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Roy Gates
» NRG 2007 / On My Way 2007
Reviewed by Dean Zone
/ Submitted 19-08-07 18:38
Label: Dance Villa
Format: CD-R
Genre: Trance / Tech Trance
Remixes are a funny old thing. Get them right and you’re on your way to a decent career as a producer. Get them wrong and you are reviled throughout the industry as a tune murderer trying to get rich off of another producers back. It’s a knife edge out there. Bold is it then that Roy Gates has not done one, but two, both out on Dutch label Dance Villa.
NRG 2007
I always thought NRG was a funny name for this track, namely because it couldn’t have been further from NRG at the time it was released. And whilst some things do change, this tune hasn’t.
The production is good enough, starting with a very funky groove that’s not to techy nor light. The constant wailings of “music” are rather annoying, although thankfully they never really effected my enjoyment of the tune except at the breakdown. Although as this is a remix I understand he could hardly not put the vocal in.
The breakdown is just as cheesy as it always has been. It’s a shame really because Roy’s excellent use of snares and effects work well with the vocal (shock!) in the breakdown, but then the riff comes in and completely changes the context of the tune.
What was a decent tech trancer has now become a cheesy tech trancer. Thankfully I think this was realised, which is why the main riff doesn’t last as long as it would had it not been such cheddar.
A well worked mini breakdown then gives Roy a chance to chop the riff, making it much more appropriate for Tech Trance, leaving the tune to finish strongly.
The production here is good; I just can’t help but think that Roy’s time in the studio could have been spent more constructively.
6/10
On My Way 2007
On My Way starts off with much more purpose. Much more driving from the off, this is definitely the A side as far as I am concerned. A longer than usual intro sequence is the only issue I picked out, with a nice use of bass filter that had me thinking the bass was about to drop, before disappearing again, cheeky git!
Then before any sight of a real bass line everything cuts out to reveal a wickedly gated trance synth. This increases in intensity, building up energy with decent use of snares and effects, before fitting perfectly into the chunky groove already layered down in the intro.
Roy plays around well with the riff, keeping it subtle enough for many people not to notice. The main break beckons in lush pads giving this tech trancer a more uplifting feel than most.
When it drops though it is a slight disappointment as all the energy seems to just vanish, which is a shame because it was a well worked break down. One last mini break allows a chance to for the gated synth to shine again, making the best possible use of delay and echo before starting off on what is the outro.
I certainly had more fun listening to this than I did NRG.
8/10
Rating: 
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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