Trance Awards

My Trance Story

Michael Dow

It all started for me back in 98 or 99. Staying in at a weekend when I was 12 was a common thing... one night I was listening to Radio 1 and the Judge was on. I was hearing tunes like System F - Out Of The Blue & Jonah - Listen and I instantly knew it was for me. All the other kids in my school were listening to UK Garage at the time, and when I tried to get people to listen to Trance, I was laughed at and called some offensive names! I took no notice however and eagerly awaited every weekend with Judge Jules. As the years went on, I built up my collection of CD's and listened to nothign but trance! I was always frustrated at my elder brother going out clubing when I wasn't old enough, that really got to me!

I guess I'll be forever thankful to Jules for this, he'd always been a DJ that I look up to, his selection has always been great, varying from techno, hard house, trance and house within the same set. His abilty to play whatever HE wants and 99% of the time make it work always has me in awe. I've always loved variety, and have never been one to keep listening to the same type of trance over and over. A good mix of all is what wins for me and I try to get this across in my productions and DJ sets.

I veered away from trance in about 2002 and got really into my hard house, and have met some of the most amazing mates from it. I got back into trance again in 2005 when tech trance started coming around. Sander Van Doorn's tunes like "Anthem" and "Dark Roast", and Signum's 2004 mix of "Second Wave" are some tunes that really lured me back to trance. The atmosphere in trance these days is incredible, the soundscapes and squelchy basses really do it for me.

I wish I could say I was back at gatecrasher in 99-2000, but unfortunately I was still far too young! I feel I missed a large part of the clubbing world and I blame my parents for not having me sooner!

I think the trance sound has helped shape who I am today, and I'm sure it will continue to shape my life in the future.

« Back