Goa Travellers Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Ever thought why we love this music, yet other people at most are indifferent to it or are irritated when hearing it as it it were just a melting pot or noise and parasites?Is it cultural or social? Any other idea? There's gotta be a reason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyt3k Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Good question! What I see here (in Belgium) when it comes to Goatrance / Trance: There are people who totally love it and there are people who it does nothing to. I haven't really encountered people who hate it or find it irritating. But I do wonder why there is this difference, because to me it's the most human form of music... I think not all people are into "higher experiences", they don't want to be lifted off the ground and go into their own imagination. A lot of people have spent their lives trying to cope with difficult questions and have given up to look further. Some people come at ease when they don't have to think too much, when they can listen to the same artists they have known for +30 years etc. Also, I think that some people's mind / brain is just not set to receive these trance rhythms as much as others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shpongled247 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 People find it repetitive and upon first hearing it all they can hear is the pounding kick drum and bassline, no melodies. Also, A lot of people just lump "electronic" music into one big category I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Travellers Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 For some people yes. I know also people who like techno music, dance music (4/4 kick drum as well), but they utterly dislike goa music for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neurosect Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 2 words: brain connections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormion Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 People find it repetitive and upon first hearing it all they can hear is the pounding kick drum and bassline, no melodies. Also, A lot of people just lump "electronic" music into one big category I think. +1 They seem to only hear the kickdrum no matter what happens in the track. They can listen to the most complex, melodic track ever, but it's still boom-boom to them. What I found really strange is that they don't seem to think the same about more commercial EDM like House or Euro where the kickdrum is even more obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Travellers Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 Agreed! I think it has to do with social pressure and group belonging... You like a music genre based on a group you want to belong to, to feel more secure inconciously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagaISM Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I think it's an aesthetic thing for a lot of people. Especially those into electronic music. Some people just can't stand the "hippie edge", and find it to be outright bad taste. I'm sort of on the fence about it. My interests in spirituality and metaphysics makes me receptive to the themes and general grandeur of the genre, but only as part of my own subjective interpretation, which honestly be couldn't further away from the cuddly new age, girls dressed like birds, hippie-decadence of the Trance scene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Travellers Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 Yeah, I suppose each social group has its related music genre. In the end, one could like any kind of music, but our taste is shaped as we integrate a social group (sometimes very early in life). Same for every type of things for which you may have a preference: dressing, cars, politics, church, food, etc... Social pressure, imitation and belonging to a group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insejn Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Good question! What I see here (in Belgium) when it comes to Goatrance / Trance: There are people who totally love it and there are people who it does nothing to. I haven't really encountered people who hate it or find it irritating. But I do wonder why there is this difference, because to me it's the most human form of music... I think not all people are into "higher experiences", they don't want to be lifted off the ground and go into their own imagination. A lot of people have spent their lives trying to cope with difficult questions and have given up to look further. Some people come at ease when they don't have to think too much, when they can listen to the same artists they have known for +30 years etc. Also, I think that some people's mind / brain is just not set to receive these trance rhythms as much as others. I'm not the slightest into "higher experiences" as you call it. I have never felt this spiritual mumbo jumbo alot of people talks about while listening to goa/psy. I just think it's bloody good music. Nothing more, nothing less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procyon Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Interesting. I was just had a conversation with a friend about this last week, after our last electronic music night: people didn't react well to psytrance/goa when we played it for its alocated one-hour slot. The dancefloor not only got empty, but people got out of range of the music - most went outside to smoke, chat, or in his case, just to get away from the music. Two words can summarize our conversation: fast, frenzy. Psychedelic is too fast currently, not only the bpm, but FXes too - which gives an atmosphere of "frenzy" to psy/goa. Problem is: unless the brain is focused on listening to psy, it sounds as annoyingly noisy, just a bunch of FXex spread under 140/145 bpm - which on its turn is not the best speed for relaxing and dancing. I have more ideas about this - such as brain frequency - but I am not ready to elaborate them right now. Instead, I will share two tracks I played in our last event. A psy one, which scared people away from the dancefloor and a tribal-house one, 138 bpm, that had people dancing happily. Pixel & Cyclic - Nuclear Device M.in - When I Rock (Piemont Remix) edit: forgot the links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procyon Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I'm not the slightest into "higher experiences" as you call it. I have never felt this spiritual mumbo jumbo alot of people talks about while listening to goa/psy. I just think it's bloody good music. Nothing more, nothing less. I have, and it was elating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Travellers Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 I haven't measured but I think the 1st tune you played is more around 130bpm, thank God. One thing I noticed is that goa trance is to music what horror movies are to the cinema (and I love it, I love horror movies BTW). Goa trance brings me unknown or unexplained fears because of some of the SFX, worrying melodies or agressive leads. Cluber music such as house, dance of electro is everything but that, it's younger, happy music made for fun, drinking, to chat up. I understand why some teenagers prefer those genres to goa trance. Not the same mood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagaISM Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I've been thinking about the neurological aspects as well, but I think there's more to it than that. I WANTED to like Metal and Techno even when I didn't understand it. That's where the difference lies. You'll never get into niché-music unless you have that curious desire for the unknown. Having that you'll be able to adjust your brain to any kind of music. No matter how discordant it might be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procyon Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I've been thinking about the neurological aspects as well, but I think there's more to it than that. I WANTED to like Metal and Techno even when I didn't understand it. That's where the difference lies. You'll never get into niché-music unless you have that curious desire for the unknown. Having that you'll be able to adjust your brain to any kind of music. No matter how discordant it might be. I have thinking about that too. In short, what I think is that psytrance "combo" of high bpms and noisy noises in multiple layers of highs and mids just send a mixed signal to the brain (which is supposed to induce a trance), making it perceive the salad of layers of sound as way too overloadedl all the time. Which on its turn is very tiresome, to the brain and to the body. I also think there's a limit between speeds that tires the brain and speeds that makes it more relaxed: it's somewhere around 138 bpm. Most modern tech/house productions are made near this number. I think it's no surprise that clubs have long abandoned trance in favor of house. Elaborating a little more, house relaxes and keeps one turned on in the right balance, while psytrance causes a subtle short-circuit that people make just leave the dancefloor almost instantly. Of course this is not applied to every work out there, but I would say that 9 out of 10 modern goa/psy can be put under this umbrella. Another aspect I think we're observing from the wrong point of view is that young cluubers tend to like everything electronica: house/techno/electro/dub/dnb but they're not ready to appreciate goa/psy properly, mainly in multiple genres events. It is not the crowd that is not ready, it's that just goa/psy stands out in the middle of other genres. If funky techno is played after a house set and after that electro, people tend to stay on the dancefloor, and vice-versa. But if you play goa/psy in the middle (as I have done) it makes people "alert" unconsciously, and as I have said above, people get these mixed sounds, get tired of them in the first 5 minutes and their brain makes the decision the leave the "confusion" area. What causes it? I think it's the reasons I explained above: fast speed and uncomfortable sounds. Unfortunately I have observed that my goa/psy events are the least attended ones, even people who like it are not coming anymore. I also caught myself feeling tranced to house and techno that were played by other DJs while I realised that my own set was quite tiresome. A fix? Perhaps a change the way psychedelic music is being written. My 2 cents. edit: typing errors. edit #2: just for the sake of argument, I don't play electro and dubstep at all in our events. It's the only two genres I prohibit. Because they're too poor in quality and they're freaking annoying. I don't know the details of electro/dubstep production because I don't listen to them,, but they're the worst kind of electronic music ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 For me I think I had to slowly get into psy. I listened to regular trance for a while before I started hearing psy, and if someone had played IFO or something similar when I was just getting into trance, I probably would have thought it too chaotic. Hell, I still think some psy is too chaotic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 edit #2: just for the sake of argument, I don't play electro and dubstep at all in our events. It's the only two genres I prohibit. Because they're too poor in quality and they're freaking annoying. I don't know the details of electro/dubstep production because I don't listen to them,, but they're the worst kind of electronic music ever. I was at a party over the weekend where I heard there was elements of dubstep, electro, acid house, psytrance and more. I'm not that much into dubstep or electro, but I appreciated having some variety. And they played some better examples of the genres. I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnb820 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Intellectually and spiritually dead people who only want to drink themselves into oblivion, these are psychedelic trance's worst enemies. Stop wondering why and just embrace the fact that you are better than everyone else for appreciating and enjoying more sonically unique, interesting and stimulating music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagaISM Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 A fix? Perhaps a change the way psychedelic music is being written. My 2 cents. Why? It's the organizers job to make a genre marketable, not the artists. At least that's how I see it. A healthy scene is built upon hard work and convincingly executed events. Not by playing a couple of Goa tunes in the middle of a House party. Not trying to put you down or anything. It's great that you're thinking about it, but I'd advice you to look elsewhere find your answers. This kind of music will never be viable in the mainstream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procyon Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Why? It's the organizers job to make a genre marketable, not the artists. At least that's how I see it. A healthy scene is built upon hard work and convincingly executed events. Not by playing a couple of Goa tunes in the middle of a House party. Not trying to put you down or anything. It's great that you're thinking about it, but I'd advice you to look elsewhere find your answers. This kind of music will never be viable in the mainstream. I guess you haven't read that I threw (and stubbornly does every now and then) Goa parties, with deco fluo, invited DJs, massive e-flyers, and whatsnot...to have 5 people coming. I also had events with 100+ people, but they didn't return to our Goa parties. So, I think I have some experience on this. Our next electronic event, this Thursday, I won't play goa/psy. Besides empyting the dancefloor, it's the only time customers come to the counter asking "can you please play something else?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Travellers Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 I won't play goa/psy. Besides empyting the dancefloor, it's the only time customers come to the counter asking "can you please play something else?" I hear you! I know what you mean very well and I have already experienced it! I have convinced DJs to insert a goa trance tune here and there on a live set among techno or house tunes, and it scares people away. To be successful and please the audience with goa trance music, you really have to chose your audience and inform beforehand what's gonna be played. This will bring the right folks and filter out those who aren't into it. People who like to dance to this kind of music know the codes: psychedelic artwork, indian symbols, artist names; etc. I wouldn't play goa trance at a wedding for mom and dad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagaISM Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I guess you haven't read that I threw (and stubbornly does every now and then) Goa parties, with deco fluo, invited DJs, massive e-flyers, and whatsnot...to have 5 people coming. I also had events with 100+ people, but they didn't return to our Goa parties. So, I think I have some experience on this. Our next electronic event, this Thursday, I won't play goa/psy. Besides empyting the dancefloor, it's the only time customers come to the counter asking "can you please play something else?" My point was simply that to play Goa at a House party is like playing Punk at a disco. It just doesn't work. It's not the right audience. Now if the right audience even exists in your area is an entirely different issue. If not, then you'll have to look into how to create one. You might need more tools than flyers and parties for that. Could be facebook groups, private gatherings etc etc. I wouldn't play goa trance at a wedding for mom and dad Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Intellectually and spiritually dead people who only want to drink themselves into oblivion, these are psychedelic trance's worst enemies. Stop wondering why and just embrace the fact that you are better than everyone else for appreciating and enjoying more sonically unique, interesting and stimulating music. I don't know but putting yourself on a pedestal becuase you listen to the right kind of music sounds kinda absurd to me. Lots of psy does no longer sound unique to me, instead it sounds like genereic massproduction. Sure there are gems if you care to dig into it but listening to psy (or any other style) does not make you a more original or better person. What you listen to is simply your taste, nothing more and nothing less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Eye Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I don't know but putting yourself on a pedestal becuase you listen to the right kind of music sounds kinda absurd to me. Lots of psy does no longer sound unique to me, instead it sounds like genereic massproduction. Sure there are gems if you care to dig into it but listening to psy (or any other style) does not make you a more original or better person. What you listen to is simply your taste, nothing more and nothing less. Exactly. Wasn't this psy culture all about PLUR and not we > the rest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shpongled247 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Heh I think or at least hope, he was joking! Some truth in that it is not generally the music alcohol fueled average joe might want to hear. It is supposed to be psychedelic music after all, mind expanding. And frankly a lot of people want no part of that! Each to their own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.