Blog 5: Chemical Brothers Galvanize

I went to see Chemical Brothers play at oxegen musical festival last summer. It was pretty ultra. At the moment Chemical Brothers are easily one of my favorite electronic groups out there. They provide one of the best electronic sounds with a hip hop flavor. So when they opened their set last summer at oxegen I was pretty pleased to hear Galvanize blare into the night. The lights came on and that famous string sample just pumped through the air.

So the song kicks off with that famous bizarre sounding middle eastern string sample. It's such a unique sample to use in an electronic song but it just works so well. Drums start to pump into the song with a big emphasis on clap effects. I felt that with the songs slow tempo these claps gave the impression of a faster moving song while still preserving its unique rhythm. This really funky bass line moves in sounding like something off an old school synthesizer. It sounds like something that came off a moog and works so well into the song. This bass line doesn't have an immediate impact at the start. It kind of hides behind the claps. But don't despair, they're just saving it for later.

Synth pads play a big part in this song. Some of the effects these guys use are just mind bending really. The synth kind of gives off this dripping effect after the funky bass line, something like Tobin's Kitchen Sink. Claps start to come back and then we get a sweeping in effect before our old school sounding bass line moves back in. Then it all drops. All we're left with is a light snare drum beat and a few synth pads. Then one of my favorite parts moves in. If you remember my 3rd assignment then you should find a familiar sample. A light snare beat moves in as we get the famous album title from the Chem Brothers, "My finger is on the button". This sample hits us about 4 times before we get this huge drum build up with big emphasis on bass and claps. Then for the last time we hear that string sample sounding louder and better then ever before. As it fades away the song rolls out on that funky bass line that was so often hidden in the background for the majority of the song. As the song concludes it comes right to the front and seals the deal for an epic tune.

With its pounding rhythm backed up by rapper Q-Tip, Galvanize is a song that will stick in your head for days. It has a that funky, pumping bass line, those killer string hooks and some epic breakdowns and buildups. One of my favorites out there. Give it a listen. The video is also class. I also found this pretty cool trance remix if you want to have a listen to that too. This remix is really something I'd like to model my final project on. I'd love to take a few samples from a song I really like an incorporate them in an entirely different way. We'll see how that goes.