Snap - Rhythm is a Dancer (Live synth cover)

Published on Aug 24, 2015 Synt5

"This is our live performance of the classic 1992 eurodance hit Rhythm is a Dancer, by German group Snap!

Every synth line was played live, without resorting to computers or sequencers. No midi. Our syncing was based on a revolutionary metronome-to-earphones system :)

From left to right, gear list and synth players were:

Korg M1 - França Guimaraes - Choir pad, strings lead, piano solo
Sequential Sixtrak, Sp404 - Guillermo Caceres - Bass, drums triggering
Korg Microkorg - George Frederick - 16th note synth
Yamaha An1x - Anderson Freitas - Main synth phrase, synth solos
Clavia Nord Lead 2x - João Marcos - Bell-like synth line
Vocals - Quésia Carvalho

The arrangement was based on a combination of the Radio Edit and the 12'' versions. We decided to leave out Turbo B's rap verses to favour the instrumental lines.

This time we had available one of the original synths known to have been used in the original track - the Korg M1. This allowed us to recreate the voice choir, the strings and the piano exactly as they appear on the original recording. The original bell-like sound played by the Nord Lead could also be found on the M1 library, but we would've run out of keyboard space to map the sound appropriately.

The versatile Microkorg was programmed with a sixteenth note repetition, which prevented the player from dying of muscle cramps and helped to keep us in sync during the instrumental interludes.

The drums were reconstructed with 909 samples using Reaper, bounced to audio, and played back by the Sp404. The only sample was the hit sound that can be heard during the intro and instrumental parts.

Again, please forgive the grainy quality, the shaky hands and the few misplaced notes, we were just having fun."