The track

The arrangement

What's happening?

“The bassline doesn't enter the track until after the three-minute mark”

“Automation of the filter cutoff gives tonal movement to the whole of the section”

“Tiga's arrangement isn't full of wild fills. Here's the only time he resorts to any kind of rhythmic turnaround”

The track

The arrangement

What's happening?

“This is not going to be a typical dance arrangement...”

“The bassline plays a key role in bringing movement to 'Girl', doing much of the rhythmic heavy lifting that a more complex beat would normally deliver”

“Listen to the sublime down-pitching echoes from the verb shout – space delay done with panache”

The track

The arrangement

What's happening?

“within the first 10 seconds of the song, almost all major track elements are playing”

“The 909 hi-hat continues to carry the groove alongside the stabs as one of the most iconic TB-303 sequences in dance music enters the mix”

The track

The arrangement

What's happening?

“The use of live drums throughout the track sets 'Can't Do Without You' apart from the programmed beats in the vast majority of dance mixes”

“The part won't reappear until the drop at bar 129, making this an early exposition of a theme that will be reinforced later”

“With the previous four-and-a-half minutes building towards it, the payback has to deliver. And it does”

The track

The arrangement

What's happening

“Note the muted FX lines; slimming them out of the mix gives the new elements space to assert themselves.”

“In a track that is defined by energy, this and the 149-156 spoken word clip is about as close as we get to a breakdown.”

The track

The arrangement

What's happening

The track

The arrangement

What's happening

“a bubbling, heavily filtered synth line plays 8ths against a raw off-beat hi-hat”

“In an arrangement defined by careful, subtle movement, it's worth noting the fluidity of the structure”

“With all beat elements in and vocals out, it's time for the bass to take centre stage”

The Track

The Arrangement

what's happening?

1. The re-edited version of 'Never Grow Old' opens with all guns blazing. Hood includes the kick, bassline and rhythmic minor chords from the start to ensure that you are engaged instantly. The chords are low-pass filtered and an 8th-note dotted delay is applied to make them sit with the subtle but grooving bassline. Another piano chord is added to address the repetitiveness and add some unpredictability.
2. The “we never” vocal that comes in just before the end of the 13th bar is sampled from Aretha Franklin’s 'We Never Grow Old'. The vocal lures you towards a build-up and addition of other vocals which sit around each other in a canon pattern.
3. The kick is filtered to increase tension prior to the drop and allow the vocals to become the main focus. Simultaneously, a crackly vinyl noise is added, which supports the vintage-sounding vocal samples and glues them to the rest of the track effortlessly. The vinyl noise also does a good job at filling in a bit of frequency space.
4. At the drop, the kick comes back in at full force with the addition of cleverly panned hi-hats and cymbals, which add much needed movement to the stereo image. The vocals continue in the same format as before with the odd variation. A ride cymbal becomes the dominant percussive sound and drives the high-frequency energy of the track as well as increasing the variation.
5. Hood also finds this a fitting time to start automating the ongoing detuned synth. By opening and closing the filter, he creates a euphoric rise which then descends into a more relaxed vibe. A snare roll supports this up to bar 65, pushing the rise alongside the ride cymbals.
6. At bar 65, the track cuts back into a more minimal feeling, in which the vocals become the main focus again. We can hear and feel the return of the vinyl noise, which is a key player in more stripped-back parts of the track. The main detuned synth has also returned to a more mellow sound because of the cutoff being brought back down, filtering away the high frequencies.
7. At bar 81, the vocal changes to a single phrase, dropping the energy a little further before introducing a new snare rhythm. At 88, another low cut is applied to the kick, anticipating yet another drop.
8. The filter on the detuned synth is opened up, giving a hands-in-the-air moment before the return of the full kick, ride cymbal and what sounds like a shaker.
9. The vocal also explodes into a huge ad lib solo with gives a feeling of release. The section continues by losing the ride cymbal and reintroducing a repetitive vocal to help drive the rhythm, followed by the noisy snare.
10. The track totally unchains itself and disperses from its key elements at bar 129, letting the listener know that this is the final reprise. The noisy snare, which has a stereo delay, takes the lead in this section by almost doubling in volume and intensity.
11. At bar 145 the reprise is met with the same initial minimal drop that we had at 33, using the same simple plus wittily panned hats that keep the head bopping from side to side. As ever, the vocal is changing and continues to be fickle throughout each section, which makes it almost impossible to sing along to. Despite there being relatively few elements, this unpredictable programming keeps the track interesting throughout.
12. The ride cymbal – a key and dominant feature in the drums – makes a cameo appearance for the final push, in combination with the vocal giving its hardest and most soulful ad lib.
13. Once again, the filter on the synth is automated, adding even more movement and interest.
14. We then come back to the repetitive “I know the land” and noisy snare, gracefully leading us to the end of the track. Even the kick seems to lose some energy in the high end.
15. Hood comes back with one last attack, an assault with the ride cymbal and change in filter on the detuned synth, before quickly drawing the track to an uncomplicated close after seven breathless minutes.

THE TRACK

THE ARRANGEMENT

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

1. Upon starting the track, the groove and emotion are immediately assigned by Mr G’s choice of sounds. We’re hearing a strong rhythmic section of drums including bongos, hats and a low cut kick. The bassline is also very prominent and works in tandem with the subtle bongos, which help generate low-frequency movement.
2. After 16 bars of intro, the energy is lifted with a combination of off-beat cymbals and hats. The addition of high frequencies adds more movement and much needed variation to this section. The lead rave stab continues to resonate ominously over the top of the beat.
3. A sequence of jazzy piano chords comes in a a low volume, allowing the melody to build tension over the following six bars. The chords are very much a reflection of Mr G himself and the ability to combine a live instrument with heavily processed electronic sounds.
4. Nothing defines a Mr G track like a 909 ride cymbal. The ride is sidechained to the kick drum, giving it a pumping sensation that stops it conflicting with the rest of the track and disturbing the rhythm. The ride only plays for eight bars here, but it's a critical addition of energy before bringing in the vocals.
5. The main vocal sample comes from Kerri Chandler's 'Heal My Heart', resampled into the MPC 2000XL and drowned in reverb. The catchy vocal provides a central focal point for the rest of the sounds to work around. Throughout this section it's clear how the track progresses in a linear fashion, with simple, repetitive loops and hands-on control of the levels, effects sends and EQ. There's no DAW automation here, just two hands working in real time.
6. At bar 65, the rave stab is muted. The more sparse arrangement throughout this section makes the vocal even more prominent in the mix and somehow feels more intimate. The section is supported by a 909 clap with added slap-back delay.
7. The trademark ride comes back again for eight bars, dropping in for another one of its cameo moments when the track needs a boost in high-frequency energy.
8. The track evolves to a more stripped-down structure where the piano chords become very prominent. We can start to pick out the fluctuation in the pitch of the chords as if they have been processed with chorus or flanger. This keeps them interesting in one of the more minimal sections of the track. A new percussive element arrives in the form of an analogue cowbell sound. The reverb added is very resonant and covers up the unoccupied frequency ranges. There's nothing ultra-technical with regards to effects or automation throughout the track, and all the parts sit in mono. The ride cymbal comes back for a quick appearance and a final moment of euphoria before being taken into the breakdown.
9. The kick and bongos depart for the breakdown, leaving just the cowbell, bass and piano. The piano chords fade out as the sampled vocals are reintroduced, allowing the lyrics and delivery of the vocal to be heard almost totally unaccompanied.
10. We might expect all the lead sounds to return simultaneously after the breakdown, but Mr G keeps the unpredictability consistent throughout the structure, reintroducing elements in a few stages, starting with the kick/bongo loop, clap and a variation on the hats. Gradually, the piano chords fade back in, again a perfect example of Mr G teaching us to be patient and not giving us what we want when we expect it.
11. A new bell-like synth finds its way into the track immediately, playing in a very loose and unquantised rhythm. To have something quantised and so strict in timing would ruin the relaxed style in which this track progresses.
12. The hi-hats are varied at this point, allowing the bell synth to take centre stage as it plays over the relentless bassline.
13. The hats and rave stab come back in full force at this point for a final flourish before the addition of the side-chained ride cymbal gives a higher layer of energy and raises the intensity.
14. With the removal of the ride cymbal (which only ever stays for eight bars at a time), the track's key melodic sequence, the piano, takes up the lead space one last time.
15. With the unorthodox structure complete, there's little left for the track to achieve. A slow fade out of the remaining few elements wraps things up in simple style.

The Track

THE ARRANGEMENT

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

1. The track opens with a synth pad accompanied by a vinyl crackle. The volume is automated, slowly drawing the listener into the ambient atmosphere. The chord is a minor 9, which moves from C to F repetitively. We discussed the use of typical minor 7 chords found in deep house and the jazzier minor 9 chords in previous articles.
2. The vocal used is a sample from a 1999 interview with American actress Winona Ryder, best known for her roles in Edward Scissor Hands and more recently Stranger Things. The vocal sample holds a lo-fi quality which matches the vibe that has already been established. The synth continues to build gradually in volume, increasing tension in a subtle manner.
3. The vocal ends, but is layered with an effect which has a delay with a long feedback. This technique is used to bridge different sections of songs and aid the transition. A sampled hi-hat and clap are introduced, with a crunchy reverb added to the hi-hat and sporadic second clap to push them further into the back of the mix.
4. A thumping kick drum takes over, still accompanied by the synth pad and percussive elements. The kick has been processed with distortion, giving it an almost broken quality. The track relies heavily on the kick to provide weight in the low frequencies. A bassy ‘whoomp’ is also added in between kicks to add groove to the low-end rhythm.
5. At points in the track we hear a bitcrushed laser effect, used to add variation and some energy to the high frequency part of the spectrum. It is added infrequently, surprising the listener and helping to sustain their interest in the progression of the record.
6. A ride cymbal with heavy sidechain compression is added. This is a classic technique used by house and techno producers to increase the energy of a track. Instruments containing high frequencies are a great way to progress the song in a simple way without complicating the record or compromising the focus of the other instruments. At this point there is also a slight variation in the kick, with an extra couple of hits on the off beat.
7. Just prior to this new section the kick and ride cymbal cut out simultaneously. The decay of the ride cymbal bleeds into the emptier section before reintroducing itself in the same rhythm as the off-beat hi-hat.
8. The ride cymbal’s original decay is shortened considerably, delivering a punchier and tighter sound. The layer sits attractively with the hi-hat part. Some very short closed hi-hats are added in between the other hats. The kick continues to play different rhythmic variations.
9. A dub-like siren sound is added here for a little more variation. In minimal tracks such as this, occasional changes in sound selection are essential to maintain the listener's interest. Sometimes, its these arbitrary moments that add magic to potentially monotonous repetition of synths, basslines and drum parts.
10. The track loses the drums, bass and kick to signal the arrival of the breakdown. A delayed crash cymbal aids the transition. The synth builds ever so subtly again with volume automation.
11. It's not immediately obvious exactly what's being introduced as the breakdown ends, but the knock-like sound is clearly a new instrument. The low-pass filter on the synth is closed so that only a few frequencies pop through. An envelope filter with a fast attack and short decay emphasises the initial frequencies produced by the synth. As this section progresses, the filter continues to open and we real that we now have a TB-303-style acid bass sound. The new sound provides an essential variation for the second half of the track and a solid low end which will add movement to the groove.
12. Winona’s voice makes a cameo appearance before the reintroduction of the hats and clap. They are introduced in a similar fashion to the beginning of the track, allowing the listener to anticipate the full beat. The resonance on the new synth is increased, giving a classic squelchy acid bassline tone.
13. Again we hear Winona’s voice at the end of the section before dropping into the full beat with the drums, kick and bass. The original pad synth is louder than before and has also had some automation added to the low-pass filter.
14. The ride cymbal returns but this time with more reverb, pushing it further into the back of the mix. The reverb adds ambience but also helps ensure the cymbal doesn't interfere with the acid bass, which continues to be automated for variation.
15. The acid bassline plays by itself for a moment here with an added delay effect on the first two notes. The kick drops out to give it space, almost making it feel like the record is skipping. It then unexpectedly drops back in after two beats.
16. We come to a short breakdown, retaining the bass sound momentarily as other elements cut out. The acid bassline has a delay added to it, allowing it to drop out smoothly. As the delay fades out, some swung 16th-note hats fade in, replacing the rhythmic space taken up by the acid bassline synth. Switching between instruments can be tricky, as when one is taken out the producer is often faced with having to fill the space. By using very prevalent and constant hi-hats, the producer is able to divert the listener's attention to the new instrument without having to worry about losing concentration. The rolling hats also add a new progression.
17. The acid bassline is reintroduced with a new single note and less frequent rhythm. The filter is also brought down so that it sits further in the background. The synth pad and rolling hats dominate this section with their prominent high frequencies. This final energy peak is achieved simply by using all previous elements of the track simultaneously.
18. The acid bassline and rolling hats drop out to lower the energy and make space for Winona’s vocal sample one last time. Her voice playing over all the elements would have overwhelmed the mix, but more importantly this signals the beginning of the end of the track. The kick, clap and pad synth play out for a final 16 bars to allow the DJ time to mix out the record.
19. The synth pad automates down in volume and filter in the opposite fashion as to which it entered the track.

The Track

THE ARRANGEMENT

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

1. The track opens with the instantly recognisable piano chords that underpin the track. The chords are very much the bedrock of ‘Strings Of Life’, but Derrick May openly admits to not having written or recorded them himself. The story goes that May's friend Michael James was visiting Derrick in his home when he noticed the studio and recorded a piano part. May held onto the sequence and stumbled upon it a year later, which is when he decided to create a full track using sections of his friends recording. The keyboard was probably a mid 80s Kurzweil digital piano with an inbuilt sequencer, which would explain how May was able to recall his friend's recording so easily a year later.
2. The stabbing strings emphasise the first beat of the phrase with their strong attack, and continue to fill the sections in between each hit with a quieter sustain. The strings almost certainly come via an Ensoniq Mirage, a relatively basic 8-bit sampler keyboard with a distinctive lo-fi sound.
3. We hear a slight variation in the piano chord, with a rise in octave which anticipates the drums. The octave change catches the listener's ear to make them aware of the unsubtle but simple variation, breaking up the sequence.
4. The string sample is layered with a similar sounding synth which add more attack, making the hits even more prominent and aggressive.
5. The string synth varies slightly, breaking up the monotonous piano riff and keeping the listener guessing. The random rhythm builds up excitement and provide quick pangs of emotion. There seem to be some variations in the envelope settings on the string synth, softening the attack and creating quieter hits. Similar effects might also have been created with an outboard effect such as a gate or transient shaper.
6. The highly anticipated drums finally come in with a thumping four-to-the-floor kick drum and shaker. The high frequencies in the shaker are rather piercing but raise the energy in the track significantly, whereas the kick dominates the low end with a warm and rounded pulse. The string and synth layer fall into a more constant rhythm.[advert-inline]
7. A snare drum roll fills in the next two bars for variation. Notice how there is no bassline in this track, so the variation in the instruments is crucial to the groove of the song. The string and synth layer continue in their fast rhythm.
8. The strings are now being played in a sustained style again for two bars, as the synth continues to play staccato hits. This is followed by a small break in the drums so that the focus can be placed on the synth and strings. The kick comes in once to emphasise the first beat of the bar and then three more times before cutting out and leaving the shaker to roll.
9. A 909 snare comes in, playing on the second and fourth beats of each bar, alongside a rolling 16th-note hi-hat pattern just to tease us for two bars. It’s this random variation in the sequencing that ensures the track stays interesting and unpredictable.
10. The kick comes thumping back, filling in the rather empty low end. The synth rhythm now changes to counter the string sequence, which hasn’t changed. This has quite a dramatic effect and creates tension between the two parts. The focus swiftly changes to the piano, which starts reverting back to its original sequence.
11. The string changes back to its sustained rhythm and fills in the space created by the departure of the drums. Four bars later, the kick comes back in with the shaker to pick up the speed again. A high and low snare roll lead this section to the end of the phrase.
12. The kick drops in volume, so that there is still a beat but not enough to distract the listener from the strings, synth and piano. The kick has small breaks in sections so that it can break up its regular rhythm. This is the perfect example of unpredictable arrangement of the track. The following section feels as if May is freestyling the parts in order to play with the listener, making them unsure of what's coming next. A ride cymbal plays four times in the same rhythm as the kick, leading us to a silence for the next part.
13. A completely new section comes in here with a new piano part, new string rhythm but the same kick. This catches the listener off guard, as if to check whether we're still paying attention. A new 16th-note hi-hat pattern comes in supported by Roland TR-727 bongos. The section continues with random play between the snares and the kick, bringing the track in and out of danceable sections.
14. A brief interlude section ends abruptly and returns to its original pumping riff, but only for eight bars before changing into yet another piano and string variation. The piano riff is similar in rhythm but different in melody, still based around four chords and supported by sustained strings which create tension in the background.
15. A short snare roll brings us gently back into the original riff with some abrupt volume cuts, probably performed in real time while the mix was being recorded. We are reintroduced to the solo piano once again, just like at the beginning of the song, reminding us of the key elements that make the song so special. The ending is unconventional by modern standards, with variations right up to the final fade out, but the rules and conventions of house and techno were less strict 30 years ago. May claims to have spent two days naked in his house after writing 'Strings Of Life', listening to the track over and over again, feeling as if he was on drugs without taking any. It might not have quite the same effect on everyone, but it's a track that holds a place in many people's hearts to this day.

The Track

THE ARRANGEMENT

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

1. The drums kick off the track with a punchy and charismatic rhythm that draws you effortlessly into the record. We immediately hear a round and upfront kick, the fizzy-sounding snare and two different claps sequenced around the snare in order to fill up the space. Some bongos hold the backbone of the rhythm, playing around the kick and filling in the gaps. A sprinkling of 16th-note hi-hats run continuously over the groove, increasing the energy of the track. Each phrase finishes with a very 80s-sounding tom roll. Note how the two claps change in pitch from high to low and feed into the same reverb send. Their different frequencies reveal different clusters of reflections from the virtual reverb room.
2. A funky bassline appears at this point, with the sound carefully chosen so as not to be too dominant in the low frequencies, allowing it to sit almost like a lead line. Its retro sound helps it fit perfectly with the already vintage-sounding drums.
3. New elements are introduced via a chord stab which sounds almost like a horn, filling up some of the background space. The stabs are placed at the back of the mix using reverb. A subtle delay also adds rhythm and makes the melody appear more complicated.
4. The brassy chord stab that we heard earlier now develops in rhythm and melody, appearing more frequently. More delay is added to the plucks with automation, helping build tension to the end of the phrase and drawing the listener's attention to what will happen next.
5. We hear a new filtered melody which feels an octave lower than the plucks. This slow, aquatic melody is swimming in reverb to ensure that it remains in the back of the mix. It also adds vital variation to the fairly repetitive beat. This pattern repeats for 16 bars, with the drums remaining constant throughout, establishing the groove and feel of the track.
   1. The underwater melody departs, replaced by Peggy’s own vocal in her native Korean. To non-Korean speakers, her choice of language adds a level of curiosity to what she may be saying. At bar 53 we hear the first "han jan" (한잔, "a drink") and the rapped verse changes rhythm. The vocal has a radio effect EQ and a very short slapback-style delay (around 100ms) which prevents it from feeling too poppy or overwhelming.[advert-inline] 
6. Here Peggy breaks into what feels like the chorus of the track, switching from rapping to singing and from Korean to English. The singalong-friendly lyrics are supported by the aquatic melody we heard earlier in the track. At bar 73, the chorus develops with a higher harmony tucked behind the already-mesmerising vocal.
7. The vocals drop out and are followed by a change in bassline rhythm and a new, ominous-sounding chord progression which anticipates the upcoming section. The brass chord stands and the plucks play at the beginning of every two bars, reminding us of what the record might break back into.
8. The arrangement returns to its original bassline and brass chord sequence, plus a new bell synth sitting prominently on top. The melody of this new bell synth develops up until bar 105.
9. The main drums (kick, snare and hats) are pulled out of the mix for the breakdown, giving the listeners a moment without any low end. The bongos, plucks, reverbed claps and brass stabs continue, holding this section together. The next section is signalled with a big drum roll including toms, hats and the kick.[advert]
10. The full drums and bassline return, alongside Peggy's rap. At bar 117, a new synth is added, playing high up in the register and panned to the right. Unique elements such as this help to maintain variation and progression throughout the track as all too often, avoiding the possibility that things might get too repetitive.
11. The floaty panned synth continues, as does the rap. The brass stabs are reintroduced, underscoring the funky groove.
12. Peggy goes all in here, adding the aquatic synth and the plucks alongside the floaty synth. Her vocal changes once more from spoken to sung for another chorus.[advert-inline]
13. For a brief four-bar interlude, Peggy breaks up her vocal and tails off her words with a 1/4-note triplet delay. She also reintroduces the same ominous chords we heard at bar 81, before swiftly switching back to the melodies and rhythms we heard at the very beginning of the track, signalling the arrival of the outro.
14. The bassline ends abruptly and the beat is broken down into the drums, plucks (without the delay) and some light, reverbed hits which are panned left and right, accentuating the stereo field. The brass chords still play up to bar 177 but eventually break off. The track ends with its signature drum roll, one of the defining elements of the arrangement.

The Track

THE ARRANGEMENT

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

1. The track kicks off with a short burst of reverse snares leading to the initial groove of the cowbell, rimshot, bongos, shaker and snares. The percussion instruments are loosely programmed giving them groove with an organic feel. This can be easily achieved by nudging the hits left or right on the grid. The shaker is panned hard left and hard right every 16^th note. A hi-hat and ride provide the top end and the sizzle in the drums. The hats have a small amount of stereo movement which gives extra space between the various drum sounds. The kick is a short sample in contrast to the big reverb snare and reminiscent of a big disco record which creates an intro that is instantly recognisable. An 808 clap and ride cymbal is introduced with a snare fill leading the transition to the next section.
2. Everything remains whilst the synth bass is introduced with the resonance on the filter giving the sound a squelchy analog tone. The decay and sustain on the envelope is kept low to keep the notes short. The notes are playing 2 16th’s in each offbeat, and switching note every bar to create a 4 bar sequence. The bass riff is essentially quite simple which makes it memorable and easy to dance to. The track is in G Major, which alongside C Major is the most popular key signature in western music. Some panning synth stabs are introduced, providing a nice bit of ear candy and stereo movement and then we move into an interesting synth string sound that starts as a riser/uplifter and progresses into a held string. This string is mixed very low creating the necessary suspense before the breakdown, which is announced with a short FX sweep and snare fills
3. The 32 bar breakdown. A high passed version of synth bass is kept in for the breakdown, which keeps the groove going and the energy up. The main lead is introduced, a catchy retro 80’s synth guitar which like the bass is playing a 4 bar sequence. The riff only changes with a pleasant resolve every 4th bar harmonising well with the bass synth. The kick drum drops out as the guitar carries the rhythm at this point with the cowbells continuing to drive a counter groove.  The noise riser is filtered in and out eventually growing with a slow rise building up to the drop. The drop is teased at bar 69 but instead of the noise rising, it filters out instead leaving the hi-hats to drive the next 8 bars forward until the drop. The tease at bar 69 is a clever way to heighten the anticipation.
4. For the first time, all the elements are played together. At this point the track is in full flow and there are only minor adjustments while the full arrangement is played for 24 bars. Towards the end of the section the bass filter is opened slightly to prepare for the next breakdown and the kick varies it’s rhythm towards the end of the 24 bar sequence to alert the audience a change is coming. The only music addition here is electronic tom drums playing from bar 93 as the bass resonance increases paving the way for the breakdown
5. As the bass continues to filter we move through 8 bars of a pre build-up into the second build-up in the song. This one is slightly different to before. The kick drops out and the resonance is increased on the bass which reduces its lower frequencies. Some clever spot fills and in comes the choir pad and arpeggiator. The choir pad follows the bass notes whilst the sawtooth wave arpeggiator[advert-inline]  is playing 16th notes, with 4 notes arpeggiating upwards each beat.The apprehension grows with the strings rising and holding a high note right at the top of the mix. The bass, kick and arpeggiator are all filtered out as the choir pad carries the melody with the melody strings. Lastly, all the sounds in the track cut out for one beat to make way for a solitary snare hit. This tiny, but important, section of silence heightens the impact of the drop when the main synth comes back in.
6. At this point the full arrangement has returned. To make it sound bigger than the first chorus, and more uplifting,  we have the synth strings holding a pedal note in the top register. This effect makes the spectrum sound complete. The ambient pluck is filtered into the arrangement. This pluck sound has the envelope open with significant and spacious reverb applied. The contrast between the sound design on this synth and the earlier staccato synths indicate a change in mood, mellowing things out and moving smoothly into the next section.
7. This is an extension of the main theme but with the introduction of the ambient pluck the mood has changed. Rather than a sense of euphoria it feels like a release for the listener and takes us smoothly into the outro. The only new addition to the arangement is a harmonised pluck synth to the guitar with a warped effect but it is kept very low in mix and panned hard to the right.
8. Now fully immersed in the outro, the bass and the guitar have dropped out. The ambient pluck is layered with another pluck playing the same riff. This approach to the outro, rather than simply fading or filtering out the main synth, sounds more fluid. The kick returns at bar 181 for 8 bars, whilst the rest of the music continues to filter out.
9. The end is a reduced arrangment of the groove from the beginning of the track. It only has the noise FX, kick drum, hats and snare eventually ending with a delay on a pitched snare roll.

In this instalment of Deconstructed, we turn the spotlight on Breakbot, aka French producer and DJ Thibaut Berland.  

Breakbot's triumphant return to the fore this year came with a fresh EP entitled ‘Another You’ released on Ed Banger Records. The EP's title track is an upbeat pimptastic slice of old-school funk, dripping in squelchy synth bass and 80’s synths and with vocals supplied by regular collaborator and fellow producer/DJ Ruckazoid.

The version of ‘Another You’ that we’ve broken down below is the same that appears at the YouTube link, and at 2’45” is shorter than the EP version. The soundtrack for this includes several effects - whooshes, bangs and motorbike noises, for instance - that are purely part of the video soundtrack. We’ve not included most of these in our analysis, as they don’t form part of the original track and are only there to accompany the visual effects in the video.

The Track

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dybNNo8y48k[/embed]

THE ARRANGEMENT

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

1. The first thing we hear is burst of static and a menacing synth growl, swelled by a mains buzz tone of the type generated by an unplugged live guitar lead (presumably intentional, since this is tuned to the root note of G). A polyphonic analogue synth glide joins the fray, sounding very like a classic Roland Juno 106 in Portamento mode, drifting up to a high Fsus2 chord and giving the impression of a spaceship preparing for takeoff. A sampled stick-click and distant spoken ‘one-two’ countoff precedes a long, lazy synth bass slide, followed by a small, two-chord synth riff and a short snare fill made up of two sixteenth notes that serves to bring in the verse.
2. The verse groove that enters at bar 5 is a relatively simple one, but very effective. A warm, round, punchy kick on beats one and three, a dry, fat snare on two and four, and dynamic eighth-note hi-hats lay down a solid funk groove that moves things along at a strutting 105bpm. At the end of every second bar we get another short, two-stroke, sixteenth-note snare fill to keep things flowing through the whole of the eight-bar long first verse. The kick and snare drop out in the last bar to herald the chorus.[advert-inline]
3. There are two bass sounds in the track, and we hear the first of them here - a warm, natural electric bass guitar sound with a fat bottom end. The part is played with short, clipped notes, perfect for funk, the only exception being the pushed longer notes that play in sync with the keyboard stabs. The Cm7, Dm7, EbMaj7 chords are played both by a sustained acoustic piano sound and a stabby analogue polysynth, again reminiscent of a Juno 106, programmed with a brassy-sounding patch. The resonant filter is being shaped by the attack portion of the filter envelope, which opens out the cutoff frequency rapidly after each keystrike, emulating the rapid swell of a brass instrument in the characteristic way that only an analogue synth (or a virtual emulation of one) can.
4. The lead vocal (courtesy of Ruckazoid) is super-compressed, which has the effect of enabling us to hear every detail in the voice. The dynamic range has been squashed so that setting the level high enough in the mix enables us to also hear every breath and lipsmack that wouldn’t normally be audible. Mixed relatively dry and upfront, with little in the way of obvious pitch adjustment, the result is a breathy, natural-sounding vocal. At the end of the verse section, there’s a double-repeat on the last two words “my hand”. This could either have been with an audio edit, or with a quarter-note delay and an automated send set to bring in the effect at that particular point.
5. The chorus kicks in at bar 13, and it’s all change! The first new item is the addition of a clap loop to the drum track, doubling the snare, while the hi-hat pattern changes to a more sparse sequence of one- bar rests and swung sixteenth-note fills.[advert-inline]
6. Down in the depths, we get a new bass sound - an analogue synth very much in the style of the classic funk Minimoog bass. Once again, it’s all about a wound up filter resonance dial and that filter envelope, shaping the sound with a moderate attack time and a short decay to give that characteristic ‘wowp’ effect which is retriggered with every note.
7. Keyboards-wise in the chorus, we’ve lost the piano, and the chords have changed sound to a similar brassy polysynth, but this time there’s a lot more phasing and chorus in evidence, particularly on the final chords. The new Gm7 and F major chords themselves are held longer than in the verse, and there’s a wobble in the sound that’s due to some slow LFO modulation - another classic Juno trait. Over in the left speaker, we have a low, plucked guitar or clav sound playing a short three-note riff every other bar, and the section rounds off with a pair of full, deeply-phased synth string and phased funk guitar chords.
8. Time to talk backing vocals. While the lead continues as before, it’s accompanied by some highly-processed backing vocals delivering increasingly stacked harmonised answers to the main lyric, slotting nicely into the gaps left by the lead vocal. This kind of call-and-answer to-ing and fro-ing is a well-established songwriting technique for good reason - it works! In contrast to the lead, these have had some tuning applied, and the harmonies have a synthetic sound that indicates the use of a processor like Melodyne or VocalSynth. Effects-wise, there’s also plenty of phasing and chorus apparent.
9. It’s bar 21, and we’re already into verse 2. We’ve reverted back to the same basic plan as verse 1, with a switch back to electric bass, no claps, straight hi-hats, piano and short brassy synth stabs. The eight-bar section progresses more or less as before, except this time round, when it gets to the end of the verse, it’s only the kick that drops out - the snare keeps going.[advert-inline]
10. Coming in at bar 29, chorus 2 is, by and large, a repeat of chorus 1. There’s nothing really new here to speak of, except that, for the benefit of the video, the last half-bar and beginning of the next section are filtered right down with a low pass filter over the entire mix to emulate being dunked underwater!
11. The section that enters at Bar 37 could be labelled a tag, as sonically it’s identical to the eight-bar chorus that precedes it - all instruments and backing vocal parts are exactly the same, but the lead vocal sings a different melody, with some high tuned adlibs thrown in over the last couple of bars. A yowling flourish on the Moog bass rounds off this section with aplomb.
12. Bar 45 takes us to the bridge, with new synth chords playing a new riff (Gm > F > F > Gm, Gm > C > C > Eb) beneath call and answer vocal riffs we haven’t previously heard. These have been sung on alternate tracks, so each has a slightly different character and you can hear them overlap as the lyrics run together. For most of the section, these are doubled lead vocals, but overlapping harmonies swoop back in in the last couple of bars.The bass in this part of the track is handled by the electric bass sound, but the section ends with the Moog synth bass re-entering with a flashy G minor pentatonic run down the keyboard, followed by an exuberant slide into the next part of the tune.
13. The harmony backing vocals continue on into the breakdown at Bar 53. Here, the kick and snare drop out and we’re left with the chorus claps and hi-hat part fulfilling the percussion duties. The Moog bass continues on from the flashy run at the end of the bridge and continues playing the chorus bass part, up until the last bar where there’s another run up the keyboard this time, into the outro section. Aside from the missing drums, the instrumentation here resembles that found in the other chorus sections.
14. At bar 61, the drums kick back in and resume the full chorus part for the final, eight-bar outro section of the song, which again closely resembles the other choruses in all but the lead vocal, which continues to riff and adlib around the existing melody and backing vocals. After a final ‘oo-oo-oo-oo’ backing vocal flourish, the track comes to a rather abrupt end at bar 69 with a final short burst of static.

In our Deconstructed series, we analyse the arrangements of tracks to see what we can learn from their structure. In this instalment, we’re setting the controls of the time machine to 1991 with a classic house cut - the original Def mix of Robert Owens’ club smash “I’ll Be Your Friend”.

Produced and mixed by the legendary David Morales and Satoshie Tomiie, this groovy slice of 90’s nostalgia is the epitome of its genre, to the point where it would be difficult to come up with a more perfect snapshot of the burgeoning house scene that was exploding at the time.

Tracks from this era are always interesting because the way they were made is so different to how technology permits us to make tunes with computers today. Rather than doing everything within a one-box DAW, an early 90’s setup consisted of a sequencer program like Notator running on a computer such as an Atari 1040ST, linked via MIDI to hardware synths, samplers and drum machines, all plugged into an analogue mixing desk and synced to timecode laid down on a track of a multitrack reel-to-reel tape machine. So let’s fire up the sonic DeLorean and take a journey back to early 90’s Chicago to find out exactly what makes this classic cut tick.

The Track

The Arrangement

What Happening?

1. OK, so first of all, let’s talk kick drums. It wouldn’t be a house track without that solid four-four foundation, and true to form, ‘I’ll Be Your Friend’ relies on it heavily as the backbone of the rhythm track, hitting the ground running right from the off. Deep, round and satisfying without being too boomy, if David Morales was involved in the production the kick is almost certainly sourced directly from the audio output of a hardware machine like Roland’s TR-909. Clocking in at 121bpm, it lays down the foundation of the rhythm track, along with the snare part, which continue undisturbed for the first sixteen bars of the tune.
2. The main snare sound in this track appears to have been sampled from the classic Amen break, a famous drum solo featured in The Winstons’ 1969 single ‘Amen, Brother’. This sample has been reused on countless recordings, and by the time ‘I’ll Be Your Friend’ was made in the early 90’s, samplers like Akai’s S1000 were well and truly established as the tools of the trade for your cutting-edge dance producer. This example has also been subjected to a generous splash of tape echo with a dotted eighth-note delay time and plenty of auto-panned repeats dialled in. At the time of production, well before the first software effects processors of the kind found in today’s DAWs, tempo-synced delays of this kind were only achievable by looking up the delay times on a chart of BPM and note values and entering the value in milliseconds into the front panel of your outboard delay processor.
3. The lynchpin of the rhythm track, and also a main contributor to the musical fabric of the tune, is a kind of tribal-sounding, pitched sample that kicks in right from the start of the track. This sounds to us like a single upright bass note sampled and played back at three different pitches, which appear to be E, D, and G. It certainly has the characteristics of an early, low-resolution sample transposed down in pitch, as the noise and aliasing is more pronounced on the lower notes. As for the source of the original sample, we can only surmise that it might be from the bundled library that came with a hardware sampler, such as the aforementioned Akai S1000.
4. The hi-hats, which come in at bar 17, are classic Roland TR-909 hats playing a classic 909 hat pattern - a ‘pea-soup’ open hat on the off-beat, surrounded by subtly-shuffling closed hats on the surrounding sixteenths. Just a hint of swing has been dialled in to drive the groove along and prevent things sounding too machine-y - the original 909 had a shuffle button for this very purpose. Just hold the button down, select a value with the larger note-entry buttons and voila! Instant groove.
5. The second track-defining instrumental hook enters at bar 25. The sampled saxophone is actually a preset from Korg’s M1 Workstation synth, which dominated the synth market at the end of the 1980’s. At the time, the M1 sax (along with the genre-defining M1 piano sound) was as realistic as you could get, making it the go-to synthetic version of an instrument that was still very fashionable with pop and dance producers in its original form. A stabby, two-note line (playing the notes F and C in a sort of F5 power chord), the semitone pitch-bend on this particular part is also typical of attempts to make it sound more ‘real’ - the first note of each phrase starts a semitone below its target pitch and bends upwards to hit the desired pitch. It’s a bit of a surprise when the sax enters and establishes the tonal centre of the track as F, in direct conflict with the perceived notes played by the pitched sample bass/percussion part that’s been the only musical element we’ve heard thus far. It shouldn’t work - but it does!
6. At bar 37, we’re joined by an ethereal-sounding analogue string pad part, played by what sounds like a Roland Juno-106 patch based on a triangle wave, with heaps of built-in chorus and a long release on the amplitude envelope, making the notes tail off slowly once the keys are released. The part centres around a long, sustained two-note F chord, playing root and fifth, just like the sax part.
7. Bar 40 is the point at which we first hear that iconic vocal, as it fades gradually up from the depths with the first occurence of the “I’ll Be Your Friend, until the end…. of time” lyric. Soaked liberally in reverb and a similar bpm-synced delay effect to the one on the snare, the vocal is fairly freeform in nature, without a perceivable verse/chorus type structure, interspersing riffs and adlibs on the F minor scale with repeats of the main ‘I’ll Be Your Friend’ title hook. These repeats appear to have been sampled into a hardware sampler and retriggered via MIDI from whatever sequencer was used to construct the track, most likely an Atari 1040ST computer running either Cubase or Notator.
8. Bar 59 marks the first appearance of a high-pitched, almost harmonica-esque analogue monophonic lead synth that plays a meandering line made up of long notes with lots of pitch bend. This part pops up a few times in the track, appearing again at bars 79, 177 and 193.
9. At bar 63, a cowbell enters the rhythm track, playing on every third sixteenth note and swamped in dotted eighth-note delay to give the part a rolling groove. Oddly, the part only runs for 26 bars, disappearing again at bar 89 and staying out of the picture for the rest of the track.[advert-inline]
10. At bar 91, an interesting development occurs to reinforce the bottom end. The pitched sample that’s been taking care of the bass part up to this point is joined and beefed up by a proper synth bass sound playing a similar, complementary part that alternates between the notes F and Ab and endures right up to the end of the track.
11. No track from 1991 would be complete without some sort of acid-house synth noise happening somewhere, and this tune obliges with a short eight-bar segment from bar 117-125. A little squelchy bass synth sound with loads of resonance on the filter and a suitable filter envelope shape to properly bring it out, pops up in these eight bars to play a riff around the notes C, Eb and F that complements the bass part perfectly. There’s some knob-twiddling involved as the filter cutoff and resonance values are adjusted slightly over the eight bars, then it disappears, having done its work, never to be seen again.
12. Deep into the tune, at bar 150, we get a trumpet solo fading in gradually from the midst of a repeated “I’ll Be Your” triggered vocal sample. Given the prominently-featured M1 Sax preset, it’s safe to assume this is almost certainly the Trumpet (Preset 12) from the same synth. Expertly played (presumably by Satoshie Tomiie, credited as keyboard player on the track) and jamming fluently around the F minor blues scale, it drops out after 12 bars, to reappear for a longer solo from bars 168 to 187.
13. At bar 164, the main vocal track is replaced by a whispered “Trust Me” vocal part that continues beneath the trumpet solo. The main vocal resumes once again at bar 185, coinciding with the end of the solo.
14. The drums cease abruptly at bar 219, heralding the gradual breakdown that ends the song. Elements continue to drop out in order, starting with the vocal at bar 222 (as it cuts out mid-word, you can almost envision the mute buttons on the desk being hit as the mix runs off to DAT tape). The whistle synth bows out at bar 227, followed by the synth pad and sampled bass at bar 229, leaving only the synth bass running. This cuts out at bar 233, ending the tune, but not before someone (presumably Morales) turns up an effect send on the mixing desk, drenching the last bar of the part in reverb and delay as a final farewell. 

In our latest deconstructed we break down the arrangement of Purple Disco Machine’s ‘70s-style stormer, “In My Arms.”

Disco has long been mined by house music producers for inspiration. House music can trace its roots back to disco, which retreated from the limelight of the 1970s to sweaty, amyl nitrate-filled underground clubs in the ‘80s. Details may have changed, but the main blueprint—4/4 beat, catchy bassline, and soaring vocals—have not.

Dance music stalwart Purple Disco Machine has been crafting good-time floor fillers since 2009, and his 2020 “In My Arms” continues a string of catchy, history-inspired hits. As is typical of PDM, “In My Arms” sits firmly within the constraints of the disco genre—diva vocals, string stabs, funky guitar—but manages to sound fresh thanks to some French touch-inspired filter work and a bassline that won’t quit. 

But what exactly is going on in the arrangement? Let’s take a look at the single edit and see what makes it work so well. And if you have a suggestion for a future Deconsturcuted, leave a comment below and we'll see what we can do.

The Track

The Arrangement

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

1

Things kick off in high gear with an echoed disco string stab sample that sets the mood for the entire track. This is accompanied by a 120 BPM 4/4 beat built around acoustic-sounding drum one shots, with a high-pass filtered kick, a snare that ricochets with a touch of reverb, 8th note closed hihats, a programmed tambourine part, and a lively congo line to keep things moving. Feedback from the string stab fades back in after a few bars, setting the stage for the next section.  

2

Bar 5 sees the kick drum’s bass restored, adding weight to the low end of the song. This is accompanied by a piano loop sampled from Al Stewart’s 1976 pop song, “Year Of The Cat,” pitched to match the song’s key of E minor. This 16-bar chord progression forms the basis for the song’s harmonic content. It slowly opens over the course of the next 16 bars while a simple percussive melodic line keeps time alongside it.

3

“In My Arms” is a peak-time floor filler and it keeps the energy on the up and up with risers and other tried and true production tricks. The riser (used throughout) first makes an appearance at bar 8 (one bar ahead of the typical bar-9 change point) and continues until bar 21. Waves of synthesizer effects waterfall down, adding to the atmosphere. Shimmering chimes waft in around bar 13, fading out amidst heavy delays. Also contributing to the increase in tension is an analogue zap disco tom, a percussive sound with plenty of resonance and an envelope strapped across the oscillator pitch. Zaps are placed on the upbeat doubling the snare, with the envelope opening to elongate the pitch drop at the onset and create an exaggerated disco tom effect.

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4

And there’s the bassline. At bar 21, we’re introduced to the song’s star, a funky, popping bass groove that sits above the rest of the mix, giving the song focus and propelling it forward. It’s a classic octave disco bass, with the second of each 8th note pair hitting the higher note to pull up the energy. It’s simple but infectious.

5

We’re introduced to the vocal line, sampled from Inner Life’s “I Like It Like That,” at bar 29. We’re not given the who loop yet, though, just Jocelyn Brown singing the line, “I can’t wait ’til you’re in my arms again” once at the beginning of the section and again at bar 33. A floaty, one-chord string swell fills in the space between the samples.

6

Bar 37 gives us a mini-breakdown, heralded by the string stab, with a return of the high-pass filtered kick plus hand claps (panned hard left) added on every other upbeat. We also hear a return of the riser from the beginning of the song, although shorter this time, and, most importantly, the full vocal sample, which deftly and satisfyingly lines up with the chord progression in the piano loop.

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7

Here the vocals take a break, with the music sidling into the spotlight for the first time. We hear a Nile Rodgers/Chic-style rhythm guitar enter, playing one chord across the 16 bar progression. The choppiness of the playing gives it a palpably percussive feel and propels the energy forward. We also hear a new top piano line, blended into the Al Stewart sample. A slightly distorted synth line makes an appearance, although it’s fairly buried in the mix at this point. An alternate rhythm synth melody later fades in, completing perhaps the most musically rich part of the track. Note how the various musical elements are mixed slightly back. This helps them gel together, creating a sense of wholeness rather than that of four or five competing sounds.

8

At bar 61 we’re given the breakdown proper, with the bass of the kick dropping out again and the disco toms making a return in the same configuration as before. Creating rhythmic interest is a  percussive line run through a creamy phaser, which adds a plasticky, spacey vibe. The vocal is sparse, as in step 5.

9

At bar 68 of the breakdown, a descending synth line run through a tape echo makes its only appearance. Much of the song is built around loops, and introducing the occasional unique sound like this can keep things fresh and lively.

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10

The breakdown continues to build and at bar 77 we hear the disco string stab again, increasing tension. Next, surprisingly, military-style snare fills begin. The contrast between the disco groove—certainly the antithesis to anything martial—and the rat-a-tat rhythm of the snares doubles down on the tension, which grows as the snares build in frequency. The four-note distorted melody makes a comeback, and tape echo builds in intensity around the vocal sample, now appearing in its full loop form.

11 

At last, the full song drops back in at bar 85, with all musical elements satisfyingly making an appearance. The vocal hook only appears once, letting the music do the heavy lifting for the remainder of the song. This euphoria continues for 32 bars, with all of the major musical elements reappearing for one last go ‘round.

12

The ever-reliable disco toms get an encore at bar 97, building in intensity as before and helping the song rise towards its crescendo.

13

The single edit ends on bar 101, with a crash and echoes fading out for a satisfying if truncated close. 

In this Deconstructed, we take a look at Joey Beltram’s smouldering techno classic, ‘Energy Flash’.

In 1989, a 19-year-old Joey Beltram created a track that would help usher in a new, darker strain of techno and go on to influence a countless number of producers. Released on Belgian imprint R&S Records in 1990, ‘Energy Flash’ was Beltram’s breakthrough production and a pushback against the feel-good melodies that had been creeping into dance music thanks to the then-popular genres of Italo piano house and New York garage. Dark, moody, and heavy, ‘Energy Flash’ was an instant hit, and was even licensed for US distribution by Derrick May’s label, Transmat Records.

Beltram would go on to create a few more hits, including his remix of Human Resource’s ‘Dominator’ and original cut ‘Mentasm’, which he co-produced with fellow New Yorker Mundo Muzique under the name Phase Two. Both of these tracks featured ‘hoover’ sounds, tearing, warbling synth leads that would go on to become sample fodder for years to come. But it is ‘Energy Flash’ that remains Beltram’s definitive moment.

Thirty years on, the track still sounds fresh and modern. The triple punch combination of solid production, simple but devastating programming, and an unusual three-part arrangement make it a timeless classic, one that can still melt faces and destroy dance floors even today.

Let’s break the track down and see what’s happening, tease out why it remains so effective, and see what we can learn from it.

The Track

The Arrangement

What’s Happening?

1

‘Energy Flash’ begins in full flight, with the drums and bass already off the ground. The beat is largely handled by a Roland TR-909, with a steady four-to-the-floor kick drum driving the rhythm. A 16th note pattern of closed hats interplays with the open hats, which have been programmed to accent the offbeat and give a sense of lift to the rhythm. This is in contrast to the bassline, which is heavy and relentless, never stopping throughout the song. The bass is also extremely subby, something of a rarity for the time. It gives the track a tremendous sense of weight and foreboding. The bassline itself sticks close to a low A flat and serves as the root note of the song, which is in A flat major.

2

Five bars in, Beltram adds a rim shot pattern from a Roland TR-707. It’s extremely dry, as are most of the percussion sounds in ‘Energy Flash’. The 707 was a popular drum machine with the early Chicago house producers, of whom Beltram was a professed fan. It’s also brighter than the 909 rim, and stands out against the background of the thunderous bassline, which may be why he went with the 707 version. Surprisingly, the rim shot will stop at bar 18, never to return.

3

‘Energy Flash’ is a fairly simple song, but its power lies in the way it slowly ramps up the tension. Adding percussion sounds one by one is a tried and true way to do this, and Beltram’s track is a masterclass in this. True to form, at bar 9 the next percussive element takes the stage, this time a 909 clap sounding on the 2 and 4 positions, with extra fill claps inserted at the end of each four-bar section. Notice that there’s no snare in this track, only comparatively lighter hand claps.

4

The next percussion sound enters here, and it’s surprisingly another hand clap, this one pitched slightly higher than the first. It’s panned hard to the right and is treated with a bright and long reverb with a delayed onset. This creates a ‘splash’ effect and lets us hear the transient of the clap. The way the mix confuses our sense of space is particularly striking, with the large, reflective reverb coexisting with the other ‘dead’, dry percussion sounds. A moody, wobbly filter riser, heavy with resonance, also makes its entrance here. The riser is drenched in tight, metallic reverb, further contributing to the spatial disorientation.

5

The song continues to build the tension, next by adding a steady, almost martial, TR-909 crash pattern. Accompanied by more filter risers, it efficiently and successfully drives us towards the focus of the track, coming next.

6

At bar 25, we first hear the famous ‘Energy Flash’ bassline. A one-note A flat pulsing sequence, it hovers above the sub-bass like a bouncing ball bearing. The monotony of the sequence is obliterated by the sound design, with the filter resonance increasing and decreasing in an almost robotic way. This is not an acid squelch fest. It’s much too controlled for that. There’s very little here that hints at the human behind the scenes at all. The use of reverb and delay on the bass is masterful. The reverb is tight and metallic, suggesting an enclosed room, while the delay, panned to the right, simultaneously suggests something more expansive. In the right environment, like a cavernous warehouse, the effect is bewildering.

7

Although much of the extraneous percussion dropped out at bar 25 to place focus on the top line bassline, at bar 33 percussion is again introduced to increase tension. This time it’s a 909 tambourine pattern, programmed in insistent 8th notes that add propulsion to the bassline, still pulsing along.

8

At bar 41 the filter risers enter again, followed by 909 crashes at bar 49, heralding the coming change in the structure of the song. Bar 49 also introduces a line of 909 rides, panned left and working in syncopation with the hats and tambourine. It should be noted that the bassline at this point is not increasing in tension, as one might expect, but flicking back and forth through states of varying degrees of intensity.

9

‘Energy Flash’ is unusual in that it has a three-part structure, much like a movie. Here the second part of the track, the middle section, begins. The top line bassline drops out and is replaced by a sample of a string section, reversed and looped into a descending phrase. This was sampled from Orbital’s ‘Chime,’ a big hit for the UK duo the same year ‘Energy Flash’ was recorded. Here it’s run a little slower to match the 123 BPM tempo. After the ‘heat’ of act I of the song, the descending notes give us a chance to cool down, much like a breakdown in a modern track. Lots of delay makes the string sample seem full and expansive.

10

At this point, the strings stop and are replaced by another repeated sample, this one of a man whispering “ecstasy.” The voice is unnaturally slow, likely achieved by triggering the sample below the root key. This is followed by a second trigger of the voice, slightly slower than the first, and this two-note phrase is repeated at regular intervals throughout the rest of the song. The sample likely came from ‘Rock To The Beat’ by 101, a Belgian cover of Reese & Santonio’s track of the same name.

11

‘Energy Flash’ is remarkably steady, with few fills to announce changes in theme or mood. There are two small breakdowns in the middle section though, the first at bar 71 and the second at 77, with the kick drum dropping out to relieve the pressure. Some of the other percussion sounds get a breather as well, although not for long.

12

At bar 81 the steady kick drum resumes its duties, along with most of the other percussion minus the rim shot. The voice continues to intone “ecstasy” while a new melody enters, a two-note synth string line, playing F and G sharp, only a semitone apart. Much like the piano line in the ‘Halloween Theme’, the proximity of the notes and the dissonance in their overlap, creates a feeling of dread.

13

Next, a second instrument, a choral sample, appears, directly mirroring the string line and playing on top of it. This doubles down on the dissonance and unease of the string line. The gothic feel of the choral line contributes to the horror soundtrack atmosphere.

14

If ‘Energy Flash’ can be said to have a breakdown, this is it. Only eight bars long, all the drums drop out except for the rides, which also drop out by bar 102. The moody riser returns, and as the choral sample ends, the ecstasy sample returns. Finally, the riser begins again, leading us to the next and final part of the song.

15

At bar 109 part three of the song starts. It mirrors part one for the most part, although there are some significant changes. Before things start to ramp up again, though, we’re given a four-bar drum beat and repeat of the two-note ecstasy line. It’s fairly unusual to have four bars of anything in a dance song, with most songs relying on eight- or 16-bar measures. It’s another example of how ‘Energy Flash’ confounds expectations and creates a unique, often confusing mood.

16

Here we start to build back up properly, with the steady 909 crashes playing the same steady pattern as in 5. Tension is palpable as the listener by now knows what’s coming, the regularity of the crashes by now familiar to the listener through repetition.

17

And the payoff. The top line bassline, still pounding out that single A flat note, returns. While the timbre of the pulses are the same, the pattern of how the filter changes is less methodical and more erratic, jumping between settings seemingly randomly.

18

Again, as in part one, percussive elements are reintroduced one by one, with tambourines starting at bar 125, the rides at bar 129, and crashes again at 137. Where most songs would be winding down at this point, removing percussion to give the DJ a chance to mix into the next record, ‘Energy Flash’ still has business to take care of.

19

At bar 145, the 909 clap pattern abandons its post on the 2 and 4 and becomes disjointed and more varied, reflecting the breakdown in regularity begun by the bassline pulse.

20

We’re nearing the end of the song, and to announce this the string motif is brought back at bar 153 at the same time as the bass pulse ends. The claps become steady again, which, along with the strings, prepares us for the song to end and/or for the next song to be mixed in. The 909 rides reappear at bar 155, stopping again after an unusual six bars and then starting again at bar 163.

21

Just before the end, there’s something of a mini breakdown of four bars, with first the kick and then the hats dropping out, and lastly the rides giving up for good at bar 168. The strings continue until the end of the breakdown at bar 169.

22

And so we come to the outro of the song. Most of the percussion elements—kick, claps, hats, and tambourine—are present, with even the 909 rides making one last appearance at bar 173. The woozy riser returns two more times, and the song ends with echoes of the final riser repeating until fade out. It should be noted that the outro to ‘Energy Flash’ is only eight bars long, which is not very much for a DJ to work with. It’s clear that—despite his love for tracky Chicago house—Beltram was going for something a little unorthodox here, and many of his programming choices, including the length of the outro, support this.

This time in Deconstructed, we’re putting ROBPM’s remix of Linus Quick’s techno stormer ‘Room 2 Move’ under the microscope.

ROBPM is one to watch. The Italian DJ and producer has been killing it lately with a string of top techno cuts on label Autektone. His sound combines huge, distorted kicks with ‘90s rave anthem sensibilities, with diva vocals, tearing hoovers, and snatches of melody all present and accounted for.

On label mate Linus Quick’s ‘Room 2 Move’, ROBPM reigns in the rave and keeps the hard, distorted acid line of the original in his crosshairs. This is supported by intense drums and percussion, plenty of eerie sound design, and—as this is, after all, a ROBPM remix—a hint of a melody to let a little sunshine in. Deconstructed is all about the arrangement though, so let’s adjust our lens and focus in on the techniques ROBPM uses to keep the energy levels high throughout.

The Track

The Arrangement

What’s Happening

1

ROBPM starts off ‘Room 2 Move’ with a hard kick drum and bass combo running at 133bpm. The distorted top kick sits on a wide, subby bass kick, with the two together providing both propulsion and weight for the track. The lack of other percussion lets us know right away that this track has been arranged with a DJ in mind, and will likely build in intensity until reaching a crescendo (which it certainly does). Take note of the sound design in the subtle downer at the beginning as well. He’s just started and ROBPM is already working on the tension. His 24 years of DJing are immediately apparent.

2

Sure enough, after eight bars ROBPM introduces the next percussive element: high hats programmed in sixteenths with an open hat on the offbeat. It’s tried and true and there’s nothing wrong with that if it keeps the juggernaut moving forward, which this most definitely does. At the end of eight bars, all of the percussion drops out for a quick snare fill, accented with reverb.

3

The fill brings us to bar 17, where ROBPM hits us with some unusual sound design in the form of a disembodied choral voice with a long reverb tail. It creates a sense of mood as well as space. Check your watch—is it 4 am already? The snare introduced in the fill in section two now joins the song full-on, but instead of sitting on the second and fourth beats as in house and other genres, ROBPM uses it as a second open hat. A traditional downbeat snare would only add gravity and a heaviness to the beat. Instead, the tight, high snare hits on the offbeat, pulling the groove up and creating a sense of lift. The energy is really moving now.

4

The sound design continues at bar 20, with a doppler-style riser that recalls a plane taking off. There’s a snippet of what might be an alarm before bar 25, and then the disembodied choral voice again. The dark and foreboding sound design continues throughout the next eight bars, building to the first breakdown.

5

At bar 33, ROBPM filters away the majority of the bass in the kick, heralding the breakdown. It’s a short one—only eight bars—and he packs in a lot. Almost immediately he hits us with a quick barrage of clap-like percussion, after which he fades in the hook of the track, a distorted Roland TB-303-style acid line. It’s more resonant than in the original mix, with a nasally, almost phaser-like peak to it. As the acid line builds, he rolls off more bass from the kick as a riser appears, carrying us along to the inevitable breakdown. A flurry of Roland TR-909 snares and a synth sweep barge in and strong arm us into the drop.

6

Tension from the breakdown is released. The bass returns to the kick, filling out the soundstage, and the acid line is allowed to really rip. There are actually two parts to the acid line now, an eighth-note pulse running on the bottom and two higher notes hitting at the end of each phrase. These higher notes have been treated with a ping-pong delay and reverb, adding stereo interest to the track.

7

The acid line continues to build as the off-note snares return, hoisting the groove up away from the subterranean depths of the sub-bass. Minimalism is a balancing act—too many elements will clutter the mix, but too few will leave it empty and stale. A quick fill section at bar 56 drops the bass and leaves space for ROBPM to quickly filter up the acid line.

8

Oh yeah, here we go. Now we’re in the meat of the mix. The hats return and are joined by fast running TR-909 rides, a staple in techno and for good reason. They really up the energy, adding a level of almost chaotic power. The acid line has gotten a boost as well, with the sixteenth notes boosted with a second acid line and the higher notes doubled by choral voices, similarly treated with effects. There’s a definite industrial vibe happening now, bolstered by the inclusion of off-beat struck percussion. This builds in intensity to bar 73, with a riser and synth sweep forcefully leading us there. The percussion momentarily drops away, two quick acid notes acting as a transition to the next section.

9

The acid line and top-line percussion drop out, giving us a brief cool down. This being ROBPM and hard techno, however, it’s less euphoria than bad trip. The eerie sound design returns, with a roiling background sound-bed to keep you from getting too comfortable. Jarring industrial percussion treated with delay hits occasionally as well. At bar 81 ROBPM introduce’s the track’s main melodic motif, a three-note synth line. The filter opens on the synth line as a riser and 909 snares take us into the breakdown.

10

ROBPM takes inspiration from classic rave tracks, and this remix is no exception. It doesn’t have his usual diva vocal samples but it does make use of synth melodies to clear the air and let the mood lighten a little. He uses the breakdown to accomplish this. Composed in the key of G, there are three main components to the breakdown melody: the three-note synth line, which continues from the previous section (now treated with delay), a galloping one-note percussive synth line that sounds like he’s rhythmically gating the choral voice, and a background synth drone that rises and falls. This builds for eight bars, helped along by a riser.

11

You weren’t getting comfortable, were you? I hope you didn’t think there was time to sit down and have a sip of Red Bull. Nope, ROBPM is here to yank that rug out from under you real quick. Right before bar 105, he teases us with two quick 909 snares and then it’s acid time again. As he re-introduces the acid line layers, an eighth-note snare begins to sound. At bar 113, it doubles to sixteenth notes and our kick (sans sub-bass) drops back in. As he brings the bass back in, ROBPM gives us a white noise riser and doubles the snares once more to thirty-second notes, ratcheting up the tension to unbearable levels. As in part eight, ROBPM again lets the percussion drop away and uses acid pulses to transition to the next section.

12

As with the first drop, the second one removes all percussion except for the kick and sub-bass kick. By building up tension in the breakdown and then dropping into a relatively sparse section, the producer is giving us a chance to catch our breath before the tension inevitably starts building again. The acid line returns as well, this time with the eighth-note line truncated into a kind of animalistic chitter. This variation keeps things from becoming too repetitive while maintaining the overall vibe of the track and making sure that it stays a remix and not an entirely new production.

13

Mirroring the buildup at the beginning of the song, ROBPM brings back the hats after eight bars of the drop, except this time the open hat is layered with the snare from the get-go. The riser appears, building tension, while the higher two-note acid line is accentuated with an increase in delay feedback. The producer uses the last two bars of this eight-bar section as a transition, dropping out the sub-bass, bringing back the 909 snare fills, and lastly blasting us with the alarm.

14

Now we’re back in the heat. Most of the main elements of the song are again unleashed, including the multiple acid lines and two-note choral voice. On the percussion side, ROBPM fires up the 909 rides to really get us moving, with the industrial off-beat percussion making a reappearance. He employs sound design as well, with the riser taking us to the end of this eight-bar section, two lone, unaccompanied squealing acid notes transitioning us to bar 153.

15

We can see how ROBPM continuously works the tension, ramping it up, backing it off, and ramping it up again. It’s like a well-designed roller-coaster with plenty of ups and downs and twists and turns to keep things interesting. Here he lets the energy drop again, with no percussion save the massive kicks. The synth melody is reprised, signalling that it’s OK to take a breather. However, he’s not done with us yet. A quick flurry of industrial percussion is followed by the same snare roll as in the main breakdown, increasing from eighth to thirty-second notes, with a riser and other, familiar sound design elements carrying us long.

16

At bar 169, we can feel that we’re coming to the end of the track. There’s no return of the acid hook, just rolling techno percussion in the form of the hats, off-beat snare and rides. The low choral voice from the beginning sighs on the first bar of every grouping of four, and the doppler riser and alarm make their final appearances. This is clearly a chance for the DJ to mix in the next song. The claps get in one last burst, and a 909 snare roll takes us to the end of the track.

Deconstructed is an ongoing series where we take apart the arrangement of a song to see what makes it work. This time, we’re looking at Kevin Saunderson’s Detroit techno classic, ‘Just Want Another Chance’.

For readers of Attack, Kevin Saunderson likely needs no introduction. Along with school mates Juan Atkins and Derrick May, and collectively known as the Belleville Three, Saunderson helped establish the sound of Detroit techno.

Although perhaps most widely known for his bright, vocal-driven work with Inner City, Saunderson is just as comfortable working with darker colours. Originally released in 1988 under the Reese moniker, ‘Just Want Another Chance’ is a sparse and heavy track. Originally a native of New York, Saunderson often returned there as a teenager, where he would attend the Paradise Garage and hear Larry Levan in action. It was these visits to the Garage that inspired him to make the moody ‘Just Want Another Chance’.

While there’s no denying its classic status, what is it that makes this song so iconic? Of course, there’s the well-known bass, which we’ll cover in detail shortly. But the arrangement is also pretty special. Let’s break it down and see exactly what’s happening.

The Track

The Arrangement

What’s Happening

1

The 121bpm song starts with eight bars of kick and clap. Saunderson is using a Roland TR-909 for the rhythm track, and pretty much every sound used has been treated in some way. The 909 had separate outs for each channel, making it easy to route them through effects before sending them on to the mixer. The kick has a short, gated reverb on it. It also sounds like it’s overloading, likely by pushing the gain on the mixer. The claps are also treated with gated reverb, these longer and with a light flange on them to create a sense of movement. Although gated reverb was a staple of ‘80s production, it’s most associated with big snares. By instead placing it on the kick and clap, Saunderson has instantly created a dark, oppressive mood.

Saunderson worked on establishing himself as a DJ before turning to production, and that’s evident in this DJ-friendly, percussion-only introduction (short though it is). Note how Saunderson drops out the kick before the turnaround, letting us (and the DJ) know that a change is coming.

2

There’s a lot to unpack in this 16-bar section: drums, vocals, melody, and that bass, so let’s address them one by one.

In an abrupt shift, the gated percussion of part one has changed to closed and open hi hats, playing a lightly swung pattern, with the open hats playing irregularly on the offbeat. The closed hats are centred in the mix, while the open hats are panned slightly to the right. Delayed open hats fill out the soundstage by appearing on the left.

Next, the vocals. Saunderson himself supplies the whispered vocal track, imploring an unnamed lover to come back to him. The vocals are peppered sparsely throughout the section and add to the 4 am, late-night vibe.

There are two synthesizer melodic phrases in this section that trade-off in a kind of call and response. The first is a whistle-like sound with filter modulation that speeds up or slows down according to the note played. The second is a hard, slightly inharmonic FM percussion sound doing a climbing, three-note pattern. Both melodic lines sound relatively unquantised, giving the song a loose, human feel.

Lastly, there’s the bass. Or actually, firstly, there was the bass. In a 2018 interview with the Red Bull Music Academy, Saunderson explained that he made the sound with a Casio CZ-1000, and that the patch itself inspired the direction the song took. “You know when I was creating that bass, I was thinking dark, deep, I was thinking Paradise Garage”, he said. “So I just got into the parameters which I always enjoyed doing because sometimes when you’re creating sounds, it can inspire you to play a certain way or you hear something that inspires you to play something on top of that”.

3

In this four-bar section, the melody cuts out, leaving the whispered, intimate vocals alone with the deep, rumbling bass.

The kick has returned as well, joining the hats and giving the song momentum. Finally, a snare from Saunderson’s TR-909 hits, indicating that the next section is starting.

4

As Saunderson continues to plead, “Don’t give up”, the snare strikes on every backbeat, with an additional hit at the end of every four-bar section. The snare is treated with a bright reverb, giving it some space in the mix and setting it apart from the bass and remainder of the percussion.

‘Just Want Another Chance’ is a very sparse track, often little more than vocals, bass, and percussion. By mixing the percussion with three different effects—gated reverb on the kick and clap, delay on the hats, and reverb on the snare—Saunderson creates a unique vibe. Normally, we think of a drum kit as existing in a single space, with every piece of percussion sitting in the mix in the same way. By varying these spacial relationships, Saunderson has created a confused, unreal space, perfect for the woozy, late-night vibe of the song.

5

‘Just Want Another Chance’ was written in the key of Bb minor. With its five flat notes, this key is usually associated with gloom and darkness. Fittingly, much of the song is rather dark. However, it’s not all cobwebs and shadowy corners, as the melody that starts on bar 41 shows. A simple motif, it’s built around a repeating four-note line. The sound, like a truncated horn, is dry, aside from some slight modulation, and pushed low in the mix.

6

Here the kicks drop out, giving the melody a chance to take centre stage, if just for eight bars. Although he’s best known for helping birth Detroit techno, Saunderson is very much a fan of disco and melody. He has attributed this to his New York upbringing. You can hear it in his Inner City project and to a lesser extent, here. Even though this is a very dark song, with long passages with little to no melody, it still has a distinct, melodic flavour.

7

At bar 49, the snare disappears and is replaced by the gated claps that we first heard in the intro section. Saunderson’s plaintive vocals also return here, intoning, “I want you, I love you”.

8

As the vocals continue, the synth melody is joined by a higher counterpoint melody. This sounds like it could even be the same synth, playing one octave higher. The bright, high notes provide a contrast to the unrelenting (and unrelentingly dark) bassline.

9

At bar 65, the counterpoint drops out, replaced by the 909 snare. The vocals take a breather as well. There’s an almost dub reggae-like use of space in this song, albeit without the usual dub-style effects. It’s no wonder early ‘90s jungle producers were attracted to this song.

10

Here the counterpoint returns for another sixteen bars. Notice that the kicks have dropped out. This steers our focus to the melody.

11

At bar 81, both the snare and counterpoint are silenced, giving the infamous bass a chance to do its thing. The Reese bass, as it’s come to be known, has taken on a life of its own. Originally sampled by drum and bass producers in the early ‘90s, it’s now mutated and evolved into a massive monster. The irony is the bass sound is likely much better known than the actual song. Saunderson is very much aware of the sound as well, having been in London when the sound was first gaining popularity in drum and bass circles. “Hey, they didn’t create it”, he said of the Reese bass in the same Red Bull Music Academy interview, “but they was able to grab it and use it creatively”.

12

At bar 87, the kicks drop out, leaving just the hats, gated claps, and deep bass to roll along for 12 bars. While we mentioned earlier that the bass was made with the CZ-1000, we should point out that Saunderson has stated in other interviews that it was the CZ-5000, and not the 1000, that provided the original tone. Further clouding the issue, he’s on record saying that he owned both (or possibly even a CZ-2000, although none has ever existed). However, both the 1000 and 5000 have the same synthesis engine so it really could have been either one.

13

After those 12 bars, the kick comes back in. The bass continues, playing that same, insistent pattern. This song is indeed very deep, and very dark.

14

At bar 97, we lose the gated claps, leaving just the kick, hats, and bass to chug along for two bars. Imagine being a punter on the dancefloor in 1988, listening to this in a hot, sweaty basement club. By this time there were a lot of revolutionary things happening in the dance music world, but was there anything as heavy and moody as ‘Just Want Another Chance’? Minds, as they say, were almost certainly blown.

15

At bar 99, the whistling synth and FM line make their return. They play the same melodies as at the beginning of the song, this time only for eight bars. The whistling synth then continues for another eight bars, this time without its FM counterpart present. Although it avoids the signposts of the genre, again, Saunderson again employs that dub-like use of space, particularly in the restrained use of melody.

16

At bar 111, we’re back to eight bars of just the kick, hats and bass. But with a bass this massive, though it may be minimal, it’s never lacking.

17

We’re deep into the song now. The snare makes a return, and continues with the same pattern as before, this time for 16 bars. Notice how there are no fills in this track. Saunderson is not interested in building up energy. It’s too late at night for that kind of peak energy. This is for the all-nighters, sliding through the dark recesses of a sweaty basement club.

18

At bar 123, the horn melody returns, rather abruptly. It almost sounds as if Saunderson is punching it in manually. It could be that all of the various elements of the track are looping endlessly, with him muting and unmuting parts on the mixer as he goes.

19

As before, the horn synth is next joined by the same counterpoint melody. The claps, playing the same pattern, begin at the same time.

20

After 16 bars, the counterpoint retreats, leaving the main melody to continue. The snare falls away as well. We’re clearly heading towards the end of the song.

21

At bar 145, the kick is silenced. In modern dance tracks, turnarounds generally happen at the end of patterns divisible by four (four, eight, sixteen, etc.). Here though, Saunderson has stopped the kick after 14 bars from the start of this section. An unusual choice, especially for a record made to be played in clubs.

22

Two bars later, at position 147, the counterpoint melody returns. This section continues for sixteen bars, while the song fades out. Yes, fades out. Although fade-outs are extremely rare in modern dance songs, producers did sometimes still use them during this era.

23

At bar 155, the counterpoint again disappears, leaving the horn melody, bass, claps, and hats to continue until complete fade out.

Deconstructed is an ongoing series where we take apart the arrangement of a song to see what makes it work. This time, we’re going deep with ‘Lara’, an album cut from Montreal producer Marie Davidson.

After delivering a number of French-language releases both solo and in her cold wave duo Essaie Pas, Canadian Marie Davidson broke through to a wider audience in 2018 with her English-language Ninja Tune debut, Working Class Woman. Musically a mix of Chicago house, minimal wave, and EBM, the album was noteworthy for its sarcastic and scathing spoken-word vocals.

On the eve of a new, song-based album (to be released under the name Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu), we take a look at ‘Lara’, a fast-paced and blistering dancefloor instrumental from Working Class Woman.

The Track

The Arrangement

What’s Happening

1

‘Lara’ is an instrumental in the middle of a vocal-lead album. Because of this, the musical arrangement is different than if it were a typical Marie Davidson vocal track, or even a 12” single. Sandwiched between two other vocal tracks, it functions more as an interlude within the long album structure. To make this work, Davidson keeps things changing at a fairly brisk pace.

We start with four bars of eighth-note kicks pushed back in the mix. This is paired with an industrial-style burst of noise run through a tight room reverb, followed by feedback and the sound of Davidson’s voice (the only time we hear it on the track). Given this opening, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was going to be in the vein of Throbbing Gristle or even early Chris and Cosey. But a short, reversed kick placed right at the end of the four-bar sequence snaps us into the main drive of the dancefloor-focused song.

2

The next section begins with the main kick, a heavy, meaty Roland TR-909-style bass drum. It’s not hitting 4/4 yet though. Davidson is going to tease us with whole notes first. The kick is doubled up with an acoustic closed hat sample, panned to the left. After five bars, it increases in time to half notes, doubling again to quarter notes for the final bar of the eight-bar section.

Pushed to the right of the stereo field is a ticking watch, programmed so it runs in eighth notes. This sets the 138bpm tempo for the song nicely and offsets the plodding, tentative kick.

Continuing the industrial feel of the opening four bars, we’re hit with a found sound crash on top of the second kick. It’s mimicking a snare but it doesn’t continue as such. We won’t hear it again for some time. Lastly, an arrhythmic ticking fades in after two bars, adding a counter to the watch.

3

The elements from the previous section—kick, hat, watch, and arrhythmic ticking—continue, and are joined by a dry snare from a Roland TR-707. The snare avoids resting on the backbeats, instead pounding out a military-style fill. It’s a very 1980s Chicago-house drum pattern, one that wouldn’t be out of place on a Trax classic. Additionally, the snares sit just off the grid, giving it a loose feel despite the dry, straight-from-the-box production.

4

The same backwards kick pulls us into the next section, which moves along after a speedy four bars. The kick continues hitting on whole notes, but now the first and third kicks are layered with a sound treated with gated reverb. The first kick is also accompanied by a dry, repeating mechanical bell, much like on an old alarm clock. In keeping with the theme, our watch has now doubled in speed to 16th notes, adding a sense of urgency.

A rim shot pattern sourced from a TR-707 joins the percussion, sounding on bar steps eight and 11. The rim shots surprisingly do not appear in the final bar of the section, upending our expectations. The use of 707 percussion adds a real ‘80s house vibe although the manic, almost performative style of drum programming is much more punk than dance.

The industrial found sounds continue from before but now the ticking has been replaced by a distorted, Jacob’s Ladder-type sound. It reaches a quick crescendo at the end of the four-bar pattern.

5

The restlessness continues with another four-bar section of percussion. Our kick (sans gated reverb layer) is still landing on only the first beat of each bar. By holding back the 4/4 kick, Davidson is effectively teasing us. We know it’s coming, but when? We’re already a full minute into the track. When will it hit?

Our snare fills return, accompanied by rim shots playing the same pattern as in the previous section. A tambourine, set far right in the stereo field and sounding in short bursts of three, enters the track on the second bar of this four-bar section. An insistent beeping, likely another found sound, intrudes in the middle of the second bar, adding a feeling of urgency. Lastly, we’re hit with the crash from section two, again on the second kick.

The acoustic hat one shot from earlier returns, this time playing a traditional off-beat pattern. With so much stop-start rhythm programming and disorienting found sounds happening, the regularity of this gives us a groove to hold onto, and signals that the main section of the song is finally coming.

6

Acieeed! At bar 29, Davidson brings ‘Lara’ into focus with an acid line. With its flowing, 16th-note programming and smooth delay, it’s more second wave acid than Chicago acid house (think Josh Wink or Richie Hawtin). But Davidson has never been interested in slavish, period-perfect reproductions. She’s happy to borrow what she likes from different eras. (See the trance-pilfering Earth EP from her duo, Essaie Pas, for more genre-hopping.)

As the filter opens over the course of four bars, the kick—now playing the expected 4/4 pattern—fades in around bar 34. The offbeat hat provides rhythmic drive.

7

Here the tambourine returns, lashing out the same three-note pattern. Davidson is a very drum machine-focused producer, and that really comes across on ‘Lara’. It has the immediacy of someone performing with a drum machine rather than playing back notes drawn into a timeline on a DAW.

8

At bar 41, we’re introduced to a heavy, industrial clap, upfront in the mix. It’s more cold wave than house, betraying Davidson’s minimal synth roots in both her duo Essaie Pas with her husband, Pierre Guerineau, and pre-Ninja Tune solo work. The heavy clap is panned slightly to the left and treated with gated reverb. Notice how the gated reverb on the clap is panned to the right, giving the song some extra stereo width. Although there’s an acid house vibe happening, the general drum programming is in keeping with modern techno, in that there’s no emphasis on the backbeat. This clap is no exception, hitting on step six in the bar.

9

As the acid line continues to squirm and wriggle, Davidson adds percussion to increase tension. The three-note tambourine line gains a fourth note, while the heavy clap is joined by a dry TR-707 clap, pushed to the right and slightly lower in the mix. It’s programmed on step 11. The rim shots return as well.

10

After four bars, the heavy, industrial clap gains a new position, now appearing on steps six and 12. Working Class Woman is full of sounds that reference classic ‘80s EBM and ‘Lara’ is no exception.

11

You may have noticed that many of the turnarounds in ‘Lara’ happen every four bars, rather than the usual eight or 16. ‘Lara’ is a restless, energetic song, almost punk in its energy. It’s less interested in taking you on a journey than amping you up, like the Ramones doing acid house.

If ‘Lara’ were a traditional pop song (which it decidedly is not), the next section of the song would be the bridge, a connector between two sections.

This begins with a change to the acid line, from the flowing pattern of before to a more clipped line with staccato notes and a few rests to break things up.

The percussion has changed as well, with the hats hitting in 16th notes on top of the acid line. There is a resonant, conga-like percussive sound underpinning the hats as well.

12

Another four-bar turnaround. In a reprise of the introduction sections, the kick is back to playing whole notes. This is joined by the snare rolling in 16th notes, with a rest at the end of each bar that recalls the hat and conga sound of the previous section, which have now disappeared. The hats go back to the offbeat while the rim shots sound in twos, as in section 4. There's also a second rim-shot-like sound pounding away underneath the snares.

Lastly, there's a white noise riser, mixed low, that resets with each bar turnaround. This keeps the energy high; all tension, no release.

13

The bridge continues, with the snares now pounding out the fill from the beginning of the track. They’re joined by the tambourines playing their four notes, the rim shots, and the 707 clap. The industrial clap returns, which plays once a bar for four bars, and then twice in the remaining four bars. rim shot-like percussion sound that was introduced in section 12 is now playing on all sixteen notes and is really driving forward.

14

At bar 69, the tambourines, rim shots, and 707 clap drop out and are replaced by a pitched-down version of the industrial clap, now striking on step four. As the staccato acid line continues to fluctuate, a synth bass sound fades in, repeating monotonously in 16ths, all while the new 16th note percussion sound continues.

15

The synth bass that arrived in section 13 becomes a full-on bassline and the song is underway in earnest. The EBM-inspired line underpins the acid—now returned to the main pattern—with low notes, playing first an Ab for four bars and then another Ab one octave lower for an additional four bars, pinning everything to the key of Ab minor. The bassline will continue in this way almost until the end of the song.

The percussion changes here to rhythmically fall in line with the bass, with both the rim shot and hats becoming more complex. The closed hat is also joined by an open hat, alternating in a funky, disco-inspired pattern. At bar 81, the tambourine joins in, playing straight 16th notes.

Instead of introducing new sounds for each change in pattern, Davidson recycles the same sounds. This is in keeping with her minimal aesthetic and comes from both Chicago house and ‘80s EBM. When your setup is hardware-based you make the most with what you have.

16

Never willing to sit still and let the groove ride, Davidson changes things again at bar 85. The snares return to the fill pattern, with the industrial clap now on step six of each bar. The rimshots continue as they were but the open hat disappears, with the closed hat returning to the house-style offbeat pattern. The tambourines are nowhere to be found.

17

Bar 89 sees the industrial clap now repeating as in part 10. The tambourine is back for more, playing its four-note pattern. The rim shots return to their less complex pattern. The hats carry on in a disco style.

18

The percussion continues as before, joined now by the low-pitched industrial clap, programmed on step four. There’s a real feeling of chaos now, as all of the percussive elements are jockeying for attention.

19

At bar 97—the final stretch—the bassline begins to break up, playing only the first few or last notes in each bar. The rim shots mirror the bass, hitting at the same time. The two industrial claps are now both playing, sounding out a kind of call and response. There’s a fever pitch and the momentum can’t be sustained much longer.

20

At bar 101, all of the percussive elements and the synth bass fall away, leaving just the acid line to continue, unmolested, for the final six bars.