Goa trance

History and character

Psychedelic trance born in the early '90s in Goa (India), the former Portuguese colony that became a hippie capital between the late '60s and the '70s. In the '80s the DJs at the beach parties — among them Goa Gil — played mixtapes traded among themselves (outside the label circuit) of EBM, new beat, synth-pop, acid house and techno, edited and slowed down for open-air nights. Between 1991 and 1993 the parties were held at Bamboo Forest (Anjuna), Disco Valley (Vagator) and on Arambol beach; in the same period a dedicated production style emerged, fusing trance, EBM, psychedelic rock, acid house, new beat and Indian classical music.

From 1993 Goa-style parties spread around the world: in London with Panjaea's Focal Point (1992), Megatripolis and Return to the Source (from 1993, last party in 2002); Paul Oakenfold's Essential Mix “Goa Mix” (1994) brought the genre to global attention. The “first wave” usually runs from 1994 to 1997, with artists such as Juno Reactor, Hallucinogen (Simon Posford; LSD, 1994; the album Twisted, 1995), Astral Projection, Man With No Name, The Infinity Project, Doof, Etnica, Eat Static, X-Dream and Total Eclipse, and labels such as Dragonfly, TIP, Flying Rhino and Blue Room Released (labels and list cited from general knowledge, not all verified against the sources of this entry). From the late '90s the sound evolves into psytrance; since the 2000s there has been a “neo-Goa” revival.

Aesthetic: psychedelic and spiritual journey, “Eastern” and cosmic melodies, long tracks (8–12 minutes) building to a climax; imagery of fluorescent paint, aliens, Hinduism and mushrooms; vocal samples from sci-fi movies.

Scales and keys

Convention: Roman numerals refer to the major scale on the same root (uppercase = major, lowercase = minor, ° diminished, ø half-diminished, + augmented; b/# = scale degree lowered/raised relative to major: in A minor F = bVI, G = bVII). Notes and chords below are calculated exactly from the formula.

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — steps: S T T T S T T
• On E: E F G A B C D
• Diatonic triads: Em i · F bII · G bIII · Am iv · Bdim v° · C bVI · Dm bvii
• Seventh chords: Em7 i7 · Fmaj7 bIImaj7 · G7 bIII7 · Am7 iv7 · Bm7b5 vø7 · Cmaj7 bVImaj7 · Dm7 bvii7
• Characteristic note: the b2 (F): the “dark Eastern” color behind many Goa riffs.
• Use: drone bass on the root, lead riffs E–F–G–A, i–bII chords.
• Common mistakes: using it without contrast: alternate it with phrases on the 5 and the b7.

Phrygian dominant

• Formula: 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7 — steps: S T+S S T S T T
• On E: E F G# A B C D
• Characteristic note: b2 (F) and major third (G#): the augmented second F–G# is Goa's most recognizable “Indian/Arabic” sound.
• Use: squelchy leads and main melodies; main chords E (I), F (bII), Am (iv), Dm (bvii).
• Common mistakes: playing a natural G in the bass under a lead with G#.

Double harmonic (Byzantine / raga Bhairav)

• Formula: 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 7 — steps: S T+S S T S T+S S
• On E: E F G# A B C D#
• Characteristic note: b2 (F), major third (G#), b6 (C) and major seventh (D#): two identical tetrachords with an augmented second; as a set of notes it matches the Indian raga Bhairav (Indian intonation, however, is not tempered).
• Use: long, “sacred” melodies, sixteenth-note riffs.
• Common mistakes: overdoing consecutive augmented seconds.

Harmonic minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 — steps: T S T T S T+S S
• On A: A B C D E F G#
• Diatonic triads: Am i · Bdim ii° · Caug bIII+ · Dm iv · E V · F bVI · G#dim vii°
• Seventh chords: Am(maj7) i(maj7) · Bm7b5 iiø7 · Cmaj7#5 bIII+maj7 · Dm7 iv7 · E7 V7 · Fmaj7 bVImaj7 · G#dim7 vii°7
• Characteristic note: the leading tone G# and the augmented second F–G#: dramatic and “classical.”
• Use: i–V cadences (Am–E) at the climaxes, epic leads.
• Common mistakes: G# over G chords.

Hungarian minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 #4 5 b6 7 — steps: T S T+S S S T+S S
• On A: A B C D# E F G#
• Characteristic note: #4 (D#) and 7 (G#): two augmented seconds, an intense exotic color.
• Use: “gypsy” and psychedelic leads over an A pedal.
• Common mistakes: building chord progressions on it: use it for melodies over a pedal.

How to choose between scales

The bass sits on a root pedal (drone); the leads choose the color: Phrygian for darkness, Phrygian dominant / double harmonic for the “East,” harmonic minor for the epic, Hungarian minor for intense exoticism. A Goa track often changes mode over the same pedal from one section to the next (e.g. Phrygian in the build, Phrygian dominant at the climax).

Harmony

Function

Modal and static: root drone/pedal in the bass, harmony implied in the melodies. Full chords are rare; pads and stabs support the modes.

Techniques

• Pedal with superimposed modal melodies (counterpoint of 2–3 leads).
• I–bII (E–F) and i–bII–bIII–bII.
• i–V cadences with a major dominant at the climaxes.
• Sixteenth-note arpeggios with tempo-synced delay.

Harmonic rhythm

Static; mode or pad changes every 16–32 bars.

Examples

• E pedal + Phrygian dominant lead.
• Am–F–E (i–bVI–V) at the climax.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Feel: straight, swing 0, kick on the quarter notes, bass in sixteenth notes (rolling .xxx or full sixteenth notes with accents) pulsing under the whole track.
• 909 percussion in sixteenth notes, many variations every 4–8 bars.
• Growth: layers added every 4–8 bars up to the climax, then thinning out.

Drums

Kick

On the quarter notes, low and round with a prominent sub; less short than modern psytrance ('90s: 909 or samples with more tail), fundamental 50–60 Hz.

Clap and snare

909 clap/snare on 2 and 4; 909 snare rolls in the transitions (often sixteenth notes over 2–4 bars).

Hi-hat

909 open hat on the offbeat, closed hats in sixteenth notes; ride in some sections.

Percussion

909 toms, synthetic perc, ethnic samples (tabla, bells), “squelch” rhythmic FX.

Dynamics and ghost notes

Drum machine accents; variations through muting/unmuting.

Interaction with the bass

Sixteenth-note drone bass on the root between the kicks; the kick must be short enough not to clash.

Sections

Long intro, layered build, main with lead 1, break with vocal sample and pad, build, climax with lead 2 and countermelodies, outro.

Fills and transitions

909 snare roll, filter sweeps, stops, crashes.

Sound choice

909, Akai/Yamaha/Ensoniq samplers, slightly “'90s” sounds (less compressed).

Typical mistakes

Modern kick that is too short and clinical; too much compression; no layer evolution.

Bass

• Sound: filtered saw or square synth (Juno, SH-101, MS-10, Bass Station, TB-303), sixteenth-note drone, sometimes with a slight filter opening on each note.
• Register: E1–E2.
• With the kick: on the sixteenth notes between the kicks (.xxx) or full sixteenth notes with a shorter note on the downbeat.
• Notes: root; occasional octaves.
• Rhythm: constant sixteenth notes for minutes: it is the “engine.”

Harmonic instruments

Cosmic pads (Juno, Jupiter), stabs, arpeggios, sampled sitar and Indian instruments, synthetic strings at the climaxes.

Melody and vocals

• Lead: squelchy (saw through a resonant filter), TB-303, FM leads; long sixteenth-note melodies in Phrygian/Phrygian dominant; 2–3 leads in counterpoint at the climax.
• Vocals: samples from sci-fi movies, speeches on psychedelia and spirituality, Indian chants.
• Effects: tempo-synced delay (dotted eighth, 3/16), long reverbs, flanger, phaser, pitch bend, resonances.

Instruments

Roland TB-303, Juno-60/106, SH-101, Korg MS-10, Novation Bass-Station, Roland TR-909, Akai, Yamaha and Ensoniq samplers, outboard effects (delay, flanger), Indian instrument samples.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Korg MS-20 V — Squelchy lead: Saw through the resonant LP filter with a fast env: the Goa “squelch” lead; close to the MS-10 used in the scene.
• Jun-6 V — Pad and drone bass: Cosmic pads with Chorus II; saw bass with a closed filter in sixteenth notes.
• Mini V — Bass: Pulsing sixteenth-note bass, decay 80–120 ms.
• ARP 2600 V — FX: Sample & hold, ring mod and noise for psychedelic FX.
• DX7 V — FM leads and bells: Metallic and “alien” timbres.
• Jup-8 V — Pads and strings: Wide pads and synthetic strings at the climaxes.

Song structure

8–12 minutes.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Warm-psychedelic, '90s: full low end but less “clinical” than modern psy, bright squelchy leads, wide stereo space with delays, wider dynamics. References: Hallucinogen — LSD, Juno Reactor, Astral Projection ('90s).

Kick

HP 30 Hz; +2 dB 55 Hz; −3 dB 300 Hz; +1 dB 3 kHz; light compression; mono.

Drone bass

HP 30 Hz; LP 600 Hz–1 kHz; compression 3:1; mono; light sidechain (2–4 dB) or none.

909 clap/snare

HP 200 Hz; plate 1.5 s; center.

Hi-hat and perc

HP 500 Hz; LP 14 kHz; wide panning; delay 1/16.

Squelchy leads

HP 200 Hz; dynamic EQ on the 1–4 kHz resonances; ping-pong dotted-eighth delay; flanger/phaser; reverb 2–3 s; L/R panning for the leads in counterpoint.

Pads and strings

HP 250 Hz; hall 4–6 s; wide.

Vocal samples

HP 150 Hz; long delay and reverb; center.

Buses and groups

Kick-bass bus, drum bus, lead bus, FX bus; tape.

Sidechain

Pad 4–6 dB; reverbs 4 dB.

Master

EQ → tape → compressor 1–2 dB → limiter. Target −9/−7 LUFS integrated (the original pressings were more dynamic), true peak −1 dBTP, crest factor 8–10 dB.

Common mistakes

Harsh resonances; too many leads at the same stereo position; modern master that is too squashed.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Hallucinogen — LSD (1994)
• Hallucinogen — Twisted (album, 1995)

Reference listening

• Paul Oakenfold — Goa Mix (Essential Mix, 1994)
• Hallucinogen — LSD (1994)
• Hallucinogen — Twisted (1995, album)
• Hallucinogen — The Lone Deranger (1997, album)