The Music Production VLOG EP 1 - Trance

March 12, 2019

The Electronic Music Production Vlog EP 1

Hi it’s Mikas here, the founder of www.wemakedancemusic.com.

I’d like to welcome you all to our VLOG on all things Music Production.

You might ask why I decided to start the Vlog ? My main objective is to share with you hands-on knowledge, trends, tips and tricks related to Electronic Music Production.

As a music producer with nearly 20 years of experience, I have released a lot of music myself, I’ve run a record label and 7 years ago I created the music production marketplace called www.wemakedancemusic.com where one can buy and sell music files in all genres.

Producing music, managing and licensing music for artists, attending events like ADE, Winter Music Conference, Midem I have gained solid insights into the music industry that I would like to share with you in this Vlog.

Every episode will be dedicated to a particular theme. You will get plenty of rich input from interviews, reviews, project files that well will analyse to see how certain music genres are produced.

This week we are starting with Trance. We will explore Trance producers, we will look at what makes a good Trance track, we will cover the different aspects of Trance music production! We will talk about the legalities of releasing music and signing a contract with a record label to give you a better understanding of the formal side of music production.

To give you an idea about the future episodes, we will also review plugins and different hardware, visit music studios, go meet people from the industry to make it a rounded experience for you!

Welcome to episode 1 of the Music Production Vlog and stay tuned for more to come!

Drop a comment below to win 50$ gift card, make sure you have a contact linked to your channel.

Alright let's dive in….

Trance is a form of electronic music that was born in the 1990 is Europe.

It is usually 130 to 145 bpm. To me trance features more musical elements than other forms of music. Composing and arranging high quality trance songs can be very challenging. There are many tools available to learn to make trance. Think templates, MIDI files and quality synth presets will get you started quickly.

The main elements of a good trance track:

We’re using a Magic Track production project to showcase the elements.

I think trance is more about the feeling of euphoria, the build up and release, the 4-min long breakdown, then the feeling once it kicks back in!

To me trance is evolving but somehow remains the same. I think it is surely here to stay with the popularity of Djs like Above & Beyond, Armin Van Buuren, Paul Van Dyk keeping trance alive!

The main trance label of today: the Dutch label Armada with its many sub labels like Armind, Not afraid of 138 etc.; The Brits with Anjunabeats, Enhanced records; the German label Vandit; In Trance we Thrust (Black Hole) from Holland.

Get signed to a trance label?

First of all sending unsolicited demos to labels is not the way to go. I would suggest building a name and getting your music to DJs first. They love unreleased material and in this way you can build your name. If a label is asking for demos definitely hit them with your latest material, in my experience, do not wait to achieve perfection, good labels will look at the ideas and get in touch if they like your sound.

The most important thing to get signed!! Be original, don't try to be or sound like someone else, just make music that resonate with you, not music you think can get signed.

Now for some influential Tracks…

Robert Mile Children (The First trance song to hit commercial radio worldwide, released in 1995) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC5ca6Hsb2Q

Delerium Ft Sarah Mclachlan - Silence (Tiesto Remix) (Massive commercial success in 1997)

A big part of tiesto success.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjzN22e74TE

As the Rush Comes (Gabriel & Dresden Sweeping Strings Mix) (2003)

Not the tiesto remix but used in one of his compilation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbWKriiWyWQ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_the_Rush_Comes

BT - Flaming June!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfG-GSwUhSU

Another track from 1997, Genre defining track co produced with Paul Van dyk