During the Winter Music Conference, a question I asked a few people was ‘how do you come up with the name for a track with no lyrics?’ The response was often that titles are inspired by the emotion or meaning of the track. When you listen to two recent releases by British producer Funkagenda, that makes perfect since. Collaborating with duo Sultan and Ned Shepard, the result is Astana – a mix of big room electro with tribal overtones that leads to an almost spiritual, progressive melody in the break. The melodic tones are deeper and feel much more full than other similar tracks in this genre. Named ‘Astana,’ which is the capital city of Kazakhstan, the translation of the word is ‘portal,’ as if the track is a portal into the world of progressive – leading listeners and clubbers back to what is true progressive and not the commercial hybrids that have been saturating the scene over the past few years. While not a completely new track, the original was released back in 2011, the new MainStage Mix feels of the moment and like a track that will be big for the upcoming summer festival season. Funkagenda’s forthcoming track “One Day At A Time” is a hauntingly beautiful and uplifting progressive track. Though the vibe is chilled, there is an emotional movement that feels almost like a spiritual catharsis. The title is most likely a reference to the famous prayer for positive living by Reinhold Niebur adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups. Although it doesn’t necessarily need lyrics to get the message across, a topline emphasizing the message would be a welcome change (and response) to the overabundance of negative messages often espoused in EDM tracks (i.e. “Wasted”).
Images courtesy of Harem and Trice Recordings.
