Psytrance started on the beaches of Goa, India, and spread to Israel, Europe, Brazil, Australia, Japan and South Africa. It has been through three decades of change, and it still gets its energy from the festival dancefloor.
This is the short version. Each section covers one period, where the action was, and the artists who defined it. For the full list of names, see the most influential psytrance acts and the best psytrance artists.
Psytrance history at a glance
| Period | Where | What happened | Artists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late 1960s to 1980s | Goa, India | Hippie parties, then electro and EBM | Goa Gil, Laurent, Fred Disko |
| 1990 to 1993 | Goa, India and London | Goa trance takes shape | Man With No Name, Hallucinogen |
| 1994 to 1997 | UK, Israel, Europe, Japan, Australia | Golden age of Goa trance | Astral Projection, The Infinity Project, Eat Static |
| Late 1990s to 2000s | Israel | Full-on | Infected Mushroom, Astrix, Skazi |
| Late 1990s to 2000s | Europe and Brazil | Progressive, forest, darkpsy and more | Ace Ventura, Atmos, Xenomorph |
| Early 2000s onward | South Africa | A local sound and scene | Rinkadink, Shift, Damage |
| 2010s to now | Worldwide | Festivals and streaming | Vini Vici, Astrix, Ace Ventura |
Late 1960s to 1980s
The roots in Goa, India
In the mid-1960s, hippies started arriving in Goa, a former Portuguese colony on India's west coast. They came for the beaches, the low cost of living and cannabis, which was legal there until the mid-1970s.
In the 1970s, the DJs played psychedelic rock such as Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead and The Doors. In 1983, DJs Laurent and Fred Disko, followed closely by Goa Gil, moved the parties towards electro-industrial and EBM, using bands like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb. DJs played from tapes and the sound got faster and harder.
Goa trance takes shape
By 1990 and 1991, Goa was a major party destination. The parties took place at spots like Bamboo Forest in Anjuna, Disco Valley in Vagator and Arambol beach. Travellers from Europe and Israel took the tapes and the stories home.
From 1993, Goa-style parties started up around the world. Pangaea and Megatripolis in London helped create labels in the UK, Germany, Israel, Japan and Australia. The first Goa trance album, Project II Trance, came out in 1993 with tracks by Man With No Name and Hallucinogen.
The golden age of Goa trance
This is the period most people call the first golden age. Labels in the UK such as Dragonfly and TIP Records released records by Hallucinogen, whose album Twisted came out in 1995, and The Infinity Project. Eat Static and Astral Projection also made their name.
Goa trance had a short commercial peak in the mid-1990s. In 1994, Paul Oakenfold gave it a push with his Goa mix. The hype did not last, and many people see the 1997 compilation Let It Rip as the point where the commercial wave ended. The underground carried on regardless.
Festivals started to appear. Boom began in Portugal in 1997 as a Goa trance party, and early festivals such as Gaia in France and VooV in Germany followed. Shpongle, the project of Simon Posford and Raja Ram, released Are You Shpongled? in 1998. See the best psytrance albums of all time for the records from this era.
Israel and the rise of full-on
Israeli travellers had been a big part of the parties in Goa, and they took the music home. Israel became one of the most productive scenes in the world, with Astral Projection leading the way in the 1990s and Infected Mushroom forming in 1996.
In the early 2000s, the Israeli scene developed full-on, a faster, more energetic and more uplifting sound. Its golden age ran from roughly 2004 to 2009. Astrix, who released his debut album Eye to Eye in 2002, Skazi and Infected Mushroom became festival headliners. Infected Mushroom went on to become one of the best-selling acts in the genre.
Europe, Brazil and a family of new styles
As the scene grew, new styles branched off. Finland produced suomisaundi in the mid-1990s, and Scandinavia produced forest psytrance in the late 1990s. In Germany and Russia, darkpsy became a recognisable style after about 2003, built on records like Xenomorph's Cassandra's Nightmare and X-Dream's Radio, both from 1998.
In the mid-2000s, progressive psytrance arrived from Europe, with a slower and groovier sound. Ace Ventura, Atmos, Liquid Soul and Perfect Stranger became its best-known names. Psytrance also took hold in Brazil, where Universo Paralello became a major festival, and in Australia and Japan.
Festivals became the main stage. Boom in Portugal and Ozora in Hungary grew into the biggest in the world, and in 2004 Glastonbury gave psytrance a full day on its Glade stage. For a full guide, see the best psytrance festivals, and for the styles themselves, the guide to psytrance subgenres.
South Africa
Goa trance reached South Africa in the 1990s, but the local scene found its own voice in the early 2000s. Cape Town was at the centre, with pioneers such as Rinkadink, Shift, Damage and Protoculture. The compilation Alien Safari, released in 2002 on Afrogalactic Records, introduced the sound to a wider audience.
South African producers tend to favour rhythmic, percussion-heavy night-time music, and a darker, melodic style that many people call twilight psytrance. Festivals such as Alien Safari and Vortex have been part of the scene for years, and you can find upcoming events on the festival calendar. For the records that made the scene, see the 30 influential South African psytrance albums.
2010s to now
Psytrance today
Psytrance is now truly global, with scenes across Europe, Israel, Brazil, Australia, Japan, North and South America, and Africa. Artists that grew up in the full-on and progressive eras, such as Astrix and Ace Ventura, now headline the biggest stages. Vini Vici, from Israel, brought the sound to a bigger audience with collaborations outside the genre.
Psytrance has also broken into the mainstream. Psytrance artists now play on the biggest electronic music stages, including Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival and Dreamstate, in front of crowds that may never have been to a psytrance festival.
Online platforms such as Bandcamp and YouTube let producers release and share music directly, and independent labels still drive new sounds. See the best psytrance labels for the labels to follow.
Festivals remain the heart of it. Find the next one on the festival calendar, or start with the best psytrance festivals.
FAQ
When did psytrance start?
Goa trance took shape in the early 1990s in Goa, India. Psytrance, short for psychedelic trance, developed out of it through the 1990s.
Where did psytrance come from?
Goa, India. Hippies had been gathering on its beaches since the 1960s, and DJs there developed the sound in the 1980s and early 1990s.
What was the first Goa trance album?
Project II Trance, from 1993, with tracks by Man With No Name and Hallucinogen, is generally named as the first.
Why is Israel so important to psytrance?
Israeli travellers were a big part of the Goa parties and took the music home. The country then produced many of the genre's biggest acts, and full-on developed there.
Is there a South African psytrance scene?
Yes. It started to find its own sound in the early 2000s, with Cape Town at the centre. See our list of the 30 influential South African psytrance albums.
