Amon Tobins Goto 10 - Isam 2009 - Essay Example

Musical Analysis of Amon Tobin’s Goto 10(Isam 2009) Musical Analysis of Amon Tobin’s Goto 10(Isam 2009) The track "Goto 10" is a track from Amon Tobins album titled Isam.It is of the electronic music genre and has an electronic, jazz feel with drums and special sound effects. This song focusses on sound features and effects that offer variety to this music. This song has an electric jazz feel to it and sound effects run up and down the whole track. The song sets off with an array of electronic sound effects that put up an electronic feel with a loud introduction with wavy tunes. This lively introduction clears up after around 20 seconds and gives way to a quick stop, and the sudden introduction to the beat as the crescendo immediately increases. The rhythm begins to gather momentum as the beat picks up and combines with the electro sound effects to form an electro-pop sound. More musical instruments jump into the fray as the song continues to gather momentum. There is an introduction of drums in the background as they continue to synchronize with the harmonic beat and rhythm that is beginning to take effect and blend well with the song. The song rhythm is unsteady, and the melody continues to combine as a mixture of sound effects and drum beats continue to intertwine synonymously (Hanninen, 2012). The drums and keyboard sound off in the background as the vast array of sound effects continue to command the rhythm of the song. The beat is aggressive and furious and later slows down and becomes lazy and unconvincing. The sound of the electric guitar and electric piano begin to dominate the song slowly, and the tempo switches up a little. The engulfing sounds of the guitar strings and piano keyboard continue to dominate the song. These continue to become slowly engulfed by the sounds of other musical instruments that are in the fray. All these elements continue to blend well in the song as the rhythm begins to reach a high and the electric guitar peaks. One major point to observe is that the song lacks a particular pattern from start to finish. The blend of short beats and extended atmosphere dominates most of the song. A volatile energetic mood dominates most of the track though sometimes it sinks into a manic and unstable mood. The sudden stop at times, then continuation of the song sets the pace for an intense musical journey. The song has a shroud of mystery and unpredictability, which creates the way for the intense feeling that fills the entire song. There are many instruments playing in each layer of music, and this provides a unique texture that covers the whole song. The song has a very uncommon tone and beat and there is no definite rhythm that follows throughout the entire song. The electrical guitar, drum kit and piano all add an amount of depth to this song (Cook, 1994). The song is polyrhythmic with a variety of rhythms all integrated to form one song. Although there is rhythm irregularity, it follows its distinct pattern, and this amounts to the completion of the song. The entire song has no vocal accompaniment, which brings in the feeling of mystery and suspense that dictates the pace of the whole track. The dynamics of the song continually change and fail to remain predictable. The tempo of the song begins on a low and slowly by slowly speeds up. The infrequent tempo continues to dictate the entire song as they unpredictable beats overlap with the sound effects and the musical instruments playing continuously in the background of the song. The use of arpeggio is evident throughout most of the song. The broken chords that dictate most of the melody form an unlikely balance of irregular rhythm, and this serves well to the authentic electronic aura that the whole song connotes. It is an excellent combination of instruments and sound effects together with other special effects. At some points during the song, there is a change in the chord and the texture, or the rhythm gradually shifts from one extreme into another. The song has a feel of a musical piece trying to pass a particular message through various forms of technique and a variety of effects. The song explores a broad range of keys and notes and strikes all extreme tones as it seeks to find balance. The entire context of the song touches on the aggressive side of ones emotions and leads one into a deep connection with the song (Ji et al., 2015). The beat variety, the somber mood engulfing the song and the unpredictability of rhythm without a clear concept also bring about mixed feelings. This basic concept surrounds the entire song and defines the key moods that connect with it. The shift from electronic sound effects to the guitar and keyboard brings variety to the song. These features ensure that the whole song has a catchy melody that, though is unconventional, brings out an entirely new concept in this musical piece. The song is a piece of innovative art that captures all aspects of electronic music and the use of electronic sampling, as well as musical instruments mixed. By doing so, the artist incorporates the listener into a classic piece of electronic music mixed with rock and jazz. This fusion of music soothes the audience while provoking them with an authentic feel of the electro-pop sound. The variety of instruments including drums, guitars, pianos and others tend to bring a feeling of musical balance and rhythm. There is a lazy feeling associated with the song and the introduction of electronic sampling to accompany the beats works well to act as a catalyst for rhythm. The electro jazz feel of the song also brings a feeling of energy and hype to the song. The song is very interesting and begins in crescendo as the pace picks up, and as one gets hooked to the rhythm, it suddenly halts and begins again. The drum and percussion sounds in the song remain intact and uniform throughout. By doing this, the different elements are unified, and it maintains uniformity in the song. Apart from this, the musician cleverly withholds some elements. The withholding of items helps to build up anticipation. This teases the audience and makes them emotionally involved in the music. By including this tactic, the musician wins over the hearts of the audience. The artist also masters the art of introducing a new twist to the already existing chords. By interplaying the existing harmony and a newly introduced feature, the artist can bring in a tremendous amount of excitement into this song. By employing this tactic, the artist can keep the listener interested in his song as well as maintain a level of harmony and rhythm in the musical piece. The artist also uses creative compression to ensure that the musical piece remains relevant to he listener. He maintains rhythmic compression on the drum loop as the song continues to play on. This is a mastery of the sound effects department. Apart from this, there is the usage of pad sounds as background sounds. These add some depth and help to define the mood of the song (Bent, 2005). The implementation of these sounds easily complements the instruments as well as the other background effects that have been activated. There is also the addition of the risers, and the fallers.The inclusion of these essential elements ensures that there is an element of unpredictability and surprise. It also serves to introduce an aggressive continuation to the piece of music and complement the peak of the song. Special effect usage is a very useful tool for use in the song. These enhancers enable the use of more musical themes and add variety and flavor to the song. The beat will fluctuate according to the rhythm and counteracts with the special effects. Music readily communicates feelings, emotions and personal style of the listeners. The song brings out a mixture of emotions in the listener ranging from high tempo adrenaline to a negative, lazy feeling. The beat teases the audience as the fading beat, and rising instrumental sounds interplay regularly. This music has a particular upbeat feel to it and invokes a variety of emotions. The song has no decisive melody and instead is a combination of different themes into one. There is a mixture of a number of elements as they are all incorporated into the song. There is a call, and response feel like the guitar and piano in the background regularly intertwine in the course of the song. A vast array of effects helps add variety and add some emphasis to the song. The music carries an air of urban electronic pop at a particular stage and continues to bring a collection of beats and special effects into life. The variation of instruments and combination with the special effects gives the song a proper feel of acoustic jazz mixed with the electronic house. There is an enormous important role played by the instruments as they assist with the overall melody and accompany the beat. The introduction of different tones brings melody to this song. When creating an electronic song, harmony between the instruments and the digital effects is imperative. This will create the ultimate feel of the song. As the rhythm continues to energize the song, it also gives way for the introduction of other instruments which slowly incorporate into the field. The interplay of tools as one is introduced, and one fades into the background (Hanninen, 2012). Overall, the song has a good interpretation, of all elements and continues to invoke the participation of the entire essential components. The electronic feel to it captivates the ears and has a teasing rhythmic which helps to magnify the particular themes and aspects of music that engage in this. Such is the electronic house effect. The music also acts well to bring out a variety of moods ranging from a lazy attitude to certain parts up to a more energetic mood art certain places. The music triggers irregular thought patterns in the brain as the sample beats take over. The tempo and sound effects are steadily engulfing the track relay a feeling of authority and seek to keep the audience engaged in them. It is important to recognize that these elements boost the general mood of the song. Such minute details like the background guitar and keyboard will enable music to have a desired effect on people.The music arouses the emotions and feelings of the listener and taunts them to take part in its progress. Such an aspect of the music can only elicit a sense of involvement and an overall mood which continues to dominate the whole persona of the song. There are parts of the song where the tempo slows down and brings a low mood in the song. This is added to the melancholic sound effects that are later introduced in the background. These will help to bring out the opposite effects and slow the listener down into a thought process. Availability of alternative sounds worked well with the musical instruments and offered excellent accompaniment to the other instruments that are in play. The musical piece maintains texture and the beautiful blend of the instruments causes a ripple effect that brings out the song melody very well. From start to finish the song maintains an uneven tempo that goes on throughout. The music has a slow beat and fast beat at other places. The rough nature of the tempo has an energetic feel to it. The nature of the song and it sets the mood for the climax of the song. The acoustic jazz and electronic house feel that the song has will appeal to many, coupled with the irregular beat and tempo that has no definitive pattern. This is perhaps the reason the song is nice. This song is an example of electronic music. This music genre deals with the music that connects to the creation of electrically generated sounds. In the music sample heard, it is clear that the whole song has electrically generated sounds. It has harmonic overtones that compliment each other and are varied. These connotations exist in the songs belonging to this genre. Note frequencies are not ordered harmonically or in recognizable equal proportions (Tobin, n.d.). Such rates tend to make it hard to detect a recognizable pattern in the song. The note interferes with the chord at specific interludes and in particular levels of fusion. This is why the song has a beat that is hard to describe. The beats and clicks, which are at high dynamic levels, correspond to detonation. This music is pro expressive and can be seen to be an expression of emotions and feelings through music. Each beat and rhythm and tone is an expression of a particular emotion. This music is a whole new way of composing sound because everything is in the serial permutation. Tone duration and movement are synonymous and may seem to go hand in hand. This music indirectly provokes emotion and the array of sound effects, and unpredictable tones and melody offer many twists and turns. It also consists of filtered noise pieces that are picked up. The note mixtures in these songs do not have harmonic order. Electronic music is characterized by these traits. Electronic music involves synchronization, which is the timing of each rhythmic structure in the song to occur at a particular time. These electronically produced sounds are perfectly created, and will occur at certain programmed moments in a song. These are complex sounds that are synchronized to form a particular rhythm and beat. This procedure is what ultimately creates the beats and harmonies that we know. The electronic music embraces all these strategies to create the perfect melody. All these sounds that emanate are indeed a systematic arrangement. This song is a catchy melodious tune, which has embraced all concepts of modern electronic music and has also interlaced with acoustic jazz to form a masterpiece. Although at times it goes to extremities with pitch and special effects usage, it creates a relaxed feeling. The catchy beat ensures that one is emotionally attached to the song. The unpredictable nature of chord and melody formation ensures that there is an unpredictable feel to the song with a bit of suspense to keep the audience hooked to it. All in all, it is a quality song and can easily be well received by most musical audiences. References Bent, I. (2005). Music analysis in the nineteenth century: volume 2, hermeneutic approaches. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cook, N. (1994). A guide to musical analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hanninen, D. A. (2012). A theory of music analysis: on segmentation and associative organization. New York: University Rochester Press. Ji, X., Han, J., Jiang, X., Hu, X., Guo, L., Han, J., … Liu, T. (2015). Analysis of music/speech via integration of audio content and functional brain response. Information Sciences, 297, 271–282. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ins.2014.11.020 Tobin, A. (n.d.). Goto 10. Retrieved May 15, 2015, from https://soundcloud.com/amon-tobin/goto-10 That occurs throughout the entire song.And there is no definite rhythm unique texture that covers the whole Read More