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| quote: | Originally posted by dJohn
I noticed that alot of faster paced progressive(???) trance tracks tend to be alot more polyphonic than some of the bigger anthemic trance tracks. Sure, tracks like System F - Solstice and Ligaya tend to be really heavy and massive sounding, yet because their synths are so in your face and large, one rarely gets to hear what's going on in the back.
Shmuel Flash - Chilling Moments is a great example. Listen to the Bedrock vocal mix and lose yourself in the structure.
Gouryella - Gouryella is a prime example of anthemic trance at it's finest BECAUSE of what you are talking about...very diverse in composition and drive
It's not how many synths/bass lines/ etc are used, but HOW they are used. Even distribution of sound can have a great effect on how the track is presented. How bout Safri Duo's Played Alive? It uses a bongo lead with a banging bass beat...that's it, yet it still KILLS dancefloors with it's breakdown(PvD E-mix @ Casino, Berlin Dec. 17 2000) |
Yeah, I agree with you there, a lot of the intense polyphonic stuff tends to be a bit more prog. Tracks like Sasha - Xpander ring a bell here. The reason why tracks like Gouryella - Gouryella are so great is because the synths and basses work so well together and sound good. The main climax of Ligaya, to me, is just a mish-mash of notes and chords together that follow a well-worked 96 beat chord sequence with a lot of good sounding underlying synths... it sounds good, but just doesn't blow me away like some of the other tracks I have mentioned. To me, the best part of ligaya is the gradual build-up during the first three minutes. Every 64 beats or so, another layer of synth or bass is added. The first minute and a half or so is like a buildup of the bass synths, then at around 1:24 that high-pitched ostinato thing pops in, then 64 beats later those nice underlying broken chords, and 64 beats after that a nice lead. To me, the part between about 2:20 and 2:50 is really awesome with some great polyphony... when I first heard ligaya I thought it was going to be a fabulous track, but I was disappointed by the final climax - to me it just doesn't live up to the first three minutes. There's something missing there IMO, I mean sure they're pretty chords and a nice thick bassline but it needs a lead or maybe some vocals... at least solarcoaster has a nice lead.
Now take a look at PPK - Resurrection, which IMO is one of the greatest trance songs of all time. It has one of those most thickly-layered melodic progressions I have ever heard. Start out at around 1:40 or so, where all you have is the underlying sine tone. Then the main melody (another sine tone) is added around 1:50. At around 2:15 you can start to hear some strings coming in. At 2:30, a bass, a phaser, and a beepy ostinato are brought in. At 3:10, the drums and another layer of bass are added. At 3:55, some more chords, a filtered synth (sounds almost like a 303), and a strange whistley synth (kinda reminds me of the X-Files theme) are brought in. At 4:35, another synth stab is added. At 5:15, another filtered synth is brought in, completing the build-up. THAT IS A LOT OF SYNTHS BUT HOLY $HIT DOES IT SOUND GREAT!!!  No two synths are playing the same notes or rhythm, so you would probably expect it just to sound like a chaotic mish-mash of notes, but all of the synths just work so well together... whoever composed this is a genius. This is the kinda stuff I'm talkin about when I refer to bangin' polyphonic trance. The only tracks I know of that even compare to Resurrection's complexity are Taste Experience - Highlander (Original Mix) and maybe M.I.K.E. - Sunrise at Palamos.
Anyways... I'm gonna go and download the rest of all this stuff you guys are suggesting to me. So far its good stuff, but like most good trance, its hard to find. Thanks for all your suggestions and keep 'em coming. 
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Bangin Polyphonic Trance
