The earliest musical entity begun by Mason was called Trance. Starting in 1987, recordings under the name Trance were released on a number of small-edition cassettes, followed by CDs and singles. As a live venture, Trance included other participants over the years, including [[artist:Elden M.]], [[artist:Annabel Lee]], [[artist:Sam Lohmann]], and others. Live collaborations under the guise of Trance included shows with [[artist:Jim O'Rourke]], [[artist:Joe Papa]], [[artist:The Evolution Control Committee]], and many more.

The name "Trance" was retired after the word became inextricably intertwined with bad electronic music.