31\100
• Inexcusably misleading
• Standard psy-trance structure
• Lazy rework attempt
I’m personally confused by some aspects of “Gam Gam” by the Dharma veterans MARNIK and SMACK. The cover makes you think that it’s a Halloween song, but it is not related to it.
The original, which is a musical version of Psalm 23, has become a symbol, one of the most touching hymns of the Holocaust that involved more than a million and a half children killed by the Nazis, sung by school children on the Day of Memory. Presenting it as a Halloween tune is, for me, an insult. MARNIK aren’t new to those things: they also touched “Bella Ciao“, another symbol of WW2 and in the cover, they clearly showed that they associate it to money heists instead of the Partizans. Being Italians, this isn’t a good sign. History is important.
“Gam Gam” has also been reworked by the Italian legend Gabry Ponte, I guess they took the idea from there.
Ignoring for a second the offensive aspects of the tune (which will influence the rating, don’t worry), on a musical aspect, the psytrance collaboration is tasteless. The famous vocal is accompanied by a lazy psytrance bassline, calmer than usual but without an evident personality. It’s the most standard structure you can imagine when speaking about psytrance, I don’t know what to write in addition to that. It tries to present some creativity in the breakdown, with a signature MARNIK big room lead, but immediately wastes the climax thanks to a slow and predictable buildup.
In conclusion, “Gam Gam” is misleading, not entertaining, and forgettable. The only thing I can save is the vocal, but for other reasons. I am personally happy about that, better forget this release and hope that the next MARNIK song won’t be a flop.
What do you think?
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