Hybrid

The Massive Attack track is actually Unfinished Sympathy (not Symphony).

Where is "Unfinished Symphony" anyhow? I can't find it anywhere but I know my friend has it on vinyl. I like it better than "Finished Symphony", but not saying finished sucks by any means. Not even a listing on Youtube for [email protected]*'s sakes.

I'm not typically a fan of things in the progressive genres - I love melody, and sometimes a good euphoric track is just what the doctor ordered, but generally I find producers in these styles rely too much on the same formulas and gimmicks, perpetuating a sound that is so singular in purpose. Hybrid, however, showed jaded techno elitists such as myself how melodic, uplifting music can be done proper, especially with their now-legendary release Wide Angle.

Wide Angle is an electronic masterpiece by any criteria, and my introduction to Hybrid over 10 years ago. To this day the production quality is mesmerizing and so full of depth. The drum programming is incredible. They obviously poured a great deal of time and energy into this release and it really turned the progressive world on its head when it came out. Suddenly everyone wanted to do "progressive breaks." Often imitated but never duplicated, Wide Angle truly stands alone in a very niche genre.

Unfortunately, the elements that drew me to Hybrid in the first place started to fade away in the follow-up releases. While they have not lost their ability to harness electronic and acoustic instruments to make beautiful tracks, I feel they have wandered too far into the commercial trance/house mainstream and now there's no turning back. Disappear Here was a huge disappointment to me, not simply because it had vocals in every single track, but because the raw energy and indescribable joy they managed to squeeze into Wide Angle was completely nonexistent. And I see a trend to borrow from some of the less fulfilling subgenres of dance music, like minimal and electro house, rather than forge ahead with their own unique approach, which is what made them so successful in the first place.

I personally think Hybrid's peak is over and I'm not as excited as I used to be to stay up to date with their new releases, but I always give quality acts a second chance, and I'm hoping they win me over again one day.

These guys don't get old. It seems like I've been listening to their music forever - a long time at least, started off with "symphony" and then Unfinished Symphony one of my personal favorites is their remix of BT - Never Gonna Come Back Down (top work) but so many others. Always at the cutting edge of breaks, and beautiful music, hard not to dance to, and do you yourself a favor and catch a live set. Another great track is Hybrid - I'm Still Awake (Grayarea's Remix)
Incredible stuff guys keep it up!!!

Hybrid are the future of breakbeat and progressive electronica. Definitely try out wide angle and morning sci-fi. Both albums are simply amazing. Finished symphony has to be the best song on this planet. The remix album is also a great one. Get it while you can. Highflier 73.