History buffs rejoice: a new online database compiling 155,000 classic trance tracks has been made available to the public.
Created to “compile all trance (and proto-trance) tracks made between 1988 and 2009,” the multi-page spreadsheet features track and artist names, time length, subgenre breakdowns for each entry, and links to their original YouTube uploads.
The man behind this massive project is Koncz Dávid–AKA TheTranceHistorian–who began building the list in 2022 while researching his new book on the history of the trance genre.
After determining that the database could be a “useful and valuable source of information for all trance lovers out there,” he published the finished project on the Trancefix online forum.
“The database is considered mostly finished, and it has almost every classic trance track ever made listed in it,” Dávid announced on Trancefix. “I say ‘mostly’ because I had to make some minor compromises to save a significant amount of work time.”
The database features iconic 90s trance tunes like Paul van Dyk’s “For An Angel” and Robert Miles’ “Children,” Tiësto’s 2004 hit “Traffic,” trailblazing works by The KLF, and thousands more releases from the first two decades of the global trance music movement. Dávid is confident that the list is at least 90% accurate.
Some omissions were made to streamline the process: the database does not include any tracks under four minutes in length, duplicates have been filtered out where possible, and radio edits and acapella versions are not included. The project focuses solely on vinyl releases, so cassettes and digitally released tracks don’t feature in the database either.
Dávid added that some “non-trancey” tracks have made it into the database, stemming from his belief that many users of the Discogs.com site, on which the project is based, “tend to use the term trance very liberally.” To combat this, he has shared the Classic Trance Curated Database, which filters the original database down to just the most essential songs based on artistic merit and his interpretation.
Check out the complete Classic Trance Database here and read more about the project from Koncz Dávid on the Trancefix forum.
Featured image from Paul Van Dyk via Facebook.
