What is Trance?

Trance is melodic electronic dance music — usually 130–140 BPM — defined by long builds, euphoric breakdowns, and arpeggiated synth lines written to lift a whole room at once. It emerged from early-1990s Germany and peaked through the late-'90s superclub era, carried by figures like Armin van Buuren and Above & Beyond into a global festival tradition that never really left. A trance DJ set is a structured emotional arc — tension, release, repeat — the genre most associated with hands-in-the-air catharsis, and one built for full-length listening rather than single tracks.