What it sounds like
Psychedelic trance — psytrance — was born in Goa, India in the early 90s when DJs from Israel, the UK, and the rest of Europe converged on the beach scene with DAT tapes, modular synths, and large quantities of LSD. Acts like Hallucinogen (Simon Posford), Astral Projection, and Infected Mushroom built the sound: a relentless 140–150 BPM offbeat bassline + modal lead lines + alien sound design that still soundtracks forest festivals from Boom (Portugal) to Universo Paralello (Brazil) to Ozora (Hungary).
A bar in and you’ve got it: a kick on every quarter note at 140–150 BPM, an offbeat bassline (the iconic “psy-bass” — eighth notes between the kicks), and modal arpeggios in Phrygian or Hijaz scales drifting across the chord changes. The sound design is otherworldly — ring modulation, granular synthesis, FM glitches, ethnic samples chopped beyond recognition.
The chord moves
Psytrance loves modal/chromatic descents more than diatonic harmony. The classic move is i–VII–VI–i in natural minor, but Phrygian (with the b2) and Hijaz (with the b2 and major 3) modes are also common — they give the genre its “Eastern” / “Middle Eastern” / “psychedelic” color.
Use --key "F# minor" --chord minor --pattern arp and let the lead lines wander modally over a static bass.
The groove
Kick on every quarter note at 140–150 BPM, hard and dry. Offbeat bassline on the eighth notes between kicks — this is the “1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and” pattern that defines psytrance. Open hat on the 16th-note offbeats for forward momentum. Snare is rare; when present, it’s on bar 4 for accent.
The bassline AND the kick are the rhythm engine — they lock in tightly and don’t budge for 8 minutes. All variation comes from filter sweeps, lead-line evolution, and FX automation.
The sounds
- Bass: short-decay saw bass on the offbeat eighth notes. Filter modulated by an LFO synced to the kick. Punchy, mono.
- Kick: tight 909-derivative kick on every quarter. Sub-tuned for impact.
- Lead/arp: detuned saw or FM patch playing modal arpeggios. Long delay and reverb tails. Filter movement across 16-bar phrases.
- Pad: optional, low in the mix. Sustained drone.
- FX: ring-modulated noise, vocal samples (often spoken-word philosophical samples — Terence McKenna, Alan Watts), granular pads, alien glitch sounds.
Production tells
Want it modern? Cleaner low end, more refined sound design, less noise. Modern psytrance (progressive psy, full-on revival) is more polished while keeping the tempo and offbeat bass.
Want it 1998-Goa-vintage? Saturate the bass. Use older synths (Nord Lead, Access Virus). Lots of trippy vocal samples. Wider stereo on the leads. Master at -10 LUFS for analog warmth.
F#m → Em → Dm → F#m
Click to hear it.
Listen to
Three records that show the style at full strength. Read them as listening pointers, not templates to copy.
Coolio
Astrix
listen ↗
Becoming Insane
Infected Mushroom
listen ↗
Mystery of the Yeti
Ace Ventura
listen ↗
Six recipes
Six ways to cook Psytrance.
One starter recipe, three variations that each take the style in a different direction, one sectioned recipe, and one curated Live handoff recipe. Each one cooks from a Markdown recipe — edit it before the MIDI lands in your DAW.
Starter
Rolling Modal Gate
A psytrance first cook with up-down arps, rolling bass, root drones, and a restrained trance pluck.
Study: Astrix, “Deep Jungle Walk” (2016). Use the reference for psychedelic drive, modal restraint, and evolving sequencer pressure, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/psytrance/psytrance_rolling_modal_gate.mdVariation
Dusk Pedal Hypnosis
A darker pedal lane with trance gates, pedal bass, and fifth-drone support.
Study: Vini Vici, “The Tribe” (2015). Use the reference for psychedelic drive, modal restraint, and evolving sequencer pressure, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/psytrance/psytrance_dusk_pedal_hypnosis.mdVariation
Goa Arp Spiral
A brighter arp-bass-top lane with acid bass support and high shimmer for spiral tension.
Study: Infected Mushroom, “Becoming Insane” (2007). Use the reference for psychedelic drive, modal restraint, and evolving sequencer pressure, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/psytrance/psytrance_goa_arp_spiral.mdVariation
Ratchet FX Cells
A ratcheted cell sketch with acid bass, cluster pad color, and tiny call-response fragments.
Study: Ace Ventura, “Presence” (2015). Use the reference for psychedelic drive, modal restraint, and evolving sequencer pressure, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/psytrance/psytrance_ratchet_fx_cells.mdSectioned
Hypnotic Tunnel Sketch
A section-aware psytrance sketch that evolves one modal cell through density and register.
Study: Liquid Soul, “Devotion” (2009). Use the reference for psychedelic drive, modal restraint, and evolving sequencer pressure, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/psytrance/psytrance_hypnotic_tunnel_sketch.mdLive handoff
Live Psy Drive
A Live psytrance session with section clips, synth cards, and licensed FX/percussion prompts.
Study: Electric Universe, “The Prayer” (2007). Use the reference for psychedelic drive, modal restraint, and evolving sequencer pressure, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/psytrance/psytrance_bridge_ready_psy_drive.mdReady when you are
Cook a Psytrance pack.
Drop this in your terminal and you'll have a Standard MIDI pack in a folder, ready to drag into Live. Edit anything, swap any sound, throw out what doesn't work.
python jamburgr.py --key "F# minor" --style psytrance --progression i,VII,VI,i --pattern arp --output-mode pack --out ./jams/psytrance