This review covers the EBM track Psy’Aviah – Our Common End.
This track was released in 2014 on the album The Xenogamous Endeavour.
One thing of definite note is that this is much more slower paced track in terms of BPM (Beats Per Minute). Not sure what it clocks at, but it’s definitely slower paced track. In the process, it almost has a downtempo quality to it, though it definitely isn’t ambient. It has too many elements with a larger presence to be considered ambient in my books.
The overall mood this track projects is definitely depressing. This is projected through the lyrics which covers the themes of mortality. As you can imagine, vocals play a major role in this track. The vocals, I thought, were very well done. There was even what sounds like some kind of ethnic vocal sample in the background. Even though this was shuffled off into the background and plays a small part in this track, I thought it was a brilliant idea to add this in this track as it really boosts the emotion.
Another great aspect of this track was the overall flow. I thought every element flowed in and out fantastically. Every element just seemed to have its place in this track and just belonged there.
The small melodies that were added a nice dimension to this track. It worked well with the overall emotion carried throughout the track.
Overall, I thought this track was great. If you want to play something that is depressing, this is definitely a recommended track as far as I’m concerned. A nicely produced track.
Score
8/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
The tempo is 125bpm, but actually tracked at 250bpm and the beats are also half speed played, so it’s really slow indeed. Why tracked at 250bpm in the DAW then, well to make sure some of the synth effects have a “more rapid feel”, while the drums are very slow.. To generate that kind of tension. Nice that you noticed it. And it isn’t ambient indeed, I just wanted to experiment with ambient sounds, but create a kind of very slowly paced dragging synthpop song..
Thanks for the cool review! Again, as I mentioned before, if you want a taste from the new album “Lightflare”, or the previous one “Seven Sorrows, Seven Stars” – let me know!
You’re welcome for the review. I remember when I was first producing music myself I would employ the technique of doubling the tempo. For me, it made it easier to see the patterns line up on the piano roll without having to use the zoom feature in FL Studio. For a 150BPM track, the software is sitting there flying at 300BPM. At the time, I thought of it as more of a learning tool. I actually didn’t know it had other uses like that, but it totally makes sense.
oh; ps, thanks for noticing the ethnic element. I thought no one was going to notice or appreciate it. Glad someone did :D!
It can definitely be the small things that make a good track great for sure. I think that some people may not consciously notice some of the finer details, but somehow, they subconsciously make the connections anyway and just think it’s a really good song.