The storied history of trance has long been Eurocentric. While the 1990s trance boom was dominated by European hits, DJ superstars, and megaclubs, a parallel movement was flourishing across the United States.

Released by the Netherlander label Ongehoord, "Driftmachine plays Marien van Oers" album playfully circles around the notion of trance-inducing repetition, following Marien van Oers's (1955-2013) concept presented in 1983: "The basic idea of the performance is experiencing a constant repetition of sound (=rhythm), which can result in the spectator taking action through movement or getting into a form of trance".