Very atmospheric, mystical, magical, adventurous . I like it.
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Author Comments
AIM 2014 Submission
Krichotomy (Kristopher McKenzie)
Fleeting Forest Lights is inspired by the artwork "If You Seek" by Zennore:
This track makes use of the "Crickets At Night" sample recorded by Mike Koenig:
http://soundbible.com/365-Crickets-At-Night.html
Which is available for use under the Attribution 3.0 license:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/legalcode
My interpretation of Zennore's artwork was a nighttime forest with flying glowing jellyfish, and here (using mostly synthesized instruments and modified percussion samples) I tried to create a relevant soundscape. I imagined the jellyfish to often stop glowing, and thus vanish from sight, hence the title "Fleeting Forest Lights". But I imagined the jellyfish to grow to trust the human, leading to the entire forest illuminating with their glowing, hence the climaxing.
Hmm, I'll come up with some names for each section of the song:
0:00-1:08 Discovery ~1 min
1:08-2:08 Approach ~1 min
2:08-2:37 Inquiry ~30 sec
2:37-3:04 Contact ~30 sec
3:04-3:32 Deliberation ~30 sec
3:32-4:00 Ritual ~30 sec
4:00-4:46 Night's End ~45 sec
Made with Linux Multimedia Studio 1.0.0.
Krichotomy responds:
Sweet!
Very atmospheric piece. Really really good. The reverbs and overall production are great. Those extremely distant and reverby drums towards the end are a hauntingly awesome touch.
Not much to criticize honestly. Great stuff!
Krichotomy responds:
Yay! I'm bad at production, so I'm pleased to get a compliment on it. Also, I'm quite pleased at your appreciation of the deep drums. They're a significant part of the piece to me but I can see other people not caring for them.
Very mystical. I like all of the atmospheric sounds you've used fo this. They blend well into a blanket of sounds.
Krichotomy responds:
I'm glad you like my atmospheric quilt.
I really like the sound of your synths here, it's a very relaxing piece which suits the imagary. I also like how it flows from section to section. I think an additional dynamic could be added with a bass layer (that could be used on and off), but I don't think it sounds bad without it. Good job, it has a nice almost nostalgic feeling about it which is warming.
Krichotomy responds:
Thank you. I do have a habit of ignoring bass, probably because I do most of my listening and mixing with cheap earbuds that cut out the lower bass.
I was about to say that the opening needed to be longer (that very very beginning), but then I looked at the artistic context and it fits perfectly.
I think if you added a bass line it could interfere with the story being told and might make it ominous sounding. If you do want to add bass instrumentation, I'd say to use strings over a pad, but that's up to you and if you want to add bass to the EQ, I'd prefer it if you simply pumped up the bass on the resonant ambiance.
The song isn't negative in any way when it comes to notation and orchestration. That being said, I don't see how the song is 'repetitive' in the sense that there needs to be more variation. I'd say it's fine the way it is.
I do think the strings <em>maybe</em> should be placed further on the outskirts of the pan to give it more depth. I am worried about throwing <em>other things</em> out there, because I wouldn't want to ruin this nice cricket sound in the pan (that's just me, though). It might be a good idea to explore the possibilities of moving other instruments out there, though. If you can put other things out there, I think the strings might be fine where they are.
At 1:44 you have this synth come in that has too much low-mids/mids (not sure which at the moment) in the EQ. It's a little jarring, but that could be the sound you're going for, idk.
The percussive, bassy synth you use liberally during the Ritual (to good effect) is a little overpowering at that point. This may just be due to everything being squished in the center pan at that part.
The cricket sample really does a good job of filling out the song.
Just got an idea that you could use a bass drum if you felt like it. I believe that would work. Doesn't necessarily have to be a kick bass drum, but could be a really low drum.
You could play with velocities and volume sequencing a little more, but that's not necessary.
Cello solo would sound great in here :)
To sum it up, it's a fantastic song that I only have a couple little problems with. Well done!
Krichotomy responds:
Some low resonant ambiance might help balance out the frequencies, perhaps without removing the dryness in the background created by the crickets.
I didn't mean for the synth at 1:44 to be as jarring as it was. Oops!
Ah- I adjusted all the panning before I had made the Deliberation, Ritual, and Night's End sections, and then I sorta forgot about panning after that.
The bass drum might sound nice but it doesn't fit into how I envision the piece. A cello solo might have been nice but I don't know if I could have constructed an acceptable one with my soundfonts. I might try it some time. :)
Thanks for taking the time to write that long and useful review!
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Krichotomy 
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