3am - Salt19 (atmospheric instrumental finished)

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Edit: I took the time to properly mix and arrange this so it has some semblance of a song structure though it may still seem loosely structured.

Salt19 final
Salt19 uncompressed

I'm really proud of this because I had to flex muscles that don't normally see much action for lack of a better metaphore. I've been slowly learning more about improvisation theory and song writing techniques but up until recently the gap between study and practice seemed insurmountable... especially when you consider that I'm trying to get software to conform to these techniques rather than playing it myself. In my opinion this is my first truly succesful adventure into this unknown territory.

Thanks Rick, for encouraging me in this direction.

There are some details in this mix that don't really come across in an mp3 so I've provided the uncompressed file as well.

Thanks everybody for your input.
Justin's original topic wrote:So, I've gotten on this kick of setting Numerology up to write my songs for me (you know... 'cause it's a lot better at it than I am). This is some of the raw, unedited output.

Salt19 original

Like I said it's raw; little processing, no editing and kinda boring out of context... it's also over 16 minutes long. I guess the primary reason I'm posting it in this state (I do plan on editing and "completing" it) is becasue I'm pretty blown away by how natuaral it sounds as is. More than anything I think I just need to trim the fat on this.

The process of getting Numerology set up to do this was pretty difficult. I decided to use the 2.0 beta16 ( :shock: ) as it seems to run stably on my system now. It's not really random as much as a complex series of patterns interacting with each other, resulting in a peice that doesn't ever repeat.

Let me know what you think!

3am

P.S. tools abused

rhythm1: Ableton Sampler + Grain Delay
rhythm2: V-Synth
piano: Akoustik Piano + Ohmboys
lead1: V-Synth
lead2: Absynth
aux send: ArtsAcoustic reverb
Last edited by justin3am on Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

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so far, I'm about two minutes into it I think (listening in firefox)...

the tones you picked for this kick a lot of ass. a lot. the primary focus "melody" (it's more like a very long sustained harmony, which I tend to love) is well algorithmed (I'm coining that word now). it's extremely pleasant, but also mildly unsettling at times. the panning is really cool too.

there have only been like two bum notes, which shouldn't be hard to fix, right?
my only advice would be
a) make it shorter and
b) introduce one definite motif (not necessarily a hook, per se, but one simple melody or sample, be it drums or vocals or a duck fart) that drops in every so often.
I'd say you definitely have something real good going on there. even though it's generative, it doesn't sound like it at all. kinda makes me wish numerology had a pc friend haha.

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Hey thanks! Yeah, I'm currently in the process of figuring out which notes make me cringe and which provide tension. It's all still in midi form so there is a lot of room for manipulation, I can just constrain the scale to exclude the notes that don't feel "right" or just omit them all together.

Thanks for the compliments, the sounds were all home grown. The rhythmic crunching in the back ground actually started out as a break beat (gotta work one into every track).

Peace.

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Hi Justin, I agree with thelizard. The timbers, and tones in the piece are very cool. I found this to be really timeless. I always love music that trips my sense of time so much. Let me know if you do a second mix. I think a motif, or another atmo pad line could bring about a whole new vibe.

cheers mate

:P 8)

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Thanks dude, I hope to have time to work on this tonight I'll let you know when it's done.

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I'm impressed, hypnotized, delighted, and befuddled.

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yeah i absolutely love it too.
its already dripping with such
pure potential to capture a great
concept of amazing electronic beauty.



:wink:

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This is great, Justin. I listened to it all the way through. Very pretty stuff.
Have you played with H.G.'s X wheel of fortune? You may get some similar results as it seems to randomly peruse thru musical midi musings like this.
You should know that I might be feeling a little bent up that Numerology is better at writing ambient electronic music than me. Image
Can't wait to hear this trimmed up, but I enjoyed it as it stands. There are some great moments around and after the 7:30 mark that are song worthy all by themselves.
Nice, thanks for sharing.
P.s. I will have that remix of obstacles finished in the next couple of days. (I'm back in town) Image

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Hey man...let me be the first to thank your machine for an absolutely exquisite piece of music!!! I think it beautiful.

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I'm quite blown away by this Justin - it's absolutely gorgeous as is. I can't believe it un-edited! You're right, it sounds very natural, and the sound palette you've created is stunning! :love:
Image Image

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Thanks guys!

Jazzy, I'll have to do a serach for the thing you mentioned, I don't think I've heard of it. Thanks for the input, that gives a great place to start as far as creating a song stucture.

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Great piece. I'd like to hear more from Numerology...
You can't always get what you waaaant...

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stanlea wrote:Great piece. I'd like to hear more from Numerology...
Almost everything I do has a pattern or a modulation source stemming from Numerology but this is only the second thing I've done like this where a complex series of sequences "created" the song. This is the other one...

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... sc&start=0

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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I'm gonna bump this 'cause I've remixed and rearranged it to be a much more cohesive track.

Here are the new versions...

MP3: http://www.3amnoise.net/salt19.mp3
WAV: http://www.3amnoise.net/salt19.wav

Thanks everybody for your input!

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Time slows down when listening to Justin's music.


Great final cadence :-)

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