The curious popularity of trance

The curious popularity of trance

17 May, 2008 | 3.16AM

• Section: Music News Topics: Beatport Blog
• Written by: Industry Boy

Trance is a joke to some, but to others it is the embodiment of pure dance music.

Its obvious build-ups, huge breakdowns and serotonin-laced synths are cheesy to many, but there’s a much bigger majority that love it.

For years people have slated trance, made fun of its glowstick-wielding, furry leg warmer-wearing fans and dismissed its faithful followers as kids who wouldn’t know decent dance music if they put their heads in a bass bin.

And yet, trance’s enduring popularity continues to grow. And grow.

Its DJs fill stadiums, are sponsored by mega brands and even have sneakers named after them (Adidas made a line of trainers in honour of DJ Tiësto).

I think it’s about time there was an honest and frank discussion about trance and its popularity, rather than slag it off and ignore it yet again.

My idea for this post came about last night after I witnessed a DJ set from Armin Van Buuren.

The Dutch trance DJ was crowned No.1 DJ in the world by DJ Magazine in 2007 in its annual Top 100 DJs poll (which is voted for by the public), and at Beta Nightclub in Denver last night Armin Van Buuren tore the roof off.

Thousands had to be turned away at the doors because the club was at capacity.

From the moment Armin stepped into the DJ booth, and for about 15 minutes after he left, the crowd screamed his name, scrambled to try and shake his hand and begged for autographs.

Every time he raised his hands in the air (in a God-like pose that can only be learned at trance school in Amsterdam) the punters did the same, raising their hands towards the heavens.

Armin only needed to lift his headphones, for the girls down front to start screaming, Beatles-mania style.

It was amazing to witness a DJ being hounded and worshiped like that, and if it wasn’t for DJ booth / cage surrounding him, the crowd would have ripped him to pieces with adoration and excitement.

“Last week he played a nine hour set in Eastern Europe in front of 18,000 people, and it was broadcast live on TV,” somebody told me.

“He couldn’t go to the bathroom for nine hours.”

“Is it always like this?” Industry Boy asked DJ Remy, Armin’s current warm up DJ, whilst pointing at the thousand or so screaming clubbers out front on the dancefloor.

There happened to be two people crowd surfing at that exact moment – something rarely seen in dance music clubs.

Remy shrugged and said a simple “Yeah.”

We were standing in the very same DJ booth, where M.A.N.D.Y. and Heidi from Get Physical had been DJing two weeks earlier.

Get Physical is one of the biggest record labels in electronic music, and M.A.N.D.Y. are one of the biggest acts in techno, and yet the club was not nearly as busy and the crowd were not nearly as excited when they played.

M.A.N.D.Y. and Heidi’s music, in my opinion, is a million times more credible and groovier than the epic, commercial vocal trance that Armin Van Buuren was playing last night, but clearly I was in the minority.

Video: DJ Tiësto destroys thousands

Here’s a video I filmed from the main stage of Bang Festival as DJ Tiësto was playing (from a couple of years ago).

It perfectly illustrates the immense power of trance, and its ability to produce amazing crowd reactions.

A question I’d like us all to discuss then is: ‘Why is trance, a genre considered by so many people to be commercial cheesy nonsense, so popular?’

Let’s hear your thoughts below.

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• Check out Armin Van Buuren on Beatport