Could trance come back?

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Could trance come back?

14 March, 2011 | 12.42AM

Written by: Ellie
Filed under: Music News: above & beyond, armin van buuren, tiesto, trance

Trance music is all over the music TV channels, mainstream radio, and commercial charts at the moment. Armin Van Buuren has teamed up with pop princess Sophie Ellis-Bextor for “Not Giving Up on Love,” Tiesto has made the chart-topping “C’Mon (Catch ‘Em By Surprise)” with Diplo, and Busta Rhymes and Above & Beyond‘s “Sun & Moon” has just been added to BBC Radio 1’s playlist.

But what are the possible implications for trance’s pop crossover?

Whether or not commercial success is a good thing for electronic dance music has always been a hot topic of debate. Artists are often criticized by their most dedicated fans when they start selling more records and appealing to the masses – but why is popularity unpopular with purists?

Maybe it’s because a less fanatic crowd starts attending club nights; maybe it’s because the hard-core fans feel less individual and cool; or maybe it’s simply because the quality of the music diminishes.

Take David Guetta, for example. Once hailed by a wide swathe of the electronic-music community as one of their own, his credibility decreased when electro-house crossed over into the mainstream and he began working with the likes of Kelly Rowland and Rihanna to become a multimillion-selling artist. He has in the past admitted to aiming for crossover success, but he doesn’t see this as a bad thing, saying he simply makes the music he loves and it just happens to sell well. “What makes us strong is that there is some big names, some underground names, and the fact that we are all together makes the whole thing big,” he told The Guardian last year.

If trance music does blow up again like it did in the late ‘90s and early noughties, the likes of Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, and Above & Beyond could run the risk of losing their underground credibility, like David Guetta, Calvin Harris, and perhaps even Deadmau5.

However, Above & Beyond‘s Tony McGuiness isn’t worried:

“Outside of Holland, Armin’s success has come from relentless touring and his internet radio show, so I don’t feel that he’s crossing over in the same way as Snap or ATB did when they had pop hits that sold huge amounts of records and made huge amounts of money,” he says.

“Sadly, those days are gone. Trance is just a bloody big niche that occasionally comes to the attention of the mainstream media, but the interest will soon pass. Radio 1 is catching on to something that’s been happening slowly for the last ten years, but there’s no guarantee they’ll play anything besides ‘Sun & Moon’ from our album.”

So if 2009 was the year of d’n’b and 2010 was the year of dubstep, is 2011 is going to be the year of trance? It may just be wishful thinking but if it is, let’s just hope Britney Spears doesn’t try to jump on the bandwagon like she has done with dubstep.

Whether you’re a longtime trance devotee or just getting your toes wet, check out these nostalgic anthems while pondering the prospect of trance’s return to the top of the pops.

Planet Perfecto, “Bullet in the Gun”

System F, “Out of the Blue” [Premier]

Get these tracks on Beatport.com

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Your friend wanted to share this with you from Beatportal: http://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/could-trance-come-back/
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Trance music is all over the music TV channels, mainstream radio, and commercial charts at the moment. Armin Van Buuren has teamed up with pop princess Sophie Ellis-Bextor for "Not Giving Up on Love," Tiesto has made the chart-topping "C'Mon (Catch ‘Em By Surprise)" with Diplo, and Busta Rhymes and Above & Beyond's "Sun & Moon" has just been added to BBC Radio 1's playlist.

But what are the possible implications for trance's pop crossover?

Whether or not commercial success is a good thing for electronic dance music has always been a hot topic of debate. Artists are often criticized by their most dedicated fans when they start selling more records and appealing to the masses – but why is popularity unpopular with purists?
Trance music is all over the music TV channels, mainstream radio, and commercial charts at the moment. Armin Van Buuren has teamed up with pop princess Sophie Ellis-Bextor for "Not Giving Up on Love," Tiesto has made the chart-topping "C'Mon (Catch ‘Em By Surprise)" with Diplo, and Busta Rhymes and Above & Beyond's "Sun & Moon" has just been added to BBC Radio 1's playlist.

But what are the possible implications for trance's pop crossover?

Whether or not commercial success is a good thing for electronic dance music has always been a hot topic of debate. Artists are often criticized by their most dedicated fans when they start selling more records and appealing to the masses – but why is popularity unpopular with purists?

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