Mining Capital of Az'ahil

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Mining Capital of Az'ahil

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Author Comments

Whoa, it's been a while since I've written anything substantial. Since 'Delving into Desolation' I have been reluctant to make anything in fear of releasing a sub-par track. However, I think I have finally managed to produce something that others can listen to and that I can be happy with.....maybe! :)

This song was inspired by the many different desert regions in various fantasy games that I have played over the years, and as such, I thought it would be cool if I used RA and all of its neat instruments! There isn't necessarily a theme to this song, but I pictured a young civilian walking through the expanse of Az'ahil from sunrise to sunset with their mining gear in tow while on their way home.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this track, so please leave a comment! :)

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Kreuvf

2015-08-20 11:17:52

Up to now, this masterpiece is the best song I found on Newgrounds. Sorry, that I cannot say more, but I this amazing song left me speechless. Please continue giving such great music to the world.

Neon-Bard responds:

Wow, that means a lot! I definitely appreciate the kind words -- thanks for taking the time to listen, Kreuf.

GershBeats

2013-11-16 21:02:04

This is terrific! I'm sure I've never listened to anything in the "World" genre that actually engaged me, but this is fantastic. Such a perfect blend of sounds. Maybe if anything, raising the volume on certain instruments and having them take the lead every so often would lend to this? Regardless, can't imagine rating this anything less than 5. Great work!

Neon-Bard responds:

Wow, thanks GershBeats! I'm really glad that you think that the sounds blend well together. I'll definitely look at increasing different volumes and introducing some fresh melodies with the many different instruments in this track! :D

VideoGameManiac

2013-11-15 05:12:34

What a lovely piece :D
I could quite imagine that in a "Tales of..." game like a Desert based theme as you already mentioned.
Really like the flutes you used.

Neon-Bard responds:

I love the 'Tales' series...what a fantastic compliment! Thank you so much! :)

stunkel

2013-11-15 02:32:27

Hey Neon,

This is AWESOME! I think this is the same piece you showed me forever ago. And I gotta say, I can hear DRASTIC improvements in this from the earlier versions on this. The midi feeling from this is taken out almost completely. Unfortunately it's impossible to really take it out completely. You had some great and fun ideas in this. It sounds like it could definitely be in a video game. If I had any suggestions to make, I would say to make the new instruments that introduce as what would seem like a main melody to be a little bit louder, I felt like they were in the background a bit too much while listening. Also, the piece was nice and relaxing to listen to, and it kept it's tone and emotional content throughout the entire thing, which is great to do for a video game setting so you nailed that on the dot. But maybe it would have been good to throw some bigger parts or even smaller ones. Being at the same level throughout the entire thing unfortunately felt a little boring for me. Another thing, this doesn't really bother me at all, but for other people they get annoyed at it, would be to unquantize and mix up the velocities on all of the instruments. That shaker throughout the song sounds very much the same throughout the entire song. To fix this, if you are using East/West, I would use the round robin reset option in the Play Engine. It works very well for most instruments! Also just change up the velocity and make sure the notes don't snap EXACTLY to the grid, it's okay to do so occasionally, but you want it to sound like a real orchestra, however I didn't notice as much of a problem with that. And damn dude, RA sounds incredible, you used it very well! I'm listening with my computer speakers (which suck) so I can't tell how well you did with the mixing, but from what I can tell it sounds lovely! The scale and chords you used also fit the song and emotion you described perfectly! The melodies and everything flowed together perfectly. You are well on your way to becoming a professional video game composer! Come onto Skype sometime soon dude, we need to catch up XD

Great work man :P

-Ryan

Neon-Bard responds:

Yay! It's Stunkel! I always look forward to your reviews, my friend.

This piece was inspired by the track I showed you a while back but is more of an offshoot, so to speak. I'm glad to hear that this track would be suitable for a video game...that was my intention after all. I will certainly increase the volume of the duduk (and perhaps the strings as well) as I think that the middle-eastern vibe that this track contains is what glues the entire song together.

I apologize if there were slightly less exciting portions to this track....I have to work on creating songs that boast life and excitement, such as you would expect from a city-based track! I felt like I tinkered with the velocities enough, but there is always room for improvement and I thank you for pointing that out - I shall become a master!

The round robin option with East/West is something I definitely should experiment with, I still do not have my head wrapped around it's finer functions. However, interestingly enough, and you may be surprised to hear this, but a majority of the instruments were not placed 'evenly' on the grid. The duduk and percussion (rain stick, tablas, and ewe drums) were often all over the place without any rhyme or reason. I think the strings mask the other instruments and almost provide them with an illusive auditory quality that makes everything seem like it was placed directly on the grid (though many notes came quite close to snapping directly).

Perhaps someday I will be at the professional level, but before that I will need to go through many experiences and also criticisms from experienced artists such as yourself! I will try to be on Skype more! :)

Thanks man!

Mattashi

2013-11-15 01:55:20

I love this Neon-Bard! It's starting to get pretty cold where I live but thanks to your song I feel a bit warmer :P
Can definitely picture this in a desert of a game.
Great work as always.

Neon-Bard responds:

Mattashi! Where have you been?! I'm glad that this song was able to take your mind off the cold, even if just for a moment. Thanks a bunch for listening!

P.S. You need to release more stuff...now! :D