What defined 3D Vision Records
3D Vision Records emerged in Paris in 1998 and became one of the labels most closely associated with the harder French psychedelic-trance sound of the early 2000s. Built around figures including Christof Drouillet and Cédric Dassulle, with DJ Maël also tied to the founding circle, the label provided a durable home for artists whose music sat at the forceful end of the Goa-to-full-on transition.
How 3D Vision Records developed
The catalogue began in 1998 and gathered momentum through releases from Talamasca, Nomad, Absolum and related projects. As French psytrance became more internationally visible, 3D Vision developed a recognisable identity built around tightly engineered, high-energy music , not the warmer progressive sound emerging elsewhere in Europe. Later activity became associated with Ibiza and Spain through Christof Drouillet, and releases continued into the 2010s before the label fell quiet.
People, organisation & management
Christof Drouillet and Cédric Dassulle are consistently connected to the creation of 3D Vision, while French scene histories also place Farid Merbouche, known as DJ Maël, among the founding group. Accounts of the exact original team are not completely uniform, so the label is the product of a small Paris-based collective rather than reduced to a single founder.
Sound, roster & A&R direction
The label’s core is psychedelic trance, with full-on becoming its defining strand as the 2000s progressed. Its best-known material is direct, muscular and night-oriented, characterised by hard basslines, fast rhythmic movement and dense psychedelic production. That sound helped establish a distinctly French alternative to both Israeli melodic full-on and Scandinavian progressive trance.
Place in psytrance history
3D Vision helped turn the French psytrance scene into an exportable international sound. Its early support for Talamasca, Nomad, Absolum and related artists gave the country a strong label identity at a time when much of the global scene was organised around a handful of British, Israeli and German companies.
Scene impact & cultural reach
Its cross-channel circulation and later Ibiza association made the label an important bridge between the French Psytrance production scene and the wider European festival circuit.
Key releases & catalogue moments
Major landmarks include the launch of the catalogue in 1998, Talamasca’s Beyond the Mask in 2000, the early Nomad album and EP cycle, and Talamasca’s Zodiac in 2003. Together these releases document the label’s move from late-1990s psychedelic trance into the harder full-on style for which it became best known.
Artists connected to the label
Absolum
French Psytrance project of Christof Drouillet, connecting his Transwave background with the harder 3D Vision and early Full-On sound.
DJ Maël
French Psytrance DJ/producer identity of Farid Merbouche, co-founder of 3D Vision Records and the person behind the separate Nomad project.
Nomad
French Psytrance/Full-On project of Farid Merbouche, an early 3D Vision co-founder also known through the distinct DJ Maël identity.
Talamasca
Cédric Dassulle’s long-running French Psytrance project, evolving from mid-1990s Goa roots into a highly melodic, high-energy international festival sound.