Mystic Force - Symphonik (1995)
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ExDuelist
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TheTranceHistorian
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- Aug 23, 2022
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Symphonik is the name of CD2/Vinyl 4 of Mystic Force's Frontier album. It consists of six sub-tracks (namely, Lost To The Wind, Satellite, Symphonik, Ritmo Del Rio, Ashes, and Kalimba) that connect to each other seamlessly to form a larger tune, exceeding 21 minutes. Symphonik is a journey like no other and is the culmination/conclusion of Russel John Hancorne's short but pretty impactful musical experimentation in the early 90s.
Similarly to Mystic Force's Mystic Force (a track that is commonly mislabeled as Psychic Harmony), Symphonik also helped to develop and define the sound of (a certain style of) trance music by mostly relying on atmospheric/ambient elements and lean, minimalist melodies/sounds (at least judging from a slightly more modern standpoint).
Still, Symphonik is a more complex work in the sense that it incorporates a vastly greater amount of sounds/melodies (partially due to its length and structure), and one can argue that it also tells a story (especially if you are a person like me who tries to find deeper meaning in art). If you listen to the music carefully, it becomes clear that it is about the clashing nature of more organic, life-like sounds and sounds that are more distant, modern, mechanical/robotic, and perhaps a little lifeless, while in the final segment, these sounds finally start to work together in perfect harmony.
This could be interpreted as a metaphor for transhumanism, which is a "philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies [e.g., body modifications, implants] that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition (some transhumanists believe that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with abilities so greatly expanded from the current condition as to merit the label of posthuman beings." So transhumanism is about the fusion of the organic/living with the artificial/technology.
Some great movies that touch upon this subject are Gattaca and certain episodes from the anthology series Black Mirror, while video games include SOMA, Observer: System Redux, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I think that a case could be made that Symphonik is: the symphony of transhumanism.
Similarly to Mystic Force's Mystic Force (a track that is commonly mislabeled as Psychic Harmony), Symphonik also helped to develop and define the sound of (a certain style of) trance music by mostly relying on atmospheric/ambient elements and lean, minimalist melodies/sounds (at least judging from a slightly more modern standpoint).
Still, Symphonik is a more complex work in the sense that it incorporates a vastly greater amount of sounds/melodies (partially due to its length and structure), and one can argue that it also tells a story (especially if you are a person like me who tries to find deeper meaning in art). If you listen to the music carefully, it becomes clear that it is about the clashing nature of more organic, life-like sounds and sounds that are more distant, modern, mechanical/robotic, and perhaps a little lifeless, while in the final segment, these sounds finally start to work together in perfect harmony.
This could be interpreted as a metaphor for transhumanism, which is a "philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies [e.g., body modifications, implants] that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition (some transhumanists believe that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with abilities so greatly expanded from the current condition as to merit the label of posthuman beings." So transhumanism is about the fusion of the organic/living with the artificial/technology.
Some great movies that touch upon this subject are Gattaca and certain episodes from the anthology series Black Mirror, while video games include SOMA, Observer: System Redux, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I think that a case could be made that Symphonik is: the symphony of transhumanism.
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