Magazine

Total Eclipse – 10 Essential Tracks

Total Eclipse – 10 Essential Tracks

Total Eclipse is a french Goa-Trance project originally formed in 1992 by three French musicians, Stéphane Holweck, Serge Souque (currently known as The Antidote) and Loïc Van Pouckein, with only Stephane remaining as the sole member today.

The first tracks of the band appeared in 1993 on various compilations and in 1994, their first single track releases were published on DragonFly Records and TIP Records. In 1995, they released their first album “Delta Aquarids”, varying from Goa-Trance vibes to more minimalistic downtempo and melodic psy-bient. This album was a foundation stone in the scene and helped defined what Goa-Trance music is all about : a state of mind, rather than simply a specific musical genre. In 1996, the band released a double-cd album called “Violent Relaxation” on Blue Room Released which is still considered today as one the pinnacles of old school goa/psy trance movement and one of the most influential albums.

Their first album “Delta Aquarids” was a foundation stone in the scene and helped defined what Goa-Trance music is all about : a state of mind, rather than simply a specific musical genre

Surprisingly, in 1999 Total Eclipse published a downtempo/drum&bass/breaks album called “Access Denied”. This was seen as an attempt for the band to prove they can produce material beyond the Goa-Trance genre, and fuse different styles in order to create something groundbreaking.
In 2000, Serge Souque left the band and focused on his solo project “The Antidote”. From that moment, the remaining members of the band started to focus more on a Psy-trance approach and released in 2003 on the Japanese label Arcadia Music their fourth album titled “Update Files”. Around that time, Loïc Van Pouckein also chose to depart from the band, leaving Stephane as the sole remaining member. “Tales of The Shaman” is the latest full-length album released in 2009 on Mandala Records.

Total Eclipse @ “15 Years Dacru Event” (2016, Belgium)

After founding the “Juno Reactor” band with Ben Watkins in 1992 and participating in countless collaborations with well-known names in the genre -among them Simon Posford (Hallucinogen, Shpongle) and Raja Ram (Shpongle, 1200 Mics) on the album Mystery of the Yeti (1996)- Stephane Holweck is holding up the project today alone, continuing to perform in major events, spreading the signature Total Eclipse vibes around the globe.
Trancentral has prepared for you 10 essential Total Eclipse tracks.