Simon Paul Berry, known by his alias Art of Trance is a trance music

Trance music

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

 artist from England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Berry is also known as Poltergeist or Vicious Circles, and has been a member of the trance groups Clanger, Conscious and Union Jack

Union Jack (band)

Union Jack is a trance music collaboration between Simon Berry and Claudio Giussani, a trance music producer from England. The duo has focused on acid and tech trance and has been closely associated with the Platipus record label, which was founded by Berry....

. In addition to his work as an artist, Berry was the co-founder and head of Platipus Records

Platipus Records

Platipus Records was a popular trance music record label that was based in London, UK. It was founded in 1993 by Simon Berry. The early releases were almost exclusively limited to Berry's various projects, including Union Jack, Clanger, and Art of Trance...

. He cites Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

, Vangelis

Vangelis

Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...

, Tomita

Isao Tomita

, often known simply as Tomita, is a Japanese music composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements...

, Orbital

Orbital (band)

Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, England consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill, in addition to a number of other live shows...

, 808 State

808 State

808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...

, Jean Michel Jarre

Jean Michel Jarre

Jean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and...

, Walter Wendy Carlos, Juan Atkins

Juan Atkins

Juan Atkins is an American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno music, specifically Detroit techno along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson...

, Derrick May and Jeff Mills

Jeff Mills

Jeff Mills is an American techno DJ and producer.-Career:Starting in the early 1980s, Mills, using the name "The Wizard", was a recurring guest DJ on "The Electrifying Mojo" radio show on WJLB...

 as his musical influences. Art of Trance is well known for the usage of samples

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 of natural sounds (or electronically produced imitations of natural sounds) in his tracks, like bird singing (e.g. "Easter Island", "Kaleidoscope", "Madagascar"). The songs "Stealth" and "Blue Owl" were featured on the video game, Midnight Club II

Midnight Club II

Midnight Club II is the first sequel to Midnight Club: Street Racing, published for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. Players race through cities inspired by Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo...

.

Singles

• 1993 "Vicious Circles" (as Poltergeist)
• 1993 "Cambodia"
• 1993 "Deeper Than Deep"
• 1993 "Gloria"
• 1993 "The Colours"
• 1995 "Octopus" / "Orange"
• 1996 "Wildlife On One"
• 1997 "Kaleidoscope"
• 1998 "Madagascar" - UK
  UK Singles Chart
  The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
  
   #69
• 1999 "Breath"
• 1999 "Easter Island"
• 1999 "Madagascar" - UK #48
• 2000 "Vicious Circles" (as Vicious Circles)
• 2000 "Monsoon"
• 2001 "Killamanjaro"
• 2002 "Madagascar" - UK #41
• 2002 "Love Washes Over" - UK #60
• 2004 "Mongoose"
• 2004 "Turkish Bizzare"
• 2005 "Madagascar" / "Monsoon"
• 2006 "Persia"
• 2009 "Madagascar Remastered 2009"
• 2009 "Swarm"
• 2011 "The Horn"

Remixes

• 1993 Art of Trance - "Deeper Than Deep" (as Poltergeist)
• 1994 Velocity - "Lust"
• 1998 The Young Braves - "Warriors Groove" (as Poltergeist)
• 1999 Quietman
  Quietman
  Quietman is a Trance music group.This ironically named outfit was created by futuristic, uplifting and contemporary Trance producers Larry Lush and Wilf Frost....
  
   - "Tranquil"
• 1999 Yello vs. Hardfloor - "Vicious Games"
• 2001 Moogwai - "The Labyrinth" (as Vicious Circles)
• 2002 Indiana - "Do You Hear Me?"
• 2002 John Occlusion vs. Johen - "Psycho Drums"
• 2003 Jan Johnston
  Jan Johnston
  Jan Johnston is an English professional singer, best known for collaborating with some of the world's top trance music DJs.-Career:...
  
  - "Calling Your Name"
• 2004 Tekara - "Wanna Be An Angel"

External links

• Interview with Simon Berry at 4Clubbers.net
• Interview with Simon Berry at Trance.nu
• [ Art of Trance bio at allmusic.com]