Electronica-type noodlings #2

(Following on from the previous one.)

Link to MP3: Box.net - Free Online File Storage, Internet File Sharing, Online Storage, Access Documents & Files Anywhere, Backup Data, Send Files

This is a little more energetic, and quite a bit longer too, though that's mainly due to the fact that the structure repeats itself. I did have more material at one stage, but decided to scrap it because it was a bit poor.

The brunt of the piece is essentially geared towards continual development of rather chromatic harmonic material, which results in a peculiar techno-funk crossover.

Apologies once again for the lack of a score - it becomes rather impractical to produce a decent one when a piece is produced directly from a sequencer.

Any and all comments much appreciated! Hopefully one of these days I'll share something a little more substantial than my doodles...

This is awesome! Love the super-clean drums juxtaposed with the filthy synth line at the opening. Develops quite nicely from there, too. Great open sound, very funky, very fresh, lots of catchy little bits and pieces. Some of the higher-pitched synths are a little too loud, though. I could point out where if the Box.net player had a time indicator. Bass drum is on the quiet side. Great closing, too, but it sounds like it cuts out a little too early. Maybe it was intentional, but I would have let the echo decay into nothing before ending the piece.

Once again, love this piece. A little rough around the edges; some mix issues, sequencing could be tighter, etc. You should really consider cleaning this piece up, because it deserves it.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

I think you're dead-on about those highlighted mixing issues, but I'm extremely busy at the moment so I'll have to timetable revisions in for the future.

Thanks once again!

I hate drums.

Otherwise, this has a lot of really cool stuff in it.

I'd far rather hear something like this without drums, although of course this particular track is not the laid-back type, so I suppose the drums add to the energy.

You could do a really cool minimalist-y reflective-y non-drums-y one. :laugh:

It's undeniably funky. :laugh:

Hehe, I do enjoy my funk...

I was actually thinking when creating this one that the drums were beginning to pose a bit of a problem in their repetitiveness. Either the hope becomes that the listener won't care, or that their attention will be drawn away by the other gradually building elements. So yes, I'm definitely thinking about what to do percussion-wise, moving forward. I thought about employing other voices percussively as opposed to using explicit percussion noises - we'll see when the time comes.

Thanks for listening, and glad it at least partially spoke to you. :)

It's mixed very well

How.. 70s...ish.

But, that said! I think some parts are just amazing. And, oh wow, is that sum mario-paint samples?

I really REALLY like the synth-string-thing that you got going around the minute, before the mario paint-star-like sample comes in. It's awesome. The thing starts sort of naked in contrast to how it evolves. Maybe you could use more processing on the drums at the start, some fading/EQing, y'know.

I think in general the drum part could use more processing. I have to admit that the non-process/clean/dry sound you have going here reminds me greatly of the typical SNES sound (final fight 3 comes to mind, Dead dance too by Jaleco,) which is awesome. Though, these were done the way they are because of technical limitations.

So, hmm. I figure you could try experimenting with processing as a way to variate/change the piece and give it a sense of texture-movement (rather than just different notes/motives/rhythms/effects). The beginning specially would benefit from this as well as the mid-section.

Also, there's the question if it's really a good idea to start of with the same drum basis you'll be using the entire song. It seems a little, say, sudden and considering it develops into other stuff later, a little too much too early (though it comes back later.)

Otherwise, I think this sounds rather cool!

Thanks for commenting!

Nope, no Mario Paint samples. However, some of them do hail from a soundbank having the explicit aim of emulating an old synth.

I actually sat down for a few minutes the other day and worked on the mix, but again I was unsure as to how the drums should be treated. I'll definitely take your suggestions on board, and hopefully a new improved mix will surface eventually.

Thanks again, and glad you enjoyed it! :)