Hard Trance is a funny one. On one hand it is hard and driving trying to distinguish itself away from the rest of trance which on the whole is softer and less (hard) yet on the other hand it still has the elements that make it uplifting and like the rest of trance. This however is a great benefit to the music as it can be played by a greater variety of DJ's and be put into a greater number of mixes. For instance, at a trance event Hard Trance may be added to the mix nearer the end of the night as the logical progression from warm up trance (at the begining), to uplifting (at peak time), to hard (post peak time). However, at say a Hard Dance event Hard Trance may be used as the warm up music before the much more hard and driving music such as Hard House is played later on.
That was my bad account on Hard Trance.....The following is from BalistiK who knows his Hard Trance a bit better than I do!....Thanks Man!
Hard Trance originated in Germany in the early to mid 90's and is one of the earliest forms on Trance. It was one of the most common forms of Trance throughout the decade, characterized by strong kicks, with a very dry and heavy sound. Now it is much more rare compared to other forms of Trance and House music, but still has a close fanbase world wide. The Hard Trance sound varies from classic trance with its emphasis on harder, often acid sounds. The beat is very strong, and the lead synths or pads are simpler, but still retain their melodic, "trance-like" nature. The "hoover" sound, so named, due to its "vacuum-like" drone, (eg: Human Resources - Dominator) is used infrequently as of late, giving way to harsher lead melodies through synths or pads. Recently, a difference in production styles between the two stables of hard trance has developed, splitting the genre into what is commonly known as European hard trance, which can contain darker elements, and shares common production techniques with hardstyle such as the familiar off beat bassline and snappy snarerolls, which sets its roots in trance's heyday, with wide, epic synths and rolling, often "bubbling" basslines. Tempo varies from 140 to 145 beats per minute. Jones & Stephenson's track, "The First Rebirth" was one of the first hard trance tracks ever made, even though its bpm speed is actually that of hardcore music.
and heres a little Hard Trance vs Hard House....and telling them apart, thanks to DanTheDoc!
Hard House to me has always been the kind of 'Hoovers and Horns' style followed relentlessly by people like The Tidy Boys, Lisa Lashes etc. This can range in different 'Hardnesses' with the Tidy Boys being quite soft and someone like Paul Glazby being on the harder end of the scene and Anne Savage floats between the two.
Hard Trance to me is purely just a harder version of Trance, much harder beats but still with the melodies which is why I like it. I think one of the main differences is in Trance, the bass is a melody in itself and each bit of bass can be heard whenever but you'll notice that in Hard Trance, the bass is always a small stab in each offbeat. It will follow a melodic route but you can never usually hear it when the beat is sounding, in Trance you can.
Hard Dance has very similar sounding beats and percussion to Hard Trance but doesn't have as melodic a tune, if it has a tune at all.
Here are a few examples of some classics:
Hard Trance: Arome - Hands Up (DJ Scot Project Mix)
Gaz West - Playing With Fire (Dark by Design mix)
Hard Dance: Dark By Design - Severe Punishment
Avaline - Never Sever
Hard House: Tony De Vit - Are You Ready?
Lisa Lashes - Unbelievable
A good example of a song that is almost Hard Trance because of melodies but almost Hard House because of percussion is Heaven's Cry - Till Tears Do Us Part.
Hardcore and Freeform are completely different styles... but also quite similar.......... lol
