In Retrospect: Rank 1 - 7 Instead Of 8 [2012]

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Stream here

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High Contrast Recordings | Cat# HCR198

Released: Monday October 29th 2012
Buy here: https://www.beatport.com/release/7-instead-of-8/983632

01. | 130 BPM | E_Min | 08:01 | Original Mix

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26-10-2022 / 30-10-2022

Past Saturday it marked exactly a decade ago that this masterpiece came out, following a summer spent as a mysterious ID from Piet's Be.At Tv recorded set. Oh, this one had us Rank 1 fans guessing! That sad melody which at the same time harbored a strong sense of hope, that breakdown that made you feel like you were witnessing an underwater miracle of sorts with its filtered, echoing percussion... It ended up creating quite a buzz when the High Contrast Recordings revealed through the epic trailer below that this mysterious ID was by none other than Rank 1 themselves. Rank 1 on their part played a perfect teasing game for weeks, referring to 7s and 8s on their Facebook page over and over. 

7 Instead Of 8 was a special track for various reasons, its time signature being the most obvious of course. Not many Trance tracks shift from the typical 4x4 tempo to 7x8, but Rank 1 thought to themselves, why not? It might not seem obvious in the build-up but once the break hits with those claps it becomes easy to count (14 rather than 16 over the loop). What I loved back then and still do now however is how this "off"-rhythm doesn't sound weird at all. It makes sense rhythmically but it doesn't impede the track's overall haunting beauty and epicness.

Its aural aesthetics were the next reason this track was so special at the time. It felt like a serious throwback to the era of timeless, massive Trance Classic masterpieces like Push - Universal Nation. I recall M.I.K.E. himself (without the Push part at the time) and Leon Bolier pointing this out in their praise for the track. In fact, a fan of both guys by the name of Ramballo saw a M.I.K.E. congratulating Rank 1 on their massive new release and urged them to do a collab together and thanks to him we ended up getting a seismic follow-up called Elements Of Nature (2013) in which M.I.K.E. and Rank 1 really brought back the Millennial Anthem Trance that made both so famous back in the late '90s!

Now for some personal reasons as to why this track is so special to me: it was the first Rank 1 solo production since Symfo (2009). Four collaborations followed after that massive symphonic anthem and though they were enjoyable and fun (and epic, in The Great Escape's (2010) case), I feel Rank 1's best creations have been their solo efforts. No compromises, no overbearing vocals, just pure hunger to try that which hasn't been tried before... A quest to make something that they themselves feel "This is cool, someone else will surely love this too!"... Just pure Rank 1 vision. In that vein, 7 Instead Of 8 can be considered a L.E.D. There Be Light (2008/2009) tier production, given how that one was also the first Rank 1 solo track since Top Gear (2005) before it. Both L.E.D. and 7IO8 have maintained a lasting impact on me and it should come as absolutely no surprise that they were my Tune Of The Years 2009 and 2012 respectively.

Another reason that this track means so for me is that I was desperate for one of my heroes to make something like this at the time. Back in 2012 seemingly everyone was desperate to emulate Swedish House Maffia and as a result so many once creative geniuses with their own unique styles, melodies, templates, fx, etc. became more and more homogenous, as if their tracks were suddenly being mass produced by the same soulless music factory. A slight exaggeration perhaps but there is a degree of truth to that statement and I sure as hell experienced it as such... So many friggin' producers I had spent the previous past decade adoring seemingly lost all that talent overnight... If the pinnacle of the Trance music I grew up with was its hyper-eclectic phase in 2005-2008, then 2011 embodied a sort of musical apocalypse and 2012-2015 were The Dark Ages that followed... Yes, I know, it sounds very hyperbole and over-the-top, but this is how it felt to me!! We came off the back of such exciting, experimental years where so many new heroes rose up next to the pioneers and you could easily name 10-15 producers who were kicking so much ass with their music... And these 15 would just be your Top 30 contenders... The rest was doing solid work too!!

So picture yourself as a completely disillusioned Trance fan, seeking melodic refuge in Progressive House music (or that what would be labeled Melodic House / Techno at Beatport since 2018), in Jody Wisternoff podcasts and sets, at 110-125 BPM ranges because what you grew up with is becoming an endless slew of uninspired, monotone 128 BPM synth-stab riff clones ala "One"... And in this endless darkness of extreme mediocrity and complete lack of creativity and inspiration comes 7 Instead Of 8: A bright, radiant, flash of gold that in its wake leaves ever more color than that stale cold darkness that came before it. It might be a bit unfair towards Orkidea and his amazing Radio Unity show which at the time was one of the main reasons I didn't quit Trance altogether but Rank 1's new sonic panacea was that push back towards the genre. 7 Instead Of 8 restored my faith in our music. And that gratitude I still feel today when I lose my mind to the amazing stuff being put out there by David Broaders, by Stoneface and Terminal, by Highlandr, by Ferry Corsten and yes, by Rank 1 themselves! 

Had that track never happened, this blog might not have reached further than 2013. Instead here we are a decade on, I'm still reviewing music, I'm still compiling Top 30s each year, I still buy new tracks on Beatport monthly (or try to at least)... Heck,  I've actually dedicated my whole Youtube channel to building playlists based on the awesome music I purchase every year and the incredible hits I grew up with. My love for music since 2012, if anything has only intensified. And that track was  one of the crucial pillars in that process. 

Many people credit the modern resurgence of the Retro-styled Trance to Dimension - Origami and Gouryella - Anahera, and honestly, both these tracks deserve nothing but credit for the immense impact they had on our scene, which was desperate for some Retro detoxing after that Trouse-addiction, it nearly OD'd!

But in all of this, people seem to forget that Rank 1 were actually one of the very first of their peers to bring back THAT sound in the modern era. I mean, technically they already did with their Rank 1 Remix for 24 Hours in 2010... But with 7IO8, there was no denying they what they were going for (and they confirmed this in some interviews afterwards). After this beauty, we got Elements Of Nature and 13.11.11 (2013). These three together emphasize and era in the Rank 1 sound, the same way L.E.D. / Symfo / TGE did before them. Prior to those three, it was Beats At Rank-1 Dotcom (2004) / After Me (2004) / Opus 17 (2005) / Top Gear (2005). And they were obviously the rulebook-shredding successors to the Classic Quartet of Airwave (1999) / Superstring Remix (2000) / Such Is Life (2001) / Awakening (2002). These four sets of tracks have each defined an era in the Rank 1 Discography and live on as (Modern) Classics today, to be cherished for even more decades to come... This is what it means to leave a Legacy behind.

Man... It's crazy to think this diamond of a release has been around for 10 years now... And I also realize this track was the first new Rank 1 release I ever reviewed when I started this blog back in May 2012. A track that was once brand new is now so old it deserves a "In Retrospect" feature... Pfffffft, I feel so OLD. :D Yet, it feels like things coming full circle as well. 

So now it's time to pop the champagne and celebrate... I ended my original review by declaring this a Future Classic... And here we are. :) Happy 10th birthday to this Modern Classic, Piet and Benno. And thank you for saving Trance for me 10 years ago. Thank you for being one of the reason to have kept loving this incredible genre for a whole extra decade. <3

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