Goa Gil (1996) draws the link between the Goa trance phenomenon and the revival of awareness in ancient tribal practices. He claims to be attempting to "use trance music and trance dance experience to set off a chain reaction in consciousness", believing that "since the beginning of time mankind has used music and dance to commune with the spirit of nature and the universe". His aim as a Goa artist is to "[redefine] the ancient tribal ritual for the 21st century."
Like Goa Gil, Ray Castle (1996a) finds a strong connection between Goa trance and tribal culture:
Like the aborigine, eons ago, that contemplated the planetsphere, whilst hitting their sticks, blowing thru a hollowed out pipe (didjeridu). These open-air, wilderness, tribedelic, pagan-like parties (rituals) are along this line of primordial communion.
Furthermore, for Castle (1996a) "there is a transcendental, peak experience quality to these parties, that have the potential to be quite transformational psychic events; catalysing a collective, group-mind, interlocking, which is experienced beyond fashion, sex, ego, and commerce (at least in India where they are free, besides the bribe money to the cops).". He sees his role as "a kind of channeller of frequencies and beats to massage and activate the unconscious and the superconscious via ecstatic, meditative, trance/dance; which becomes a form of europhoric, collective catharsis."
The DJ as shaman is a recurring metaphor in writings about Goa trance. It is also applied to the artists (often DJs as well) who create the tracks of commercially issued recordings. The notes for TIP's Blue Compilation suggests, for example, that the composers "vibrate the skull, gently massaging and revitalising the brain, shaking out the psychic cobwebs" and further that "with their healing vibrational medicine [they] transport us to megaverses of aural delights." The tribal emphasis in the aesthetic of Goa trance is also reflected in the visual elements used in parties. Sharif (1996) comments, for example, that "Goa trance inspired dance parties now being held in the UK and Europe ...heavily borrow from imagery of Indian, Maori, Australian Aboriginal and Native American cultures".
There are various definitions relating to the musical style of Goa Trance available on the World Wide Web and in other locations. Most of them are a mixture of subjective, often flamboyant descriptive phrases and some technically oriented information. One typical example (on the Clubdub/Cybernia homepage) is:
Goa Trance is best described as a psychedelic dance music. In Goa, India, the main dance drug is LSD. Needless to say, the music and its composers take full advantage of this, constructing each song with a complex weaving of synth, 303 and analog noises into a powerful kaleidescopic tapestry of sound. Then add to this strange samples from films and other sources, and wooshes and bleeps that further stimulate the psychoactive mind. The beat is a steady 4/4 kick but is often hidden deep within the twirling array of analog sounds. Much of the melody comes with a constant barrage of evolving 16th or 32nd note sound streams.
Another web page (Dance Music Definitions) confirms the idea of intricate textures, notes the presence of "psychedelic sounding wobbly noises, and acidy sounds" and "boingy wibbly noises", and remarks on the inordinate length of tracks. Sharif (1996) suggests further that "Goa trance has its roots in rock and acid house, also using Eastern inspired scales, rhythms and melodies. The tempo tends to fall somewhere between 125 and 160 bpm, averaging around 130-145 bpm."
As with all attempts to define the musical essence of a particular genre, there are bound to be contradictions and discrepancies in the various accounts unless a comprehensive quantitative analysis is conducted of a large sample of widely accepted typical examples of the genre. This is not feasible within the scope of this article, but some general remarks about musical style have been made below on the basis of a survey of a number of Goa trance CDs, mostly compilations. These CDs are listed at the end of the article in the Select Discography. Other comments relating to DJ performance practices are made below on the basis of field experiences at Goa trance parties in Northern New South Wales, as mentioned above.
In general, the structure of a Goa trance track reflects the idea of a journey, both in a mythological sense and as a reflection of the LSD experience. Paralleling the archetypal hero setting out on his quest, the tracks start with subtle undulations of sound. These slowly intensify, with constant timbral evolution and accretion carrying the listener along the narrowly defined pathway of the trance experience. As the hero meets challenges on the way, so too is the listener challenged by periodic breaks in the trance flow, often containing some mysterious text quotation or sample, designed to involve the mind on a different level to that of the otherwise constant pulse of the music. When the beat kicks in after such an occurrence, its intensity or textural density is proportional to the point of time reached in the track. The tracks are mostly around eight to ten minutes in duration. At the fifth or sixth minute the climax of the track has been reached, and from that point on the journey , as it moves towards its end, it mirrors the build up to the climax. In the context of a party, as the main beat drops away or cuts out altogether, there is a feeling of uncertainty as to whether the track will continue to build, or whether the DJ will cut to another track altogether.
In the same way as each individual track takes the listener on a journey, there exists an expanded level of this process in the DJ's set, which in the classic Goa full moon party can last eight to ten hours. When the set starts, usually around 10pm the energy and mood of the music is relatively restrained, but it slowly builds over the next four or more hours until around 2am to 4am, when the highest energy levels are attained.. As dawn approaches the energy levels remain high, but there is a subtle shift in the sound of the music, with a noticeable emphasis on increased high frequency content.
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