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Tag: DnB
Daily Hat Track Wrapup: December 2019
It is now the year 2020. This blog itself has been somewhat active for about a year and Hat Tracks have been posted on my linked Twitter for an entire year. One a day (on average due to inconsistent scheduling) bringing a total of 365 songs to enjoy.
And frankly I'm done with the daily thing. I'm still going to post songs on Twitter occasionally, but I'm not even going to try and do it daily. I'll just share what comes up in my queue if I consider it good enough to display on a tiny pedestal for about a hundred people to see. Really, everything's gonna chill out a lot more. I can't afford stress in my hobbies anymore.
But it wouldn't be right to leave the last two months of the year unwrapped, so here's the final Hat Track wrap-up for November and December of 2019. Let's get started on getting it ended.
Daily Hat Track: November 1 (Auralnauts – Deep Sea Adventure)
Deep Sea Adventure is exactly as described. From the first splash onwards, the song serves as a splendidly interesting immersive journey with a fun groovy soundscape bringing fantastical creatures of the sea to life in my mind.
Daily Hat Track: November 2 (Mazare & Essenger – Berserker)
I've been getting into a combos of rock and electronic especially with the harsher vocals displaying an emotion of determined anger and edginess. Anyway, here's an example of what an edgy being as myself has been enjoying.
Daily Hat Track: November 3 (Crazy Astronaut – Slam)
I've shared the varied madness that is Funky $#!+ 2014 and the intense arm hurting danceable song that is Date, but neither of them are quite as trippy as the incredibly chaotic Slam.
Daily Hat Track: November 4 (Bliss & Ritmo – Od Daka la Mana (Pitch Bend remix)
I've expressed my adoration for Bliss enough for it to be well established that any recent song with him is worth mentioning. Though I just realized that another song by him was released recently so that's going on my queue now
Daily Hat Track: November 5 (Infected Mushroom, Tuna & A-WA – Lost in Space)
You know, I wasn't a huge fan of the combination of this particular Infected Mushroom song's rap (like in Artillery) and non-English vocals (like in Send me an Angel) but it's grown on me.
The other two are still better though.
Daily Hat Track: November 6 (Andy Hunter – One Motion)
Definitely a classic for me. It's towards the end of Andy Hunter's dance focused career but I so vividly remember rocking out to that build in the initial behind the scenes preview. Definitely brings back some good memories.
Daily Hat Track: November 7 (Gramatik, Ryan Shaw & ProbCause – Don't Give Up)
I always like the mixture of picking apart the underlying dystopia in our society and sprinkling a little hope for change into the mix.
And the fact that Gramatik is a funky groove master seals this song as a solid experience.
Daily Hat Track: November 8 (Xilent – Particles)
Xilent's most recent album (and by recent I mean half a year ago) ended with a lovely psytrance/psystep mixture that I found to be quite enjoyable. Always a pleasure to see artists I enjoy reach into genres I like even more.
Daily Hat Track: November 9 (Matduke – Forgotten Kingdom)
Interestingly Matduke's Forgotten Kingdom was nearly forgotten, not even findable on Spotify as the Monstercat Christmas comp was for some reason unavailable. And so when Matduke reuploaded it I was really happy to see it again.
Daily Hat Track: November 10 (Memtrix Ic Yr Pain)
I see your pain. Except oddly abbreviated. And one's pain isn't always quite visible my friend. But hey, that's just a slight vocal added into this badass bouncing DnB tune.
Daily Hat Track: November 11 (Feint & CoMa – Snake Eyes)
Snake Eyes is one of Feint's most popular tracks as well as one of his best. Though maybe I've got a bit of a fictional bias as this song fits some of the characters I'm writing all too well.
Many songs do that though.
Daily Hat Track: November 12 (Ashbury Heights – Corridor)
Ashbury Heights' slight delve into dubstep while still keeping up the prime existentialism is certainly a treat.
Got some slippery sloping towards nihilism in there and that's something I strangely love.
Daily Hat Track: November 13 (Varien & 7 Minutes Dead – Mirai Sekai Continuous mix)
I'd definitely consider this to be an underrated masterpiece of an EP. The styles of Varien and 7MD work beautifully together and the continuous mix of the album serves as an experience of its own.
Daily Hat Track: November 14 (Carpenter Brut – Escape from Midwich Valley)
I've shared my favorite from the Brut already but I feel it's important to note where it all began as well. Both in the sense of the first track off of Trilogy and the first song I had ever heard from him.
Daily Hat Track: November 15 (Solar Fake – Not What I Wanted)
Ok, so crumbling relationships aren't my favorite subject matter in music (See Three Cheers for the Newlydeads review), but there are some RIDICULOUSLY catchy exceptions.
Unsurprisingly, this is one of them.
Daily Hat Track: November 16 (The Flashbulb – Gray Pill)
I always find it fascinating when I find a song like this with seemingly cryptic lyrics to tear into.
Not sure how I feel when it turns out the song is about a suicide pact gone wrong though.
Daily Hat Track: November 17 (David Crowder Band – Can You Feel It?)
Not really huge on worship songs these days, but there are some that have clearly had an influence on my taste over my life. This one's a bit more electronic than most David Crowder's stuff.
Daily Hat Track: November 18 (Colony 5 – Black)
Edgy love song but not in a toxic way, more in a goth gf way.
The best way
Daily Hat Track: November 19 (Aviators & Lectro Dub – Paralyzed)
Perhaps the catchiest of Aviators' discography. I'm not sure if it's the funky beat or the fantastic vocals in the chorus that draws me in. Probably both.
Daily Hat Track: November 20 (Celldwelller – A Matter of Time)
While I've found the structure of Celldweller's singles as of late to be somewhat odd, he's still on top of his game at providing that blend of electronic and rock I gushed over in my review of his debut album.
Daily Hat Track: November 21 (London Elektricity & Inja – Possible Worlds)
While most of the DnB tracks I've shared on here have been the more energetic, there are some, like this one, that are much more calm and soothing. Plus it's got a bit of inspirational message telling in there.
Daily Hat Track: November 22 (Grendel – Cloak & Dagger)
I shared Grendel a good couple times a while back. Here we are again with Cloak and Dagger, a song exploring twisted and distorted modern morality. I have an unhealthy obsession with this topic…
Daily Hat Track: November 23 (5haus – Unfixed)
I've been sharing nothing but lyrically dark music lately. How about some cheering up with something that sounds equally dark but with a beautiful tint to it. Also a lack of existential lyrics helps keep the mood from sinking.
Daily Hat Track: November 24 (Noisestorm – Crab Rave)
? M ? E ? M ? E ?
No but seriously this was good funk straight from the beginning before everything was g o n e.
Daily Hat Track: November 25 (Moby – Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?)
Sometimes depression hits without any reason or warning and you just don't know what to do…
Daily Hat Track: November 26 (VNV Nation – A Million)
A haunting beauty, perfect for late night meditation and introspection covering every struggle to occur upon the Earth.
Daily Hat Track: November 27 (Apoptygma Berzerk – Kathy's Song (VNV Nation remix))
Somewhat continuing with the existential VNV Nation, here's Kathy's song, originally by Apoptygma Berzerk but remixed by VNV. And like some sort of songs I've shown previously, this song explores one's ambiguous moral standing.
Daily Hat Track: November 28 (Sub Focus – World of Hurt)
I've been thinking a lot about the flaws of this world we live in a lot lately. Getting really existential.
Sometimes, that's just my default state of mind…
Daily Hat Track: November 29 (1200 Micrograms – Acid for Nothing)
This fun psytrance tune is about lucid dreams and not drugs at all, why would you even think that?
Daily Hat Track: November 30 (Julian Emery & Dana Jean Phoenix)
Much of my life is synthetic. I'm interacting with said synthetic life right now.
Except this song might be demonizing such an idea so maybe I shouldn't glorify it too much.
Daily Hat Track: December 1 (Danny Cocke – Thief of Time)
Thief of Time, eh? Sounds like a brilliantly dangerous thief to me, but I do have biases with my enjoyment of that title.
Regardless of the title, the song definitely draws me in through its layers of beauty.
Daily Hat Track: December 2 (Mire. – Bury)
Cryptic darkness and a calming twinge of vocal chopped beauty always makes for a good combination. Kind of feels like darker Glitch Mob if that makes any sense. Piano is nice too.
Daily Hat Track: December 3 (Ghost Rider – Felt)
Ghost Rider is becoming one of my favorite psytrance artists as of late. He gives out an enthralling combo of beauty and funk that I keep finding myself coming back to. And the topic of emotional balance draws me in deeper.
Daily Hat Track: December 4 (Walking AIndivisiocross Jupiter – The Truth was Revealed)
Walking Across Jupiter is a magnificent name for a band. And their music is equally magnificent, with some great blend of orchestral with some lovely guitar progressions. The glory of the song lives up to its lofty title.
Daily Hat Track: December 5 (Micah Ariss & Matthew Parker – Bring Me Down)
Rediscovered Matthew Parker a week or so ago via this Micah Ariss release. That name really brings me back to the Glowing Collision days of Andy Hunter.
But even without my most nostalgic artist backing him, Matthew holds up.
Daily Hat Track: December 6 (Laur – Sound Chimera)
Listened to this on the commute home a couple days ago. The sheer unpredictable chaotically energetic energy that this song displays should have probably gotten me arrested, considering how affected my driving.
It was 2AM tho
Daily Hat Track: December 7 (Indivision, Colourz & Jonny Rose – Time Traveler)
Have I ever mentioned how much time travel fascinates me? I've enjoyed building a world around it and consistently enjoy songs like this one involving the concept. Plus it's DnB so this song is simply an instant win.
Daily Hat Track: December 8 (Varien & Tori Letzler – SOHEAVYSOHOLLOW)
Varien once again treads the line between darkness and light. There is definitely a beauty to this song's call for peace and dominance over the shadows. But that doesn't mean said shadows aren't there.
Daily Hat Track: December 9 (Draper – Let's Pretend)
This song has a sax
Sometimes that's all I need
It's really the only reason I'm sharing
You might not have noticed but there's a particular woodwind I like
Daily Hat Track: December 10 (I Will Never Be the Same – Skyhunter)
This song fits that great blend of rock and electronic but it's quite nicely subdued, even when the syncopation comes in
Daily Hat Track: December 11 (Juno Reactor – Dakota (Undercover extended mix)
Starting off this spam with some hard-hitting psytrance. Much of the vocals are typical of the genre but I do have the urge to highlight that female solo towards the middle. Lovely piece.
Daily Hat Track: December 12 (Black Sun Empire – Obselete)
And here we have something a bit grittier and skin crawling. Slower and not quite in my usual comfort zone, this song does have an overwhelmingly intriguing emotion to it that keep some enthralled.
Daily Hat Track: December 13 (Rinzen – Renegade)
As with any good song on Mau5trap. The progression of this groove and the groove of this progression really tickles my mind a bit. I'm not saying it's a work of art, but I am saying I'm having quite a good time with it.
Daily Hat Track: December 14 (Andy Hunter & Saint Louis – Moving On)
I haven't been paying the utmost attention to Andy Hunter's Presence Project as most of it differs a bit from the classical Hunter I fell in love with but the most recent volume seems to have some more upbeat variety.
Daily Hat Track: December 15 (Drop Frame & Annie Inkerman – Swim)
Am I drowning in the immersivity that is Drop Frame or am I perhaps drowning in reality itself? There's a slight line of edge in here and that's a sweet spot for me.
Daily Hat Track: December 16 (yh & Laura Brehm – Suppressant)
Not really in a position to sleep at all at the moment but I'm getting the vibe that it's not my conscious self that needs to rest but the subconscious whispers that constantly threaten my esteem.
Daily Hat Track: December 17 (OBNX – Right Wing Death Squad)
The sound design of this one could stand to be a slight bit less harsh but there is definitely a hidden groove within there, especially in the second half.
Daily Hat Track: December 18 (Donbor & Crimson – Bleeding)
Quite a new song here from Donbor. While still chilly dark as usual, Crimson's vocals now seal the deal with an edgy feel.
Daily Hat Track: December 19 (Infected Mushroom – The Messenger 2012)
Home to one of my favorite transitions in the entire Infected Mushroom discography. It's when the entire song freezes up a bit over halfway through and then recreates itself from this frozen point that fascinates me.
Daily Hat Track: December 20 (Astrix – He.art)
He art is definitely a highlight of epitomal psytrance. Sure it follows all of the tropes, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the song to establish said tropes, but it was my introduction to many of said tropes.
Daily Hat Track: December 21 (Thomas Barrandon – Fragment)
So I'll begin this final mad dash to the end of the year with something that's simply a beautiful daze. A bit too soothing to be busy at 4:30 AM
Daily Hat Track: December 22 (Antti Martikainen – Kalevala)
Just a small little bit of epic orchestral cinematic rock
Only twenty five minutes long
Daily Hat Track December 23 (Champion & Veela – Breathe)
Veela's vocals are always gorgeous. Well executed vocal chops are always groovy. A good DnB tracks always has good energy. So it's no surprise that this Champion track is full of gorgeously groovy energy.
Daily Hat Track: December 24 (Varien – MATRICULATED)
I'm not sure why I thought this song has to do with cheering or why it's actually about academic acceptance but it's certainly tripping me out whatever it is.
Daily Hat Track: December 25 (MASTER BOOT RECORD – Skynet)
Not only does this song consistently rock throughout, it also consistently accelerates in tempo and intensity up until the end. Some great fusion of metal and chiptune in this one if I do say so myself.
Daily Hat Track: December 26 (Killigrew – Otherworld)
Artists like Killigrew are masters of mixing the slight bit of darkness within one's introspection into the overall beauty that is their music. I love it.
Daily Hat Track: December 27 (Andy Hunter – Tiny Planet)
I know it's been barely any time since my last share of an Andy Hunter Presence Project track but I once again want to highlight Andy's splendid return to the energetic technogical feeling I'd originally discovered him as.
Daily Hat Track: December 28 (Tut Tut Child & Kendall Morgan – Made It For Me)
Decided to peek back in the distant Monstercat past. I'd forgotten how much Tut Tut Child bangs.
Daily Hat Track: December 29 (Deadlock – Imagination)
This song didn't catch my attention quite immediately despite hitting so hard and fast, but somehow the way it progressed really sealed up my enjoyment, though upon relistening the lyrics do raise an eyebrow.
Daily Hat Track: December 30 (EDDIE – Abandon)
EDDIE really meshes the chilling vocals, haunted atmospheres, pulsing basslines and rhythmic melodies into quite an experience in this song.
Daily Hat Track: December 31 (L Plus – Taking me Higher)
And to conclude the Daily Hat Tracks we have some DnB, my first favorite EDM subgenre. This one has a great energetic classical DnB feel to it. A fitting possible conclusion to this project…
And so concludes the Daily Hat Tracks. The playlist I've created over the past year is now somewhat complete. I say somewhat because apparently there's a few day's worth of songs that somehow didn't make it into the playlist and as of right now, I don't feel like trying to figure out which ones so I can squeeze them in there. I'm putting the Daily Hat Tracks behind me after all…
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=yWcT6WrvRbm4mArnqQgUbg
Daily Hat Track: Roundup October 2019
First off before we get into the biggest Daily Hat Track summary of all time, I want to take a moment to make an announcement on scheduling in case you're not looking at my Twitter. There is no longer a schedule. Now, that I've got myself a full-time job going on, there is absolutely no possible way I can keep up with one review a week, regardless of how motivated I am. And on top of that, the stress I'd receive from trying to review so much would get to me and make it impossible for me to enjoy reviewing. So, from now on, I'm going to be sending out reviews whenever I finish them in my free time. I'll still be spending significant time reviewing. I'll just have some longer breaks between longer reviews and maybe some shorter breaks when it comes to tiny reviews (One of the near future reviews is only 5 songs long so I can't imagine I'll spend excessively long on that one).
Not that anyone will notice but I'm also shutting down my Patreon. No one was really donating anyway, discouraging me from making any review previews and really just discouraging me from reviewing in general, because at this point in my life, it's not looking to be really possible to just use this site as a launchpad into becoming a full-time creative. I'm already working on finding another route so we'll see how that works in the future, but for now, this is going to be one of several hobbies that I'm simply doing for fun.
Anyways, it's time for the October Hat Track Summary. Likely the longest Hat Track Summary I'll ever do. September might not have existed, but I made October a double month to make up for it, even if it devolved into an early November onslaught of chaos at the end there. Let's see what tracks got shared before that happened, and while that happened.
Daily Hat Track: October 1 track 1 (Danny Barranowsky – Mausoleum Mash)
One of the most iconic tracks from one of my favorite games thanks to it's use in the opening cutscene and one of the game's early levels. I honestly discovered the soundtrack before the game but I love both.
Daily Hat Track October 1 track 2 (Bliss – Blaze Up)
Bliss is one of the best psytrance artists in recent years, if not the best. He's been on a roll for much of this decade. This release from last month, for example, is a lovely mixture of playfulness and badassery.
Daily Hat Track: October 2 track 1 (Seven Lions & Ciscandra Nostalgia – Serpents of Old)
This must be the oddest creepiest thing to come from Seven Lions as far as I know. And as someone who is quite a fan of the odd and creepy, I find this to be one of my favorites from him.
Daily Hat Track: October 2 track 2 (Saltillo – Following Evelyn)
Alright, let's follow up the pleasantly ugly with the pleasantly gorgeous. I feel this song is my favorite from Saltillo, mostly thanks to the vocal samples about growth, change, and finding one's place in the universe.
Daily Hat Track: October track 2 (Reliant K – The only Thing Worse than Beating a Dead Horse is Betting on One)
This is way outside my usual genre but can we just take a minute to appreciate how much Relient K was able to pack into a song that barely surpasses a minute?
Daily Hat Track: October 3 track 2 (Openwater & Matt Vice – No Regrets)
I guess today is a nonelectronic day as this one is more of an inspiring combination of orchestral, piano and a slight bit of rock. And it's a worldview I really need to adapt if I'm going to move forward.
Daily Hat Track: October 4 track 1 (Sam Maher – New York)
I've really been getting into handpans as of recent and this is guy is my personal favorite handpan master. Here's about six minutes of unique handpanning. Enjoy.
Daily Hat Track: October 4 track 2 (Shirobon – Regain Control)
I find Shirobon's retro style quite interesting. This song about regaining control over one's life (expectedly relevant to me) is a great example of Shirobon (Born Survivor is better but I shared that long ago).
Daily Hat Track: October 5 track 1 (Icon of Coil – Dead Enough For Life)
I haven't posted a sufficiently existentially edgy song yet this month so this one goes out to the crippling depressive angst of getting stuck in a monotonous cycle with no eacape all while feeling dead inside.
Daily Hat Track October 5 track 2 (Rootkit & Anna Yvette – Against the Sun)
Probably favorite song from Rootkit, though I believe one influence of that could be that I believe Varien had a small hand in this as well. And considering Varien is one of my favorite artists of all time… Yup.
Daily Hat Track: October 6 track 1 (Assemblage 23 – The Noise Inside My Head)
The noise inside my head could possibly be a simple tune that turned out to be an earworm… Or is it the dark existential insomnia-inducing thoughts that appear so regularly that they've unfortunately become the norm?
Daily Hat Track: October 6 track 2 (Squarepusher – Mutilation Colony)
A beautifully ominous beginning eventually transforms into a distorted nightmare. An interesting unconventional journey.
Daily Hat Track: October 7 track 1 (Rotersand – Hey You)
I shared Rotersand's Not Alone a long while back and I consider this to be its companion song. The music sounds quite a bit different and there's a bit more dark was in there but the theming and structure are similar.
Daily Hat Track: October 7: track 2 (VNV Nation – Homeward)
Several of the recent hat tracks (as well as today's review) have been focused more on a great personal meaning. That's what happens when one is in a big transition in life. I just hope I can keep home in sight.
Daily Hat Track: October 8 track 1 (Aviators – The Path Home)
Remember when I'd reviewed Aviators' Aeterno? Well, a couple weeks ago, the man released a remastered version of a few of the tracks off that album and many are a vast improvement. I think The Path Home benefited the most
Daily Hat Tracks: October 8 track 2 (Neilio – Captivating)
I don't care much for the musical content of this Monstercat classic (hardstyle just isn't my thing), but the lyrical content is a glorious illustration of my relationship with music so I quite enjoy the song otherwise.
Daily Hat Track: October 9 track 1 (Bruderschaft, Apoptygma Berzerk, Icon of Coil, VNV Nation, and Covenant – Forever)
What I love about Bruserschaft is that it's four futurepop artists all collaborating all at once. And as a huge fan of futurepop I obviously enjoy that. And Ronan Harris from VNV Nation at the front is definitely a treat.
Daily Hat Track: October 9 track 2 (Lindsey Stirling – Shadows)
I'd originally discovered Lindsey when this song was featured in a video by Nerogeist called the guardian, which you should also definitely check out as I'd argue that it's just as beautiful as this song.
Daily Hat Track October 10 track 1 (Beborn Beton – Another World)
This is way too catchy for it's own good. Such a specific concept too with the singer being a spirit from the beyond the grave warning a loved one to leave his resting place alone, for he has found the afterlife.
Daily Hat Track: October 10 track 2 (Rameses B & Aloma Steele – Darkest Place)
This one used to be on my top ten Monstercat songs of all time though it admittedly has been slipping back a slight thanks to my attention being drawn elsewhere. My DnBias keeps me coming back to it though.
Daily Hat Track: October 11 track 1 (Neelix – Mosquito)
I've shared a remix of this song before quite a while ago, but I want to take a step back and admire the original version with its dramatic tension, danceable drive and distorted mosquito sampled synths.
Daily Hat Track: October 11 track 2 (Deltron 3030 & Del the Funky Homosapien – 3030)
I like to share a lot of songs depicting the future. Often they're hopeful, bu this one is a bit bleaker. I never minded bleakness though long as it's not too destructive, which this isn't.
Daily Hat Track: October 12: track 1 (GUNSHIP – When You Grow Up, Your Heart Dies)
The title alone makes me a bit existential what with my dispassionate disposition towards the world of adulthood. But the song itself is a bit more uplifting than it might initially appear.
Also it has a sax so yes.
Daily Hat Track: October 12 Track 2 (Nana the Shrimp & DZA – Speedball)
Seeing as the song's name is Speedball, it understandably fast paced despite not having an exceptionally high BPM. Though there is a switch up in the middle that allows for an interesting lightly accelerate tempo change
Daily Hat Track: October 13 track 1 (Nobody Beats the Drum – Natural Thing)
This song sounds more technological than natural so I'm not fully certain how well the title and vocals fit. But the song is a nice multileveled trip nonetheless.
Daily Hat Track: October 13 track 2 (Mahamudra – Shadows of Courage)
This song depicting a strangely ominous mixture of desperation and victory was hiding deep in the shadows of my musical memory.
It resurfaced recently.
And I'm so glad it did.
Daily Hat Track: October 14 track 1 (Le Matos – La Mer Des Possibilités)
Le Matos is one of many synthwave names I enjoy. I've chosen this song in particular to share due to its arpwork and the fact that the title translates to "The Sea of Possibilities." A sea that I should look on with hope
Daily Hat Track: October 14 track 2 (Varien – Teva833)
I've established before that Varien is one of my favorite artists. The man has massive spectrum of moods that his song can adhere. And when it comes to the darker trippy stuff from him this song is certainly top notch.
Daily Hat Track: October 15 track 1 (Matduke – Shivers)
Another classic MC hard dance track (I shared Neilio's Captivating earlier this month). But I prefer Matduke. And this is my favorite Matduke as it has the most satisfying variety of the early days of MC hard dance.
Daily Hat Track: October 15 track 2 (Rezonate & Ashley Apollodor – Rebirth)
My favorites from Rezonate are songs with a chill introspective perspective. This is the most uplifting of the bunch with extra focus on embracing positivity rather than letting go of negativity (there's a difference).
Daily Hat Track: October 16 track 2 (Moby – Lift Me Up)
I heard Sesto Sento's remix first (even though I was already familiar with Moby via Natural Blues and Why Does my Heart Feel So Bad).
This song is a much happier alternative to those two and it's just as beautiful.
Daily Hat Track: October 17 track 1 (Tut Tut Child – Talking of Axes)
Talking of Axes is clearly appreciated by me as a song involving both rock elements and some good electronic basslines. And that's not even mentioning the syncopation.
Daily Hat Track: October 17 track 2 (Juno Reactor – Pistolero)
Pretty obvious that the ever present guitar is the absolute star of the show in this one. Really sells the western vibe this song seems to aim for (everything else about the song is great too, but guitar is what I love).
Daily Hat Track: October 18 track 1 (INTERCOM – Truth and Malice)
My favorite nonInfected Mushroom song to make it on a MC Rocket League comp.
It transitions perfectly between beautiful stringed sections and groovy basslines sections seemlessly, likely thanks to the vocal chops.
Daily Hat Track: October 18 track 2 (Phaxe – Angels of Destruction (Neelix Remix)
I will likely eventually share every combination of Neelix and Caroline Harrison eventually as they sound so gorgeous together.
While this is no Makeup, it's still up there among my favorites from the two.
Daily Hat Track: October 19 track 2 (Jilax & Durs – Conquer)
Continuing on a psytrance roll, I'm going to share a bit of a recently fresh psytrance track. There's some nice dramatic near cinematic tension in places and whenever it's building itself up, it does so nicely.
Daily Hat Track: October 20 track 1 (Grabbitz – Better with Time)
I'll admit that I've lately felt stuck in that place where I'm seeing life as a boring movie, desperately hoping it all gets better with time.
Hence I enjoy this song.
Plus syncopation of course. That's always loved.
Daily Hat Track: October 20 track 2 (Niteppl – Can't Stop Now)
Seeing as I'd discovered this song in my early Spotify days, this one feels like an inspirational classic to me. Sure the lyrics are a bit repetitive, but the funky vibe and piano bridge more than make up for it.
Daily Hat Track: October 21 track 1 (Absurd Minds – The Question)
Have I done a song yet on the nihilistic questioning of reality as we ponder the slow transition to dystopia that society is trending towards?
Well if not, here's an example.
Daily Hat Track: October 21 track 2 (The Anix – Interferance)
A bit of an oddly creepy maybe edgily unhealthy love song from The Anix for this one. Kind of like anything I'd expect off of FiXt. But there's also just that hint of existential that keeps me coming back.
Daily Hat Track: October 22 track 1 (Altered Frequencies (Phutureprimitve edit))
I'll be honest, I haven't actually taken the time to listen to the original version of this one yet. But hey, I do know that Phutureprimitive's edit has a great blend of sounds (including guitar) that hits the sweet spot
Daily Hat Track: October 22 track 2 (Daniel Deluxe – Darkness)
Darkness is unsurprisingly quite a dark song about eternal darkness. Go figure.
Thematically, I'd say it's similar to Gunships's Dark All Day, albeit this one doesn't have a sax so it's obviously the lesser of the two.
Daily Hat Track: October 23 track 1 (Neilio – Obsession)
Oh this song sounds nice and romantic at first…
Daily Hat Track: October 23 track 2 (Covox – Attack Vector)
I don't know if I've ever really posted chiptune Hat Tracks that often. In the right hands some cool stuff can be made in the genre. Here's one such song, albeit it's the second half where the song really shines.
Daily Hat Track: October 24 track 1 (Lauren Bousfield – No Clocks No Mirrors (For Joey))
I've always loved Lauren's fine line between the calm and the madness. And this song does a great job of bouncing back and forth in between the two extremes.
Daily Hat Track: October 24 track 2 (Tokyo Machine – TURBO)
This recent release is likely one of the only Tokyo Machine songs I truly enjoy. He just doesn't fit my groove. I think I was in the right mood when first listened to this one as I was driving in the middle of the night.
Daily Hat Track: October 25 track 1 (Vexare – The Clockmaker)
I will admit that I prefer that calms and the moments of the ticking clock more than the main drop, but there is somewhat of a classic feel to this one. Not super dirty like some dubstep but it still hits nice and hard.
Daily Hat Track: October 25 track 2 (Carpenter Brut – Roller Mobster)
Been listening to an above average amount of Carpenter Brut as of late, likely one of the greatest artists of all of synthwave. Choosing one song to highlight is nigh impossible so I just grabbed one of his most popular.
Daily Hat Track: October 26 track 1 (Muzzy – Spectrum)
Easily one of my favorites from Muzzy. It has it all: beauty, intensity, meaningful lyrics. It's just a lovely song that few, if any can top (maybe the Wrong remix but that doesn't take the beauty cake)
Daily Hat Track: October 26 track 2 (Muzzy & Droptek – Warhead)
Long as I'm on the topic of Muzzy, here's one of his most badass tracks. A collaboration with Droptek that feels as if it's in the same vein as Endgame. And I love Endgame. So I love this.
Daily Hat Track: October 27 track 1 (Infected Mushroom – Cities of the Future (extended remix)
The best remixes have the ability to improve upon the original while still keeping the heart of what made the original so great. This is a great example of such a remix of a song I've already fully reviewed.
Daily Hat Track: October 27 track 2 (Ace Ventura – Hello?)
Imagine. You're driving through the night listening to music, some new, some old. One of your favorite song ends with a good 5 seconds or so of near silence and then out of no where you hear it:
"Hello? Anybody here?"
Daily Hat Track: October 28 track 1 (Krama – Master of Elements)
This song served as my introduction to Krama, one of the best artists of Spintwist (other than Neelix of course)
Oh and this apparently has a quote from Doctor Strange in it. Didn't notice at first but there it is.
Daily Hat Track: October 28 track 2 (SCNDL & Timmy Trumpet – Bleed)
Daily Hat Track: October 29 track 1 (Sesto Sento – Zoombai Warriors Surfing on a Small Chapati Sound in the East of Parvati (Megamix))
This insane mashup is made up of several songs by 9 different psytrance artists, including one of my very favorites, Bliss. Absolutely amazing piece of work right here.
Daily Hat Track October 29 track 2 (Savant – Change)
Multigenre songs with tempo changing switchups are some of my favorites. So what of this song? A full constant switchups multigenre cluster of fantasticality, constantly accelerating until the very end before breaking down.
Daily Hat Track: October 30 track 1 (Ehrling – Thokoloshi)
Ehrling is always a pleasure. Probably because saxophone is always a pleasure. And Ehrling nearly always has a saxophone present. Like many of his songs I love the bouncy sax vibes the song has to offer.
Daily Hat Track October 30: track 2 (Wisp X & Xomu – Lumina)
Now the reason I'm particularly enjoying this song isn't because it's breaks (though syncopation is still expectedly awesome, but it's because it had some gorgeous piano melodies at the forefront.
Daily Hat Track: October 31 track 1 (Direct & Mr Fijiwiji – LA2016)
Direct and Fijiwiji are always a great combo, but I'm honestly just here.for the vocal chops.
Daily Hat Track: October 31 track 2 (Savlonic – Computer Guy)
Sir Weebl, the main man behind Savlonic may be responsible for memes, but this one is so incredibly catchy that I've gotta throw back to it. And it's slightly more serious than his more well known stuff.
Celldweller – Celldweller Part 3 (2013 Instrumentals)
Album Links:
Bandcamp (instrumentals only): https://celldweller.bandcamp.com/album/celldweller-10-year-anniversary-edition-instrumentals
Soundcloud (original album and bonus tracks only): n/a
Spotify (full album): https://open.spotify.com/album/1gStSHuxB1XHGBzPDQHU9w?si=-zbQHTIATBy5VEUPoeVCGw
Youtube (Instrumentals from disc 1 only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyL2RhXM8konpM1jG5Bb9NAzKiM4Dn4zD
Youtube (Instrumentals from disc 2 only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyL2RhXM8konPjM_Tww92DcPG2XHA9OfG
Introduction: Final round of Celldweller's debut album and we can put Klayton to rest for a good while as I return to some of the other artists I've been reviewing as well as branch out to others that I haven't yet touched. But first, it's time to finish up the last third of the review: the 26 instrumental songs. There may be no words left on this album. But I'll say a few words regardless.
Celldweller – Switchback (Instrumental) (6): So, you may remember in the first part of this review, I mentioned the personal Switchback "meme" that my brother and I share. This is where it began. The instrumental for Switchback. Well, it actually wasn't really as funny until we did it with the instrumental of Unshakeable, but you get the idea. However, while this was the starting point of heightening my enjoyment of Switchback's vocals, it doesn't actually benefit from this because those vocals are the best part of Switchback and since this is an instrumental. They simply aren't present.
Ah well, I don't want to spend too long talking about what this song isn't. Let's go over quickly about what the song is. First off, I want to point out the beginning of this track and how it differs a bit from the original. Why? Well, there are three Cell tracks on the original album, none of which get their own instrumental (like anyone wants thirty seconds of random ambience anyway), but Cell #1 gets some special attention in comparison to the rest as its second half is actually snuck into the beginning of this instrumental.
The rest of the song is… less interesting. The parts of the song that are able to utilize some of the electric side of Celldweller intrigue me slightly, but the solo rock portions are repetitive at best and they just end up making me miss the lyrics more than anything else. The closest thing this song has to an improvement is that there's a great bassline that didn't get much focus in the bridge, but when push comes to shove, the vocals are more important to this song than that bassline.
Celldweller – Stay with Me (Unlikeley) (7.25): For this song, I feel the departure of vocals actually lends its way to appreciating more of the melodies and glitches this song has to offer. And the song carries itself poised exactly as it would with vocals. Take the verses for example. In the original, there's a couple of lines in the song that diverge from the rest ("me who said it" and "me who did it") and while I didn't notice it in the original (because the vocals were no top of them duh), there's a little riff on lying underneath that carries the same energy.
The absence of the lyrics is an odd loss as I'm still not certain if they were truly well executed in the original. It could be about the inner turmoil of isolation (which I enjoy) but it also could be about toxic relationships. Why do I mention this here where the lyrics aren't even relevant to this instrumental. Well, I guess I can't tell how to rate it in relationship to those original vocals. I am thinking that this might be a slight step down, but it's ever so slight it almost doesn't even matter.
Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (Instrumental) (8): Oh yeah, remember when I said the original song would have been a bit better if there weren't any vocals getting in the way? Well look at this! No violently suicidal vocals! Instead we have that wonderful switching back and forth between the rock and electronic that I listen to Celldweller for. And the best part is that it doesn't even seem like the vocals are missing.
Most instrumental songs have an issue with feeling somewhat empty or overly repetitive. The Last Firstborn has so much constantly going on and so much constantly changing that it doesn't even matter that the vocals are gone. It's actually tough to highlight everything amazing that this song does, but a lot of it does have to do with the fact that there's never a moment where one side of Celldweller electronic or rock truly takes over. My favorite parts are definitely the quicker paced electronic portions with perfectly arpeggiated chaos and a great underlying guitar for the bass. Though the bridge also deserves some mentioning
Whatever I highlight, the entire seven minutes is exceedingly enjoyable, and it really makes me appreciate how much effort was put into this song.
Celldweller – Under my Feet (Instrumental) (8.25): Without the lyrics, this song just sounds like a great journey that the guitar goes through as it progressively gets more intense. And considering that was my favorite part of the original song, I'm really happy to hear it in the spotlight. I'd already gone perhaps a bit too much in depth in the music of the original version of this review on all of the instruments surrounding this guitar's journey (drums, choir, etc.).
The main takeaway is that here I can enjoy the journey without any distractions. There is one point in the middle of the song that pauses before leaping the farthest jump in intensity. It feels a little off, likely because there were some vocals closing that gap initially, but it's not an overwhelming fault and to make up for it, the absence of the vocals in the end is extremely welcome. In the original song there were some spiteful lyrics at the end that ruined the entire message and left a bad taste in my mouth. Here, however, the journey simply fades out with the same melody the song began with. A much more satisfying form of poetry than spite.
Celldweller – I Believe you (Instrumental) (6.25): Ok, so while I've surprisingly had a good bit to say about the songs so far, this one is going to be short. I have so very little to say about it because not much in particular is standing out to me. Throughout all the rock portions of the track (and that makes up most of it), I can't seem to find much that's all that remarkable in comparison to anything else we've heard. I do enjoy bits and pieces of it. The syncopation, the little melody that occasionally appears. But most of the guitar riffs aren't all that great. However, I do like the riffs a bit better when they're distorted in such a way that makes them feel more distant like at the beginning. Also, the same riff is clearly better when played by a bassy synth at the minute mark. Well, at least it's better in my opinion. My electronic bias is showing.
Since I am listening to this on loop as I review it, I must make sure to mention that this song loops very nicely, as that pause at the end is exactly four beats. It's kind of an abrupt ending when played otherwise, but if you want to listen to this song forever, then you're in for a treat. I don't even want to do that with sons I thoroughly enjoy though so I'm going to have to pass on that one.
Celldweller – Frozen (Instrumental) (6.5): Hey, wait a second. This isn't instrumental. There's still that one moaning chick saying, "Let's Go." What a ripoff! I demand my money back! Except for the fact that I'm listening to this off of Spotify so the closest I am to paying for this track is the ten dollar monthly fee, and I have feeling that Spotify isn't going to refund me my ten bucks just because some woman decided to attempt a seductive moan when she shouldn't have. But hey, if you want to give me ten bucks, then I'm all up for it (shameless Patreon reminder).
Ah well, other than that, how does the rest of the track hold up. Eh. It's a bit repetitive. I mean, I appreciate that it's no longer oddly sexual in a way that doesn't even seem enjoyable, but what's left behind is a lot of empty creepiness in the verses and a simple melody in the chorus with nothing to distract from the fact that it might be considered a little bit annoying. It's the basslines that really save this song from falling by the wayside. Whenever, that two-note melody isn't distracting, there's an extra amount of focus on the basslines and they give a healthy variety to this track in the creepier verses and the first half of the bridge. And the second half of the bridge has a great guitar solo that's worth noting.
Really, Frozen is a lot more enjoyable when the song itself isn't about lack of enjoyment. Go figure.
Celldweller – Symbiont (Instrumental) (7.5): Funny how many of the songs with more uncomfortable lyrics have the best instrumentals. I mean, this isn't quite as good as The Last Firstborn or Under My Feet, but the constant switch back and forth between the great halftime groove introduced in what was the song's verses and the more upbeat insanity that comes in at the chorus. That first section has a consistent nice groove to it with the occasional glitching and the perfect smooth bassline. And then on the other side, we have the sudden drum and bass tempo with great guitar solos and some a drumbeat singing out the titular lyrics of the song (if the titular lyrics were there). Really, this one's just a good enjoyable experience. Not exceptional, but definitely notable.
Celldweller – Afraid This Time (Instrumental) (7): The rewound elements of this particular song make for quite an unsettling introduction. I mean it gets better once the guitar and piano roll in there. In fact, it's actually quite relaxing, but before that, you have to admit this song's a bit creepy. And while creepy is all fine and good, the combination of piano and acoustic guitar is much better. Sometimes, all you need for a good time is a drumbeat, a piano and a guitar.
Unfortunately, this does mean that the parts of the song that are entirely drums and electronic bassline definitely pale in comparison to that perfect trio. I'm struggling to come up with anything to say about this chorus but I'm afraid it's just uninteresting without the vocals. Which is a shame because that hampers the good guitar and piano we have in the verses.
Celldweller – Fadeaway (Instrumental) (8): Fadeaway's instrumental goes through three phases. Well, I guess the original went through three phases as well as every single part of this instrumental is present in the original, but it's much more relevant here as there are no good vocals to distract from the rest of the song. Yeah, that's going to be a slipback in this case, but let's talk about what the song does have.
The first phase obviously starts at the beginning during the first couple verses. It's here that the song has some ominous slow pacing. The bass rumbles softly, foreboding the spectacularity that is the second phase. Every once and a while a couple of guitar melodies break the calmness, giving a break to the bassline that beckons danger, but such breaks are temporary until we reach the second phase.
The second phase takes all the energy that's been building up for the past minute and a half and finally puts it to good use with the lovely quick paced DnB. There's some decent variety here as new instruments are constantly being added and replaced, possibly allowing me to divide this phase into subphases, but I'm not going to do that. Right now, I'm just going to highlight the acidic bass that comes in at around 1:50 and the final few moments of this phase. After all the built-up energy from these guitars, a few short collections of riffs set the stage for the final phase.
And after just a couple seconds of silence (thanks to missing vocals), the song enters it's final phase, one which builds up from a nice acoustic guitar laid on top of on a subtle electronic melody (which was present in the "silence" I just mentioned but I'm still calling it silence). The song doesn't stay necessarily at this calmer acoustic level but slowly does build its way up to some bits of more intense rock, likely on the same level at the end of phase 2. It's really nice to have a song build from simple lovely combinations into something a bit more extreme. I call that a build up from nothing. Not the best example, but it is an example, just as this is an example as a good instrumental.
Was better with lyrics though.
Celldweller – So Sorry to Say (Instrumental) (7.75): As I'd mentioned when I reviewed the vocal version of this song two weeks ago, this song stands out among many of the other Celldweller tracks due its use of strings and piano. Most songs in the Celldweller discography are some variety of rock (be it hard or soft) with some mixture of electronic elements sprinkled in there. And while this song does have some of the normal Celldweller in it. There are some good strings in many parts of the songs and the piano serves as the most memorable part of this instrumental due to their more unique nature. There's also some odd distorted vocals near the end which I enjoy despite this being labeled an instrumental.
Now, I'm not just highlighting all these atypical instruments of this song to say that the rock and electronic parts are worthless in comparison. There's plenty of variety to be had just looking at the guitar work and the glitched out drumbeat. The latter of which is generally pretty self-explanatory. A bit of syncopation and semi-unpredictability is exactly what I like and expect from drums such as these. The former, which definitely does have its usual moments does step up to provide some a good underlying drive in the song's chorus
So yes, this song does hold up quite well on its own. It was admittedly a slight bit better with the existential isolation lyrics, but it still works well enough on its own.
Celldweller – Own Little World (Instrumental) (6): As soon as this instrumental begins my heart starts racing with pleasure, but the only reason for that is because I love the original so much. Because without the lyrics, this song really feels a bit more underwhelming than it should. Oh, it's good, but it just feels a bit empty. The verses have this cool feeling that's a bit more chill than the chorus as well as a bit more chilling. It doesn't play too much with that feeling though. And the chorus is even more riskless. It's just a couple of guitars playing the chord progression with a beat in the background. When I was listening to the original song I was so hyped up by the lyrics and their delivery that I didn't even care how simple the chorus was. I was too busy singing along to care. And now I can't do that. Now I'm uninterested
It really almost feels like the same one-minute song played twice in a row, with a final iteration with some slight changes: a verse that's a bit less chill and chilling and a chorus that's a bit more intense. It just ends up being a skippable instrumental which is rather surprising considering how much I enjoy the original.
Celldweller – Unlikely (Stay With Me) (Instrumental) (7): There are so few lyrics in the vocal version of this song, that this version feels pretty much exactly the same. And so, since I was kind of drawn towards the instrumental anyway when originally reviewing this song, I really am not left with much to say here. There's a decent blend of electronic and rock in this one, with neither side of the Celldweller coin overpowering the other. It has nothing on the instrumental of Last Firstborn, but it still allows for a nice tone and development… Really that covers pretty much all I feel like saying on this one. It was a good song and it still is.
Celldweller – One Good Reason (Instrumental) (4.5): You know what? I have even less to say about this one. It drones on at the beginning sounding like a swarm of bees and then from then on out it's just an unremarkable Celldweller song. Mostly rock with such minimal electronic portions that are only apparent in the chiller intro. I'm sure I mentioned this in the original review but it's too heavy and gritty for my tastes.
At least the worst lyrics on the album are gone.
Celldweller – The Stars of Orion (Instrumental) (8): The Stars of Orion was another song with minimal lyrics like Unlikely (Stay With Me). But there is a difference here. While I wouldn't say the lyrics of the original are bad (they're pretty meaningless really), I feel like they do distract from the main creepy mood of the song. The mood created by all of the interesting instrumental content this song has to offer. It starts and ends with some great ambience, and the middle is covered in good distorted electronic basslines that fit a song of this tempo and drum pattern (hint, it's DnB which is pretty much a guarantee of enjoyment for me). This song ends up creating an environment of feeling lost even more than the original could, making it one of my favorite instrumentals of the album (other than the songs rated 8.25).
Celldweller – Welcome to the End (Instrumental) (6.5): Oh no, I'm not welcoming you to the end of this review yet. Sure, this may have been the conclusion to the first part of this review, but I still have to do all the bonus tracks after this. So, I guess I'm welcoming you to the middle (about 60% done).
Welcome to The End is, once again, the chilliest song the album has to offer. And I'm including the vocal songs as well. Without the vocals (unless you count what I believe are dolphins at the beginning as vocals but nonhumans are not valid), this song is utterly relaxing. It's no longer a cryptic story of leaving one's home. It's just a song that paints a picture of relaxing near the ocean. At least I visualize it as an ocean. The dolphins and the occasional bubbling do help with that whole thing.
Unfortunately, the song does feel a bit empty as it's trying to make room for the vocals that aren't there. The guitar breaks the silence on occasion. But unfortunately, the song has a paradoxical relationship with the vocals. It's more relaxing without, but with that relaxation comes an emptiness. Perhaps with a more meditative mood, this can be enjoyed, but I've never been one to clear my mind. So this one just stands as a good song.
Celldweller & Tom Salta – Ghosts (Instrumental) (7.25): And here we have a Deluxe instrumental of a Deluxe track. There's less of these to go through, but just as much good to point out. The original's lyrics really didn't come too much into my play on my opinion with this one, so we're not missing much this time around. In fact, I think this song improves a bit focusing on just the variety of sections this song has. Sure, there are a few spots where the song feels a bit emptier than it should with the absence of lyrics. Within each section of the song, there isn't much melodic variety, which is usually covered by the cleaner vocals this song has to offer. Where there's the grittier vocals, the song sounds a bit more complete as the bassline here holds its own. Except maybe that moment at the three minute mark where the song pauses for two full seconds for Celldweller to scream those last couple words… except he's not screaming those words today. He isn't there vocally. That's the point of an instrumental.
But Tom Salta's strings are definitely the star of the show here. They were the best part of the song when the vocals were present, and they still are. Outside of the bassy gritty portions of the song, it's these strings that provide most of the variety., present especially in the chorus and before each verse. It's a pleasure to see a few clean smooth instruments clash with Celldweller's harsher style. This one doesn't reach the same heights as So Sorry to Say. The basslines in this song do allow for some good variety as well, not as noticeable as the strings, but the difference between the more electronically focused bass in the verses and the rock focused bass in the chorus is distinct enough to add the perfect touch to this song.
Celldweller – Uncrowned (Instrumental) (7.75): Ok, this is just your typical fantastically intense DnB track. And I love DnB so that's a good thing. Plus there's plenty of guitars as expected from Celldweller so that's a slight extra flavor that makes it stand out a bit from the other typical fantastically intense DnB tracks. I do quite enjoy it when rock and electronic collide (which is probably my favorite thing about Celldweller) and this song is once again one that shows off a bit of that diversity, delegating the bass to the electronic side and pretty much everything else to the rock. Oh, but it still feels quite balanced with how much bass variety this song has as it switches between lightning paced DnB and some good half-time that can be used as a breather with strings instead of guitars. The song is constantly changing, keeping me on my toes as I'm shifted back and forth between rock and electronic, DnB and halftime, this riff to that riff. The list goes on and the song is enjoyable the whole way through.
Celldweller – Tragedy (Instrumental) (5.75): Remember when I'd first reviewed Tragedy? I mentioned how the song really sounded like Celldweller just wanted to make a cover of a Bee Gees song with an edgier rock-oriented twist. And that's all he really wanted to do. Make a rock cover and have a little fun without worrying over whether or not the music was exceptional. So, what is this song without the lyrics that make it a Bee Gees cover?
Not much. I mean, it's not bad, but it's so riskless in comparison to the other Celldweller songs once you strip them all down to the basics. This song is just another track to move on from.
Celldweller – Shapeshifter (Instrumental) (7): What is Shapeshifter without its rapped verses and violently misheard chorus? Well, the end result is still a song that still stands out a bit from its surrounding instruemntals. Or maybe I'm just saying that because anything will feel it stands out after listening to tragedy…
Ah well, unique or not this song has a lot of good strengths, sticking strongly to that electronic rock fusion. The rock is definitely the overwhelming of the two sides here (as per usual), but it isn't a situation in which the electronic is completely covered up. The chorus is a bad example as the only thing close to electronic there is that annoying synth which does not help this song's case that much (It's only in the first chorus this time though so that's different). The verses on the other hand have some good little plucks of flavor that help keep the song interesting even without the rapper providing the usual variety. And in the bridge, the absence of the vocals really brings out some great bassline work. I wasn't quite certain if it was still electronic or not upon my first couple listens, but it doesn't really matter the origin of this sound. It really adds a lot to the bridge and I'm thankful that this instrumental has allowed me to home in on its excellency.
Electronics aside, the parts that are fully rock do truly rock. So, I'm not at all bothered by them overtaking the spotlight at parts in this song. There's something about the final chorus that really feels like it concludes the song quite nicely. Of course, maybe that's just because it follows that great bridge… and it is the end of the song…
Still don't know what this song has to do with shapeshifting.
Celldweller – Goodbye (Klayton remix) (Instrumental) (7.5): Klayton's remix of Celldweller's Goodbye (it's odd and I'll never get used to it), is a 7-minuter, which means that in order to succeed, it really needs to have a good dynamic variety to make it worth its time. And that can be tricky to do with an instrumental song that was originally made to have vocals providing some of that variety. However, I believe this nonlinear remix of Goodbye does succeed in that variety. It does so barely, but it's just enough.
The beginning of the song seems to have a bassline that drones on for quite a while at first, but the drums accompany to lengthen its lifespan of interest for some time until the song fully picks up its pace with a second bassline (yes) a full DnB drumbeat (even more yes). The bassline does undergo a healthy amount of variation as the song progresses, but it never gets tired as it does take some breaks to bring in a guitar to fill in the space for a short bit, elongating the time this DnB can reasonably continue. And before it runs dry, the song finally takes a small step back tempo wise and trades the lightning paced syncopation for some slower slightly more dramatic half time with much more focus on the guitar this time around as it eventually distorts its way into a good solo for the ending as the song returns to its creepy droning roots.
I really can't say that a certain part of this song is my favorite part. It's simply a good variety of some really good ideas. Sometimes, that's all you need for an enjoyable experience.
Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (Klayton remix) (Instrumental) (7.75): In my last two reviews, comparing the original version of the Last Firstborn to this Klayton remix, the latter was the clear winner. However, the reason for that victory had very little to do with the music itself, but simply because the slightly stripped down lyrics of this version happened to strip away the most problematic portions of the song. But this third part of the Celldweller review, changes everything. Because now all the lyrics have been stripped away. Klayton's remix no longer has the lyrical advantage and now the two songs can be held side by side to determine which one is truly musically better.
It's the original.
I mean, this is good and all and I stand by the 7.75/10 I gave it last week, but there really is little difference between this and the lyrical version. I still appreciate the mysterious progression and the focus on the electronic arp that proved to be my favorite part of the original, but there's so many other things in the original that contribute to the electronic rock fusion that is Celldweller. And it's that balanced fusion that really makes The Last Firstborn so exceptional. Without the lyrics holding it back, Klayton's remix never stood a chance.
Still a good remix though.
Celldweller – Switchback (Klayton remix) (Instrumental) (6.75): Because the Copy Paste Repeat remix doesn't have an instrumental (for understandably chaotic reasons), we're having three of those Klayton remixes in a row. If it weren't for the next two songs, we'd be able to knock all four of them out in one shot (though honestly, I think I'd rather have eliminated the fourth Klayton remix than sacrifice the two songs in between).
Anyways, we're back to the iconic Switchback song, just without the iconic switchbacking vocals… So, is it worth anything? Well, even without the vocals, there are still plenty of elements here that are reminiscent of the original. The most prominent of them being the bassline. Now, as you saw in the beginning of this review, I'm not particularly fond of this bassline. I don't dislike it. I'm just not fond of it. But here, it seems to work a bit better. Perhaps that's because this is a more electronic version of switchback and not the original almost entirely rock version we heard earlier. And because of that, I'm noticing a bit more variety in how the instrumentation transforms over time. And that's especially noticeable with the lyrics stripped away.
The song is still missing the variety that is usually provided by the bridge, which does hold the track back slightly and I feel with that tiny hint more of variety it would reach that 7 point threshold, but alas, it shall reside back with a 6.75.
This is the last of the five Switchback songs in this entire deluxe album. No going back now.
It's too late to switch back.
Celldweller – Atmospheric Light (Demo Redux) (Instrumental) (6): This is the only demo to get an instrumental for some reason. Perhaps the redux means something that allows it to have an instrumental when the others couldn't. Which is really a shame because Waiting could really have used an instrumental. This song on the other hand… well I didn't really mind the lyrics from the original (didn't enjoy them all that much but didn't mind them), so this song didn't need an instrumental. And to be honest, this song is really one of the most repetitive tracks that this entire album has to offer. The main electronic synth feels like it's playing the same couple notes over and over again with maybe a little bit of automation, but not enough to give the song a full fleshed out feeling to it. The guitar does help a little and the strings do make the song actually feel complete for a brief moment, but for the most part, this song just feels a bit empty. Some decent mysterious vibes, but other than that quite insignificant.
Celldweller – Own Little World (Blue Stahli remix) (Instrumental) (8.25): While the instrumental of the original version of this song kind of fell flat, Blue Stahli's version can easily hold its own even without my favorite lyrics on the album. Everything I initially enjoyed about this remix is even better the second time around. I already spoke pretty in depth about the nonvocal elements of this song last week as the vocals were already covered the week before, but there are still some things I want to go a tiny bit more in depth with.
First off, there's the funky guitar in the verses. I already knew this bassline has a good groove when I'd first heard this song, but without the lyrics, there's such a heavy focus on the deep groovy feeling emanating from the bass end of this track that I simply have to mention it again. Really any moment of the guitar is driven with so much intensity that its surprising that the vocals were able to make a mark without being overwhelmed by the instrumental. But it all worked out with the vocals, and it works quite nearly as well without. Same goes for the build-up from nothing, which was originally laden with Celldweller's lyricless cries and now is able to have a bit more focus on the strings that serve as the backbone for that track.
It's all still better with vocals though. That was obvious from the start.
Celldweller – Shapeshifter (Klayton remix) (Instrumental) (7.5): There is very little to say on this one. I may have bit myself in the butt when reviewing these remixes, as it's difficult to talk of anything but music after all of the lyrical analysis has already left my system when I'd reviewed the original. And when I'd reviewed this remix, all I really said was that this song is more intense and aggressive than the original. I gave a few examples of why, but a lot of it comes down to how dense this song has become. Every single second of this song is filled to the brim with intense basslines and the like that it's incredibly overwhelming. The electronic elements (most noticeably the simple plucks and melodies in the verses) have become a lot more prominent, but none of the guitarwork has suffered because of it.
I've said so much between the other three times I've reviewed Shapeshifter (all of which are somewhat similar musically outside of intensity and whether or not there are vocals), that I feel that there is very little left to say for this one.
Celldweller – Goodbye (Instrumental) (5.5): Goodbye has a great build at the beginning of the song, filled with ominous basslines (both the long sweeping distortion and the wavering notes) and the occasional melody. This build is the best part of the song, concluding with some a good rise with the guitar as we near the main theme of the song.
And that's about all I have to say positively for this one. This song goes nowhere. This wasn't much of a problem with the original version as it had some existential lyrics about the neverending passage of time, but as time passes in this version… it's just not that interesting. The guitar is repetitive and plodding. The short breaks are somewhat appreciated, but I've noticed that they're really the same pattern without the guitar. The melody near the end does provide a bit more variety, but it really wouldn't be special in any other song. Only reason I appreciate it here is because the rest of the song is a bit bland. And that says more about the low quality of the song than the higher quality of the melody.
And as it turns out, because the demos are defunct and there's no instrumental available for the orchestral wonder that is Switchback (No I'm Not remix), we are actually ending this review, once and for all with a fitting song.
Conclusion: Ok, that's the last of Celldweller I plan on reviewing for a long while. I love the guy, but his Deluxe albums are a bit extreme, especially this time around. And so, after three whole consecutive weeks of Celldweller, I plan on delaying coming back to revisit his discography any time soon. Maybe not even this year. Good album though. There were definitely some rough patches here and there, but each part of the review got better and better. In some ways I guess the instrumentals didn't add too much content for me to talk about, but I feel it did allow me to shed some nice light on some of the edgier tracks whose lyrics got in the way. Sometimes, you just have to strip down a song to its elements to truly enjoy it. This doesn't always work though as there were definitely a few songs in here that would have been better had Klayton still been singing, but you can't win them all. But seeing as the score has slightly improved, I guess you have to win some of them.
Final Score for Original album: (6.5/10)
Final Score for Bonus Tracks: (6.75/10)
Final Score for Instrumentals: (7/10)
Final Score for Album Overall: (6.75/10)
Celldweller – Celldweller Part 2 (2013 bonus tracks)
Bandcamp (original album and bonus tracks only): https://celldweller.bandcamp.com/album/celldweller-10-year-anniversary-deluxe-edition
Soundcloud (original album and bonus tracks only): https://soundcloud.com/celldweller/sets/celldweller-10-year-2
Youtube (original album and bonus tracks only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnUoeQ45vgmtIWyb40DiweCdge84Y282Y
Introduction: I spent plenty of time introducing Celldweller and the rest of Klayton's aliases last week, though most of them aren't relevant for this review. Well, Celldweller is relevant because it's his album, and it could also be argued that the Klayton's Alias makes an appearance as there's a good handful of songs here saying they're remixed by Klayton (which is just a fancy way of saying it's a VIP or rework). Besides, these Klayton remixes don't quite match the modern purpose of that particular moniker.
That being said, I do believe that this review will be slightly shorter than the last as there are indeed some remixes (meaning no lyrical analysis required) as well as some "demos" (which are a bit more bare-boned).
More in depth explanations of what's going on in this album will come in due time.
Celldweller & Tom Salta – Ghosts (7): Welcome…
To a new beginning…
Let's begin this bonus content extravaganza with Ghosts, Celldweller teams up with another artist to create a new combination of rock, electronic AND orchestral. That last bit is likely thanks to Tom Salta an artist that has released on Klayton's FiXT label under the name Atlas Plug. Oh, and I think he might have made the soundtrack for a video game franchise called Hola or something. I don't know, it has a lot of guns or something. I'm a music lover, not a gamer.
I do feel that there's a bit of overlap between the Tom Salta & Celldweller styles, so it's rather difficult to parse exactly what other elements he's responsible for other than the assumption that Celldweller doesn't usually dip into the orchestral stuff like this. The breakbeat bassline sections are a bit more his style. I had guessed for a second that he might have been responsible for the clean vocals on the song, but I think that was just my bias of seeing a feat. Rather than an & and expecting an extra vocalist (I always change feat. to & in my reviews so I guess that confusion doesn't translate well here and just makes you even more confused). The vocals do sound a little bit different, but that could be my mind playing tricks on me. I don't believe that Tom is really the singing type from what I know though, but I could be wrong. It's kind of hard to uncover this information. Perhaps I should just go with the assumption that there is no information not uncover.
Well, I've talked about Tom long enough and I think I've summed up the music well enough with the little bits I've scattered through the Tom discussion so perhaps I can speak of some lyrics now. The lynchpin to discovering what this song is about is clearly the identity of these ghosts. I've taken some time looking to see if I can scrounge up some meaning other than the enjoyment of talking edgily about dead things, but it's proven difficult to come up with a definitive answer that feels like it tightly fits those lyrics. I want to say the song has to do with facing ones past regrets that threaten to haunt us, but I really feel like I'm reaching for that one and when I feel like I'm reaching, then maybe there's nothing there to begin with.
Until one of you reads this and it easily dawns on you what the meaning is and then you message me on Twitter or something to tell me how blind I have been to the message that these ghosts are presenting. Don't get mad at me. Ghosts are invisible. How am I supposed to see?
Celldweller – Uncrowned (6.75): Drum. And. Bass. One of the fastest subgenres of EDM and this song clocks in at about 190 BPM which is an exceptionally speedy tempo, even for DnB. The basslines and guitar riffs do a pretty good job of keeping up with the energy. There could be a bit more variety as much of the song feels rather similar with the same basslines and guitar riffs over and over again, but I think the overall speed of the track (plus the occasional slower portion) makes up for that lack of variety.
As for the lyrics, well, they're a bit iffy. Remember Under My Feet and how the last line of that song was incredibly spiteful wishing for another's downfall. Yeah that spiteful ending encompasses the entirety of this song. Whether or not this makes the lyrics worse or better than Under my Feet is debatable, as more focus on the disliked lyrics is logically worse, but I feel part of what made Under My Feet's ending so bad is its context. The entirety of the song before that point had been about Celldweller rising out of the pit he's in and so the spiteful ending was incredibly unfitting to the mood. This song has no such context and so the entire message of the song is pride goeth before the fall and you and your legacy will inevitably fade away from eternity. And while I think I'd prefer something a bit more inspiring, I think I'm still able to enjoy the edgy side of these lyrics on their own.
Celldweller – Tragedy (6.25): So, sometime in the years approaching 2013, Klayton (the man behind Celldweller in case you forgot), was listening to some music back from the late 70s and as he listened to Bee Gees, he thought to himself "huh, this song is good, but you know what it needs? Some gritty guitar riffs with a darker tone."
And you know what? It turned out to be a pretty good idea. It's not top notch Celldweller. I'd say it's actually rather par for the course when it comes to this album: mostly rock, with the occasional hint of electronic. There are some parts that stand out such as the rising and falling of the arpeggiated chord progression as the bridge transitions between the last two choruses. An ok melody there too. But for the most part, this song just sounds like Klayton just wanted to have a little fun creating a simple Celldweller spin on a song he enjoyed.
As for the lyrics, they do run the uncomfortable route that is a break-up song. I mean, it's a better theme than the toxic relationship, perhaps even the correct course of action to follow a toxic relationship, but I still rarely find the theme to be really all that enjoyable to listen to and discuss. The best a break-up song can do is rise above the rest and actually be mature instead of the childish whining and complaining I see in many break-up songs. This one is roughly in the middle for me. Oh, Celldweller is definitely showing some bitterness towards the deteriorating relationship, but it's all internal turmoil. There is no fault placed in the other's hands. It's all him and his bleak depression that's creating this world of tragedy. It's not ideal, but it's realistic and certainly not an annoying line of reasoning. Would be nice if Celldweller could find a way to overcome this tragedy that is taking over his life, but sometimes tragedy is all we see…
And by Celldweller I mean the Bee Gees because they were the ones who originally wrote this song. It sounded a little bit different back then.
Celldweller & Styles of Beyond – Shapeshifter (6): Of all the bonus track I'm reviewing today, this one is the most popular. In fact, it might be the only one of these tracks to even hold a candle to Switchback and Frozen. But that's the consensus of the general public (which I more often than not disagree with). But regardless of how much love I think Own Little World deserves more attention, where does Shapeshifter stand in relation to the two powerhouses I mentioned? Somewhere in between…
The first thing you might notice about Shapeshifter is how different the vocals are from the rest of Celldweller's work. Well, the obvious explanation for this is found right in the credits of the song: Celldweller AND Styles of Beyond. Now, I'm not very well versed (not versed at all actually) on this artist's discography beyond Shapeshifter, but I believe it's a safe bet to say that he's the rapper that gives this Celldweller track a unique twist. But is it a twist I like? I am quite picky with my rap after all as lyrical content is more important than ever with such a genre.
So hey, that will work as the perfect segue to trying to decipher these lyrics… It's 'bout cars. There's nothing deep to this. 500 words over three and a half minutes, and it's all about outracing the cops while racing other sweet rides (not sure what this has to do with shapeshifting, but I'm just going to roll with it). Not exactly what I'm looking for, but I don't really dislike it either. Really, it just feels like the type of rap you'd slap on top of a beat with above average intensity. And seeing as the intense beats are quite common for Celldweller, it seems that this rap fits perfectly.
Speaking of the intensity of Celldweller, now may be a good time to appreciate the striking guitar riffs and the few subtle electronic elements in the verses. I really enjoy these subtleties the best as they provided that perfect extra touch to give the verses a tiny boost of variety. There's also the overload of guitar in the chorus, but I'm not as much of a fan of those parts of the song. Same goes for the brudge to a lesser extent.
In the end, I'm feeling rather neutral about this one. Nothing about it is bad, but there's not much here that's really great either.
One last thing I forgot to mention when talking about the vocals would be Celldweller's screaming in the chorus and the bridge. Not my favorite side of his vocal style but it does suit the song. But the real reason I want to mention it is because I want to introduce one common reoccurring issue I have with certain lyrics. Oh, it's not any fault of the song. It's all about my own mishearing the lyrics that is causing this odd and perhaps concerning issue. Until I reviewed the song today, I did not realize that the chorus was just repeating the name of the song. No, apparently my violent brain decided that Celldweller was screaming "DIE… JUST DIE!" From here on out, Shapeshifter Syndrome will refer to moments where I mishear lyrics and interpret them, to be much more disturbingly violent than they really are (though considering the tone of those vocals can you really blame me in this case?).
Celldweller – Goodbye (Klayton Remix) (7.25): Ok, so this is quite odd. Here we are about the quarter of the way into the bonus tracks. And we've come across this Klayton remix of a Celldweller song we haven't heard before. First off, I find it weird that the remix appears first while the original version of the song isn't played until the end of the album (excluding the demos which I shall also be reviewing. So, I'm reviewing the remix before the original, which I find rather uncomfortable to be honest
Also, Klayton is the same person as Celldweller so I'm not sure who exactly he's trying to fool here as he does this several times on the album. The song is just a bit more electronic than it was before… later…
Ok, you know what, this whole nonlinear thing is really messing me up. Celldweller broke the rules by putting this song earlier I the track listing so I'm going to break the rules and head on over to the last song on the album before coming back here to review the remix. I'll be right back.
Ok, I'm back. Let's take a look at the remix of Goodbye after reviewing the original. I shan't be long because I've already done the little analysis this song has to offer over there so I'll just skip that, so you'll have to wait for it (or read ahead since this whole thing is out of order now). But now that we're here, we can talk about the more electronic version of Goodbye, my preferred version.
Sure it drones on a bit at the beginning, with only a bit of chopped up vocals and some drumbeats, but once the song gets past the first minute of that droning, Celldwelller's scream allows the song to go up a notch with the fast-paced DnB that dominates much of this song. Complete with some bleeps and bloops here and there, a few great basslines and of course some chopped up vocals of the titular line of the song. There's some full lyrics starting midway through the song, but they're really a footnote in this experience of Celldweller's strength of combining electronic basslines and guitar riffs.
This song has the same existential strengths as the original but ends up being one of the best bonus tracks of this album due to the incredible improvements on the instrumentation and tone. I'd talk about those existential strengths here but I'm going to talk about them later in this review (or had talked about them earlier today as I am writing this. Time travel is confusing.).
Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (Klayton remix) (7.75): Another occurrence of Klayton remixing a song that he'd originally produced? We're going to see a good few of these today. Like with the remix of Goodbye, Klayton fully embraces the more electronic side of the song. From the very beginning he uses the same arp that dominated the more electronically focused parts of the song. Except without the strong drumbeat, the entire mood has been changed from its original energetic intensity to a developing sense of mystery accentuated by the use of distorted vocals.
About halfway through the song the guitar finally breaks through, bringing its song to its energetic glory. Everything here gets more powerful. The drums are no longer distant. The bassline has a harsher more prominent vibe. The arp has gone from subtle and mysterious to a much brighter sound filled with the energy that the original song had. Overall, this song has some great development in its mood as it transforms from its mysterious cryptic style to a briefly more energetic focus.
The lyrics are thankfully sparser and many of the more violent lyrics have been removed from this version of the song. We still have the description of a possible murder scene, but without the bleak and depressing context, the scene feels no bloodier than some of the edgier songs I've reviewed.
So yes, definitely a massive improvement. Though I think the original would still have been better if the lyrics were absent… Man, wouldn't it be nice if that were possible.
Celldweller – Frozen (Copy Paste Repeat remix) (8): Oh wow. This is a mess, but it's the good kind. Copy Paste Repeat completely tears apart the song and reorganizes it into a completely different chaotic mess of patterneless drumbeats, harsh basslines and vocals chopped beyond anything else on this album. There is a small portion in the middle that allows the original chorus of the song to play without any interruptions, but the chaos is always lurking in the background, ready to strike as soon as the chorus ends, taking the chaos to new levels unheard of. And while I shouldn't expect anything clean from thsi sound, the ending of this song is so glitchy and rough that I still thought my headphones broke when I first listened to it.
Oh, and once again, like the last song, the vocals I like less (the overly sexual ones in this case) are eliminated from this version, leaving only the feeling of being frozen in time, and since I like time shenanigans, this one's going to get a good solid rating from me.
There is no good way to review this song, but I'm perfectly content just sitting back and letting the perfect chaos that is this track fill my ears.
Celldweller – Switchback (Klayton remix) (7.25): And welcome back to Switchback. There may just be the one Klayton remix this time around (unless I'm forgetting something, which according to this addendum from my future self, I am) but trust me. We're going to see a lot of Switchback in the future. Not any time soon likely, but I promise it will happen.
This Switchback remix starts out quite similar to that Copy Paste Repeat song from last time what with the glitching around and distortion of the vocals, but Celldweller hasn't truly caught the Copy Paste Repeat Chaos, it's just for the first three seconds of the song (though there are a fair amount of vocal chops), the rest is an entirely electronic version of the iconic Switchback. There's still a good influence from the original with its bassline, but it's been distorted into something new with much of the rest of the song focusing on adding a few new electronic elements, foregoing the rock entirely (ok maybe a guitar riff here and there, but that's almost completely covered up in the background, I almost didn't notice it until at least the third time around this song today).
However, while I do appreciate the consistent electronic enjoyment, I will admit that this song only just barely gets by with having enough variety. The drumbeat has a couple of switchups but for the most part it's constant (which isn't bad, but it's teasing me with those syncopated portions). There are a few different basslines in there, but they don't go through them and interchange them nearly fast enough. I now I'm probably being too picky, but a 7-minute song must do its best to capture the attention of the listener with such a variety to justify its length, and if it weren't for the section where the first verse gets a spotlight, I'm not sure if I'd have found this song interesting enough to consider to be on par with the original.
I'm probably being too harsh, this song is still quite enjoyable (as all Switchback songs are), and I think it's a fun spin on the original. I'm not quite certain which one I prefer as this song is more consistent but doesn't quite measure up to the high points of the original. But both are fun tracks, and both deserve a good rating.
Celldweller – Atmospheric Light (Demo Redux (6.75): Hmmmm… a demo. These are often slightly lower quality than the normal tracks as they're essentially discarded tracks that either weren't good enough or didn't quite fit with the albums they were produced for, and so they got relegated to this collection of bonus tracks.
As the title of this song establishes, the music of this song has a bit of an atmospheric feel to it, fading in at the beginning to reveal the main melody of the song and then later fading out with the same exact melody. This melody is present throughout the entirety of the song in between, only interrupted by the occasional guitar riff and drumbeat (and those drums are really just there to accentuate the guitar. This is definitely the most minimalistic song on the album, only giving music that's absolutely necessary for the song to progress.
I feel that the lyrics are somewhat simple as well. The focus of this song is the same focus as many of the songs on the original album, breaking ties until one is completely alone and isolated and facing one's regrets. Not a great feeling as I've explained several times in the first part of this review. This one adds in something a bit different alluding to Celldweller's mother and his hope that she will accept him as he returns to his roots, something new for now, albeit I believe this theme becomes a bit more common in later albums.
Celldweller – Own Little World (Blue Stahli remix) (9.25): It's no secret that I love Own Little World (and if you didn't know that then you clearly didn't read part one of this review which begs the question of why you're here), I don't believe I need to go into what I believe to be the most positive isolation on Celldweller's debut album. I explained plenty of that this week. What I have to do this week is figure out how this Blue Stahli remix compares to the original.
Blue Stahli is an artist from the early days of Celldweller's own label, FiXT. This band that also specializes on the electronic rock fusions, though I believe Blue Stahli falls more onto the electronic side, this time especially. It begins with a half time varied rock verse accompanying Celldweller's chopped up vocals (more chopped than in the Switchback remix but not quite as chopped as the nearly unintelligible Copy Past Repeat remix). The bassline here is absolutely exceptional.
The song constantly changes from that point onwards though, getting better with each change. The first two choruses focuses on a more upbeat syncopated vibe accompanying my favorite lyrics on the album. And while the second verse is quite similar to the first, after this first formulaic half of the song, everything changes.
First off, we have to return to those vocal chops with some great electro bassline stabs. Which quickly transforms into a new more melodic portion as the song sounds like it's about to come to a conclusion.
But Blue Stahli isn't done yet. He aims to "Break it down" with a build-up from nothing, an element which has up to this point, been completely absent from the album. Taking a step back with an acoustic guitar and a soft drumbeat that I want to describe as crunchy, the song rises up, drops out and then immediately returns with van upbeat version of everything we've heard so far. It's here that the song truly reaches for its conclusion, leaving me wanting more of this fantastic remix.
And so, I'll listen to it again.
Celldweller – Shapeshifter (Klayton remix) (7.25): Klayton asked a question: What if Shapeshifter was even more aggressive and intense? And so, he decided to answer his own question and make Shapeshifter just that in his now commonplace Klayton remix (despite the redundancy of the idea). The rap and screaming chorus have retained the same energy as they'd had before, but all the music surrounding them have been kicked up several notches. Much of this is thanks to his increased blending of electronic elements into this version. Much of the verses are filled with small subtleties, especially in the verses. Actually, throughout the song there's an extra rapid bassline shoved in the background that gives an extra drive to the verses along with some good ol' syncopation. This eventually develops into a more high-pitched synth that stands out a bit more, but it still has the exact same effect. Take what's there and make faster. Make it more intense. Make this race from the cops along with other sweet rides the most intense race ever rapped about.
Really, that's all there is to say.
Celldweller – Goodbye (6.25): Ok, so I've just come over here from the middle of reviewing the remix of this song because the whole order of things bothers me so I'm going to be doing this as nonlinearly as Celldweller. Except I'm going to make sense and review the original Goodbye first.
Goodbye, on the surface level, seems to have an intense focus on the rock side of Celldweller. However, upon listening to the song a few more times, I've begun to notice that there's a bit more electronic elements than I'd originally accounted for. In fact, other than the guitar that starts about twenty-five seconds in (and then proceeds to make appearances throughout the rest of the song), there really isn't much here that isn't electronic except for maybe some of the drums, and even then, there's some more upbeat drum patterns in there that seem more organized by a computer rather than played organically. I'm not sure why exactly I found the main bassline to sound less electronic than normal, but now that I listen to it more and more, the less it sounds like a guitar and the more it sounds like a more like it was generated on a computer (which to my tastes, is preferable anyway).
The song has some decent development, following the typical journey of calmness in the beginning to full throttle intensity at the end (I just reviewed Shapeshifter so the car metaphors seem to be sticking with me). This one bounces back and forth a bit more, becoming immediately more intense in the vocal portions, though even with its wavering up and down in intensity, I feel that overall, the song does still climb steadily towards the maximum potential this song has to offer.
As for the lyrics, Goodbye is about the never-ending passage of time and how every single moment in our life is consistently bidding us farewell as the next moment comes into our life. Other than that, there really isn't much to say about these lyrics. There are some implications that the current moment of clarity may be the key to trying to figure out one's purpose, which is interesting, but I'm probably self-projecting so maybe I should just leave it at that.
Alright, I'm heading back to the remix now.
Celldweller – Waiting (Unreleased Demo 2005) (6.25): And so, after saying Goodbye, you'd think we're done with this part of the review. You'd be wrong. We still have 5 demos and a remix to finish up. Here's another demo that I quite enjoy as far as the music goes. you likely know me well enough to determine that "as far as the music goes" means I find the lyrics questionable, but we'll wait on those lyrics for a bit. First let's enjoy what the music has for us.
The lyrics may be questionable, but the music is definitely one of the faster paced demos we're going to go over. Really, that faster pace is half of the reason I'm enjoying this song (notice the slight bit of syncopation as well, you know I love that combination). Now, along with this quicker pace, there isn't so much to go over as much of it is the same combinations of a bassline and a bunch of guitar riffs. At least for most of the song. Celldweller, has a tendency to relegate a good chunk of the fantastic variety to the bridge, this one including some nice strings (also in the outro), an acoustic guitar (also in the intro), and a dash of the most intense of the heavier distorted guitar (also present for pretty much the entirety of the rest of the song).
Alright now to the vocals and the lyrics they bring to the table. First off, before we get into any of the words sung in this song, I really want to mention the odd feeling that I don't quite recognize the vocalist. I know there's at least a 98.6% chance it's Klayton (otherwise someone else would be credited), but it just sounds… different. I'm probably just slowly losing it as I have been for the past two decades or so.
The lyrics are a much simpler issue. Much of the song is just Celldweller reminding us that he's still waiting. For what? Well, the rest of the lyrics suggest that it's for another person who is taking the path of least resistance (for themselves) and letting Celldweller down in the process. Though he is simultaneously begging for more time to answer a question. So that's just a confusing mess of who's waiting on who. Maybe it's a conversational song, but that isn't made very clear.
Still, despite the lyrical confusion, I do find myself enjoying the song. Just not as much as I could if it had better (or no) lyrics. I'd like for there to be an instrumental version of this, but I'm afraid I can't do the joke that I've done with The Last Firstborn and Frozen. There is no instrumental version of this.
Celldweller – 06-06-06 (Unreleased Demo 2006) (5): Ah yes, the day everyone panicked because the devil and tons of people from every artform aimed to release creepy demonic edgy stuff on that day because of the mark of the beast. Or you could put Elvis lyrics in there?
Ok, to the song's credit there are still some non-Elvis stuff in there. There's also a few violent lyrics about how Celldweller is going to beat you to a fleshy pulp. So, I'm not sure how that all fits with the theme of Satan. At least I can put lyrical analysis off the table for this one. How's the music?
It's alright, but I never really felt there was much notable for most of the song, especially in the choruses. At least there was a little bit of variety in the verses with the bassline, but the rest of the song doesn't really matter all that much to me.
I'm thinking this song is truly average.
Celldweller – Waiting for so Long (Unreleased Demo 2006) (5.75): Interestingly despite the fact that he's waiting for so long, this song is a third of the length of Waiting. In fact, if it weren't for the Cell songs, this would be the shortest song on the album. And a simple one at that. One drumbeat. One bassline. One melody. One line of lyrics (ok two actually but still). This song is so simplistic I have absolutely nothing to say. Thankfully it's short so the repetition isn't too bothersome.
The song is a bit above average, but it doesn't bring much to the table.
Celldweller – Blood from the Stone (Unreleased Demo 2005) (4.25): This song is about a doomed relationship. Yay. Celldweller reveals to his soon to be ex that they aren't compatible and they never will be because Celldweller is doomed to an empty life with no relationship to speak of. Well, geez stop whining about such a bleak outlook. Not to mention you went into this relationship with pessimistic expectations (Which could be the self-fulfilling prophecy that causes your problems). You've clearly got some personal issues you need to work out before you embark on a relationship, because it will never work if you go about it that way.
Ok, enough on that. The music outside of the lyrics is actually good. Starting out with a beautiful combination of piano and acoustic guitar is a lovely beginning. It eventually builds up into a heavily rock focused chorus with some decent melodies. Nothing stellar but decent. It does have a good progression to it and the dynamic between the piano and the harsher guitars (especially noticeable in the second verse) is definitely my favorite part of the song. Overall the music in this one is pretty good.
But then again, there's the lyrics which make him such a whiny brat that I have to give this song a lower rating than the nonexistant instrumental of it deserves.
Celldweller – IRIA (Unreleased Demo 2005) (7.75): Out of all the demos, this song sounds the most like the Celldweller I know. Some heavy rock to match some nice electronic influences. This actually feels like a Celldweller song, though it is admittedly quite close to instrumental. It has an occasional shout that makes me think he hasn't quite figured out where this song is going (I could swear he's saying "Words") And then there's the line "I remember it all" (or IRIA if you'd like to use an acronym), which serves no meaning without any context. But that's fine. That just means the instrumentation has to hold up the track.
And boy does everything this song is make up for the lack of lyrics. This song truly fuses the electronic wonder at the beginning of the song with some great guitar riffs and solos, not to mention that lovely bassline that serves as the main electronic focus. The way it distorts as it moves between notes in the track is quite enjoyable. My favorite part of the song has to be the vocal portion. While not meaningful those vocals definitely add some extra energy when they're present, or maybe it's just because the guitar solos are giving their best work to back those vocals up. Either way, this demo definitely stands above the rest.
Celldweller – Switchback (No I'm Not remix) (8): Another Switchback remix? In my review? It's more likely than I think. But this isn't your ordinary Switchback remix. No, this remix is gloriously orchestral, accompanied by a choir of strings that progressively gets more intense as Celldweller sings on about how he can't change the past moments he regrets. There are a few additional lyrics added into this version. Actually, if I remember correctly, those lyrics were originally subtracted from a previous version of Switchback that was made before Klayton polished the track and released his Celldweller debut. Well, they don't really change the theme of the song or give any new revelations, so I guess it's just a slight divergence from the norm (as if going orchestral didn't diverge enough).
There really isn't much particular to say about the music, as orchestral tracks are often good but really need to do something exceptional to stand out and make themselves worth talking about. I will admit that there's a bit more of an emotional impact for these lyrics with the orchestral context, but that's still not out of the ordinary. This song is simply a beautiful conclusion to today's review.
Conclusion: The bonus tracks of this debut album are a mixed bunch, ranging from a few decent originals, a healthy number of great remixes. And some average demos. Is it a worthwhile addition? I'm going to have to go with a yes. There are very few bad songs here and there, but there also plenty of worthwhile additions, including a better version of my favorite song from the first third.
One more Celldweller review left before I give Klayton an extensive break.
We'll see what words I have to say when Celldweller has none.
Final Score for Album so Far: (6.75/10)
Daily Hat Track Roundup: May 2019
As we transition into the months of summer and the whether finally starts to get nice where I live, it's time to look back at all the songs I posted in May. I've already posted these all to Twitter, but it may be convenient to view this all in one place. So that's what I'm doing right here.
Daily Hat Track: May 1 (Nigel Good & Illuminor – No Way Back Up): Second MC throwback of this Daily Hat Track catchup. I'd forgotten about Nigel until someone on MeWe reminded me. Now, I am basking in this song's beauty. It's a bit depressing too, but I like a tiny bit of depression now and then.
Daily Hat Track: May 2 (Killgrew – Hyakkimaru): Start out the day with some beautiful Killigrew. The piano in this one is the highlight, especially the chords. Though the Japanese trap vibe is interesting as well.
Daily Hat Track: May 3 (Karma Fields & Monarchy – Feint Echoes): Been listening to a lot of Karma Fields today and this one is certainly my favorite. Monarchy's vocals make for a good tenor that I can stretch to my limits while singing along, and the drop is utter controlled madness. I love it.
Daily Hat Track: May 4 (Muzzy – Endgame): Very VERY bad idea to look at any replies to this one. I'm risking enough as it is just posting it, but the apocalyptic Endgame is one of Muzzy's best so I must share it as Muzzy is another artist I've been listening to a lot lately
Daily Hat Track: May 5 (Kings of the City – Wrong (Muzzy Remix): Continuing with the Muzzy theme, here's his best song, though Kings of The City's lyrical content does influence my opinion. It's a song about self doubt and existentialism and finding ones way in life. That's what I like. Also DnB.
Daily Hat Track: May 6 (Wintergatan Valentine): Lovely driving bouncy Wintergatan track that I got enjoyed a slight bit excessively while on break at work. Just wish it was a little longer.
Daily Hat Track: May 7 (Covenant – I Close My Eyes): I don't even care what the lyrics are (which is good because I'm currently too tired to decipher them). I just enjoy the relaxing futurepop vibes. Covenant is always do cryptic anyways.
Daily Hat Track: May 8 (Karma Fields – Who do You Want to Be (Part II): Who do I want to be? That question arises as I listen to this Skylinesque song from the most recent Karma Fields album. I'm not certain of the answer. It's not my present self, but I believe I have the power to change that.
Daily Hat Track: May 9 (Thermostatic – Northern Ambulance): This very short and mysterious beauty ponders the beauty known as life and how it's so mysterious and oh so very short.
Daily Hat Track: May 10 (Scatman John – Scatman (Game Over Jazz)): Great funky groove with scatsinging as always but this time there's a saxophone. I love the saxophone.
Daily Hat Track: May 11 (Scatman John – Let it Go): Definitely my favorite from Scatman John. The second verse is especially a game changer in the search for self acceptance.
Daily Hat Track: May 12 (Vicetone – Home (Eminence remix)): Honestly not a huge fan of any of the involved artiste but this remix works quite well. Of course, self-reflective lyrics do help…
Daily Hat Track: May 13 (Veorra – Not Yet): Sometimes, you have to concentrate on the little things of today in order not to be overwhelmed by the mountainous plan that is the future.
Daily Hat Track: May 14 (DESERT STAR – Foreign Land): The latest volume of Monstercat Instinct was released today so I've been focusing my musical appetite on that mostly. Plenty of highlights. This one for example explores some of my favorite themes of the journey to find one's self.
Daily Hat Track: May 15 (Hybrid – Falling Down): Was listening to some of Hybrid's older stuff today and I found myself rediscovering this groovy tune (which of course has lyrics depicting the ceaseless chaos we get caught up in because I have some lyrical obsessions apparently).
Daily Hat Track: May 16 (Aviators & Lectro Dub – We are not Machines): Aviators and Lectro Dub go together like… I actually don't feel like coming up with a comparison but they're good I promise you. This is among the best of the collabs. Significant lyrical quality though Paralyzed is catchier.
Daily Hat Track: May 17 (Icon of Coil – Shelter): This song really takes me back to early 2016 when I had absolutely no clue where I belonged. I still don't but things are better now I think.
Daily Hat Track: May 18 (Varien & Veela – Supercell): Varien recently has announced a new album sometime this year. I wonder if it's possible for my favorite Varien song to be usurped.
Daily Hat Track: May 19 (Varien & Laura Brehm – Valkyrie): Long as I'm in a Varien mood, here's another one of my favorites from way back. The beginning of a gorgeous trilogy.
Daily Hat Track: May 20 (Stonebank & Concept – Holding on to Sound): This song… I made a video focused on this song quite a while back. I'm not going to link it though. You have to find that for yourself.
Daily Hat Track: May 21 (Scattle – Pacemaker): The discovery I've been rocking to today would be Scattle's Pacemaker. Good groove and plenty of hype within the track. You'll need to get a pacemaker by the time this is over.
Daily Hat Track: May 22 (Celldweller – Switchback (Neuroticfish remix): I'll be doing a full length review involving the original version of this song shortly, but for now, enjoy the absolute best transformative remix of this classic Celldweller tune.
Daily Hat Track: May 23 (Sakuzyo – AngelFalse): I'd discovered Sakuzyo yesterday, but that was after I'd posted that day's hat track. So now I'm posting one of the songs I'd listened to yesterday today. Shoot, don't have much room left to talk about the song. Um. Piano is good.
Daily Hat Track: May 24 (LukHash – Requiem for a Friend): I know I'm a bit behind I'll catch up over time but for now, here's a cool cross between cinematic, chiptune and synthwave
Daily Hat Track: May 25 (Crazy Astronaut – Funky Shit 2014): This song with a slightly obscenely languaged title is just a plethora of nonstop energy. Just sitting here and listening to this song exhausts me in the best way. Then again I can't exactly call it sitting here because I am boppin
Daily Hat Track: May 26 (Cello Fury – Tundra): Three cellists, one drummer. That's all they needed to make this lovely track complete with a switch up near the middle that provides the song with a new energy right when it's needed most.
Daily Hat Track: May 27 (Mr Fijiwiji & Openwater – Growing Up): One last beauty before sleep. Mr Fijiwiji paints some gorgeous melodies with that piano and I remember Openwater's cries to escape loneliness resonating with 19 year old me. They still do.
Daily Hat Track: May 28 (Wintergatan – Marble Machine): Normally, I post a Spotify link as that's the music listening platform I spend most of my time on, but this song resurfaced in my queue recently and it's wrong not to post the music video for this masterpiece.
Daily Hat Track: May 29 (Stoneocean – Can't Stand that Girl): I must share with you this catchy melody that I've had stuck in my head for the past 2 days. It's good while listening to the song but it will not leave my head once it's over. If I must suffer with this burden, then so should you.
Daily Hat Track: May 30 (Celldweller – Own Little World (Growling Machines remix): Going to be finishing up that Celldweller review I mentioned last week soon. So you can definitely expect that this Sunday. In the meantime, here's an amazing psytrance remix of one of the best songs in the upcoming review.
Daily Hat Track: May 31 (Robert Delong & K.Flay – Favorite Color is Blue): I not only find this song ridiculously catchy, but I also find it to be a great vent for when regretful anger leads to depression. At least that's the existential emotion I'm getting from this song. You know I read way too deep
Oh, and as always, you can check out all of the Daily Hat Tracks I've posted this year in the playlist below
https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=Mnl8CDT3TN2jxaJDZLCG7A
Daily Hat Track Roundup: April 2019
Alright, it's been May for precisely a week, and I still haven't posed a summary of all the Daily Hat Tracks for April. If you're following me on Twitter, then this post will be kind of useless to you as I've already posed all of these songs and their descriptions on Twitter. I aim to do so daily, but every once and a while, I slack off and later post an obscenely large amount of them in one day. Anyways, here's thirty songs I enjoyed listening to over the past month so perhaps you can enjoy them as well. Check out the playlist at the bottom to hear all of the Daily Hat Tracks of the year.
Daily Hat Track: April 1 (Combichrist – The Evil in Me): This is basically the edgiest I can go before the edge starts to be a detractor rather than a positive aspect. Has that nihilistic mood for the darker times, though it doesn't cross any lines.
Daily Hat Track: April 2 (Bliss – Warriors): I've already shared the Guitar remix a month or so back. I was originally introduced to that one and find it a bit more addicting. This one has some cool parts too, but it's not nearly as good as constant guitar solos.
Daily Hat Track: April 3 (Bring Me the Horizon & Grimes – nihilist blues): I've been listening to a lot of edgier music as of late. Should probably work on rebalancing my musical diet, but eh this dark vibe is where I'm at right now. There's a nihilist knocking on my door… And he shares my face…
Daily Hat Track: April 4 (Shirobon – Born Survivor): Definitely a nostalgic inspirational tune from a few years back when things were a lot simpler (though still kinda complicated). Good chiptune mood in this one. Has a nice bounce to it.
Daily Hat Track: April 5 (H.U.V.A. Network – Something Heavens): It's incredibly late and so I desire to end the day with some relaxation from the immersive heavenly experience that is H.U.V.A. Network. Good night to all. May your dreams be of something heavenly.
Daily Hat Track: April 6 (Seven Lions & Jason Ross – The Sirens: Oh yeah, I forgot about this psytrance/psystep wonder Seven Lions released last year. Looks like there's a compilation with an extended version out now. Neat.
Daily Hat Track: April 7 (Douglas Holmquist & Susanna Lundgren – Something Beneath): The fact that this beautiful inspiring track comes from a Pinball game still astounds me. Then again, Pinout is a very interesting spin on Pinball, so it deserves it.
Daily Hat Track: April 8 (Nömak – Schrödinger's Cat WLP Edit): Here's a very strange trippy experimental track that breaks apart halfway through to return as something completely different. Such an odd song. I love it.
Daily Hat Track: April 9 (Lauren Bousfield – Two Swans Duct Taped to the Side of the Coke Machine): Long as we're doing experimental madness, here's a shorter fascinatingly enjoyable mess from Lauren Bousefield. The song title isn't shorter though. Not short at all.
Daily Hat Track: April 10 (Varien – Born of Blood, Risen from Ash): This one's only about a week old but the combination of 2012-2024 Varien and 2026 – 2018 Varien really works here. Really looking forward to everything else Varien has coming for us over the next year.
Daily Hat Track: April 11 (Freezepop – Phantoms): I have no idea what this song is about. Well I know it's about a post mortem dance party but other than that I'm at a loss. Fun song though!
Daily Hat Track: April 12 (Stephen & IN-Q – Start a Fire): Not my usual genre to post but Stephen does occasionally dip very slightly into electronic with a synth here and there. This mostly acoustic intro to his album is among my favorites from him.
Daily Hat Track: April 13 (Joachim Pastor – Reykjavik): Been a while since I posted some Hungry Music. Joachim Pastor with a chill drive as always. Good funky grooves. Beautifully mysterious melodies. Odd outro for a hungry song but I don't really mind.
Daily Hat Track: April 14 (Arkasia – Those From There): Not an Arkasia expert, so I can't necessarily compare this to songs from the rest of his discography, but this one certainly is magically immersive. Love the subtle vocal flavors added here and there.
Daily Hat Track: April 15 (Andy Blueman – Sea Tides): Honestly kind of tired tonight so here's the trance track that started this week's Discover Weekly on Spotify. Don't have all that much to say about it. My reviews are thousands of words long. Let me be lazy on occasion.
Daily Hat Track: April 16 (Inofaith – Dawn is Late): I'm up a bit late tonight though not as late as this song suggests. This comes from the same EP as Nocturne which I posted a while back. Inofaith has released only a handful of tracks but this one is among the best of them.
Daily Hat Track: April 17 (Ashbury Heights – Science): If I had made a list of the best songs of 2018, this would have been near the top. One of my favorite Ashbury Heights songs as well, though The Looking Glass Society has some better ones. Anyways, this song is about depression!
Daily Hat Track: April 18 (Space Buddha – Mental Hotline): Mostly sharing this because I find the voice at the beginning of the song to be an amusing asshat. The rest of the track bangs though. If you do need help with mental issues, call a hotline if need be. Just don't call this one.
Daily Hat Track: April 19 (Hilight Tribe – Esperanza): I'm trying to maybe finish up my review by the end of the day so um here's a groovy trance song with a guitar. Enjoy that for nine minutes why don't ya?
Daily Hat Track: April 20 (Neuromonakh Feofan – Ядрёность): For the track that was supposed to be posted on my birthday, I would like to share this Russian DnB and dubstep. I always find this band to be incredibly interesting.
Daily Hat Track: April 21 (The Future Sound of London – Point of Departure): For the Easter Daily Hat Track, I give you the first immersive track off of this album I just discovered by this artist I just discovered. Gonna be listening to more of this as I wash the dishes.
Daily Hat Track: April 22 (Neuromonakh Feofan – Нейромонах Феофан): Another Neuromonakh Feofan song because why not, they're addicting. This is their titular song. Titular as in named after that artist, not the album. One of their best.
Daily Hat Track: April 23 (Chris Keya – Totentanz): One of the many highlights of this week's Discovery Weekly. Solid drumbeat. Plenty of great guitar rocking throughout. Plus a couple of good melodies to jam to.
Daily Hat Track: April 24 (OVERWERK & Nikon – Calling): OVERWERK and Nikon are a great combination that gets better with each iteration. The most recent iteration of yesteryear being this agnostically themed track with the best Arpwerk from I've even heard from OVERWERK
Daily Hat Track: April 25 (VNV Nation – Space & Time): One of my very first VNV Nation songs continues to also be one of my very favorites. Really captures the beauty of the chaos of this world. Spoke to me quite well when I'd discovered it 3 years ago and it still does.
Daily Hat Track: April 26 (Mazmoneth – Kali's Day Off): As this day comes to a close, may I introduce some odd ambience to end your day. A few melodies too. Ok actually there's a lot of interesting stuff in this song and it develops greatly over time so I'm gonna stop listing it all.
Daily Hat Track: April 27 (OVERWERK & Mars – Know): Another OVERWERK track today. This is the runner-up to Calling on the State album and the best non-Nikon song. There's a bit more darkness and doubt in this one despite being called "Know." Great groove in places too.
Daily Hat Track: April 28 (Stonebank & EMEL – Stronger): Stonebank released a new song recently and for some reason, as I was listening to it I really wanted there to be a surprise DnB drop added in there towards the end. It didn't happen so I had to listen to my fav from him again.
Daily Hat Track: April 29 (Ace Ventura & Antimony – We Dream): We Dream. It's who we are. Best psytrance if the past week. Some inspiring relatable vocals (I'm definitely dreamer) and a great mysterious sound that feels both familiar and unique at the same time.
Daily Hat Track: April 30 (Neelix & Caroline Harrison – Makeup): 4 months in and I still haven't shared my favorite song of all time? This psytrance masterpiece has such an intricate hidden message that I just don't have the room to fully analyze it in a tweet. I'll have to review it someday.
Full Daily Hat Tracks 2019 playlist here:
https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=8wlLYj9RQmOw_1JrDn2TAw
Aviators – Aeterno (2013 album)
Album links
Bandcamp: https://soundoftheaviators.bandcamp.com/album/aeterno
Soundcloud: n/a
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0tVYhReBmzpA81JproDO3W?si=uOELovmKRD2KTz-Sj93NLA
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuJ82PHklZE7xwcGeobnlHLLgnzAjyBbu
Introduction: Aviators is a bit of an interesting artist to review. The fact of the matter is that he's developed his sound in such a way that what he produces now has absolutely nothing in common with where he started. Well, technically, this album isn't his true beginning, but I've opted to skip the first bit of his discography for now as Aviators would probably disown them. I may look at those eventually, but I think time would be spent better going over the albums that actually matter at first.
Still, Aeterno is a bit of an odd place to begin the Aviators journey, as it's an entirely unique concept album that shares little to no similarities with the other albums he's released prior or since. The album is based on a vague story of sorts, much vaguer than Mind.in.a.box of course (the inevitable comparison I shall always make when introducing a narrative), but still involves some extremely subtle worldbuilding centering upon a post apocalyptic world. Unfortunately, there's not too much to go off of thanks to 14 out of the 15 songs being instrumental. But I'm the master of digging deep even when there's nowhere to dig so let's get into that deep digging why don't we?
Aviators – Aeterno (7.5): A time long forgotten or perhaps a time that is yet to come…
Any time is reachable now that we've arrived here…
And so, we begin…
The album starts out with its titular track, a calming mysterious piece that sets the tone for the rest of the album (as an intro song should). This song is a simple combination of a few bone chilling instruments including some deep contrabass strings, a distant choir and the melodic star of the show, bells. There's only a handful of melodies in here, none of them reaching more than a handful of notes. But the simplicity does work. It draws more attention to the feelings the instruments create rather than the melody itself. Done well, it can be quite immersive, and this is definitely done well.
These bells, choir and strings work together to bring an image to life in my mind. Albeit, this image isn't the liveliest. Perhaps, it's the album art's fault as it depicts a decrepit city that looks to have a higher population of overgrown plants rather than human beings. Then again, seeing as the album art is a deliberate choice, that was probably the intention. The very description of this album is post- apocalyptic. Perhaps time travel too? I believe there was a more in-depth description on this album's story once, but the description has disappeared somehow, lost in time…
It makes sense that time travel would be involved as when I tried to find the definition of Aeterno, I found the phrase "ab aeterno" instead, meaning "from an infinitely remote point of time in the past." And if you're in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Going to an infinitely remote point of time in the past sounds like a good way to escape the horrors of the present…
Aviators – Escaping Darkness (7.25): As the world falls apart, darkness will surround and suffocate you…
Unless you escape…
Escaping Darkness begins with a very mysterious calm similar to Aeterno. However, this time the mysterious darkness chooses not to hide behind the beauty of bells. No, the ambience from the beginning, complete with broken glass, makes it clear that the darkness is settling in. And as the blasting horns overpower the song for that first minutes, they send a message that the darkness is here to stay.
The rest of the song tries to escape it anyway.
While the song doesn't really have a regular tempo, it still has a great drive to it, a great sense of trying to run and escape the darkness that seeps across the land (or perhaps within the soul). There are drums in there, but they seem to be a of the more cinematic variety rather than the typical drive. Instead of displaying the BPM of running down dark alleys of a forgotten city, this drumbeat attempts to capture the emotional stress of it all. And matched with the first electronic melody of the album (with some underlying bells), the attempt is successful.
While there may be a short break from the darkness midway through, the chase can't last forever. It seems that, for now, the darkness has won. There is no escape…
Aviators – Broken Planet (7): The planet is broken…
Can it be fixed?
Broken Planet is one of the shorter songs on the album, not even hitting the three-minute mark. Still, it uses its time well. This song is about on par with Escaping Darkness, better in some ways, but in the end, it's just not quite as good. In the beginning, it hits a lot of the same emotions, but it does so in an ever better spine-chilling fashion. During the first and last minute of the song, there's no audible instruments other than a very simple piano melody. However, the sound design of this piano is distorted ever so slightly that it allows for some really unsettling ambiance. In this album, Aviators seems obsessed with taking simple melodies and using them to the best of their ability. This part of the song allows for some quiet reflection, ears filled with something familiar, yet distorted to a point that's almost unsettling.
The middle of the song takes a different approach to display this broken world. It's a lot less subtle. The cinematic drumbeats here are quite similar to those used in Escaping Darkness, but there's very little else to distract from the drums this time around. This results in a bit of a mixed bag. Out of context, the drum just doesn't really hold the song on its own, making it one of the less interesting parts on the album. But it does provide a good rush to the middle of the song, giving it a slight bit of edge of your seat variety. I just can't help but wonder if this track would have been better if it had fully committed to the creepy piano the whole way through. Still a good one, but I can't help but feel it has missing potential.
Aviators – Labyrinthine (5.75): When all is lost…
It can be hard to find one's way…
Labyrinthine differs heavily from what we've been presented with so far. The past three songs used a small number of simple instruments to provide a cinematic feeling that feels as if it belongs in a movie. Labyrinthine is DnB. Which is completely different from most of the songs on the album. But I'm perfectly ok with that. DnB used to be my favorite subgenre of EDM and it still remains to be up there, though perhaps various forms of trance have overtaken it since then. Plus, if you count futurepop, there's that too. So yeah, DnB isn't going to be my focus on this site too much. Still, I'm a huge fan of syncopation (staple characteristic of DnB) and high tempo energy (other staple characteristic of DnB) so most DnB tracks are an instant win for me.
This song seems to try and walk the thin line between an extreme high energy DnB song and the bell melodies played throughout the album so far. During the calmer sections and the build-ups, I feel this works alright, giving a nice balance of energies. But it doesn't tickle my imagination like the rest of the songs so far and the drops aren't exactly the most inspired. While I do automatically like DnB because of its tempo and syncopation, this song feels pretty below average for the genre. Making it only a bit above average as a song.
Having this be the first DnB song I review (again, surprising it's taken this long), isn't exactly the most glaring recommendation of the genre. It's good but pales in comparison to some of the DnB masterpieces. It also pales in comparison to the next DnB song I plan on reviewing… later in this album. There's another one but we'll talk about that in a bit.
Aviators – Haunted (6.5): As the darkness creeps in…
As the broken past is revealed…
It haunts us…
Haunted is a return to the general calmer more introspective side of the album, which is incredibly refreshing after subpar DnB. And the strings and the arp at the beginning really sell the song quite well from the beginning. They develop quite nicely with the arp and a simple integrated melody taking the forefront for much of the song. Though there are a couple of moments where some other neat elements are introduced, such as the subtle whisper of vocals in the clam in the middle, which serves as my favorite part of the song, really bringing the entire song together for a driving haunted feel (fitting considering the title) And… uh… there's the other melodic instrument.
Yeah, I sure hope you like that synth, because Aviators uses it a lot in his early works. Sometimes it works well, giving a song a bit of flavor. But the flavor doesn't quite work or fit in here unfortunately and so I find myself ever so slightly irked by its existence. It's not bad and it thankfully has a decent amount of variation to it so it's in no way repetitive, but I just can't help but feel the song would have been a bit stronger without it. Maybe shave off a couple minutes too so that missing variation doesn't make the song tedious. Am I being nitpicky? Yeah. Probably. It is a decent song, but it could be a lot better.
Aviators – Find Me (7.5): A distance voice calls out…
Find her…
This calmer track is completely piano focused, taking the simplicity of early Aviators to an entire new level. There are some subtleties in there such as a bells and drums that almost blends in perfectly with the piano melody and a stringed section that adds another layer of beauty to the song. But nothing gets as much focus as the piano.
And seeing as the piano is a wonderfully beautiful instrument, the song is gorgeous. You've got some arpeggiated notes on the lower end of the piano that play throughout the song, serving as the gentle backbone of the track and those are paired with the melodies on the higher end of the piano. Not to mention the section in the middle and end of the track that focuses on bouncing back and forth between strikingly powerful chords and the calmer piano melodies as a contrast. All of the other instruments do get stronger as the song progresses, but they only serve to heighten the emotion of the piano, not overpower it. Such a simple track but also one of the best.
Aviators – Kill Switch (7.75): Reset what once was…
Kill the past…
Kill the future…
And begin anew…
Alright, back to the slightly harsher stuff. Not that much of this album has been very harsh at all for the most part. I guess perhaps Labyrinthine has some slightly harsher parts and the next track is quite intense as well, but that just makes this song stand out all the more as one of the most energetic songs on the album. It hits a great sweet spot in energy that differs greatly from previous calmer songs like Aeterno and Haunted, but it doesn't quite reach the same levels of intensity as the DnB tracks of the album, Labyrinthine and Iron Horizon (I'll get to that one shortly, give me a second). This fantastic balance makes it one of the best songs on the album.
So what does Kill Switch have to offer? Well, first off it has a solid drive, which is more than I can say for many of the other songs on the album. Not saying that (most of) those songs are bad because of their lack of solid drive. Some of the ones without that drive turn out to be the most beautiful (See Aeterno and Find Me). This one does have a nice outro that's a bit more relaxing, but that's not its strong point.
Its strong point is pushing forward with a handful of electronic synths. (wacky basslines, some stabbing melodies, you get the gist). There's also some bells because it wouldn't be a song on Aeterno if it didn't have bells. These bells do a much better job at integrating themselves into a more intense song that Labyrinthine did, but I think the most interesting part of this song has to be the electric guitar, or at least the synth that simulates the electric guitar. I guess I'm just a sucker for a good guitar melody… or a good guitar riff… or a good guitar solo… You know what, I just like good guitar and good guitar is something that this song has.
Aviators – Iron Horizon (8): The City looms over the horizon…
Save it before it breaks…
Kill Switch was definitely intense compared to most of this album. Most. Because there is one song that takes the mantle of the most intense energetic song of them all. And that song is Iron Horizon, the second DnB song of the album and the first song off of Aeterno that I heard. And while I didn't really appreciate Labyrinthine, I do find Iron Horizon to be a much better introduction to my love for DnB. Sure, it's not the first DnB song I'm reviewing, but it is the first DnB song I love.
Already talked about the high tempo and syncopation back in Labyrinthine. Those go without saying so I'm going to try and focus on the more unique elements of the song. After a few seconds of deceptively calming bell melodies that high tempo syncopation I keep talking about comes in and sets the song into full force (Ok, I guess I am talking about the high tempo syncopation. So sue me). Or at least that would be full force, but the song is once again deceptive as the build-up approaches with rapid drumbeats, some subtle guitar work in the background and the heaviest bass this album has to offer.
After that there's the drop. And I have both everything and nothing to say about this drop. The basslines here are exceptionally impressive and intense compared to what was seen in labyrinthine. The melodies are exceptionally and enjoyably energetic which matches the upbeat vibe a lot better than most of the bell melodies in Labyrinthine. And the second half of the drop? The part where it's constantly bouncing back and forth between half of that energetic melody and a showcase of some great bassy DnB patterns? Absolutely fantastic.
Honestly, I'm pretty sure the main difference between this and Labyrinthine is that Labyrinthine just didn't fully commit to the DnB madness. It was still trying to hold on to tightly to the calmer vibes that appear throughout a huge portion of this album. Iron Horizon still has bells and all, but there is nothing calm and relaxing about it. Perhaps the beginning and end are a bit calmer, but that's a total of about 20 seconds of calmness compared to over 3 and a half minutes of high energy DnB. It's just some bookends that serve as a reminder that this is still Aeterno.
Aviators – I'll Find You (5): She holds the key…
The key to change the past…
The key to change the future…
I have to presume, based on title, that this is a sequel to Find Me. An answer to the call of the search. It would have been rather neat to see if the two songs shared any similarities, but unfortunately, it sounds to be nothing more than the next chapter in this incredibly vague story about time travel. There used to be more information out there on the story behind the EP, but I can't seem to find it currently, or maybe it just never existed, and my brother and I are both remembering something that doesn't exist. Doesn't seem likely but my imagination continues telling me it's a possibility so I'm going to keep that in mind.
Narrative aside, this song feels incredibly relaxing compared to the Iron Horizon that preceded it. Slower melodies, no prominent bassline, a long progression that takes its time going anywhere. Unfortunately, the problem with that last one is that the song doesn't go anywhere. Sure there's a few new elements introduced here and there, but many of them are too subtle to take note of and any significant addition is too far apart from the rest. It's a bit faster in the beginning as it introduces the one of main melodies and a drumbeat (which still takes 2 minutes to come in, excessively long for a song of this stature), but after that, it just feels like the song takes forever to move from one point to the next. There are some other important melodies that come in here and there (the main theme of the song at 3:30 and a reiteration of the first melody with an all too obvious synthesizer that tries to sound like a guitar pluck but just fails at it spectacularly), but it seems Aviators is determined to prevent any significant changes from occurring within one minute of each other. It certainly does not meet the standards of variety for such a long 8-minute track
And as if the song wasn't long enough, there's a Part 2
Aviators & Vortex – I'll Find You Part 2 (7): …
I am actually quite glad that this track got divided up into 2 parts. Because Part 2 takes all the melodies that made the first part good and plays a few different spins on them with different instrumentation and tone. Plus, there's a few entirely new melodies inserted in there as well. It may be two minutes shorter, but there's plenty more variety to be offer. There are some obvious directions this song decides to go. Plenty of reiterations of the past song's melodies of course. And also, Aviators has to use that iconic synth from his early works in here (plenty of melodic variety whenever they're playing. There's also an interesting bassline in the middle that interrupts the song in the middle with a harsher vibe similar to some moments in Kill Switch.
I'm not entirely familiar with Vortex and his work so I'm sure some part of this final product can be accredited to him. I'm going to guess that bassier portion has his name on it, but I'm not certain. Like I said, I'm not familiar with his work.
Honestly if you cut the first part down to three minutes and made a good transition into this second part, I think I would have liked the combination of these two songs all the better because of it. But as is, Part 2 definitely serves to be the better of the two.
Aviators – Cloud Ocean (5): Dive into the depths below…
Rise into the sky above…
Either direction leads to the unknown…
But must you only choose one?
Cloud Ocean is the happiest song this album has to offer. That also makes it perhaps the most boring along with I'll Find You and one other track which I haven't gotten to quite yet. Maybe, it's just because I'm a sucker for the edgier stuff. Takes a bit more interesting elements to make a happier song like this one… well… interesting. And for the most part, I'm afraid this one fails to do so. Much of the song concentrates on the least adventurous strings possible and a tropical melody that falls flat. There are some guitar sections that make up a bit for the blandness, but those are still subtle, and they certainly don't save the song from its curse of averageness.
Aviators – His Arrival (7.25): He has found you…
The one responsible for it all…
Change him…
Perhaps one of the simplest songs on the album but also perhaps one of the most chilling as well. But that's simply what a music box does. There's something unsettling about placing such a simple pretty melody within the dark ambiance that this track contains. The two overlapping melodies that come from this music box overlap each other quite beautifully. This song isn't just a music box though. I didn't notice it at first, but in the second half of the track there's some great ambience added in. It's very subtle at first, but it does become a bit more prominent over time, especially at the 1.5-minute mark when the strings take over. It also sounds like there's a didgeridoo in there which really gives a unique vibe to the song. Overall, I feel this song works great as the creepiest song of the album despite its simplicity. Maybe because of its simplicity.
Aviators – The Ticketmaster's Waltz (4.25): …
I'm not going to even bother trying to connect this one to the story. I mean, I've been trying to do my best to give a slight taste of what the concept of the album is about, even if it's a bit of a stretch sometimes (see the last song), but hey, the concept is slightly vague so I'll be slightly vague too. Except here. I have no idea how the Ticketmaster and his Waltz fit into all of this and I'm not sure if even my stretchy imagination can figure out a connection. It just feels out of place.
And I'm not really interested in the music either. Like His Arrival, this one devotes itself to an instrumental theme. But His Arrival had the advantage of using a creepy music box, an aesthetic I highly enjoy. This song is a creepy carnival, an aesthetic that I don't really care about. Besides, the ghostly voices are much less creepy than the music box, so this song just comparatively falls flat. This album would have been a bit better off if this song was skipped over.
That's all I have to say. Really. There's nothing else.
Aviators – The Path Home (7.75): Change is inevitable…
Embrace it…
Find peace…
Find home…
This song definitely stands out as the only lyrical song of the album. And because of that, the song feels the most dated of the bunch of the album. Aviators' voice has developed and improved over time, which is good because in a modern album the song without vocals would be the outlier (plus I like some of his modern vocal tracks. A good amount of them have great lyrics, not all of them but a good lot of them).
But that's the future in comparison to this album. A time that had been yet to come in perspective of the past. But hey, the connection to past and future is what this album is all about anyway. That's obviously not Aviators' intention for including a vocal track this time around, but I'm mentioning it anyway.
The music here is a bit simple compared to most of the album, though not quite as simple as the last two. It's fine because this is a lyrical track and the vocals carry the slack from the instrumental. Thank goodness, because the instrumental simply wouldn't hold this song on its own. The minimalism worked fantastically for His Arrival, but this song is an entirely different animal. Where, His Arrival was instrumentally minimal, The Path Home is melodically minimal. Sure, there are a couple simple melodies at the beginning, end, and any other point where Aviators is silent. But they don't provide much power compared to the chords throughout the rest of the song (heard almost exclusively during the vocal portions, especially the chorus). There are a few other melodies here and there using Aviators' favorite synth or a slightly textural bass, but nothing too remarkable. It's an adequate song, but nothing spectacular.
Thankfully, there's lyrics. Don't really think there's too much here for me to analyze, but there is still a good message here about moving forward through the chaos. The first verse explores the paralysis one feels when viewing the chaos in this world. The easy path of numbly walking with the path of least resistance. But by the end of the second verse, it's clear that the path of least resistance doesn't necessarily end in peace. Sometimes you have to rise up and change your path, taking a risk to venture onto the rugged path.
The path home.
Aviators – Absolution (7.75): Everything must come to an end…
This is ours…
The final song of Aviators' album is the most orchestral of the bunch, a fitting conclusion. What makes this song so great is the use of so many instruments that have been used throughout this album. The strings immediately give the signal that something grand is coming, be it grand in a victorious way or grand in a horrifying way is unclear. The song does seem to continue shifting back and forth between those moods as the strings dip down at certain points while also climbing to new heights at other points.
The drums, important to most songs (though His Arrival did quite well without them), aren't necessarily unique, but they do have that irregular tempo that appeared in many of the earlier songs of the album so they're worth mentioning.
The bells, Aviators favorite instrument for this album (not of this time period. The Aviators synth is strangely absent here, but that's ok, I'm not sure it would fit) also make an appearance. They chime along with the song's suspenseful tempo, painting a picture of the world changing as intended.
There's also some piano, which was mostly prominent in Find Me. The piano once again provides a variety of melodies while it is present in the song, adding a healthy amount of variation in its stay, interesting seeing as the introduction of the piano was a service to variation already. It definitely steals the show in its beautiful sections (in an already beautiful song, so you know it's exceptional).
Equally as beautiful is the choir that first made an appearance in the titular song at the beginning of the album. Here, the voices are stronger than ever, providing an extra layer of beauty to the track.
Altogether, Absolution wraps up this collection of songs quite wonderfully. And yet… I can't help but feel there's something more. This song builds towards an event undiscovered. The story continues on beyond what we see here. What happens next is unknown. The future is unknown. The story never ends. Just the chapters we can see.
For now, Absolution is the culmination of everything we've heard so far. Absolution is the end.
Conclusion: Overall, Aeterno is an interesting concept album with a great variety of songs ranging from simplistic music boxes to suspenseful cinematic pieces to some great intense DnB. Not every son is a winner, but many of them are at least well above average, meaning that my rating is well above average.
One thing that I want to mention is the possible future this album might hold. I know that I'm basically becoming a third hand source, but my brother told me that Aviators mentioned on a livestream that he'd like to remake this album. So whether or not I'm displaying reliable intel is possibly questionable but I've got some solid confidence in my brother so I'm going to believe it's true. The question is when.
Final Score: (6.75/10)
Daily Hat Track Roundup: March 2019
April has started so let's reflect over the Daily Hat Tracks of March.
Daily Hat Track: March 1 (Ginger Runner – Deception of Light and Shadow): When I saw that there was a new Ginger Runner track I was prepared for some good chill jams but the DnB drop took my by surprise. Loving this.
Daily Hat Track: March 2 (Au5 & Danyka Nadeau – Eden): Best Au5 since Snowblind (so second best Au5)
Daily Hat Track: March 3 (Way Out West & Hendrik Burkhard – We Move in The Dark): Funky tune from Way out West. There may be some odd existential pondering in there but a lot of it is cryptic so it's hard to say. The groove is clear though and for now that's all that matters.
Daily Hat Track: March 4 (I am Waiting for You Last Summer – Lights Go Out): Perhaps I'm remembering incorrectly but I'm pretty sure I am Waiting for you Last Summer usually gives off rather chill vibes. Ah well, this DnB rock fusion works too.
Daily Hat Track: March 5 (Mr Fijiwiji, Laura Brehm & Agno3 – Pure Sunlight): Throwback to perhaps the best collaboration in Monstercat history. Definitely the golden age of the label in my opinion.
Daily Hat Track: March 6 (Azedia – Requiem for a New World): This incredible journey through sound gives a unique contemplation of existence over ten minutes. A religion could be based on this song. Actually this song is most likely based on a religion so never mind that. Still great.
Daily Hat Track: March 7 (Rotersand – Not Alone): Daily Hat Track: March 7 Capitalism Tm is my favorite Rotersand album but that's mostly because of Hey You and Not Alone. Both have fantastic development with great inspiring vocals. This one is my preferred of the two at the moment.
Daily Hat Track: March 8 (Ghost Rider – Make Us Stronger): I can't be the only one who hears Carol of the Bells at the beginning of this one. Anyways, this is your usual decent psytrance song with clips of an inspiring speech pondering life. The second half is pretty cool musically.
Daily Hat Track: March 9 (Worakls – Entrudo): The fact that there's an entire Worakls album now is incredible to me as he's only released singles previously. Haven't listened to the album in full yet but hey you should definitely check it out.
Daily Hat Track: March 10 (Invocation Array – Hypogeum (Live in Studio): Invocation Array is an interesting duo of two women creating a great crossover between rock and EDM (my favorite kind of crossover) and some great vocals. Final chorus in this song is my favorite part of their discography.
Daily Hat Track: March 11 (Covenant – Call the Ships to Port): This another one of those songs where I visualize a music video, this one being about the destruction of a supernatural oceanic prison via a ritualistic funeral for those who are thought to be dead long ago but are only dying now.
Daily Hat Track: March 12 (Mind.in.a.box – Timelessness): This song from the fifth chapter of the Mindinabox story (which is a long ways off) is among the catchiest of the discography. The chorus gets into my head the easiest of many songs. Not the best but great vocals and good groove.
Daily Hat Track: March 13 (Joachim Pastor – Eternity): I've posted some Worakls before, but this is my second favorite artist from the Hungry Music crew (A trio of the best prog house artists). The marimba in this one is the highlight of this particular track.
Daily Hat Track: March 14 (N'to – Trauma (Worakls remix)): I've definitely had an appetite for Hungry Music as of late. Here, Worakls transforms one of the lesser Hungry songs (though no bad Hungry songs actually exists) into something incredibly new and infinitely better.
Daily Hat Track: March 15 (Worakls – Nocturne): Hungry music never ends! But how does it begin? This Worakls track was my very first Hungry song and the orchestral progression here remains my favorite.
Daily Hat Track: March 16 (3force – Resistance): This kicking synthwave journey was what started off my morning today. It's now 13 hours later but I still love every moment of this. Feels much longer than six minutes, given it's variety.
Daily Hat Track: March 17 (Inofaith – Nocturne): Inofaith's discography is small, but all of it is incredible immersive and relaxing. This song in particular is my favorite as it really speaks to me as a creative.
Daily Hat Track: March 18 (Ben Prunty – Night Zen): Last song to speak of this evening is a song of night zen. Well that's the title. The song itself isn't as relaxing as Nocturne though. Much more suspense to this one. Really was my favorite discovery today.
Daily Hat Track: March 19 (Feint, Boyinaband & Veela – Time Bomb): Throwing back to early Monstercat days with a DnB song about time travel (my favorite storytelling concept). Also has some great vocals from Veela (Who is among my favorite female vocalists). Feint's best work in my opinion.
Daily Hat Track: March 20 (Miracle of Sound & Sarah Murray – Force of Nature): I'm not a huge fan of Miracle of Sound but the first track I heard from him caught my attention with its majestic orchestras and Sarah's gorgeous vocals. Sadly, Sarah isn't a regular, so the other songs are a bit underwhelming.
Daily Hat Track: March 21 (Kebu – To Jupiter and Back): To Jupiter and Back huh? Sounds like white a journey. This one has a nice balance between beauty and playfulness.
Daily Hat Track: March 22 (Niteppl – Meat Grinder): This song's got a weird creepy vibe to it. But mostly because of the implications of what exactly goes into that neat grinder…
Daily Hat Track: March 23 (VNV Nation – When is the Future): I'm currently reviewing the oldest VNV Nation album so here's a song from the newest VNV Nation album dissecting the passage of time and questioning it's flow. Where is the past? What is the present? When is the future?
Daily Hat Track: March 24 (Infected Mushroom – Slowly): Slowly is just Franks (the previous song on the album), but played in a slower manner. And I can't help but enjoy that.
Daily Hat Track: March 25 (Ed Harrison – Scrap I/O): Running a little late on Daily Hat Tracks so here's a song that switches between a beautiful piano and strings combination and some upbeat breaks that also includes some slightly glitched vocals.
Daily Hat Track: March 26 (PYLOT – Enigma): I really need to get back into PYLOT's discography. The narrative seems to be improving and developing quite nicely. It isn't Mindinabox levels yet, but we're getting there.
Daily Hat Track: March 27 (Botnit – Ex Cathedra): Honestly, I find this song a bit amusing with its overhyped 80s praise. I'm sure the 80s were great or something. I wouldn't know. I was born in 96. "SORRY BETAMAX" gets me every time.
Daily Hat Track: March 28 (Covenant – Happy Man): For a song called Happy man, the lead singer of Covenant sure sounds sad… I seem to relate to this song though… What does that say about my mental state?
Daily Hat Track: March 29 (Timmy Trumpet – Oracle): So this appeared in a trance playlist on Spotify today. I sincerely did not know Mr Timmy Trumpet did a psytrance song. Short, but it's interesting enough.
Daily Hat Track: March 30 (Andy Hunter & D'Morgan – Technicolour): Best vocal performance of all Andy Hunter songs. That is all.
Here's the full playlist of Daily Hat Tracks so far.
Posted on March 5, 2019 April 6, 2019
Daily Hat Track Roundup: February 2019
It was here that Tuesday Newsday ended, but we don't talk about that. This is just the February Daily Hat Track roundup post. Nothing more.
Daily Hat Track: February 1 (King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Cyboogie): Cyboogie walks a surprisingly thin line between a fun groovy vibe an oddly ominous vibe slinking along I'm the background.
Daily Hat Track: February 2 (Kick Bong – This Charming Violin (TPOT remix): End of a long unfortunately unproductive day. So today I'll just mention the song having a food vibe and some beautiful violins and female vocals. It truly is quite a lovely track.
Daily Hat Track: February 3 (Ashbury Heights – Spiders): Remember the all too edgy Ashbury Heights album from a couple weeks ago? Here's a song that's a step in the right direction of edge. Actually the track that introduced me to the duo (with revolving door of female vocalists).
Daily Hat Track: February 4 (Myndflame – Club Thrall): I didn't get far into my Discovery Weekly due to download troubles but this song in particular had a good drive and variety to it. That's about all I have to say about it at the moment though.
Daily Hat Track: February 5 (Electric Universe, Hilmar & Chico – Rockers and Rollers): The moment I see an Electric Universe song I think psytrance. The moment I see the song title referencing rock n roll I think kick-ass guitar sections. This song delivers on both counts and I love it.
Daily Hat Track; February 6 (Bliss & Alex Berserker – Warriors Guitar Mix): A couple days ago I shared a psytrance song with some rocking guitars. Well, today I'm sharing THE psytrance song with rocking guitars. This eleven minute experience is well with your time.
Daily Hat Track: February 7 (Infected Mushroom i-wish (Acoustic Live Remix)): Each time, I listen to this acoustic version of I Wish, I like it more and more. It used to be my least favorite from IM21 pt 1, but now it's second favorite right behind Bliss' remix of Bust a Move (which is unbeatable).
Daily Hat Track: February 8 (Mind.in.a.box – Amnesia): Today I'm just going to throw back the song that introduced me to my current favorite artist. Really pulled me into the computerized vocals and the existential themes. Probably one of my best musical discoveries of all time.
Daily Hat Track: February 9 (Infected Mushroom – Dancing with Kadafi): I've shared a lot of long songs as of late, but I consider this one to be the epitome of journeys through sound. It's an absolute classic.
Daily Hat Track: February 10 (The Anix – TECHUNTER): Only just finished up Friday's Release Radar and this nearly cinematic technological wonder was one of the last ones in the playlist. It's also the best one in the playlist.
Daily Hat Track February 11 (Eisfabrik – Walking Towards the Sun): Actually got all the way through my Discovery Weekly in one day (which is rare). And this was bothering the grooviest and most inspiring of the bunch. It's not often that you find such good futurepop with an uplifting vibe.
Daily Hat Track: February 12 (Mind.in.a.box – Redefined): I have no words right now or too many words. Either way, I'd forgotten how great this song is (definitely one of my all time favorites). Music and lyrics are dense with power and meaning and you should listen to it right now
Daily Hat Track: February 13 (Infected Mushroom – Frog Machine): Does this track make anyone else envision a giant monstrous frog throwing it's little normal frog coworkers into a fiery furnace before usurping it's boss that happens to be a corpse of bones lying in the corner? Just me? Ok.
Daily Hat Track : February 14 (Infected Mushroom – In Front of Me): Not much to say about this one. It's just resonating a bit too much with me right now. Every line is filled with relatable existential anguish.
Daily Hat Track: February 15 (Worakls – Cloches): Worakls and his Hungry Music fellows are always a treat to listen to. Therefore this is one of my favorites of this week's Release Radar.
Daily Hat Track: February 16 (Infected Mushroom – Return to the Suace): Here's another song that makes me visualize a music video except this one makes less sense because it's a sea voyage adventure involving a sea serpent and a time distortion device. My imagination is vividly random.
Daily Hat Track: February 17 (Infected Mushroom – Demons of Pain): I usually tend to listen to the remix from the Return to the Sauce album, but my love doe the existential original still holds today. I may have been listening to too much Infected Mushroom lately though.
Daily Hat Track: February 18 (Kick Bong (Progress in Happiness Remix)): Here's a funky groove of happiness from Kick Bong for yesterday's Daily Hat Track. Sleep schedule adjustment is making me forgetful.
Daily Hat Track: February 19 (Scatman John – U-turn): Didn't really listen to Scatman when he was alive, but I have been enjoying his music for quite a few years nonetheless. This one about healing one's soul with a new beginning is the most applicable to my life at the moment.
Daily Hat Track: February 20 (OVERWERK – Reign): I'll admit I'm really only into this one for the bassline. It has a good groove overall, but the bassline is what makes it.
Daily Hat Track: February 21 (Infected Mushroom – Saeed): I already knew this was my favorite Infected Mushroom song, but after relistening to it today. It's even better than I remember. Every moment in this track, be it lyrical or musical, is incredibly powerful.
Daily Hat Track: February 22 (Electric Universe – Dragonfly): Psytrance songs named after winged insects are good ok? What else is there to say?
Daily Hat Track: February 23 (Andy Hunter – Go): Andy Hunter was my first electronic artist. Go was his first song. If you're guessing I have some nostalgia attached to this song, you couldn't be more right.
Daily Hat Track: February 24 (Liquid Soul – Hypnotic Energy (Pitch Bend Remix): As I was scouring through this week's Release Radar in search or tracks worthy of mentioning for Newsday Tuesday this fresh psytrance track proved to be the most worthy.
Daily Hat Track: February 25 (The Luna Sequence – Veil Walled Garden): Today's Discover Weekly reminded me how awesome The Luna Sequence is at blending electronic and rock elements. All of her stuff definitely has an energetic vibe to it.
Daily Hat Track: February 26 (Andy Hunter – Sandstorm Calling): An Andy Hunter classic. One of the two nonlyrical songs on the Exodus album. Definitely feel some nostalgia listening to this.
Daily Hat Track: February 27 (Ayria – Feed Her to the Wolves): Isn't it great when you discover an oddly catchy song during lunch and have to spend the rest your workday trying not to sing of how you had a woman eaten alive wolves and then displayed her body to intimidate your enemies?
Daily Hat Track: February 28 (Carpenter Brut – Paradise Warfare): Carpenter Brut is great but Carpenter Brut with a saxophone? Mmmmmmm
Remember to follow Twitter for a new Hat Trac every day and to take a look at the Daily Hat Track Playlist linked below.
https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=hzGhZDDaRV6bgotZiPxheA
One last thing. I wanted to apologize for missing the review last Friday. As I'd mentioned on twitter I ended up having to take the week off due to health issues but I'll be putting extra effort into keeping on track for these reviews from now on (Getting rid of Tuesday Newsday should help
Posted on February 5, 2019 April 6, 2019
Daily Hat Track Roundup: January 2019
I've been posting these every day on Twitter for the past month so if you're not following me yet, there's a direct link in the menu if you simply scroll up. Or you could click on this one right here. Either will do. The wording of these short micro reviews may work better in a daily setting so this whole collection might seem a little disjointed but I'll work on that tone a bit better as time progresses. Oh and at the bottom of this post I also have linked a playlist of all the 2019 Daily Hat Tracks so you can listen through that if you'd like.
https://twitter.com/BeretBeats
If you've already been following me for the past month, then this isn't going to be much new content for you, but it's a nice recap of what I've been listening to as of late.
Daily Hat Track: January 1 (Donbor – Backward): Discovered Donbor today. Fantastic discovery. I'm a bit mixed on some of his albums, but this album in particular and this song in particular is outstanding. Love the guitar in the beginning and everything else that follows
Daily Hat Track: January 2 (DROELOE – Looking Back (Manu Dia remix)): This remix stole the spot for today's track minutes ago. Loved the original lyrics about the internal struggles of adulthood and this remix with music box vibes and the other melodies that greatly improved upon DROLOE's style.
Daily Hat Track: January 3 (Durs – Redemption): Couldn't hold myself back from posting psytrance for too long, now could I? This one's got some exceptional basslines to keep me in the groove. Had a lit of fun with it on loop this evening.
Daily Hat Track: January 4 (Moby – Like a Motherless Child (Broken Places Remix)): Spotify's Release Radar made sure to deliver this captivating remix to me. Broken Places does a better job of matching the emotion of the song's lyrics than Moby himself. At least, that's my preference.
Daily Hat Track: January 5 (Andy Hunter & Christine Glass – Amazing): Didn't really discover much new music today, but that's not gonna stop me from posting something. How about a classic? Andy Hunter was my biggest introduction to EDM and this is my current favorite song of his hailing from 2002.
Daily Hat Track: January 6 (The Avener & Ane Brun – To Let Myself Go): Beautiful tracks with a good drive are one of my weaknesses. Here's a recent discovery of mine from that category. Listen carefully to every single element and instrument as you listen to this one. Because each one is a small part of a masterpiece.
Daily Hat Track: January 7 (Comaduster – Far From Any Road): This ominous entrancing track definitely caught my attention today. The tone of the song has nice unsettling feel to it. And the lyrics are even more unsettling so if you're into that (I am) then make sure to give it a listen!
Daily Hat Track: January 8 (Ashbury Heights – November Corrosion): Embrace the break of day with yesterday still in motion
This song is actually about pulling an all nighter due to existential crisis. I'm posting it now because I forgotten to post a track last night so yesterday is still now.
Daily Hat Track: January 9 (Ecepta & Azaleh – Shadow Truths): It's way too late for me to still be up so here's a chill vibes Daily Hat Track that I heard today. Let us all read and rest in the shadows.
Daily Hat Track: January 10 (Ehrling – Groove): The main reason I live Ehrling's stuff is the saxophone. The saxophone is likely one of my favorite instruments in existence. If you're unaware of my love for the saxophone, then your ignorance of my saxophone loving shall soon fade away.
Daily Hat Track: January 11 (Torul – Ausverkauft – Frozen Plasma remix): My favorite track from today's Release Radar is the great Futurepop synthwave combo that is this Frozen Plasma remix. Haven't delved into the lyrics quite yet but the vibe is great regardless.
Daily Hat Track: January 12 (Infected Mushroom – Bust a Move): Classic Infected Mushroom song and totally not a hint at what album I'm reviewing next.
Daily Hat Track: January 13 (Lemon Jelly – 64 aka Go): This song is a journey in two ways. Firstly, the theme is about embarking on a lengthy journey so that's that. Secondly, the variety within the song (especially the guitar at the end) makes it a journey through sound.
BONUS THREAD (worth the read I promise): https://twitter.com/BeretBeats/status/1084941640366804993
Daily Hat Track: January 14 (Justice – Planisphere): I'm not certain why Spotify decided to put a nearly eighteen minute song in my Discovery Weekly, but it was still well worth the time to listen to every last bit of it.
Daily Hat Track: January 15 (The Other Colors & Marie Mööre – Pretty Day (Remix): Today's weird enough already so let's add some more weird to it with this trippy edgy track with the cutest lady singing about how pretty death is as everything around her descends into madness.
Daily Hat Track: January 16 (Eddie Bitar & Psycrain – Vertical Poetry): Who wants more psytrance? I'm always wanting more psytrance. Eddie Bitar is a recent discovery of mine. His collabs with Psycrain are his best and this is the best of those so this is the best Eddie Bitar.
Daily Hat Track: January 17 (Bjørn Torske – Clean Air): Yeah, I know it's the 18th but this is the track I meant to post yesterday and I'm sorry for being so late on it. But I ain't gonna get stressed I'm gonna take a step back and breathe the clean air that is this beautiful track.
Daily Hat Track January 18 (Sean Tyas – Chrome): This week's Release Radar was mostly a flop. This is the only one that really stands out to me. It may just be trance with pseudo-inspiring lyrics at the beginning but it's good trance with pseudo-inspiring lyrics at the beginning
Daily Hat Track: January 19 (Sesto Sento – Louder): It's getting louder and louder and louder and louder. It's getting LoUdEr and LoUdEr and LoUdeR and LoUdEr. It's getting LOUDER and LOUDER and LOUDER and LOUDER
Daily Hat Track: January 20 (Ehrling – Tequila): Is it cheating to do to Ehrling tracks in one month? Because this one has an even more energetic upbeat melody (plus more sax, always more sax, the EP is called Sax Art and it is flawless).
Daily Hat Track: January 21 (Ghost – He is (HEALTH remix): Today's track has a slight bit of edge and despair to it. An emotion that might ward off some listeners but I'm definitely into it. Though as you may see this Friday, I have limits to how much edge I can take…
Daily Hat Track: January 22 (Henry Saiz & Band – Downfall (Overture): Great song about finding beauty within the inevitable chaos of this world while also focusing on the similarities and differences between what we dream of and what we see in reality. Plus the music is just plain ol' good
Daily Hat Track: January 23 (Ashbury Heights – Penance): Finishing up Friday's review so I haven't listened to much else. Here's a sneak peak of the edgiest review yet! Not the best song on the album because I'm leaving the best for later but there's some good existentialism in here.
Daily Hat Track: January 24 (Etherwood – In Stillness): What a beautiful album opener. Such a gorgeous track about slowing down in life to finally find peace.
Daily Hat Track: January 25 (Neelix – Mosquito (Interactive Noise remix): It got really late this Friday. Here's a new remix of one of Neelix's more creative songs with synths made of mosquitoes. It's not quite as good as the original (this one is less subtle and not as majestic) but both are worth checking out.
Daily Hat Track: January 26 (Yanni, Marc Russell, David Scheuer & Tinatin Japordize – What You Get): Today's track comes from a brand new discovery of mine, Yanni. Dude has a massive discography but I've only just brushed the surface with these genius piano melodies and the surrounding almost cosmic environment.
Daily Hat Track: January 27 (Royalston – Oscilla): DnB songs are always good. Take this Royalston track for example. The melodies in the middle of the song really have a soothing feel to them, but the variety the rest of the track offers is pretty great too.
Daily Hat Track: January 28 (The Anix – Mask): It can be quite easy to hide behind a mask. I sometimes wonder if I'm hiding under a mask even from myself (nonsense I know). Well, The Anix tackles masks in this song. If we wear a mask, what truly hides behind in the shadows?
Daily Hat Track: January 29 (Sesto Sento – Musik Make U Feel (Live mix)): So basically I listened to a bunch of music that would be fun to party to. Except I was working at the time so not really a party. But feel that musik. This and Louder are great tracks for getting in that partyin mood
Daily Hat Track: January 30 (Mind.in.a.box – The Dream): I go a little bit overboard with this guy's stuff when reviewing. The story is real dense here so here's a sneak peak at tomorrow's review. Fittingly I chose the song, The Dream from the album Dreamweb.
Daily Hat Track: January 31 (Pendulum – Propane Nightmares): Sorry if today's tracks seem a bit lazier. I'm trying to do my best to match the tone of each day (if that makes sense). I listened to a lot of Pendulum today and while this track isn't a new discovery, it definitely is a classic.
https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=0ZHfkQeIQw6QhRE6vUVEmg
Daily Hat Track Wrapup: December 2019 January 6, 2020
Cello Fury – Cello Fury (2011 album) November 29, 2019
Daily Hat Track: Roundup October 2019 November 21, 2019
THYX – Headless (2016 album) October 31, 2019
Bliss – The Rhythmus Gene (2005 album) October 29, 2019
Daily Hat Tracks
Red Hat Review
Tuesday Newsday
6 to 6.75
Andy Hunter
Ashbury Heights
Celldweller
Crazy Astronaut
Daily Hat Track
futurepop
Mr Fijiwiji
Neelix
Scatman John
THE ANIX
The Flashbulb
THYX
Varien
Worakls