Goa trance music

The music has its roots in the popularity of the Goa region in the late 1960s and early '70s as a hippie mecca, although the actual Goa trance style would not appear until much later. As the tourist influx tapered off in the 1970s and '80s, a core group remained in Goa, concentrating on improvements in music along with other activities such as yoga, recreational drug use, and various New Age pursuits.

The introduction of techno style and technique to Goa led to what would eventually become the Goa trance style; early pioneers included Goa Gil[?] and Mark Allen[?]. Many "parties" (similar to raves) in Goa revolve entirely around this genre of music; Goa is also often played in other countries at raves in conjunction with other styles of trance and techno.

Goa is essentially "dance-trance" music (and was referred to as "Trance Dance" in its formative years), and as such has an energetic beat, almost always at 4/4 and often going into 16th or 32nd notes. A typical number will generally build up to a much more energetic movement in the second half of the track, and then taper off fairly quickly toward the end. Generally 8-12 minutes long, Goa tracks usually have a noticeably stronger bassline than other trance music.

Goa trance has a significant following in Israel, brought to that country by former soldiers returning from recreational "post-army trips" to Goa. A great deal of Goa trance is now produced in Israel.

On the internet one of the oldest meeting places for fans of Goa trance is the 604 mailing list. Goa Trance effectively morphed into Psychedelic trance during the latter half of the 1990s.

Popular artists include Hallucinogen[?], Infected Mushroom[?], Astral Projection[?], Man With No Name[?], Koxbox[?], X-Dream[?], and Space Tribe[?].

External link

• 604 mailing list (http://party.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/604)