Protoculture played by... Armin Van Buuren

[Lemmiwinks]

How big was my surprise to hear THE Armin Van Buuren say that he will play "the new Protoculture" on his A State Of Trance radio show, I was like WTF? It must be a name coincidence or something. But I double-checked the net and it is indeed the full-on artist from South Africa, and apparently he has changed his sound beyond recognition. Not that I don't like commercial trance but I REALLY hate it when an underground artist joins the bandwagon like that... So what do you guys think? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw4u6tGaQac

[Ormion]

aka psytrance has just reached a new low...

But the new Protoculture ain't psytrance, so we're ok.

[Lemmiwinks]

But the new Protoculture ain't psytrance, so we're ok.

 

well that's exactly my point... I mean, if Armin would've played some South African full-on I would've said "finally, the scene is getting the attention it deserves", but here we have a psytrance artist who changes his style in the sole purpose of getting commercial attention. That is a big no-no in my book. Although such style changes are nothing new, like IM have been making pop music for years now. Anyway, just my personal rant

[Ormion]

well that's exactly my point... I mean, if Armin would've played some South African full-on I would've said "finally, the scene is getting the attention it deserves", but here we have a psytrance artist who changes his style in the sole purpose of getting commercial attention. That is a big no-no in my book. Although such style changes are nothing new, like IM have been making pop music for years now. Anyway, just my personal rant

 

You're right, but I don't think that both Armin Van Buuren and Protoculture classify his music as psytrance.

I don't think that Buuren would ever play pure South African psytrance in his sets. He plays Protoculture cause ain't psy, so let him do whatever he wants. Who craes?

 

Btw I'd never wanted to see a famous maistream dj to play pure psytrance. My personal opinion is that the moment a musical genre goes mainstream it loses its quality, something that has already happened in the psy scene with mainstream full on and progressive.

I wish that the 'rest of the world' will never find out psytrance. Just leave us in peace. (And living in greee I still have vivid memories of uplifting and mainstream trends.

[frozen dream]

the new protoculture is ultramegabombing fantastic

 

i would like to piss on armin

[pr0fane]

Certainly not the best I've heard from Protoculture, but this ain't the first time Armin Van Buuren has played Protoculture. He's played tracks from the latest album and also the remix of Liquid Soul - Devotions (which, by the way, is a great tune).

 

Also don't forget Paul Oakenfold who is well-known for his legendary goa-mixes, and actually also later on played artists like Nuclear Ramjet and Human Blue if I'm not mistaken. Not to mention John '00' Fleming and Christopher Lawrence who's played progressive psytrance and full on for years already.

[@reyu]

Certainly not the best I've heard from Protoculture, but this ain't the first time Armin Van Buuren has played Protoculture. He's played tracks from the latest album and also the remix of Liquid Soul - Devotions (which, by the way, is a great tune).

 

Also don't forget Paul Oakenfold who is well-known for his legendary goa-mixes, and actually also later on played artists like Nuclear Ramjet and Human Blue if I'm not mistaken. Not to mention John '00' Fleming and Christopher Lawrence who's played progressive psytrance and full on for years already.

 

Just what I was thinkin'. Really nothing new under the sun. It is trance, overlaps are inevitable. I don't think Armin is gonna play some real psychedelic tracks, though I would advise it. Would love to see Armins' crowd freakin' out on some twisted psychedelic dark stuff.

[MAM015]

Just what I was thinkin'. Really nothing new under the sun. It is trance, overlaps are inevitable. I don't think Armin is gonna play some real psychedelic tracks, though I would advise it. Would love to see Armins' crowd freakin' out on some twisted psychedelic dark stuff.

 

It's all about Trance, whatever psychedelic or uplifted, the purpose is the same.

As for Protoculture, it's the artist's choice, and perhaps a commercial necessity, give the man a break would ya?

[@reyu]

It's all about Trance, whatever psychedelic or uplifted, the purpose is the same.

As for Protoculture, it's the artist's choice, and perhaps a commercial necessity, give the man a break would ya?

 

Replying to me???

 

I wasn't referring to Protoculture. With nothing new under the sun I meant trance Dj's playing psytrance for a very long time now. Protoculture does whatever he thinks he needs to do.

[mars]

Protoculture used to be in some other music than Psytrance before. NOw he must have sen enough and is going yet again another direction.

He did a lot to the movement in its darkest hours. Let's wish him good luck !

[Guest nectarios]

I don't like Protocultures new LP, I never really liked any of his music, but his new album is a lot better than the shite Armin plays.

I don't think Protoculture was aiming to satisfy the trance heads, although I do suspect he simply makes the music he likes, and to my ears, there were a lot of hints in his older music, that pointed to this direction.

I'm just surprised this came out on Nano and not Armada music.

Good thing, bad thing I wouldn't say, I can definitely say its good for his wallet.

 

Talking about Paul, trance music was so good back then that was simply irresistable for anyone to drop it in parties...LSD (original and later Lieb mix), Teleport, Sly Ed... man them tunes destroyed some big dancefloors back then, I tells ya.

[pifpafpof]

protoculture going commercial, blablabalbala..... let the guy do the music he fucking wants. go make some underground psytrance yourself instead of sitting on forum whining about others.... seriously...

[visine]

My personal opinion is that the moment a musical genre goes mainstream it loses its quality, something that has already happened in the psy scene with mainstream full on and progressive.

I wish that the 'rest of the world' will never find out psytrance. Just leave us in peace. (

 

 

You mean leave us in peace to enjoy this kind of quality: click for some psy quality ?

[Lemmiwinks]

Also don't forget Paul Oakenfold who is well-known for his legendary goa-mixes, and actually also later on played artists like Nuclear Ramjet and Human Blue if I'm not mistaken. Not to mention John '00' Fleming and Christopher Lawrence who's played progressive psytrance and full on for years already.

 

hm yeah but times were very different back then IMO since pretty much ALL trance was underground, the difference between psychedellic and non-psychedellic (and acid techno for that matter) wasn't as huge as today. If anything, I agree that there are MANY progressive psy tunes that would fit in pefectly in some of today's commercial sets, but IMO progressive isn't really psytrance Anyway, like I said, this was all more of a personal rant than anything else, I was just surprised to hear the name Protoculture pronounced by Armin that I felt I had to share it with you all.

 

 

protoculture going commercial, blablabalbala..... let the guy do the music he fucking wants. go make some underground psytrance yourself instead of sitting on forum whining about others.... seriously...

 

but then what would this forum be without its professional whiners

[Guest nectarios]

hm yeah but times were very different back then IMO since pretty much ALL trance was underground,

 

Back then, as in when Paul did that Voyage Into Trance CD, psy-trance CDs had their front seat in big CD stores, BBC Radio1 was playing trance tunes, MTV had late night sessions playing the likes of Total Eclipse, Transwave...etc...

Opinions aside, psy-trance was at its commercial peak back then. The record labels were selling vinyl and CDs like candy, there were massive psychedelic trance parties, in big clubs in Ibiza and the biggest DJs (not just trance, but generally dance music) were dropping trance tunes in their sets and it was not like trance producers were trying to make a sound that would fit style of the No1 MixMag DJ, it was the biggest DJs looking out for the freshest psychedelic trance music, so that they can play it first.

 

Peace.

[Lemmiwinks]

Back then, as in when Paul did that Voyage Into Trance CD, psy-trance CDs had their front seat in big CD stores, BBC Radio1 was playing trance tunes, MTV had late night sessions playing the likes of Total Eclipse, Transwave...etc...

Opinions aside, psy-trance was at its commercial peak back then. The record labels were selling vinyl and CDs like candy, there were massive psychedelic trance parties, in big clubs in Ibiza and the biggest DJs (not just trance, but generally dance music) were dropping trance tunes in their sets and it was not like trance producers were trying to make a sound that would fit style of the No1 MixMag DJ, it was the biggest DJs looking out for the freshest psychedelic trance music, so that they can play it first.

 

Peace.

 

yes yes I know, that's actually quite the paradox of those days: people remember them as beeing the most underground yet they were the most commercial at the same time. Like, today I complain about Armin spinning Protoculture but back in the days Hallucinogen's LSD passed on daytime radio. Ah well... I guess that the fact that drugs were a lot more easily available back then probably had something to do with all this

[Ormion]

You mean leave us in peace to enjoy this kind of quality: click for some psy quality ?

 

But the reason such an album exists is because psytrance has been commercialized in a degree!

 

Alien Jesus album doesn't aim at you or me. It aims at the more mainstream audiences.

Albums like these prove my point.

[visine]

But the reason such an album exists is because psytrance has been commercialized in a degree!

 

Alien Jesus album doesn't aim at you or me. It aims at the more mainstream audiences.

Albums like these prove my point.

 

 

 

 

Wishing “that the 'rest of the world' will never find out psytrance. Just leave us in peace”

is looking at things from a very narrow minded, even selfish perspective.

[Guest nectarios]

Wishing “that the 'rest of the world' will never find out psytrance. Just leave us in peace”

is looking at things from a very narrow minded, even selfish perspective.

 

I think (hope) it was a tongue in cheek comment.

[Ormion]

Wishing “that the 'rest of the world' will never find out psytrance. Just leave us in peace”

is looking at things from a very narrow minded, even selfish perspective.

 

I guess you realise what I mean as 'the rest of the world'.

[frozen dream]

bollocks!

[Frontier Psychiatrist]

Gotta love the knee jerk reaction some people are having when somebody decides to make a buck from their music. As if he'd make a super duper awesome underground sounding album any of you would shell 15$ to buy it.

Now excuse me, I'll be playing me some "New Directions"

[Basilisk]

I don't see why this is so objectionable. Protoculture is following his musical trajectory; this isn't a sudden shift in style or anything. Since day one Nate has been all about the big stadium trance sound with emotional melodies and hands-in-the-air breakdowns. It just happened to have a slight psytrance-like spin in the beginning.

[Antares]

I don't see why this is so objectionable. Protoculture is following his musical trajectory; this isn't a sudden shift in style or anything. Since day one Nate has been all about the big stadium trance sound with emotional melodies and hands-in-the-air breakdowns. It just happened to have a slight psytrance-like spin in the beginning.

 

I agree, nothing wrong with evolution in music and artists.. Just because it isn't your style and taste, doesn't mean it's a "bad evolution".. And there is also some weird contradiction going on.. People want the psytrance/Goa-scene to have the attention it deserves, but complain when something becomes "commercial" (read: appealing for a lot of people, so getting "the attention it deserves")

 

But this isn't psytrance, and i don't think it's trying to be. And personally, I sometimes think it's to bad when a artist producing music i like, starts to evolve towards a genre i like less, but i don't think that's a bad evolution.. I'd rather have music evolve, than stand still..

 

Anyway, I hate it when people sometimes think their (musical) tastes are what everybody should like.. Like everything concerning art, you just can't discuss about that. You're not gonna hear me say that hallicunogen for instance is more intelligent than tiesto.. O, and i hate it even more when people (ab)use the term 'underground'.. I bet if psytrance had millions of listeners, even if the music wouldn't have changed, a lot of people who now 'love' it would hate it.

[Ormion]

Anyway, I hate it when people sometimes think their (musical) tastes are what everybody should like.. Like everything concerning art, you just can't discuss about that. You're not gonna hear me say that hallicunogen for instance is more intelligent than tiesto.. O, and i hate it even more when people (ab)use the term 'underground'.. I bet if psytrance had millions of listeners, even if the music wouldn't have changed, a lot of people who now 'love' it would hate it.

 

I agree with you antares, but here's the catch.

Everytime a release like Alien Jesus get released, ppl tend to bitch about how bad it is. And they're right, not because of the music, but why this release has been made in the first place. Is it really about musical evolution?

Check out Dali for example. I don't have nothing against her, cause I don't know her personally, but it's obvious (at least to me) that her album was made using the image-over-substance mainstream standards. She has a sexy pose in the cover, full singing with lyrics that no one gives a fuck and her lives are pop gigs, while she pretends to play keyboards.

Why such releases exist in the first place? Maybe because there's an audience for it?

Why there's an udience for it? Maybe because the full on scene (at least a part of it) has been commercialized? Isn't this why progressive has changed form psy influenced to housey-electro stuff?

 

I'm not talking about Protoculture! He's a talented guy that decided to go even more regular trance and I wish him luck.

But I find ironic that some people can defend an artist when he changes his style to more mainstream paths cause he's an artist and have a right to do it, when in a different thread bash the guy because he have gone cheesy full on. Yep, and I'm the narrow minded.