G-Force
Jun 1, 2001 12:00 PM, Chris Gill
Producers of epic house music are generally an ambitious bunch who specialize in creating heavily layered orchestrations; trippy, swirling sound effects; extended, dramatized buildups; and strong, pronounced melodies. Although the epic house sound reached its peak a few years ago, when trance DJs favored tunes by the likes of Ferry Corsten, Transa, Taucher, and Binary Finary, the distinctive Euro-flavored style is still going strong in certain dance circles. Aspiring producers and remixers who want to explore the various elements that characterize the style should pick up a copy of G-Force's Trance & Epic House (WAV, AIFF, MIDI, and SoundFont II, $59), which provides a variety of useful epic house loops, drum patterns, and sounds.
Whereas most sample CDs contain a hodgepodge of loops recorded at various tempos and in different keys, Trance & Epic House keeps things simple and straightforward by providing all of its loops at 140 bpm and in the key of C. That makes it very easy to combine samples to create songs. The WAV and AIFF files on the disc include 14 arpeggio lines, 20 bass lines, 11 chords, 121 drum patterns, 63 individual drum and percussion hits (arranged into six drum kits, also provided in SoundFont II format), 19 effects, 25 epic riffs, 23 pads, 10 piano riffs, 38 sequences, and 12 TB-303 lines. The CD also offers MIDI files of the riffs, patterns, sequences, and lines, allowing you to substitute your own sounds or use the performances as templates for programming your own material. Trance & Epic House also features ten MIDI gates that you can load into a sequencer, assign to a MIDI channel, and use to create gated effects on preexisting performances. Very cool.
The CD's sound quality is excellent, and most of the recordings are processed with generous amounts of reverb for that de rigueur epic house sound. Programmers Martin Lister, Shane Meehan, and Dave Spiers obviously understand what makes a trance track tick, as the sounds they have chosen or programmed are right on the money. Many of the longer patterns feature evolving filter sweeps that add a nice sense of dynamics, and the majority of riffs, lines, and sequences use plucky or brassy tones that cut right through a dense mix.
This collection's biggest limitation is the highly melodic nature of much of the material — as good as it is, it doesn't leave much room for adding your own distinctive mark unless you work exclusively with the MIDI files and tweak them extensively. The epic riffs in particular are so identifiable that it's difficult to imagine anyone with any creative conscience using them at all. However, the drum patterns, sound effects, and a few of the pads, arpeggios, and sequences make good foundations for creating your own original tunes, and I wish that G-Force had included more of these ambiguous samples for creating grooves and rhythm beds. Still, Trance & Epic House is a worthy addition to the arsenal of any producer or remixer specializing in trance music.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4
G-Force, dist. by Q Up Arts; tel. (800) 454-4563;
e-mail info@quparts.com;
Web www.quparts.com
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