Could you kindly point me out the 'Carribean/Reggae' influence!? 🤔
Author Comments
(scroll down for lyrics & translation)
hello guys and gals!
so, this time I'm actually submitting my track with some hours to spare. I was considering pulling out of the NGADM two days ago, simply because it was stressing me out that I couldn't come up with one single idea that I felt was good enough to keep up with. I must have composed a good foundation for about 8 different tracks in the past, near three weeks, since round 1 ended.
I went to sleep and woke with the first melody that you hear, just stuck in my head, and quickly recorded it on my phone so that I didn't forget it, and kinda just went from there. I wanted to take some of the judges' critiques from last time and apply it in this track. I got a lot of good feedback too. My last track seemed to have been lacking in terms of variety/dynamics of each part, and went on a bit too long too. Samulis also gave me some good advice in terms of using the structure and sound design of the track to really tell a story. To think about each little element and why I was putting it in; what I want the listener to get from it. also, I wanted to focus more on percussive elements, bass, and creating a more dynamic pace.
thought I'd mix it up a bit too and go more electronic than I've done in the past. Since working on this track, I've learned a tonne of new mixing techniques, (special thanks to McGorilla42 for graciously guiding me through unfamiliar territory!)
not really sure what genre to put this in - I was inspired by all sorts - gregorian chant, RPG battle themes, caribbean/reggae and african tribal music, cinematic and electronica (and all its varying genres)
the lyrics are my own constructed little language that i call jordian for want of a better name (if you can come up with a better name, bonus points for you!) - the language is inspired by words from many other of my favourite sounding languages - japanese, latin, greek, finnish, spanish & portuguese
edit 02/07/2018:
I've revisited this track and replaced it with a much needed remix and master! Also, for those interested, the language became 'Etherean' :)
lyrics & translation:
Natura, y vita
Aeteran in la venta
Levula anam anima
Supra
Nature and Life
Breathes as the wind
Lifting your soul
Above
En tempana
Ina wa vuna
Pera la kalina noin ina
Nunca to hai ina
Through storms
I will fly
Break the chains around me
Nothing can hinder me
etherealwinds responds:
Of course 🙂 among many other genres, I was inspired by the tone of upbeat reggae and traditional Caribbean beats and vocals mostly from 2:13 to 2:51. There are also influences from other genres throughout, so the final result doesn't necessarily sound too familiar of any of the root influences, but I like to make sure I write my influences for particular works, however small or large they may be. Thanks for listening and stopping by!
so good to see newgrounds people I've seen grow in the past couple years. keep doing you man. quality stuff.
etherealwinds responds:
thank you so much :) believe it or not, I've grown a lot since this track too haha!
THIS IS SECRET OF NEWGROUND's MASTERPIECE!
etherealwinds responds:
sounds cryptic haha! maybe you know something that i don't :) thanks for the rating!
Oh wow...I knew this matchup would be good. Excellent sense of atmosphere at the beginning. Something about the inflection of the vocals makes them seem religious in a way - they just carry an amazing amount of power, partly due to the reverb. The layering at :15 is great, and I also like the lyrics themselves, simplistic though they are. The injection of energy at :40 caught me a little off guard, and the volume/filtering automation at :38 with the vocals was both unnatural-sounding and lazy as a transition IMO. I think it would be a little more subtle to have some of the instrumental elements of :40 bleed into the texture gradually. Maybe it’s just me, but the electronic texture there was not what I was expecting at all. I like the vocals as they start to make their way into the texture again, and the sub-bass was a nice touch. The melodies at 1:38 are also pretty cool. Your instruments always blend so well together, and I appreciate the full, well-balanced texture here. I wish you had added a bit more structural variety later in the piece - it has a sense of continuous energy from the 1-minute mark to 3:30, and I would’ve liked to see you create more dynamic contrast in there. My reaction to :40 was overblown, but you also have another transition at 3:32 that could’ve been a bit smoother. The flute at 3:34 also was a bit of a sudden addition to the texture - I’m generally skeptical of instruments that are introduced for the first time during the last 30 seconds of a piece. Overall, the sound design and atmosphere really won me over with this piece. The production quality is also quite strong. I’ve nitpicked a lot at some of the structural elements here, but the melodic content, mastering, and rather unique instrumentation are all huge boons of the piece. Keep it up, Etherealwinds! ;)
9/10
You have the best harmonies in this competition. To the fact that you can sing all of the parts in this is a pretty good display of talent. Oh that flute. Is that recorded? It's sounds so real.
Lovely work. Love the voice as usual ;)
Credits & Info
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etherealwinds 
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