06 - Kayesem - Going Nowhere
Channel: Spirit Level Studios
Date: 31/08/2020

This is track 6 from the album Digital Dust, by Kayesem, which was produced during 2010 & 2011 and released in 2020 via:
Bandcamp - https://spiritlevelstudios.bandcamp.com/album/digital-dust
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfHl2xiS7lvZECAOnl6k6SoWszHeTihYg
Ektoplazm - Release Pending
SoundCloud - N/A

Attribution-ShareAlike  (CC BY-SA 3.0) - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

[Tempo = 130 BPM] This is a simple track that stays on the one level and never really goes anywhere. As such, there's not a whole lot to like or dislike about it. It's just kind of a nothing track. Filler for DJs maybe. Not to throw shade on it. I think it was actually inspired by hearing music live, where there was this tilt towards dialled back minimal and tech. The simplicity of it can be refreshing, but it can also be boring and have a very short shelf life. 

There is very little (pun) minimal that I actually enjoy. I regarded it as a nuisance, really, when it hit the scene. It's just so uninspiring on the dance-floor. Nothing ever happens. There are no levels, it just goes along, keeps going, adds a white noise fade, maybe a trivial voice sample, then goes along some more. Then the next track follows the exact same template. Even the minimal that I could enjoy years ago, it just wore itself out really quickly and I never go back and listen to it or remember any of it fondly. 

Compared with hard trance, it's night and day. I still love hard trance and it's what got me into electronic music to begin with. Those old tracks are classics and have aged so well as to be virtually timeless. Strong melodies, layers, levels and emotive harmonies create a real journey for the listener and a sense of meaning. There is often a tapestry of emotional richness and nuance that makes a lasting impact, so as to define moments and phases of your life when you had it on high rotation.

There is a built in nostalgia in most of the hard trance that I enjoy, and I love that feeling. It hurts a little, and it leaves something out. It hints and nods. It's interactive. It makes a real impression and lasts the distance because it's infused with genuine meaning. This connects us to the experience and really encourages us to 'get into it', become one with it and dance, like dancing was the highest expression of a life well lived. And in some sense, it is.

Dance music is wonderful.

Peace ☺