Trance

A genre of electronic dance music that developed in Germany in the early 1990s, particularly around Frankfurt and labels such as Eye Q and Harthouse, growing out of techno, acid house and ambient music. It typically runs at around 125–150 BPM and features hypnotic, repeating synthesizer melodies, layered pads and arpeggios, and long builds and breakdowns that release into euphoric climaxes. Early landmarks include Age of Love’s “The Age of Love” (1990) and the work of Sven Väth and Paul van Dyk. In the late 1990s and 2000s trance became one of the most commercially successful forms of EDM, led by DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Ferry Corsten and Above & Beyond. Its subgenres include progressive, uplifting, psychedelic (psytrance) and Goa trance.