Tonal and Melodic Devices

The pitch organisational basis of Goa trance, as with many other dance music genres, is the centering on a single tone. This idea is related, perhaps coincidentally, to the modal centering of Indian classical music. There are however several tracks among those surveyed that involve shifts to another centre, usually in the middle of the piece. There a number of tracks that shift down to the centre defined by the flat seventh of the main centre [eg "Sirius 2" - Satori Razor, Trancentral four - A Trip To Goa, 1996]; and a few others that move up to the centre defined by the flat third of the main centre.

Middle Eastern or Asian influenced melodies or melodic figurations are common. Typically melodic material is based on scales which have a flat second, flat third and flat seventh. [eg.A, Bb,C, D,E, G in "Megallenic Cloud" - Green Nuns of the Revolution, on Trancentral four - A Trip To Goa, 1996] . The notes of the Phrygian mode are often evident. Sometimes the sharp fourth is heard indicating that the concept of scale construction may in fact be related to Indian scale (gat) theory. A number of tracks use both the minor and the major third, creating a suggestion of the diminished blues [octatonic] scale. More often than not, though, only a few pitched notes are used melodically in any one section of a track. The most common tones found in melodic patterns are the tonic, flat second, flat seventh, flat third and perfect fifth.

Melodic design generally takes the form of short repeated fragments which often morph timbrally over time, using the envelope on the filter to mute or open the high frequency component of the sound, in a similar sort of way to a wah wah pedal [eg. "Protozoa" - Blissed, on Rites of Passage, 1993]. Pitch bend is commonly used to add character to melodic lines. Glissandi are often used as hits, emphasising accents in the music.

Rhythm and Rhythmic Patterns

The introductory sections of Goa trance tracks typically contain wild analogue synthesiser sound textures and a complex rhythmic or metrical organisation. The tempo of the track is often not predictable until revealed by the entry of the kick drum. The 16th note is the basic rhythmic division of the style. 32nd note rolls are sometimes used as fills at the end of a section. . Rhythmic developments of the original motif slowly build in density and intensity, usually in blocks of 16 or 32 bars. The quarter note kick drum 'doof' will then drop out for a couple of bars. Often the whole track will stop and a soft voice will utter a thought-provoking phrase such as "I don't know ........ It may be something to do with being in the mountains ' (DOOF - Star Above Parvatti, TIP Blue Compilation 1995). Then the track will resume with the re-entry of the kick drum. The last section of a track is often a mirror image of the arrangement sequence at the beginning of the track. The bass sequence is generally the prime rhythmic determinant in the textural organisation of a track.

The use of the term Goa trance is contentious among many of the practitioners of the genre, but on balance it appears to be useful for representing both the historical origins and practices of the Goa dance party and the recent emergence of artists who are working with what seems to be a coherent set of stylistic practices in the making of commercial recordings. The focus of Goa trance has always been on the DJ who takes the participant on a mystical journey during the course of an all-night party. The DJs who regularly visited Goa, particularly over the period from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, determined the emergence of a range of existing recorded and remixed musical styles appropriate for use at Goa trance parties. These same DJs helped spread the idea of the Goa-style party to other parts of the world, and also stimulated the practice of creating recordings especially written for use at trance parties. In many cases the original Goa DJs are also actively involved in the making of contemporary Goa trance recordings. The current popularity of Goa trance has led to the establishment of many record labels devoted to the dissemination of the genre to an increasing record buying market. The Goa trance party has evolved into a commercially organised indoor event in the large cities of Europe and North America, but its original outdoor tropical tribedelic character is still represented by parties held, for example, on the beaches and in the forests of Northern New South Wales in Australia.

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

Blissed - Rite of Passage - Tokyo Tekno Tribe Records 1993

Order Odonata - Dragonfly Records 1994

Blue Compilation - TIP Records 1994

The Japanese Experience (trance in japan) - Krembo Records 1995

Dancing to the Sound of the Sun - Psy Harmonics 1995

Tantrance (A trip to psychedelic trance) - SPV Records 1995

A Voyage into Trance (mixed by Paul Oakenfold) - Dragonfly Records 1995

Trancentral four - A Trip To Goa - Kickin Records 1996

Hacking the Reality Myth - Psy Harmonics 1996

Infinity Hz - Matsuri Compilation 1996

Psyko Disko Psyko Disko - Psy Harmonics 1996