It was in the 1960s that the Indian beach haven of Goa became something of a hippie utopia, brimming with spiritual pursuits, parties, and a lot of drugs. The infamous beach parties were, at this point, soundtracked by live bands, with DJs playing merely to keep things going in between sets; that was until one momentous night in the late 1970s, when a visiting DJ decided to play a tape which included a track by Kraftwerk. It was purportedly the first time that techno had been introduced to the Goa crowd and it was immediately apparent that the style would have a huge influence on the state.
By the early 80s, DJ sets had become the norm over live bands. The scene became properly defined as Goa Trance in the 1990s, with the likes of Astral Projection and Total Eclipse perhaps best epitomising the style. That LSD was the go-to drug in Goa rather than European club favourite, Ecstasy, meant that, fittingly, this South Asian vein of electronic music had a far more psychedelic vibe. The hypnotic style was intended to bring about a spiritual state of transcendence from the body, inspired by ancient shamanic dances.
The sound reached its peak between 1994 and 1997, and was shaped by the paradise-like surroundings it developed in. Building upon trance, techno and a huge variety of other styles, the spacey sound was achieved through the frequent addition of classical Indian instruments such as the sitar and the sarod, played over a slow-building, energetic beat, along with an occasional sci-fi film sample.
The way in which the genre was played developed differently from the turntables of European electro, with DJs mainly using cassette tapes and then digital audio tapes, because vinyl was too prone to melting in the Indian heat. This lack of vinyl meant that Goa Trance failed to make it big on an international scale until it was picked up by Paul Oakenfold, who brought the genre over to Britain and popularised it in his sets.
Goa soon deteriorated as a party destination but, with the development of genres like Psytrance, the continuing influence of Goa Trance is very much alive.
