Track: We Have Explosive (7" Edit)
Artist: The Future Sound of London
Label: Virgin Records Ltd.
Released: 1997-03-07
Summary: Powerful dance music based around an alarm with portamento.
After a bizarre four seconds long warm-up, this track gets straight
to the point. Solid dance drums and a clangy sample of an electric
guitar provide the backing while a synthetic noise takes centre
stage.
Answering the calls of the buzzing synthetic base, the lead
is more like an alarm with portamento slides than anything else, and
is just as much fun to watch on an equalizer as it is to listen to.
It's probably best described as a resonant, grating, buzzing sound,
but that really doesn't do it justice. It somehow manages to sound
more melodic than that, although it probably isn't. Sparse, synthetic
sounding vocals complete the sound, with the spoken phrase "We have
explosive" and someone shouting "Rar!" going through a delay.
You may find yourself humming the lead part, but then your friends
will probably wonder how a melody that consists of mainly one note
with the occasional sliding around could possibly sound good, so the
timbre itself is probably more responsible than anything else for
how catchy this piece of music is.
This track doesn't really go anywhere. Despite the occasional
breaking down of the mix, it's essentially the same thing all the
way through. This isn't a bad thing, though, as it's something to
dance to, or to listen to while concentrating on something else. It
works well in these ways, giving you a solid sound to urge you on
with whatever you're doing, without particularly distracting you.
If there's one concept conveyed in this piece of music, it's power.
Everything about it sounds tight, solid, raw, and powerful. When
you want to get something done, it can help you focus, and when you
want something to move to, it will spur you on. Top stuff.