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Gojira

1032781_2 — 2024-06-12 03:14:06 UTC

_{Using their music to convey their spiritual, philosophical and environmental opinions, the french progressive death metal band 'Gojira' incorporates various difficult rhythmic and precise techniques through their instruments to evoke a sense of emotion within an audience extremely unique to their genre. By mixing fast, difficult syncopation of their crushing guitar tones with beautiful, complex polyphonic phrases accompanied by the songwriting of their front man, Joe Duplantier, the band is able to implement unexpected shifts within their arrangements involving time signature changes and polyrhythms that result in an extremely interesting and diverse listening experience. As a personal influence, the bands guitar and drum work has helped me improve my skills greatly within my own venture in the study of the instruments, providing me with new ideas and techniques that I have been able to implement into my own playing. Using their songs as a reference I can practise playing complex picking techniques and gaining confidence when writing in harmonic minor key signatures on the guitar, while simultaneously using the drum parts as a playing by ear reference, I have been able to cement my skills as a drummer within the metal space with techniques such as double bass drumming along with increased overall dexterity. The ever evolving production quality within the bands discography also has provided an extremely powerful insight into the engineering behind what makes an exceptional mix within a metal context. The instrument tones are perfectly constructed for the context of each individual album and arrangement, while the vocals are extremely well recorded and manage to be excellently discernible regardless of the harsh instrumentation. As a band their growth and maturity both musically and production wise can be applauded and is extremely interesting from the view of a listener, with the playing and engineering becoming increasingly better over the course of their discography.}

Burial

1032781_2 — 2024-06-13 00:25:51 UTC

^{Throughout the saturated market of the 2000's UK dubstep scene that originated throughout South London, Burial made his mark as an innovative influence of the genre, using ambient, dark but powerful productions that introduced more emotional soundscapes involving the incorporation of fresh and untapped producing techniques. Sampling an array of sounds such as, vinyl crackles, rain and various video game sound effects, which would evidently spark a stylistic trend within the scene known as "hauntology", Burial is known for evoking nostalgic memories and emotions through his music, resonating with audiences from a similar background. His exquisite use of filtering mixed with echoing dub influenced drum beats and bellowing sub frequencies creates an extremely interesting listening experience, as he forms a truely unique stereo image to further perpetuate the emotions within the youth of South London in the 2000's, which further has allowed me to understand the importance of stereo image within my own tracks. This is also portrayed in his excellent use of structural composition, using syncopated patterns and odd time signatures, he is able to further create unease and tension within his songs, not dissimilar to the social climate of London at the time due to excessive violence, substance addiction and economic shortcomings. Burials two full length albums released in 2006 and 2007 are equally different as they are similar in genre, showcasing his ability as an artist to evolve in such a short amount of time. Through his use of sampling and vocals, you gain an understanding of the changes within his producing while also appreciating the way in which his influenced helped shape a lot of further work from other artists, and further pushed the genre of dubstep in a way that wouldn't it have gone without him.}

Campbell McPherson

1032781_2 — 2024-06-13 00:26:36 UTC

Metallica

1032781_2 — 2024-07-02 08:04:57 UTC

Credited with potentially being one of the most important bands in rock history, Metallica is always unlikely to be mentioned in terms of musical influence. Heard throughout almost all of Gojira's music, both brothers Mario and Joe Duplantier have credited Metallica as one of their biggest musical influences, with their album 'Master of Puppets' being "the definition of what metal is" (Grow, 2017), from Joes point of view. Their fast aggressive guitar and drumming styles while mixed with beautiful, almost classical melodies create an easy access point for new metal listeners, allowing people such as Mario and Joe, who found the song 'Fade to Black', quoted saying it was "the first song I learned to play on guitar, and it brought me from classical piano to heavy-metal guitar." (Grow, 2017)

Rage Against the Machine

1032781_2 — 2024-07-02 08:18:38 UTC

Much like Gojira, the politically charged and poetic lyricism that led Rage Against the Machine (RATM) provides valuable insight into powerful beliefs surrounding important world issues, inspiring lead singer Joe Duplantier to channel his own passions into his writing for Gojira. With their newest album being described as "a grooving monster that laments the destruction of the rainforest" (Mills, 2021). Joe also considers RATM as "the most brilliant example of fusion within genres" (Grow, 2017), similar to how his own band has been influenced by many genres such as jazz, early rock'n roll and classical, heard over the course of their discography.

Morbid Angel

1032781_2 — 2024-07-02 08:21:54 UTC

While holding the status of one of the most influential death metal bands of all time, displaying the "epic brutality" (Grow, 2017) of the genre as described by Joe Dulplantier. Morbid Angel are also considered "Beautiful" and "Full of magic", as they laid the foundation for bands such as Gojira to push the boundaries and make music that is often seemed by some to be absurd. Joe further lists Morbid Angels album 'Domination' as the "album would be the closest to our sound", in reference to their first record, 'Terra Incognita'. When listening to this album you can definitely hear extreme similarities throughout the complexities of the rhythmic patterns and especially between the tonalities of the instruments. With Joe further stating that they loved the how the "guitars sound like they’re underwater, chanting anthems from another dimension".

TeeBee

1032781_2 — 2024-07-02 08:33:50 UTC

DJ TeeBee's impact on DJ Burial is profound, especially evident in Burial's atmospheric and genre-blending compositions. TeeBee, renowned for his intricate drum and bass rhythms, inspired Burial's unique approach to electronic music, especially through his use of vocal samples within his tracks. Burial has touched on this, stating he loved the samples that are "singing but cut-up and repeating, and executed coldly" (Fisher, 2012), which can be seen in almost all of his major releases. TeeBee's pioneering work not only shaped Burial's musical style but also encouraged him to push boundaries creatively. As Burial continues to innovate within electronic music, TeeBee's legacy remains a guiding force in his artistic journey, illustrating the enduring impact of mentorship and influence in the realm of DJ culture.

Foul Play

1032781_2 — 2024-07-02 08:34:00 UTC

DJ group Foul Play directly influenced DJ Burial through their pioneering fusion of jungle, ambient, and techno. Burial's atmospheric soundscapes and intricate rhythms reflect Foul Play's innovative approach to blending genres, as he even lists 'Being with you remix' by Foul Play as on of his all time "favourite tunes" (Fisher, 2012) from his youth, describing how the "underground and moody" vibe helped shaped his taste within electronic soundscapes. This influence is evident in Burial's ability to evoke mood and emotion through his music, much like Foul Play did with their pioneering tracks. Burial's experimental style, further demonstrates the enduring impact of early electronic music pioneers on contemporary artists, as he was able to push boundaries in an otherwise straightforward genre.

Source Direct

1032781_2 — 2024-07-02 08:34:21 UTC

DJ group Source Direct were profoundly influential within the Uk rave scene through their innovative drum and bass compositions throughout the late 1990s. Source Direct's unorthodox sound and complex breakbeats helped paved the way for Burial's emotive and experimental approach to electronic music. This influence is evident in Burial's ability to blend elements of ambient, dubstep, and garage through his efforts in "trying to do a properly dark record" (Fisher, 2012) much like Source Direct did with their genre-defying tracks. Source Direct's pioneering work continues to resonate in Burial's music and the UK rave culture even today, being able "stand the test of time for their visionary and twisted take on d’n’b and jungle" (Mixmag, 2019), not dissimilar to that of burial within the world of dubstep.