African Roots (africanroots.mod)

Overall Impression (9/10)

A great and relaxing experimental Reggae tune with a good build up, but of which the choice of lead instrument should have been taken in consideration more extensively

Technique, Arrangement, Composition (8/10)

The song is built up nicely, but brought to a stop without prior notice; There is no indication in the music that the song is about to stop. An abrupt ending is fine, as long as you work towards it.
There is a clear intro with a nice drum feature which sets the tone for the rest of the song, but makes the overall sound more tribal than reggae. The drums do have an african flavour.
The first melody line is repeated twice. Just as you start to think it gets repetitive, the song comes to a wonderful break which is a variety on an earlier chord progression, after which the real reggae feeling comes in, which is achieved by an enhanced after-beat and expanded percussion.
The composer shows that he has the tracking skills, and certainly the musical skills, to produce a piece of music that is highly enjoyable.

Development (7/10)

Nice chord progression. But parts of it remind me of a well-known James Bond theme. The main melody is a bit slow at the beginning, although the pan flute melody sounds very natural. However, the breathy pan flute should be replaced by a stronger instrument after the break to achieve a bigger contrast with the earlier theme.

This song has unending string chords in the background, which give it a smooth, polished feeling. Reggae never has long running string chords. Reggae bolts and jolts. The artist could have achieved a more genuine reggae effect by putting in short bursts of those strings. That way they serve as a percussive element.

Again, the musical build-up in this song is excellent.

Creativity (8/10)

The composition is wonderful, with unexpected moves in the chords. The tribal percussion feature is a nice addition too and although it does not really add to the reggae-effect, it does give the song a very distinguishable character.

Enjoyment (7/10)

The overall sound of the song is enjoyable, but The long chords make it repetitive, or even monotonous after a few times. The thing is kept lively by the groovy percussion feature.