- A lovingly-compiled collection of formative trance tracks mixes anthems with diamonds in the rough.
- Like most dance music genres, trance, in its earliest days, was very different from the big-room sound that it became synonymous with. Taking influence from a wide range of styles including ambient, dub, what was then called world music and the hypnotic effects of acid house, trance was originally tied to a legacy that had as much in common with late '60s Haight-Ashbury psychedelia as it did Chicago or Detroit.
Shifting focus from its recent Italian Dream House compilations, Safe Trip—Young Marco's label—has set its sights on the formative days of trance with Planet Love Vol. 1: Early Transmissions 1991-1995. The 13-track set spans a wonderful cross-section of these halcyon days before the genre became associated with an arena-sized formula dominated by jet-setting European DJs with heavy commercial radio rotation. The compilation brings to light some lesser-played proto-trance releases and should appeal to both seasoned collectors and a new generation eager for an authentic taste of the early '90s.
All the classic elements of dub and tripped-out early trance are here in abundance, opening with the beautiful "3 Nudes In A Purple Garden" by Hawke, AKA Gavin Hardkiss of the legendary San Francisco-based label Hardkiss (one of the prime movers in the early West Coast trance scene). This cut has all the elements of the formative proto-trance sound—the spoken word sample, the UK techno influence (particularly the breaks and TR-808 combination first heard on The Black Dog's "Virtual"), a world music touch with the mouth harp, white noise sweeps and copious amounts of delay. In other words, it's trippy.
The compilation continues in this vein. "Don't Panic" by Mindgear, AKA Mijk Van Dijk, is an optimistic little gem most notable for its early use of the reduced sample-rate effect on its bass line. Again, the early UK techno influence is evident— particularly in its soaring pad chords—using progressions that pre-date the European classical-influenced chords of later trance. "My Mother Said," by Italian band Glam perfectly straddles the early trance style of Europe and New York's Nu Groove label with a touch of the dubbier moments of Marshall Jefferson (Jefferson's dub mix of Truth's "Open Our Eyes" was a clear influence of this trippy-hypnotic house style).
Another standout inclusion, "Dionysian Dream Sacrament" by Morgan Wild, was the final offering from Atmosphere Records, a pioneering early trance-techno label owned by Silvio Tancredit and Tommy Musto. Building on the New York hits "The Morning After" by Fallout and the works of Mundo Muzique, Atmosphere's records combine influences from both sides of the Atlantic to arrive at a hypnotic, TR-909-driven style of trance.
Whisper it quietly, but sometimes the Detroit techno sound, with its uplifting chords and hypnotic repeating arpeggios, can approach what you might call trance. And a wave of mid-'90s producers attempted to recreate the singular vibe conjured by tracks like Underground Resistance's "Cosmic Traveller." Australian producer Simon Haynes' "Life Formation" (as Epsilon Nine) falls into this category with its gorgeously uplifting strings, jazz bass line and Roland 727 percussion.
With Planet Love Vol. 1, Safe Trip has done a tremendous job delivering a mix of known anthems and overlooked gems. Rare and expensive tracks that commands serious prices on the used market mingle with bargain basement overlooked delights. It's one of the most carefully thought-out compilations exploring this period, and there's a lesson here for other would-be reissue compilers: Listen back with fresh ears, seeking out a musicality that stands the test of time.
TracklistA1 Hawke - Nudes In A Purple Garden
A2 Mindgear - Don't Panic (Transpanic Mix)
A3 Glam - My Mother Said (Cosmic Trance Mix)
B1 Young American Primitive - These Waves
B2 Holy Ghost - Mad Monks On Zinc
B3 Morgan Wild - Dionysian Dream Sacrament
C1 Epsilon Nine - Life Formation
C2 Spooky - Orange Coloured Liquid
C3 Extasia - Alegrya (Virtual Mix)
C4 Humate - Love Stimulation (Love Mix)
D1 Oneiric Vortex - Oasi
D2 Human Beings - The Matrix
D3 L.S.G. - Lonely Casseopaya (Club Mix)