A few years into the future, on a very special day, a large number of trance DJs were taking the lift upwards (up-lift) to a crazy back-to-back (B2B) liveset broadcast at the top of a radio tower at Burj Khalifa. They were on a very important mission to reaffirm their solidarity and passion for trance music, and to resuscitate the anaemic scene filled with cheesy trouse music. There were two radio stations in the building. On the 125-128th floor, there were many filthy rich radio stations for big room and future house music that had engulfed the EDM scene in the past years, broadcasted to the world 24/7. On the 138th floor however, an exclusive radio station survived to play true blue trance music, untainted by the contagious and money making big room scene.

As the DJs entered the luxurious lift, Armin van Buuren turned his head around sheepishly, and reached his hand out for the 128th floor, wanting to join the radio station of his good friend Hardwell and earn some easy money. Solarstone slapped his arm, glared at Armin and said, “Please.” Armin relented and replied, “Alright, I’m not that afraid of 138!” reluctantly nudging the “138” button. The elevator started its ascent, and everyone was merry and chatty. However, at the 130th floor, without any warning, the elevator jerked abruptly, and started to rock violently from side to side. A State Of Panic built up as the elevator lights flickered. Indecent Noise remarked, “Oh no, are there glitches going on?” Bryan Kearney replied, “Well, it’s still moving to the next level,” and Snejider added “I don’t think it’s working in proper order though.” Cosmic Gate started to feel giddy, so they were falling back onto the walls for support.

While everyone was disorientated and panicking, the lift came to a screeching halt before turning pitch black. Aly & Fila cried out, “OH NO, are we gonna be stuck here for all time?!” Armin, always the cool headed and comical person, joked wryly, “Don’t worry, we are all TOGETHER in this state. So this is what it feels like, so intense!” Ferry Tayle retorted, “You stupid sellout, no one’s gonna rescue me, and definitely not you, there’s no way back home.”

A few hours passed in dismay as they tried everything to get out. The lift turned abysmally quiet, the silence only to be occasionally broken by soft cries of devastated DJs. Neptune Project whimpered, “I lost all my tears…” Another World suggested, “Hey, if we are really going to die here, why don’t we make a last call to our loved ones?”, and Daniel Kandi added “Yes, better late than never!”

The DJs took out their mobile phones, and suddenly, all of their screens lit up together with the face of – none other than the infamous duo – Willem van Hanegem and Wardt van der Harst!!! (W&W) “HAHAHAHAHA! YOU STUPID TRANCE MAKING PRODUCERS, YOU HAVE FALLEN INTO MY TRAP! I ASKED PETE TONG TO HOST THIS B2B TRANCE SESSION TO BREAK THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD FOR THE LONGEST TRANCE LIVESET. BUT HE WAS SO STUPID TO THINK THAT I WILL PLAY TRANCE AGAIN” he thundered. “Now that everyone has nowhere to go, I would like to inform all of you that this ultramodern elevator carriage has been modified to work like a rocket. In an hour, the thrusters at the bottom of the lift will trigger, and your elevator carriage will lift off from the world’s tallest building, sending all of you into space, into the oblivion. Good luck searching for tomorrow, none of you will survive, HAHAHA! It took 8 years and all my money for this plan, and finally WE control the sound now! Think about the impact: the only trance for mankind will come from us, and the youngsters will be so stupid to accept it!” Will Atkinson, with a dejected face, remarked, “You win, we are stuck here eternally, and have become the unfortunate victims…” Cosmic Gate pleaded, “HEY, please don’t send us into an exploration of space, this ain’t a fair game!”

John Askew, with a smug face, said, “Guys calm down, ignore the bastards, there is a way out! How can I put this… With our combined uplifting powers, we can fix the mechanism of the elevator!” A crazy thought came into Solarstone and he remarked, “Everyone! Hold each other hands, close your eyes, we can’t fly, but we are going to summon the spell!” The DJs huddled close to each other in a circle, holding each other’s hands and closing their eyes. John O’ Callaghan (JOC) closed his eyes, and with the energy of everyone, started to visualize everyone performing an epic trance liveset which felt so surreal. Slowly but steadily, he summoned exactly one special particle with Solarstone that was invisible, but so PURE that it held enough energy and electromagnetic radiation to power the elevator again! For many years, nuclear physicists had attempted to find and create this particle in the Large Hadron Collider, but JOC has now accidentally managed to create one with his uplifting prowess! JOC muttered, “Trance, save this moment, take it all away!” The spell was complete. The lights came back on and with a mighty churn, the lift magically rose upwards again. Aly & Fila squealed, “We did it! It’s in full throttle!” With the last of its energy, the lift door creaked open slowly but in its process filled the area with lots of smoke. Coughing ensued. W&W screamed, “NOOOOOOOO F*CK” and all the live video screens cut off from the mobile devices.

“What a smokescreen, I can’t breathe!” John O’Callaghan exclaimed, and Paul van Dyk added, “We are alive! We made it!”. When the dust settled, Pete Tong, and many other trance DJs were already there waiting, cheering and giving them a warm applause! Pete Tong proclaimed with his perfect British accent, “Welcome everyone, good to see all of you, it is ESSENTIAL that we continue with the broadcast to revive true electronic music.” Among the celebrations and jovial exchanges, Armin made a call and with his trademark smile, informed everyone that he just took a moment to communicate with the other stockholders of Armada. He said that Mainstage, owned by W&W, will be closed down, and all future releases will be checked by the strictest, control freak panel from /r/trance before releasing it onto Beatport and elsewhere as a “Trance” record. The crowd erupted with intense cheering. The night was truly saved by Armin.

The longest trance liveset broadcasted ever was a great success, drawing media attention and about ten million live listeners. It was subsequently played over 100 million times on YouTube, SoundCloud and Spotify, and further released in many compilation albums. To further the celebrations, Armin realized that he was going wrong, that trance music is indeed intricate, serene and sacred, giving his full focus to release 5 perfect Gaia records in a year. He also hosted the ASOT festival at 30 countries for almost half a year to celebrate, above and beyond the imaginations of everyone. Everybody was happy, except for Andrew Rayel and Dash Berlin, whose new big room releases were 100% blocked out from Armada, and they had no choice to release them on Spinnin Records or Revealed instead. As for W&W, the men on the run, rumours are that they went into hiding in the deep underground tunnels of Moscow and could not be found, with the most loyal fans bringing food to them for survival. Occasionally, the duo snuck out to small clubs in the country to perform under a different name and earn some money, playing music so generic that no one could recognize them.

The golden days of trance came back, and while it could not rival big room house, it became a formidable force in its own right to be reckoned with in big festivals and radio shows. Finally, JOC and Solarstone were awarded the Physics Nobel Prize for the discovery and the creation of a new elementary particle, which they aptly named “A Special Particle (Purest Mix)”, made by elevating elementary particles to a higher energy level with trance music. They also jointly received the Lifetime Achievement Award in the International Dance Music Award for reviving the EDM scene. What a year it was for them.

Author’s Note: Hope you enjoyed the story. How many title puns could you identify? How did you find the storyline? Would you like more of these satire stories? Tell us in the comments below! =)