Sweet Dreams (are made of this)
by Eurythimics
“The band was called the Tourists. It had initial success in the late ‘70s, and, for a while, the band’s future looked promising.”
They had an extensive world tour called "The Manifesto Tour" in 1979. By the beginning of the next decade, the band was no longer; concluding a journey of musical metamorphosis, ever trying new things.
Eurythmics came to be when two bandmates from the former Tourists band decided on continuing music in general and some of the electronic music experimentation the Tourists had seen towards the end of its existence.
The two members had previously been in a romantic relationship. Exasperated - about everything at that point - they decided to focus on their professional relationship, to pursue music. And so Eurythmics, a male-female duo, was born. Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.
“They had an ever-growing interest in electronic music, effects, and instruments.”
Ever curious, always hungry for experimentation. They, initially, would acquire new synthesizers to test out some things. An EDP Wasp synthesizer was an early investment for the pair, a 'novelty' particularly appealing for Dave.
One particular day, after having amassed a number of electronic gear, Stewart got to jamming on one of the keyboard synthesizers: A progression that was dark, haunting, and just happened to startle Lennox. Disturbed, Lennox got up and played a sort of counterpoint on another keyboard. Seemingly a musical duel, this was creating a song that would profoundly alter their careers.
The song would be "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)." The lesser-known fact about the song is that the riff is actually played by two keyboards, not one as widely thought. The new wave song became a sensation and a hit for decades after that, launching the group, with Lennox fronting the band, into pop icon status.
Drum machines have come and gone. They have evolved over the decades. Different makers have pushed some unique features over their competitors for sales. However, the principle for these machines has always been relatively the same: help electronic musicians easily add quality drumming to their music - much like unleashed like a secret weapon, if you will.
For Eurythmics, that secret weapon was the MKI Movement Systems Drum Computer, a British-made drum machine of which only 30 have been made in its entire existence. Dave Stewart knew the edge or magic touch that such a device would give his recordings. The programmable device makes a cameo in the music video for the song, appearing as a regular desktop computer.
Operating the drum computer proved challenging, to put it mildly, and the final - and legendary - drumming on "Sweet Dreams" was actually achieved accidentally.
““the bloody drum computer kept doing the opposite of what I was trying to do. But then I thought, ‘Ooh, that actually sounds much better than what I was trying to do.””
The Drum machine also had the ability to trigger another piece of musical gear, a Roland SH-101 synthesizer, causing the latter to create sequences used for the song's baseline. Other notable equipment used was an 8-track Tascam, a Roland Space Echo, a Soundcraft mixer, an Oberheim OB-X (a polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizer) for the soft strings, and others.
"Sweet Dreams" stands as a pillar in the world of electronic dance. The song ultimately transcends the 1980s era sound where it originates from. It's a particular favorite among EDM acolytes. The song was groundbreaking; it was almost in its entirety electronic, a rare thing at the time.
