Trance

The vocal is otherworldly, drifting away on oceans of galactic echo; the bass is wrapped in clouds, every note a gentle come-on ushering you deeper into sonic delight; and there's usually the sound of a waterfall. Welcome to that euphoric, spirit-lifting, blissed-out state of techno-happiness known as trance. The likes of ATB and Swiss wiz Robert Miles lead the way, on towards our Next Steps . . .

You'll believe a DJ can fly . . . trance has the power to defy gravity. Your transcendental pilots here include Irish trance-meisters Agnelli & Nelson, whose legendary status within the trance community has been secured by "El Nino" and "Everyday", as well as Tiësto (Holland's Tijs Verwest), who skilfully underlays Kirsty Hawkshaw's vocal on "Just Be". Deep Cuts follow . . .

The scales have fallen away, and true enlightenment is possible, now that you've made it to the visionary sector of our Trance Essentials: "psytrance" legend (that'll be another way of saying "psychedelic trance") Oforia will have you hurtling through time and space on the back of "Aqua Tech", while Marcos (Mark Dearden) packs enough afterburn on "La Proxima" to penetrate the outer limits.

The tentacles of trance are long and far-reaching — surrender to their inescapable embrace with these hypnotic Essentials, drawn from the dance-floor uplifters of Armin van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk; the acid-tainted trance of Simon Berry, who goes by the moniker Art of Trance, and lays down his signature birdsong on "Easter Island" and "Madagascar"; the remixed hard trance of Mauro Picotto (pump it up with "Back to Cali"); the head-spinning progressive trance of Humate . . . and many more sub-genres besides. Feels so good, you'll never want this ride to end.