about

Fleeting Trance

Featuring Manasseh Bernal

“Fleeting Trance succeeds in crafting an album with absolutely no filler, where more is definitely better." –Keane Li, West Coast Performer Magazine 2009

The creation of bay-area songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Manasseh (Ma’NASA) Bernal, Fleeting Trance is a project defying classification, category, and genre. It is instead a musical collage of approaches, influences, and instrumentation varying from song to song. “I like to think we have multiple styles without blending them all into one song," says Bernal. “I don’t think we are a one-trick-pony. The longer people listen, the more they will understand what connects us to the various musical forms and styles that we are putting out there. I want to put opposites together because life is such a horrible contradiction." Fitting, as the name Fleeting Trance reflects the juxtaposition of various concepts. “This project is my goal to marry music styles I love that aren’t supposed to be found together in the same room."
Psychedelic and uninhibited jam band elements of the Grateful Dead combine with the rootsy folk popularized by Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, along with echoes of Ryan Adams & the Cardinals. 
Through the recently released 4, the prolific singer-songwriter once again fulfills his objective in the form of a heartfelt collection consisting of seventeen songs. Experimental without ever being predictable, it is a collage of complimentary elements and a significant soul connection that drives 4. “This album marked a serious transition for me. I left a part of my life behind and began gravitating back toward familiar waters and into new, unchartered spaces, all at the same time. When I was hearing the mixes, it was January-February 2011 and it was a very dark time with lots of pain. By the time it was released, I had come full circle…

I’ll always remember what surrounded the particular time period of my life that led to 4."

Manasseh Bernal has been crafting songs for more than a decade, culminating in the release of the following albums:

17 (debut album released May 2009)

Fleeting Trance (self titled) (January 2010)

Charm (November 2010)

4 (July 2011)

FT (April 2013)

Hurry Up and Wait (January 2015)

After Hours (January 2018)

Mr. Manny & The Blackouts (June 2019)