The growing popularity of the genre-blending between Progressive Trance and Melodic Techno is finally met with an answer in festival form: Insomniac’s newest Socal fest, Interstellar.

Launched as a collaboration between Insomniac’s Trance brand Dreamstate, and Techno brand Factory 93, Interstellar debuts at the LA Waterfront at Berth 46 in San Pedro, CA, on Saturday, August 19, and Sunday, August 20. 

If you were to ask Trance or Techno ‘purists’, a festival blending these two genres might seem outlandish. However, there are many similarities between the genres that this festival features, and most of the artists on the lineup don’t firmly fall into one sole genre category because of this.

From a technical standpoint, Progressive, Progressive House, Progressive Trance, and Melodic Techno all hang around 120-128 bpm, often utilizing bass, leads, and kick drums that emote similar sounds and feelings. Chord progressions differentiate Melodic Techno from ‘pure’ Techno, but Melodic Techno shares many of the same elements as what someone else might describe as simply “Progressive” or “Progressive House.” Progressive House has a smoother baseline compared to the rolling bass line of Progressive Trance. 

Like any art form, which category any given listener might put an artist or song in comes down to the vibe the user gets while listening. If you don’t know the technical terms and rules for what makes one genre different from another, (especially between genres so closely related), as a listener, going on the feel and vibe of a song, can you really be wrong on how you decide to categorize the sound?

The answer to that would likely depend on who you ask. Let’s use the artists on Interstellar’s lineup as an example: most people might say 8Kays is Melodic Techno, and while Miss Monique’s sound could be likewise be classified as Melodic Techno, she also fits into the Progressive House genre, along with artists like Cristoph, Anden, and Korolova. 

Then there are artists that can range from Progressive House to more classic Trance, like Sasha & John Digweed, Yotto, and Lane 8, the latter who in the last year played the House & Techno festival CRSSD in San Diego, only to play at Quantum Valley, EDC Las Vegas’ Dreamstate hosted stage, a few months later, serving as a perfect example of how one artist can create music that fits into more than one genre.

When you recognize the way these genres blend and crossover one another, it’s truly believable that the Interstellar Experience promises to “guide you through this strange and beautiful infinity, and together we will journey through the unknown. Interstellar represents a spectrum of sound, a world of its own among the pulsing of the stars, where innumerable melodies intertwine with the constellations, and the resounding vibrations of the universe can be felt all around.”

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For more information and to purchase tickets, visit interstellarexperience.com