"A keyboard playing a robot, simply amazing."
In class 2 I received as a joke/gift from a deranged relative a Casio keyboard.
I could never operate it, besides learning to play Chopsticks and the theme to Beverly Hills Cop in the key of dog.
So besides not dropping mad skills on a keyboard in the late 80's, I was never that fond of the keyboard and neither were my parents, nor my uncle who regards anything recorded within 50 feet of a computer not music, the elitist bluegrass jerk. (I can't wait to tell him on his death bed, that i prestiked an old 386 processor to the inside of his banjo).
I don't think taping a strap to the bastard child of keyboard and guitar (the guitar is the dad) helps that much either, maybe 12,3% better by my calculations but not enough. Holding a keytar just makes you look like an ironic douche, but it has cured a dear friend of mine of his crippling World of Warcraft addiction, well selling his computer and using the cash to buy a keytar is what cured him, temporarily, Carl you are in our prayers.
"Not Carl, just an ironic douche"
Another thing that turned me off keyboards was that I thought all keyboard/keytar players came from eastern europe, which didn't help the art get any notoriety till the fall of the berlin wall and I also thought all ironic douches were from eastern block as well in retrospect.
But when i started getting the odd track that contained some keyboard stabs, i started putting them to one side. And the collection grew, and I fucking loved the sound.
I have no idea what it is that I loved about the throw back motorcity house sound, it should annoy me like a child with an infinite supply of balloons filled with Melrose, but It didn't.
I started trying to tell mates of the sound, usually describing it as cheesy keyboard house, or gay 90's house, sometimes "Powerhouse" which unfortunately instantly conjures the image of gay bodybuilders.
So if anyone knows the genre name for that gay, keyboard driven house sound let me know someday, when the comments are active please. It'll make categorizing in iTunes easier.
And to my dear old aloof Casio keyboard, all is forgiven and please return at your leisure.
Below are some samples of that Gay/Power/Chord/Throw-Back/Piano/Key/House sound, incl. the popular Surkin - White Knight 2 which has led the resurgence.
Surkin - White Knight 2(MediaFire)
Sidechains - Can't Love U Babe(MediaFire)
Rampage - Reactivate(MediaFire)
Malente & Dex - Hyperactive [Bobmo Remix](MediaFire)
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