Album: Feed Me's Escape From Electric Mountain (2012)
Track: One Click Headshot
Headshot time:
This multi-faceted electronic track keeps a steady 110 beats per minute with a simple groove which is filled in by building bass synths. It makes use of a video by FPS Doug as a 'pre-drop' cue... "I can dance all day... Boom! Headshot".
Drums:
To begin with, the drums that drive this track have a mix of elements to analyse. The opening kick drum sounds quite hollow like a wood knock but is soon opened up into a very 'meaty' punch. In that opening section we can hear a 'off beat' clap which fits between the kick and the snare. As we reach the chorus however, the hi hat sounds like it's synthesized from purely white noise. It's quite open sounding and the decay fills between each new stroke. As for the snare drum, I can hear that it covers a fair wide frequency range and is the loudest element in the mix. It is quite short and snappy and never leaves it's place on beats 2 and 4 other than in building up sections where it rolls 16ths.
Bass power:
The other instrumental instrument of this track is led by powerful bass lines. The opening is played by a particularly lo-fi bass. It's quite coarse in its texture - slightly similar to a distorted guitar through some bit crunching filters. After the drop into the chorus the heaviest sounds are introduced. There is an alternation between massive bass swells and a higher register, more rhythmically sharp sound.
The drop:
Let's talk about the all important drop. In this style of music, the drop is paramount. Building into a fever pitch and then releasing a brutal sounding bass line is central to this. FPS Doug's increasingly intense shouting is extremely effective in its placement within this track. Also note the snare building into a crescendo with the kick drum layered underneath. Also note the 'siren' that repeats itself in the background to add to the thickness. Finally there is a high pitch sweep that 'flys' up into the edge of our hearing range. All of this intensity is cut off for the length of one 8th note before that chorus drops in. This moment of almost silence is very effective in 'the drop'. I like to think of it as a ladder which the listener climbs - each beat being a foot hole. When you reach the top you loose your footing and that little fall makes the next sound so much more powerful.
Label:
This album was released on Mau5trap Records (as seen on the artwork). Mau5trap is run by the hugely successful producer, Deadmau5.
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