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What Exactly Is Uplifting Trance?
It’s the music we love so much. Euphoric, emotional, energetic, epic, dreamy, melancholic, sad – sometimes all of it at the same time.
But let’s be real: if you tell someone you listen to trance, they probably just have a broad idea of that 90s electronic dance music sound in their head – if they have an idea about it at all. If you’re on the younger side, you might think of the new bouncy, groovy movement made popular by artists like Marlon Hoffstadt, DJ Heartstring, or Benwal. If you’re lucky, they at least know Armin van Buuren and Tiësto – two icons who played a huge part in taking the sound global, even if they’ve explored many other genres over the years. They might also know Above and Beyond’s Anjuna family, our beloved brothers and sisters that took the beautiful trance sounds and went more towards the progressive than the uplifting.
Or maybe they’re a long time raver and know German legend Paul van Dyk. In that case, we’re getting close. Because if you’re here, you know that uplifting trance is its own thing. It’s the high-energy, melodic, and emotional side of the scene that’s less about being cool in a dark basement or just jumping around like crazy and more about that massive, melodic energy. It’s the type of trance where, when you close your eyes, you feel like you’re flying to outer space – entering another dimension that isn’t dark or trippy, but pure euphoria. In many cases, an uplifting trance tune will also invoke sad, melancholic emotions at the same time – a mix of feelings that uplifting trance fans love so much.
Or maybe one of your friends loves uplifting trance and sent this link to you to share it. And you’re actually keen to learn more about it. In that case, welcome to the world of uplifting trance!
Here’s a breakdown of what makes the sound tick and why people like us are still obsessed with it in 2026.
“I don’t want to read. Where can I listen to uplifting trance?”
We’ve got you covered. Check out our recommended playlist on Spotify.
Wanna learn more about uplifting trance? Then keep reading.
Blurred Lines Between Genres
Of course, music genres aren’t always easy to define; the lines are constantly blurred. You’ll find incredible tracks that sit exactly on the fence – a little too slow for classic uplifting, or maybe a little too heavy on the kick drum for traditional progressive. At what point does a slower, emotional song turn from uplifting to progressive trance? At what point does a high energy banger turn into hard trance? How many elements from techno, goa or psytrance can you borrow while still being labeled as an uplifting trance song?
At the end of the day, terms like “uplifting trance,” “tech-trance,” “hard trance”, and “progressive trance” or even “goa” or “psytrance” are really just helpful labels to communicate a vibe and sound design. You will also spot the similarities to genres like euphoric hardstyle, peaktime techno, house, progressive (festival) house, big room EDM, melodic techno, etc – obviously electronic music genres share a lot of similarties partly evolved from each other. Still, these labels are very helpful, because when we hear a song that, for us, is the true definition of uplifting trance, we will simply love it. And, unfortunately, our genre is somewhat fighting for survival.
Then, as mentioned before, there is the new trancy movement taking over the younger generation. You might have heard it called neo trance, neo rave, euro trance, bouncy trance, hard groove, or hard bounce. Heavily influenced by hard house and techno, this sound is fast, fun, and often high-energy. Similarly to the 90s and 2000s eurodance, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and might remix a popular pop song to really get everyone moving on the dancefloor. As a matter of fact, if you’re on the younger side of the scene, this might be the only “trance” you’ve encountered so far. While it shares some DNA with the classic uplifting sound, it’s quite a different world. For us uplifting fans, we’re often happy that this movement is bringing back certain sounds and elements, but it doesn’t scratch the same itch as uplifting does. As only uplifting does for us.
The Uplifting Trance Recipe: 138-140 BPM And Lush Sounds
You can usually spot an uplifting track by the tempo. While, of course, there is no clear cut rule about what tempo an uplifting trance song should have and artists do and should experiment with other tempos, it feels like 99% of uplifting trance songs have a BPM (beats per minute) of 138 or 140. It just seems to be a sweet spot where we find the perfect blend of energetic beats and emotional melodies. Slower BPM often lean towards more progressive music; faster BPM might start heading into psy trance, hard trance or neo trance territory. To put that into perspective: most pop songs or house tracks have much lower BPM. A lot of modern (hard) techno is even faster than 140 BPM.
The core ingredients are pretty straightforward:
The “Rolling” Bass: This is the engine of the track. It’s that driving, triplet bassline that makes you want to move. Unlike the dark, industrial “rumble” you often hear in modern hard techno, a trance bassline feels soft but strong at the same time. It has a deep, rhythmic “thump” that stays clean and melodic, providing a solid foundation that feels like a constant heartbeat under the lead.
The Breakdown: This is the part where the beat drops out completely. No drums, no percussion – just melodies, lush pads, and atmospheric textures. It’s meant to build tension, and in uplifting trance, these breakdowns can be famously long. This is where the “epicness” or the melancholy really hits you. It’s also the perfect moment for vocals to be layered in, adding a human touch to the electronic soundscapes before the energy builds back up. You might also find beautiful piano or strings melodies here more often than in other electronic music genres or you might find the famous trance pluck melodies played similar lush sounds as the main leads, but a bit shorter (“pluckier”) instead of those epic soaring “wall of sound” parts.
The Lead: When the beat finally comes back (the “drop”), it’s usually accompanied by a massive, thick synth melody. These sounds are typically lush, warm, and soft, yet they remain incredibly strong and energetic. You’ll often hear them in very fast, arpeggiated rhythms playing short 16th notes that dance on top of the rolling bass. It’s loud, it’s emotional, and it’s meant to be the absolute climax of the set. Usually, this energetic melody will also already be placed right before the drop as part of the “build up”. Ask a techno fan and they might tell you that the build up is too long and, hence, boring. They might be like “Where is the beat? When does it finally come back?”, but for us, it’s exactly right. It builds excitement and energy and builds the bridge from the emotional, maybe even sad breakdown to the huge energy release that happens in the drop.
The Journey of an Uplifting Trance Song (Extended Version)
Depending on the mixing style of the DJ, in trance, you will usually hear the extended versions of the songs (as opposed to shorter versions like the radio edits that are most common on Spotify, etc.). You can also find these extended versions of most songs on platforms like Spotify and YouTube, if you search for them. Essentially, this just means that the intro and outro parts of the songs are much longer which makes mixing and transitions much easier because outro to intro transitions are the most common. But it’s not just a technical tool for DJ mixing. It’s also part of what makes the listening journey so great for us.
When people talk about DJ sets, they often talk about being taken on a journey. While some critics say this might be a bit corny, there is some truth to that. And speaking of uplifting trance, to some of us, even one single track already does the same. It takes you an a journey.
The Kick And Bass Intro: Driving, rolling, keeps you moving and anticipating what will come next. The kick is strong, hard, and thumbing, yet still feels somewhat soft. Nice to the hear. Blends well with the melodic parts that will come later. It doesn’t feel too rough or dark like a whip. It doesn’t sound too agressive or screechy like a siren. It feels just right. The bass is rolling. Keeps you engaged. It’s somewhat hypnotic, but not too trippy. Add some acid sounds to it and it almost feels like a mini melody to keep you going.
The Pads For The Epic and Emotional Breakdowns: Here’s where we take a breather from the dancing. We might close our eyes, lift our arms, and just fly into space. Maybe our hands play a little pluck or piano melody in the air. If it feels more euphoric, we just let go and feel like we’re in an outer galaxy. If it feels more emotional, we might also embrace the melancholy or the sadness and just feel what we feel. In any case, it feels great.
The Buildup: Now, the main melody and the main lead sounds have come in. We’re picking up the pace again and dancing like crazy. We might still play the top melody in the air, but in most cases, now it’s way faster, often driven by 16th note arppegios. It might still be a slower and super emotional melody, but chances are high that we are now entering euphoria territory or, at least, a mix of euphoria and sadness where we’re not even sure what exactly it is we’re feeling. At this point, others might say it’s taking too long. But for us, this feels amazing. The energy keeps rising and rising.
The Drop/Climax: This is the moment where all the energy gets released. The kick and bass come back in and accompany the melody. The melody keeps playing! In many electronic genres, even if the song has a trance-like buildup, the melody is taken away again in the drop, which, for many uplifting trance fans like us, is such a letdown moment and actually drains all the energy instead of releasing it. Most uplifting trance songs just combine it together now: the melody and the kick and bass. Explosion! Now we do all kinds of things. Punching the air to go with the kick and bass? Dancing around? Still singing or playing the along to the melody? Don’t forget the counter melody that still sneaks in here and there!
The Kick And Bass Outro: And, finally, back to square one. The thumping kick and the driving, rolling bassline, maybe some acids are the focus again. The energy goes down a little tiny bit, but stays high as we anticipate which song will come next. Can you spot the next song already as soon as it slowly gets mixed in? That’s also great moment to experience in live sets where you can go like “Yeaaahh I know this song and I love this song”.
Now, of course, there is no clear cut rule about this structure. Obviously, an uplifting trance song may also be built differently. But in general, this is a journey that applies to a lot of (uplifting) trance songs. And of course, it is also a bit simplified. Don’t sleep on more choruses and verses or mini breakdowns, second drops, and so on.
“It will last forever” – A Quick (Uplifting) Trance History
Trance started blowing up in the late 90s, mostly coming out of Germany and the Netherlands. You had artists like Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren, and Tiesto taking the early, hypnotic trance sound and making it bigger and more melodic. There is actually an infamous interview from 1999 where a young Ferry and a young Tiësto shared their common love for the more melodic side of the scene – and back then, they already talked about how this music “touches people in the heart” because of those melodies. In the video linked below (at the 5:31 timestamp), there is also the famous scene where the interview asks Tiesto how long this trance music trend will last and Tiesto simply answers “It will last forever”. A quote which, based on what we know so far, has turned out to be true as trance is still here.
Watch on YouTube: Ferry Corsten & Tiësto (Gouryella) Interview [1999]
As the interviewer asks “The music that you’re producing and playing is trance, but how long do you think it will last?”, Tiesto responds: “It will last forever. I think this kind of house music really touches people in the heart because of the melodies and you see people are more fanatic when they hear trance music.”
Well said by arguably the godfather of trance already back in the day in 1999.
The uplifting trance sound also gained massive popularity in the 90s and 2000s when the big eurodance hype hit the top of the charts. While those songs are not always celebrated by hardcore uplifting trance fans – usually because they regard them as too poppy, mainstream, or cheesy – they did share a lot of sound elements and song structures. Similar things could be said about the happy hardcore, classic euphoric hardstyle, and hands up movements from back in the day.
Some (more or less uplifting) trance songs that hit the charts and were played on national tv shows back then are still beloved by trance fans and played by DJs in their live sets today – for example Ian Van Dahl’s “Castles in the Sky,” Ratty’s “Sunrise” (fun fact: Ratty was actually an alias of Scooter), Robert Miles’ “Children”, Paul van Dyk’s “For An Angel” or Cosmic Gate’s “Exploration of Space”.
The trance scene really faded out of the mainstream when the big edm wave entered the scene around 2010. Household names like David Guetta, Afrojack, or Hardwell created a genre that shared many similarities with uplifting trance, yet somehow still sounded completely different and was rarely loved by trance fans. But their type of music was now played on the radio and headlining music festivals, while trance legends like Armin van Buuren and Tiësto also started to (partly) adjust to this new sound.
Still, a dedicated uplifting trance fanbase always remained – including Armin, who kept featuring and pushing uplifting trance acts on his radio show “A State of Trance” (ASOT) and at his festivals. He even created the “Who’s Afraid of 138?!” label – a name that cheekily implies that producers had become “afraid” to keep making uplifting trance at its traditional 138 bpm because other genres were getting more popular.
Today, the sound is as healthy as ever. It’s evolved – the production is cleaner and the kicks often hit harder – but the soul of it hasn’t changed since 1999. And, as of early 2026, it even seems like Tiesto has come back to the (uplifting) trance world to some extent. After relaunching his radio show as PRISMATIC (previously CLUBLIFE), he has shared tracks of several artists that are beloved in the uplifting trance scene such as Richard Durand, Lostly, Asteroid, Factor B, or Chris Metcalfe.
Uplifting Trance Artists and Labels
The uplifting trance scene is rather small and driven by a lot of relatively unknown artists. At the same time, some of the biggest DJ names of electronic music have been connected with it in the past, are still connected with it or are coming back to it after years to decades of diving into other sounds. The biggest names are probably Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, and Markus Schulz. Aly & Fila are absolutely beloved in the uplifting trance world and other artists like Giuseppe Ottaviani, Gareth Emery, and Andrew Rayel (who regularly dip into the uplifting sound) are also quiet successful – even on the mainstages of the dance music world. You will also see artists like Bryan Kearney, John O’Callaghan, or Billy Gillies (who, for the most part, stay very true to the uplifting sound) booked for big events around the globe.
On the uplifting trance label side, here is a bigger overview:
Armada Music
This is the big electronic music giant co-founded by Armin van Buuren. While Armada is not exclusively a trance label, it is probably still the biggest player in this scene. It includes ASOT (A State of Trance, Armin’s radio show and festival), WAO138 (Who’s Afraid of 138), Armind, and Captivating – all these brands heavily feature uplifting trance. WAO138 was even created to cheekily imply that artists had become “afraid” of the typical uplifting 138 bpm sound to instead go for a more “mainstream” one. Altough it has to be said that any brand is constantly evolving an even WAO138 has partly dipped into a techier sound.
Black Hole Recordings
Originally co-founded by Tiesto (even though he is not involved in this brand anymore), Black Hole has built a network of several labels that are absolutely beloved in the uplifting trance world. This includes brands like Subculture (John O’Callaghan’s label that is, arguably, the definition of the uplifting trance sound), Nocturnal Knights (RAM’s label that also pushes a lot of uplifting trance artists), Pure Trance (Solarstone’s label who is an absolute legend and pushing a sound on the edges of uplifting and progressive), Coldharbour (Markus Schulz’ label which is a bit more versatile in its sound, but definitely well known in the uplifting trance world), or In Trance We Trust (a legendary brand that still pops up every now and then). Chasing Dreams (the label by XiJaro & Pitch who are also absolutely beloved by uplifting trance fans) is also tied to Black Hole. And many people, particularly classic trance lovers, are big fans of the label Borderline Music founded by Activa.
FSOE (Future Sound of Egypt)
This is Aly & Fila’s label and, similarly to Subculture, it is absolutely beloved by uplifting trance fans and, for many, defines what the true sound of uplifting trance really is. For more than a decade, Aly & Fila have been headlining uplifting trance events and staying true to the sound that we love so much. At the same time, they run their weekly radio show and feature a lot of established as well as upcoming uplifting trance artists. Not just the emotional and lush sounds and song structures are typical for the FSOE sound – it’s also the typical Aly & Fila bass that is simply amazing.
Others & Independents
But of course it doesn’t stop there. Paul Van Dyk’s signature sound can be found on his own label Vandit. Bryan Kearney releases some of his own as well as some other carefully selected releases on his label Kearnage. The Darren Porter signature sound (absolutey loved by high energy uplifting fans) can be found on Reason II Rise. Similarly, the Metta & Glyde signature sound often gets releases on their own label OneForty. Especially on YouTube, but also for new uplifting track releases, you will find a lot of great stuff by Raz Nitzan Music (Amsterdam Trance Records). If you’re looking for the emotional and vocal experience, you will find a lot of amazing songs from Blue Dot Trance. And labels such as Abora Recordings will provide you the epic and emotional experience as well.
We probably still missed a lot of great labels here, but this should provide you a great first overview and an almost endless library of great music to explore.
The “Trance Family” Vibe
On social media, you will often run into the hashtag #trancefamily and it will very often be part of a post about uplifting trance. While there is no clear definition of what that actually means and the origin of it is unclear, it just seems so fitting for the (uplifting) trance community.
As the scene has gotten smaller, as big festivals like Tomorrowland have removed their trance stages and stopped booking trance acts, most of the people attending trance events really do it for the love of the music (rather than to be seen or just to check out a big party event) and this creates a beautiful vibe at many trance parties and festivals. On average, the age of attendees is on the higher end compared to other parties. Maybe this also helps by bringing some more maturity, but most importantly everybody is welcome and you will usually see a huge mix of people from 18 years old to 35 years old to 60 years old. The PLUR vibe (peace, love, unity, respect), a famous term from the rave scene in general, really hits home when you meet the “trance family”.
The fact that uplifting trance is often so emotional, might also help. How can you get aggressive or start fights when the music rather makes you cry and smile?
Is it a “Niche”? Yes. Do We Care? Maybe.
Interestingly enough, this also shows how amazing it can be when your scene is a bit smaller. Many scenes complain that they lose their whole vibe and energy when they become too popular. The rise of techno during the Covid scene is one of the most prominent examples for this.
(Uplifting) trance has evolved differently. It used to be quite big. Then it lost most of its popularity and now we are happy that it even still exists. When Tiesto finally plays a trance set again, we go crazy, we celebrate and we feel seen by the world. We are happy that other people might see or understand again what we love so much. At the same time, we are also privileged that we have such a nice and small scene where the vibes are amazing.
It will be interesting to see how the scene develops as trends and hypes in the (electronic) music world always come in waves and it seems there might actually be a new wave of trance on the horizon. For now, we can just be happy that uplifting trance and its events still exist and we can dance and vibe to it.
Where Can I Listen to Uplifting Trance Now?
Finally time to listen to some amazing uplifting trance? Then, again, here is our recommended Spotify playlist: Click here to listen now
And, of course, as mentioned before, there are great labels for uplifting trance – many of them even have their own weekly radio shows (e.g. ASOT, FSOE, Chasing Dreams). Another great way to listen to and discover uplifting trance is to listen to the live sets on YouTube or SoundCloud. For instance, Luminosity uploads almost all of their DJ sets from their yearly festival. Other festivals like Transmission or ASOT also upload some of their sets regularly.