Simon Patterson - Opulence (Original Mix)
My next project will be a Psy-Trance tune which is one of my favourite genres of music. So when I've chosen this belter of a tune by Simon Patterson as my first reference track. Released this year it will give me a great point of reference to making the sound of my tune current. Here's my breakdown of the track.
Check out my previous post 'Guide to song analysis' to better understand my process.
Background
The song:
(Solis, 2017)
Get your copy from Beatport.com
Released 29 May 2017 on VII this is the 12th release from the vii crew which is a label with the elegant mission statement of:
"A collective of like minded artists making cutting edge electronic music from the future."
(Theviicrew, 2016)
And a motto of "Adde parvum parvo magnus acervus erit", which translated means, Add a little to a little and there will be a great heap. (Eudict.com, 2017)
The VII crew consists of legends of the scene Astrix, Simon Patterson, Sean Tyas (if you remember I was lucky enough to close for this legend earlier this year check it out here), John Askew, Freedom Fighters, Will Atkinson, and Blazer. All producers are at the peak of their craft and are producing some quality tunes check them out on discogs.
"A beautifully arranged journey that meanders between sweet melodies and driving trade mark peak time Patterson tech. Crystal clear, deliciously clean and precise this is a record that truly defines the sound of VII - which is all about pushing immaculate, powerful fusions of high-grade underground trance from across the spectrum of cool."
(Beatport.com, 2017)
Key:
F♯ Minor
Time Signature:
4/4
BPM:
140
Genre:
Psy-Trance | Full-On
Psy-Trance has its origin in the Goa trance scene of the early 1980's the two genres branched in the early 90's with Psy-Trance taking a more digital flavour and Goa staying more to the organic sounds of its origin. (Techno.org, 2017)
"The style can be summarised in terms of the following features:
Tempo of around 145 BPM
Four-to-the-floor, "Trance-y" sounding bass drum (i.e., the coupling of a sharp attack or "knock" with a low, bass "thud"). "Driving" or "galloping", 16th-note oriented bass line featuring a typical psytrance synth bass sound
Usually centred on one tonal centre or drone (i.e., little or no harmonic variation)
Use of flattened 2nd degree of the minor scale (particularly in bass and lead lines)
Swirling, "squelchy" synth sounds, quirky sounds and samples, Frequent use of a "strutter filter" on (particularly Eastern) vocals, etc.
Synthesis favoured over sampling
An abundance of breakdowns, stops and build-ups
Incorporation of speech samples, typically those concerning psychedelic experience"
(St John, 2011, p. 115-116)
The Artist:
Simon Patterson
(Rusu, 2017)
With 21 consecutive beatport number ones Simon is one of the most prolific producers in the trance scene. He masterfully combines psy and tech trance to create his unique sound (Patterson, 2017). Starting out in A & R his ear was recognised early and got his big break running Age One Records and B Sorted Records at age 19.
Sebastian Rusu from edmidentity.com has an a mazing interview with Simon talking about his sound and how he is a perfectionist in the studio. I can do it justice in a summary check it out here.
Lets get into it....
Structure
Using Logic Pro X I have created a map of the structure of this piece. As you can see in the picture below I've broken down the piece. This piece follows an interesting structure which I haven't seen very often in the past. It still stays true to the 8 bar phrasing common in all trance genres with the typical four to the floor kick drum and driving psy-trance bass line.
The vocal:
"It's not so much a question of originality being lost, as much as the experience becoming abstract, less enjoyable; and in that sense what we strive to do is to maintain our decision. In other words the artist doesn't want to cease to move people with what they do musically."
This vocal appears in the breakdown and couldn't be more apt to the piece as a whole; Opulence seems to break the rules in an exquisite way. Rather than having a theme with variations or a chorus and versus this piece is like multiple different ideas perfectly blended together into an amazing tune. To that end I have split the piece up into 9 Sections labeled below
The reason this piece is so different is it is so rare for a section to be repeated as is usually the case with psy-trance. I've mapped them out to the following and their key elements which I will discuss later.
Introduction (4 phrases - 32 bars)
Sets the theme and intent of the piece using a very interesting "doppler effect" leading into a spectacular riser culminating at bar 32.
Section A (1 phrase - 8 bars)
The main driving "kick and bass line" riff that glues the piece together.
Section B (3 phrases - 23 bars and 3 beats)
"Driving synth" line with interesting filter sweep automation. Culminating in an "awesome transition technique" which I'll get to later.
Section C (2 phrases - 16 bars)
"Arpeggiated synth lead" F# minor scale. This phrase also introduces the classic minor 2nd bass line variation at the end of bar 4 and 8 of each phrase.
Section D (3 phrase - 24 bars)
First phrase is a transition from section c. The middle phrase introduces an "off beat syncopated Tech Trance synth stab" and the final phrase mixes out these concepts to the breakdown.
Breakdown (6 phrases - 48 bars)
"The vocal" I quoted earlier is the main focus of the breakdown. The "Lead Synth" of the track is introduced. There is also an interesting "reverse vocal" used as transition before the drop.
Section E (4 phrases - 32 bars)
Peak intensity of the track drawing influences from earlier sections with the "Lead Synth" continued.
Mini Breakdown (2 phrases - 16 bars)
"Effected vocal sample" used to create tension to emphasise the last drop.
Section F (1 phrases - 8 bars)
Hyped up version of middle phrase of section D, with the bass lined from section C.
Section B (1 phrase - 16 bars)
Repeat of section B with the bass lined from section C.
Outro (2 phrases - 16 bars)
Combination of Section F with the "effected vocal sample" from the mini breakdown.
Section A (1 phrase - 8 bars)
A coming home to the main drive of the track.
As you can see this piece has a very unique structure that is rather involved.
Instruments
Now that I've got the structure understood I'll take the most interesting instruments/sounds from each section and try to break them down.
Kick and Bass Line
Kick and bass are always the driving force in dance music and in psy-trance it's rather important to get these elements right. The kick in Opulence has a little click too it and is rather short.
The bass is a little trickier because the notes are so fast it needs to be handled with care. From my research a common technique is to sample a synth sound then use it in a sampler rather than triggering the synth.
The bass note sounded like a sine wave combined with a saw tooth wave and a little noise. Using the ES2 in Logic I created the following synth patch.
Note the lack of sustain and really short release. I also had to get the filter cut off and drive correct to avoid too many upper harmonics I then bounced that to audio and paced into the EXS24 sampler.
Creating the rhythm is the easy part I used 16th notes and deleted the note that played at the same time as the kick. To add groove to it I changed the velocities of each note slightly lower on the first of each set of three and more on the last two which looks like this.
Next from my research another common technique to allow the bass to sit better in the mix I EQ'd a slight boost to the first harmonic and slight cut to the second. Next to add a little sub harmonic balls to it I used the SubBass plugin on Logic. Finding the right settings was hard I used the fundamental frequency of F# (49.5Hz) as my reference (Check out this hand chart that converts musical notes to frequencies) with a ratio of 1 and bandwidth of 0.26 of an octave, finding the right mix took some effort and I settled on 90% dry and 101% wet. Lastly to add some pump I used a compressor with the kick as a side chain trigger. Check out the video below running you through each step.
(Doctor Duck, 2017)
Driving Synth
This synth was rather interesting to deconstruct. A collegue of mine suggested researching dark psy synth tutorials which lead me to the assumption it was made in Xfer Serum. As this was my first time using Serum I decided to make an entire post about this synth and the patch I created check it out here at Magic Serum. For those playing at home here is what the patch looked like.
Arpeggiated Synth Lead
This synth is an arpeggiated F# minor triad starting from F#-6 making it's way down to C#-1. This is a modern take or the super saw. I've broken it down with the following ES2 patch. I used three sawtooth oscillators 1 detuned up 10 cents another down 10 cents. Set the synth to legato with Unison applied totalling 32 voices. I increased the analogue drive to ad some randomisation to the waves. As you can see I've routed the filter 2 cut off frequency to envelope 2 in two places as well as set it to the Keyboard input so as you go down the scale the filter is applied appropriately. Envelope 2 I set to fast attack with a long delay a little sustain.
(Doctor Duck, 2017)
Off Beat Syncopated Tech Trance Synth Stab
This chord stab is a simple F# Minor chord with a syncopated rhythm. Te recreate it I combined a Square, Saw and triangle wave. Leaning toward the saw as the dominant sound transposed down an octave. With a little playing around on the cut off frequency for filter 2 and some soft distortion this got relatively close.
(Doctor Duck, 2017)
Lead Synth
(Doctor Duck, 2017)
Composition
This piece is a technical display of a producer at the peak of his skill. There are way too many compositional techniques used that I'd be here for weeks talking about them all so I've decided to take a few examples and explore them a little rather than every last detail. I do highly recommend listening to this piece attentively as its constantly surprising and takes the listener on a wonderful journey.
Awesome Transition Technique
Phrase 8 of Opulence is not like any other phrase in the entire song as it is not 8 bars long. Instead the phrase is 7 and a half bars long have a listen below.
(Doctor Duck, 2017)
As you can hear the entire song seems to speed up as you progress through the phrase followed by the vocal "What do you see when you look at me" which I think fits perfectly. The way I would replicate this is after the track is arranged and bounced I'd use Logic's global tempo tools to automate a global tempo increase over the phrase and return to the original tempo just before the vocal.
Reverse Vocal
The end of the breakdown at bar 151 all the music drops away to nothing and there is an odd vocal sample played. I believe this is the exact same vocal used in the breakdown reversed and using Flex mod on Logic or any other DAW's name for it squashing the vocal down to fit into 1 bar with a cheaky microwave done ding sample at the end. The result is a break that catches you off guard and lets the main drop of the track have an even bigger impact. Have a listen below.
(Doctor Duck, 2017)
Effected Vocal Sample
The effected vocal sample is the rapid female vocal in the mini breakdown section here is how I recreated it below.
(Doctor Duck, 2017)
Spectral Balance & Soundstage
This is a very hard topic to discuss in any psy-trance song as there is so much going on. Almost every instrument has movement in the stereo field with ping pong delays, long tail reverbs and other interesting ways of building the stereo width that the genre demands. There is one sound in particular I'd like to explore for you however.
"The Doppler shift (sometimes called the Doppler effect) is a change in frequency of emitted waves produced by motion of an emitting source relative to an observer."
(Weisstein, 2007)
Doppler Effect
The sound in Opulence that first uses the doppler effect is in the introduction it's used as a sort of call and response. It's a simple synth patch that sweeps from left to right on beats three and four of the second and sixth bar of each phrase. This "call" is counterpointed by different synth stabs used as a "response" in the middle of each phrase reversing (right to left) or playing around with the same idea creating a lot of interest in an introduction. Have a listen to the start of the track to hear it in action.
Dynamic Range
Psy-trance is a drop focused genre and Opulence conforms to this norm. Each section separates itself from the next with drop in intensity and an appropriate drop. I've mapped out the dynamic range below.
Conclusion
Simon Patterson has done it again with another masterpiece bringing together pumping psy-trance themes and techniques with tech trance inspired synth lines. This piece lives up to the VII crews mission statement of cutting edge electronic music from the future. Looking this deep into the construction of this tune has been very educational for me. The way it creatively breaks the rules shows a producers at the top of his powers leaving his mark on dance floors across the world.
A treat for making it all the way through this case study here is Simon's set from Luminosity Beach Festival 2015.
(LuminosityEvents, 2015)
References
Beatport.com. (2017, May 29). Opulence from VII on Beatport. Retrieved from https://www.beatport.com/release/opulence/2022216
Discogs.com. (2017). Simon Patterson Discography at Discogs. Retrieved from https://www.discogs.com/artist/125802-Simon-Patterson
Doctor Duck. (2017, August 2). Lead Synth Patch Video [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/qsMXeeCHpYs
Doctor Duck. (2017, August 2). Off Beat Syncopated Tech Trance Synth Stab [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/8_xK5ziYf0g
Doctor Duck. (2017, August 2). Opulence Super Saw [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ZYJ0Ec1bpxs
Doctor Duck. (2017, August 1). Psy-trance Kick and Bass reconstruction [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zTO1Bc9BYBw
Doctor Duck. (2017, August 4). Opulence Transition. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/doctorduck/opulence-transition
Doctor Duck. (2017, August 4). Opulence Reverse Vocal by Doctor Duck | Free Listening on SoundCloud. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/doctorduck/opulence-reverse-vocal/s-yaz1l
Doctor Duck. (2017, August 5). Opulence Effected Vocal [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zIPqFzmYwHE
Eudict.com. (2017). Adde parvum parvo magnus acervus erit | EUdict | Lat>Eng. Retrieved from http://eudict.com/?lang=lateng&word=Adde%20parvum%20parvo%20magnus%20acervus%20erit
LuminosityEvents. (2015, July 4). Simon Patterson [FULL SET] @ Luminosity Beach Festival 27-06-2015 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/3vb6r-l4Acs
Patterson, S. (2017). Simon Patterson | Free Listening on SoundCloud. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/simonpatterson
Rusu, S. (2017, July 7). In-Depth Interview With Simon Patterson | EDM Identity. Retrieved from https://edmidentity.com/2017/07/07/in-depth-simon-patterson/
Solis, J. (2017, May 29). Simon Patterson - Opulence (Original Mix) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls3u8f7zijA
St John, G. (2011). Re-evaluating Musical Genre in UK Psytrance. In The local scenes and global culture of psytrance (pp. 115-116). London, UK: Routledge.
Techno.org. (2017). Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music | New Home on
Techno.org. Retrieved from http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/
Theviicrew. (2016, June 1). VII - About | Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/theviicrew/about/?ref=page_internal
Weisstein, E. W. (2007). Doppler Effect -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Physics. Retrieved from
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/DopplerEffect.html