Goa, India is known for its rituals and music related trances that can help a person relax. This is where Goa music originated and developed in the late 1980s. It is actually a mixture of different genres that include electronic dance music, psychedelic rock, acid house and techno to name a few. There are also bits of ethnic or ritual beats incorporated to give it a tribal element. The trance mixed in eventually developed the Goa trance genre.

Some of the spiritual components that influence Goa trance music are yoga and dance rituals. The purpose of Goa is to somewhat hypnotize listeners because of its distinct beat. It follows a 4/4 time, meaning it uses a four quarter notes as a basis for one music bar. Beats are characterized by bass drum sounds and the other sounds are made by synthesizing almost any other instrument, even tribal-like sounds. Most Goa trance music tries to build up energy during the second of middle part of the music, and then they trail off towards the end.

Goa trance was more popular in the late 1980 up to the early 1990s than now. There are very few artists now that can pull off this type of performances. This may be the reason why not much people are inclined to listen to this type of music as well. Some people download Goa trance songs to sample this music. This is a good way to familiarize yourself with music, or anything for that matter, since there are some internet websites that offer these downloading services for free.