Song: All This Time
Artist: Drax Project
Album: Drax Project
Release date: 2019
Genre: Electronic
Key: C# Minor
Chords in Key (C# Minor):
|
i |
ii |
III |
iv |
v |
VI |
VII |
|
C#m |
D#° |
E |
F#m |
G#m |
A |
B |
All This Time is written for electronic drums, synth bass, electric guitar, synth brass and vocals. The whole arrangement uses a lot of reverb, digital delay and analog delay to create a surreal, and slightly washy sound.
Intro
This song uses four chords all of the song, other than the post-chorus instrumental parts. It begins on the tonic and ends on the submediant.
The intro begins with an electric guitar playing a sliding lead guitar part with a lot of reverb and delay, while the synth plays the root note of the chord while playing stepwise to “walk” to the next note. This synth has a stereo tremolo or panning effect, making the sound swirl from one ear to the other (this is very noticeable with headphones). This synth is also using a portamento function, so the notes bend from one to the next, like sliding up a stringed instrument such as the violin.
Verse
The verse has the synth drops down to a lower octave, to become a bass line. The dynamics of the synth could be described as a drop from mezzo-forte to pianissimo. This gives the feeling of a fermata, or pause, and the vocals filling the space.
The vocals continue to build, adding harmony layers, and a side-stick like sound is used on the backbeat.
Chorus
The chorus acts somewhat like a pre-chorus, as it uses the same chords as the verse but keeps the energy building. Initially this is using a synth to do chord stabs. This synth has a digital delay in a long slapback delay effect. This means that there are sometimes interesting harmonies being added by the repeated notes on the off beats. The vocals move up to start in the falsetto range, and descend back down. However on the repeat, it moves up a further octave and has the whole line in falsetto. It then moves down to a more regular tenor range, leading into the bass heavy instrumentals.
Instrumentals:
The instrumentals are the only place we see harmonic change; while two of the chords from the rest of the song remain, the subdominant is introduced at the end of the sequence to create a brief plagal cadence when it begins again.
The instrumental brings in a heavy electronic kick drum, which has a short decay to remain punchy. There is a sub bass sound which has a quick attack envelope, to the point it could be synth percussion. Over the top of this is a synth brass pad, and a saxophone (or possibly a saxophone patch on a synth). When this goes back to the verse, a lot of analog delay is used to create a kind of stylised, choppy decrescendo as it fades out.
As parts are repeated, more instruments are added and more elaboration used- for example, hi-hat cymbals are added in the second chorus, or a more frantic saxophone melody in the second instrumental.
For a glossary of terms visit dictionary.onmusic.org
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