So there's this motif that I seem to bump into every few years and I always have a hard time coming up where it's from. Listen to the samples below to hear what I'm talking about:

Synergy - Ancestors (1981)

at 0:24
Rob Hubbard - Zoids (1986)

at 0:15
Jesper Kyd - Apocalypse (2006)

at 1:12

Is Ancestors the ancestor of all the other songs that use this melody? Can you come with some other examples? This is really bugging me!

https://i.imgur.com/khZydHQ.png
Really now

Also no idea, first time hearing that motif, at least consciously

It's very popular, not sure the origin. https://youtu.be/JLR8VhF-y9s?t=20

The scale being used is phrygian major, super cool scale. One of my favorites. If you write in it, your music will instantly become Egyptian/broader middle eastern. Oil Ocean Zone is an example of the phrygian major scale.

E phrygian major goes as follows: E F G# A B C D
It is the same as the phrygian mode except the third degree is raised a semitone. :D

EDIT: well, at least one of them is :P The Hitman one sounds like phrygian major

i'm surprised no one's replied "from egypt"

from egypt

thank u

Wow, I didn't know you could do this

Modus Ponens, it's easy!

You just click this link here you're all set!

I iv (and iv I) is notable as being maybe the most common example of mode mixture in popular music? u see it constantly. it can be very pretty imo
also yeah that second example is a really obvious example of plagiarism lol

since its vaguely arabian i think its way better to just view this as some bastardised maqam hijaz than mode mixture but it works

hubbard flat-out stated once that Zoids was "inspired by a Synergy tune", exactly the one featured in this thread