quote:

Originally posted by ballmouse People are actually tired of Sandstorm now. . I thought that would be impossible

From the high school prom that I did in 2005, we played

Cascada - Everytime We Touch (some crappy remix from an Ultra Dance CD that my boss liked because it had "TU-TU-TU-TU-TURN UP THE BASS!" at the beginning). After that I mixed in Shapeshifters - Lola's Theme. The crowd loved Everytime..., and liked Lola's Theme for about 4 minutes, then started getting bored (short attention spans, eh?!?).

In general, make sure you bring:

Your most recent Promo Only CDs/Billboard Top40 stuff
Some Dance favs from a few years back (Cha Cha Slide, etc)
Some 80s stuff (we got caught not having DOA's "You Spin Me Round [Like A Record])
Cheesy Euro-Dance/90s Dance (Pump Up The Jam, etc)
LOTS and LOTS of ballads (not the good ones mind you, but the cheeky-as-fuck, KC & JoJo R&B knockoff crap that makes the teens' hormones go buck wild. IDK either, it just works. Expect to play a ballad about once every 20 minutes.)
and some gimmick tunes (Hampster Dance, whatever is in vogue at the moment)

and this one is really important, a notebook and pens. You will need to keep track of requests, because there will be lots of them.

Good luck! High school gigs are tough because of the fickle audience, but they can pay off well, and are good practice for reading the crowd.

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quote:

Originally posted by Beat Blog You may indeed. I'd call it Euro-dance.

And I would respectfully disagree. There's no vocals whatsoever which is seemingly a staple amongst that creed. It has trance synths, builds, elements, and structure. Just because it was made in Europe, got popular in Europe, and became one of the most well-known electronic tracks does not mean that it isn't trance. It's trance, just very catchy, very accessible, and very popular trance.

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Promo And I would respectfully disagree. There's no vocals whatsoever which is seemingly a staple amongst that creed. It has trance synths, builds, elements, and structure. Just because it was made in Europe, got popular in Europe, and became one of the most well-known electronic tracks does not mean that it isn't trance. It's trance, just very catchy, very accessible, and very popular trance.

Fair point.

You do realise though that just because something was produced in Europe (which Sandstorm isn't - it's from an Icelandic bloke), doesn't make it euro-dance?

Euro-dance is a particular sound, no longer strictly continent defined. I'd also class tracks like Meet Her At The Love Parade, Encore Une Fois and PPK's Resurrection as euro-dance, despite the fact that they have a very trancey feel to them too.

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'meet her at love parade' is no where near eurodance

eurodance as a genre (not dance from europe) is that mid 90s vocal dance that mainstream people call "techno"

tracks like 'culture beat - mr. vain', 'snap - rhythm is a dancer' etc

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quote:

Originally posted by Beat Blog (which Sandstorm isn't - it's from an Icelandic bloke)

Finnish.

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quote:

Originally posted by a98 'meet her at love parade' is no where near eurodance eurodance as a genre (not dance from europe) is that mid 90s vocal dance that mainstream people call "techno" tracks like 'culture beat - mr. vain', 'snap - rhythm is a dancer' etc

Whigfield, JX...

I know, I lived and loved all that shit when it was around.

Still, I think tracks like Sandstorm, though non-vocal, really sit on the cusp of the two genres. I suppose, yes you could call them either, but for me, they're more euro-dance than trance.

Have you noticed that none of the tracks I mentioned as euro-dance have very strong hi-hat lines, or, come to think of it, any strongish percussive elements at all really? They are far more synth-based and deal with real in-your-face, epic melodies to create the basis for the song, rather than solid percussion?

Not sure, but I think this is what sets alarm bells ringing in my head.

edit: Just pulled out my copy of Sandstorm, another thing that really differentiates it in my mind from true trance is the sudden breaks between different track sections - there's no graduation, or subtle element introduction, just fast snare rolls and then small white noise builds to change from intro>chorus>breakdown etc.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the track is very one dimensional in that it has no subtlety whatsoever; it's either "on" or "off". There is no real addition and subtraction of elements to create interesting and different sections throughout the track. The first and second chorus are exactly the same, and the breakdown serves not as a mood alterer, rather just a buffer between the two choruses to stop you getting bored of the main hook.

For the record, I don't actually mind this track after all these years. I like the Jaako Salovaara remix a bit better though.

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Last edited by Domesticated on Sep-16-2007 at 12:38

quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Mystery Finnish.

Sorry, my bad.

Don't know where the hell I came up with Iceland, must be the fact that I haven't slept for 36 hours.

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Last edited by Domesticated on Sep-16-2007 at 12:27

i guess that's why sandstorm became such a hit, cause it didn't really sound like anything else and was very characteristic, hard to put into a genre.

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quote:

Originally posted by Beat Blog I'd also class tracks like... PPK's Resurrection as euro-dance.

Eh? It's nothing like Euro-dance. I really don't see why people pan this track so much, and call it poppy or commercial. I think it's brilliant, and has plenty of credibility to boot. Does anyone ever listen to any part of it other than the catchy melody? And it's a crock of shit to say the track has weak percussion.

quote:

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the track is very one dimensional in that it has no subtlety whatsoever; it's either "on" or "off". There is no real addition and subtraction of elements to create interesting and different sections throughout the track. The first and second chorus are exactly the same, and the breakdown serves not as a mood alterer, rather just a buffer between the two choruses to stop you getting bored of the main hook.

I thought gradual or subtle element introduction was your definition of "progressive", not "trance"?

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quote:

Originally posted by Beat Blog Whigfield, JX... I know, I lived and loved all that shit when it was around. Still, I think tracks like Sandstorm, though non-vocal, really sit on the cusp of the two genres. I suppose, yes you could call them either, but for me, they're more euro-dance than trance. Have you noticed that none of the tracks I mentioned as euro-dance have very strong hi-hat lines, or, come to think of it, any strongish percussive elements at all really? They are far more synth-based and deal with real in-your-face, epic melodies to create the basis for the song, rather than solid percussion? Not sure, but I think this is what sets alarm bells ringing in my head. edit: Just pulled out my copy of Sandstorm, another thing that really differentiates it in my mind from true trance is the sudden breaks between different track sections - there's no graduation, or subtle element introduction, just fast snare rolls and then small white noise builds to change from intro>chorus>breakdown etc. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the track is very one dimensional in that it has no subtlety whatsoever; it's either "on" or "off". There is no real addition and subtraction of elements to create interesting and different sections throughout the track. The first and second chorus are exactly the same, and the breakdown serves not as a mood alterer, rather just a buffer between the two choruses to stop you getting bored of the main hook. For the record, I don't actually mind this track after all these years. I like the Jaako Salovaara remix a bit better though.

St Ettiene - He's On The Phone

omfg I LOVE that tune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr9q5h8ftuY

Eurodance madness.

Listen to the synth at the very end.

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Nothing lasts, nothing lasts, everything is changing into something else. Nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong, everything is on track...

You know, William Blake said... uh, nothing is lost. Nothing is lost and I... I really believe that, we only move on...

so yeah played the normal stuff.casacada..benny bennasi....was good..played some deeper stuff and didnt...but oh well

I forgot to mention that after that mini-Dance set, we had TONS of requests for Sandstorm, but I couldn't find our copy anywhere (the Top40 guy I was working with had Promo Only discs sorted by date, but Sandstorm wasn't showing up on any of the discs).

Oreoh: So which tracks did you try out? Were there any stand-out reactions?

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