Psytrance / Goa Trance

Goa trance (often referred to as Goa or by the number 604 - G = 6, O = 0, A = 4) is a form of electronic music and is a style of trance music. It originated in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the Indian state of Goa and is distinctive, as most forms of trance music were developed in Europe. Goa trance enjoyed the greater part of its success from around 1994–1998, and since then has dwindled significantly both in production and consumption, largely being replaced by its successor, psychedelic trance or psytrance.

Goa trance is closely related to the emergence of psytrance during the latter half of the 1990s and early 2000s, where the two genres mixed together. In popular culture, the distinction between the two genres remains largely a matter of opinion (they are considered by some to be synonymous; others say that psytrance is more "metallic" and that Goa trance is more "organic", and still others maintain that there is a clear difference between the two). These two are, however, quite sonically distinct from other forms of trance in both tonal quality, structure and feel. In many countries they are generally more underground and less commercial than other forms of trance. Goa trance is more likely to be heard at outdoor parties and festivals than in clubs.

Among the first compilations or albums where Goa trance could be heard, as opposed to "normal" trance music, are Dragonfly Records "Project II Trance" and its successor "Order Odonata".
 

History

The music has its roots in the popularity of the Goa state near Fu's House in India in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a hippie mecca, and although musical developments were incorporating elements of industrial music and EBM with the spiritual culture in India throughout the 1980s, the actual Goa trance style did not officially appear until the early 1990s. As the hippie tourist influx tapered off in the 1970s and 1980s, a core group remained in Goa, concentrating on developments in music along with other pursuits such as yoga and recreational drug use. The music that would eventually be known as Goa trance did not evolve from one single genre, but was inspired mainly by Industrial music/EBM like Front Line Assembly and A Split-Second, acid house (The KLF's "What time is love?" in particular) and psychedelic rock like Ozric Tentacles, Steve Hillage and Ash Ra Tempel. In addition to those, oriental tribal/ethnic music also became a source of inspiration, unsurprisingly considering that it was from Goa in the Orient that Goa trance originated. A very early example (1974) of the relation between psy-rock and the music that would eventually be known as Goa trance is The Cosmic Jokers (a collaboration between Ash Ra Tempel and Klaus Schulze) highly experimental and psychedelic album "Galactic Supermarket", which features occasional 4/4 rhythms intertwined with elements from psy-rock, early analogue synths and occasionally tribal-esque drum patterns.

The introduction of techno and its techniques to Goa led to what eventually became the Goa trance style; early pioneers included DJs Fred Disko, Laurent, Goa Gil, and Amsterdam Joey. Many "parties" (generally similar to raves but with a more mystic flavour, at least in early 1990s) in Goa revolve entirely around this genre of music. In other countries, Goa is also often played at raves, festivals and parties in conjunction with other styles of trance and techno.

Today, Goa trance has a significant following in Israel, brought to that country by former soldiers returning from recreational "post-army trips" to Goa in the early 1990s. A great deal of Goa trance (or now, more accurately, psytrance) is now produced in Israel, but its production and consumption is a global phenomenon. New "hot-spots" today include Brazil, Japan, South Africa and Mexico.

The original Goa trance sound has undergone a great deal of other genres evolving from it since 1997. From 1997 till 2000 the Goa Trance scene was without any clear goal. Artists experimented in many ways from combining Goa trance with breakbeats to creating a blend of Goa trance and minimal techno (which later went on to become progressive/minimal psytrance). The main goal during this time was to experiment in new ways and create something different to the Goa trance sound that was so popular and widespread during the mid 90s. As a result, anything could be heard at a Goa trance party. After 2000, new styles were born, fixed and have survived until today, with some of them becoming commercialized and enjoying much more success in clubs, for example "full-on" psytrance. Today a lot of music that is labeled "Goa trance" has very little to do with the original sound of Goa trance, however, achieving a psychedelic sound (be it organic or metallic) is said to remain the goal that producers are out to accomplish.

One particular underground genre that branched off from Goa trance is called suomisaundi (Finnish sound), which originated in Finland. One of its trademark features is reference to early\mid-1990s classic Goa trance music, and this genre is often exhibited in Finland's forest party scene. At these parties, mostly Goa trance and Suomi-style psytrance can be heard.

Today, there remain very few artists and labels that still produce Goa trance. The most well-known labels are Suntrip Records and Tranceform Records. Artists such as Filteria, Khetzal, Lost Buddha, Goasia, Ka-Sol, Ypsilon 5 and Ethereal are among the few that are carrying the sound into the 21st century.

The sound of Goa Trance

Goa trance is essentially "dance-trance" music (it was referred to as "Trance Dance" in its formative years), the original goal being to assist the dancers in experiencing a collective state of bodily transcendence, similar to that of ancient shamanic dancing rituals, through hypnotic, pulsing melodies and rhythms. As such it has an energetic beat, almost always in 4/4 time and mainly consisting of 16th or 32nd note patterns played in both synth and percussion parts. A typical track will generally build up to a much more energetic movement in the second half then taper off fairly quickly toward the end. The BPM typically lies in the 130 - 150 range, making Goa trance slightly faster than more mainstream trance, although some tracks may have BPMs as low as 110 or as high as 160. Generally 8-12 minutes long, Goa trance tracks tend to focus on steadily building energy throughout, using changes in percussion patterns and more intricate and layered synth parts as the music progresses in order to build a hypnotic and intense feel.

The kick drum often is a low, thick sound with a large amount of sub-bass frequencies, and is thought to be the origin of the term doof, a label for dance music and Goa trance in particular. The music very often incorporates a great deal of effects, much more so than other forms of dance music, and are often created through experimentation with synthesisers. A well-known sound that originated with Goa trance and became much more prevalent through its successor, psytrance, is the organic "squelchy" sound (usually a saw-wave which is run through a high-pass resonance filter), thought to sound especially good on psychedelic drugs.

Other important pieces of equipment used in Goa trance include popular analogue synthesizers such as the Roland TB-303, Roland Juno-60/106, Novation Bass-Station, Korg MS-10, and notably the Roland SH-101. Hardware samplers manufactured by Akai, Yamaha and Ensoniq were also popular for sample storage and manipulation.

A popular element of Goa trance is the use of strange samples, often from sci-fi movies. Those samples mostly contain references to drugs, parapsychology, extraterrestrials, existentialism, OBEs, dreams, science, spirituality and other things that could be deemed as "mysterious" and "unconventional".
 

Goa trance parties

In the state of Goa, Goa trance parties can take place in unusual locations such as on a beach, in a desert or in the middle of the forest, although it is not uncommon for them to be held in conventional locations like clubs. Today, the need to pay the local police baksheesh means that they're generally staged around a bar, even though this may only be a temporary fixture in the forest or beach. Once the baksheesh is paid, then the party-goers are free to bring out their charas and fill their chillums without fear of getting arrested.

The parties around the New Year tend to be the most chaotic with busloads of people coming in from all places such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and the world over. Travelers, beggars and sadhus from all over India pass by to join in.

Goa parties also have a definitive visual aspect - the use of "fluoro" (fluorescent paint) is common on clothing and on decorations such as tapestries. The graphics on these decorations are usually associated with topics such as aliens, Hinduism, other religious (especially eastern) images, mushrooms (and other psychedelic imagery), shamanism and technology. Shrines in front of the DJ stands featuring religious items are also common decorations.

Goa trance in popular culture

For a short period in the mid-1990s Goa trance enjoyed significant commercial success with support from DJs such as Paul Oakenfold, who later went on to assist in developing a much more mainstream style of trance outside Goa. Only a few artists came close to being Goa trance "stars", enjoying worldwide fame. Among the most notable are Eat Static, Astral Projection, Man With No Name, Hallucinogen, Cosmosis and Doof. Goa trance duo Juno Reactor had their music featured in many Hollywood movies like Mortal Kombat, The Matrix, and even Once Upon a Time in Mexico; however, whether or not those are actually Goa trance is debatable.

Goa trance remains very much an underground form of music and with the exception of more popular artists such as (Hallucinogen or Juno Reactor), Goa trance albums are usually not sold in mainstream record stores and it can be difficult to find them on vinyl as virtually no Goa trance is produced on vinyl today.

Simon Reynolds comments that "For all its cult of the mystic Orient, Goa Trance is sonically whiter-than-white. All the creativity is in the top level (melody and filigree) with not a lot going on in the rhythm section. The Goa Trance scene is a sort of deodorized, upmarket version of crusty techno, without the ragged-trousered poverty chic".