Ambient/synth tracks with "functional" drums at the beginning and end: stop doing this

#1

if you want to make an ambient track or some massive soaring michael bay synth piece, just make an ambient track. stop throwing unrelated drums at the start and end just to make it functional. we have to put an end to this. people can’t keep getting away with this [jangly post dubstep london drums]->[completely unrelated 3 minute synth breakdown]->[back to jangly post dubstep london drums].

i hate to do it do the 'danman and i’m hessle for life but this shit a big offender:

but four tet absolutely ran with the formula:

and this one is just completely unacceptable. he just put his jangly drums at the start and end of the prydz breakdown:

to be clear, i love the breakdowns in all of these tracks, but leave the cheap drums off. this isn’t a 2003 tiesto gig and nobody is going to be crying to your 3 minute arpeggio breakdown with their hands in the air.

any other examples? name and shame ppl.

#2

idk man looking at these four tet live vids i think im seeing different


think the problem with the y2k uplifting trance stuff was literally every producer was feeling peer pressure to have the big breakdown in every song, and it just made it seem like the dj was doing little work and the crowd eventually were tried of their arms going numb. but i think ur allowed to play something like “opus (four tet remix)” by the end of the set if u have rlly earned it. and u can still fuck it up if u get too greedy with making it ur own:


i dont know how u fuck this up but he did

very funny cuz the original version of “opus” is completely opposite: its a prog trance choon with the ambient synth parts at the beginning and end. u cant rlly beatmatch into it at all unless u got the loops set up

btw blanked and anna painting barely have big enough breakdowns to really complain about at all

#3

i think its the ‘big climax’ moments that are corny - quite 2003 tiestoish indeed hahahahaha

bro i didn’t even know this opus remix was from fout tet. can’t believe this shit was made by him wtf lmao always heard it and thought of it as a edm smash or something

#4

Unpopular opinion: four tet sucks ass and is primarily a gateway for people who don’t really “get” dance music

…Ok now I’ll get ready to dodge flying objects thrown by people who strongly disagree :sweat_smile:

#5

i like his work but i think that makes a lot of sense. hes one of those english bbc famous djs. who are in between the underground and the mainstream

hes still a great dj thought!

#6

Very enjoyable live show as well last time I checked (which was about 10 years ago tbf). But definitely more of an albums kind of artist than your classic dancefloor focused guy. Pause, Rounds both stand up well for me. His Fabric mix is good as well, and his DJ Kicks is weird but introduced me to a lot of stuff at an impressionable age. Do not like that Prydz remix, but it’s not exactly his usual schtick.

I’ve got no real problem with tunes with ambient breakdowns more generally.

#7

Leave Four Tet alone (ha ha ha)
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