This review covers the tech house Viridian – Sunhump (Classified Project Remix #1).
This track was released in 2002 as a single. It was released along with another remix.
The track starts with a shaker. After that, the drum kit enters the track. A filtered sweep makes an appearance. After that, some high hats and a synth joins the track. Chords then make an appearance. Another synth then joins the track. An additional synth effect makes an appearance. A voice sample then makes an appearance with some reverberation added to it. Another synth then starts to fade in for a moment before dropping out.
A sweep then makes an appearance and parts of the track drop out. A bassline then enters the track. The main synth makes a brief appearance. Another synth effect makes an appearance as the main synth makes the occasional experience. The main synth then becomes more regular in the track. A high hat then continues on. Other synths make an appearance along with the voice sample. A sweep makes an appearance before large chunks of the track drop out.
The drum kit then gradually fades out. The voice sample then makes a more full appearance. After a synth effect, the main synth then plays out the main melody in full. A synth effect makes an appearance followed by another. The drum kit then returns. Another synth effect then joins the track. Some filtered white noise makes an appearance again.
From there, some of the synth effects drop out. After a kick, the drum kit largely drops out again. The voice sample makes an appearance again. The main synth melody then drops out, leaving the other synths to take over. That voice sample makes additional appearances. A shaker makes an appearance. The filtered white noise makes a brief appearance again.
After a sweep while the voice sample plays out again, some smaller elements drop out. Some reverse kicks make an appearance and large parts of the drum kit drop out along with the bassline and a number of synths. The voice sample makes one last appearance before a synth leads the track out.
For me, the strongest part of the track is definitely the way this track is constructed. There are countless synths throughout the track that fade in and out. The differences range from noticeable to subtle, but it makes this rather long track quite listenable. When the track starts to build up, the main synth melody does play out much earlier then you would expect. So, you get that sense that there is some creativity for building this track up. In the end, it actually works out quite well mostly thanks to the layers upon layers of sound that goes into this one.
The main synth melody is pretty decent, though not the strongest element in the track. I would have liked to have heard an added bit of progression with the way the main synth melody plays out. Maybe throw in another synth that closely mirrors the main melody, but change the overall tone to something else. Another possibility is to change the note patterns part way through. the way it is now, you get the sense that you are on the tarmac, ready for takeoff into something that sound amazing, then taxing back to the airport again. It’s not totally pronounced, but there is that sense that you get something like that from the track – a bit anti-climactic.
Meanwhile, the voice sample works very well. The track doesn’t necessarily rely on one short sample, throw it on repeat, and sprinkle it throughout the track. Instead, it uses a shorter version and a longer version to get that added bit of variety and progression. It also adds that sense of personality as well which is almost never a bad thing.
Overall, the track is pretty solid. It’s got great progression and the way it’s constructed overall is well thought out. The main synth could have been stronger, but the voice sample works quite well. So, a solid track worth listening to in my view.
Score
7/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
