The Logic Off Topic list

> I think of DJ's as arrangers - and they are brilliant at it. The problem
is
> that most of techno/hard trance/ blah blah blah... is that its ALL
> ARRANGEMENT and NO SONG. And whats with all these genre names? house, trip
> hop, blah blah -.... its all just instrumental dance music with minor
> variation in bpm.

You are clearly missing the point of trance music.  It has a very specific
audience -   crowds people who dance in front of  massive sound systems
under the influence of MDMA or occassionaly LSD.  Producers and dj's will
not admit that on the record, as they influence young people and would not
want to be accused of condoning drug taking.  But it *is* what trance is all
about and millions of people dance to it every weekend, worldwide, as a
choice of lifestyle.

Trance is tailored to make these people dance.  It has been around for 8 or
9 years now,  plenty of time to evolve.   The reason that the basic stucture
and format of trance has not changed much is that it works so well as it is.
It's hard to explain why, but if you went clubbing and did the same as
clubbers do,  it would all become clear to you in a very short space of
time.

>OK, I'm showing my age. But
> clearly there have never been any "hit singles" from any of these artists,
> becasue they don't produce songs.

I don't know about age, but you are definitely showing your ignorance. What
you say is simply not true, there have been plenty of trance hit singles
including several no.1's in the UK at least.
Including:
Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky
ATB - 9pm 'til I Come
Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (went to no.1 all over Europe simultaneously)
Agnelli And Nelson - Everyday.
Fragma - Toca's Miracle.

There are *many* others that have reached very high chart positions.
National radio stations all over Europe play it and here in the UK at least,
you cannot watch tv without hearing some program or commercial using it.
America has not really picked up on yet, and in a way I'm glad of that.

Trance has it's particular structure and format because clubbers like it
that way and dj's recognise this when they see their reaction on the
dancefloor.  Most records are initially released in small quantities to dj's
who play them in clubs.  The ones that get a good reaction are usually
picked up and licensed to bigger record labels.    Many recordings that
ultimately become hits are made in small home studios, a very good thing for
up-and-coming artists.

A hit single is not the goal of every trance artist.   Most would be doing
it just to get a buzz and a feeling of pride hearing it played out at club
and seeing people enjoying themselves dancing to it.  Having a commercial
hit would be seen as a bonus.

I hope this has increased your understanding of why trance _is_ the way it
is.

Regards,  Hector.