Bookmakers face losing their licence and huge fines over problem gambling. Photograph: Daniel Hambury/PA

Problem gambling costs the UK up to 1.2bn according to a report by charity GambleAware, with spending related to police intervention, mental health services and homelessness putting pressure on the system.

The charity warned of the narrow focus on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), known as the crack cocaine of gambling, and called on the government to do more to combat online betting.

We asked readers to share their personal experiences of problem gambling. Heres what some of you said.

Over three years I ran up an online poker loss of around 12,000. Playing poker was like being in a trance. I couldnt quit even whilst ahead. I drank. Id wake up the next day and wonder who that was last night that mad person who had dribbled away my hard-earned salary?

Since I work in finance this meant I couldnt change jobs as Id have my credit checked. This has held my career back. As a renter, it also meant I couldnt move from my flat, which has mould. For years I felt like a dirty loser with no control over my life.

I did have a good experience though with the site PartyPoker. I told them about my gambling and asked for a deposit limit of 10 to be put on my account. They said they took that sort of thing very seriously, closed my account and provided a link for advice on responsible gaming. I was pretty impressed, and to be honest that really helped break the poker-fever.

Sam, Edinburgh

I started playing blackjack online when I turned 18 and won several thousand pounds to start with. Then I started playing for more and more money and was simultaneously introduced to casino and internet poker. For several years I went through phases of giving myself an ultimatum that I would never play poker or gamble again, but inevitably I would break this promise to myself.

I tried to get counselling from Gamblers Anonymous (GA) but when it was offered to me I found I did not have the strength of mind to talk to a counsellor. I have hidden most of my online gambling from family and friends and have this burden of how I have wasted my time and money to myself. I am not sure who to tell as I am deeply embarrassed about it and feel it reflects badly on me and that those close to me will change their opinion.

Roger, London

My partner used to work for a high street bookmaker and developed a gambling problem through being in that environment. He suffers mental health problems and went off work for long term sickness and eventually left. He is a compulsive gambler and turns to gamble when he cannot cope with life.

Receiving substantial amounts of money can be distressing for him because of the compulsion he constantly feels to gamble. One time a few thousand poundswas played on roulette and lost within two and a half hours. No attempts to contact were made by the bookmaker, even though my partner had already lost a lot of money and they had access to files explaining his mental health issues.

Bookmakers always talk about protecting the vulnerable. I feel like allowing my partner to gamble like that was a massive failure and feel strongly enough to say they did not honour their licence agreement. Thankfully we pulled through and my partner received counselling through a local service . However I think he will always be a gambling addict and may always relapse throughout his life.

Louisa, north of England

My gambling was very secretive and involved bets on my phone. I gambled away money I didnt have, took out payday loans, borrowed off family members, all the while my wife didnt have a clue. I consider myself to be a family man, I love my wife and daughter and would do absolutely anything to give them a life they deserve. Gambling for me wasnt about chasing the big win, it was about chasing the money Id already lost. I got more satisfaction about recouping money Id lost that I did my winning outright.

When my wife found out about my problem she was devastated. We are saving up for our first mortgage and I was daft enough to waste what money I had left over on something so meaningless. I then risked my long-term credit rating by taking out short-term loans to fund my habit. I have attended GA meetings for the past 10 weeks and at the time of writing am coming up to 90 days without placing a bet.

Craig, Lancashire

My husband is a recovering gambler. He gambled for years without any issues then one day in the bookies he tried a roulette machine. Three years later and thousands of pounds in debt he eventually told me and started attending GA. It nearly destroyed our marriage and has had a profound impact on my ability to trust him. We now lose a substantial amount of our income a month to a debt management plan and whilst were financially secure due to reasonably paid jobs we cant afford all the nice things I see friends doing like holidaying abroad, going out for meals etc.

He is an intelligent, degree-educated man who works with addicts every day but these machines turned him into an addict of a different sort. He has had mental health problems ever since and remains on medication for anxiety. I dont think the 12 step approach suits everyone though. Perhaps there should be more CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy)-like approaches as there are with drugs and alcohol problems.

Amy, Yorkshire

I started gambling when I was 14. My mum, uncle and grandfather were all addicted to gambling. I started playing fruit machines in the pub where I worked part time. My mum and I then started going into the arcade in the local town often from 9am-9pm when it closed, before the 24 hour arcades opened. I have gambled pretty much every day since my mum died 10 years ago often going to the arcade and phoning in sick.

Ive had two periods of absence from work one lasted for 18 months and currently its been a couple of weeks. My mum died with a thousands of pounds of debt which my father knew nothing about. I have had counselling, taken part in clinical tests and have been to all the relevant NHS clinics but these are not supported as much as they should be.

Charlie, London

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'Poker was like being in a trance': readers' experiences of problem gambling - The Guardian

Cosmic Gate 'Materia Chapter.One' (Black Hole Recordings)

As an artist, it must be hard trying to whittle your tracks down to fit onto one album, especially if youve had as many hits as Cosmic Gate have had recently. But rather than discarding the records they love and disregarding new concepts they wanted to try out, the German duo have decided to release their new album in two parts, with the second to come later this year. Featuring collaborations with huge names such as Ferry Corsten, Ilan Bluestone, Julie Thompson and Eric Lumiere, part one is a mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks, all of which have been made fore the club (apart from Fireflies and Halo, which give you a chance to catch your breath right at the end). The bars been set for the second chapter, then and we expect it to be just as good.

8/10

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March: 10 trance releases you need to hear this month - Mixmag

We had a chat with Bo van Eck, the man behind one of the biggest trance music events in the world Luminosity Events. Trance music is all about passion and it is essential to know what goes in making our dream events like Luminosity Beach Festival and more. Bo discusses behind the scenes stories and his love for trance music. You can buy tickets to #LBF17 Paylogic

The pleasure is mine! Im looking forward to hear all of the artists of course but Im always the most curious about the fresh names who will be making their Luminosity debut. It has always been a big priority for us to support new and upcoming artists and give them a stage to help their profile to grow and have their fans finally being able to hear and meet them.

The most important basis here is a big passion for the trance scene as a whole and the ideal to support especially the producing artists to help them making a living out of music and that way being able to continue producing beautiful trance music. Without this passion for trance music Im sure we wouldnt have the big support and success as we are currently receiving from so many passionate fans world width.

People recognize that the event is made by trance fans for trance fans. In this light the quality of the line-up and having a surprising element in the line-up is always the biggest priority for our events.

Already a few weeks before the coming Luminosity Beach Festival will be organised we start with planning the dates of the next years event. This of course has to go through the venues involved and has to be communicated with the local city councils as well as they need to confirm that the required emergency crew (police, ambulance and more) capacity will be available that specific weekend. Once that has been cleared we move forward with multiple artworks and start the first discussions with the agencies of the main headliners to double check if their agendas are free and to see if all is clear to move forward. As a whole confirming the line-up is a process of approx. 4-6 months more often than not all the requested artists are able to confirm directly.

Once the line-up is confirmed we can move forward with other key elements such as the promotion of the event, the production, organising the crew, plan meetings with suppliers and brainstorm about fresh ideas etc. In all aspects the main organisation mission is to 1) surprise the visitors every year by adding new elements and changing organising and production compared with the previous year and 2) to improve literally every aspects which is involved in the event organisation. Think of the production, merchandise, minimalizing the waiting time at the entrance, bars and toilets, transports, accommodation for all artists and crew involved and most importantly the overall atmosphere of the event.

During the event our crew has approx. 60-70 people. In the preparations we are working with approx. 8 people. Most tasks are split, thinking of artwork, merchandise, administration & accounting, customer service, social media, artists hospitality, logistics, physical promotions, online marketing, personnel, web mastering etc.

The best thing without a doubt is seeing and meeting passionate people from all over the world, enjoying the music and making new friends, experiencing the event together with a friendly crew like it is a small heaven on earth.

Listening to new music and radio shows and finding new amazing tracks and exciting talented artists also gives me a great feeling of motivation and hope for the years to come.Apart from the atmosphere and happiness factor Im a planner type of guy from origin so it makes me happy and proud when things work out as planned and organised. Small example is seeing people from the main event walking to the shuttle buses to the after party, all staying together, friendly and controlled. Making sure everything happens in a good, safe and responsible way. Every now and then police and other authorities are stopping by to keep an eye on the overall organisation and seeing their happy and sometimes even surprised face expression is great to see and a sign that we as event as a whole are doing great which is also the basis for the local authorities to approve out request to organise the event there in the future again.

Negatives are the enormous pressure involved to keep the event as one of the best out there. Of course it is a huge privilege to often read positive feedback from the visitors but after the event it can sometimes cause sleepless nights as thinking how we are going to improve next year

Theres also a huge overall challenge as there are many parties involved in organising an event and we need to make sure all are motivated and capable of organising the event as we planned. During the event I think its safe to say that 80% of what we planned in the preparations runs differently than how we expected so in that case its important that all involved are flexible, able to improvise and are capable to work with big pressure and still stay friendly and always being focused on finding solutions.

Picture: Ivan Lavarini

Music wise I miss a lot the more old school sounds in the BPM area between progressive and 138 where the focus is on euphoric melodies and dreamy vocals and vibes. I do enjoy most of the sub-genres today (from progressive to psy-trance). Furthermore Im happy to see that the more trouse sounds havent made out in the trance scene for long and havent took over trance as a whole.

Apart from the global situation Im a bit worried about the trance event scene here in The Netherlands as there is a bit of a overkill going on with often multiple events being organised in the same weekend which Im afraid affects in events pulling a smaller crowd, having a smaller budget and so seeing the overall quality going down. When that happens Im afraid that event visitors get a negative experience and arent so likely anymore to visit another trance event in the future which is killing for the trance scene in the long terms.

Thats a difficult one! Id say the Luminosity Beach Festival 2016 as the feedback of that event was so positive even while expectations were already incredible high. The atmosphere experienced, seeing people crying of happiness, is something I havent witnessed ever before. Also from the organisation and crew perspectives that was an event which I look back to in a very positive way. Apart from last years beach event every event is important and special for us.

Ive actually kept my regular daytime job for the past 9 years while organising events, this as I studied for it, had great joy doing the work and had great colleagues to work with as well. Quitting my day time job in times of a crises was a bit of a tricky thing to do as you never know if in the future an employer will give you the job in the previous working experience again, as obviously Id be out of that work for some years and they then might prefer a more junior and cheaper employee. Looking back at things now I have dont really understand how Ive managed to get things done back then ha! Even today Id wish there would be 100 hours in a day, being able to do more. This is also the reason that we now have an office which gives the possibility to work in a bigger team and also work more together, exciting times really!

Simple! The way how trance music can hit you in the soul and have an impact on our daily moods is so big! Possibly for many of us it could be an addiction I also find the trance scene overall a very open and friendly type of people. When visiting events its easy to make new friends and have fun together. You dont get fights quickly when stepping on someone toes by accident etc. People have positive minds and make the best of things.

Not really, no. So far the goal is to keep the event as exclusive as possible and not sell the concept to earn more money. The event has grown from very small to an average sized event step by step, in a very organic and non-forced way. The vital factor in our event, as I see it, is having the support of the most dedicated and passionate crowd out there. Copying the event to another part in the world would require the same slow and organic way of event grow. This is also something very time taking so to do so we would have to start from zero somewhere else which would also effect in having less budgets and a lower overall event quality which obviously doesnt meets the ambitions from our side and expectations from the crowd. Copying the event to somewhere else and then forcing the event to have a similar event visitors as in the Netherlands would require a big mainstream promotion campaign and effect in a type of crowd which doesnt meet our concept fully.

This week however we had the pleasure to announce a new partnership with Captured Festival in Ibiza, who have much similar ethos as Luminosity Events so we are exciting to combine powers and organise great events there in the coming years!

I wouldnt say its the best festival in the world but our power is the combination of a unique line-up, a great location with the freedom to leave the event at any time to take a relaxing break at the beach and then come back to the event, a friendly crew and most important the support of a huge internationally dedicated and passionate trance crowd.

I in no way like to sound arrogant here but not really no. I could mention someone like Tiesto but honestly I wouldnt know what the effects on Luminosity of such a booking would be; what crowd would visit us then and which atmosphere will there be? Im happy, privileged and proud on and with the artists who we have worked with so far. In that light I rather re-book artists which we have previously worked with than new superstars who would possibly change our concept too much.

Im a family guy who loves making day trips and travels to see the world and experience as much as possible. I love football but quit playing myself after some injuries in my youth so Im now a professional TV watcher

In the weekends I love to spent time with my kids, go to a restaurant and visit trance events every few weeks

Thank you. Its always a pleasure to do interviews like this one. Id also like to thank all the fans for their long and loyal support and my family to be able to balance work and personal life. Its a busy job which often continues up to night times while others would spend quality family time together so it means a non-stop mixture of family time and hard work, but Im very lucky to be in this position, to share what we as team love doing and spreading the love for trance music worldwide.

Hope to see you all on the dancefloor at Luminosity Beach Festival 2017.

Co-Founder of Trance Hub, Curator of The Gathering events in India and ALT+TRANCE in Czech Republic. By day, a Digital Marketing Enthusiast with love for Food and Technology. By night, a dreamer who wants to grow the Trance scene in India.

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Interview with Luminosity Events founder Bo van Eck | Trance Hub - Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

Best Trance Songs 1-20

Since its origins in the 1990s, trance music has been known to have influences from genres such as house music, big room, ambient, techno and even tech house. Today, trance music can be broken down into many smaller sub-genres, some of which include hard, euphoric and commercial, uplifting trance and progressive trance.

Even though trance music has made many transitions throughout the years, the euphoric genre remains to have a tempo lying anywhere between 125 and 150 beats per minute.

In the early days of trance, the scene was being pushed forward by the likes of Tiesto, Rank 1, Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, Markus Schulz and a handful of other artists. In the current state of trance, artists such as Above & Beyond, Armin van Buuren, Andrew Rayel, Gareth Emery and Markus Schulz continue to push the scene in a new direction.

We have compiled 40 of the best trance songs of all time. While this list may be subjective to some, this list includes some of the most influential trance songs of all time.

Tiesto Adagio for Strings

Motorcyle As The Rush Comes

Sasha Xpander

Rank 1 Airwave

Solarstone Seven Cities (Solarstone Pure Mix)

Gouryella Gouryella

Paul Oakenfold Southern Sun

Luminary Amsterdam (Super 8 & Tab Remix)

Dash Berlin Till The Sky Falls Down

John O'Callaghan feat. Sarah Howells Find Yourself

Gouryella Walhalla

Tritonal feat. Phoebe Ryan Now Or Never

Above & Beyond ft. Richard Bedford Sun & Moon

Paul Oakenfold Toca Me

Tiesto Love Comes Again ft. BT

DJ Mangoo Eurodancer

ATB Could You Believe

Tiesto Elements of Life

Armin van Buuren ft. Trevor Guthrie This Is What It Feels Like

Markus Schulz The New World

Read more from the original source:

The 40 Best Trance Songs Ever - EDM Sauce

Unearthly Trance had quite a run from 2000 to 2012; five albums and a plethora of splits with bands like the mighty Endless Blockade and Minsk, along with several demos and a few solo EPs. But then they decided to call it off and Serpentine Path happened. Nothing wrong with that, always sad to see a good band go, but Serpentine Path has been plenty good. And then a 2015 announcement came. Unearthly Trance were back in business.

Having been around for over thirty years, I get it when someone or ones want to hang it up and move on. Its the natural progression of life. New things come along and you sink into them whether out of comfort or bitter acceptance. Its easy to think that nostalgia is sometimes wringing blood from the stones but Unearthly Trance really werent gone for very long. Stalking the Ghost is their sixth full-length and first one in six-and-a-half years.

Stalking the Ghost is familiar territory. Unearthly Trance didnt seem to step away to try and find a breath of fresh air or let ideas stew. And the album doesnt sound rushed either. Its like a reunion of old ideals/expectations done right. I mean, its doomy/sludge done well without trying to dial in the harshest distortion ever. More so, its the moodiness that Unearthly Trance dials in that keeps you there, adrift.

The album opens on Into the Spiral, a slow banger that never goes for an assault, but also gives us no introduction or b.s. build up. Its immediately groovy and heavy, setting the mood perfectly. But it may also feel a bit misleading because from here on out Stalking the Ghost actually sounds more like its being played in a dark, empty haunted house.

Its more of an ethereal experience. Its the moody, heavy band come back to haunt. Its infectious sometimes, and Unearthly Trance can do a great job of, well, putting you in a trance. Sometimes songs get a little faster (Famine) but, as youd expect, its the emphasis on the slower.

Whats more, slower music does run the risk of losing attention and Ill admit that I drifted off almost every time I have spun this record. Its likely my attention span but Stalking the Ghost isnt reinventing the wheel either. The final two tracks are what really lost me. It reached a point where it felt more like a slog.

Honesty, if you really want to get into this I suggest some herb. Its a heavy album that needs mediation and a spacey disposition. I think its most appreciate that way. But that could go on a case-by-case scenario. And as far as cases go, Stalking the Ghost is a good album. Doom/sludge fans will find this not terribly aggressive or noisy but plenty heavy. And it doesnt need to be. Its got a Neurosis/Yob fusion that can draw you in. Its not the end-all or grand evolution of the doom/sludge genre, but it is a good incantation.

Score: 7/10

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Album Review: UNEARTHLY TRANCE Stalking The Ghost - Metal ... - Metal Injection.net

By pure coincidence, two groups come to town this weekend playing music that cant be easily defined with a description like free improvisation, though that comes close. Their music definitely doesnt sound like jazz, though members of The Necks and Battle Trance have experience playing jazz music. Like the best artists who play that music, these groups know its history, and each has continued on its own course toward originality. The results come closer to music based on pure sound: Sometimes its so gentle it barely exists, while other times it gets abrasive. With either group, its best to check your inhibitions at the door and keep your ears open.

The Necks came together in Sydney, Australia, 30 years ago, playing purely improvised music. In the time since, the group has released 17 albums and toured the world, but bassist Lloyd Swanton says its original plans never looked beyond the practice room. We had no problem with an audience. We werent snobs or anything like that, Swanton says, speaking from San Francisco at the start of a tour. We didnt want any outside influence on the creation of music at all.

But the staff at Sydney Universitys Music Department heard Swanton, Chris Abrahams (piano, organ) and Tony Buck (drums, percussion) rehearsing, and invited them to participate in a concert series. We thought if we fell flat on our faces, well just go back to what we were doing, Swanton says. It turned out to be a very successful concert. We got about 100 people, and it just proceeded from there.

Audience size has grown since then. Last year, The Necks opened for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, bringing their relatively subdued sound to venues with thousands of seats. While they enjoyed that jaunt, Swanton says the members still prefer smaller spaces, with more attentive audiences. It was a buzz playing to 10,000 people, but theres something very special about an intimate room, he says. The way we play, we want to engage with the room a little bit more.

Members of The Necks never discuss what will happen before a performance. They walk onstage, stand in silence, and wait for one of them to make the first sound. What follows is often built on layers of drones, with musical fragments floating over them. Its not unusual for Swanton to bow a single note for several minutes, while Buck keeps some percussion clattering and Abrahams adds melodic fragments on piano or organ or both. While it sounds unorthodox, the bassist is following in a tradition. A lot of bass playing funk, reggae is all really about sitting on something solidly and reassuringly, he says. So I try to bring those mainstream principles to the music.

While The Necks play music made of three unique parts, the tenor saxophone quartet Battle Trance disregards individual personalities in favor of creating one big sound. After a while, theres little differentiation or recognition between the four of us, where its hard to tell whos playing what sound, says Travis Laplante, who formed the quartet, in 2012, with Patrick Breiner, Matt Nelson and Jeremy Viner.

This became apparent at the New York Winter Jazzfest back in January, during a performance of the lengthy piece Blade of Love. For close to an hour, the sounds kept shifting from droning long tones to a point where the quartet literally sang with their mouthpieces. Right when it seemed like they were noodling away, going off in four different directions, they all hit a low squonk together, which seemed intuitive. This clearly was a structured composition. The pieces are extremely precise, Laplante says, and the compositions are not vague. We get into the extreme subtleties of timbre, and were working with very specific, unusual fingerings of the saxophones to create very specific resonances with particular notes.

Laplante adds that the acoustics of a venue play a big role in a Battle Trance performance. The band and the pieces work very deeply with resonance. Not only the resonance of the saxophones but how that is embodied within the space that were playing, he says. Thats one of the things that I love about playing acoustic music, and this band in particular. The piece becomes alive in a totally different way every night.

While Battle Trance doesnt sound like a jazz group (in fact, its record label links it to classical music), Laplante came to his own unique approach through jazz studies. For me, he says, it was a balance between going deeper and deeper into the saxophone as an instrument and, at the same time, breaking down certain limitations I had put in my psyche about what is and isnt possible with the saxophone what is and isnt correct.

Likewise, when listening to either Battle Trance or The Necks, listeners should set aside any preconceptions they might have about the music.

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The Necks and Battle Trance offer two different takes on experimental music - PGH City Paper

True W&W fans know the Kings of Big Room didn't start out making Big Room House, but were well respected Trance artists first. After having formed as a duo in 2007, W&W released many Trance tracks up until around 2013 when they made the switch to Big Room. In between then, they had released many singles and even a full album on Armada Music called Impact'.However, they'rebest known in the TranceCommunityfor their track, Invasion', which was the ASOT 550 Anthem.

Rumors have been going around for awhile about a possible return to Trance Music for the DutchDuo, and they confirmed on Hardwell On Air Episode 300 that they were starting a new side project. Fans were ecstatic and the new name was finally revealed inthe Phase Two Lineup Announcement for Ultra Music Festival 2017. W&W was noticeably absent on the list, but when fans inquired Ultra about it, Ultraresponded look closer ;). After checking the list, fans were able to decipher that the never before heard about DJ, NWYR, isW&W's new side project.

W&W, or shall we say, NWYR, have taken to Twitter to say that they have lots of new music coming, and here's a preview at one of their new tracks, a massivecollaborationwith Trance legend, Armin Van Buuren.

Related: Best Trance Songs Of All Time

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Preview W&W's New Trance Collab with Armin Van Buuren Under New Alias - EDM Sauce

From Coral Orgy

Borscht Corp.

The New World Symphonys home in Miami Beach has seen many interesting performances over the years. But none of them matched the event Borscht Corp., III Points, Coral Morphologic, and Animal Collective, among other musicians, threw together for Friday night.

Part of the tenth iteration of the Borscht Film Festival, Coral Orgy was hyped as "a collaborative, site-specific performance celebrating the cosmic synchronicity of sex on the reef." The imagery was provided by Miami's Coral Morphologic. A collaboration between marine biologist Colin Foord and musician Jared McKay, Coral Morphologics closeup scenes of coral life under water present sea life as you have never seen it before. The brilliant colors of the sea creatures are always presented in tight closeup, out of context of their habitat, allowing their natural color, movement, and texture to define them. With McKays ambient music, these creatures become psychedelic experiences. The images could have been shot on an undiscovered planet or in another dimension, for all the viewer knows.

During this event, high-definition video of the creatures was projection-mapped onto the five curved screens in the main hall of the New World Center. As can be expected from the Borscht crew, which prides itself on being so Miami, the event started late. After a taste of Coral Morphologics images, the first musician to take the stage was Hot Sugar, a DJ/producer based in New York. The coral images were replaced by digital projections featuring objects such as digitally created roses in opulent mirrors, which Hot Sugar has used in previous shows. It was all a bit dull, considering the anticipation for the main act.

Offering ambient music with a glitchy beat that sounded like Aphex Twin, Hot Sugar real name Nick Koenig danced at his deck as if in a rave, yet most of the audience sat in giant beanbags or the venues seating. After mixing it up by picking up an electric guitar with a clear body, Koenig asked, Is anybody still out there? You're all so chill.

At that point, I wandered to the SunTrust Pavilion for Otto von Shriachs Bermuda Triangle ritual. He was advertised as having a surprise guest, and what a treat that guest was. Joseph Keckler is a performance artist from New York who is classically trained in opera. He prepped attendees with a little speech in a nasally voice that could have never readied you for the baritone that sang in Italian about a bad mushroom trip (lyrics were projected on a screen). There were some technical difficulties during the laughing part (translated as Ha. Ha. Ha. on the screen) as the video froze to buffer and some unseen technician who didnt reply to Kecklers pleas of Could someone tell me what is happening? recued to the laughter part and Keckler resumed his operatic laughter. But the glitch only added to the charm of the performance.

After Keckler gave the crowd an encore with a song that revealed the perils of spying on a lovers text messages, von Shirach climbed up a pyramid inside the pavilion to kick off his set. To images of Mayan pyramids projected next to his deck and black-and-white vortex animation that spilled onto von Shriachs white onesie, he wrapped/sang in Miami Spanglish about another dimension. Below him, Santera-like priestesses in sheer gownswrithedwhile holding lighted wands and drawing triangles on attendees foreheads withwhite grease pencils. Meanwhile, von Shirach offered a cheesy instrumental cover of Under the Sea and sang about third eyes and the Bermuda Triangle, with the mike echoing his lyrics a meaningful three times. Oh, and there was a half-white tiger/half-man with a scepter.

Prepare for the Coral Orgy.

Photo courtesy of Coral Morphologic

After this trippy experience, it was back to the main hall for the headline event. As thrilling as the moment in the SunTrust Pavilion felt, the impressive though relaxing melding of the coral orgy and the modern psychedelic rock/ambient drone music of Animal Collective was divinely impressive.

A sort of musical breeze wafted from the dark stage below the imagery of coral tendrils that seemed to wave along to the spare organs and the echoey vocals of Avey Tare, whose voice was so processed he might as well have been singing in a foreign language. The music built steadily, as layers were piled on, including electronic rhythms that sounded like treated hammered dulcimers, metallic grinding, and hyperstylized laser-treated chirping. Tare sang sparingly, his mostly unintelligible vocals melting with the music.

Who knows what the instrumentation actually was? The stage was dark, and the coral orgy took the limelight. Cameras panned over undulating orbs that sometimes collapsed into themselves before puffing up again. Little pink bubbles drifted heavenward as layers of chirping and the cooing of Tare rode a wave of humming melodies. When the semen spewed forth, it didnt come with a tacky bang, but in little wisps, adding to the breezy quality of the event's vibe.

The pieces by Animal Collective bled into one another; only in spare moments would there be a slight shift in tone, as the trio which also includedGeologist and Deakin (Panda Bear wasn't there) in the shadows gave birth to a new song with new layers of rhythms, drones, and melodies. The changes were as slight, varied, and unnoticeable as the repetition of waves lapping at the shore. There was no chance for applause because many in the audience were lulled into a trance. Still, one could hear plenty of chatter from attendees not invested in the spectacle, but their voices all bled into the drones.

Out of the 400 or so people inside, maybe 40 concertgoers were pressed up to the edge of the stage to give their full attention to the band, performing below the towering, colorful images of coral, worms, and anemones. Many attendees walked in and out, while some slept on the beanbags or stared up into the heights of the coral orgy. During an ominous, heavy, warped, synthesized drone and whir, the camera slowly zoomed into the maw of a creature, revealing layers of lips that spewed a milky substance into the sea water around it. Bulbous red tendrils encircled a neon green center that might as well have held infinity itself an ouroboros from the co-opters of the ouroboros.

Follow Hans Morgenstern on Twitter @HansMorgenstern.

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Borscht Diez's Coral Orgy With Animal Collective Lured Audiences Into a Trippy Trance - Miami New Times

Underground respected doom merchants Unearthly Trance are back after a break of a few years with the monumental new banger Stalking the Ghost. From the opening song, Into the Spiral, where the New York-based band charge into the fray with the same kind of sense of purpose that made the title track to Neurosis ninth album Given to the Rising such a massive opening album cut, to the trippy album-closing song In the Forests Keep, it is evident that the time Unearthly Trance members spent since 2010s V. working on Serpentine Path records and Thralldom stuff also allowed them to meditate on what the next kind of statement should be from a band that is frankly somewhat underappreciated.

On the weekends I often meet at 3:00 am with a bouncer from a different bar than the one I work at, stuffing my face with mozzarella sticks while he tries in vain to find good vegan options at a greasy spoon in the wee hours of the morning. While we bitch about drunks we had to 86 often, we also tend to talk music. Last weekend we were discussing Megadeths Grammy win and if that was what metal really is now. Despite his favorite band being Baroness, my friend felt they were more of a proggy hard rock band now and that Megadeths style of thrash was too dated to warrant a current metal nomination. He felt like Gojira was the only band in the category who fairly represented how heavy metal has gotten and that even Black Sabbath should now be considered classic rock instead of metal.

While his points are interesting, I think it is more complicated. Sub-genres in the family tree of metal are as fun to name as all the ex-members of Napalm Death, and all lead back to certain landmarks. Whether you like your doom with a charred style of hardcore attached (Thou) or prefer your stoner rock and sludge with more melodic leaning tendencies these days ala Torche, Lo-Pan or Clutch, all of these bands are still cousins in the theatre of pain, as far removed as they might seem from Mtley Cre as can be.

Unearthly Trace mine a certain territory between extreme metal and the more traditionally Sabbathian where the vocals are generally harsher, a more torn throat and scorched earth style of doom that vocally might even appeal to some black metal or death metal fans rather than people who prefer their walls of fuzz with a slice of Josh Homme on top. Unearthly Trance also have less of a formal obligation to stick closer to hard rock forms all the time, something they share in common with also heavy as heck but experimental acts who likewise deserve way more love like Ultraphallus and Ufomammut.

Dont let me imply that Unearthly Trance are always a difficult listen. Most of their history is now on Bandcamp and will keep you thrilled and rocking out for days and days. For some, they will find it just too much of an audio ass-walloping, but most metalheads who like slower stuff will end up worshiping this band if they dont mind harsher vocals. Dream State Arsenal is positively bludgeoning, like the band Saint Vitus on steroids if Godzilla was singing after a three-day bender destroying Asia and drinking an ocean of whiskey. It is telling that the band just slotted nicely on a bill between Buzzoven and my psych rocker pals INN:IS.

Unearthly Trances appeal is that (like classic NYC band Unsane) they always have sounded dangerous underneath the distortion, not really concerned if they harsh your buzz or remind you the world can be painful. With more extreme acts like Inter Arma or even Deafheaven getting many more eyes on them than bands not named Converge have for the last decade or so, the time is ripe for Unearthly Trance to finally get more of the credit they deserve.

Famine is perhaps the highlight of these eight tracks that descend to varied depths, possibly the heaviest song on the record. The quality of the material is so high that despite this song being emotionally fatiguing enough that most bands would put Famine last on their record, Unearthly Trance keep you invested for four more six- to nine-minute length beasts AFTER that. Kudos and horns.

Rating:

Morgan Ywain Evans speaks to forest spirits, sings for GET OUT. and Walking Bombs, has been published by the likes of Noisemag.net, New Noise (USA) and other publications for over a decade and regularly contributes to The Kingston Times as well as Metalriot.com. He likes kindness, vampire movies, meditating and listening to post punk with his dog.

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Stalking the Ghost - PopMatters

February 7, 2017 Get Lucky With The Future Sound of Egypt

Trance family, assemble! The Future Sound of Egypt is calling you to Lucky 2017. Between the newly established Bliss (returning to the WaMu Theater on May 6th), regular phenomenal talent []

One of Australias most well known Trance producers, MaRLo, spoke with Only The Beat during his stop in New York City for EDC New York. Fresh off his stops in []

As I was listening to a recent episode of International Departures, I came across a track that caught my ear (not something thats out of the ordinary as pretty much []

Lange Recordings favorite, Johnny Yono, who just finished the massive Lange 200 collab, is the first one out the gate with a new release and is setting the bar incredibly []

Polish trance producer, Nitrous Oxide, prefers the less is more approach when creating and releasing music, giving each track his full heart and soul. and making sure that only excellence []

New York-based duo You&Me have released some pretty incredible remixes so far in their career. Its also quite possible their latest remix of Kolajs The Touch which is out today []

Johnny Yono proved he can make uplifting gold when he unleashed the mechanical banger, Pulverize, on Damaged Records last year. Quickly becoming a fan favorite, it highlighted everything we love []

Talla 2XLC and Daniel Skyver fits right in with Mental Asylums relentless sound. Split Second is a 140 monster that leaves no prisoners for any set of ears. From the []

Los Angeles trance wizard, Johnny Yono, makes his triumphant return to Armada for the first time since 2012s The Machine with Juventa. Now on Antillas IHU imprint, The Highways Of []

Having an truly accomplished year, Talla 2XLC delivers another uplifting epic on his Tetsuo imprint with the help of Kato. Evernow is pure trance with balls. Encapsulating the wonder and []

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Trance | Electronic Dance Music | EDM | Free Downloads

Just last week, we reported onMat Zo making a "return to his roots" in a remix of a classic house track, "Son of a Gun." With its release, he called it a sort of answer to all of his fans that throughout his career have been asking him to "return" to his trance roots. Zo has explored many a genre and sound throughout that career as a DJ and producer, while the beginnings of his career lay with trance and the Anjunabeats label.

As we've seen little blips like this before exploring disco, dubstep, rock, and ultimately trance the question is, will Mat Zo land in one place? If we're evaluating based on his music in the past four years, the answer is probably not. But, the British artist continues to give us hints and more and more trance. This week, he revived a relic from his past, a track integral to his career, but in a new way. "Hurricane" was a track off of his first album,Damage Control, in 2013. The album was highly regarded, with impressive collaborations and style explorations all around, and successfully told a story in a time when just about every electronic artist was throwing themselves in the "need to release an album" club.Damage Control went on to be nominated for a Grammy and climb the Billboard heatseekers and electronic charts. Surely, the album was an impressive achievement for the British artist.

But of course, there is a creative process in developing any music, and this week Mat Zo has offered up vulnerability and what could have been for the track "Hurricane." In a personal post on Instagram, Zo explained his struggle with the creation of the track.

This is actually the original version of Hurricane. I didn't put it on the album because it was at a time where I wanted to move away from trance, so I remade it into the version that's on Damage Control. I played it once on a live broadcast and ever since people have been asking for it. Luckily I found a copy on my old HD. It's terribly mixed and partly unfinished, but I figured since people still ask about it to this day, why not just give it away.

With his trance roots seemingly in his way, Zo continued developing "Hurricane" into a track that felt more Chemical Brotherswith an Anjunabeats-style vocal from Eyes That Lie. Now nearly four years later, we get a glimpse at the track's original form. And from the date, it looks like Zo had this one working from 2011.The second trance release in a few weeks, "Hurricane (2011 Club Mix)," makes us wonder, is this something that will continue? But that's not the end of the story, either.

Zo posted another video of himself to Instagram, this time playing piano over a classic Ferry Corsten track: "Out of the Blue" from his System F moniker. The classic track has been made over again and again through its near 17-year existence, and it looks like Zo is toying with it too.

So now, he's releasing trance tracks, openly composing them and even more, he announced the return to his home at Anjunabeats for their annual Miami Music Week party in March. It's been some years since he's joined the party's lineup, and he's coupled the announcement with that of his Self Disassemble Tour that follows the release ofSelf Assemblein 2016. He's been clear this Anjunabeats-style will not be leaving us for now, and the Self Disassemble Tour will be genre specific offering just that style that fans always seem to ask him about. But performances aside,it leaves us wondering, what kind of music will we see Mat Zo release in the rest of 2017?

Connect with Mat Zo:Facebook|Soundcloud|Instagram|Twitter

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Is Mat Zo making a return to trance? - EARMILK (blog)

When:

February 25, 2017 @ 7:00 pm February 26, 2017 @ 7:00 am

2017-02-25T19:00:00+00:00

2017-02-26T07:00:00+00:00

Cost:

Free before 10 5 before 12 10 after midnight

Were back After a rather long break Brixton Trance Underworld is back And we mean back. After this special 12 hour event well be going bi-monthly from March More news on that soon!

So, a 7 till 7 party to start things off and what a line up we have for you.

Our special guest is Trevor McLachlan Trevor will be known to anyone who partied in town over the last 15 years with his residency at the amazing Twisted parties at the Fridge. He guested for Heat, Extreme Euphoria, Tidy and Friendz. After taking a break from the scene he is back and is now involved in the Trance section of the Vinyl Warriors brand which really took the scene by storm last year. Trevor will be delivering a 90 minute set of top quality trance showcasing his 15 years of experience.

Next up we have Curtis & Craig. A DJ Production duo that came together in 2012 and they havent looked back. Their productions have been supported by top names in the Trance scene like Jordan Suckley, AvB, Simon Patterson and Latex Zebra As DJs collectively and separately theyve played at events including Storm, Passion and Trance Action along with a star studded array of DJs.

PHD is really making a name for himself on the production scene and is racking up more and more impressive DJing gigs as well (including this one). His tunes have been supported by some of the best Trance DJs around. His 90 minute plus (well you might not want to go home at 7am) will be a showcase of his latest tunes and top quality banging trance!

David Murtagh was one of the co-founders of the Prehab labels and parties and makes a welcome return to Brixton Trance Underworld. Prehab hosted a room regularly at The Gallery and he himself is a regular at the amazing Trance Sanctuary parties. Welcome back!

Another couple of BTU debutants come in the shape of Will Renville and Alex Faulkner. These guys will be on warm up duties but we had to book them after awesome showings at Zoology and Alumni respectively. Both have made names for themselves in a very short time with some big sets for them in future. We can think of no finer DJs to get things going with a special 2 hour warm up!

The last of our guests and not the least is Lorenzo Barrero. Promoter of another cracking Trance event in London, TRANCElucid. Held residencies and Magnetix and Byte and has guested at some of finest parties around (including Zoology)!

Finally we have 3 of the finest residents around with many years of promoting and DJ experience between them. Matt Church (Swamp/Puzzle Project), B.S.E (Zoology/Techstyle) and Latex Zebra (Zoology/Alumni). All will play solo sets highlighting their skills and passion for music!

Well see you there!

Club 414, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton 7pm till 7am Free before 10pm 5 before Midnight 10 after

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Brixton Trance Underworld The Return - BrixtonBuzz

The Scrying Orb is an interesting title for an even more interesting album. While many albums fall under the genres of R&B, hip-hop and country, The Scrying Orb is considered to be Psychedelic Trance, a roughly new genre that some (especially those who listen to more mainstream music) might not know.

Ross McGuire, the albums producer, gave a brief background and insight on what the psychedelic trance actually is.

Psychedelic Trance, then, is simply trance musicmusic with the intent of placing the listener in a state of trance (the framework) and psychedelia [music]music that aims to carefully provide the listener with as many cool raw materials as is needed to create a rich, living, musical world (the content of the framework), McGuire said in an email.

When discussing his latest album The Scrying Orb, McGuire shared what inspired him to make an album in this profound genre.

The true inspiration for this album was what I heard and felt during my time becoming exposed to the genre, McGuire said in an email. I really loved what the music did both to me and for me and felt this overwhelming urge to contribute to that.

When initially listening to The Scrying Orb, one might expect soothing sounds similar to ocean waves or light wind in a spring day. Instead, the result is something similar to the soundtrack of Mario Kart.

However, the more one knows about Psychedelic Trance, the better the album becomes. The album provokes an opportunity to understand the complex genre. This album is for people who like to listen to music that strays away from the mainstream genres.

However, several of the songs found in The Scrying Orb can appeal to people who might not enjoy the genre as a whole, such as the song Portals. Portals is not a completely upbeat song that would make whoever is listening to it want to dance. However, it is not a depressing song that can would put the listener in a melodramatic mood, either. Instead, the song is a good balance of both and is great to listen to while completing work for your job or classes.

Overall, The Scrying Orb was seemingly lackluster, especially if you are not a fan of genres that stray away from the mainstream. That said, Psychedelic Trance is an interesting and complex genre, and it deserved be checked out. The album is available via SoundCloud, and will officially release in April.

Original post:

Try 'Orb' to experience Psychedelic Trance genre - The Ionian

Out now via THNK TNK Records, Will Vance's Single Days Go By is a mesmerizing musical masterpiece filled with smooth progressive trance vibes. The single is extremely relaxing and takes listeners on a gentle journey through a melodic medium.

Will Vance is an extremely new face in the industry with just one other release credited on his soundcloud. Although by the sounds he is producing it is already very clear that there is a bright future a head of this new comer.

William Vance, Will to his friends, is a classically trained pianist who, after being expelled from piano lesson at age 12, began venturing into the music market place as a well rounded musician. The young musician began creating music picking guitar and synth programming along the way to help facilitate his vision. Today, you can hear his classical training being put to great use in his newest music. Look for big things from Will Vance in the coming months as he releases his Debut Days Go By EP.Check out the single below and follow him on soundcloud for the latest updates on his sounds.

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Under 2500: Will Vance Puts Listeners In A Trance With New Tune Days Go By - EDM Sauce

SCRANTON Electronic and trance-fusion music festival Camp Bisco is returning to Northeastern Pennsylvania for the third year in a row.

Festival organizers have announced the three-day event, headlined by jamtronica pioneers The Disco Biscuits, is scheduled for July 13 through 15 at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain & Montage Mountain Waterpark, 1000 Montage Mountain Road.

Co-headliners Bassnectar, Pretty Lights Live, GRiZ, Lotus, Gramatik, Action Bronson and Shpongle will give prime-time performances, and a list of nearly 50 additional acts includes 12th Planet, Beats Antique, Break Science, Electric Beethoven, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Swift Technique, Sophistafunk and others.

Early bird passes go on sale at noon Feb. 24 at CampBisco.com. VIP and travel packages will be available through the same outlet in the future.

For more lineup and ticket information, visit CampBisco.com.

Disco Biscuits bass player Marc Brownstein revels in the groove during the bands first set at Camp Bisco in 2016. The jamtronica pioneers will bring their festival back to Scranton with a full lineup in July.

http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_bisco2-9.jpgDisco Biscuits bass player Marc Brownstein revels in the groove during the bands first set at Camp Bisco in 2016. The jamtronica pioneers will bring their festival back to Scranton with a full lineup in July. Times Leader file photo

Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or on Twitter @TimesLeaderMatt.

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Trance-fusion festival Camp Bisco to return to Pavilion at Montage Mountain - Wilkes Barre Times-Leader

KQEDs Cy Musiker and David Wiegand share their picks for great events around the Bay Area this week.

The list is long this week for amazing stuff we couldnt fit in the show. Yiddish songbird Heather Klein premieres her new onewomanmusical, Shanghai Angel, about her grandmothers emigration from Austria to Shanghai to America through Angel Island. Its Feb. 26at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.Naatak opensthe very timely playAirport Insecurity, a Trump-esquetale of an Indian techie stuck at an airport in immigration limbo. Itsat the Cubberley Community Centerin Palo Alto, running Feb. 24-March 4. And for the ultimate in cool and classical, Mason Bates DJs and directs one of his Mercury Soul shows on Feb. 24, called Baroque & Beats at the DNA Lounge. Now for the show.

Feb. 2425: Otis Taylors new album, Fantasizing about Being Black, is about the history of the African American experience, from the slave ships to the Mississippi Delta, and the blues music that was born of those influences. Taylor has always recognized thatthe blues are a form of protest music, and theres plenty of comment here on the racism that endures in America today. Hes got a great band, too, withAnne Harris on violin. Details for his two shows at Biscuits and Blues are here.

Feb. 28May 29: The French painter Claude Monet is most famous for hishuge water lily paintings, done late in life. But we get a new perspective on the French artist in a show coming to the Legion of Honor called Monet: the Early Years,with 60 paintings demonstrating a period in the mid-19th century when the artist was part of a generation re-inventing painting. I didnt become an impressionist, the catalog quotes Monet. As long as I can remember I always have been one. He was always, as well, a master of color and a lover of landscapes. What a treat to see this first major U.S. exhibition devoted to Monets early works. Details for the show are here.

Feb. 24: The Oakland Symphony is presenting its annual concert celebrating world music traditions, and this year Conductor Michael Morgan sticks close to home with a program called Notes from Native California. Among the pieces is Big Sur: The Night Sun, by John Wineglass, featuring the voice of Ohlone/Chumash singer Kanyon Sayers-Roods, whose amazing soprano voice I first heard a few weeks ago at the Intertribal Friendship Housein Oakland. Sayers-Roods told me she makes up her own songs, and quotes her mom on how theyre not traditional, but still authentic. My mother goes, That is spirit. Those are our ancestors speaking through you. That is your culture being awakened. That is truth,' Sayers-Roods said. Because my mother and my grandmother have always shared a quote, When song, ceremony and dance stop, so does the earth, and I too believe that. Shes just one of the highlights for a concert that also features Shostakovitchs NinthSymphony. Details here.

Feb. 24March 3: Theres acategory called CNN Opera, describing a musical about a modern political event or movement. Think The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams and Alice Goodman, or The Life and Times of Malcolm X by Anthony Davis. Now added to that list is The Source, from 2016, about soldier Chelsea Mannings decision to disclose hundreds of thousands of classified and sensitive documents to WikiLeaks, her courtmartial, and her sex reassignment surgery.Composer Ted Hearne, who teaches composition at U.S.C., and librettist Mark Doten have created a kind of pop collage out of vocal, instrumental, and recorded sounds sung by a group of vocalists using a lot of autotune. The story is all the more compelling after former President Barack Obamas pardoning of Manning. Details for the show at the San Francisco Opera Lab are here.

Feb. 28:The Bell X-1 was the first plane to break the sound barrier, and the name also inspired a group ofyoung rockers from Ireland. Bell X1 make lovely danceable pop and gorgeous ballads. They write smart lyrics, mixing the personal with the political on song like Sons and Daughters, asking future generations for forgiveness for the mistakes of the present and on The End is Nigh, they ask Will the wrong guy get the codes, which seems an apt question for Europeans worried about our election of President Donald Trump. San Francisco isthe last stop on a short U.S. Tour for the Bell X1, before they return to their home base in Dublin, Ireland. Details for their show at The Chapel in San Francisco are here.

Feb. 28March 2: We squeezed in a pair of shoutouts as well. David picked former Bay Area resident Bill Hayes, who returns to read from his new memoir Insomniac City, focusing on his love affair with both New York City and the late author and psychiatrist Oliver Sacks. Hayes reads at Mrs. Dalloways in Berkeley on Feb. 28, at Rakestraw Books in Danville on March 1, and Book Passage in San Francisco on March 2. Details for all appearances are here.

Feb 2526: And I championthe Villalobos Brothers, a marvelous band of violinists playing jazz and Mexican roots music. Theyre part of San Jose Jazz Winter Fest on Feb. 25, and at Freight & Salvage on Feb. 26. Details here.

Cy Musiker co-hosts The Do List and covers the arts for KQED News and The California Report. He loves live performance, especially great theater, jazz, roots music, anything by Mahler. Cy has an MJ from UC Berkeley's School of Journalism, and got his BA from Hampshire College. His work has been recognized by the Society for Professional Journalists with their Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service in Journalism. When he can, Cy likes to swim in Tomales Bay, run with his dog in the East Bay Hills, and hike the Sierra.

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Cy and David's Picks: Musical Notes from Native California, Trance Blues, and Bell X1's High-Flying Pop - KQED

Unearthly Trance Premieres Pre-Release Full-Album Stream Of Upcoming New Album "Stalking The Ghost" Metal Underground New York City sludge/doom trio Unearthly Trance premieres the pre-release full-album stream of the band's upcoming new album "Stalking The Ghost", which will arrive in stores later today via Relapse Records. Check out now "Stalking The Ghost" in its ...

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Unearthly Trance Premieres Pre-Release Full-Album Stream Of Upcoming New Album "Stalking The Ghost" - Metal Underground

This article starts with some homework. I want you to watch this video:

If you have been a devoted reader of my Buddhism pieces, you have already seen this, so don't give the punchline away to the rest of the class.

Most all of you seeing this naively -- not aware of what is going to happen -- will have seen the little basketball exercise, and very few of you will have seen the moonwalking bear. Hell, I know what is happening and without consciously doing the Zen thing I still get sucked in. The point is that perception is altered by our thinking. One of the goals of Buddhist meditation is to make us aware of this -- not stop it, because we can't, that's the way we're built, but to be aware of it.

The furor about the Trump presidency has gotten to the point that people are literally (and I don't mean figuratively literally, I mean literally literally) seeing and hearing things that aren't there, just as in the video.

The truly glaring example this week was the succession of articles about Trump "lying" about a terrorist attack in Sweden. It's been widely reported, even on the one paragon of truth in American politics, PJ Media.

There's only one problem.

It didn't happen.

Excerpt from:

'Trump Trance'? Media Sure It 'Heard' Sweden Comment Trump Never Said - PJ Media

Photo: Contributed

The Centre for Gambling Research at UBC has published a new study that connects slot-machine addiction to a trance like state.

The fast, continuous style of play during slot machines brings an immersed state in which players can escape form feelings of stress, boredom or low mood.

This confirms there is indeed a link between gambling addiction and the so-called slot machine zone, said Luke Clark, the study's senior author.

Clark said slot machines lead to reduced attention to the visual world.

Slot machines are one of the most popular forms of gambling worldwide, but they are also the form most consistently linked to gambling addiction, said Spencer Murch the lead on the study.

Researchers found that participants who were at a higher risk of problem gambling reported greater levels of immersion during playing slot machines.

Participants played for 30 minutes and were told to report if they felt as if they were in a trance or lost track of time while playing. Their heart rates were also measured when they were playing.

We found they not only felt that they lost track of time and their surroundings, but they often failed to notice the shapes on the periphery of the machine," said Clark.

The study can be used to help guide the development of campaigns promoting gambling treatment and those at risk of becoming addicted.

There is potential for slot machines to be designed in a way that promotes more responsible use by disrupting the slot machine zone state, said Clark.

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In a slot machine trance - Castanet.net

European equity markets are expected to open higher on Monday, although trading is likely to be relatively light given the US bank holiday which helped drive similar conditions in Asia overnight.

It would appear were still in a kind of trance at the moment whereby equity markets continue to shuffle higher in the hope that Donald Trump will deliver on his fiscal stimulus, tax and deregulation plans and yet, theres no conviction in the rallys. This isnt overly surprising given the amount of political risk at the moment but you wonder how much longer we can remain in this state before we wake up.

Risk Aversion Percolates

Thats not necessarily to say markets are going to collapse or even enter correction but I think were nearing the point at which investors may start demanding something a little more concrete. Its difficult to ignore the moves in Gold and the yen alongside this which typically accompany more risk averse conditions. Perhaps it just reflects underlying uncertainty which is a concern.

Gold is actually trading a little lower so far today having interestingly failed to break above the high from 8 August, despite coming very close. The next big test for Gold will now come around $1,216.73, last weeks lows, with a break through here possibly triggering a move back below $1,200 towards $1,180.63.

OANDA fxTrade Advanced Charting Platform

As mentioned above, with it being a bank holiday in the US today, we could be looking at a slightly quieter session. We have some scatterings of low level data throughout the day but nothing that I would expect will cause too much of a jolt in the markets. The Reserve Bank of Australia minutes from its recent meeting, released overnight, will likely be the next event of note.

For a look at all of todays economic events, check out our economic calendar.

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all.You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Based in London, England, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a Market Analyst. With more than five years' experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while conducting macroeconomic commentary. He has been published by The Financial Times, Reuters, the BBC and The Telegraph, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on Bloomberg TV, CNBC, FOX Business and BNN. Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and he is recognized as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.

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Investors in a Trance as Stocks Shuffle Higher - MarketPulse - MarketPulse (blog)