KVR Audio

knockman · Post by **knockman** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:24 pm

been playing my guitars again

The Lodger

this is a track i've been working on rather too much of late, i'm going to let it rest a while before returning to 'clean it up' as it's definitely in need of treatment. however i'm starting to get fatigue, so i wanted to post it hoping someone's comments would give me some focus again.

about the song

i wanted a dense sonic feel around a rigid beat that would phase into a velvets style guitar mesh at the end, not sure why, just seemed it could be a pleasing thing to do since all my recent stuff, especially the contest entries here, has used solely virtual instruments. the lyrics are as yet unfinished, their are currently in a 'cartoon' form of the dark brooding nature i envisage - the voice should ultimately determine their form.

this was done in eXT, which on my computer is near saturation point with so many audio tracks, including rendered plug ins, and a handful of effects, but i've been highly impressed with how it's held up - i think this piece has possibly doubled just about any other song in terms of tracks, that i've done in eXT.

if some kind souls could take a listen and comment, i'd be eternally grateful.

regards

Barnadine · Post by **Barnadine** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:49 pm

Lovely! Perhaps the lushest thing I've heard from you. The guitars really fill out the texture.

I'll give it a better listen tomorrow, just noticed this as I was off to bed. Only suggestion that comes to mind after a brief listen: the strings are a bit characterless, and feel like an imposition on this account - perhaps substitute something more/less real?

Wonderful.

You™ · Post by **You™** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:51 pm

Cool track. I know what Barnadine means about the strings. Maybe just some kind of filtering would help. Real strings would be ideal. Just dial that up.

I love the ambiance, though there might be a slight bit of muddiness. It's hard for me to say. It's got a natural drone, a lot of reverb and your voice is such a low register it kind of all blurs together in a hazy cloud. Velvety. Excellent coda.

Is that authentic Japanese rain in the beginning?

Beardedone · Post by **Beardedone** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:04 pm

I am really impressed! And not least with the fact it's done in eXT. I still have trouble with one audio track in eXT.

AndreasE · Post by **AndreasE** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:13 pm

Brilliant, like most of your songs!

respirator · Post by **respirator** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:05 pm

Hey Knockman

This is really, really good. The feel of the track is unique with many subtle references. Love it. My only "thing" is the drums (I never like sequenced drums). In this case I don't want a more life feel, though. An old 8 or 12 bit drum machine through some distortion would lift this track into the musical heavens.

Great work!

knockman · Post by **knockman** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:33 pm

thanks alot people

alot of helpful comments for me, i was starting to not see the wood for the trees on this one:

barnadine and youtm, thanks for the strings advice, i don't have anything truly authentic i can use here - no big sample library, and the tokyo philharmonic are busy this week, so i'll go down the more synthetic/treated route. hopefully some filtering will lift them and get them buzzing a bit. the vocals are in a state of flux i guess, i couldn't sing comfortably against the sonic mass, which further means the automatic phonetic sounds i often derive lyrics from didn't flow, so hopefully the treatments would enable that. i tried a version in a higher register with a more cascading line, it was much easier but lacked the gravity of my original intent, maybe a dual approach will be investigated.

andreas and gordon, thanks for your encouraging remarks. eXT is becoming incredibly capable whilst maintaining its idiosyncracies. i feel i've established a kind of (un)holy trinity between myself, my pc and eXT. the program appears to perform in variable ways for each user and thus has character, i don't think i'd have the music i create if i were using any other host right now. it's akin to the old days when my guitar and amp configurations were a source of delight.

respirator, thanks, i'm very pleased to receive your comments as i consider you a master of certain sound realms. sequenced drums are kind of a compromise in this kind of music i.e. quasi-real, recently i'm glad if my tracks don't need beat. drum sounds are something i'm rather poor at, i'll give your suggestion some work and investigate what it does to the track. thanks again.

regards

Emerald Tablet · Post by **Emerald Tablet** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:20 pm

To me your realy one of the better artists on these
pages! the feel of this track is just so darn awesome goosepimples all over! Dunno why i always like what you do so much

perhaps because it reminds me of my new wave period
when i was 16

thanks for this mate ! inspiring

cptgone · Post by **cptgone** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:27 pm

Coolness (as usual)

I agree about the strings - their sound leaves to be desired here and there. They're so synthy they get cheesy.

Is it just me or does this sound pretty David Sylvian-like? I don't mean just the voice.

Enjoyed this a lot, thanks for the DL

The Lodger - knockman's plight