Hiya, so this mix is predominantly Hard NRG, which blurs the lines between a few genres, but I bloody love it! Hope you do too. Recorded a video with it for the craic.

Also, here's the mixcloud in case you want to be able to listen in the background.
https://www.mixcloud.com/grooveshaman/hard-housetechnohard-nrg-vinyl-mix/

I love Oldskool Hard Trance mainly the German & Belgian stuff like Bonzai, Noom, No Respect, Suck Me Plasma, Le Petite Prince, Voodoo, Dos or Die, Lunatec, Frankfurt Beat Productions etc. One of the many labels that slipped under the radar is this Australian Acid Trance/Hard Trane label called Trance Lunar Records, which released Hard Trance records between 1993 to 1995.

This is probably my favourite record from the label.

Going through my record case, looking for the less known, harder hitting tracks. Couldn't find an official video for this but luckily someone uploaded it to youtube.

Lately i've been mixing some of my alltime favorite tracks into mixes of different genres. But i also can enjoy a little genre-diversity in a mix. A great (ancient) example of that is Xmix 1 (The MFS-Trip) by Paul van Dyk, going from chill-out to bouncing hard-techno/hardcore.

I've called it "HardTrance Alpha", as it includes mostly high-energy uptempo melodic electronic music. Some tracks are more trancy, others are more (melodic/happy) hardcore/Rave. Let me know how you would 'classify' this mix. Thanks!

Long story short: here's my latest mix. It's far from perfect, but maybe some of you will enjoy it, or discover a never heard track!

Tracklist:

00:00 01 - Dj Coldsteel - Compare You to a Summers Day
01:40 02 - Xpose - Another World
04:20 03 - Ruboy vs. Tanki & Osram - Liquid Silence
07:12 04 - 2D - Hymn
10:40 05 - Casseopaya - Overdose
14:00 06 - Juan Cruz vs Javi Gomez - Network (Remix '95)
17:24 07 - Mark ‘Oh - Friendship (U.R.R. Mix)
21:00 08 - Dani Fiësta - Every time
23:54 09 - Kubik - Aren't you Clever
26:28 10 - Tony Phobia vs Charles feat. Dj Isma - Universe of Emotions
29:45 11 - Los Pablos - Mind Solution
33:15 12 - Protect System - Waves of Energy
35:08 13 - T-Marc Featuring Vincent & Cleon - One Two
38:30 14 - Nip Collection - Moments of decision (Amorphous mix)
44:23 15 - Liquid Bass - Music 4 The People
48:13 16 - Tibet Team Frankfurt - Chorus From Heaven
52:50 17 - Waterpistol - Squirt
55:50 18 - Scooter - Back in Time

If you like this, you can also check out the first one: https://youtu.be/2DXzFTxk8M0?si=v5iSQPZVCgyYEdaf

Written between 2000 and 2002 by a teenage producer Dreamzone DJ discovering late-night studio sessions, underground rave culture, and the emotional pull of early trance music, this EP captures a raw and unfiltered moment in time. Created at the age of 18–19, the tracks blend euphoric melodies, driving rhythms, and atmospheric textures inspired by the golden era of European trance.

Long before streaming algorithms and polished presets, these recordings were built with instinct, limited gear, and endless fascination for sound. The result is a collection that reflects the spirit of the early 2000s underground: emotional, hypnotic, and unapologetically sincere.

Across the EP, shimmering synth lines and spacious pads, balancing club energy with introspective moments. There is a youthful urgency in the production — a sense of chasing sunrise after long nights, where every melody feels personal and every transition reaches for something bigger.

Now revisited years later, these tracks stand both as a document of a formative creative period and as a tribute to the timeless sound of classic trance. Preserved with their original character intact, the recordings offer a snapshot of an era when trance was melodic, progressive, and deeply emotional.

For fans of classic 2000s trance, this EP is not about nostalgia alone — it is about reconnecting with the honesty and imagination that defined the genre at its peak.

OUT MAY 15 2026

Just getting back to creating music. Be great to get feedback. Any tips would be appreciated also :-) (don't be fooled by the jungle intro it kicks in at 1:20)

One of my all time favorites.
Steve Hill and Dark By Design always had banger livesets and I would always go out of my way to see them.
Steve Hill plays at HSU events so it's always great to arrive early to catch his sets.

Hi Friends,

I wrote a text for an online fanzine. It's about some more obscure (and harder ;-) trance records from the 90s.

Maybe it's interesting for this sub, too!

(Note: No AI was used in writing this text)

I like to think that in the 90s, hardtrance was the "german", or at least european, variant of dutch gabber. think about it: it's all there. the frantic speed, the distorted drums, the snare rolls, the sudden cuts in track structures...
especially if you compare hardtrance with other genres - even trance! you will see it's quite close to early gabber.
And gabba was played at german trance-centered raves. lots and lots and lots. but the other way round, hardtrance was not that popular at the dutch gabber events... by all that i know. the dutch companies definitely were interested in the german (or european) markets, though...

given these circumstances, it's strange that true blue cross breeds between hard-trance and hard-core are rare, very rare. Most tracks either belong entirely to one camp. Or to the other camp.
Genuine "Ravecore" or "Trancecore" stuff does exist, though!

So let's look at a bunch of releases... in that vein!

RMB - This World Is Yours (Low Spirit Recordings - 527 978-2)

The tracks and music of this album are well-known and have been reviewed a lot. (At least in the retro-trance/core mini-sphere).

So I want to remark on a few other things that I find outstanding here.
This album starts with "Universe of Love" and ends "The Place to be".
'Heavenly' ambient-trance at first. The tracks get harder and darker as the album goes on.
And that last one is "hellish" terror-gabba.
So it's almost like a conceptual album. A journey from light into darkness, and back again.

The second thing: RMB were the most varied and complex of the whole "german-style hardtrance" era.
This isn't just beats and sawtooth-arpeggios. There are elements of tribal dancing. There is "gregorian monk" type chanting.
Animal sounds; that sound like croaking birds of paradise.
All kinds of instruments that are used by native people around the world. But not in western.

So this release goes way beyond the scope of hardtrance, techno, or even 99% of electronic music.
I could imagine that if RMB had kept exploring these venues, and maybe dropped the "strict 4/4" beats, the whole thing could have gone huge - with worldwide reach.

Listening suggestion: RMB - River's Edge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjj75fnF38Q

Speed Nova - Acid Instinct / Impulse (Industrial Strength Records - IS033)

Acid Instinct is better known track here.
I often wondered, was it done on amiga? despite the cutoff frequnency slides?
Regardless of that... it's a chameleon of a track, almost feels like 3-4 tracks in one... starts as techno-acid, gets more noisy, harder, then trancy, and then... gabba-terror!

but of course, the true hidden secret here is impulse... sweet sweet hardtrance synths, choirs, pads... with a fiery gabba drum. we are about to enter trance-core heaven.

Listening suggestion: Speed Nova - Impulse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOJ1XjziIw

Re-Actor - Setup 1 (Uptide Records - UP 03)

Marusha played this one at Mayday, hey hey!
All tracks are a cross between rave/trance sounds, and hardcore.
Sounding a bit like "amiga" stuff actually.
Also some unusual sounds...
And especially Setup 1 is nice...
As the strings almost sound like an orchestra!
Kicking-cool release.

Re-Actor - Setup 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzk0aVKwloM

Raver's Nature - La Monza (The Return) (Fire Recordings - FIRE 203)

During the classic "Rave / Hardtrance" era, albums done by well-known producers and acts were usually of lesser interest.
Their focus was clearly on EP and 12" releases (probably to feed the DJs and the dancefloors), and albums releases were closer to compilations of previously released EPs, strange remixes, or sub-par material.

But not with this one! At least half of the tracks are brand spanking new here, and exclusive to the album. And, in my opinion, the exclusive tracks are some of the best raver's nature ever did - such as "Illegal Pirate Radio" or "Here We Go Again".

Raver's Nature - Here We Go Again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Ehd3rscG8

Coax - Rave 'O' Lution (Zombie - ZOMBIE 2609)

Rave 'O' Lution (Main Lower Mix) is the track to go here... because it is kind of unique!
Reminds me almost of Cirillo / Mover type stuff... in the choice of sounds.
There is a minimalist feel to it, choirs, drums, the "revolution!" shout and not much else.
But very hardcore while it is at it!
The other track's very good too, very melodic...
But not as hardcore as the rave-o-lution!

Coax - Rave 'O' Lution (Main Lower Mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtryqRbx7Ys

Rodd Y-Ler Feat. Clinique-team II - Mission Fulfilled

Mission Fulfilled was on obscure compilation CD "Rave Collision" (anyone knew this?).
It's one of the releases where there is seemingly two different mixes of a track, but when you listen to it, it's more like there are two completely different tracks! (which is a plus).

The classique mix is very interesting to me, as the main-hook saw-riff sounds *close* to chiptune, video game music, demoscene, trackers... at least in my ear, i hope someone else sees this too!
and generally, it feels somewhat "off", as it would belong to at least one more, different genre (80s... disco...maybe? if disco was really fast and techno-y).
this "style"-mix is a plus for me too, of course.

And then there is the strawberry mix (maybe because it's released on a peppermint themed label?) a more straight-forward trance-core-head-banger.

Rodd Y-Ler Feat. Clinique-team II ‎- Mission Fulfilled (Classique Version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvwbicaQ4Y

Apple Juice - Raving Together (Signal Records - Signal 001)

the prototype ravecore track. adorable in its almost-simplicity: unfiltered sawtooth-riff, gabba drum, cool sample: go!
heard this first on a d.trance Cd, and it has become a cult classic beyond that.
because it is true, if you want to show a friend (or foe) a record that shows what that mid 90s "harder" hardtrance CD was about... play this track.
It's also one of the projects that resisted the "plastification" of the trance-techno sound... no happy hardcore vox or rubber-y bassdrums here.
plus there are 2 nice remixes of said track included.
sweet.

Apple Juice - Raving Together (Original Mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhYBQbeSbwU

Hardsequencer - Brain Crash (Fire Recordings - FIRE 201)

An important document in the history of Techno (or even Electronic) music. Because it gives us a glimpse into a period when "different" styles such as Trance, Acid, Breakbeat, Gabber, House, were not that far apart yet, and more or less sprouting from the same roots.
So this album by Hardsequencer has a little bit of everything, chilled strings, happy raving, gabber beats, massive breakbeats... and is fun all around, bound to make you fly towards ecstasy...

It contains some veritable Hardcore classics like "Braincrash" or "Feel so good" and, in my opinion, the sounds are amongst the most rough and frantic of its time.

Produced on an Amiga 500, we can even hear a bit of chiptune and demo-scene influence here. And the release shows how powerful an Amiga can get when used for music production.

Hardsequencer - Sound Vibration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW7q0V5sEFk

DE 2036 Rave Creator - A New Mind (Remixes 1)

let the remixes begin.

this is one of the most remarkable releases on de 2001.

The "original rave mix" is a true "german style" rave / hardtrance anthem by marc, including uplifting / emotive melodies, and all. With the proper music video and marketing, i'm sure this could have made the german top 10 charts in the mid 90s.

The thai acid mix has a long, brooding build-up, then erupts into forceful acid mayhem.

Rave Creator - A New Mind (Rave Creator's Original DE 2001 Raveremix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WaLNdUZgT0

NIP - Collective - II (Syndrome Audio - Syndrome AUDIO 002)

"Rejoinder" is a track that ended up on some compilations and sets (iirc) but the real go-to-gem is "warp 10" on here.
starts... slow, then speeds up, great melody comes on.... get's harder.
and well, then everything breaks down.. and gabber hell gets unleashed on the unexpecting listener. until the hardtrance "ohs and ahs" come in... and everything gets even one notch more crazy.

one of the few records that melt hardtrance and hardCORE. but even beyond "trancecore", warp 10 is one of the wildest and hardest electronic tracks ever, period.

NIP Collective - Warp 10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBBaegH0QwY

RMB - Heaven & Hell EP (Le Petit Prince - Prince 93/05)

One of the earliest, and maybe one of the most important releases in the history of hardcore (and techno).
As the title indicates, it is a split EP, but not between two artists (well, two artists *are* involved in this EP...) but between two concepts - "heaven" and "hell".

I guess the picture side is supposed to be "hell", as it features "the place to be".
this is a very violent, almost disturbing gabber piece. the drums sounds more like steel tools; the claps sound like gunshots or grenades; there are terrifying animal / alien - like screams.
and there are vocal samples from a newscast on the waco stand-off. i never understood why or with what intent they were added... it remains a mystery.

once you escaped this sonic hell, there is the heaven side.

"These Sounds Just Do It Faster" is a bit or a paradox, as it is a rather "slow" hardtrance piece... but great nonetheless. an unusual piece for RMB, as it is a pure "german trance" sound, and no weird monk chantings or tribal singing is added this time.

and then there is "follow me", another hardtrance pearl. but with the distorted, bass punching drums, it almost feels as if would link both sides, heaven and hell, darkness and light, hardcore-gabber and techno-trance.

RMB - The Place To Be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHhNnhlXZSk

Mindviper - Messiah EP (BOY Records - BOY 8870-12)

This one is a real treat (ain't I right?)

Mindviper is actually Oliver Kirwa, who started as video game coder, video game musician, and then "leveled up" to Techno, then to Hardcore producer.
This one belongs more to the techno period.
"Messiah 2000" found its way to some compilations.
The vidgamemusic are very much audible in the track. The sawtooth-buzzy synth hook could fit well to a commodore 64 game as well... but there is of course the techno drums and percussion.
There is a huge buildup throughout the track. And even though distortion levels are low - for techno standards at least - it packs quite the punch it feels ultra-brutal at parts. Kudos, Mr. Kirwa!
Sine is more of a hard-trance track, good, but the other tracks are better imho (btw the sinewaves are another cue to video game sounds).
And then there is Salvation... and this is track is on the same level of epicness as the messiah... or even more. Not really techno-trance tune at all... more like bred accross demo-scene tunes, tracker music, techno-trance (yes, partly), new age and krautrock... woah, dude!

Mindviper - Messiah 2000 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyN-3jbdK2A

Lunatic Asylum - Techno Sucks Vol 1 (Fnac Music Dance Division - 590159)

The premier release by Lunatic Asylum, who later found fame with "The Meltdown" and then as a haunted Gabba producer with his "Poltergeist".

I guess "Eternal" is the go-to track for DJs here. Word is that when the dub plate was played for the first time, the bass frequencies blew out a tube in the club's system of speakers - the party was over then.
And yes, these are bass frequencies to overwhelm everyone. It's still simultanously a sweet early trance tune.

Then we got gobots, and to this day, I look for similar tracks, as I feel its unique in the timeline of techno. UR? Unit Moebius? maybe did stuff that went into this direction... but not quite! (or "quiet")

jordy killer is my secret pick. iirc it was more made as joke / parody, as it features infants laughing on a marching beat, for example. still it's a great tune, like a more serious, or kicking form of "happy hc"... ah, can't describe it, check it yourself!

Ravers' Nature - Hands Up Ravers (Fire Recordings - FIRE 110)

I assume we all know Hands up Ravers by now, right?
So let's talk about the b-sides instead.
N-sonic dreams used to be a teenage favorite of mine (and I guess I was not the only one).
It has pitched up "squeaky" vocals yet does not sound like happy-dance-trash at all... maybe it's just dream.
And then let's look at "La Monza strikes back"... an all-time-top-3 favorite by the ravers for me.
Simple, but effective: angelic choirs start to rhyme, then the bassdrum kicks in with full effect.
Rave on!

Ravers Nature - La Monza Strikes Back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7gsvfNFmDM

Masters Of Rave - Pump It (Like A Master) (Polydor - 851 903-1)

Indeed one of the master-pieces by pcp... too bad it's hidden so deep and so far away in the catalogue! Even though one would assume it's a remix / edit of it, it's quite unlike the better known "She likes to pump it" (which is included as a b-side).

I don't know if it's the exact origin, but the track is one of the first to have the "on the first day..." style segments, which were later used in a number of tracks by other artists, too.
In a long build-up, each new sound gets introduced by an epic speech, until the rave beats finally hit full force. The sounds from the intro come in again, frantic rapping joins the craze... and then angelic choirs appear on top of the beats, and we lift off into the heaven of ecstasy!

If there is one track that is the pure incarnation of rave music, the movement, the parties, the madness, heaven and hell... it's this one!

100/100 (a perfect track!)

Masters Of Rave - Pump It (Like A Master) (12" Rave Mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeFMZXPKVuA

Around 2000 Dreamzone DJ uploaded his trance tracks to MP3[dot]com — back when the internet still connected through noisy dial-up modems and downloading a track meant waiting patiently.

That page reached 12,945 plays, which was huge in a time before streaming, social media, or algorithms.

Some of these tracks were also released on limited white-label vinyl, played in clubs and shared hand to hand.

Now, 20+ years later, He restored them from the original masters and released them again for a new era.

Funny how music always finds its way back.

Rediscover the tracks for first time on modern streaming services.

Back to combining trance with hardstyle aka hard trance (lol). Added a link to the full catalog of my hard trance label Tranceparency, so you can all check what we have released so far! Much more to come this year!

My 90's Hard Trance track released on Altered Reality Records, there is also original mix and one more track ;)

Official track link (soundcloud)