The State of Psytrance: Vini Vici Out Front, Israel in Force

DJ Radar's psytrance standings tell a clear story: one decisive leader, one dominant country and a crowded chase behind. On a board of 1,014 DJs, the eight names at the top of the genre span five countries, and all eight list Psy-Trance as their main genre.

Vini Vici sits at No. 1 with a credit score of 914 and 11,085 votes. It is the only act in the top eight past the 10,000-vote mark. The 35-point margin over second place is the widest gap between any two neighbouring spots in this group.

The platform numbers line up with the ranking. Vini Vici leads the top eight in Spotify monthly listeners (3,004,010) and Instagram followers (734,146).

Below the summit, the gaps shrink fast. Ranks two through four are separated by just nine points. Astrix holds second on 879 (7,935 votes), Infected Mushroom is third on 874 (7,199 votes) and Neelix is fourth on 870 (7,210 votes).

One detail stands out: Neelix has 11 more votes than Infected Mushroom but sits one place lower. Votes alone don't set the order here.

Each of the three has built a different kind of footprint. Astrix posts the highest YouTube (1,380,000), SoundCloud (481,389) and RA (9,973) follower counts in the top eight. Infected Mushroom leads the group in Spotify followers with 836,982. Neelix, the highest-ranked act from outside Israel, pairs 750,420 Spotify monthly listeners with 366,484 SoundCloud followers.

Mandragora, fifth on 862, is the most intriguing position on the board. The 7,558 votes are the third-highest total in the top eight, ahead of both Infected Mushroom and Neelix. Mandragora's 815,647 Spotify monthly listeners and 801,000 YouTube subscribers each rank second in the group.

On votes, Mandragora runs with the leading pack. On score, the gap to fourth is eight points.

Bliss takes sixth with 852 points from 6,541 votes. That is the smallest vote total in the top eight, yet it is enough to sit above two acts with more votes. Bliss is also the fourth Israel-listed act in this group.

Liquid Soul (Switzerland) and E-Type (Sweden) share a score of 847, with Liquid Soul listed seventh and E-Type eighth. Liquid Soul's 7,556 votes are just two behind Mandragora's 7,558, even though 15 points separate their scores. E-Type rounds out the group with 6,587 votes and 590,655 Spotify monthly listeners.

A ranking can't tell you how a track sounds, but it does show the shape of the scene.

Israel is the centre of gravity. Four of the top eight are listed under Israel: Vini Vici, Astrix, Infected Mushroom and Bliss. They include the entire top three.

The genre reaches well beyond that core. The other four places go to Germany, Mexico, Switzerland and Sweden, so the leading pack covers three continents.

No single platform crowns everyone. Vini Vici leads on Spotify listeners and Instagram, Astrix on YouTube and SoundCloud, and Infected Mushroom on Spotify followers. The genre's leaders have built their audiences in different places.

Votes and scores don't move in lockstep. Mandragora out-polls Infected Mushroom and Neelix, and Liquid Soul out-polls Bliss, yet each sits lower. The credit score is clearly not a straight vote count.

For now, the top of psytrance belongs to Vini Vici. The place to watch is the stretch beneath, where nine points cover three acts and the vote totals don't follow the order on the board.