Divine Inspiration - The Way

[Retro]

This what happens when I watch too much Clubland TV on Sky - I post lots of rave tracks!

This is a trance, euro house classic from 2002 and in this case, she's got a really sweet voice that enhances the song greatly and provides a great focus for the song, so I'm happy with a vocal version. I do remember it from the first time round and liked her voice then, but it didn't hit the spot like it does now. As I get older, my musical taste gets younger!

I like the uplifting message in this song and the video of friends having fun at an amusement park.

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I couldn't find an instrumental version for comparison and the several mixes I came across were frankly, rubbish. Except this one. With this breakbeat mix running at what appears to be warp speed BPM, this extended remix is pretty good, especially if I'm feeling a bit hyper. I probably shouldn't drive the car while listening to it...

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@Hitcore what would you estimate the BPM to be on this? Do you have any software tools to measure it objectively?

 

[Hitcore]

she's got a really sweet voice

She sure does! Very pleasant to listen to!
Even though the track is from 2002, it still very much has an awesome 90s sound to it. Of course styles don't just switch abruptly at the turn of decades, they gradually change. That's why, for example, early 90s stuff can still sound a bit late 80s, and vice versa.

2002 was 23 years ago.... ouch.

running at what appears to be warp speed BPM

Nah, it's not that blazing fast to be honest. In the DJ world BPM is counted by the speed that carries the track. So the constant factor, if I explain this right. Whatever all the other mumbo jumbo breakbeat sounds are thrown into are irrelevant.

The remix carries at 139 BPM. For comparison: the original is at 136 BPM. So the remix is not that much faster really. But I get ya, it does feel a lot faster because of said breakbeats.

I probably shouldn't drive the car while listening to it...

lol

 

[Retro]

She sure does! Very pleasant to listen to!
Even though the track is from 2002, it still very much has an awesome 90s sound to it. Of course styles don't just switch abruptly at the turn of decades, they gradually change. That's why, for example, early 90s stuff can still sound a bit late 80s, and vice versa.

2002 was 23 years ago.... ouch.

Yeah, true dat. Also, sometimes songs are actually created a few years before release, so imagine if this had been around in some form since 1998, then that's what it would likely sound like. It's also true that styles don't abruptly change with the decades. I think the exception to this was the transition from 70s to 80s, as that's really noticeable.

For an example of this, listen to the song below by The Human League. Released in 1981, it sounds nothing like a 1970s track. It's a much harder, more modern track that doesn't really sound dated today, 44 years later and there was nothing like it in the 1970s, even the very back end of it, so that's an abrupt change right there and I don't really know what caused it as the state of technology wasn't much different in those two years. This sound could probably have been created by 1970s synths, but don't quote me.

I'd forgotten how good it is. Listening to it now, the editing between the segments is actually quite abrupt and noticeable, breaking continuity a bit. I wonder if that's because it's a remaster, as I don't remember hearing this before. I'll listen to the original version off my CD rip and compare.

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[Retro]

Yeah, the breakbeat elements effectively double the speed, I see what you mean.

 

[Hitcore]

I think the exception to this was the transition from 70s to 80s, as that's really noticeable.

Definitely! And what a great example you bring up there: while that song is from 1981, only 2 years from 1979, it sounds 80s AF.
And to take this track, for example:

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I absolutely love this song, and Donna Summer in general. She has worked with Peter Slaghuis (Hithouse) btw, I should go deeper into that in my Hithouse thread. Anyway, this track, while produced in 1979, sounds 70s AF, right from the start. I realize that these are merely anecdotal evidences, but still.

So indeed, while music in most turning of decades just kinda gradually change in style, the turning from the 70s to the 80s is as abrupt as it gets.

 

[Retro]

Yeah, that's a great example. This one is my favourite Donna Summer song by far and right up there among my all time favourites because of its foundation for future electronic music. Kraftwerk were earlier at around 1972, but this is what really got it going.

Donna Summer - I Feel Love (super long mixes)

There were electronic tracks before this, most notably from Kraftwerk, but this is the one that properly showed how it's done, kicking off the electronic dance music scene when released in 1977 that persists to this day and has only got better. What's amazing about it, is that it still sounds...

nerdzone.uk

 

[Retro]

@Hitcore, you know what, if I play the breakbeat version all the way through, then play the original immediately after, the first 2-3 seconds sound kinda wrong, like they're hitting the wrong notes at the wrong speed. Quite an odd and interesting auditory illusion.

This song has turned out to be good enough to play on repeat for extended periods. What a gem I'd left on the table for all those years. Those zippy, ravey synths are simply fantastic! Just a shame it's under 3 minutes long, though.

 

[Hitcore]

This one is my favourite Donna Summer song by far

And mine! Having some good memories with that song in fact.

if I play the breakbeat version all the way through, then play the original immediately after, the first 2-3 seconds sound kinda wrong, like they're hitting the wrong notes at the wrong speed. Quite an odd and interesting auditory illusion.

I've tried it and in this case I can't really hear it. But I do know the phenomenon. If I have been listening to hardcore gabber, which goes up to 180 BPM (crazy speeds) and then listen to my own Hitcore music (usually between 120 and 130 BPM), it just sounds all wrong and slow.
I guess that the brain needs a minute to readjust.

What a gem I'd left on the table for all those years.

Thats the coolest part about (re)discovering old tracks, though! If you find that long forgotten song that's worthy of playing on repeat, it can almost feel like what you would have felt discovering the song in the 90s.

Audio (and video) can act like our personal little time machines, sometimes.