====================================
Stream here
====================================
====================================
Kontor Records | Cat# K586 / Maelstrom Records | Cat# MAELBD062
Released: January / March 1st (Digital) 2007
Buy here: https://www.beatport.com/track/analog-feel-rank-1s-digital-rehash/264076
Buy here: https://www.beatport.com/track/analog-feel-rank-1s-digital-rehash/264076
01. | 133 BPM | G#Min | 06:44 | Rank 1's Digital Rehash
====================================
Discogs & additional info
====================================
Prior to my hospitalization I had seen on their website that they had two upcoming remixes for two of my favorite late-2006 tracks no less! And I got to hear their remix for the amazing Analog Feel by Cosmic Gate on ASOT episode #284. Considering how I held the original in high regard, I was curious whether they could get near or equal the original... After all, why try to fix something that isn't broken, right? In the end though, I am happy to spoil that the guys did just fine!
Rank 1's Digital Re-hash
This rehash starts off with an intro that instantly grabs your attention: these high tingling mystery bells have you wondering what kind of rabbit hole you are about to fall through! At 00:16 you hear some glitchy techy percussion (percussion that is so characteristic of this techy Rank 1 sound) alongside a bouncy kick that all build to a point before the first minute where you hear a tech synth swoop pop up out of nowhere. Just as it fades, the bassline hits with more percussive elements added to the mix. The synth roars softly in the background, as a teaser of what is yet to come... Now listen closely at 01:30! Are those the intro bells in the background?? What a subtle, nay, sneaky thing to do! As if announced by the synth roar, at 01:43 an alternate version to the original's breakdown synths is revealed. At 02:13 the beat grows a bit fainter and a few elements fade. Then, at 02:19 the main riff of the original starts hammering uncontrollably. The beat returns to full force as the this synths keeps hammering and a few subtle background elements give away that we are headed somewhere! 03:24, sudden peace... And then... 03:30, flowing forth from the synth roar, Rank 1 do what they do best: take you to another place with a beautiful strings rendition of the original breakdown. What a contrast with the build-up of the track so far! Short as they last, the strings are truly one of the characteristics that make this remix stand out and stand on its own two feet for me. After this point the hammering tech synth returns and starts spiralling out of control until the beat kicks back in at the climax and it hammers and stutters like a machine gone haywire! Just how do they create that SICK effect between 04:54-04:55 where the synth stutters in two different rhythms?! For the fans of everything Tech / Industrial in Dance Music, this remix is nothing but pure delight with the wicked tech synth play the guys deploy! After 05:45 it stutters between a few intervals before fading away, leaving us with nothing but that bouncy bassline and the glitchy, techy percussion as the track winds down to its end. Of course, this is Rank 1 we're talking about and even at the very end they will give the track a small twist, a shor final tease (as they did with the bassline bending at the end of their This Way Remix): a final synthroar at 06:42 ends the track...
vs. the Original
The original Analog Feel became one of my favorite tracks of 2006 and from what I remember it's the first Cosmic Gate track I ever heard. Sorry Fire Wire / Exploration Of Space enthusiasts! Though I loved the track from the get-go, the very concept of combining a slightly Progressive-based build-up/breakdown with a Techy main part is something I came to appreciate as an afterthought. Obviously, for me the most striking element of Analog Feel was its warm, reverbed, Techno-inspired piano lead. I have always been a sucker for that type of sound and man... The rest of the track... The percussion, FX, and overall infectiousnes (in one of the ASOT episodes that Armin played it, he had his voice-over panned after the main part had passed whilst saying "bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce on your radio!")... What was there not to love?? And the breakdown! This deep, dreamy "Coldharbour Progressive" mood, maybe with a dash of Perry O'Neill if you ignored the techy lead's interuption... Such a cool track! I had heard this original before Rank 1's Rehash and though I really loved both and I had given both lots of replay, back then I slightly prefer CG's original. Juuust slightly, though! A miniscule difference! Over the years however, that preference has faded as this remix proved to stand the Test Of Time (and the Test Of Replays) just as firm as its original counterpart. That's Rank 1 for ya, for the guys to have crafted such a clever interpretation with a slightly different twist of such a strong original speaks volumes of their remixing skills.
Final verdict
I think the title for the remix shows Rank 1's humility and humor: a digital (brilliant xD) re-hash, implying they merely shook the original up a bit rather than fully reinventing it. And it's true they stayed pretty close to it. Yet whereas the Cosmics had infused Tech with Progressive, Rank 1 went for Tech all the way by harnessing that main lead from the get-go. And God... Those strings in Rank 1's breakdown... <3 If only ALL rehashes/edits were this polished! This rehash was just more evidence that it was a brave and intelligent choice for them to leave their euphoric supersaw days for glitchy, stuttering Techy days. A Glorious addition to Tech 1's discography.
NOTE | This review is part of a larger Retrospective feature:
-
Rank 1's Digital Re-hash
This rehash starts off with an intro that instantly grabs your attention: these high tingling mystery bells have you wondering what kind of rabbit hole you are about to fall through! At 00:16 you hear some glitchy techy percussion (percussion that is so characteristic of this techy Rank 1 sound) alongside a bouncy kick that all build to a point before the first minute where you hear a tech synth swoop pop up out of nowhere. Just as it fades, the bassline hits with more percussive elements added to the mix. The synth roars softly in the background, as a teaser of what is yet to come... Now listen closely at 01:30! Are those the intro bells in the background?? What a subtle, nay, sneaky thing to do! As if announced by the synth roar, at 01:43 an alternate version to the original's breakdown synths is revealed. At 02:13 the beat grows a bit fainter and a few elements fade. Then, at 02:19 the main riff of the original starts hammering uncontrollably. The beat returns to full force as the this synths keeps hammering and a few subtle background elements give away that we are headed somewhere! 03:24, sudden peace... And then... 03:30, flowing forth from the synth roar, Rank 1 do what they do best: take you to another place with a beautiful strings rendition of the original breakdown. What a contrast with the build-up of the track so far! Short as they last, the strings are truly one of the characteristics that make this remix stand out and stand on its own two feet for me. After this point the hammering tech synth returns and starts spiralling out of control until the beat kicks back in at the climax and it hammers and stutters like a machine gone haywire! Just how do they create that SICK effect between 04:54-04:55 where the synth stutters in two different rhythms?! For the fans of everything Tech / Industrial in Dance Music, this remix is nothing but pure delight with the wicked tech synth play the guys deploy! After 05:45 it stutters between a few intervals before fading away, leaving us with nothing but that bouncy bassline and the glitchy, techy percussion as the track winds down to its end. Of course, this is Rank 1 we're talking about and even at the very end they will give the track a small twist, a shor final tease (as they did with the bassline bending at the end of their This Way Remix): a final synthroar at 06:42 ends the track...
vs. the Original
The original Analog Feel became one of my favorite tracks of 2006 and from what I remember it's the first Cosmic Gate track I ever heard. Sorry Fire Wire / Exploration Of Space enthusiasts! Though I loved the track from the get-go, the very concept of combining a slightly Progressive-based build-up/breakdown with a Techy main part is something I came to appreciate as an afterthought. Obviously, for me the most striking element of Analog Feel was its warm, reverbed, Techno-inspired piano lead. I have always been a sucker for that type of sound and man... The rest of the track... The percussion, FX, and overall infectiousnes (in one of the ASOT episodes that Armin played it, he had his voice-over panned after the main part had passed whilst saying "bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce on your radio!")... What was there not to love?? And the breakdown! This deep, dreamy "Coldharbour Progressive" mood, maybe with a dash of Perry O'Neill if you ignored the techy lead's interuption... Such a cool track! I had heard this original before Rank 1's Rehash and though I really loved both and I had given both lots of replay, back then I slightly prefer CG's original. Juuust slightly, though! A miniscule difference! Over the years however, that preference has faded as this remix proved to stand the Test Of Time (and the Test Of Replays) just as firm as its original counterpart. That's Rank 1 for ya, for the guys to have crafted such a clever interpretation with a slightly different twist of such a strong original speaks volumes of their remixing skills.
Final verdict
I think the title for the remix shows Rank 1's humility and humor: a digital (brilliant xD) re-hash, implying they merely shook the original up a bit rather than fully reinventing it. And it's true they stayed pretty close to it. Yet whereas the Cosmics had infused Tech with Progressive, Rank 1 went for Tech all the way by harnessing that main lead from the get-go. And God... Those strings in Rank 1's breakdown... <3 If only ALL rehashes/edits were this polished! This rehash was just more evidence that it was a brave and intelligent choice for them to leave their euphoric supersaw days for glitchy, stuttering Techy days. A Glorious addition to Tech 1's discography.
====================================
-
Reacties
Een reactie posten