Synthmania quick tip #19 - The ''James Brown Is Dead'' orchestral choir

A quick tip on how to get the mega-classic L.A. Style's "James Brown Is Dead" orchestral choir hit. In the early '90s when Techno was my "way of life", this song and T99's "Anasthasia" were two super hits that we kids of the era really loved.

[@ryankillpatrick]

OH MAN!!! @ 1:45 my smile almost broke my face!!! And HELL YEAH!!! We're about the same age and this track was the most hardcore thing you could hear in highschool in like 91/92!!!

[@rjmt3454]

There's a second vocal sample which comes around 0:40 in the original mix, sounding something like "Hi dee hi dee" - this comes from a legendary radio jingle saying "Herinnert u zich deze nog?" (which means "Do you remember this one?") Hear it here: watch?v=YOxCxKG9gaI

[@E_-_-]

Cool, thx

[@ML-jf1xe]

Wessel van Diepen is such a legend. I used to listen to his radio show dance department every weekend on the car stereo, driving to the clubs and parties. Great times.

[@notbugs]

This is one of my all time favourites, i love how you pick out these groundbreaking tunes and show the secrets behind their genius.

[@davidscott1894]

*L.A. Style sampled Electric Light Orchestra's "So Fine" ...its at the very end of the song ;)

[@SynthgodXXX]

Epic!!!!!!! Ah, the memories!!! The late night raves.... Happy Wednesday's in L.A. ... Thank you my friend!!!

[@Black_Agent_Seattle]

Wow. I never knew that was an ELO sample!

[@fisk0]

same, always thought it was a slightly edited Alpha Juno Hoover.

[@Wulfcry]

God I remember the energy of that song when it came out you couldn't help it but dance.

[@dussie920]

Genius!!! What a brilliant song that was... 1991... seems like yesterday... Now T99 - Anasthasia!!!! ;-)

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Anasthasia is quite probably my favorite song from that era! So many good memories. Yes, at some point I'll tackle it

[@ElectroPotato]

The producer of this song was Densil Slemming a.k.a. Michiel van der Kuy, the brain of LaserDance. I hope, you'll do a spacesynth thread sometime. :)

[@rjmt3454]

And Wessel Van Diepen, the inventor of Vengaboys

[@TheSpaceElement]

Yes

[@tron944]

This is the song that got me into Techno and DJing, back in 1991. When this came out and was played at the club everyone went nuts! Still have it on vinyl including T99's "Anastathasia". As always, wonderful video my friend!!!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thanks! Yep, T99's Anasthasia was (and still is) my absolute favorite from back in those days! I'll make a video about that one too, at some point

[@MrMikomi]

​@@SynthManiaDotComHi, did you do it? I too still have my copy of T99 on vinyl!

[@thehouserocker]

This and Phenomania "Who Is Elvis" were a DJ's main weapons to increase the energy of any party! good times.

[@METALROCKS]

Estuvo increíble ver esto, mi rola favorita de los 90's

[@officialspacehawk]

Very nice! :) This song are made by Michiel van der Kuy from (Laserdance) the bass sound in this song comes from the Casio CZ-101

[@RTFXmusic]

Spacehawk and wessel van diepen. Producer of Venga Boys

[@jeanpierreragequit1726]

LA STYLE made me love the Techno when i was teen. I still ear that epic track.

[@MSM5500]

Finally we got closer to the real things such as JBID by Michiel Van Der Kuy this time. Paolo, I think it would be nice if you give some insight into MVDK's Laserdance music, especilally on which particular sample libraries were used in there. Thanks.

[@JEANBRUCE1991]

Goosebumps, almost tears 😍

[@ErikHawk]

Awesome! Yes, the light and the color (temperature) of the lighting looks a whole lot better!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@DefWun]

This guy seriously knows his stuff.

[@baubaloo]

This song still rocks! Thanks for posting this. I always wondered how this song was done! It has a sound that has never been recreated....

[@stigonutube]

loved that beat/song driving along duffing BASS in my car back in the day..

[@mayon7391]

Quality I remember hammering this tune after energy flash joey beltram in my sets,.... insomniac coming in next! Lol perfecto mate👍🏽

[@rjmt3454]

By DJPC?

[@mayon7391]

Roel Tijskens yes

[@lardosian]

I also remember hearing a track with a sample saying "james brown is still alive"! Any idea what it is?

[@elbaronrouge]

@@lardosian Holy Noise?

[@guitarofdestiny]

That was dope man. And the new lighting looks great 👍

[@reydeluz9016]

A dream come true, thanks so much for make this video.

[@ashfaq1999]

Thanks that was great demo of this classic rave smash 💥

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@ashfaq1999]

@@SynthManiaDotComMany Thanks 😊

[@mathieuchazeau9654]

i was a young 15 old years man !!! incredible !!! i love LA Style !!! Hello from Toulouse in France

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

Excellent vid . I knew alot about the background of this particular sound , rave stabs and origins has been one of my fav topics for years now. So been digging deeper and making lots of discoveries as i still write hardcore/breakbeat jungle music. Anyway thanks for sharing the education withr the masses :-)

[@gilbertopereira7925]

Yet another great video, using a juggernaut song. You are BEAST !

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thanks, Gilberto!

[@drstupid1]

Tune! Ha ha awesome. You really come out with some epic videos

[@thomassynths]

The new lights are a VAST improvement.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@JackHekler]

It was great, good job finding those samples

[@madjidhamdini8114]

1989 Pump un the jam (tecnotronic), the drum line introduct myself in dance/techno music , 1991 "La style " ....OMG ! a few months later we had "usura" 'open your mind" ^^ all thoses years i was in algiers , come in belgium in 1995 , in belgium we had "bonzai records ^^ , a lot of very cool techno /trance/hard tech tracks ^^ Grettnigs from Belgium :)

[@tateyokocrt]

So excited! Back to 90's

[@TriumvirVespasianus]

Used to listen to this when I was 16, back in '93 on my walkman, when I'd ride a bus or a train, tearing into the city watching all the 'dog eat dog' traffic speeding through and everyone bitching at each other, while staring at the downtown skyline! Great on the freeway on busy road rage day! 😎👍 Angry music reflects the 1990s well...

[@tiannaumann]

I own an S-550 and I didn't even clue in this was a factory preset from the early disks. (Especially the character it adds in the lower register). I always figured it was a sample they cribbed. Nice work!

[@GordonBraicks]

WoW, I remember the song very clearly. Thanks for this! There was also a nice 16th bass line under it. Maybe for another day...

[@danwiddison]

Great to see u play what a tuuune!

[@EpicWinz]

Love the fat analog bass in this track - such a punchy brain melting sound 🔊

[@TransistorBased]

Epic Winz2017 it's not analog 😉

[@jonnymiskatonic]

Thank you! You really need to do more of your own stuff too. I'd love to hear more of that.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

John, thank you. This channel is 99% my own stuff. Check it out.

[@SwetStet]

SynthMania n

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

@Stet - you wrote "n" - I don't know what you mean by that.

[@johnadams1657]

This is soooo freaking awesome!! after almost 30 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! can't believe it's all here!! lol

[@edrosa3485]

That entire album was awesome!

[@dosgos]

Yes! These are some great sounds pushing tech to the limit. Thanks Paulo!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank *you for watching!

[@sunilsolanki]

So many good memories!

[@sr7bbird]

song is just disrespectful

[@fco242]

yup, definitively a club banger, I remember losing my mind the first I heard this tune. I enjoy your videos very much and admire our technical knowledge, not to mention your collection of synths. Can you do a break down of Miquel Brown's So Many Men So Little Time? or if you can break down Send Me An Angel by Real Life. Thank you so much for your videos.

[@demos2002]

From one of the godfathers of modern electronic dance music MvdK - about the bassline Michiels says: "Yeah, but you could hear the Koto-bassline 'ka-ka-ka-ka'. Hehe."

[@walterbenford]

Definitely brings me back!

[@coordinationuk]

I'm welling up...and smiling at the same time! Still got the 12 inch complete with the "Belgian Hardcore Techno" sticker label added by HMV Nottingham...didn't know about the ELO bendy stab sample though.

[@readventurekids]

Amazing!!!! Been waiting for a video on this type of track and JBiD is a classssssic!!!

[@gabrielreyes8144]

1:40 the moment of resurrection 😁

[@awkwardtom]

Cool yep it was I bought it back then on vinyl and still have it......😉

[@haych27]

Brilliant!! I know the track very well but not musicAlly trained so found this really interesting!

[@JoriDiculous]

omg such a classic! :D everyone used those stabs and pads/samples after this.. Lights looks really good btw. More natural :)

[@LinaaaOfficial]

I was wondering where they got the sounds from for years, and so it's just presets of course. Great video!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you

[@TheVelaRock]

@@SynthManiaDotCom is it possible to get those samples for Korg pa series or the Yamaha Motif XF ? Thank you.

[@karlhudson7209]

This is fucking brilliant. UNREAL. What a fantastic song. Awesome.

[@turquoisecapricorn]

Yeah, what a great exciting time in music!! La Style came from Holland, but here in Belgium we had also a lot of good party music like the Lords Of Acid "I Sit On Acid", Climb The Wall "Climb The Wall" and of course my mate Patrick "T99" De Meyer with the international club smasher "Anasthasia"! Do you know from which film they took "Music Maestro please!...'? I know I saw that film but can't remember it which film it was.I already asked Patrick from where this sample came, but he kept his mouth sealed.What I can understand :-)

[@readventurekids]

Love love love it!

[@B1SCOOP]

Orchestra & Timpany stab was also used in the intro of New Beat track "Mr New Beat" by Hypnoteck.

[@miroslavbondarev2604]

2:13 I love this sound. I heard this sound somewhere, I don’t remember in what music

[@Grinder-one]

My god, that takes me back....I was mashed !

[@andrewgoodall7777]

wicked stuff man

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thanks

[@9bitjim]

Wow... I still have this single too!

[@markus8282]

Incredible!

[@bewareofthedawwg8765]

Awesome!

[@mementomori2021]

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!

[@johnadams1657]

Thank you buddy for posting this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Any time!

[@datadeluxemusic]

On the CD single for James Brown is Dead (ARTISTA 07822 12387-2) Track #9 is a :55 second sample chain. The only other CD I have that gave the samples was The Shamen Move any Mountain. Can we have that one soon!?!! Thanks again for all the great videos. I'll have to do a James Brown is Dead inspired track and post it with my music here: datadeluxe.bandcamp.com/

[@highheartwellness]

Ah yes, I had the Shamen Move any Mountain Cd with samples

[@electroagent]

Pure fire 👌🏻

[@dazdavison1]

Brilliant video i love how you take the mystery of how these tracks were made well done, hows about doing lfo lfo great track! I know that the pads were done on a kawaii ii .... cheers mucho's respect

Wow!! Amazzzing!!!

[@davidscott1894]

excellent video, thanks for this! ... totally amazing.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Glad it was helpful!

[@wizmos74]

Awesome like always , Paolo please Urban Cookie Collective -The Key The Secret,thank you

[@bullydully7428]

Thank you!

[@akanakoke]

AWESOME💥💥💥 memories!!!😁😎

[@wariatosss]

Awesome!!!!!

[@musictrans]

fantastic

[@forcytek]

Fantastic

[@BliterTV]

Next tip.... The BASS from "Snap! - Rhythm is a Dancer" ??? :)

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Yeup- the plan is to tackle all the main songs of the '80 and '90s ;)

[@reinouddelporte911]

Can you do some Belgian music to? Universal nation by Push or some Bonzai records stuff? New beat was pretty cool to :-) Love your channel :-)

[@rjmt3454]

@Reinoud Delporte New Beat is aan een revival bezig! Check Fenix Fire Records! Binnenkort heb ik er zelf een release :)

[@rjmt3454]

I'd like to see a video about the typical woodwind synth sound used in Art Of Noise's "Moments in Love", it's also used in Tears For Fears' "Shout"

[@rjmt3454]

Yes indeed, the Fairlight

[@krz9000]

goosebumps!!!

[@jimmytric]

Great job man!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@itimmy101]

I have this single on vinyl! I also have a classic techno mix video.

[@Chillius]

I only just realised they used samples from this song in a song used in Sonic CD

[@acidjack]

Nice men, cool tutorial...... Now i need a new synth ;) or a nice samle pack 😜

[@terenceedwards7869]

when i was young,..........i used daze at the teacher playing the piano ,when ever i saw set of keys i was drawn in by them,they were quite hardv to get my hands on ,i was 13sh when i had some small acorn elctron with an piano app that i learnt by hart then a year later i swaped a spectrum for a yammaha wait for it ......*******VSS 200******* It was more than a learner could ask for ,i mean it was a xr3i if it was a sailor

[@dextrodemon]

neat, heard this all the time as a kid never knew what it was called

[@MAXEL123]

Very nice learn

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Glad to hear that

[@odairreis007]

Very, very nice

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@misteremagic]

Would be Nice to see how you perform the track Crystal Waters ' makin happy ' . Piano parts and drums . Grazie !

[@fisk0]

I wonder if the orchestra samples in KMFDM's D.I.Y. are from some of these sample libraries as well.

[@dzod]

How about a recreation of the famous Landlord stab? I've managed it in software but dont have the hardware. You do!!

[@terenceedwards7869]

no e isnt ees over there inthe chair looking back in dispair nautay the shock of it

[@VirmanaMarketing]

Fantastic memories!!!! Why don't you review the superhits of 2Unlimited, Snap!, Culture Beat, etc. That would be amazing!

[@Puppetnation71]

You'd need rev. Jimmy Swaggart "Hallelujah" too...

[@wavecast64]

I'd like to see some d50 stuff. Good synth but I can't get an understanding of it's full potential from other videos I've seen

[@ginopezzini]

Still missing my 90s...

[@lolanifenring2692]

Such A Feeling by Bizarre Inc next, please!

[@BliterTV]

Haaaaa..... :) "my way of life to" ^^ OMG! I made a "same" choir, i sampled "Carl Orff - O Fortuna ~ Carmina Burana" :) My next projet, made a live techno 90's revival :)

[@jacco1967]

Hahaha.....yeah those were the days, remember using the samples in my S1000

[@ACADEM.]

TECHNO LEGEND !!!

[@gabrysalerno6059]

Bravissimo ✌️😉

[@this_connor_guy]

And given my love of industrial music, I'm just hearing it as "Nightfall (Over EC)" by Cassandra Complex, haha