Tuesday 13 November 2012

age of love - the age of love (sign of the time mix)

here is another case where pointing out that the first time i heard about said song is pointless because of it's stature in trance music. for whatever reason it's heralded as one of the first trance records as it was released in 1990, but it's not and the original is more rooted with in belgian new beat & techno than trance. the original however never saw the big shine like it got in 1992 licensed off belgian label diki to uk label react and was given a new treatment by german act jam & spoon.

the original was produced by bruno sanchioni and giuseppe cherchia (aka pino d'angio). the latters role in the track has been heard quite minimally in versions after the 1990 release. cherchia delivered a rap of some sorts and the parts that has been used in other releases are this segment where he says "the age of love" in a rhythmic style. sanchioni's melodies and sounds in the two/three (depends on how you count as it's two variations on one of the mixes) are found in future versions but after jam & spoons remix they seem to work on how they used them.

i would guess as a lot of the producers making remixes after 1992 saw jam & spoon's watch out for stella remix as the defacto original and it's been regarded as that. now jam el mar and mark spoon recorded two versions of their remix of "the age of love" and the "sing of the time mix" is the least known one. i wouldn't say it's obscure as it's been on other releases and most of the kids that downloaded "the age of love" has heard it but i don't think it's the version they like.

to be honest i didn't like it either at first as it was crude and a little rawer than the "watch out for stella mix" and it was a breakbeat mix also. i would say that steve gerrard (wrecked angle)'s breakbeat remix from '02 was much better produced and also favoured by dj's such as sasha & john digweed and the likes. my good friend jyri lehtinen said it was because it's the watch out for stella remix with updated production and breaks.

part of my liking of this version and it is my favourite version of the song is because it's unorthodox in it's shape and the rawness of the production. it all starts with the big intro with the melodies & vocals that slowly build up this version. once it reaches a fever pitch jam & spoon uses the age old move of taking it down again and it works really well. when it kicks in it's a fairly decent percussive groove and the main synthsequence that greets you and then a big tr-808 kick punches in.

the clap comes in later but it doesn't really fit with the kick as the sound it's tailed with takes makes too much of a presence. the build up with the beat is equally brilliant as in the "watch out for stella mix" as highpitched acid sounds create such brilliant tension for it all to release halfway in. it's also here where the beat changes as that bassheavy tr-808 kick punches in at all four. the payoff isn't as obvious as in the main mix but it's enough to make it work in a set.

my favourite moment in the song is when it's just the kick and the choir sample and there is a great dissonance. the bass that is coming off from the lower end is clearly clashing with the choir and it's maybe done purposely but i doubt it. however it was done, it's a great remix of "the age of love"

buy here (beatport)

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