Johan Gielen: “Back Then, Trance Wasn’t a Formula — It Was a Movement”

For more than three decades, Johan Gielen has been a defining presence in the global Trance scene. Rising through the European club circuit in the late ’90s, the Belgian-born DJ and producer helped shape the euphoric sound of Trance’s golden era with his melodic productions and high-energy DJ sets.

Over the years, Gielen has built an impressive legacy, reaching #24 in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs and performing a remarkable 26 consecutive times at Trance Energy, one of the genre’s most iconic events. Together with Sven Maes as Svenson & Gielen, he delivered timeless classics such as ‘The Beauty of Silence’, ‘Beachbreeze’, and the gold-certified ‘Twisted’.

Another key chapter came through Airscape, the alias behind beloved tracks like ‘L'Esperanza’ and ‘Cruising’, as well as standout remixes for Alice Deejay and Safri Duo. Today, nearly 30 years into his career, Gielen continues to evolve his sound with new releases and fresh Airscape material while staying true to the melodic roots that made him a Trance mainstay.

Q: Your name first popped up on the Trance radar around 30 years ago. What do you remember most about breaking into the scene in the late ’90s — and did you ever imagine you’d still be doing this at the top level today?

A: Breaking into the scene in the late ’90s felt completely organic. Back then, Trance wasn’t a formula — it was a movement. Everything was driven by passion rather than strategy. We were experimenting constantly, chasing emotionsrather than trends. I remember long nights in the studio, pressing vinyl, testing tracks in clubs, and feeling that instant connection with the crowd. That feedback loop was everything.

There was also a real sense of community. The scene was small, but incredibly dedicated. When a track connected, it travelled purely on energy — DJs supporting each other, word of mouth, dancefloors reacting. It felt raw and honest.

Did I imagine I’d still be doing this almost 30 years later? Honestly, no. You don’t think that far ahead when you’re inyour twenties. I was just focused on making the best music I could and pushing my sound forward. But what kept me here is simple: the love for it never left. Technology evolved, the industry changed, platforms like Beatport reshaped how we discover music — but that feeling of building tension and releasing emotion on a dancefloor is still the same.

If anything, I feel more inspired now than ever. Experience gives you perspective, but the hunger to create is still there — maybe even stronger.

Q: You were born in Belgium but are Dutch by nationality. How did this mix of cultures shape your sound and approach to Trance and electronic music?

A: Growing up between Belgum and the Netherlands definitely shaped me, both personally and musically. Belgium has always had a darker, slightly more underground edge when it comes to electronic music — there’s a rawness and intensity in the club culture there. The Netherlands, on the other hand, has a long history of melodic, forward-thinking dance music and a very professional infrastructure around it.

I think my sound naturally became a blend of those two energies. There’s always been a strong emotional and melodic core in my productions, but at the same time, I’m drawn to drive, tension, and a certain hypnotic quality. I like music that feels powerful without losing its soul.

Culturally, being connected to both scenes also gave me perspective early on. You realise quickly that electronic music is universal — it crosses borders effortlessly. That mindset helped me approach Trance not as something local, but global.From the beginning, I wanted my tracks to work anywhere in the world, whether it was in a club in Europe, Asia, or South America.
In the end, it’s less about nationality and more about identity through sound. But that mix of Belgian intensity and Dutch melodic tradition definitely runs through everything I do.

Q: You’ve played at pretty much every major festival out there. Is there one crowd or moment that still sticks with you — and are there tracks from your own catalog you especially love dropping live?

A: It’s hard to pick just one moment, because over the years, there have been so many unforgettable nights. But what always stays with me isn’t necessarily the size of the festival — it’s the energy exchange. There have been massive mainstage moments where tens of thousands of people moved as one, and that’s obviously powerful. But I’ve also had more intimate club nights where the connection felt almost spiritual.

One moment that really sticks with me is when you drop a breakdown and the entire crowd starts singing a melody that you wrote years ago - something that never gets old. When something you created in a quiet studio suddenly becomes a shared emotion on a huge scale, it's incredibly humbling.

Tracks like L’Esperanza from my Airscape alias or Twisted by Svenson & Gielen are perfect examples of that. Those melodies have taken on a life of their own. When the first notes come in, you can feel anticipation immediately. Sometimes I’ll update the groove or tweak the arrangement to fit today’s energy, but the core emotion of those records is timeless. The reaction is still instant, even after all these years.

At the end of the day, dropping your own track is a different kind of feeling. You’re not just playing music — you’re sharing a chapter of your journey. And when the crowd responds like it did the first time, it reminds you exactly why you fell in love with this music in the first place.

Q: Festivals come with plenty of chaos. Do you have a funny or unexpected story from the road that fans might not know about?

A: Festivals definitely come with their fair share of chaos — and after so many years on the road, you learn to expect the unexpected. One thing people don’t always realise is how often travel plans fall apart. I’ve had situations where flights were delayed, connections were missed, and suddenly, you’re racing against the clock to make it to the stage.

I remember one particular show where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The flight was late, there was traffic on the way to the venue, and I arrived literally minutes before my set. No time to settle in, no time to overthink — just straight from the car to the booth. Strangely enough, those moments can create a different kind of adrenaline. The pressure sharpens your focus, and sometimes those sets turn out to be the most intense because you’re completely in the moment.

There have also been lighter moments — like playing a sunrise set when you’re completely exhausted, thinking the crowd must be tired too, and then realising they have twice as much energy as you do. That always makes me smile. You think you’re there to give energy, but sometimes the crowd ends up charging you.

After all these years, I’ve learned that chaos is part of the story. It keeps you humble, keeps you flexible, and reminds you that no matter how much you plan, the magic of live music always has an element of unpredictability.

Q: From Airscape to Svenson & Gielen, your different projects have explored Trance, progressive, and even techno territory. How do you decide which alias fits an idea when you start a new track?

A: For me, aliases were never marketing decisions — they were creative containers. Each project had its own identity, its own emotional language. When I worked on Airscape, it was always about melody, atmosphere, and that euphoric, almost cinematic Trance feeling. Svenson & Gielen had a slightly tougher edge — more drive, more tension, sometimes leaning into progressive or even techno-inspired territory.

When I start a new track, I don’t immediately think about the name it will be released under. I focus on the core emotion first. Is it uplifting? Is it darker and more hypnotic? Is it groove-driven? Usually, after a few hours in the studio, the track begins to tell me where it belongs.

Sometimes it’s in the sound design — certain chord progressions or melodic structures naturally feel like Airscape. Other times, if the groove is more stripped back and rhythmic, it fits better under a different identity. It’s almost instinctive at this point.

Having multiple aliases gave me freedom. It allowed me to explore without confusing the audience. And even now, after so many years, I still respect that distinction. Each name carries history, and with that comes a certain responsibility to stay true to its essence — while still evolving with the times.

At the end of the day, it’s all me. But the alias helps frame the story the track wants to tell.

Q: When you hear the phrase “Trance energy,” what does that mean to you — and how do you translate it into your sets?

A: When I hear the phrase “Trance energy,” it means something very personal to me. It’s not just a description of a genre — it’s part of my history. I was a resident at Trance Energy and played the event 26 times. So when I hear that name, I don’t just think about a style of music — I feel the atmosphere, the scale, the emotion of those nights.

For me, Trance energy isn’t about BPM. It’s about emotional momentum. It’s the tension building in a way that feels almost physical — and then the release that follows. It’s that collective lift when thousands of people move together in the same frequency. Playing Trance Energy so many times really shaped my understanding of how to control that dynamic on a large scale.

That experience still reflects in my DJ sets today. I believe in storytelling. I build sets in waves — creating anticipation, layering atmosphere, then delivering impact in a way that feels earned. I don’t just chase peak-time moments; I create contrast so that when the big drop comes, it truly means something.

The same philosophy applies to my productions. Whether it's an uplifting progressive, or slightly darker, it always needs that core Trance DNA — emotion, progression, and a sense of a journey.

Even now, when someone says “Trance energy,” I still feel that spark. And to this day, I try to translate that feeling into every set and every record I make.

Q: Who were the artists that inspired you when you first started producing at 17? And today, are there any new names in the scene that are catching your ear?

A: When I first started producing at 17, I was inspired by the pioneers of electronic music — artists like Carl Cox and the Underworld. They showed me how to create energy, atmosphere, and movement on the dancefloor, and their approach to layering and progression really shaped how I started making my own music. I was drawn to tracks with emotion and drive, ones which could hypnotize a crowd but still tell a story — that’s what I wanted to capture in my productions from the very beginning.

Today, I still keep my ears open to fresh talent. The scene is constantly evolving, and I’m really impressed by new artists who bring their own voices to Trance and progressive. One name that’s catching my attention right now is Pierre Pienaar— the way he builds tension and emotion in his tracks feels very inspired, and it’s exciting to see how new generations are keeping the Trance spirit alive.

For me, inspiration has always been about balance: respecting the past while embracing the future. That mindset guides both my sets and my productions — honoring what shaped me, while staying connected to what’s happening now.

Q: You’ve just worked on an interesting rework of CYB’s track ‘Now’. What drew you to that project, and how do you know when a track is worth putting your own vision on?

A: What drew me to reworking CYB’s ’Now’ was that the original track had already been part of my classic sets for years. I’ve always been a big fan of the Visnadi Brothers — they’ve created so many hits — and I felt that ’Now’ was a hidden gem that deserved a fresh update. It wasn’t about changing the track completely, but rather giving it new energy while respecting the emotion and essence of the original.

For me, a track is worth putting my own vision on when it speaks on multiple levels: melody, groove, and emotion. If I hear something that resonates and think, “I can bring something extra without losing its soul,” that’s when I know it’s the right project. In the studio, it’s instinctive — testing ideas, tweaking elements, and really listening to how it connects.

Ultimately, it’s about bringing the track to life for a new generation while keeping the spirit of the original. And when something has moved me for years in my sets, I know it has the power to move the crowd again in a fresh way.

Q: You’re also known for remixing tracks in a way that often gives them a whole new life — sometimes even outshining the original. Did you approach this rework with that same mindset?

A: Absolutely. When I approach a rework, my goal is never to overshadow the original but to give it new life and perspective. With ’Now’, I wanted to keep the heart of the track intact — the melody, the emotion, the energy that made it special in my classic sets — while enhancing it for today’s dancefloors.

It's all about balance. I look for ways to modernize the arrangement, refine the groove, or emphasize certain elements that might not have been in the spotlight before, without losing the soul of the original. I always ask myself: Will this connect with the crowd in a fresh way while still honoring what made the track great in the first place?

In this case, since ’Now’ had been part of my sets for years and always resonated with my audiences, the mindset was clear: bring it forward, give it new energy, and let both long-time fans and new listeners experience it in a way that feels both nostalgic and exciting. That’s the joy of remixing — bridging the past and present while keeping the music alive.

Q: Your music often carries deeper emotions and subtle messages. How important is storytelling in your productions — and do you think music can say things words sometimes can’t?

A: Storytelling has always been at the core of my productions. For me, a track isn’t just about rhythm or melody — it’s about taking the listener on a journey. Even subtle changes in harmony, tension, or arrangement can evoke emotions that words sometimes can’t. That’s the power of electronic music: it communicates directly with the listener on a feeling level.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the arc of a track — how it starts, where it builds, and how it releases. Every element, from the chord progression to the percussion, is part of the narrative. Even in more energetic, club-focused tracks, there’s an emotional thread running through them that guides the experience.

I truly believe music can express things that words fail to capture — nostalgia, euphoria, longing, or even a sense of freedom. When someone tells me a track moved them in a way that words couldn’t, that’s the ultimate validation. That’s why storytelling isn’t optional for me — it’s essential.

Q: Finally, for producers and DJs hoping for a long, sustainable career like yours, what’s the single most important lesson you’ve learned?

A: The single most important lesson I’ve learned is to stay true to your passion while remaining flexible. The music industry changes constantly — trends, technology, and audiences evolve — but the love for making and sharing music should always be the driving force.

For a sustainable career, you need patience and persistence. Not every track will be a hit, not every set will go perfectly, and that’s part of the journey. But if you focus on creating music that excites you, challenge yourself to grow, and respect the connection with your audience, longevity comes naturally.

I’ve also learned the value of balance: touring, producing, and personal life all need attention. Burnout can happen quickly if you neglect one side. Treat your career like a marathon, not a sprint. And never underestimate the power of genuine connection — with fellow artists, DJs, and especially your fans. Those relationships are what keep music alive and your career sustainable over decades.

Q: And looking ahead, what’s next for you in 2026 and beyond?

A: Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, I’m really excited about the comeback of Svenson & Gielen alongside new releases under my own name and as Airscape. There are a few fresh tracks in the pipeline that explore the boundaries between Trance, progressive, and melodic electronic music, while still keeping that emotional core that has always defined my sound.

Touring will remain a big part of my plans — connecting with audiences around the world, from clubs to major festivals, and sharing the energy that has shaped my career for decades. I’m also looking forward to collaborating with new talent, helping to carry the spirit of Trance forward while keeping my own vision alive.

Ultimately, my goal hasn’t changed: to create music and experiences that move people, whether it’s through a track in a set, a festival moment, or a release that becomes part of someone’s memories. With new Svenson & Gielen material and fresh Airscape productions, I’m looking forward to bringing both longtime fans and new listeners along for the journey.

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