Rediscover Classic '90s and '00s American Trance
With the New Hypnotised American Trance Compilation
After previous stop-offs in The Netherlands, Germany, the UK, and Belgium, May 2025 finds Hypnotised—the country-by-country-hopping history of trance music—reaching American shores. There, it explores one of the genre’s lesser told, yet equally fascinating tales.
The fifth album in the series is again compiled by Arjan Rietveld, author of its encyclopaedic companion book, Hypnotised: A Journey Through Trance Music 1990–2005.
To a significant extent, the American trance scene evolved inside its own bubble. Ocean-crossing breakout acts were rare, which gave the scene space to develop a distinct sound and identity—one that was driving yet linear, progressive, more tribal, and less focused on the melodic elements that dominated the European landscape.
Over time, certain elements of the sound were adapted to suit the unique demands of the legendary U.S. desert raves in Arizona, Nevada, and California. In its formative years especially, American trance also leaned toward the experimental—which is where Hypnotised: A Journey Through American Trance Music begins its story.
On his way to becoming a housemaster, Dennis ‘Aurasphere’ Ferrer’s trippy, near-beatless The Greenhouse Effect literally came by way of NYC’s EXperimental label.
Around the same time, the IST label’s Orb-answering Dark Black Ominous Clouds and Carousel (from Disintegrator and Koenig Cylinders, respectively) carried the comet trail signatures of New York’s early nineties rave sound.
Through the works of Rabbit In The Moon, Florida also made a big early impression on the scene. Released through their Tampa-based Hallucination label, O.B.E (Out-Of-Body Experience) was a blissfully tripped-out, sun-bleached, stare-at-the-sky number. Hammered afterhours by Sasha, it brought R.I.T.M. to international attention.
1997’s Heart Sequences by Aquarhythms marked the integration of other key stylistic elements into the American sound. Released on California’s Astralwerks—a label known for favouring ambient and electronica-tinged aspects—it introduced a transitory shift toward more textured productions.
Perhaps the most internationally impactful force at the time, however, was the trio of Neil Kolo, Chris Fortier, and the Fade label. Their distinctively harmonic, progressive-trance approach found receptive audiences across Europe.
By way of the ethnic chants of Kolo’s Track One, Steve Porter’s sleek Adaptor, and Fade’s racing The Love, Hypnotised: America showcases three of their finest pieces.
From Florida’s Fade, the album moves to Arizona’s Plastik Records and the debut of Markus Schulz—with the halcyon, breakbeat-struck desert rave classic You Won't See Me Cry. It features alongside Vertigo Deluxe’s blissed-out In Dark Skies and Hyper-X’s significantly more stomping Out There.
There’s some irony in the fact that the North American scene rolled deeper than many others, yet produced (in Delerium’s Silence), arguably the entire global scene’s single most recognisable moment.
As it reaches its third disc, Hypnotised: America celebrates Nettwerk America, who—alongside Silence (featured here in its original 11+ minute Fade form)—also fielded:
- BT & Kirsty Hawkshaw’s Dreaming
- Conjure One’s haunting collaboration with Sinéad O'Connor, Tears From The Moon
Resettling back on the West Coast, LA’s Fragrant label gifts the compilation:
- the acid bubble of Sandra Collins’s Red
- and Deepsky’s propellant Stargazer
The release wraps up with the Dream Music stable, which hit big out of the gate with the revered Time—a track that so memorably opened Paul Oakenfold’s iconic Tranceport mix-comp. It’s included here alongside:
- Sylvane’s harmonically journeying Voices
- and Mike Olson’s Guardians of the Earth debut, Starchildren
Through one album, nine labels, and twenty-seven tracks, Hypnotised: America combines buried treasures with some of the genre’s most iconic works.
A must for collectors, genre adherents, and crate diggers alike.
