Melodigging logoMelodigging name
hypertrance

Hypertrance

United States · 2020s
DancingEpicHappyDreamyIntense

Your digging level

For this genre
0/8
🏆
Sign in, then listen to this genre to level up

Description

Hypertrance is an internet-native fusion of modern trance and the maximalist, ultra-glossy aesthetics of the hyperpop ecosystem. It emphasizes euphoric supersaw leads, soaring pads, huge risers, and hard side‑chained kick–bass grooves, while borrowing hyperpop’s pitch‑shifted vocals, clipped loudness, and playful, self‑aware sound design.

Typical tempos sit around 140–160 BPM with a 4/4 pulse, bright major‑key hooks, and breakdowns that explode into short, high‑impact drops. Producers frequently combine trance signifiers (gated pads, anthemic builds, arpeggios, 303/acid flourishes) with internet-era techniques (OTT compression, aggressive clipping, formant play, nightcore‑style vocal edits). The result feels at once nostalgic and futuristic: a rave ecstasy updated for the post‑SoundCloud, post‑PC Music generation.


Sources: Spotify, Wikipedia, Discogs, RYM, MB, user feedback and other online sources

History

Origins

Hypertrance emerged in the early 2020s within online producer communities (SoundCloud, Discord servers, Bandcamp), where trance’s millennium‑era euphoria was being rediscovered through the lens of hyperpop’s digital maximalism. As post‑PC Music sensibilities spread across club music, younger producers began recasting classic trance tropes—supersaws, hands‑in‑the‑air breakdowns, gated pads—using contemporary sound design, heavy limiting, and meme‑aware presentation.

Aesthetics and Infrastructure

The style cohered around short, single‑idea tracks optimized for streaming and DJ edits: swift intros, dramatic tension‑and‑release, and explosive, sugar‑rush drops. Compilation culture, micro‑labels, and scene‑driven playlists helped codify the tag “hypertrance,” while club‑ready edits circulated rapidly among internet DJs bridging hyperpop nights and trance/eurodance revivals.

Spread and Consolidation

By the mid‑2020s, hypertrance motifs—anthemic chords, high‑gloss leads, and nightcore‑flavored vocals—were appearing in broader underground sets and in adjacent scenes (hard dance revivals, wave, modern euro‑trance). The genre’s identity remains flexible: it functions both as a distinct tag and as a toolkit for injecting euphoric trance DNA into contemporary pop‑adjacent club music.

How to make a track in this genre

Tempo, Groove, and Form
•   Aim for 140–160 BPM in 4/4 with a driving, side‑chained kick–bass foundation. •   Use DJ‑friendly but concise song forms: quick intro, tension‑building breakdown, a big payoff drop, and a compact outro. Tracks often run 2–3 minutes.
Harmony and Melody
•   Favor bright, diatonic progressions (I–V–vi–IV or iv–V–I lifts) and anthemic leads. •   Layer supersaws (e.g., Serum/Sylenth unison 6–16 voices), highpass the build to thin the mix, then slam the full spectrum back at the drop. •   Add trance arpeggios (1/8 or 1/16), gated pads, and wide chorus to achieve ‘cathedral’ width.
Sound Design and Texture
•   Embrace OTT compression, saturation, and tasteful clip‑limiting to reach hyper‑gloss loudness. •   Combine classic trance signifiers (gated pads, white‑noise risers, impacts, 303/acid fills) with internet‑native flair (bitcrush moments, stutter edits, nightcore‑style pitch/time shifts). •   Sidechain aggressively (LFO Tool/Kickstart) to make the mix pump; carve a sub‑bass pocket for a tight, clicky kick.
Vocals and Hooks
•   If using vocals, try pitched‑up, formant‑shifted chops or micro‑phrases as hooks. Call‑and‑response between lead and chopped vox works well. •   Melody should be instantly singable; consider octave‑doubled leads for the drop.
Arrangement Tricks
•   Build with filtered pads and snare rolls; fake‑out drops keep energy playful. •   Use brief ‘silence gap’ or tape‑stop before the drop for impact. Inject one surprise element (acid run, hardstyle kick switch, or breakbeat fill) to keep it internet‑fresh.
How To: Freeform X Hypertrance #hypertrance #ukhardcore #happyhardcore #hardtrance #samplepack
How To: Freeform X Hypertrance #hypertrance #ukhardcore #happyhardcore #hardtrance #samplepack
oxygenetiX
How To Make Neo Trance Rhythm Game Style
How To Make Neo Trance Rhythm Game Style
Aethral
How To: Hard Trance Deepforces Style #hardtrance #eurodance #handsup #hypertrance
How To: Hard Trance Deepforces Style #hardtrance #eurodance #handsup #hypertrance
oxygenetiX
How To Make Hypertrance Like Nuphory & Exodia [+Samples]
How To Make Hypertrance Like Nuphory & Exodia [+Samples]
Julien Earle

Best playlists

The Sound of Hypertrance
The Sound of Hypertrance
Every Noise at Once
Hypertrance
Hypertrance
Chosic
Best of Hypertrance
Best of Hypertrance
volt.fm
hypertrance :: official ✨
hypertrance :: official ✨
nuphory
HYPERTRANCE / NEO-Y2K / JUNGLE
HYPERTRANCE / NEO-Y2K / JUNGLE
Tikastor
hypertrance 2 :: one hour of y2k trance
hypertrance 2 :: one hour of y2k trance
hypertrance

Main artists

nuphory
nuphory
Luna Lenta
Luna Lenta
crayvxn
crayvxn
Type R
Type R
Egofear
Egofear

Top tracks

Locked
Share your favorite track to unlock other users’ top tracks

Upcoming concerts

in this genre
Influenced by
Trance
Trance is a form of electronic dance music characterized by steady four-on-the-floor beats, long build‑ups and breakdowns, and euphoric, melodic progressions designed to induce a hypnotic or “trance‑like” state. Typical tempos range from about 130 to 142 BPM, with arrangements often stretching 7–10 minutes to allow DJs room for tension, release, and seamless mixing. The sound palette emphasizes shimmering pads, arpeggiated synth motifs, supersaw leads, and wide, reverberant spaces. Harmonically, trance tends to favor minor keys, modal mixture, and extended suspense before cathartic drops. Production hallmarks include sidechain compression (“pumping”), off‑beat open hi‑hats, rolling basslines, and lush delay/reverb tails. While largely instrumental, a major branch—vocal trance—features lyrical toplines and pop‑leaning structures without losing its club‑centric dynamics.
Hyperpop
Hyperpop is an internet-native pop movement known for its maximalist sound design, pitch-shifted vocals, and frenetic genre collisions. It exaggerates pop tropes—ultra-bright synths, hard-clipping drums, sugary hooks—then smashes them together with elements of club music, trap, and experimental electronica. The style favors hyper-synthetic timbres, extreme processing (auto‑tune, formant shifting, heavy sidechaining, distortion), and abrupt structural left turns. Lyrically, it swings between irreverent internet humor and disarmingly sincere confessions, often reflecting online identity, queerness, and hyper-modern life. Although diverse, the common thread is a playful, self-aware push of pop to surreal, high-saturation extremes.
Hard Trance
Hard trance is a high‑energy branch of trance that emerged in the German rave scene in the early–mid 1990s. It pairs the genre’s long, euphoric breakdowns and melodic hooks with tougher production: punchy, often clipped 909‑style kicks, off‑beat open hi‑hats, grinding or rolling basslines, and aggressive supersaw or acid leads. Typically running around 138–148 BPM, hard trance emphasizes dramatic builds, snare rolls, white‑noise risers, and tension‑and‑release drops. Its harmonic language leans minor and modal, producing a mood that is simultaneously uplifting and intense. The result is a club‑ready sound designed for big rooms and festivals, bridging early trance euphoria with techno’s percussive bite.
Tech Trance
Tech trance is a hybrid of techno’s percussive precision and trance’s large-scale breakdowns and euphoria. It emphasizes driving, mechanical grooves, tough kick-and-bass synergy, and crisp, repetitive percussion while still deploying atmospheric pads, tense builds, and streamlined hooks. Typically in the 132–140 BPM range, it is darker and more utilitarian than uplifting trance, yet more melodic and expansive than straight techno. Expect rolling basslines, snappy 909-style hats and claps, acidic sequences, filtered sweeps, and short, functional riffs that culminate in powerful drops designed for big rooms and festival floors. The genre became a staple in late-1990s to mid-2000s European club culture, especially in the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and Italy, and remains influential in modern hard dance and “tech-lift” strands of contemporary trance.
Psytrance
Psytrance (psychedelic trance) is a high-energy branch of trance music that emphasizes hypnotic repetition, richly modulated synth textures, and immersive sound design. Typically ranging from 138–150 BPM (with substyles slower or faster), it features a straight four-on-the-floor kick, a tight, rolling 1/16th-note bassline, and intricately layered FX—zaps, squelches, formant sweeps, and granular stutters—arranged to create a mind-bending, psychedelic journey. Tracks are commonly 6–9 minutes long, evolving through long-form tension and release. Harmony is sparse and modal (often minor, Phrygian, or Phrygian dominant), while rhythmic micro-variations, filter automation, and spatial motion (pans, dopplers, psychoacoustic tricks) carry the narrative.
Nitzhonot
Nitzhonot is a fast, highly melodic branch of Israeli Goa/psytrance whose name comes from the Hebrew word for “victories.” It emphasizes triumphant, euphoric synth leads, dramatic key changes, and bright, anthem‑like hooks over a pounding 4/4 kick and a driving, rolling bassline. Typically clocking in around 145–155 BPM, the style blends classic Goa trance arpeggios with more overtly uplifting, hands‑in‑the‑air trance gestures. Middle‑Eastern modes and ornamental pitch bends are common, giving its melodies a distinctive, celebratory color that set it apart from darker or more minimal strands of psytrance.
Happy Hardcore
Happy hardcore is a fast, euphoric branch of the early UK rave continuum characterized by brisk tempos, 4/4 kicks, bright piano stabs, supersaw leads, and pitched-up “chipmunk” vocals. It emphasizes major-key harmony, catchy melodies, and ecstatic breakdowns, aiming for maximum uplift on the dancefloor. Compared to darker hardcore and gabber, happy hardcore favors feel-good hooks, singalong choruses, and sentimental atmospheres while retaining the relentless energy and drive of hardcore techno.
Hardstyle
Hardstyle is a high-energy form of electronic dance music built around a hard, four‑on‑the‑floor kick, tempos around 150 BPM, and a signature "reverse bass" that drives the groove. Sound design centers on heavily distorted, layered kicks that are pitched melodically, alongside harsh screeches and bright supersaw leads. Emerging at the turn of the millennium from the Netherlands with parallel scenes in Belgium and Italy, hardstyle fuses elements of techno, new beat, and hardcore/gabber with the euphoric breakdowns of trance. Over time it split into distinct currents, from euphoric, melody‑forward anthems to raw, industrial‑edged variations that emphasize aggression and texture.
Hands Up
Hands up is a high-energy, melodic European dance style characterized by four-on-the-floor beats, bright supersaw leads, and euphoric, singalong choruses. Tracks typically sit around 140–145 BPM and emphasize catchy toplines, uplifting chord progressions in major keys, and festival-friendly builds with snare rolls, risers, and pitch-lifted transitions. The genre thrives on polished, radio-ready production and often features female vocals with simple, feel-good lyrics about love, escapism, and partying. Its sound occupies a sweet spot between Eurodance and trance: more pop-forward than classic trance, but more anthemic and faster than most Eurodance, making it ideal for both clubs and mainstream airplay in the mid-to-late 2000s.
Nightcore
Nightcore is an internet-born editing style that speeds up and pitch‑raises existing songs—typically by around a third in speed—so the vocals become brighter and more youthful and the groove turns more urgent. Practically, a classic nightcore edit accelerates a pop, Eurodance, or trance source by roughly 20–35% (the canonical meme is ~35%), which also lifts the pitch by about five and a half semitones—similar to playing a 33⅓‑rpm record at 45 rpm. The result is euphoric, hook‑forward, and highly kinetic, and it is often presented with anime or fan‑art visuals that emphasize its internet‑native identity.
Eurobeat
Eurobeat is a high-tempo, hook-driven form of European dance music that emerged in Italy in the late 1980s and was developed primarily for the Japanese market in the 1990s. It is characterized by four-on-the-floor rhythms around 150–160 BPM, bright supersaw leads, dramatic chord progressions in minor keys, and anthemic, often English-language choruses. Unlike Eurodance, Eurobeat leans heavily on Italo-disco and Hi-NRG aesthetics, with dense layers of synths, punchy drum programming, and soaring toplines sung by a roster of Italian session vocalists under multiple aliases. The style became tightly linked to Japan through the long-running Super Eurobeat compilations, Para Para club culture, and pop-cultural placements (notably the Initial D franchise).
Hypertechno
Hypertechno is a recent hard‑dance offshoot that pushes big‑room/electro‑house ideas to extreme tempos and impact. Typical tracks run at 150–170 BPM, built around pounding 4/4 kicks, aggressive side‑chained basslines, razor‑edged leads, and snare‑roll buildups that explode into short, hook‑driven drops. The style often reimagines familiar pop hooks or classic dance motifs as high‑octane, festival‑scale drops, borrowing the reverse‑bass punch and distortion aesthetics from hardstyle and hard techno while keeping the catchy toplines and hands‑up euphoria of 2000s commercial trance and Eurodance. Viral edits and social‑media‑first distribution have been central to its spread.
Hyper Techno
Hyper techno is a high-energy dance style that first appeared in Japan in the 1990s, where labels and club culture marketed "hyper" offshoots of techno for Para Para–style dance floors. It emphasized fast, driving four-on-the-floor beats, simple and catchy toplines, and bright synth timbres. In the 2020s, the term resurfaced globally for a pop-facing, festival-ready variant that blends fast tempos, prominent basslines, and hard-hitting drums with streamlined hooks and earworm vocals. This new wave draws heavily on Y2K Eurodance/Hard Dance aesthetics and Electropop songwriting, packaged for short-form virality and big-room impact.
Nerdcore Techno
Nerdcore techno is an internet-born strain of high‑energy electronic dance music that obsessively samples and remixes pieces of 1980s and 1990s Japanese pop culture—anime dialogue and openings, TV commercials, arcade jingles, game consoles, and idol songs—often without prior clearance. Producers chop, timestretch, and bit‑crush these fragments into manic, hooky loops, then drive them with four‑on‑the‑floor kicks or breakbeats at hardcore tempos. Musically, it sits between J‑core, happy hardcore, gabber, and breakcore: bright supersaw riffs, chip‑style leads, and cartoonish FX ride over 160–190 BPM drums, sudden drop‑cuts, and meme‑worthy vocal stabs. Culturally, it embraces otaku aesthetics—cover art, track titles, and visual branding reference retro Japanese media—making nostalgia as central as speed and impact.
Deep Eurodance
Deep eurodance is a darker, more atmospheric strain of the 1990s eurodance sound. It keeps the genre’s four-on-the-floor drive, rap–verse/sung–chorus interplay, and big hooks, but swaps the brightest bubblegum elements for moody pads, minor-key chord cycles, and deeper, club-focused production. Where classic eurodance pushed radio-friendly euphoria, deep eurodance tilts toward late‑night dancefloors: warm subs, subdued M1/organ stabs, hoover textures used sparingly, and emotive toplines that feel nostalgic rather than sugary. The result is a style that sits between eurodance, trance, and deep house aesthetics—energetic and danceable, yet more hypnotic and introspective.
Has influenced
Glitter Trance
Glitter trance is a melody-forward branch of modern trance distinguished by bright, shimmering synth design, sparkling arpeggios, and euphoric, pop-leaning chord progressions. It keeps trance’s 4/4 drive and spacious breakdowns, but polishes the sound with glossy pads, shimmer reverbs, and hooky, radio-friendly toplines. Compared with harder or more psychedelic strains, glitter trance favors luminous supersaws, airy plucks, and side‑chained pads that "glitter" across the stereo field. Tempos typically sit in the 128–135 BPM range, with arrangements that balance club energy and streaming-oriented brevity. The overall affect is uplifting, dreamy, and unabashedly melodic.

Download our mobile app

Get the Melodigging app and start digging for new genres on the go
© 2026 Melodigging
Legal
Melodding was created as a tribute to Every Noise at Once, which inspired us to help curious minds keep digging into music's ever-evolving genres.
Buy me a coffee for Melodigging