KVR Audio

Arglebargle · Post by **Arglebargle** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:57 pm

This has a lot of Jarre-isms in my opinion. Kind of a otherworldly feel to it... not ambient or anything tho. Would still like to tweak it up a bit, if I get a chance.

Crystal Planet (mp3)

Crystal Planet (stream)

fateamenabletochange · Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:18 am

I think this is really well crafted.
crit would be that the twinkley lead part is too loud in comparison to the pad sounds.
there is heaps of work gone into this.
everything is done well,like the end,really nice 1 sec tail off.

SWTrex · Post by **SWTrex** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 11:32 am

I really like this. What stands out for me is the variety in the drums and percussion - good use of different sounds, different amounts of delay and reverb, with some glitch thrown in.

This one's going into my "KVR Music" folder

Cheers,
SWTrex

Arglebargle · Post by **Arglebargle** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:34 pm

Thanks fellas, glad you liked it.

Yeah I agree that the "crystal" sound is too loud compared to the pads. Not sure yet what I'm going to do about it. Don't want to drown the mix in pad sounds, but if I decrease the lead sound too much it'll get buried when all the other instruments come in. Maybe I'll just decrease it in the beginning, and bring the vol up when the main drums and stuff kick in.

Arglebargle · Post by **Arglebargle** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:10 pm

SynDrone · Post by **SynDrone** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:27 pm

Yeah, track automation is definitely what's needed in order to smooth out those dynamics. The piano perhaps could use a tad more verb but I really like the overall direction of this piece. Good job.

emdot_ambient · Post by **emdot_ambient** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:05 pm

Within the first few notes it became clear that you do need to tame that crystal sound at first, but really only for the first 40 seconds. After that it seems fine. A simple fade up would work.

If I were working on it there's one other thing I'd do. I'd double the bass with a lower fuller sound, and not pitch bend the lower one. The pitchbends really bring the focus on the upper mid range tones of the bass and there's simply not enough bottom end. Seems like the bottom end is a bit underweight throughout the mix, too. Doubling the bass with a something ike a simple weighty sine wave an octave below what you're using here, focusing on the attack of the bass and adding body, would really help.

I like the percussions, sound FX, and gated sounds a lot. I agree about the piano bit needing a little something extra in the way of delay/reverb.

I don't think it's a whole lot like Jarre . . . unless it's some of his later work. Who I'm reminded of is Patrick O'Hearn. The rhythm parts really remind me of some of his early work.

Nice piece overall. Very well done!

Arglebargle · Post by **Arglebargle** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:18 pm

man, and I thought I had drowned the piano in reverb.

lol

Okay, the mob has spoken... the crystal sound will be tamed in the beginning. Will do it sometime today.

Oh and emdot, I agree very much with your comment on the bass. I wasn't sure about the glide from the beginning, but I never got around to fixing it....

emdot_ambient · Post by **emdot_ambient** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:07 pm

I kind of like the glide, but I'm definitely missing a nice solid non-glide bass underpinning.

But really . . . take all criticism with a grain of salt.

Marc JX8P · Post by **Marc JX8P** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:14 pm

Really cool, and it indeed reminds me of Jarre's later work, especially Metamorphoses (Je Me Souviens...) but it's still very original. I agree with the points about the crystal sound, but you may consider using the piano sound instead for the start and the crystal sound where you have the piano part as I think that may sound a bit more 'epic'. Very nicely mixed, very clear sounds and I love the melodies and the patterns. Top notch!

Arglebargle · Post by **Arglebargle** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:45 am

cheers Marc. Tweaked some issues that have been mentioned.... turned down the vol of the crystal lead in the beginning. Gave the bass a stronger low-end presence and less of a midrangey quality. some other random things I don't remember.

Will upload the new version tomorrow.

Arglebargle · Post by **Arglebargle** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:05 pm

Well now, a new version is up. Same link as before. Hopefully I won't have to modify this one anymore.... Sonar project takes so much juice that I almost couldn't run it in realtime.

fateamenabletochange · Sun Oct 15, 2006 1:23 am

yep,tis a good one thanks.
I like this kind of stuff.....and like the way the beats come in just after a min.......and the single note lead just before 2 min.
I think it does sound more balanced.

Jazzyspoon · Post by **Jazzyspoon** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 1:50 am

Arglebargle wrote:This has a lot of Jarre-isms in my opinion. Kind of a otherworldly feel to it... not ambient or anything tho. Would still like to tweak it up a bit, if I get a chance.

Crystal Planet (mp3)

Crystal Planet (stream)

I REALLY like this track. Thanks for posting it. Nice mixing and use of twinkly, tweaky little noises only a freak like me would pay direct attention to.
peax,
Jazzyspoon

Roman Empire · Post by **Roman Empire** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 11:41 am

This is so good, one of the best tunes ever on KVR!
What is that sound which is either amplitude-modulated 16th's or triplets, with a slow attack and panning continously?

Jarre style electronica