Uplifting trance
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Uplifting trance (often synonymous with epic trance, energetic trance, anthem trance, emotional trance, or euphoric trance) is a broad subgenre of
trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes. Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ( ...
. The name, which emerged in the wake of
progressive trance Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes. Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ...
in 1996, is derived from the feeling which listeners claim to get (often described as a "rush"). The genre, which originated in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, is massively popular in the trance scene, and is one of the dominant forms of dance music worldwide. Historically it is related to the emergence of
psychedelic trance Psychedelic Trance, Psytrance or Psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...
and the two styles influenced each other. Classical music strongly influenced the development of uplifting trance both in the 1990sFassbender, Torsten (2008). ''The Trance Experience''. Knoxville, Tennessee: Sound Org Inc. : p. 15 and in the 2000s, with film music also considered influential.Webber, Stephen (2008). ''DJ Skills: The Essential Guide to Mixing and Scratching''. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Press.


Characteristics

In general, uplifting trance is a style much happier in tone than other trance genres (such as
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
). Instead of the darker tone of Goa, uplifting trance uses similar chord progressions as progressive trance, but tracks'
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
s usually rest on a
major chord In music theory, a major chord is a chord that has a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a major triad. For example, the major triad built on C, called a C major triad, has pitch ...
, and the balance between major and minor chords in a progression will determine how "happy" or "sad" the progression sounds. The genre features longer major chord progressions in all elements (lead synth, bass, and treble). It also contains extended breakdowns and relegation of
arpeggiation A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
(the melodic part of the song, usually consisting of "Saw Synths/Square Lead" type sounds) to the background while bringing wash effects to the fore (the harmonic element of the music, or "background fill", usually consisting of synth choir/voice/string chord progressions). As a rule of thumb, trance beats in the range of 128–140 BPM. Uplifting trance very commonly employs side-chain compression, a modern production technique. It is commonly referred to as "
ducking In audio engineering, ducking is an audio effect commonly used in radio and pop music, especially dance music. In ducking, the level of one audio signal is reduced by the presence of another signal. In radio this can typically be achieved by low ...
the
kick A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...
", where the background strings/synths have their volume automated, creating a pulsing effect on the off-beat.


Etymology

The term has been used to describe what most other people call "epic trance" in the UK's trance scene, to describe some non UK-based commercial trance acts, like
Brooklyn Bounce Brooklyn Bounce is one of several pseudonyms used by German producers Matthias Menck (Double M) and Dennis Bohn (Bonebreaker). They have also produced music under the names Mental Madness Productions and Beatbox feat. Rael. Menck and Bohn have c ...
or
Darude Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen (; born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude (), is a Finnish DJ and record producer from Eura, Satakunta. His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style. He started making music in 1995 ...
, which has created some confusion in terminology and classification. Many UK fans call those acts "uplifting house". The term is also used on the
psychedelic trance Psychedelic Trance, Psytrance or Psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...
/
Goa trance Goa trance is an electronic dance music style that originated in the early 1990s in the Indian state of Goa. Goa trance often has drone-like basslines, similar to the techno minimalism of 21st century psychedelic trance (psytrance). Psychedeli ...
scene, although these styles are not really meant to sound uplifting (there is the possibility some people may be thinking of the term "uplifting" in this case to mean "
euphoric Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
").


Current status

Beginning in the latter part of the 2000s, uplifting trance saw an eruption in interest amongst new and old fans and re-established itself within the trance scene, played by such leading trance artists as
4 Strings 4 Strings are a Dutch vocal trance group. The group was founded by Carlo Resoort and Jan De Vos. Their biggest success came with the track "Take Me Away (Into the Night)", which peaked at number 15 in the UK Singles Chart The UK Singles ...
,
ATB André Tanneberger (; born 26 February 1973), better known by his stage name ATB, is a German DJ, musician, and producer of trance music. According to the official world DJ rankings governed by ''DJ Magazine'', ATB was ranked No. 11 in 2009 and ...
,
Ferry Corsten Ferry Corsten (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch disc jockey, record producer and remixer from Rotterdam. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moon ...
,
Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...
,
Dash Berlin Dash Berlin is a Dutch electronic music duo started in 2007 in The Hague by Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn. Dash Berlin were voted the seventh most popular DJs in the world according to ''DJ Mag'' in 2012; Kalberg and Molijn were record pro ...
,
RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
,
Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was ...
and Above & Beyond. (A decade earlier
Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...
,
Sasha & Digweed Sasha & John Digweed are a British DJ duo comprising Sasha and John Digweed. Digweed had been DJing for ten years before getting a gig at Renaissance where he met Sasha, who had been working the past few years in various acid house music clubs ...
, and
Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...
had sparked interest.) Today, uplifting has emerged as a widely popular electronic dance music subgenre with DJs and producers such as John O'Callaghan,
Daniel Kandi Daniel Kandi (born 29 November 1983) is a Danish trance producer and DJ currently living in Aalborg. Kandi entered the trance scene with the release of "Breathe" in 2006, on the successful Anjunabeats label. In 2010, he was ranked #77 in DJ Ma ...
,
Bryan Kearney Bryan Kearney () is an Irish DJ/producer in electronic dance music, mostly in trance, particularly tech trance. His tracks have been remixed by the likes of Giuseppe Ottaviani, John Askew, Activa, and Heatbeat. Biography Bryan Kearney began ...
,
Andy Blueman Andrej Komatovič (; born 4 September 1982), widely known as Andy Blueman , is a Slovenian trance producer. His release ''Time to Rest'' was included in Armin van Buuren's trance compilation A State Of Trance 2008, and ''Everlasting (Original Mix ...
,
Aly & Fila Aly & Fila are an Egyptian trance music duo made up of Aly El Sayed Amr Fathalah (Aly) and Fadi Wassef Naguib (Fila). They host an Internet radio show called Future Sound of Egypt, and are the founders of the label of the same name. The duo has ...
,
Sean Tyas Sean Tyas (, born November 8, 1979), is an American DJ and electronic music producer based in Switzerland. His productions and DJ sets are mainly based upon trance music. Career Sean Tyas was born in Massapequa Park, New York in 1979. He beg ...
and
Super8 & Tab Super8 and Tab are a Finnish trance music duo of producers and DJs from Finland named Miika Eloranta (Super8) and Janne Mansnerus (DJ Tab). They recorded music as individual musicians until they officially decided to team up in 2005 after collab ...
focusing particularly on uplifting trance as their overriding genre, and others, such as Jason van Wyk, Above & Beyond, who include uplifting trance as part of their broader repertoire. In addition, online radio stations such as Paris One and Afterhours.FM are significantly devoted to uplifting trance. In September 2009, Afterhours.FM hosted "Uplift Day" that was exclusively dedicated to uplifting trance. In recent years, a subgenre of uplifting trance—dubbed "orchestral uplifting" or "uplifting trance with symphonic orchestra" and pioneered by Andy Blueman, Ciro Visone, SoundLift,
Arctic Moon Tomasz Popielarski, better known as Arctic Moon (born ) is a Polish DJ and music producer who hails from Szczecin, Poland. In 2012 and in 2013, he ranked in the DJ Mag top 200 DJs in the world. Armin van Buuren used Arctic Moon's remixed t ...
,
Ralph Barendse Ralph Barendse (, born 6 April 1977) is a Dutch DJ and producer of electronic dance music, mainly trance, performing as Ralphie B and Midway. Barendse has also produced remixes for artists in the scene, among them Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Sol ...
, Simon O'Shine, Ahmed Romel and others—has developed, wherein the timbres and instruments used in the track are those used in symphonic orchestras, including flutes, non-lyrical choral voices, violins, pianos, horns, orchestral drums, and others, and often includes even-longer-than-usual emotional orchestral breakdowns, while still preserving the other aspects of uplifting trance, therefore differing from the subgenre that was called "orchestral trance" a decade earlier. This new style has noticeably influenced the work of many artists outside the uplifting scene, including the Black Pearl project of Ralph Fritsch and
Roger Shah Roger Shah (; born 29 November 1972), also known as DJ Shah and Sunlounger, is a German electronic music composer and producer. Biography History Roger Shah was born in Esslingen in West Germany to a German mother and a Pakistani father ...
, who ordinarily identifies with Balearic trance rather than uplifting.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uplifting Trance Trance genres