Remember when I talked about slow trance in the 4th episode of OTAD? I mentioned at the time that slow trance’s “core concept is to revive old Goa tracks from the 90’s (or produce tracks as if they were from that time)” and then proceeded to share a fairly recent edit from Ed Isar, which may have left you bitter, wondering what actual old tracks would sound like when slowed down! Well wait no longer, as I bestow upon you Howl by Encen, originally released in 1997, played at 33RPM instead of 45RPM.

Encens - Howl (1997) played at 33RPM

I think it might be good, for reference, to check out the track at its original speed. Clearly things move quite fast, probably around 140BPM? In any case, it’s kicking quite hard! Surprisingly I find that the slowed version sounds a lot more dope, at least to me, but I am probably biased here hehe. Especially when the acid line comes in at 02:00, it sounds so fuckin fat, almost marching through the dancefloor, something to set a crowd ablaze if you ask me! It still perfectly sounds like a peak time track, although we probably shaved off a decent 40BPM off the original pitch. For anyone curious, playing at 33 instead of 45 is equivalent to -26.6% slow down in pitch, out of range for most pitch faders (usually either +/- 8 or +/- 16). It would also mean that a track originally playing at 140BPM would now play at 103, very close to the holy grail, the Supreme Rallentato at 98BPM. To quote F2C:

SUPREME RALLENTATO is based on the wrong speed technique (playing 45rpm vinyl record at 33rpm +/-8), so that you can enter frequencies, bass and rhythm just like you are watching a picture on the microscope or walking through a slow motion reality. It's immersive, it's hot, it's sexy. Abstract dub, psychedelic tribalism, balearic techno, torbid acid.

Hope you enjoy this dance track after a week long of more reflective electronic music, and read me tomorrow for another ambient sunday pick!

PS: if you want more tracks from the 90’s pitched down at the edge of reality, check out other tracks from the channel exstasy 2000, good stuff on there!