Nostrum

[Chris Hare]

in my opinion one of the most creative trance producers in the history of trance... havent heard much of his recent stuff (the odd remix here an there) but his older stuff on time unlimited was emense... lush dark melodies fused with energetic progressive trance with crunchy pecussion.... i miss this sound... anyone know of any labels doing stuff like this? ;)

[Hakka]

Hi Chris... :)

Yeah Nostrum was inspirational, I don't think there are many producers at all these days that produce that sort of style trance. It's all about hard style and uplifting these days... Hard Trance or good German Trance is simply not comming out, or at least not in the league as it used to be. Most trance these days is old ideas reused and I find that sad...

I miss it too mate... can't think of a label that leaps to mind of doing this sort of stuff... try Tunnel Trance... D-Storms had two wicked tunes on there recent release.

[Chris Hare]

thanx hakka ill check them out mate. ;) it is a shame that this sounds not still alive... i personally think hard progressive techy stuff is where it should go... interesting and atmospheric... thats what i miss so much is atmosphere... the stuff that gave you visions of some alien landscape... if you know what im bablin on about... teehee :lol:

[Hakka]

thanx hakka ill check them out mate. ;) it is a shame that this sounds not still alive... i personally think hard progressive techy stuff is where it should go... interesting and atmospheric... thats what i miss so much is atmosphere... the stuff that gave you visions of some alien landscape... if you know what im bablin on about... teehee :lol:

no no no... I totally understand. It was like listening to something from another world as it is so diverse and bizarre almost how such depth & atmospheric feeling can be created from a sounds and melodies that you would not expect them to come from.

Alas, it seems this sound has been forgotton amoung producers... except for Kai Tracid I guess.

[Jay M]

we need this kinda stuff to come back imo, HARD TRANCE at its best ;)

[Hakka]

What do you lot reckon the problem is?

Lack of 2000/01 era producers doing any work?
Lack of inspiration?
Belief that the market is now Hard Style/Uplifting orientated?

Where has this wicked sound gone?

[Chris Hare]

imo the scene has become more fomulated... and when something becomes formulated it gets caged within its own boundries...
how can something grow if its contained? it doesnt it kinda fills all possible space untill something comes along that breaks out of the box... Then people go "Wo thats awesome" i can draw all sorts of inspiration from that... and then in time what was a revaltion becomes the norm again and so on an so forth... eventually something will break out of the box again!! i just think at the moment things are a bit contained... just my thoughts ;)

[Chris Hare]

i mean i know that formulas define styles to some extent but, the way i see it is if you say...think of a monster hard trance tune and imagine it was a drawing... lets say of a green flower... :lol: and the producer drew it and released it and evey one was like wow thats beautiful man... then ten other people drew the same flower but in different colours it wouldnt take long for people to be board with flowers... but yet people keep drawing them... personally i`d rather check out a whole garden.... ;)

i think back a few years and everything was fresh and exciting because production was gettin fatter and fatter, things were moving constantly.. now its so rare for me to get that buz i used to get over tracks... i still get it dont get me wrong but it seems like theres more bad than good and not alot of new talent breaking the boundary`s ... i guess thats why im loving techno so much... maybe its just me?

i`d love to here what other people have to say about this... dont get me wrong i LOVE trance just as much as the next addict but my thirst is far from quenched these days..

[Hakka]

I must admit I do enjoy reading your posts Chris. You post with a lot of thought and meaning and I respect that.

Yeah I totally see your point. I think because forumlas are being stuck to because of fear of trying something new. There are not many "risk takers" in the production ranks these days... harder and harder is covered in hard style and melody madness is covered in uplifting... if you go change the trance forumla to much it becomes another genre and if you don't change it all then its same old same old.

I think there has to be more adventerous structure to a trance track... we have seen to much of the same layouts and build ups and break downs. The rules need to be broken, but not irrationally... with carefully planning.

There's too much copying and not enough pioneering going on in production these days. And problem is that when a producer gets a whiff of doing something differnt, they are often locked in the producing position with all there releases... (i.e Sam Punk or some Uberdruck... great producers but not really changing things from production to production to keep the sound evloving....)

I think its time for producers to take risk, or more to the point produce from the heart/soul. Forget about trying to make a track that is popular by playing it safe and going for a forumla that has been successful, make a track that means something or is different way of going about things. Hard House for me was a genre of empty noises, tt was a rhytem, it was beat and it was hard... but it meant nothing more than a collection of noises and patterns. Trance for me was always more than just the sounds that made it, it left an image, emotion or feeling in me as well as something to stomp to. This is what is missing in music. It seems Hard Trance has just split... the feeling and emotion is captured in uplifting and the hard rythem and power is in hard style.

Perhaps I'm waffeling and over thinking this, I don't know... but I just don't hear many tracks these days that shock me for there genius.

When will I again hear a tune that will hit me so deeply as Flutlict - Mutterkorn? or Shokk - Folie-a-Duex? - these tunes were great because there was nothing else soudning like them before they were made.

[Chris Hare]

i agree whole heartedly hakka... muttercorn & folie a duex were tracks that painted a picture in your minds eye ... there are so many tracks that although produced to a high standard, the parts just seem to unfold systematically and rigidly where as tracks like muttercorn-the parts fused to create a whole picture- atmoshperic and emotional a proper journey... they made you think... there were energetic..

as i see it any form of creativity is an expression of self.. when that creativity becomes a process someone follows.. rather than an expression of something trying to be comunicated.. it losses that speacial something we call spirit,passion,soul whatever you wanna label it.. and thats what i really look for in music/through music ...i wanna be inspired i guess... just my thoughts ;)

[mrbenn]

I lost my passion 4 hardtrance & hardstyle about 2 months ago sadly. After years of following the tunes & the scene closely it all became to samey & cliched.


Hardstyle for me especially recently has been very poor & trance as you have both disscussed has lost its emptional meaning and content.

Im still listening to my old hardstyle & hardtrance but i dont fink il b buying it again. im sad to feel like this, but my passion has gone and theres nothing i can do about it.

I hate to say it, but Im starting to see hardstyle go down the same route as hardhouse. Theyve started playing hardstyle in all the comercial clubs down here & all the hardhouse headz are talkin about wot they call "this new style of music" like theyve just found/created it.

neway techno is the way forward 4 me, i hope the scene improves 4 all of u still loyal to the dissapearing underground sound

[wellso]

I lost my passion 4 hardtrance & hardstyle about 2 months ago sadly. After years of following the tunes & the scene closely it all became to samey & cliched.


Hardstyle for me especially recently has been very poor & trance as you have both disscussed has lost its emptional meaning and content.

Im still listening to my old hardstyle & hardtrance but i dont fink il b buying it again. im sad to feel like this, but my passion has gone and theres nothing i can do about it.

I hate to say it, but Im starting to see hardstyle go down the same route as hardhouse. Theyve started playing hardstyle in all the comercial clubs down here & all the hardhouse headz are talkin about wot they call "this new style of music" like theyve just found/created it.

neway techno is the way forward 4 me, i hope the scene improves 4 all of u still loyal to the dissapearing underground sound

I can definatly see what you mean here mate, once the scene becomes commercialized it loses its popularity with the underground, as they are simply cashing in on the new trend. Hardstyle will either be huge or fade in obscurity within 3 - 4 years (so we can talk about it heyday on the oldskool trance board :lol: )

I enjoy discovering old hard trance classics and mixing them with the newer styles, but freely admit that the now 'signature sound' of hard/hardstyle trance is overused and becoming saturated.

[Nath]

Glad to see ya Made It wellso!!

Im off Species for the M-zone Hatrdtrance 97 Classix set this sat, wooooo

[wellso]

Glad to see ya Made It wellso!!

Im off Species for the M-zone Hatrdtrance 97 Classix set this sat, wooooo

see you up there man, who's going?

[Addict]

What about Detox? Not as trancey but definitely dark and techy, why dont you take the step forward Chris and do some stuff yourself! I know you can, that tune you gave me the other day is right up that alley I reckon.

[Nath]

Wellso just me at the Mo, Might be meeting up with Joe Et and Andy Techno before though, Unsure

[wellso]

sound man, i think it might just be me and jonny going, but I even aint certain he is. I am defo going though, gonna be wicked

[Chris Hare]

What about Detox? Not as trancey but definitely dark and techy, why dont you take the step forward Chris and do some stuff yourself! I know you can, that tune you gave me the other day is right up that alley I reckon.

i am buddy... just taking a while to get going i`ve got a so many projects on the go and things going on other than music that theres not enough hours in the day!! :cry: fear not though this is definatley the year where i`ll start puttin stuff out... thanx for the support squire ;)