Trance Awards

My Trance Story

Pierre Pienaar

Hailing from the forgotten parts of the planet aka Namibia, I was never going to stumble into trance through clubbing or radio. Our CD shops did stock some dance compilations which did start to peak my interest, and curiosity got the better of me. Thankfully through the power of internet (then still on dial-up) I was able to learn more and get exposed to different sounds and artists.

It was during the '99 era when I was 15 and people like Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren, Rank 1, ATB etc were producing absolutely mind-blowing tracks, which had hints from classical music with big and tense build-ups but with a driving beat to move your body to. The harder side of trance then also caught my ear, and the sounds of Dumonde, Cosmic Gate and Flutlicht took me on to get my initial niche... Hard Trance. From an enthusiastic trance listener I've worked my way to play for some of the leading promotions around the world, produce releases on prolific labels, be on remix duties for the likes of CRW, Lost Witness and Ratty, host my own weekly radio show Euphoric Sessions and more recently mix one disc of the Trance Sessions Solstice compilation CD. Now I'm heading the classic Nukleuz Green Records, which has brought artists to the scene like Alphazone, Mauro Picotto, DJ Energy, Joy Kitikonti and more.

Things on the Trance spectrum have been quiet since the '99 era but it's all picking up and this year was one of the best years Trance has had since '99, and it's looking to get even better in 2008. Epic melodies building up to explosive crescendos are back.

It's also starting to reach wider than the UK and Europe, as is evidence with the latest collaborative album from Nukleuz and the Newstate collective (Nebula & Maelstrom) which reached and held onto the #1 spot on the USA iTunes Dance album charts. Trance events are now held all over the world on a weekly basis in Australia, Africa, Asia, USA, Europe and the UK. "Trance is dead? Not likely!"

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