Music: Sea Groove + more (download / streaming here)

[Art Blade]

This is my latest composition and I am really proud of it. Genre is roughly Electronica and the mood is somewhat chillaxed yet groovy. Programs used: MadTracker2, Audacity (wave), Realtek EQ, LameEnc (mp3). All the stuff you'll hear is completely my own w%&k, all arrangements and whatever is not prefab but selfmade. I think this piece is close to a commercial level. I authorize the download for members of this site (www.openworldgames.org) and hope that you'll like it :)

This time I uploaded it straight as mp3 (128kb constant rate, stereo) (rather than joint stereo). The quality is of course not as good as a higher bitrate mp3 but hey, it's a 4:47 song and we have a 5mb limit here.

Alright, check it out, enjoy.. comments appreciated :)

You can listen to it right away, it will be streaming (and a download option is also available)

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[PZ]

Very nice composition, Mr. Blade   :-X

As an aside, because you uploaded to the media gallery, you can embed just like any other media and users can simply click the play button (looks kind of cool embedded into a post) ;)

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[Art Blade]

lol. embed. Of all things, an admin really should know that -- at least one did ^+-+

Thanks, PZ :)

[PZ]

 ;)  We actually use a commercial version of the media gallery which allows things that our original free version did not.  This new version was installed during the recent forum update, so we have cool new features, the easy embedding of media being one of them  :-X

[fragger]

Nice job Art, very pleasant to listen to :-X :-X Here's a kudo for all your w@&k :)

[Art Blade]

Thanks muchly, fragger  :) :)

In fact, I can't stop listening to it for like three days now (did some minor tweaks here and there until I decided it was ready, though) and the final version is just.. dreamy.

I like the strange combo of a sad tune that keeps going back to hope and happiness yet it never lasts. The same paradox is the thriving grooving bass and beat that makes you nod your head yet it is slow enough to lean back and just sink into the layers of strings and synths. Could be a movie score or just a tune to put onto your player while walking down a beach at sunrise or sunset.

:)

[fragger]

That's what I got from it, it's like a reverie that's alternately reflective and positive :)

[Art Blade]

Funny and interesting how sound (music) is able to create something like that, an image, an impression, in one's mind. Particularly if it is the same image and impression that both the creator and the consumer share.. like, I created it and you "see" the same.. fascinating. :)

[fragger]

As they say, music is a universal language :)

[Art Blade]

hehe, maybe not all of us "speak" (as in compose) the language, but we all understand (as in listen and feel) it :)

[mandru]

I like it a lot Art.  It's very good.  :-X

The stereo effect on the floating vocal element is "Way cool!  :-X ".   ;)

The following is not a suggestion of what I would like to see done but rather a statement of my own preferences and perspective on music composition which means it is neither valid or has any foundation in the way music should be presented.

It's a drive by critiquing you might say.  :-D

I like that with the slightest of tweaks the volume level of the end of the song could be balanced to match the beginning so that it could be synced and dropped into an eternal loop.

Part of the way I perceive music is that if a song fades up at the beginning it has the feel that it has been playing all a long and I've figuratively walked up on it and that it has been playing all along.  Almost as if I'm becoming aware of it as I approach the place that it (the spirit of the song) exists.

Likewise when a song fades out at the end it is as if I am moving away from the field of influence of that piece of music in such a way that either it is becoming more distant because I'm moving on to something else (as if strolling through a park or garden) or that the song (as a messenger) has delivered the intent of the artist and it is leaving me to seek another listener.

So in effect as I perceive it, an eternal loop is a closed universe that reflects the fullness of the song that lives in that place.

I have some pieces of music where I blast into the opening and the end of the song is very different from the beginning.  A song of the type just described is not something that embraces the listener but is more of an assault or a challenge for the listener to keep up with what the song is attempting to convey.  A song of this type also is not what I would consider a good candidate for an eternal loop but your song is.



Art, your uploading this has me thinking I need to reassemble my studio suite which basically translates to I need to use a crowbar to pry my wallet out of my back pocket for the $112 needed to buy the KarmaFX Synth Modular package which has been one of the best virtual synth ensembles I've ever encountered.  Of course my preference for that synth package is probably because it was created to be intuitive at least for the way my thought processes flow and does not have a huge learning curve to jump in and make it w%&k.

Thanks for posting your song Art.  It's always good to hear your compositions.   8)

[fragger]

Interesting post mandru, and a good read :-X

Art, just wanted to add that I believe you have a genuine affinity for melody. I've mucked around with synth and music software in the past, but I don't have the composing knack - what the whole thing is about, where it's going or what it's trying to say. I don't even know what to start with :-() When it comes to artistic endeavors I'm the visual type - I can use either paint or electrons to create images that I've received a lot of good feedback on, but creating music is totally beyond me. Your compositions are very adroitly created, better than some "professional" efforts or even some movie scores I've heard :)

[Art Blade]

Thanks a lot guys, very kind of you :) :) :)

Fragger, funny enough, I used to be active in the visually creative fields, as in portraying people('s faces -- even earned money and got hired) and also advertisement and that also includes text compositions (hehe, remember our Limerick sessions?) ..basically everything that involves creativity as an art form then I'm all in :)

Mandru, I actually have that piece running as an endless loop but had to cut it down and force it to end. You can still loop it given you've got a player that allows markers. VLC player for instance does.

[Binnatics]

Couldn't take the time to read all posts, cause when I scroll to the bottom of the topic the MUSIC STOPS!!!

It's just too cool to stop listening to allready.

Nice w@&k Art, Go on!!!! And a slab on the back overthere!!!! :-X

[Art Blade]

Thank you, Binnatics :)

You can go to the media gallery (or click below the player on "details") and download the mp3  :)

[Binnatics]

What's she saying actually??

I keep hearing "clouser bome". Never mind, don't say. The song is cool the way it is!!! Mysterious and relaxing.  :bow

[Binnatics]

I just activated both embedded files at the same time, that makes it even more freeky  ::) :)

[Art Blade]

hehe :)

The female voice is a reversed recording and has gone through several layers of filters so it actually doesn't mean anything. I used it as a rhythmic pattern. What the original recording was.. really, you wouldn't believe it and it shouldn't be said aloud  8-X ^+-+

[black.penta]

what a nice track, really great w@&k and track!

[Art Blade]

Thank you, black.penta :) Glad you like it  :-X

[Art Blade]

Time for a new piece.

Mandru, try looping this one  ;) :-()

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[mandru]

 :) :-X

Very cool Art.  It does loop nicely.   8)

I keep telling myself I need to break down and buy the full edition of the KarmaFX VST/VSTi synth package that I use for composing so I have it available in the rare moments I feel like mashing together a new piece.

I'm particularly partial to that product because each synth module you add to the processing as you are assembling a custom engine has a small screen showing a spectral analysis of the audio signal at that point in the sound chain clearly showing how the signal is being affected.

^+-+ Don't get me started on setting up side-chain Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs) and programming them to behave as little robots that can reach into the controls of any other active module on the screen so that they can adjust settings parameters in a controlled fashion on the fly and in real time.

Open confrontation with the infinite is a path that often leads to madness.    >:D

I just looked it up and it's author (is that the right word for a software designer and creator?) has the package on a summer sale at $72 USD which is down from $120 that was being charged for it because of the decline the value the US dollar has been experiencing.  So it would be a good time to get a crowbar out and pry my wallet open.

Then again it may not be the best of times since it was only yesterday I convinced my wife that it would be a good idea to pre-order FC3 as soon as it becomes available.   :-\\

It's tough sometimes being so stingy with myself when it comes to anything I want to buy for me.   ::) 

[Art Blade]

In this case, try MadTracker2. It's all I use, combined with audacity and the RealTek HD Audio Manager. They cost.. together.. zip. Nada. Niente. Rien. Nothing  :-D

[mandru]

I'll have to give MadTracker2 a look see Art.  I already have the other two.   :)

[Art Blade]

it comes with a couple of VSTs, you'll see. Anything else: Use wave files. Like, record a particular part of a song so you could cut out a guitar riff or the sound of a base drum.. and that wave file (.wav) can then be used as an instrument.  :-()

Easiest way to get started: Download a couple of songs from the web site, listen and watch (the sequencer), change stuff.. and then, just export instruments used in those pieces so you can "recycle" them ;)