# A Guy Called Gerald — Voodoo Ray

A Guy Called Gerald’s Voodoo Ray (1988) appears on 3 of our lists — Acid House, The Waxonia Desk — Both Rooms, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, highest at No. 1 in Acid House. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1988
- **Label:** Rham!
- **On:** Acid House, The Waxonia Desk — Both Rooms, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [A Guy Called Gerald](https://waxonia.com/artist/a-guy-called-gerald/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/a-guy-called-gerald--voodoo-ray/

## What 3 lists say

### No. 1 in [Acid House](https://waxonia.com/genre/acid-house/)

Made in a Manchester bedroom on borrowed equipment, with a vocal sample truncated by a sampler that ran out of memory. The most beautiful accident in British dance music.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — Both Rooms](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-both-rooms/)

Made in a bedroom on borrowed equipment with a sample truncated by accident. The most beautiful mistake in British dance music, and a standing argument against deliberation.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

A Manchester bedroom, borrowed equipment and a sample cut short because the sampler ran out of memory. British dance music's most beautiful accident.

## Analysis

9 sections, the first drop at 0:04, 1% of the way in, 26% of it spent climbing.

- **Tempo:** 117.5 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** G minor
- **Dynamic range:** 5.2 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 4:27

- `0:00` A · **intro** (bar -1), instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: drums, vocals, other
- `0:53` B · **steady** (bar 24), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, vocals, other
- `1:07` C · **breakdown** (bar 31), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, other
- `1:27` C · **build** (bar 41), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, vocals, other
- `2:00` D · **peak** (bar 57), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, vocals, other
- `2:16` B · **steady** (bar 65), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, vocals, other
- `2:44` C · **build** (bar 79), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, vocals, other
- `3:20` D · **peak** (bar 96), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, vocals, other
- `4:04` B · **outro** (bar 118), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: drums, vocals, other

**Drop** at 0:04 (bar 1). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/A%20Guy%20Called%20Gerald%20Voodoo%20Ray) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=j7vxHOCeiQ4)

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