As a guy who played drums for years, thank you for acknowledging the drums/drummer. This piece was obviously outrageous and masterful as was your breakdown. Thanks, Mike.
Agreed, amazing drum work but, for Mike, it's easier to acknowledge the drums that to play a song like this..Sorry not gonna happen.. Unless you play this style of guitar regular, you ain't gonna come close to learning this on the spot let alone after 2 months of daily practice regardless how good of a teacher you or I am.. It's on another level man.. Much respect to Polyphia and their high level of skills.
Polyphia is one of my fav bands to groove to on the drums because there's so much variety and rhythms and patterns! Liked your comment about instrumentals and accessibility, though I'd say nowadays Lo-Fi is probably the most popular instrumental in mainstream
Polyphia honestly became a completely different band when Clay joined on drums. Nothing against Brandon, but Clay brought an entirely new energy that helped the brand emerge out of a really stagnant scene.
100% agree! I just discovered this band and went down the rabbit hole with their catalogue, and I feel exactly the same way. Brandon is a *fantastic* drummer; but I really think Clay is the reason they can seamlessly incorporate soooo many musical genres and styles into their compositions. He blew the doors off the hinges for them.
Brandon was more my style of drumming and i loved him. But i can't deny Clay totally matches their newer sound way better. Both phenomonal drummers tho
I saw in an interview with Tim that he repeatedly adopts a formula with a riff where he won't add the 'flex' until the third time round. It makes so much sense and really speaks to what you're saying about it being accessible - play the riff, get familiar - hear it again, familiarise with the repeat - play a third time, flex (oh damn, this is insane!)
Video idea. Their drummer Clay has 4 playthroughs on the Meinl channel. Yas, Icronic, OD and GOAT. What about watching some or all in one video? You’d looooove these I promise
Approved .. or do the Look But Don't Touch playthrough for Complete Panning Left Right between Tim and Scottie ... you can see why they are so different yet so in line even with 8 strings
Band members: Guitar (Center): Tim Henson Guitar (Left): Scott LePage Bass: Clay Gober Drums: Clay Aeschliman Thanks for reacting to this Michael, I love these guys.
Thanks for this. They’re all amazing and I was first drawn to the band by Tim, but they’re actually all amazing and I am so excited to see them live this year.
I cannot wait to see Polyphia at the Fine Line Music Cafe. And I’ve been trying to get all my friends to listen to this amazing music. Hopefully I won’t be there myself 🤣
@@madslick4147 I didn't. It's pretty obvious. I'm Brazilian and I can smell Bossa and Samba from a mile around the corner. Not surprised Tim confirmed this. Gonna watch the interview anyway.
Always good to give Clay the love he deserves on the drums. This recording and the sound engineering and mixing are just immaculate. So much going on, but so crisp and cleannnnnn
Fair point, but how many people actually appreciated it? If we’re talking about western classical music, it was definitely a smaller population of people that appreciated it with an artistic view. Definitely not a “common people” pastime.
So this is an interesting conversation... I love classical music. For some reason, I don’t equate classical music with instrumental music. It’s a different universe- but obviously all instrumental!
Might be a little bit subjective but to me classical music is more melodic than most modern instrumental music (at least the stuff I heard of). You always can whistle or almost "sing" along. When I think of Beethoven Symphonies or Vivaldi's Four Seasons for example. And the epicness is a whole other level^^
@@nullptrZer0 there's lots of modern instrumental metal that is really "whistable" or "singable", there's even a whistle part in this song lol. Try Intervals, Plini or Paul Wardingham or even Polyphia's earlier stuff like Aviator
4:28 It's Bossa Nova! It's a style of Samba, developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a different beat, that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovative syncopation of traditional samba from a single rhythmic division. Baden Powell Bola Sete João Gilberto Roberto Menescal Tom Jobim
A lot of things are boroved for South American Jazz masters in modern HM, Rock and Pop music as well. Moreover the east Europe is amazing as well for rhythmic approach and midle east. To be honest i understand that this band came at right moment to be popular in the West but honestly nothing new is going on there, it's is just fusion of some part of the world music added with HM so the western kids love it ( i suppose that is the reason).
Even though they're instrumental, I really feel "vocals" in their music. The simple chord progressions make it really accessible to anyone like you said, but the drums accent those other super intricate moments that we focus less on normally and it makes you hone in on it. What a combo! Great video!
Right? That's one of the reason why Polyphia has a special place in my heart. Even though it is instrumental, all of them together makes for some kind of vocals that I don't feel with other music I listen to. I hope it's as clear as I imagine it in my head! Can't wait to go see their show in August!!
It’s because they actually have a top line melody weaved throughout the song. Typically, that’s the function of the vocals, the top line melody, which is also why guitar riff salad always ends up being garbage… never have a top line melody. Polyphia obviously knows how to write [good] songs, not just riffs and beats; regardless of it being instrumental or not.
@@KickflipGnasty good points about the accessibility and rhythmic template. To be clear I also consider AAL and TA in that tier of melodic content. While I don’t think of either of those bands as “noodly” neither, their approach to melodic themes does have the tendency to not sit on top (in my subjective opinion). Catchy melodies are called hooks for a reason, when they don’t sit on top it’s not as easy to latch on to. All great bands that do what they do very well.
Ever since I got into Polyphia, I've said, "I came for the 'Tim Henson', but stayed for the drummer". Such a beast. Straight iron fist in a velvet glove.
6:45 lmao dude that reaction was perfect. You were like "What was I saying about their damn drummer!? Exactly, this right here. I don't even need to pause you've got ears you hear it."
Agreed, the drummer is just spectacular. I only very recently found this band Polyphia and as you pointed out they're a great blend of metal n' pop. What's nice about this piece "Playing God" is that there are peaks and valleys to the composition whereas so often they're just in your face speed and agility. When I listen to one of their albums I need to take a break after a few tunes before I continue. I grew up on Steve Morse (and Rod Morgenstein) and he has the peaks and valleys composition down to a science, while also tearing off some amazing riffs.. I'm looking forward to exploring this band further. And thanks Michael for breaking this piece down a bit, it helps me wrap my mind around things. Play on.
Your understanding of the music and ability to translate that to the audience is remarkable. I've been a huge fan ever since the GOAT video. Thank you for sharing your observations and introducing me to the world of composition.
As a guitarist, i can't stop admiring your own guitar, the color is stunning, and obviously the song itself, but that goes without saying. Great video! Entertaining and good comments on the composition for a first listen! Subscribed. You can absolutely see the joy and passion you have for music aswell just in your physical reaction and how you vibe with it, awesome!
I love Tim and Scott's playing, truly I do, but you hit the nail on the head: Clay (the drummer) is an absolute monster as well and such a joy to listen to. When he and Clay (their bassist. Yeah, funnily they share the same name haha) lock in it's also epic as well.
I’m not even a pro guitarist or anything but listening to him explain about how “simple” the song really is and his entire thought process makes this video so good. I learnt a lot about music production and songwriting from this!
that B section sounds so much like those classic nintendo scores, which isnt a slight at all, those scores are immaculate, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a source of inspiration. They've always sounded influenced by video game scores
"that B section sounds so much like those classic nintendo scores" That section is straight out of the Bossa Nova movement from 1950's Brazil, which influenced a lot of early Japanese gaming compositions.
@@egdm1235 makes sense. The bossa/latin feel wasnt lost on me either but even beyond the harmony, structurally, aesthetically, tonally, etc has a very “video game” sound (in a really cool way). But thats fascinating, wasnt aware of that direct correlation. V cool
@@justinguitarcia Yeah. After the post-WWII economic collapse in Japan a large number of Japanese ended up in Brazil seeking work. (Even now, Brazil has the most Japanese outside of Japan.) There was a great deal of cultural import back the other direction.
Agree about the odd chords north of the equator but they are two-a-penny in Brazilian music and in fact, this could be mistaken for Brazilian fusion of the late 1970s.
I absolutely love the fact that you see the entire band and aren't the traditional guitarist fanboy. Cause as front and center as the guitar is, it takes an entire band to make music that is this good. Each element is at the very least AS important as the lead, and often times truly make the lead good by doing their part correctly. Nice job.
The band is on a different planet to everyone, rapidly becoming one of my most listened to bands... Even the whistling is hard as fuck to do, like c'mon -.-
I love that you do all of this in one take. You don’t cut out the parts where you’re searching for the right words to say to express your excitement. It really reiterates just how much you love what you do.
Seen a couple of your videos, and as a guitarist and solo musician for over 20 years, the way you explained that "instrumental bands are primarily for other musicians" is spot on. Sure, there is a select portion of non-musicians that enjoy it, but the majority don't. Polyphia have bridged that gap better than any other group I can even try thinking of, and I'm always stoked for a new release of theirs. Liked, and subscribed. Keep up the killer content, brother!
I love that the drums hook you, and then when you're in the groove, and you can feel what's coming next, and then it's not there!!!! Like when you're belting it out, and the cd hits a scratch and drops out, but you keep going. His drums make me feel like wiley coyote when he runs off a cliff, but doesn't realize he's not on solid ground lol. Clay knows that you "know" what he's going to do next, and then demonstrates that he knows what your thinking, by not doing what you expect, and it's perfect.... love your breakdowns of everything you do, and I hope someday you and polyphia get a chance to meet up and shoot the shit. Just film it if you do please
This was a spot on reaction, he has it so right, and here's my take on it. First thing is this band is a very rare combination of 4 people who are absolutely phenomenal at their instruments, now you might see a few others that have that but very, VERY rarely to this degree. This is like putting prodigies together that mesh well. Second, the reason why you hear the drums so heavily and then it's the guitar and the bass layers the melody to bring you back is because they know how to space it so perfectly, that you have just consistent progression after progression of interesting melodies layered on and off. If I were to write it out it would go like this, every other space is the melody, and every other space between it is the intricate part. This is also on purpose to make you hear something amazing, but not give you time to think about it before you move onto the groove. This is one of those songs that's put together so unbelievably well that you can listen to it for years and still not hear everything in it.
This song popped up in my feed a week ago maybe. First time I have heard of Polyphia. I am now obsessed with it. Can't get enough of it. You pined it down. Accessable, and the drums. Then add in all the crazy stuff, and I'm hooked. Great video.
Love how you spell this all out. Your communications skills and ability to explain it out in identifiable terms or concepts is outstanding. I find that your reactions and break-downs really help me identify elements that I knew where always there, but couldn't single out. Look forward to the next post!
This is the kind of music that gets in your head and spreads into your soul... I'm not a musician ., but I know music when it is speaking to me and this is like walking into a library and opening a book you've never experienced before
Your eargasms and reactions to Clay's playing is literally me. He really shines in this song. They also posted his playthrough. I think you'd love that haha
Honestly this is the best reaction across music types that I’ve seen. Everything you said made so much sense as to why my ear itches to hear more polyphia. I remember listening to goat at first waiting for the singer come in and a couple minutes later after the song was over I remembered there was no singer and that I was so drawn in that I completely forgot there wasn’t one. Amazing
Just discovered Tim Hensen and his band Polyphia yesterday. Just discovered you today and bam everything you said in this video makes so much sense. As a non-musician, I instantly vibed with this song and couldn't explain why. All I knew was I liked the unexpected jazz chords and like you said, the drumming. T'was so good on the first listen, that I had to share it with both my musician friends and non-musician friends to get their thoughts haha
Your extremely accurate description and breakdown of a piece like this (hit the nail on the head btw) really demonstrates your proficient skill as a musician and teacher.. im subscribing. Keep up the excellent work
i prefer your reactions over so many other videos because you actually teach me things and help me appreciate it more. also you have a killer ear! took you 2 seconds to figure out the chords what the heck. amazing.
I think I figured out what Michael means how the bass brings your ear around to tolerate the rest of the technical madness. It allows you to feel that madness instead of seeing it. It's awesome
We are guitarists but we can recognize when the band has a good drummer. This guy is the perfect drummer for Polyphia, with perfect drum noises and arrangements when its needed. Maybe we all have a drummer inside or something.
Thank you for posting these polyphia videos. You put words to aspects of their composition that the layperson can't formulate. Also the way you dissect and can emulate the chords and scales in a fleeting moment... Brings validity to your own talent as well as that of the artist. Kudos and keep it up!!
You blew my mind talking about that lift section 8 minutes in. It really does bring the listener’s ear back. I still consider myself an amateur when it comes to music composition but you broke it down beautifully. Great video, man!
YO WHAT 🤯 This has quickly become one of my favorite Polyphia songs, and I love that you reacted to it. Your take and translation on how these guys work is always so cool to listen to!
Oh man you remind me of my first guitar teacher just being so hype about every song I'd bring him to help me learn and just grooving with everything, I'm glad I found your channel that was nice
“Instrumentals - music for other musicians.” I’m no musician, but I love instrumentals far more than music with vocals, and I still agree with you. I’ve rarely come across anyone who isn’t a musician that enjoys instrumentals as much as I do.
Michael, your comment about the bass and the lift, HUGE insight for me to listening to all parts of the music and super appreciate that, and super appreciate everything else you do man, thank you. You truly do a great job and I appreciate you.
Earned ya self a sub dude, love this. Similar to Rick Beato you have a infectious enthusiasm and genuine authentic love for music and love how you can break the details and nuances down.
Excellent analysis! I just subscribed. The part about them being technical and having an underlying solid foundation of predictable chord progressions is gold. It’s a good lesson for prog guitarists that want to go crazy on solos to remember that it’s all about the song and the shred is just the icing on top.
Still putting out the quality reactions Mike! Hoping you had a great time out in Colorado back in Feb! Love the mountains out there, saw you with the boys at the airport.
It would be neat to look back at Polypias beginnings such as “Finale”, where the drummer was absolutely hitting everything on point but from a musicianship sense it felt like he was “following” instead of “playing in sync with”. It’s very obscure but to see how the overall group developed to play with multiple musicians outside of themselves is fairly interesting. Might take a look since many of the vids you focus on the drummer guiding or being the root, whereas at least in my opinion the earlier days the drummer followed the guitarists.
You're G.O.A.T video was the greatest thing I ever needed! I couldn't wait for this video, because I knew you'd come around, lol. I hope you and Polyphia just come to always make this happen! I love your guitar break downs, but how much more you appreciate the whole band and key in is even better. Love coming to see all your stuff, Michael! keep it up
that part near the 5 minute mark definitely reminds me of a Japanese fusion type song. reminds me of something you'd hear on Persona. the beginning of this song has a lot of similarities to goat but enough to be its own thing (especially the resolution sounding similar) Such wild chord combinations and so clean
it is called bossa nova. bossa is a brazilian acoustic guitar musical genre that started with guys like joão gilberto, vinícius de moraes and many others totally jazzy and worth listening to
@@johnr8820 not the whole song, I was talking about the section that is actually inspired by bossa nova (which he didn't played the EXACT right hand rhythm but it was close enough to identify)
@@-nom4d_775 The only thing that could be construed to have a Bossa Nova flair to it is the melody at the end of the track. I'm a big fan of people like Wilson Simonal, Jorge Bem, Gilberto Gil, Elis Regina etc - was introduced to Brazilian music by my Brazilian fiancé and find it some of the most peaceful but sad music there is. Always good with coffee in the morning sun
Ah dude thank you so much! I’ve always wanted to know what that style is called. To me I’ve always described it as elevator/Mario kart music 😂 no disrespect btw because I freaking love it. I typed it in RU-vid and yeah you are completely correct that’s the sound I needed to know. This song is very much first half Flamenco and second half bossa nova
The drummer in Polyphia always steals the show. He's just so good. The rest of the band are very talented too, but every time I'm listening to this band, it's usually not the guitar playing tickling my ears.
I really like the way that you explain and break down things about the music in ways that even us plebs can understand. I mean, it's one thing to hear something and like it and another to hear something and UNDERSTAND more of why you like it which only adds to the enjoyment for me.
The voicing and purposeful emphasis on all those leading tones that re-centers the theme is reminiscent of bach. As a violinist I've seen a lot of sonatas that have ridiculous embellishments and such, but the tonal theme is never truly lost. I appreciate your relatable breakdowns that don't get lost in technical jargon.
