A Produce - Land Of A Thousand Trances

Originally released in 1994, 'Land of a Thousand Trances' acted as an ambitious counterpart to the previous A Produce albums, 'Reflect Like a Mirror, Respond Like an Echo' (1992) and 'The Clearing' (1988, reissued in March 2023 by Independent Project).

Similarly to what Eno had done when he defined the context and nature of the newly baptized ambient genre, the late Barry Craig (A Produce) accompanied 'Land of a Thousand Trances' with a press release that outlined the fundamental elements of what he liked to call trance music. It can be as driving as the sound of world beat rhythms against modern day electronics, he wrote, or as subtle as the tinkling of Japanese bells mixed with background environmental sounds. Whatever the vehicle, the fundamental requirement of trance music is that it sets up a rhythm (percussion), a sustained sound (drone), or a repetitive figure that over time, evokes a spellbinding hold on the listener, drawing them deeper into the music, or trance.

In 2007 A Produce worked on a remaster of the album, adding a second disc featuring bonus material from around the same time the album was recorded. This second chapter in the 'Land of a Thousand Trances' journey is as hypnotic as the first and original one: there are cuts taken from the same recording sessions that didn't previously make the tracklist, as well as live renditions and alternate versions. It's fascinating insight into A Produce's mindset during aparticularly inspired moment in his fascinating career.