Trance Energy", the festival was renamed "Energy" in 2011 and begun to incorporate other genres. Organized by ID&T.
• Amsterdam dance event, One of the world's trance and electronic music festivals held every year at Amsterdam in October.
• A State of Trance:Armin van Buuren's weekly radio showA State of Trance celebrates every 50th episode with an event in the Netherlands, usually inUtrecht.
• Electronic Family: Organized by ALDA Events.
• Mysteryland. A series of electronic music festivals held by the Dutch promoter ID&T. Being the first of its kind in the country dates back to 1993.
• Luminosity: Amsterdam, founded in 2007. With the slogan "Spreading The Love Of Trance Music", the Luminosity Festival is organized by Luminosity Events and is attended by thousands worldwide.
• Psy-Fi: outdoor psychedelic trance festival, at Leeuwarden.

• Bal en Blanc is a rave party that is hosted annually, in April during the Easter holiday weekend, in Montreal. This event usually has two separate rooms, one catering to house music and the other to trance music. It usually lasts for more than 14 hours.
• Digital Dreams Festival inToronto featured a full trance stage in June 2014
• Escapade Music Festival hosted on Canada Day (1 July) in Ottawa
• A two-day festival called the U4RIA Trance festival inToronto featured 23 International acts, 12 Canadian acts, and 25 hours of music in June 2018. This 2-day all trance festival was the first of its kind in Canada.
• Trance Unity, hosted in Montreal, is hosted annually and usually lasts 12 to 14 hours.

Electronic music festivals in the United States feature variouselectronic music genres such as trance, house, techno, electro,dubstep, anddrum and bass:

• Decadence, an annual 2-day New Year's Eve electronic dance music festival. Held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, it is one of the largest NYE EDM festivals in the U.S.^[48]
• Decibel Festival, an annual music and digital arts festival started in 2004 in Seattle. It is dedicated to live electronic music performance, visual art, and new media. The core of the festival comprises concerts, performances, commissioned work, film screenings, and exhibitions. The programming is presented in a variety of locations throughout Seattle, centered on the Capitol Hill neighborhood and Downtown. Since its inception, Decibel has hosted over 750 acts ranging from underground dance and experimental electronic music to transmedial art.
• Ultra Music Festival, an annual outdoor electronic music festival that occurs in March in the city of Miami, Florida. A State of Trance has frequently held milestone celebrations at the festival.

   

• Electric Daisy Carnival, an annual massive organized byInsomniac Events that was held in Southern California from 1997 to 2010, and was moved to Las Vegas in 2011. In 2009, the festival was expanded to a three-day event.
• Nocturnal Festival, are annual events held in Southern California organized by Insomniac Events, held at Glen Helen Regional Park inSan Bernardino, California in September. Some have also been periodically held at the Downtown, Texas Amphitheater inThorndale, Texas, just outside ofAustin.
• Beyond Wonderland, an electronic dance festival in Southern California organized by Insomniac Events.
• Dreamstate, first produced by festival organizerInsomniac Events on 27–28 November 2015, at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino, California, is the first all-trance festival in North America.
• Electric Zoo Festival, an annual electronic music festival held over Labor Day weekend in New York City on Randall's Island Park.
• Electric Forest Festival, a four-day annual festival in Michigan.
• TomorrowWorld, a three-day annual festival in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. Organized by ID&T, TomorrowWorld is a sister festival toTomorrowland.
• Spring Awakening, the three-day annual festival in Chicago, Illinois.

• Beyond Wonderland, an electronic dance festival in northern Mexico organized by Insomniac Events.

• Doof—A type of outdoor dance party, which is generally held in a remote country area or just outside big cities in surrounding bush or rainforests and similar to raves or teknivals. Doofs generally have live electronic artists and DJs playing a range of electronic music, commonly goa trance, techno, drum and bass, and psychedelic trance.
• Defqon.1 Festival—A music festival that mostly plays hardstyle and related genres such as hardcore techno, hard house and hard trance, the event has been hosted inSydney in mid-September since 2009 at theSydney International Regatta Centre.
• Rainbow Serpent Festival—A large electronic music, art, and lifestyle festival, located inVictoria. The festival is mainly known for psychedelic trance and minimal techno music, but also features other genres of electronic music and non-electronic music in the smaller stages.

• Creamfields BA

• List of trance genres

• Rietveld, Arjan (2021).Hypnotised: A Journey Through Trance Music 1990-2005. Mary Go Wild
• Underground Trance: The Story of TranceThe Story of Trance Music: An In-Depth History of Trance Music
• Beatport: The Definitive History of TranceBeatport's Definitive History of Trance