It’s easy to be suspicious of techno songs that are over 5 minutes or so in length. Is it a masterfully crafted piece of gradually building tension and release, a precision engineered emotional rollercoaster? Is it a song made for DJs to play to crowds of oblivious punters off their nut? Or, a tantalising fusion of the two?
Fatima Yamaha (an alias of a male Dutch producer called Bas Bron) has hit the balance right in my opinion. It’s a song that would certainly keep a night going on packed dancefloor, but it is undeniably something special.
The song is tinged with electro and is very much in tune with the world of pop. The main riffs are stellar, for one thing. The bass gives the rest of the song room to breathe, but acts as a solid bedrock for the rest of the melodies. I feel slightly guilty pigeonholing it as a techno tune but that’s the scene it hails from, and it’s certainly more techno than anything else.
The arpeggio is there from the start, and keeps the tension going as the song progresses. My favourite hook is the one that starts at about 1 minute 40, the wistful synth that soars over the rest of the track.
The latter half of the song gets a richer timbre, but the vibe remains quite minimal.
This track has been around a while, having been released in 2004, but was originally slept on a bit, and has proved to be an enduring classic.
For good reason, just listen…