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Voodoo RayA Guy Called Gerald

Independently chosen for3 of our lists. Here is what each of them said.

Released
1988
Label
Rham!
On
Acid House, The Waxonia Desk — Both Rooms, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
Updated
2026-08-29
Search Spotify (platform search — exact link pending) (opens in a new tab)YouTube Music (opens in a new tab)

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
estimated from the pitch content
Dynamic range
5.2 dB
moderate range, typical of a modern master
Length
4:27
measured from the YouTube master

The record, end to end

energy
drums
bass
vocals
other
  1. 0:00Aintrobar -1
  2. 0:53Bsteadybar 24
  3. 1:07Cbreakdownbar 31
  4. 1:27Cbuildbar 41
  5. 2:00Dpeakbar 57
  6. 2:16Bsteadybar 65
  7. 2:44Cbuildbar 79
  8. 3:20Dpeakbar 96
  9. 4:04Boutrobar 118

Drop at 0:04 (bar 1). A drop is a moment, not a stretch — marked on the track above rather than shaded across it.

0:00 · A · intro

opens the record below its own average energy · instrumental

Lasts
0:53
Energy
0
Brightness
0
Density
8
  • drums
  • bass
  • vocals
  • other

Brightness and density are scored against this record's own sections, not against music in general — they say how its parts differ from each other, and nothing about how it compares to anything else.

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
intro
opens the record below its own average energy
steady
holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling
breakdown
energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning
build
energy and brightness climbing without a break
peak
sits at the top of this record's range
outro
the closing fall
Every moment against every other. Squares on the diagonal are sections; a bright patch off it is the record recognising itself — the second chorus meeting the first.

Measured from the YouTube master on . Section labels describe how the energy of the recording moves, not its musical form — a machine can see loudness climb and jump, it cannot hear a chorus arrive. Anything we were not confident enough to state is left out rather than shown with a caveat.

  1. Ranked No. 1 in 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.

  2. Picked by The Waxonia 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.

  3. Picked by The Waxonia 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.