Psytrance is built on a constant bass beat that pounds throughout the whole track

The defining sonic feature of psychedelic trance is a very distinctive bass beat that pounds constantly throughout the song — an unbroken, driving pulse that never lets up. Over this continuous bass, the track overlays varying rhythms drawn from funk, techno, dance, acid house, eurodance and trance, using drums and other instruments. Because the bass is the one element that persists (leads and percussion change every eight bars, and breakdowns start a new pattern over it), it functions as the genre’s spine: the constant against which all the layering and psychedelic modulation is heard. This relentless, machine-locked bass is what produces the hypnotic, trance-inducing feel on the dancefloor.

Examples

In the rig, program a kick-locked repeating bass note that runs every bar without pause, then add and remove hats, leads and percussion above it — the bass keeps driving underneath the whole time.

Assessment

Identify which element of a psytrance track remains constant while leads and percussion change, and explain why a continuous bass pulse produces a trance-inducing effect.