Message 40/68
Date: 17-Apr-00 @ 08:11 AM -
RE: What makes Goa, Goa
This is my take on it, and what I tend to use to approach it:
Scales: Other than using a variety of minor scales as described above, you can use pretty much any scale with a bit of chromaticism thrown in at the wnd of the riff, usually with some portamento. It's not like the writers know fuck all about scales is it?
Chord progressions: not much going on here but avoid the 4 chord cheesey progs of progressive trance.
Sounds: 909 drums, distorted 303s for leads and Juno sounds for basslines. Quite of few of those otherwise useless "FX" sounds you have lying around.
Those trancey/acid arpeggios: Write a short (4 or 5 notes over 1 bar) little tune (let's say it starts on "C"), not go into the editor and set it all to 16ths. Fill in any empty 16th notes with "C"'s an octave above or below the root note of your tune. This will give you that pacey arp you hear which sounds a lot more complex than it is. Give it a bit of ping-pong echo (left set to quarter notes and right to 8ths), distortion and filtersweep and you are there!
Vocals: some bird dreamily harping on about the earth radiating mystic energy etc normally goes down well with the disenfranchised white middle-class audience who are dying to be told their drug induced philosophies which allow them to spend their inheritance on an extended pilled up beach holiday is not only good but deeply spiritual (this is the bit I don't like about Goan trance!)
If the guy who asked this is really interested I will mail him with some MIDI parts! Not that I am saying what I do is authentic!
N