What happens when Prog meets Trip-hop meets Electronica meets Groove meets Pop? A mind meld of 90s Euro-trance history savored in twenty-first century progressive techno-pop. TrancEnd defies the genre labels with their galvanizing auditory epicure of sultry vocals; ambient head-space environments; and surf-shimmer guitars—glued together with deep beats landing squarely in your chest compelling your body to sway and head to rock side-to-side.
TrancEnd’s 2022 debut album release, “Lilac,” brings the listener into the now moment with an awestruck delivery of soundscape and lyrical imagery. Their live performances are captivating—demanding your attention and immersing your senses in an unforgettable experience of color, shape, and sound.
TrancEnd brings their love for 90s Euro trip-hop while experimenting with constrained metal rudiments tempered by catchy pop-rhythms. As a compliment to their original sound, TrancEnd plays a variety of select 90s and 2000s covers with their own femme-fatale twist immortalizing era favorites. They are a “must see” phenomenon that continues to amaze fans and impress venue managers.
A familiar echo from fans: “I can’t believe you played that!” “I love that song!” “OMG, that was incredible!” “No other band plays what you play...”
“Are you experienced?” Have the “TrancEnd experience” and find out what thousands of fans are discovering about this new artist and how they capture the essence of what we all seek in sonic bliss. They tap into our love for rhythm; our joy in nostalgia; and our excitement in experiencing an extraordinary live performance.
Who is TrancEnd?
Brittany LeAnn - Vocals (song lyrics and melodies)
Evan Maurus - Guitar (song writer, arranger, co-producer)
Ian Maurus - Drums
Zachary Maurus - Guitar (audio engineer, co-producer, mixing and mastering, live show automation)
Back-story:
The band formed during the pandemic in 2020—a merciless time for performing musicians, but it did provide a focused space for song writing and collaboration. The Maurus brothers: Ian, Evan, and Zachary, originally from the Detroit area, were involved in death metal projects in Michigan, then moved to North Carolina in 2015. They recorded a brilliant 10-track death metal album and an EP. They toured locally in North Carolina and surrounding states until 2018 when their vocalist departed. Although metal is still a passion for the Maurus brothers, they knew they may have to change musical direction to survive and appeal to a world-wide audience. Like water, creativity finds a path. They paused, and the great “inner-muse” took over.
Finding it difficult to find live gigs during this time, Evan Maurus, the band’s lead guitarist and song writer, having an eclectic taste for not only a plethora of Metal sub-genres, but Prog, Trip-hop, Trance Lounge, and Electronica, decided to experiment with writing in the vein of some of his favorite and most influential artist in those genres. Artists like Portishead, Hooverphonic, Mono, Thievery Corporation, Massive Attack, Delirium, and other heavy-hitters of the 90s Trip-hop movement.
“Hooverphonic and Portishead were the greatest influence and inspiration for the original instrumental tracks that later became the bedrock for TrancEnd’s debut release, Lilac in 2022.” Evan Maurus
Once Evan had the pre-production of his instrumental works complete, about 20 tracks, the search began for a vocalist and co-writer. Evan put ads on Craigslist and found several candidates in the area that he thought might be a good fit.
“They provided interesting vocal interpretations for a couple of my instrumental tracks, but when I tried to go to the next step, they seemed to have had difficulty and lots of life problems that prevented them from committing to a serious project. After several months of fruitless searches, I put the search on hold and wrote a few more tracks.” Evan Maurus
Then, as fate would have it, in the spring of 2020, Evan tried again, and this time, Brittany LeAnn, who was in the process of moving to the area from Oregon, found his ad on Craigslist and emailed one track with her vocals on top of his instrumental song, "Breathe." That clinched the deal and the rest is history.
“Brittany is an amazing vocalist and song writer that seemed to be the jelly in the PB&J. She was writing lyrics and melodies about one song a week, and sometimes two.” Evan Maurus
Everything came together almost effortlessly, and after the pre-production work was complete, the recording of the album began in the Maurus brother's studio, "Maurus Audio," in Hendersonville, NC. This is where the magic happened and the TrancEnd original sound took shape.
Zachary Maurus was the audio engineer and co-producer for the album. When he received the pre-production tracks from Evan, he was a little concerned about how to approach this genre of music.
“As an audio engineer and producer for mostly death metal projects, I was a little apprehensive about how to mix Pop/Trip-hop/Trance music. I had to re-train my brain to stop myself from making the drums sound like guns and cannons.” Zachary Maurus
The scratchy drum loops and samples used traditionally in the Trip-hop sound were a part of the original pre-production tracks, but later, during the recording of the album, Zachary wanted to experiment by putting live drums in the tracks. With the intention to tour and perform with live drums, the band decided to replace the scratch drums on the album. Ian Maurus then started learning the songs and cutting drum tracks. It transformed the sound of the pre-production intent giving it an edgy pop feel that the band felt set their sound apart from similar artist in the genre. What started as a Trip-hop project morphed into a Prog/Art-rock sound.
When Brittany started cutting the vocal tracks, the harmonies and melodic imagery brought the “wow-factor” to a new level of brilliance. When asked about how she writes her lyrics and melodies, Brittany said very candidly, “I channel my soul—it just flows out.”
“Near perfect,” says Zachary, “It was a pleasure to record Brittany’s vocals—they were mostly on pitch and hardly any correction needed—a producers dream.”
It was during the recording of Lilac that the band came up with the name “TrancEnd.”
“The band was having a brainstorming session and our manager threw the name out there. Everyone stopped talking for a moment, then unanimously agreed.” Evan Maurus
It was the perfect name for what seemed to be a transcendent experience for the band in several ways: Brittany had just moved across country—starting a new life there and stepping into a creative role in the music; the Maurus brothers making the transition from death metal to Trip-hop/Prog/Art-rock; and the name TrancEnd is a play on the genre, Trip-hop/Trance Lounge. The album title, “Lilac” was chosen because it is the first word of the first song on the album, “Landing.” The lyric, “Lilac in the desert, shaded from the sun…,” inspired the album art (by Joon Lugo) that depicts a mountainous desert scene with a lonely lilac tree in the foreground of the valley.
“It’s a metaphone for being in the perfect environment for growth yet constrained by living in a shadow.” Brittany LeAnn.
In December 2021, while the album was being mixed, the band shot a self-produced music video to support the first song release, “Do Something.” Then, the moment of truth: September 10th, of 2022, less than two years after forming, TrancEnd dropped their 13-track debut album, Lilac.
“Every track on the album is strong and could be considered the sleeper-album of the year,” says TrancEnd’s manager, Chris Maurus. “I had been in and out of the studio while the album was being mixed and thought, ‘OK, yeah—that sounds great,’ but when I got a copy of the master and sat down to listen to all 13 tracks, I was blown away. I knew right there they has something special—it plays like a concept album where every song flows together creating a mosaic of a larger picture—Lilac!”
TrancEnd is gaining attention and airplay on local FM stations and birthing new fans worldwide through Spotify, YouTube, TikToK, and other media platforms. They are destined for international success, and it won't be long before they move into the higher circles of the entertainment world.
TrancEnd also plays a variety of select cover songs in their performances that you don't hear anywhere else. They take those songs and spin it in their own image. Live, they sound like a band that would have up to 7 or 8 members. With the technical savvy of Zachary, they perform live with in-ear monitoring and run a click-track to keep time. This allows them to bring in backing tracks to fill out the sound and it translates well during a live performance. They are an exciting band to watch live and it only takes witnessing one performance to make a new fan out of you.
There's another interesting back story here that most people don't know. The Maurus brothers, Ian, Evan, and Zachary, are legally blind from a degenerative retinal disease called, "Choroideremia." They have limited vision in the center of their eyes, with no peripheral vision and they are completely night blind, which makes for some challenging situations when playing night clubs and venues, but they seem to push through the difficulty and adapt wherever they are. In some way, the curse of this disease is also a blessing in that it sharpens their other senses—insight, sound, feeling, and emotion—the things that go into great songs.
TrancEnd has a vision to bring their signature sound to the world, share their joy with fans, and contribute to the collective good. “We believe our music is a messenger—it creates a space where people can transcend their differences and unite within the sound…” Brittany LeAnn.
“Seldom do I find a band that has it all; that is destined for greatness; that has that magic synergy. TrancEnd are a hypnotic mix of genre-bending Prog with strong signature traits consisting of a distinct vocal style, skilled musicianship; dynamic song structure; and a stellar production. A talented band with authentic chemistry and a sonic and visual identity that transcends the ordinary and pleases the senses." - JD, Closer to the Edge, Asheville FM
