Super Eurobeat 226

[the_ditz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1WBGrmDy2M

SINCLAIRESTYLERS, HELLO!!!

Anyway, I love Angel's riff as well as the vocals, but I expected a way more explosive chorus so it felt a bit jarring in places. Xmas Love will probably end up being my favourite, as far as I know that's also the only song with a soul voice over the riff

I agree - Angel's riff is delicious, and I sadly feel that the rest of the song will fall short from what I've heard. Xmas Love still sounds very busy, very messy, but I'm intrigued by the gospel-style adlibs over the hook in the video - is it Bonini?? Sounds quite unique, but am I the only one that doesn't get a massively Christmas vibe from the song at all? The older Xmas songs at least had a sense of Xmas about them with the bell synths and sparkles - this one sounds just a bit too... "regular" in terms of production.

[drnrg]

OOPWEE! Now t5hat I hear the choruses of both songs: I' even more amazed.

Angel really sounds like pure heaven, but I;m even more intrigued by X-mas love. That synth my friends is pure finger magic. That voice at the end could very well be Nando, but using more his tone from his old Stil Novo days. Who remebers his Sandy Bee alais? Ready For My Loving from TIME records had that xact feel in his tone.

You either jump on the newSinclaire mega NRG train or your gonna be left behind with your ticket stubs still in hand.. Which one are you, cuz these two songs are gonna be huge.

[Bonkers]

Previews would be awesome about now.

[#Infinity]

It's probably going to be another ordeal in which we only get the samples concurrently with the album's release on the Japanese iTunes.

[the_ditz]

That's clearly just the strategy they use now, whether we like it or not. To be honest, I think they should at least have a pre-order page on Japanese iTunes for 1 week prior to release so that a little bit of hype can be generated, since for me these releases have really lost their spark nowadays.

[#Infinity]

That's clearly just the strategy they use now, whether we like it or not. To be honest, I think they should at least have a pre-order page on Japanese iTunes for 1 week prior to release so that a little bit of hype can be generated, since for me these releases have really lost their spark nowadays.

Do you mean in terms of how much discussion people make, or how much you personally enjoy the albums? I take it you didn't care much for the last two releases in the series (I didn't like 225 that much myself), but I thought you at least really liked 221 and 223?

For me, this decade has been pretty up and down, but the only truly weak album would be 222, with 225 coming in as a dishonorable mention. Both 221 and 223 had a ton of fantastic tracks to compensate for the lower numbers, and 224 was pretty well-rounded as a whole.

[the_ditz]

I just mean in general compared to previous decades when there would be so much excitement and discussion on the days leading up to the release, we now have a fairly muted build-up on the whole with only the SS YouTube previews providing any kind of hype. Things have just lost their shine for me with the series if I'm honest, and I don't find myself listening to the new tracks anywhere near as much as my favourites from a few years ago.

Think my Eurobeat mojo might be leaving me...

[Lebon14]

It's kind of sad to not have the previews a week before release, I agree. I find myself getting the real thing even before previews.

Quality-wise, I find myself to listen to the newer tracks (170-225) much more than the older tracks; maybe because I'm from the "new generation". Not all comps can be good. SEB224 was a dud for me and 223 wasn't that great either. But yeah, I remember the days where we had the tracklist and samples early. There was some great discussion. But not anymore... why, Avex, why?

[Bonkers]

I just mean in general compared to previous decades when there would be so much excitement and discussion on the days leading up to the release, we now have a fairly muted build-up on the whole with only the SS YouTube previews providing any kind of hype. Things have just lost their shine for me with the series if I'm honest, and I don't find myself listening to the new tracks anywhere near as much as my favourites from a few years ago.

Think my Eurobeat mojo might be leaving me...

My problem is that the sound of eurobeat itself just isn't what it use to be. I miss the 80s influence in the tracks, mixed with the disco sounds. The synth lines (except for a few SS gems here and there) just aren't as hyper/stand-outtish....the synths all blend together now like a trance chord.

[Tiger]

Most of the new albums have been crappy. I don't even buy the stuff anymore. They should produce higher quality music.

[Mindsweeper]

My problem is that the sound of eurobeat itself just isn't what it use to be. I miss the 80s influence in the tracks, mixed with the disco sounds. The synth lines (except for a few SS gems here and there) just aren't as hyper/stand-outtish....the synths all blend together now like a trance chord.

I feel ya. Eurobeat seems to be getting a bit trancier with time, which is unfortunate for me, because I got into eurobeat after I was sick to death of trance.

down with supersaws, long live super brass!

[eXtaticus]

-redacted-

[Mindsweeper]

You know what you like, that's all.

I prefer the pre-140s era because it sounds more organic to me, and I've already burned out on the more digital (and supersaw laden) sound from years of listening to too much UK hardcore, trance, hardstyle, eurodance, etc blahblah (every other 4-to-floor electronic dance music genre ever).

Also the massive brickwalling as of late doesn't help, but not everyone is bothered by that either.


But hey, I also like speedcore, so what do I know?

[#Infinity]

I'll agree that perhaps SAIFAM, Hi-NRG Attack and Sun Fire aren't quite as capable as they once were, but Delta, Dima and SCP have scarcely been better. Tracks are far less run-of-the-mill, unmemorable and insipid than some of the pre-140s era eurobeat was;

I sort of agree with you here, but I'm strongly at odds with your notion that Dima has actually improved since five years ago, when the label joined SEB. In my opinion, the label had an excellent debut with the sophisticated Tsundere Night and Stormbringer, and their high streak continued into the 190's with 1 Week, Save a Prayer, Fever of Love, King of the World, One Day, and Eternity. Every one of these songs is an utter masterpiece in my book. Even into the 200's, I thought the label continued to release consistently fresh material, especially with Manuel's brief appearance there.

The 210's was when things first started to go wrong for me personally. Again, for the most part, the label didn't have any true bombs (Are You Ready to Fly was rather dry, though), but with the sheer exception of Sunrise ~You'll Always Be Alive~, nothing stood out tremendously like the label's first streak of SEB releases.

The 220's are actually the first decade in which most of the label's new songs have been downright mediocre. Especially out of Dima's solo performances, a terrible deal of these songs seem extremely hollow and unimaginative. They retain the same general qualities from Dima's earlier works, but have none of the sharp production values or melodic complexity that characterized those songs. It feels like their phrases all blend together, making the tracks essentially lifeless and indistinguishable from each other. I can barely even remember how most of these songs go, despite the fact that they're all less than a year old. They're nothing more than bland reiterations of everything that the label has been and done. To be fair, Power & Love, Dance Eurobeat, and Flying Free are all fantastic, but they aren't enough to compensate for the fact that Dima has totally run out of steam as of late. At the very least, I'd like the label to pick up another male vocalist besides Dima himself, like Claudio Magnani or Manuel Caramori, because it really needs a surge of inspiration fast, before I lose the rest of my faith in its ability to produce quality material.

[drnrg]

@Everyone

In other words we all miss

TIME/EUROGROOVES