Trance Awards

My Trance Story

Fabio Stein

Trance came into my life around the year 2000. Back then we didn't have a trance scene in Brazil, no DJs, no parties, nothing... so it was really hard to enjoy this music. I mainly relied on mix CDs from Gatecrasher, Euphoria, Godskitchen and the one that made me literally fall in love with trance for good: "MTV Ibiza 2000: The Party (CD 2)". Later on, some trance jocks began to appear in a very popular brazilian festival called Skol Beats, hearing that music live was absolutely mind-altering. I remember one of the arenas was hosted by Gatecrasher, so this pushed me to travel to the UK and visit the Summer Sound System event in 2002... that was it: I realized I couldn't live without that music and had to do something to make that happen in Brazil too.

Since the beginning I had several influences, each one was very important and is part of who I am today. My first influence was Altern 8, they made my love for electronic music begin when I didn't even know what it was all about. They're still a very big influence in my music (just hear my recent "Panic Mode" track and you might get the picture!). After them, Carl Cox was the DJ who inspired my djing skills during my first steps... I learned so much by just watching/hearing him go on his gigs! Following, we have Danny Tenaglia, who thaught me how to tell an epic story and drive the crowd thru an unbelievable journey, just using records. So these were my primal influences, when I wasn't even able to properly tell the difference between house, techno and trance.

After I discovered trance, many names influenced me at the beginning, such as Paul Oakenfold, Ferry Corsten, Paul van Dyk, Mauro Picotto, Rank 1 and Nu NRG. Each one of them used to make unbelievable music (and/or DJ mixes) who touched me in so many levels, in many different times in my life. Today, I can say that I have two main influences: producer-wise, Sander van Doorn is currently changing my life in the studio, his music has completely changed and updated the face of trance and beyond, you just can't label his music (which is amazing); DJ-wise, Judge Jules has a very unique way to get the party started when on the decks, he's my mentor and an amazing DJ who plays for the crowd... it's party music at its best! Of course I have lots of respect also for Eddie Halliwell, as his djing skills are absolutely mind-blowing.

If I could go back in time it wouldn't be that far, actually. There are two moments that I would love to live again. I would go back to my recent summer tour in Europe and play again in all those amazing clubs and events, each night was absolutely fantastic. The one at Judgement Sundays @ Eden, in Ibiza, was unbelievable, amazing, emotional... out of this world! Playing in Ibiza was a dream come thru! I'd also love to re-visit the first time we (the Energy BR staff) did our trance event, called State Of Trance (no relation to Armin's show, just a weird coincidence...), at the Anzu club, in Brazil. Putting our event in one of Brazil's best clubs, packed up with 2.000 people, after so many years struggling for a breakthrough was another dream come true.

Geographically speaking, I think the best place in the world to enjoy trance is the UK. I love the variety of music you can find there: it can be fast, slow, cheesy, underground, hard, light... you can have it all! It seems like the UK has a little bit of everything for everyone... and, in my opinion, this is how it should be everywhere in the world. I think variety is very important, is the very thing that creates motion and recycles life. What's the point in going out if you know exactly what you're going to hear the whole night? DJs should be able to hit all the spots of any crowd, and the crowd should go out to have fun and enjoy good music, regardless of the genre.

One of the things I love about trance is the fact that its definition is completely vague. After all, what defines trance? Gated supersaws with dramatic chord progressions? Reverbered hi-pitched long snares? Synthetic arps? I think those are just instruments... I think what defines trance itself is the mind of the listener. You can fall into a trance listening to tribal sounds, progressive house, hypnotic techno or even new age tracks. So here's the beauty of it, it can be everywhere, and everything can be trancey. You just need to open your mind. ;)

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