Musical References in Commerical Psytrance: A Study of Vini Vici and KSHMR

Abstract

Psytrance finds its roots in full-moon parties held in Goa, India since the 1970s. Communities surrounding the EDM-subgenre would thereafter continue to grow, and psytrance eventually found itself proliferating globally. In recent years, the presence of psytrance artists in more commercial EDM environments has rapidly increased. Psytrance DJs are more frequently featured in “mainstream” circles, playing at large commercial festivals such as Ultra and Tomorrowland and giving interviews for magazines like DJ Mag. What distinguishes these commercial psytrance artists from their electro house and big room counterparts, are the specific references made to India, one of the primary sites where psytrance finds its origin. Whereas extensive research has been performed on psytrance communities outside of the EDM-mainstream, commercial psytrance has received little scholarly attention. In this thesis, I study how commercial psytrance artists Vini Vici and KSHMR employ both musical and extra-musical techniques to market a commercial psytrance sound to a broader public. I reveal how both artists signify Indian musical practices and Hindustani beliefs in their musics. Through an extensive study of Vini Vici’s “Namaste” (2015) and KSHMR’s “Invisible Children” (2016), I explain the different musical and extra-musical tactics that are employed. Building on Butler’s method for analysing EDM-tracks, I map the various musical references evoked by Vini Vini and KSHMR. I argue that whereas Vini Vici uses more ambiance sounds, KSHMR builds his track around a vocal sample from a sample pack that references Indian practices. Similarities between both approaches are found in the use of specific instrumentation in a Western tonal context. In addition, both psytrance artists refer to Indian practices in their lyrics, track titles and cover art. Altogether, this thesis sheds light on the underrepresented area of psytrance in electronic dance music studies by tracing the use of musical references in a new wave of commercial psytrance artists.