KVR :: Music Cafe » Itch (ElectroProg - Seismic Surface Scratching) [View Original Topic]
There are 45 posts in this topic.

---

seismic1 - Sat Dec 01, 2012 12:28 pm

---

9 hours to record in June 2010, the original track for this was completed during one day. The November 2012 Edit/Remix/Master also took 9 hours. I made a few minor structural alterations and shortened the track by over 1 minute, but preserved the original shape of the piece, whilst cleaning up the sonics with some EQ and subtle added reverb. The levelling on the unmastered remix was very close to where I wanted it to be, and so the master was straightforward. I'm now remixing parts of the back-catalogue, hopefully for an album in Feb/Mar 2013. All instruments on this track are EnergyXT, except for the addition of Cubix.

mp3/192Kbps/6:35/9.04MB

or, on SoundCloud,

http://soundcloud.com/whatsisname/itch

Recorded in EnergyXT2.5.2/Remixed in EnergyXT2.6
EnergyXT Synthesizer
Cubix
EnergyXT Drum Sampler
IK Classik Studio Reverb
EnergyXT Compressor
T-Racks Linear Phase EQ
T-Racks Opto Compressor
T-Racks Vintage Equalizer
T-Racks Brickwall Limiter

---

Frantz - Sat Dec 01, 2012 4:22 pm

---

Excellent! It has all the depth and richness we seismologists have come to expect. It is also a completely unified piece. Everything develops smoothly from the initial parts. Love the bassline that makes its first appearance at 2:22. By 3:21, I'm involuntarily dancing in my chair.

The mix is great. Although I think soundwise this could be slightly improved by higher quality virtual analog sounds (e.g. Diva if your CPU can take it) than you're currently using.

By the way, what happened to the last few notes of the bassline at the very end?

---

mrblitz - Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:34 pm

---

harmonically, this is extremely interesting.

overall, it sounded as though perhaps some of the perc could have a wee tad more 'oomph' in the bass freqs, and maybe some of the trebles in the piece could have been 'shelved'. more than anything, that's probably an aspect of my headphones.

anyway, it's as though - if you had a line running left to right - representing the frequency peaks, that the whole thing could be 'tilted' just slightly higher on the (left), and lower on the right (highs).

also, maybe it's just a genre thing?... part of the definition for this genre? 'less pump' and 'more highs'? and of course in any event, each person's mileage will probably vary with respect to the freq mix.

again, it's a fascinating piece, harmonically.

as for FrantzM's asking about what happened to the bass line at the end; maybe taper that off a bit more/longer?

---

tehlord - Sun Dec 02, 2012 3:24 am

---

Haha awesome.

This really reminds me of the music heard in the low budget action flicks of the 80s.

What was that one with Tom Sellick and the spider robots?


And that bass, awesome!

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 02, 2012 6:12 am

---

Thanks very much for listening and commenting FrantzM. Glad you enjoyed it

I'm not sure that my machine would be able to handle the demands of Diva. I have a 6Gb Ram core i5 system which I bought in a bit of a rush when funds were tight after my old 2Gb Athlon died 13 months ago. I could easily up this to 8Gb but I'm thinking that the CPU wouldn't really be up to "Divine Mode". To be honest, this lack of CPU grunt has also made me nervous about purchasing Zebra.

The ending of the track went through a few different permutations, both in 2010 and during the remix. I decided that the sudden stop worked best for me. Other people may hear this differently.

The bassline in "This Must Be Love" by Phil Collins, is a good personal example. I always felt that the rhythm of the thing didn't make sense. A few years after hearing it for the first time, it was playing on the radio and I must have heard it differently (poor sound quality or distraction perhaps). Suddenly I could hear the rhythm (presumably) the way it was meant to be heard, and the track took on a new lease of life for me.

---

mr.me - Sun Dec 02, 2012 8:13 am

---

I like it!
Reminds me of the 80s a bit, but not cheezy. It gets ya pumped, very nice work in here!

---

Frantz - Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:24 am

---

I am currently even CPU poorer than you are running on a Dual Core XP machine. So I am using CPU friendly stuff like the Korg Legacy Collection and TAL-U-NO-LX. I will get a new PC soon. I have been postponing it because I don't like dealing with configuration issues.



The way I am hearing it, it sounds like the final ascending notes of the bass line were omitted. Perhaps I am hearing it backwards and that is the start of the phrase?

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:37 am

---

I don't tend to push the bass up in these ElectrProg pieces, and I like the HF clarity that is also fairly prevalent. There is a synth patch on here playing a descending arpeggio which has some PM going on. When I have used it in the past, I have applied a parametric EQ cut at around 1K, but I tried it on here and it "deadened" the effect, so I left it alone. It sounded ok on the monitors and on the phones to my ears, but that might be what you are referring to.

As far as genre goes, I label it "ElectroProg", but I'm not sure where it sits in relation to peoples' expectations in the genre catalogue minefield. I'm not noted for conformist behaviour in either my personal or professional endeavours, so that is to be expected. It's just related to my view of things.

I don't tend to go for "pump" on these instruments as a rule. I use a compressor in my mastering chain, but usually not "in the mix". This track was an exception to that practice. When I originally recorded it over 2 years ago I didn't really understand the importance of levelling or headroom and sometimes I would add a little compression just to add a volume boost to a particular instrument. As part of the re-levelling process for this track, the compressor used on the bass synth that comes in at 2:22 was no longer required. I decided to leave it on the track because I liked the sound, but for colouration only.

In any case, I'm pretty certain that this won't be the final remix of this one, if past and current experiences are any yardstick.

I've had about 5 different endings on this track in the 18 hours I worked on it. Endings seem to be the most elusive piece of the puzzle. I'll need to think about this again.

Thanks very much for listening and for the detailed feedback, mrblitz. Glad you managed to stick with it to the end

---

S1gnsOfL1fe - Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:46 am

---

Absolutely brilliant. As been stated above, I also loved the harmonic richness...and the melodies, and the vibe...everything about it was top notch!



Whoa, your fans even have their own name for themselves?! That's the coolest thing EVER!!! I guess I'm a seismologist too...and proud of it!!!

---

polyslax - Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:13 am

---

Love the piece Tim... what really gets me going in this one is the rhythmic complexity, all kinds of pushing and pulling. Outstanding!

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:29 am

---

Low budget action. The story of my life

That film was called Runaway, I probably saw it but I can't remember it. Looking at Wikipedia, I see that it had a multi-million dollar budget, but it was up against The Terminator. 'Nuff said.

Thanks for listening, Geoff. Glad you liked it Bassline is EnergyXT

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 02, 2012 12:26 pm

---

Thanks very much for listening and commenting, mr.me. Glad you liked it

Watch out for those steroids

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 02, 2012 2:58 pm

---

It took me about 4 weeks to get my new machine working in a way that I could describe as satisfactory. I found that period to be extremely frustrating. But it has to be done.



Yes. That is the logical start of the phrase. I thought that killing it there had more impact than leaving the sequence to complete.

---

Frantz - Sun Dec 02, 2012 3:12 pm

---

Yes, I will probably go through a similar PC upgrade ordeal around Xmas.




I'm a little confused. If the "missing" ascending notes are the start of the phrase, then the phrase completed. But you are saying you killed it before it completed?

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 02, 2012 3:36 pm

---

No. I think I explained that badly. The missing notes are effectively the final 3 quarter notes of the measure, but I squeezed the first 3 notes of the regular phrase to fit into the first beat, so it became an eighth note followed by two sixteenths instead of the regular dotted eighth followed by two sixteenths.

---

Frantz - Sun Dec 02, 2012 3:53 pm

---

Without getting further into minutia, I think you are saying you intentionally altered the bass line for its conclusion which is understandable. I wasn't expecting it and was wondering if it was a mistake.

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 02, 2012 4:16 pm

---

Thanks very much for the kind words and the listen, Chris. Glad you liked it

Seismology ain't as glamourous as you might think

---

macmurphy - Mon Dec 03, 2012 6:47 am

---

this is great. i love the atmosphere and melodies - it reminds me in parts of Orbital. the relaxed yet persistent feeling of momentum is particularly nice and gives a great sense of progression. love it.

neil.

---

seismic1 - Mon Dec 03, 2012 3:17 pm

---

Thanks for listening, Matt. Glad you enjoyed it

A lot of that rhythmic shifting comes from the X-Fade Sequencer in Cubix. The EnergyXT drum sampler provides additional backup.

---

seismic1 - Mon Dec 03, 2012 5:01 pm

---

True

This is a possibility

---

Frantz - Mon Dec 03, 2012 5:49 pm

---

In any case, I think most seismologists would agree, this track is a 9.5 on the Richter Scale.

---

Jesse Gorter - Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:30 am

---

It feels like waiting for something huge to come. Matrix-esque

---

D.H. Miltz - Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:35 am

---

I can kind of hear the action movie thing tehlord mentioned, but I get a bit of horror too. Maybe one of the Phantasm sequels. Very cool. Thanks, seismic1.

---

seismic1 - Tue Dec 04, 2012 1:59 pm

---

Thanks very much for the listen and the great comments, Neil. Glad you enjoyed it

Orbital eh? Does that count as a '90s comparison

---

seismic1 - Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:20 pm

---

Thanks very much for the kind comments, FrantzM

---

seismic1 - Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:42 pm

---

Thanks for the comment and for listening Jesse It does seem to contain a degree of tension.

I always thought that the original Matrix movie was a game-changer. It's about time I watched it again. Must be 6 or 7 years now.

---

seismic1 - Fri Dec 07, 2012 3:27 pm

---

Thanks very much for listening and commenting, DHM. Glad you liked it

I love those EnergyXT pads. I think that atmosphere is largely down to them.

---

TrekStar - Sat Dec 08, 2012 1:24 pm

---

I enjoyed the listen. nice and well balanced synth-sounds


cheers

wolf

---

layzer - Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:20 pm

---

nice composition here, tim! like the others, i got the action show vibe as well.... like, a spy vs. spy thing.

gotta love EXT2.

ps. watch your inbox, email soon!

---

fateamenabletochange - Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:58 am

---

very cool arranging. Sounds like lots of attention to detail. And a bit more reverb on this than some of your others perhaps. Very cool deep watery bass sound.

good job.

btw, wouldn't have thought Zebra would dent an i5 much.

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 09, 2012 11:18 am

---

Thanks very much for listening and commenting, wolf. Glad you enjoyed it

Gotta love that energyXT synth

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 09, 2012 4:51 pm

---

Thanks for the comments and for listening, Dave. Glad you liked it


...........watching.......

---

any1particular - Mon Dec 10, 2012 4:28 am

---

Hey Tim!!!...you know what I think is SO cool about this track is it leaves the listener in constant suspense? You know? The listener wonders what interesting sonic goodness is going to pop out of the lush labyrinth? I didn't read all the other posts so if this was already asked sorry but what instruments-reverbs-eqs and the like did you use on this lovely track?

---

mikusan - Mon Dec 10, 2012 5:22 am

---

(...trying to catch up on my listening...)
Great stuff here Tim, I'm definitely getting that 80s action movie feel (I remember the movie, didn't it have Gene Simmons (sans Kiss makeup) as the villain? Oy, that's one face that should've stayed hidden )...

As always, there's a fine sense of progression that makes the track seem shorter than it actually is, and your sound choices are spot-on. Speaking of which, Jorgen should surely be paying you for showing off the capabilities of EnergyXT...

---

TranceLover007 - Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:36 am

---

Can quite put me fingers on this style but doesn't really matter Tim sounded really cool man, some blend of 80's and 90's electronic journey productions and quite well done/produce.

You have create really nice and evocative soundscape around this whole track --> that's what make this really sweet man

All the best,

Darek

---

seismic1 - Mon Dec 10, 2012 4:43 pm

---

Thanks for listening and the great comments, fatc. Glad you liked it

Lots of long reverb and delay on those synths this time. All built in.

I used the CSR Plate on the percussion, but I went for shorter reverb times on these. I tend to keep the reverb effect fairly subtle on the percs.

I really like the sound of Zebra. Maybe after Xmas........

---

seismic1 - Mon Dec 10, 2012 4:44 pm

---

Got it

---

seismic1 - Tue Dec 11, 2012 2:25 pm

---

Thanks very much for listening, Chuck. Glad you liked it

Time for a beer.

All EnergyXT Synths used their own Reverb and/or Delay
The mix was eq'd using EnergyXT.

Recorded in EnergyXT2.5.2/Remixed in EnergyXT2.6
EnergyXT Synthesizer
Cubix
EnergyXT Drum Sampler
IK Classik Studio Reverb (Plate)
EnergyXT Compressor
T-Racks Linear Phase EQ
T-Racks Opto Compressor
T-Racks Vintage Equalizer
T-Racks Brickwall Limiter

---

seismic1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:15 pm

---

Thanks for checking this out, Mike. Glad you liked it

Yes, Gene Simmons was in the film, but Kiss were one of those bands I never really "got"

I don't think Jorgen has been here for over a year. I may have to migrate

---

2NDMOUSE - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:58 pm

---

Really grew on me the more I listened. For some reason I was thinking of Australia the whole way through , but particularly the mad max films , because of that initial metallic sounding bass stab.
For what its worth , the bass ending sounds good to me. I thought " he coulda ended it on a quadruplet , just like he used throughout the track " but the more I thought about it , it just felt ok the way it is.

---

seismic1 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:22 pm

---

Hey Darek,

Good to see you here again. Thanks for listening and for the great comments. Glad you liked it

I quite like doing these pieces that don't sit easily with popular mythology, but it's not for want of trying

---

seismic1 - Fri Dec 14, 2012 6:15 pm

---

Thanks for listening and the comments, 2M. Glad you liked it

Australia.....I've never been there. I had a visa once, but never used it. I never made it past the Far East.

I didn't really "get" The Mad Max films when they first came out. It took me about 10 years to get my head around them, but I quite enjoy watching on late-night TV if they're on these days.

Glad you liked the ending

---

seismic1 - Fri Dec 21, 2012 5:13 pm

---

Final pre-Christmas bump, 'cos the next track is taking longer to jumpstart than anticipated.

---

vesereva - Sat Dec 22, 2012 7:30 am

---

Really good sounds. The composition is great, too, especiallay the part at around 5:26. A lovely track.

Edit: The more I listen to it, the more I like it. Can you explain how you got that first melody sound starting at 0:09?

---

seismic1 - Sun Dec 23, 2012 5:54 pm

---

Thanks very much for listening, vesereva. Glad you liked it

The synth sound at 0:09 is the same patch as the sound used for the bass at the beginning of the track. It's an EnergyXT patch called LD Trance HB which I think I got from the EnergyXT website about 4 years ago. This probably won't help you much because I don't think the download is still available and The EnergyXT synthesizer is only available as part of the purchase of the EnergyXT sequencer. The melody came together just jamming around on the keyboard and in the sequencer. I tend to have 2 or 3-hour sessions every month or so where I just play around with sounds, melodies, riffs, basslines etc. I might save 10-20 of these and then revisit them later. Sometimes much later.

---

There are 45 posts in this topic.