Typical Psy Trance Sound

druid

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Do you think its fair to say that Psy Trance is a movement rather than a fixed principle of composition?.

Coz back in the days of good old goa trance it had a deffinitive, distiguishing sound, but since its broke out of india you now find progressive, chill, psy techno, experimental, psy house and practially everything inside it, many different artists incorporating many different sounds, so theres no real way of defining what it is, coz its got everything going on.

You can pidgeon hole and put it into sub categories, but then it just gets ridiculous once a tune has more than one other quality in it, then you come to labelling it something like "progressive tribal acid goa tech house"

But then I guess the fundamental basis behing goa trance was the combination and cross over of music styles, thats how it came about, so I guess it could be fair to say its a movement rather than one particular style or sound?
 
Dunno. I thought the music was more varied and psychedelic back in the goa days...
Now I'm going to get me arse flamed off :lol:
 
ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbi shplat spoing sphlat ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbif (little girly voice) "father please dont! I dont want to watch your cruel games you know I dont like them!" ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbi ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbit doof doof doof doof ribbit doof ribbit doof doof doof doof ribbit ribbit (butch manly voice) "shirka engage gravitational controls...... yes ulises" ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbiribbit ribbit ribbit ribbi doof doof..


well thats how i make it sound
 
Many threads here have highlighted the varied musical tastes of 'rummers. Collectively we like rock, jazz, 60s, folk, classical, and just about anything else you care to mention (tho' most of us have an aversion to commercial pop and no wonder). So we know what's good, and we know what works for us. I would argue that there is a psytrance sound - I dunno if you could call it a fixed principle of composition, but if I mentioned square 4/4 doofs and a simple bassline (simple, but not ineffective), topped by wibbles usually in a minor key...

...sound familiar? :tongue1: :Grin: Ok, I oversimplified.

Of course it's a challenge to composers to keep coming up with new ideas, moods and sounds, while ensuring that it's something we wanna shake our tushes to - the real measure of a psytrance stomper. Jumping about is much more important than deciding what genre the music belongs to. It's not an intellectual exercise, it's more primal.

So if it stops working, we'll stop dancing! I was a tad disturbed a few months ago by a couple of djs who played stuff that sounds like typewriters being destroyed. That seems to have stopped. At the moment psy composers and djs are doing a bloody brilliant job - keep it up!
:wub: :jump: :cooljump: :jump: :wub:
 
AlternateContinuum said:
Dunno. I thought the music was more varied and psychedelic back in the goa days...
Now I'm going to get me arse flamed off :lol:

*prepares to get flamed even more than you* :P

Personally from what Iv heard (although that isn't loads, tbf) i find the old goa stuff quite dull. It doesn't seem to have the drive and complex and interesting production of stuff i find really exciting nowdays like hydrophonic for instance. Just sounds like a 4/4 with lots of floaty noises, er...floating about...

*runs... :runsmile: *
 
I agree with Protomoto, there is definitely a psy-trance sound. Psy tunes are nearly always based around a 4/4 kick and a low-res 303 style bass sound playing 16ths. The stuff over the top tends to vary a lot more, but I would say that there are definite types of sound which have become a charactaristic: e.g. wizzy atonal sounds and highpass filtered synths etc.

Discuss
 
So would say GMS and Grapes of Wrath have this psy-sound???
 
But then look at gms and look at Freq....

or look at Eat Static then look at Midimilz

totally different sounds all belonging to the same genre.

does one be more psy trance than the other because it sounds more like goa?
 
does one be more psy trance than the other because it sounds more like goa?
...more psytrance than...? It's not a competition! If it works, it works. It's great that different artists have different styles (**understatement - it's vital**), and of course I accept that there are exceptions to the definition I gave earlier - that's the danger of generalisation. When I say, "4/4 doofs and a simple bassline", however, I don't believe you don't know what I mean. Perhaps I'm less analytic in my listening. :Smile3:
 
druid said:
But then look at gms and look at Freq....

or look at Eat Static then look at Midimilz

totally different sounds all belonging to the same genre.

does one be more psy trance than the other because it sounds more like goa?

very fair points. I stand corrected - my comments stem more from my personal boredom than anything else :Smile3:
 
Its a tough one coz when people ask me what does psy trance sound like i cant answer them coz theres all sorts.

I also hear people saying stuff like "naah not into psy trance, heard a DJ playing it once and wasnt my cuppa tea"

But then people just think coz most other genres i.e house, techno etc have a specific edge or sound to them that psy trance does too and that if they hear one tune they dont like doesnt mean there isnt a particular style which will suit their tastes.

thats why i cant understand people who like electronica but say they dont like psy trance, surely its becuase they are yet to find a producer that suits their palletes?
 
you can always tell if it is psy or not so therefore it must have a definitive sound. yeah it definately has a definitive sound. its completely different to most other genres.
 
Rave Dave said:
you can always tell if it is psy or not so therefore it must have a definitive sound. yeah it definately has a definitive sound. its completely different to most other genres.

describe it then.......

not possible i think
 
Why the need for a description? As RaveDave said (sort of), you know psy when you hear it. Like when I see my next-door neighbour, I recognise him - but if I were to describe his face to you, I couldn't guarantee you could use my description to pick him out in a crowd.
thats why i cant understand people who like electronica but say they dont like psy trance, surely its becuase they are yet to find a producer that suits their palletes?
Psy isn't everyone's cup of tea. Nothing wrong with that. Perhaps they haven't been to the right parties? It takes more than just the music to show what psy is all about :Grin:
 
Protomoto,
Psy isn't everyone's cup of tea. Nothing wrong with that. Perhaps they haven't been to the right parties? It takes more than just the music to show what psy is all about

agree with you wholeheartedly there, but also people build up stereotypical of who a psytrancer is, and if say (horror of horrors) a chav found it liked the sound of psy it might feel it would have to change its whole outlook on life, clothing and even friendship groups. Even for a chav this might be scary.

Also, it is no good denying it, taking the right 'rugs helps. Don't touch the stuff now, but before I'd gone down that route I was into metal and dark dark things. I doubt strongly without MDMA or acid, I would have got into 'dance' music, let alone psychedelic trance at all - it sure does make it all sound interesting.
 
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