I do appreciate both these, I do. They are quite solid good tracks. The classic sound(s) is achieved in both sound-design and style. I was afraid that the 4 min samples already offered everything to hear in these tracks and that the 8 min + full tracks was just gonna add 1-2 min each for intro/outro with basically zero added musical interest. Was not completely wrong but not right either because they are not too bad. I think willingness has the most consistent development and builds momentum better than strobe but both are a bit flat overall in their arrangements and I would like them both to build/develope a bit differently. They both have a kinda excessive simple flatness/boldness to them that imo is unwanted and doesnt benefit the music well. Like it kinda waters down and makes the analogue sound dumb downed. hard to explain. I think it looses the aim in sounding classic and the same time it does sound classic, but they way it sounds nowadays is just so more cleaned up/sterile than in the past. This is less apparent in these tracks then some other tracks released by morrow in the last couple years. Thet are alot more simple/basic/bold.
the hats/clap/kick combos in both are a bit boring/simple and flat sounding tbh. like the most simple/basic ones you would find on an old drum machine. Sometimes that works though, depending on so many other factors. I appreciate that he put some small fx details that give some rhytmical variety to the beat though. both have good moving basslines but they both sound a bit too sterile and lacks color/depth/charachter for me, especially in strobe. Both tracks have seriously substandard melodies.nothing to write home about really. thye are not special atleast,they dont carry the tracks so to speak. but they still work because of synth effects/trickery are nice, and they are not cheesy, like one bit, but they are not as good as older melodies in this style. they remind me more of like what peter steele/noble six does.
Its all about the sound-design and instruments/sample/fx choices in both these tracks. I like that he put acid in strobe but in just comes in wierdly for me and doesnt sync well with the bassline rhythm, kinda clashes. Willingness bassline is badass but it is a bit sloppy/nondefined maybe. I think the melody in willingness repeats a bit too many times, but i like that extra pad-melody that comes in later, and I love how it drops back to only bassline/kick/fx without hats/claps etc in the outro for awhile.
(why does my text change font/size automatically the more text I add? mods?)
Without overanalyzing them, I think both are good and they both are up and sniffing on a 8/10, but maybe I would give strobe 7.2/10 and willingness 7.8/10.