Trancehall - Dancehall's Latest Sibling

Trancehall is the sound of 2008. It's not a scene, it's a global movement.

Trancehall is the term that has been used to describe the recent slew of uptempo rhythms with trancey synths that has been coming out of the dancehall scene. Over the past couple of years dancehall producers such as Birchill and Don Corleon have been making fast-paced, incredibly catchy rhythms like Madness and High Altitude.

Trancehall is a sound that is almost exclusively made in Jamaica, but the most well-known figure associated with this micro-genre is probably Brooklyn-based producer/rapper/singer Ricky Blaze. His insane croon-heavy Auto-Tuned track Cut Dem Off has already reached anthemic status in the Brooklyn dancehall scene.

Now dancehall producers are doing what hip-hop producers had started: embracing the arpeggiated synth. The trend of combining dancehall with dance music goes beyond just trance, you may be glad to hear.

Earlier this year, Canadian production duo South Rakkas Crew produced a brilliant techno, house, acid and rave-influenced dancehall EP entitled Mix Up, in which they liberally borrowed from tracks like Inner City's Big Fun. What next? Hi-NRG-influenced dancehall?

The Reggae News Agency

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