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 Elden M., Annabel Lee, Sam Lohmann, and others. Live collaborations under the guise of Trance included shows with Jim O'Rourke, Joe Papa, Evolution Control Committee, The, and many more.
The name "Trance" was retired after the word become inextricably intertwined with bad electronic music.