I was told that the second level was when the volcano was going to erupt and that obviously needed a sense of urgency. I had several ideas but only one of them stuck which is what you're hearing. I had one where it was built on an ostinato on the bass. It was both the piano and the bass guitar playing really low while horns were on top blaring the melody. It sounded a bit more dire than I would have liked. It felt more like "we're going to die" rather than "we gotta get outta here"

I had to scrap that idea even though I could probably polish it a bit more and use it elsewhere.

I still kept a similar feel with the bass being a bit more active but I had it shift according to the chords. I tend to go a bit weird when I try to write chord progressions but for the sake of this song it didn't need it. Just have a vamp on the I and IV chords and let it do it's thing. I had the guitar play much faster and much more syncopated than the first level to really push energy of the song upwards. Rhythm really adds a lot even if it's something as simple as this. The melody was kind-of loosely based on the first song to try and make it a bit more cohesive mostly that interval with the first two notes.

The B section still baffles me until today. I had the idea to goof around with modulation during this project and this song is no exception. From a D minor key we've wormed our way onto Bb Major but instead of establishing that, the first chord we land on is EbM which is the IV chord in the key of Bb Major. The IV chord holds a lot of energy and to surprise the listener with that makes it sound... I dunno exciting? We then just descend to a DM chord instead of what would be a minor chord just to add a bit more color. Think of it more like a Dominant II chord going to Cm next. After Cm we land on our home Bb.

The high energy rhythm of the A section is replaced with the harmony of the B section and it feels just right to give the listener a breather here by slowing down to a half note pace. To loop back into the beginning we just slightly speed it up to quarter notes untill it starts again syncopated.

When I first made this one I wasn't very happy with it. It just didn't fit right with me the first time listening to it completely but after giving it some time I've found to really like this piece. The way the B section changes is just so cool to me. I strangely have nothing else to say about this one. I usually have a lot of memories surface when I re-listen to the songs I've made.