Let’s be honest about one thing: most collaborations made nowadays are just a marketing strategy to maximize revenues. Okay, trying to make a life out of music is not bad, but the overall quality of tracks are drastically affected by these strange and fiscally motivated moves. Anyway, Pandora’s box taught us that hope is the last thing to be lost, and these two guys gave more significance than ever to that phrase. “Frenchcore Worldwide 08” is not just another EP, no. It’s a pioneering project molded by two musicians; two real friends who wanted to celebrate their long friendship doing what they do best: music.
Since Sefa and Peacock designed “Frenchcore Worldwide 08” as a full concept with a story behind it, I won’t be rating each song individually, because that would make no sense in this particular case. Instead of that, and taking into consideration all the work that went into the whole project, I will give this album a well-deserved 99. The astonishing number of allusions, the melody and sound selection and the meticulous attention to detail they put on this compilation makes it an unprecedented work in the dance music scene, imprinting a great trail which more artists should follow. Vive la frenchcore!
Adagio
Every average classical music dabbler should know of Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”. Its delicate and relaxing mood has managed to captivate listeners from all around the globe in less than a century, being one of the most important achievements of the North American composer. Two decades back, Tiësto translated it into an Trance evergreen, accomplishing one of the biggest hits of his career by doing so. Even being almost a Hard Trance anthem, in my opinion, it has nothing to do with the version that Sefa and Peacock brought to life. As the classical music lovers they are, I can see that they wanted to respect the original essence of the piece, and their job was nearly perfect: the orchestral elements are amazingly integrated among Frenchcore’s typical brutal kicks, creating a delightful listening experience.
Everything is a Lie
It’s incredible to see all the Easter eggs and symbolism that are embedded in this EP. The actual lyrics of the song are a part of the “Kyrie eleison“, an important prayer in Christian liturgy whose name comes from the Greek phrase κύριος ἐλέησον (‘Lord, have mercy’). Considering that Sefa is an admirer of church music, it was obvious to expect this kind of references. Talking about the song itself, well… it’s just a masterpiece, everything is so well made that is even hard to describe. Featuring angelic vocals, piano and guitar solos and a last aggressive drop, you can’t ask for more in a single performance.
Incoming
As you might fathom at this point, this song is also inspired by another one, Steve Jablonsky’s “Arrival To Earth“; in this case, one of the themes from the Transformers’ original soundtrack. The sound selection couldn’t have been better: the whistle, the leads and the strummed acoustic guitar fit like a glove.
Illusions
Last but not least, we have the closing epic of this album, which in my opinion, is the best one of all and a solid contender for electronic song of the year. First of all, as I did in the previous paragraphs, let’s start analyzing inspiration behind the track. As Dr. Peacock used to play lots of AudioFreak tracks some years ago, it’s not wacky to assume that they sampled AudioFreak’s “Wannabe Lovesong”, which at the same time is derived from Sonalp’s “Wiesel”. The first drop is blazing wildfire, just one of the best exuberant Frenchcore drops I can remember. Then, a melodica and a harpsichord start playing the main melody, crafting an ambience that teleports you instantly to the Alps. Finally, and as the colophon of this huge concept, we hike back to old-school with an energetic and breakneck of a last drop, evoking that nostalgic feeling that old listeners of the genre will truly appreciate.
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