Croc Hunt

The heat is oppresive. Unknown multitudes of carnirvorous insects are finding their way into every orifice of your body. The air is so thick with moisture that it feels like you are in the womb of a daughter of Lucifer. Yet the crocs are waiting; hiding in the mists emanating from the swamp.

Here it is

Croc Hunt.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

Most pieces that I work on nowadays take me anywhere from 50-100 hours to get to the point that I can leave them alone. 90% of that time is spent in the mix; getting the cc data right and then all of the effects etc. I started this piece last night and finished it up this afternoon, so I only have about 6 hours in it (Edit: with this mix I now have double that time in it). This one started out as just a piece to see what all I could do with Kore from Native instruments. Kore is NI's freebie that they want you to buy all of their extras for. I always like the price when it is free.

This piece uses the free sounds from NI's Kore, plus Garritan's JABB, GPO and some synths from Sonar.

Comments welcome

My latest Orchestral work is here

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/leonids-19794.html

Ron

Hallo!

This has a very cool vibe to it...reminds me of a mood somewhere between Diablo and the Witch's Hut music from Zelda: OOT. The guitar parts in the background are what really stood out to me in the soundscape as being sonically interesting. The rest is fairly noisy and meandering, I found. The strings have some interesting harmonies, as I've come to expect from your writing. What I did NOT expect was the comparatively "musically standard" little interlude you had near the middle-end there. That was very well executed and transitioned to. One last thing I noticed and enjoyed was the combination of synths to simulate insect and bird sounds: very nicely done.

Overall it's another solid piece to add to your portfolio. Doesn't deviate much from your aural palette but it shows once again that you have a good ear for sound textures.

Thanks for sharing :)

Marius

I always appreciate hearing from you.

I do disagree with you concerning deviating from my normal aural palette.

If you compare this piece with "The Leonids" or with "Winds of Change", I think this piece goes far from those.

As to Noisy and Meandering...I wanted meandering, but I see where you are coming from with noisy. I do have the piece right on the limit of too much.

Thanks

Ron

it has a humorous tension in it, did you phrase from monk's 'round midnight on 2:30 adn 0:13? i love where you put the bassons, great technique.it started a bit electronic and finished more symphonic..there is also a great pad you use on the basson/obe solo 0:43-0:50 , somekind of violin with a high tingling noise,could be another synth with them..

i think its very crucial to read the scenario during the playback, which makes the theme pretty fitting!

I like the way you.. don't know how to quite put it... paint with sound, I think that is the closest I can get to what I actually mean. You are using instruments in a very curious way, not so much by being melodic but using timbres and textures of instruments to make a certain scene come to life.

I think you really have a gift for making people see music, good job!

i liked it. liked much better than some of your other 'more aclaimed' works. this one had some more life into it (maybe because you haven't overworked it), felt more organic and swaying. i liked the guitar, the extra ('noises') sounds, and the flow created by strings. it's pretty dark, but rather in a contemplative way - as if searching for something.

very nice.

p.s. also there some pieces of music (to me) that have almost necessary transitions(or somewhat separate moments) that makes them powerful and beautiful - it can last for few secs, but they so much belong to the general impression of music - in your piece this place comes in 1.25 and fades 1.30 - i know it's a theme predetermined by the previous sequences, but the way it comes in and dies out is very singular. you have it as well at the end and maybe that's (to me, again) a bit too forced. like repeating the best line of the poem twice - i think that's more a trick than a genuine movement. (of course that doesn't mean that the trick is done bad)

Ron

I agree with Marius that there are some very fine moments in the middle.

But I also found it a bit of a jumble of unrelated sounds ( in a sense "noisy" ) especially at the very beginning. I would suggest a longer introduction letting the listener into the piece's complexity more gradually.

I like the piece overall - it has plenty of imaginative harmonies and instrumental combinations - but the beginning IMO needs work.

Herb

very interesting--in a good way. nice transition into the more musical part in the middle.

also, i thought you dealt with atonality well - it made a nice contrast when you came in with the functional harmony.

this would be great with real players--the samples undid it for me a little.

Erick

J

I didn't try to borrow from anyone, but anything can always happen. I used a Bass Clarinet instead of a Bassoon. The JABB Bass Clarinet has a option to increase the "Growl" effect and I thought it fit nicely.

Phantom

I often look at composing as painting with sounds, so I see exactly where you are coming from. Thanks

Pliorius

I understand what you mean. I also liked that little transistion which is exactly why I used it again,. Thanks

Herb

I made a lot of adjustments in the opening to make it seem not as cluttered. I also added a little bit to the non-electronica section. I think these changes have made the piece more coherent and satisfying. Thanks

Erick

Since well over half of the samples used in this were free, I can completely understand why they do not sound the best. But for free samples, I like it.

Thanks again guys

Ron

Hey, this is pretty good. You created a really nice "uneasy" atmosphere that is fun to listen. Sounds more like a dark forest than a swamp to me though. The samples you used make this sound very video game-ish to me at some points, not that I mind though. Liked it.

Head

One of the reasons I did this was to use cheap samples. Over half of the samples in this were completely free. THat is something to consider for yourself if price is an issue with you.

Thanks

Ron

Rolifer I have enjoyed pieces of yours in the past but the majority your pieces sound really abstract, which people have pointed out and admire you for it. I just can't get into that kind of music and it doesn't fit right to me. However, these types of pieces might sound better when put in proper context like in a movie, game, etc. but stand alone it sounds too disconnected from itself and is hard to really enjoy. Like I said I have really enjoyed some of your music I just can't get into this kind of stuff.

I liked this when I got into it, and it's good incidental music. But the beginning is maybe a little abrupt. I really liked the slower section, and the way you transitioned back into the more active material. Putting in a guitar was a really creative choice.

Sounds good, as if that comment would be a suprise lol.

But, indeed, I listened to it and think it sounds perty good.