


Trance, a genre shunned by too many for too long in the Electronic music fraternity, had always been that type of music you hated to love. Supposedly pioneered by Goa musicians in India (hence the distinction "Goa" trance from today's more European "psychedelic" style), the genre hit new heights in the late 1990s when a certain Paul Oakenfold, on a reported summer trip to Ibiza, flew back with a new found sound and contrived to redefine club culture- Cream and Gatecrasher became overnight sensations, together with the emergence of a new youth trend not unlike how rap and funk gave birth to hip-hop. 'Crasher kids began to be followed and copied the world over, and the legendary trance sound etched itself permanently into the Electronic record books by merit.
Who could ever forget Oakenfold's now-legendary "Gatecrasher Live at Lotherton Hall" Essential Mix broadcast in mid 1999, till now still considered one of the best live sets ever put together by a DJ? The symbolic elements of this genre- a track engineered to be played at a fast BPM, normally with accompanying loud synths and female vocals for the best effect- are still loved and respected in numbers today, and remains by far the most popular genre in most European club scenes (noticeably Holland and Germany). At its best, Trance is hypnotic, errie, uplifting and ecstatic, gifting the listener an out-of-body experience.
At its worst, though, many consider it cheesy, unoriginal and formulaic. Whatever opinion a listener may have about trance as a music genre, however, underestimates the fact that although it is still widely considered by many to be "entry-level dance music", you can never sit still to trance, and that, perhaps, is the only important thing.
Trance Republic, a local DJ consortium set up by four trance addicts aimed specifically at sharing the sound to the masses, is a relatively new outfit driven by the common passion towards the genre. Their launch at MilkBar was a welcome relief for island-wide trance fans starved of the sound, and on the night of December 28th the faithfuls trooped down to the club for their trance staple.
As soon as one came into the main room at 10pm, fast, relentless banging beats greeted the clubbers- there is no attempt to be subtle here; the DJs have a single common goal. As I sat down at the table and bought a drink, DJ Nicolas Tang, a veteran trance DJ holding up the first leg of the relay, instantly released tracks that had me itching to dance - Energy 52- Café Del Mar, 4 Strings- Diving, Libra presents Taylor- Calling Your Name, Push- Strange World and a whole chain of other classics.
It was still early days but Nicolas Tang was already burning up the dance-floor, as he proceeded to demonstrate his unique track selection style by dropping tracks with distinct female vocals, one after another- the females in the crowd went crazy. As cylym sticks were freely distributed around and swung from side to side, once quick glance at the floor brought a smile to my face- clubbers were dressed simply and tastefully, most of them making no attempt to be seen. It was obvious that this was one event that the people came for the music and little else- a fact that argues well for the developing club scene in this country. DJ Nicolas' antics behind the decks were a sight to behold, with his intermittent waving to the crowd and his smiling every five minutes. The clubbers responded with cheers and thumb-ups in return, making the overall feel of the gig a friendly and heartwarming one.
As Nicolas Tang stepped down for DJ Brandon Neil to take over the reins, the crowd cheered louder still. They knew this was the 19 year old's virgin performance, and once he got his first mix underway the nerves seemed to disappear. More trance anthems bellowed out: Eon- Pocket Damage, Airbase - Emotion, and two Gouryella classics back-to-back- Tenshi and Ligaya. The self-confessed Armin van Buuren addict lived up to his name by playing a host of Armin's productions and remixes- Rising Star - Clear Blue Moon, Armin van Buuren feat. Ray Wilson - Yet Another Day (Original Mix), Cygnus X - Positron 2002 (Armin van Buuren Remix), Oceanlab feat. Justine Suissa - Sky Falls Down (Armin van Buuren Remix) and Shane - Too Late To Turn (Armin van Buuren Remix). Phew!
At 2am in the morning, DJ Jason Kiew took over, and he wasted no time banging it in. Known to be hard and fast, he pitched up the tempo a notch and really destroyed the speakers with his style of hard, banging tech-trance seldom heard of in local clubs. DJ Tiesto's Lethal Industry (Svenson and Gielen Remix) was his first track, and he proceeded it with loads more banging tracks (Marc Dawn- Expander (Flutlicht Remix) stood out). As the crowd screamed for more, DJ JasK finished his set to rapturous cheers from the crowd. In the end the turnout was a decent first try from Trance Republic, and as we look forward to more from them in the months to come, be forewarned that trance is not dead..