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~SW~ Thurm ins_wa_

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Author Comments

An experiment. I forgot the inspiration, but there are hints to a primary inspiration in both descriptions of the piece. I doubt anyone will get it, though - it's one of my super-obscure puzzles that aren't really practical to figure out, nor do they have any decent reward for doing so.

In any case, two actual challenges.
1. What time signature is this in?
2. Where are the 4/4 bars?

More interesting things about this: Finished in around 22 and a half hours. Again.
Nothing sequentially generated. The arpeggios you hear at the end are what repeat constantly to give the little synth bits coming in first at around 0:09, and they're entirely manually sequenced. <3 Ever managed to randomly generate 13 32nd notes in a row in a way that actually works?
There are precisely 8 instrument channels, all of which (aside from three) perform multiple functions in this.
There are no one-shots to speak of.
There are only three percussive instruments in total.
I used precisely three non-FL Native plugins: Omnisphere for pitched instruments (which are basically all straight sines and similar), 3rd bass for bass amping, and oZone for mastering. That's it. That's all, folks.

This piece was insane and amazing to make.

Downloads officially closed with the release of Reflection! Go check that out. :)

-Enjoy.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot - LISTEN TO THIS ON HEADPHONES OR STEREO SPEAKERS. It's still fairly clear on mono, but you will miss out on a *huge* amount of atmosphere. I went totally bananas on the panning and stereo effects in this one.

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I love the furtive vibe at the beginning. It progresses pretty slowly, yet still has an engaging atmospheric quality about it. I love how you snuck in some rather luscious and memorable melodies here and there too. The mixing and mastering is quite good as usual, btw. Your sound palette is always really engaging and cool. It's well-structured and smooth-flowing, too. Just a super-fun piece. Also, I may be wrong but it sounds to me like this piece is in 7/4. I'm not sure I'll be able to find all the 4/4 bars, though...at least not before I've listened to it a few more times. ;) Keep up the good work, Skye!

SkyeWint responds:

7/4 it is!

Thanks for the review, TL! I've gotten to really appreciate your reviews recently. :)

NGADM Round 2 Review.

-----

Checklist for Skye's track:
- Incredible sound design...Check.
- Excellent mix...Check.
- Neat and interesting percussion...Check
- Otherworldly atmosphere...Check.

As always, you've presented an enjoyable (and interesting) listening experience through great sound design, atmosphere, and your insane attention to detail. Oh, and spending a huge amount of time on the track? Check!

What to consider:
- You guessed it...the melody needs greater definition.

That is basically my only gripe, Skye. All of your tracks have high production values, interesting composition elements and are almost always very memorable. I think the only thing holding this track back is its incredibly understated melodic content. The fact that there is no 'true' catch or discernible melody is a bummer. Now, that being said, the subtleties here are really something else!

Fantastic work, keep it up Skye! :)

Score: 9/10

SkyeWint responds:

Alright. Better melody. Got it. Will do!

NGADM:

Holy crap, when I read MetalRenard's review this totally reminds me of worms. Anyways, this is solid man! The production as usual is really pleasant to listen to and you really make the weird timing of the music comes out as seamless and enjoyable. The thing that really bugged me in this track was the melody. There doesn't seem to be a very well defined one and because of this I don't really feel a huge connection to it. There's no factor that really attracts me beyond the uniqueness of it, which for me isn't enough. We talked on skype and it sounds like you are working hard on the new song with a better melody, so I look forward to it :) Congrats on winning this round, and nice work man!

8.7/10

-Ryan

SkyeWint responds:

Thanks, Stunkel!

You bet I am! And dear god I have so much to do by tomorrow.

This is an NGADM Round 2 Review

--

God, this sounds so Skye. The quirky/eccentric style presented with a super clean mix full of earcandy is something I always prepare myself to hear when I load up one of your songs. While I loved EliteFerrex's track for his melodies and overall charm, this definitely takes the cake for production. The deep bass synchronising with the kick gave this track a lot of rich and wide fullness, and makes it sound absolutely wonderful at high volumes with a decent sub. One thing I've always appreciated about your music is that you don't overload the track with a ton of sounds. You said yourself in the description that you only used 8 instrument channels, but you played around with their sound so much and give them all a lot of individual attention that you give off the illusion of this having an enormous palette of sounds. Also, mmm, those punchy drums.

Honestly, I was a bit hard-pressed to find much wrong with this. That's obviously a good sign, but at the same time, I felt like I wasn't completely taken aback like I tend to be with your other songs. I feel like it doesn't have enough noteworthy melodies or completely crazy/unique ideas to bring it to a level beyond "neat". Your production is stellar and your use of unorthodox time signatures is really damn cool, but at the same time I feel like this is a bit more "safe" than what I've come to expect from you. If this had more memorable melodies or more exciting/out-of-left-field sound design, then that would certainly fix this rather vague issue I have with the track.

I don't want to give off the impression that I don't like this, though. This is still incredible stuff. Can't wait for your next track.

--

SCORE: 9.3/10

SkyeWint responds:

Step! :D Hi!

Honestly, you're right - I was kinda playing it safe with a lot of this. I was experimenting with a bit of sound design stuff, but I was also experimenting with the other time signature, which was the biggest "different" thing about this. It's dnb. In 7/8. How common is that?

I've got something else interesting planned for the next track. You'd probably expect something like it more from one of the other people in the contest, but I'm putting my own spin on it. :)

This is an NGADM 2015 review.

Oh dude. Damn. I have to say I'm a real sucker for subtlety, for tiny intricacies, for drilled hats and tiny, funky percussion. I love that it's very electronic, but very dynamic and atmospheric, and damn interesting to listen to. Your production is fantastic and I just love the vibe. I find that kick drum nice and punchy too, but not overwhelming in low frequency content which would probably be damaging to the song aesthetically. I find this strangely specific thing important to praise, for some reason.

Anyway, I really like this one. If I have any gripes it's about the composition and that in many ways, this track is more ambient than anything else, based simply on the fact that it's atmosphere-driven (in my *opinion* anyway :P). Don't get me wrong, I love what you're doing. I love the sound design and pads and how off-guard this track catches me; but I don't find the melodies or chords very engaging or memorable. They're just kind of there. There's nothing bad about them inherently, and I suppose neutrality describes this song very well in a word, but that's kind of what they are - neutral. I'm also a little bit gripey about the long sliding lead sound itself, I feel like it could have more body and maybe more reverb, but that probably wouldn't be in the spirit of the aesthetic.

Despite the fact that I know that the sub is the thing doing a lot of work here, I find it quite impressive that this song is as loud as -9RMS when it sounds so spacious and transient-heavy! I can hear no master compression at all.

Also dude I love that squarey/reverby/arpy ambient thing you've got going on, especially toward the end. You know the one. I hope. I can't describe it, it's too cool for my words.

Definitely a winner, and a great listen :D

SkyeWint responds:

Thought this one might be a bit more up your alley!

The kick has most of the bass cut out of it to leave room for the bass - it works *so* well for punchy kicks and kick rolls. Like, ridiculously well.

The composition, I get - I tend to go more atmosphere-oriented than anything else. I also tend to go for fairly neutral music which works in the background as well as when you focus more on it.

Not sure if I could make the lead have much more reverb without fucking up the mix somewhat. It already screws up a bit closer to the end.

Dem square subs. That's all I have to say on the matter of volume.

Oh, and also that all the plucks in this (even the bass ones) are one instrument. And it's totally a sawsquare.

I'm pretty sure the reverby arpy thing is what does the weird little noises starting at 0:09. It's a 13-note looping arpeggio the whole way through except for when it does its solo at 1:50. We should totally skype, they're not too difficult of sounds to make. :P

Credits & Info

Artist

Listens
2,823
Faves:
17
Votes
32
Score
4.42 / 5.00

Uploaded
Sep 8, 2015
2:50 AM EDT
Genre
Drum N Bass
File Info
Song
8.1 MB
3 min 32 sec

Licensing Terms

Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.