The Many Faces of Dance Music: Tech Trance

Welcome to “The Many Faces of Dance Music”. In this series, I try to dive into the world of electronic music and explain the differences between multiple genres of electronic dance music (EDM). Genres are a plenty with countless sub-genres; such as techno, dub-step, trance, house, drum & bass and more. My aim is to help educate as well as entertain on just what makes each one of these genres tick.

Today’s journey will take you into the syncopated world of tech trance.

Tech trance is, well, what you would expect. It’s a blend of techno and trance; a sort of hybrid trance, if you will. Tech trance picked up steam in the mid 90’s. By the early and mid 2000’s, tech trance was one of the most widespread sub-genres of trance.

Tech trance, audibly is similar to techno but arranged like a trance track with intros, outros, breakdowns and buildups. Speed wise, it sits in the middle area of dance music, from 130 to 137 bpm (beats per minute). Some of the defining features of tech trance are in its sounds specifically. While trance can have emphasis on using more acoustic type sounds in them such as piano, guitars, strings and even drums, tech trance consists of entirely on synthesized sounds.

Usually tech trance has complex rhythmic sounds and percussion with a loud kick drum and featuring gritty or distorted percussions and hi-hats. The main leads are usually minimal in nature and feature lots of delay and a minimal amount of pads to accompany it, typically side-chained to help the main beat stand out. Creative use of reverb has also been a feature pioneered by the genre, for example; introducing a big reverb on a snare sound which then suddenly disappears the next time the snare is played, only to return shortly afterwards.

Tech trance was once a massively popular sub-genre of music. Combining the songwriting of typical trance with the underground rhythmic drones of techno, tech trance surged at its peak and today still has a very close following by lovers of the genre.

Listed below are some examples of tech trance.

Marcel Woods – Advanced (Marco V Remix)

Ferry Corsten – Whatever (Marcel Woods Remix)

Tempo Giusto – Dodger

The Many Faces of Dance Music: Acid Trance

Welcome to “The Many Faces of Dance Music”. In this series, I try to dive into the world of electronic music and explain the differences between multiple genres of electronic dance music (EDM). Genres are a plenty with countless sub-genres; such as techno, dub-step, trance, house, drum & bass and more. My aim is to help educate as well as entertain on just what makes each one of these genres tick.

Today’s journey will take you into the edgy world of acid trance.

Acid trance is a sub-genre of trance that rose during the late 80’s and early 90’s. The main focus on this music form was the sound of acid synths (created by the TB-303 synthesizer). The acid sound was produced by programming a sequence and adjusting various knob parameters such as cutoff, resonance, accent and more. Acid trance is also considered to be a descendant of acid house, as the genre of trance was still developing and wasn’t officially created yet.

Many acid trance artists were eventually grouped together with other artists in the goa and psy-trance genres. While sometimes similar sounds were used in those genres, goa and psy-trance feature softer synth lines as acid trance usually featured harder synth lines and almost exclusively used the TB-303 as its lead synth.

Acid trance can be described in various factors. Most notably is the use of the TB-303 “acid” sounds as the main lead elements. The background and even some basses use the TB-303. The rhythms are programmed and played over minimal techno inspired beat. In most cases the format and structure of the songs are simplistic, but the creativity comes with the filtered lead lines. Even though the genre itself is deemed mainly that of the past, it helped pave way for use in future productions as accents as acid lines over top tech-trance beats or uplifting trance basslines, to help give edginess to a track.

Listed below are some examples of acid trance.

Art of Trance – Blue Owl

Josh Wink – Are You There?

Ultraform – Sense Your Mind

The Many Faces of Dance Music: Hard Trance

Welcome to “The Many Faces of Dance Music”. In this series, I try to dive into the world of electronic music and explain the differences between multiple genres of electronic dance music (EDM). Genres are a plenty with countless sub-genres; such as techno, dub-step, trance, house, drum & bass and more. My aim is to help educate as well as entertain on just what makes each one of these genres tick.

Today, we dive into the fast paced, energetic world. Driving beats, fast rhythms and pulsing basses. Today’s journey will take you into the hard lined world of hard trance.

Hard trance is a sub-genre of trance that came around from Western Europe (Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands). This style of trance began to rise in the early 90’s, deriving from the want to experiment from happy hardcore and UK hard house artists and producers. The peak of hard trance seemed to be in the late 90’s and very early 00’s as newer forms of trance began to come to light and shift into popularity. Hard trance was mainly associated with huge raves, consisting of thousands of ravers. Gaining popularity in the mid 90’s, major record labels even began to notice the shift in music popularity and began to heavily market compilation CD’s in various forms of media. As time moved on, so did fans and producers alike, thus having hard trance fall into the background. In most cases of hard trance in today’s world, it’s mostly hybrid type of trance, with multiple genres tossed in to create a new version of dance music.

Hard trance can be noticed by many different factors and takes influences from various other genres including techno, acid techno and even happy hardcore. The overall feel of hard trance is a more fast paced, aggressive type of sound. Typically in the bpm (beats per minute) range of 148 up to 160 in speed.

One of the main aspects of hard trance are the aggressive nature of the kicks. Hard, punchy and even sometimes down pitch shifted, they are one of the most prominent things in a hard trance track. Big resonating basslines are also found as well as techy aggressive synth lead melodies over top. Hard trance can feature emotive breakdowns and melodic elements as well to counter the hard, aggressive style of the rest of the track, but eventually, the aggressiveness returns and the hard acid lines, melodies and basses come back full force.

Listed below are some examples of hard trance.

Showtek – FTS

Mario Picotto – Iguana

Jones & Stephenson – The First Rebirth (MegaDJ’s Remix)

Album Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice

“Hans Zimmer returns for more Batman and                                                                     Superman, this time he brings help.”

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One of the most anticipated films of the year has finally came. Ever since word of the film came about, fans and the film industry as a whole united in “jumping for joy”. For the first time in history, the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight would be appearing in the same film together. Not only do we see that for the first time, but why not throw in Wonder Woman as well? Still not satisfied? How about we give you the holy trinity at its finest…for the first time in history.

This film in every way was a HUGE step in DC Comics film properties. However, we won’t be talking about the film itself here. Today, we will dive into the film score.

Hans Zimmer returns once again to help out on the musical aspects of the film. After tackling Superman in “Man of Steel”, he comes back to try a new take on Batman. Hans seems to have put himself into a very tricky spot on this film. Previously he was daunted with the task of renewing Superman after John Williams iconic theme still stuck in many fans heads as THE Superman theme. Then he comes and was able to re-invent the character. To be honest…it worked. Now, here he is again. This time with yet another challenge. Multiple, in fact. First he has to do yet another Batman theme. How do you follow up and create a brand new theme for a character that you have already created a theme for in the past (and to be honest, 10 years of your lifes work) without risking a chance that you copy what you’ve already done? Easy, you have someone else do it.

Hans brought in Junkie XL, who you may know from the Deadpool and the Mad Max scores. He has a very different sound from Hans. While Hans likes to use big drums and booming brasses, Junkie XL likes to incorporate various electronic music styles into his scores. It’s a nice trade off between the two. I won’t be going into detail on every track, but will highlight a few aspects. Let’s dive in.

The score begins with a powerful theme in the track “Beautiful Lie”, hinting at the new Batman theme, right off the…bat. You begin to sense this will indeed be a dark movie. As you progress through the first track you hear hints of some emotional themes that will occur throughout the score. The track “Their War Here” shows the power and energy of the action set pieces that will take place. Fast drums and string lines play throughout with some slower moments to let you breath from the action. Which brings us to our next track.

“The Red Capes Are Coming”. This is, by far, some of the albums better work. This is where you hear Lex Luthors theme. Playing on how the character interacts with others in the film, it’s a suiting theme. Strong piano themes and a quirky yet, classical composition style. Almost chaotic in nature but still with structure.

“Day of the Dead” is where you will hear the inevitable Superman theme we know from “Man of Steel”. Soft piano, bringing in the heroic theme. The theme gradually turns into a more darker version of itself, until it overall brings in a new theme.

There’s also a track that focuses heavily on sound design. “New Rules” brings in many of those elements that will straight up frighten you (similar to the Joker theme from The Dark Knight).

“Do You Bleed?” is the epic fight music between The Last Son of Krypton and The Bat of Gotham. This track has all the action elements you would need in any super hero film.

“This Is My World” calls back to those classical compositions once again, but this screams with heart. There’s so many emotions running through this piece. From soft strings and a solo vocalist. You can almost feel what is happening in the scene, without even seeing the what’s going on onscreen.

“Men Are Still Good (Batman Suite)”. This is pure meat. Everyone wanted to hear it. Everyone was surprised by how powerful it was. The new Batman theme is powerful and dark. It does, however, seem to mimic slightly that of the Nolan Batman films in style. The theme itself is only two chords played in a rhythm. Still, it’s a powerful theme and is worthy of the new direction of the Batman character.

And the last highlight I would like to point out, is probably my favorite of the entire score. It’s actually the Wonder Woman theme. I myself, was very curious as to how they would pull off the WW theme. Would they use more of a tribal type score to accent her Amazonian ways? Would it be drum heavy to help with the warrior aspects? What we in fact got was something of the two. Hans actually began writing a theme. Junkie XL literally picked up a guitar, played a riff and there we have it. From the very first moment you hear the Wonder Woman theme, you know she is someone who can hold her own and let’s be honest, if you’ve seen the film, you know she was one of the BEST parts of it.

As a whole, the score really had to step out and cover a ton of ground. It had to bring back the Superman theme we all now know, but in the same run, it had to introduce new themes for Batman, Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor. That’s a tough challenge to do in one film. Somehow, the combined efforts of Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL pulled it off and what we end up with is a massive score full of action, emotion and a few surprises (a la: wonder woman theme).

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice [2016] (Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL)

Tracklisting:

1. Beautiful Lie
2. Their War Here
3. The Red Capes Are Coming
4. Day Of The Dead
5. Must There Be A Superman?
6. New Rules
7. Do You Bleed?
8. Problems Up Here
9. Black And Blue
10. Tuesday
11. Is She With You? (Wonder Woman Theme)
12. This Is My World
13. Men Are Still Good (Batman Theme)
14. Blood Of My Blood
15. Vigilante
16. May I Help You Mr. Wayne?
17. They Were Hunters
18. Fight Night

Favorite Tracks:
Is She With You? (Wonder Woman Theme)
This Is My World
Men Are Still Good (Batman Theme)
The Red Capes Are Coming

Least Favorite Tracks:
Must There Be A Superman?
Vigilante

Album Rating:
8.5 out of 10. Very good album. Highly recommended. It is your typical Hans Zimmer score, but the new themes and ups and downs will have you excited far beyond the film alone.

Album Review: Above and Beyond – “We Are All We Need”

Above and Beyond – “We Are All We Need” [2015]

With years in the making, one of dance music’s biggest acts brings in a new album for the new year. The trio; Tony, Paavo and Jono, set out to make an album that you won’t soon forget. This isn’t your normal dance album. This album is deep, emotional and full of breath and life. In one word, this album is fantastic on all merits.

In a very divided music scene, the EDM world has been rocked with a bombardment of progressive house and “festival” styled tunes. In the ideals of pushing what dance music can bring, Above and Beyond are there every step of the way in pushing those limits even further. Not only are these songs full of emotional rides, but they feature even instruments that you normally wouldn’t find in a dance music track. Using instruments such as electric bass, guitars and even orchestral strings, they manage to find a sound that resonates on so many levels to a listener.

You can tell the group took an enormous amount of time perfecting the finest details of every track. They even take more of a back seat than you would normally hear in a dance music track. They allow the featured vocalists to ring through and shine in their own light. Alex Vargas takes over from Richard Bedford on vocal duties on the male side of things. The female vocalists round out with usual collaborator Zoe Johnston and Justine Suissa from Oceanlab fame returns for a track. New to the group collaboration lineup is Gemma Hayes, providing a soft, breathy and ethereal sound, perfect for the uplifting themes they strive to showcase.

“We Are All We Need” is full of amazing music, ranging in various styles mixed into each track. You’ll only find two instrumentals on this track (one of which uses a vocal sample, so it’s technically more of a hybrid than an instrument).

The album begins with “Quieter Is Louder” with the same idea of “Small Moments” from 2014. It’s pure purpose was to be written as an introduction tune, with soft pianos and backing synths, but it does it’s job well as setting up the feel of the rest of the album. That goes into the title track (sort of) with “We’re All We Need”, with a great theme and a grand piano featured. “Blue Sky Action” is one of the staples of the album and became a fan favorite over the last half year when it was debuted. “Blue Sky Action” is Alex Vargas’ first feature on the album and hits it off with a bang. Below I will set up a few of the tunes from the album. There’s sixteen total tracks on the album, so I will only go over a few of them and let you explore the rest.

Next up is one of my favorites, if not THE favorite tune from the album. “Peace of Mind” offers all you could want in an A&B album. Zoe’s job on vocals is perfected and the emotional levels you feel during the breakdown and chorus are astounding. Coming right off the heals of that is my second favorite of the album, “Counting Down The Days” with Gemma Hayes on vocals. Between this and “Peace of Mind”, it’s hard to nail a favorite tune, they are both so well done. “Counting Down The Days” has such a catchy hook and lyric writing. Gemma provides a brilliant vocal that reminds me of a soothing angel singing. Her voice is so soothing, natural and soft. You can’t help but love her vocal style.

“Hello” and “Out of Time” are the only two instrumental tracks. The album version of “Hello” features instruments you normally wouldn’t find on a dance album. It also features a bassline similar to what you could hear in classic 80’s movie soundtracks (I’m looking at you Axel Foley). “Out of Time” is more of your typical club oriented fanfare. Big build ups and gigantic themes and pianos. “Little Something” is also a notable entry. This tune marks the return of Justine Suissa to the group (singer from Oceanlab). She has been much wanted by fans for years to do another project with Tony, Paavo and Jono. Here, they delivered with as much delight as one could expect. It’s a very well rounded track and is perfect for Justine’s vocal style.

“Sticky Fingers” is easily one of the more electro sounding tracks on the album. Hard and harsh basslines mixed with the soothing trance pads and strings as well as Alex’s vocal placements. “Fly To New York” is another tune featuring the great Zoe Johnston. This is another favorite from the album. Her vocal style is perfect for this track. There are so many different elements in this. You’ll hear classic Rhode pianos, guitars and even an electric bass. This is, hands down, one of the highlights of the album.

To sum it up, this album was highly anticipated and hyped and for good cause. Above and Beyond are known for writing music that not only moves your feet, but your heart and your soul. This album has delivered on all counts. Everything you could want from the album, is here. Above and Beyond has taken the time, care and patience to record, what I could call, one of the best dance music albums I’ve heard in the last few years. They had a high bar already set by Group Therapy. What they’ve done here, is take that bar and jumped well over it. If you’re looking for a great dance music album, or even just a great album, look no further. This is as perfect of an album as you can find. Great music, great lyrical writing and exceptional vocalists featured throughout. I would highly recommend this album to anyone who appreciates great music.

Tracklisting:
01. Quieter Is Louder
02. We Are All We Need feat. Zoe Johnston
03. Blue Sky Action feat. Alex Vargas
04. Peace of Mind feat. Zoe Johnston
05. Counting Down The Days feat. Gemma Hayes
06. Sticky Fingers feat. Alex Vargas
07. Hello
08. Little Something feat. Justine Suissa
09. All Over The World feat. Alex Vargas
10. Fly To New York feat. Zoe Johnston
11. Making Plans feat. Alex Vargas
12. Out Of Time
13. Excuses
14. Save Me feat. Zoe Johnston
15. Sink The Lighthouse feat. Alex Vargas
16. Treasure feat. Zoe Johnston

Favorite Tracks:
We’re All We Need
Peace of Mind
Counting Down The Days
Fly To New York
Blue Sky Action
Treasure

Least Favorite Tracks:
Sticky Fingers
Excuses
Save Me

Album Rating:
10 out of 10. Fantastic album. Highly recommended.

Interview Spotlight: Meet Oscar D’vine!

Welcome to Interview Spotlight! This is where I will feature interviews or discussions with various musicians and learn more about them, what they do and how music affects them.

This week, I am pleased to showcase Oscar D’vine!

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where you from, what do you do for a living? Are you currently in school or taking any courses?
“My name is Oscar Berglund, and I produce music under the name of Oscar D’vine. I’m from Gothenburg in Sweden, and I’ve lived here all my life. I work as a DJ, music producer and as an audio supervisor at Breaking Motions. Apart from this I also does some night shifts at a local hotel.”

How are you involved in the music world? What do you do musically?
“I produce original work for various artists, but also does music and sound FX for commercials and films as well as doing remixing work and DJ almost every weekend.”

Are there any previous associations or bands you were involved in before? If so, what did you do? Why are you no longer doing that?
“I was in a two-man band called “Gambler’s Club”. We had one release on Phunk It Records and almost had a full album done right before we split. We might pick up from where we left off, but it’s to early to tell right now. We did equal parts in the band, we both wrote, produced, arranged and mixed the music together.”

How did you begin your journey into music? Have you had any formal training or school courses you were in?
“My music interest started really when I was a kid and became a really big fan of Michael Jackson. It all took off from there. [I then] started studying music production for three years and really learned how great music is put together.”

How would you best describe your music?
“A fusion of everything. You can find funk/soul influences, pop, rock, metal, electronic, dubstep, chillout etc. I really just make what I feel like doing at the time, I just want to make great music.”

How has your music evolved over the years?
“In the beginning I mostly made Hiphop and R&B. Listening to my tracks today I mostly make EDM and House. Currently I’m diving deeper and deeper into the Deep House and Nu-disco sound, which I think is some awesome music.”

Is there any direction you’d like to explore musically that you haven’t before? If so, why is it you choose that direction?
“I would really like to record an orchestra or a big choir at some point. I hope I one day will have the budget to do so!”

You say you’d like to record an orchestra someday. Are you thinking of doing something like film score work? Or doing something more classical?
“I would love to do music for film someday. But I don’t have a particular project in mind. I just want to experience working with a orchestra and a big choir”

What’s your creative process like? How do you go from a blank page, to a completed track or album?
“Most of the time, I find a song that I really like and start trying to make something similar. It’s a lot of trial and error and I rarely end up with a song that sounds like the one I tried to copy, but rather something original. But that’s where it often starts. Other times I come up with a chord progression or a melody I really like, and go from there.”

Have you done any type of tours or special venues?
“I haven’t done any tours (yet!) but I’ve played a few parties and also playing regularly on LPF here in Gothenburg, which is awesome.”

What’s your studio like (if applicable)? What type of equipment do you often find yourself using to help write and record or inspire you?
“When recording vocals, I have an amazing vocal chain which I am very proud of and always gives me good results. But Pro Tools, Reaper and Reason are stuff i couldn’t do without, as well as software instruments as the Komplete package, Nexus 2 and the stuff from A.I.R. I’m a big UAD guy when it comes to mixing, and [that] stuff sound great.”

What song of yours are you most proud of and why?
“My latest single “Just Do It” is really special to me. I worked on it for 3 months before it became what it is. I really believed in the song from the start and I had a lot of software problems when making the track, so it was a tough one to make. But I’m really happy with the result.”

What music, other than your own, have you been listening to lately? What are some of your favorite artist to listen to in your down time?
“Recently I’ve listened to a lot of deep house and nu-disco. There is so much good stuff released right now. I’m also vibing to the latest Michael Jackson album “Xscape”. Mostly the original demos though.
In my downtime i would say I listen to a lot of soul and R&B.”

If you can remember, what’s the first song you wrote? How does that compare to your current releases?
“I can’t really remember the first one, but it probably sucked, big time. A lot of my early stuff was REALLY bad lol.”

If you wasn’t doing music, what would you see yourself trying to pursue?
“I would probably dance, cause that’s the other big thing in my life.”

How long have you been dancing? Have you had any training? Have you done anything professionally or contest wise with dance?
“I have been dancing since I was 11 years old, so 14 years now. I’ve had some training when I started breakdancing. Professionally, I’ve worked as a dance teacher and also won some competitions. I don’t teach or compete anymore though. I have realized its not what i want to do.”

What would your advice be to someone who is trying to get into the music world? What should they look out for?
“Get yourself a guy that wants to help you, who is already somewhat in the music biz. When I first started I got a hold of Marcus from Neo Cartoon Lover and he has always helped me in so many ways. Great guy!”

Final question, what’s your favorite type of food?
“Probably pizza or a nice grilled steak.”

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/oscar-dvine
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OscarDvine
Twitter: http://twitter.com/oscardvine
Website: http://oscardvine.wordpress.com/

Thanks to Oscar for the great interview and giving us all a chance to see and hear about himself and how music works in his life. Make sure you guys give him some support and check him out!

If you’re a musician, artist, composer, DJ or anything to do with the music work, big or small, I would love to hear from you! If you’d like to be showcased, interviewed or be involved in the blog, please contact me through my website at www.derekpalmermusic.com or connect with me on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/derekpalmermusic

Beyond The Beginning…

Derek Palmer Music: Beyond The Sounds

So, here is my first blog post here. Some of you may know me, some may not. In short, here is a brief note about myself. I’m a musician/composer, producer and DJ from the US. I’ve had work featured in video games, films, short films, movie trailers and advertising. I currently have releases on record labels such as Levitated Music/Silent Shore Records, Pulsar Recordings, Beyond The Stars Recordings, PhunkIt Records, IF as well as my own label Derek Palmer Music.

My goal with this blog is to dive deeper into the mythos of music and music production. Things such as:

• Featured Reviews of New Albums, Music Releases and the Like
• Interviews With Other Musicians, Producers and DJ’s
• Tutorials and Other Inside Production Information
• In Depth Discussions On Style and Genres
• And More

The focus should be from a musical standpoint but evolving much more. There’s more to music that just sound. Inspiration, discussion, information and learning are all aspects. Follow me on my journey and we can begin to find what lies just beyond the sounds.

– Derek