Introduction
As you may know from our previous blog, Goa Gil and his friends were the pioneers that started what was then known as ‘Goa Trance’ on the beaches of Goa. As the years passed and more artists came into the picture, the music branched out according to their styles and resulted in the many styles that we see today. Along with explaining each of these subgenres, we have also curated our own playlists that we hope you will enjoy while helping you understand them better.
Table Of Contents
Progressive Psy
Also known as: Psy-Prog
BPM: 132-138
Origins: Europe
As the name suggests, Psy-Prog can be defined by its progressive buildup of diverse sounds. Sounds used can be said to have normal trance and house elements. This results in music that could be more club-friendly than the other subgenres. Over the years, Psy-Prog has taken over as the most prominent image of psytrance to the outside world.
Notable Artists: Ace Ventura, Liquid Soul,
Goa PsyTrance
BPM: 135-150
Origin: Goa, India
Goa Trance is credited as the foundation of all psytrance, with Goa Gil being the forefather. Sounds used here are more instrumental, encompassing Indian elements since it was born on the beaches of Goa during the hippie movement of the 80s and 90s. Eventually, even though all the other subgenres branched from it, Goa Trance continued to thrive thanks to artists and labels releasing new tracks, as the crowds have never stopped loving it.
Notable Artists: Astral Projection, Asia 2001, Hallucinogen, Juno Reactor
Full On
Also Known As: Israeli Psy, Morning Psy
BPM: 140-150
As the name implies, this subgenre ensures it maintains its energy throughout the song. The term was coined in the mid-2000s after the evolution from goa trance to psytrance had well and truly concluded, and people were finding new language terms to define the various sounds that were now forming. The original 'full-on' sound was bright and melodic, focusing on the kickdrums in the 4/4 pattern. Over time, this has changed, but the overall motive of maintaining a happy and melodic vibe has remained the same. Full-on has been the backbone for all psytrance thanks to its popularity throughout the 2000s until it was slowly replaced by Progressive Psy.
Notable Artists: Astrix, Avalon, GMS, Tristan, 1200 Micrograms.
Psychill
Also Known As: Ambient
BPM: 90-120
Unlike the rest, Psychill is a downtempo genre that can be said to be a mix of Goa Trance and Psychedelic music. Its aim is to induce profound relaxation akin to meditation and lucid dreaming. Psychill creates a captivating sonic landscape for introspection and tranquility.
Notable artists: Asura, Astronaut Ape, Sumiruna,E-Mantra, Lemonchill.
Dark PsyTrance
BPM: 140-175+
Origin: Russia, Germany.
Since the 90s and 2000s, as artists experimented and pushed the boundaries of what Goa trance could achieve, the majority moved towards Full On and Psy-Prog. But there were some who wanted to move away from the bright and melodic saga of Goa Trance and play with a darker tone. Xenomorph is considered the pioneer of this subgenre and was early into making dark psy. In the 2000s, artists like Psykovsky and Derango pushed the subgenre into faster, higher BPMs to compliment these dark elements, which later contributed to the birth of other popular subgenres such as forest and hi-tech. Science fiction and horror movie samples are key to Dark Psy.
Notable Artists: Goa Gil, Fungus Funk, Rawar, Dark Whisper, Farebi Jalebi.
Forest Psy
BPM: 145-175+
Origin: Denmark and other Nordic countries
Forest was born from the dark psy subgenre. While dark psy has a lot of mechanical and alien sounds, Forest incorporates nature and organic forest sounds. Don’t be surprised to hear weird elves in the mix as well. This maintained the signature organic feel of Goa Trance while at the same time infused the dark vibes and higher BPM from Dark, creating a good balance between the two but also making themhard to distinguish.
Notable Artists: Derango, Atriohm, Ajja, Arjuna.
Hi-Tech
Also Known As: Psycore, Russian Dark Psy
BPM: 170-220
Origin: Russia
Hi-tech, another subgenre born from the dark psy sphere is characterized by fast rhythms, chopped rhythms and a fast bassline all held together by an unpredictable atmosphere. In the 2000s, artists like Psykovsky and other Russian artists like Kindzadza pushed for higher BPMs, resulting in the hitech movement. This was also regarded as the golden age for hitech. Recently, there has not been much creative development in the Hitech sphere, but some new emerging artists like Killatk and our very own Pyrokine are slowly making growth.
Notable Artists: Psykovsky, Xenrox, Technical Hitch,Killatk.
If you liked the blog and our playlists, make sure to follow us on spotify as well as we will post more playlists for Techno and other EDM genres soon.