The late '90s chart-adjacent but less-horrible progressive & euphoric trance thread

[wafter]

Clearing out my CD collection over the holiday has forced me to confront the unresolved elephant-of-bitter-sweet-nostalgia-in-the-room that is my past relationship with commercial trance music in the late 1990s.

While previous participants of electronic dance music enjoyed a fantastic smorgasboard of new / underground genres from the late '80s / early '90s - including rave, hardcore, techno, acid house, jungle... I emerged from my teenage chrysalis into a world dominated by progressive and euphoric trance, complete with the newly-commercialsed world of corporate superclubs and multi-CD compilations pushed through high-street shops such as HMV.

From this perspective I'd have preferred to have been born ten years earlier, however looking back there were a few legitmate gems that have withstood the ravages of time and now remain as legitimate era-defining classics.

This is a thread for such tunes; for anyone of a certain age to tweak that nerve of nostalgia and take a brief ride back to a time of hope, when the world wasn't so obviously sliding into the sea and Ibiza briefly seemed to be the centre of the universe; according to Radio 1.

Granted it's a fine, subjective line between gold and cheese - please try and keep your contributions as cheddar-free as possible; bonus points will be awarded for obscurity


A few to start off the top of my head:

 

[wafter]

 

[ColinJ]

I will be interested in seeing what comes up here. This is the kind of music that I like to listen to when using a turbo trainer.

 

[ColinJ]

Here's my first offering:

 

[ColinJ]

 

[ColinJ]

 

[wafter]

Cheers - all classics; used to love the first two but I think I was exposed to them excessively first-time around. Still love the Binary Finary though

 

[ColinJ]

Cheers - all classics; used to love the first two but I think I was exposed to them excessively first-time around. Still love the Binary Finary though

I am a bit old to have been out clubbing in the late 90s (I was in my 40s and stuck at work most of the time!) so I didn't discover a lot of this music until years later.

TBH I probably only got to hear the really popular stuff that you ODd on so I am interested to hear the more obscure things that you and others will be posting.

 

[wafter]

I am a bit old to have been out clubbing in the late 90s (I was in my 40s and stuck at work most of the time!) so I didn't discover a lot of this music until years later.

TBH I probably only got to hear the really popular stuff that you ODd on so I am interested to hear the more obscure things that you and others will be posting.

Good work for getting out amongst it at that age! I'm sadly now what could be described as mid-40s and while the thought of going out still appeals, I'm aware that both the desire and ability to do so is waning.

Really most of the stuff I listen to now has been discovered retrospectively; I love jungle but missed it first time around. To be honest most of the trance I came to like back then was pretty mainstream; although again I've discovered more obscure stuff since.

If you want something earlier / more "authentic" but still progressive to work towards giving yourself a heart attack while exercising you could do worse than Goa / psytrance; with Paradise Connection being a great example

I'm hoping that we'll see some more contributions and this thread doesn't see us both shut out in the shame of the mainstream trance wasteland

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I will be interested in seeing what comes up here. This is the kind of music that I like to listen to when using a turbo trainer.

Ditto. Perfect for maintaining a suitable cadence!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Clearing out my CD collection over the holiday has forced me to confront the unresolved elephant-of-bitter-sweet-nostalgia-in-the-room that is my past relationship with commercial trance music in the late 1990s.

While previous participants of electronic dance music enjoyed a fantastic smorgasboard of new / underground genres from the late '80s / early '90s - including rave, hardcore, techno, acid house, jungle... I emerged from my teenage chrysalis into a world dominated by progressive and euphoric trance, complete with the newly-commercialsed world of corporate superclubs and multi-CD compilations pushed through high-street shops such as HMV.

From this perspective I'd have preferred to have been born ten years earlier, however looking back there were a few legitmate gems that have withstood the ravages of time and now remain as legitimate era-defining classics.

This is a thread for such tunes; for anyone of a certain age to tweak that nerve of nostalgia and take a brief ride back to a time of hope, when the world wasn't so obviously sliding into the sea and Ibiza briefly seemed to be the centre of the universe; according to Radio 1.

Granted it's a fine, subjective line between gold and cheese - please try and keep your contributions as cheddar-free as possible; bonus points will be awarded for obscurity


A few to start off the top of my head:

As an aside, I do love your very articulate musings!

I like this genre of music and have a whole heap of those Euphoria albums up in the loft.

Like @ColinJ I am more familiar with the more mainstream tracks from that era and occasionally (via Spotify) I have this cranked up high on our 'system' (poncy terminology imo, but it seems to be the norm these days):

https://youtu.be/0QylRMB8r6U?si=5e5qEfJBx1xeAq4W

 

[wafter]

As an aside, I do love your very articulate musings!

I like this genre of music and have a whole heap of those Euphoria albums up in the loft.

Like @ColinJ I am more familiar with the more mainstream tracks from that era and occasionally (via Spotify) I have this cranked up high on our 'system' (poncy terminology imo, but it seems to be the norm these days):


View: https://youtu.be/0QylRMB8r6U?si=5e5qEfJBx1xeAq4W

Thanks! Likewise I appreciate the opportunity to rant into the ether with more words than strictly necessary

I still have the first Euphoria album too; which I think acquits itself well even now and will be staying. I also have some compilations from Ministry of Sound and Gatecrasher, but I'm not sure I'll be hanging onto them.. will maybe give the latter a listen later.

That tune from Blade is "Confusion" by New Order if I'm not mistaken - I have their double-CD "Substance" upstairs which also needs listening to but I suspect that'll be staying.

It's funny to think back to the lottery of buying an album blind / off the back of one track... when now they more than I could ever hope to listen to is available on youtube; although it's still nice to have hard copies of the stuff you really like

 

[Drago]

I heard that and thought a car alarm was going off outside.

 

[wafter]

Seems it's just us, then

Worked my way around to the first of the Gatecrasher compilations (Global Sound System); which so far has actually acquitted itself very well; Delerium's Silence still manages to elecit goosebumps

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Seems it's just us, then

Worked my way around to the first of the Gatecrasher compilations (Global Sound System); which so far has actually acquitted itself very well; Delerium's Silence still manages to elecit goosebumps

I think the majority of music lovers on here who post about music, go for that heavy metal, goth, thrash, deathrock, darkwave grunge; mostly unintelligible screaming stuff.

I await a slating.