Trance_Rules.docx

Narrative & Festival Context

Festival Program Note

In the wake of the aborted slot, a stern voice steps out to restore order. The stage resets to defaults. The tempo is explained. The proper way to dance is outlined. Arms are to remain sensible. Joy is to be measured. Unfortunately, someone has discovered the pad controller. What follows is not rebellion, exactly—just unfiltered enthusiasm colliding with authority, as perfectly behaved trance drops dissolve into joyful, rule-breaking noise.

Lead Puppet Producer

Dial – Dial wrote Trance_Rules.docx as a perfectly ordered manifesto—clean builds, sensible arm angles, kick and bass aligned like well-labeled folders. He loved it. Then Patch suggested the “Interrupted Edition,” where a pad-happy gremlin keeps derailing the rules mid-lecture, and Dial experienced what can only be described as measurable physical discomfort. Still, he knew the chaos would land with a crowd, so he reframed the whole thing as exposure therapy: let the interruptions happen, then prove the grid can absorb them. The trance sections are immaculate on purpose—Dial’s comfort zone, polished to surgical precision—so every sidetrack feels like a test he chooses to survive rather than a system failure.

Track Dedication

Dedicated to my kid—the tiny chaos engine who was literally at the pads making those drops you probably hated, and the voice you’re hearing is her unfiltered joy (okay… slightly filtered, and definitely formant-shifted). This track exists because she showed up with zero shame, zero genre loyalty, and the kind of confidence adults spend years trying to earn back.

Kids are the only true RNG in the universe. They don’t make choices to be “correct,” they make choices because they’re curious—and that’s how new ideas get born. So if something in here makes you laugh, cringe, or suddenly rethink what “good taste” means, that’s the point. Listen anyway. The next big inspiration you’re waiting for might be sitting at a controller right now, pressing buttons like it’s magic—because to them, it still is.

Lyrics – “Trance_Rules.docx (Interrupted Edition)”

Official lyrics are provided below for reference. For a synced or formatted version, you can also visit Musixmatch.

This track will outline the proper
Rules of trance and dance floor conduct

One beat per count, maintain the pace
Feet on the floor, no wild displays
Arms at a height that's safe and fair
No sudden jumps that fill the air
Four bars composed with dignity
A measured rise in energy
Prepare yourself, no need to shout
The drop should be very civil
Who said safe? Brass in your face!
Yeah daddy! More boom booms!

This is categorically unacceptable!
May I continue?

A trance event requires control
Please do not hit the mixing desk
Form tidy rows, avoid all bumps
No audience-led primal thumps
We now resume the rule review
Stand still and nod, that motion's due
Contain your joy, respect the beat
The next drop should be quite restrained

I... absolutely refuse
May I continue?

Dance is meant to follow the rules
Structure, order, and decorum
Thank you, my friend... someone civil

A trance event needs discipline
Stay in your lane, keep order in
The drop arrives in four short counts
Please brace yourself, do not let go

I said four counts not
Whatever this is

I... cannot endorse this recording
Good night
Good night