[rogerclark]

Casual listeners can't detect it, but it strongly affects the possibility space for production purposes. For instance, if you're writing happy hardcore music at 170+ BPM with a kick drum on every beat, you will get surprisingly little time between those kicks to work with the bass and other instruments. While this is a somewhat extreme example, even something like the difference between 128 BPM and 138 BPM can change what you're making. A commercial house track produced at 128 BPM may sound like 90s Eurodance when played at 138. Similarly, a deep house track produced at 122 might feel like radio EDM when played at 128.

While you could certainly make psytrance at 150 BPM, it's going to pack a different punch. You'll make different decisions about what works and what doesn't, and then it's going to end up sounding even more different from the rest of the 138 PBM psytrance -- oops, you've shifted genres. Slow it down to 110 and then people aren't dancing to the track quite the same way anymore. Try dancing to the same song at 100 BPM and then at 120 BPM... you'll notice the difference immediately. Tempo isn't everything, but it's much more than just a number.

[jjulius]

If you're interested in some BPM fuckery, there's a small-ish contingent of artists/labels doing some cool things around the 80/160-ish BPM range. Folk like Donato Dozzy, Patrick Russell and Forest Drive West have been putting together some great sets that sound like this militant-ish blend of Techno and Drum and Bass and just get really 'out there' in, in my opinion, the best way possible.

There's one moment in a Forest Drive West set (I wish I could remember which one) where he plays the first 45-ish minutes at 160-ish, and then drops down to 125-130 for the last 1hr+ - but he does it in a manner that you never hear DJs do and almost doesn't work. He leaves the ~160BPM track playing, and brings in the 125-ish track over it in a way that creates this really cool syncopated rhythm. It's risky, and there's a reason you usually don't see people do it, but he pulls it off. I have a particular fondness for Jazz music, particularly Jazz musicians who fuck with time in a similar manner, so to hear a DJ pulling off something like that is awesome to me.

But yeah, highly recommend checking out Dozzy's surprise closing set at Terraforma[1] and Patrick Russell's Mostra[2] set.

Edit: The FDW set I'm thinking of is his set from Boom Festival[3].

[1]https://soundcloud.com/donato-dozzy/donato-dozzy-terraforma-...

[2]https://soundcloud.com/monument-podcast/mnmt-recordings-patr...

[3]https://soundcloud.com/boomfestival/forestdrivewest-the-gard...

[tomduncalf]

Ah what a pleasure to see Donato Dozzy mentioned on here! One of my favourite DJs/artists. Hearing his Labyrinth 2008 set [1] had a big impact on my musical tastes - I was into techno already, but hadn’t discovered anything so deep and hypnotic.

It actually might appeal to people on here who like psy trance - it’s a different style (hypnotic/deep techno) and tempo but it shares some structural and sonic elements.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him play many times and meeting him and he’s just as lovely as you’d hope!

[1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nGIUCQ8KW9Y or https://m.soundcloud.com/paul-wuerdig/sets/donato-dozzy-laby...

[matt_j]

Donato Dozzy is an amazing selector. One of the greats.

[jjulius]

Damn right! I'll forever be gutted knowing that I had the chance to see Voices From the Lake live and ended up not going.

[tomduncalf]

I think they are touring as VFTL again, I saw them perform the first album here in London at the start of the year and they are back next week with all new material! So there’s hope that they might come back to whatever part of the world you’re in :)

[dialdial]

Oh man, if you ever find that forest drive west set I’d love to hear it.

Such a delight seeing psytrance and donato dozzy and dub techno pop up on HN.

[galaxyLogic]

> Tempo isn't everything, but it's much more than just a number.

Does this specifically apply to Psytrance where I think the tempo stays more or less constant for most of the song. In general is there any Psytrance where tempo evolves during the song, goes up and down? I understand it might be difficult to dance to.

[jjulius]

In Psytrance, and dance music in general, most BPMs will stay the same throughout the track. You may have moments where the track will cut to half-time and "feel" slower, even though it's kinda not, but more often than not you're going to find that dance music tracks maintain the same BPM throughout.

DJs, however, will often be the ones switching the tempo up during a set, either slowly adjusting it up and down over the course of the night, or switching things up and suddenly bringing in a track at a completely different BPM.

[SturgeonsLaw]

Chillgressive is a great search term to find some slow psychedelic beats