published on
This is Part 1 of 3 of the National Cynical Network (NCN) album/program, 'NCN - Dark Side Variations (Deluxe 50th Anniversary Special)'.
The entire album/playlist is available on SoundCloud, here:
https://soundcloud.com/nationalcynical/sets/ncn-dark-side-variations-deluxe
This is a tribute to the progressive psychedelic classic rock band Pink Floyd's legendary, iconic and timeless masterwork, their album 'The Dark Side of The Moon' and is being released to the public on March 1st, 2023: exactly 50 years TO THE DAY that the original LP was released (March 1st, 1973).
It is a collection of variations (i.e. mixes, remixes, covers, genre-bending re-interpretations, edits, sample usages, and some mashups: some variations and mods done by NCN) of the well-known pieces from the original album, all of which are represented in some kind of transformed state.
Interspersed, is work by 'Polyphonic' (who can be found on youtube) who acts here as a kind of 'greek chorus' explicating and giving background info on the entire work and its songs, with some band member interview clips.
The original 3hr. 2016 mix by NCN called 'Dark Side Variations' upon which this muchly-expanded version is based, can be found on Mixcloud:
https://bit.ly/3ZgtRa2
The Bandcamp version (use BUY button) is slightly better quality than what is offered here on SoundCloud as it was mastered at 48khz instead of the 44khz encoding only allowed here. The Bandcamp version is in 31 separate tracks.
This program (the 2023 Anniversary Deluxe) is also streamable at Mixcloud in its entirety in HQ Sound:
https://www.mixcloud.com/pnarco/ncn-dark-side-variations-deluxe-50th-anniversary-special/
Some sequences/edits from the show share some playlist 'dna' with the 2016 version, many of these portions have been re-mastered (using lossless audio sources where possible) and/or 'augmented' (i.e. added to/enlarged) for this special production.
The overall structure of this program, for the most part, follows the original tracklist sequence of the 1973 Pink Floyd release but, at length and in-depth, exploring each piece through the mix technique of 'version medley' or mixes consisting of variations on each piece. Insight into the history, origin, meaning and interpretation is credited mostly to Polyphonic but this (sometimes modded by NCN) expository material is occasionally woven with work by other commentators, music and with interview clips by members of Pink Floyd.
Some portions depart from the tracklist sequence for variety.
Part 1 has a long sequence of introductory segments before it really gets into the 'Dark Side' music material. It follows the original tracklist in the manner described above, up to the intro of the 'Great Gig in the Sky' section which begins Part 2 of 3:
https://soundcloud.com/nationalcynical/ncn-dark-side-variations-deluxe-2-of-3
Generally, intact usage of Pink Floyd songs, in their original form, is avoided in this program, but there is some exception to this in the final track of our work. Material from the original album is used in our treatment of the 'finale' and somewhat in the treatment of the first song 'Speak to Me'/'Breathe'. This material was taken from lossless file copies of the rare, said-to-be-definitive pressing of the original work which is from a Japanese import LP version known among fans as the 'Holy Grail' version of the original album.
NCN hopes that you will enjoy this offering and that it peaks the interest of listeners not only to the work of Pink Floyd, but to the many cover, remix and DIY artists represented herein. I will try to fill out all the accreditation info eventually but for now, the day of posting (March 1st) have been working extra hard to get this production completed and posted by this special anniversary date. In the meantime, if anyone has any questions about specific sources, feel free to leave a question and we'll get you the information. Thanks.
=====================
- Genre
- Tribute Mix / Variations Compilation