[ugo] Arachnid

[ugo]

this week's track goes in a darker direction than the last few...

Arachnid


i intentionally put some big bass in there but my system is notoriously inaccurate in the bass department, so i dont know if i've overstepped the line between large but cool to stupidly huge and overpowering.

[tconrardy]

Very electronic and also eastern sounding as well. Nice use of glitch drum, I like how you built up the voices then also had a break in the middle.
Can you tell us the instruments used?

BTW Congrates for getting in Electronc Musician mag this month ( download of the month)!!

[Bassballjg]

Damn fine work. Structurally sound, sonically seductive. I like the way the piece moves, very point-a-to-point-b without getting boring at all, in fact the opposite, building excitement on the ride. Very good atmospherics insofar as they blend up with the rhythmic aspects. Thanks for sharing.

[Ildon]

If I ever took drugs and then wrote music, I think this is exactly how it would turn out.

I really like it. You have style. I'm sort of surprised and at the same time I'm not. I figured you were going to be good, but this is very different from what I imagined.

On the bass... I think it's almost perfect... maybe a bit too big for my tastes.

This might be a stupid question (seeing as you're a synth developer and probably use your own stuff), but what synths did you use on this?

Also, if you don't mind me asking, what's your process for writing music? Do you concern yourself much with the theory or do you earball everything, or a little bit of both?

If you ever get the chance to score a video game... do it. In my opinion, you'd be up there with Kenji Ito and Tsuyoshi Sekito easily.

[runagate]

I'm hoping this is even 1/10th as awesome as your last.
I'll grab it later

[ouroboros]

very nice, Ugo.
interesting contrast of the "cute" lead with the darkened timbre of the piece. I listened on 'phones, so can't comment on the piece, but I enjoyed it.

[ugo]

Very electronic and also eastern sounding as well. Nice use of glitch drum, I like how you built up the voices then also had a break in the middle.

thanks tim
btw, i'd be curious to hear what you'd think about the track i posted last week. let me know if you get a chance to take a listen.

Can you tell us the instruments used?

sure, here's the gear list...

drums: ironhead and liveslice with loops from bt's breaks from the nu skool, m-audio sounds logikal, and perimeter sound arts' bio-mechanical beats

bass: real bass (modulus Q6), ironhead (doubled with the real bass), and rez.

synths: rez (many instances), texture, sytrus, motion, massive, minimonsta.

fx: dblue glitch, psp vintage warmer, anarchy spectral autopan, spin audio roomverb M1.

host: cubase SL3

BTW Congrates for getting in Electronc Musician mag this month ( download of the month)!!

thanks! im glad to hear that they ran it. i was told that it was supposed to be in the december issue, but i havent been down to the bookstore yet to see if it actually made it to print.

Damn fine work. Structurally sound, sonically seductive. I like the way the piece moves, very point-a-to-point-b without getting boring at all, in fact the opposite, building excitement on the ride. Very good atmospherics insofar as they blend up with the rhythmic aspects. Thanks for sharing.

thanks john

If I ever took drugs and then wrote music, I think this is exactly how it would turn out.

believe it or not, i dont do drugs! (hell, i dont even drink.) i guess my head is just naturally a bit out of the norm.

I really like it. You have style. I'm sort of surprised and at the same time I'm not. I figured you were going to be good, but this is very different from what I imagined.

im curious, what sort of stuff had you expected i would be making? the track i came up with last week has similarities to this one, but the one from the week before was pretty different.

On the bass... I think it's almost perfect... maybe a bit too big for my tastes.

cool, im glad to hear that if its too big, its only a bit too big. i thought i had it pretty good (though large) but i wasnt sure if it would be totally overpowering.

This might be a stupid question (seeing as you're a synth developer and probably use your own stuff), but what synths did you use on this?

see above
i actually used a whole lot more of my own synths on this one than i usually do. on the last few tracks, i only used a few instances of my own vsts. typically, i just use whatever provides the sound that inspires me (or what simply just does the job) at the time...whether it came from one of my vsts or not.

Also, if you don't mind me asking, what's your process for writing music? Do you concern yourself much with the theory or do you earball everything, or a little bit of both?

i earball everything because i really dont know squat about theory. i usually dont even have much of anything specific in mind when i sit down to write. i just kind of let it fly and see what happens. this process has been greatly improved by the record-offs that DW and i have been doing. (info here.) its forced me to actually complete songs, as well as give me no choice but to let the ideas flow from my head into my hands without fussing over it too much, which seems to be producing more interesting results.

If you ever get the chance to score a video game... do it. In my opinion, you'd be up there with Kenji Ito and Tsuyoshi Sekito easily.

man, i would really love to score a game someday. i should probably try to make a demo reel and see if i can shop myself to some game developers.

I'm hoping this is even 1/10th as awesome as your last.
I'll grab it later

let me know what you think.

very nice, Ugo.
interesting contrast of the "cute" lead with the darkened timbre of the piece. I listened on 'phones, so can't comment on the piece, but I enjoyed it.

thanks

[VladimirDimitrievich]

Wow sounds evil! I like.

The drums are just pure topnotch stuff. Seriously. I could listen to 1:50-2:00 all day. Wow.

not much more to be said, except that its in my Music folder

[Ildon]

im curious, what sort of stuff had you expected i would be making? the track i came up with last week has similarities to this one, but the one from the week before was pretty different.

I heard your other stuff after I listened to Arachnid. Arachnid's definitely the best, but they all have a similar sound to them, but in my opinion, it's good to have style.

What I was expecting was a lot more orchestral. I was expecting something like Danny Elfman, hehe.

On the bass... I think it's almost perfect... maybe a bit too big for my tastes.

cool, im glad to hear that if its too big, its only a bit too big. i thought i had it pretty good (though large) but i wasnt sure if it would be totally overpowering.

I don't think it's overpowering.

Also, if you don't mind me asking, what's your process for writing music? Do you concern yourself much with the theory or do you earball everything, or a little bit of both?

i earball everything because i really dont know squat about theory. i usually dont even have much of anything specific in mind when i sit down to write. i just kind of let it fly and see what happens. this process has been greatly improved by the record-offs that DW and i have been doing. (info here.) its forced me to actually complete songs, as well as give me no choice but to let the ideas flow from my head into my hands without fussing over it too much, which seems to be producing more interesting results.

That's great. You're proof that you don't necessarily need the theory, eh? I'm shocked at that though, to tell you the truth. I was expecting you to be this larger-than-life classically trained composer for some reason. In reality, you're very human though... it's nice to know.

If you ever get the chance to score a video game... do it. In my opinion, you'd be up there with Kenji Ito and Tsuyoshi Sekito easily.

man, i would really love to score a game someday. i should probably try to make a demo reel and see if i can shop myself to some game developers.

Go for it. I've already scored six games total. It's a pain in the ass, but also pretty rewarding.

[ugo]

What I was expecting was a lot more orchestral. I was expecting something like Danny Elfman, hehe.

elfman's soundtracks are very cool.
i've only done a bit of small orchestral type arrangements. if you're interested, check out the stuff from the perfect poison soundtrack up on my site. (in the music section.)

I was expecting you to be this larger-than-life classically trained composer for some reason. In reality, you're very human though... it's nice to know.

yup, very human.
i've only taken one theory class in my life, and i think i forgot 99.99% of it, and i cant read sheetmusic to save my life.

Go for it. I've already scored six games total. It's a pain in the ass, but also pretty rewarding.

how did you get into the business? i've heard it can be hard to get those jobs due to all the competition these days.

[Ildon]

What I was expecting was a lot more orchestral. I was expecting something like Danny Elfman, hehe.

elfman's soundtracks are very cool.
i've only done a bit of small orchestral type arrangements. if you're interested, check out the stuff from the perfect poison soundtrack up on my site. (in the music section.)

Ooh! I'm there!

Go for it. I've already scored six games total. It's a pain in the ass, but also pretty rewarding.

how did you get into the business? i've heard it can be hard to get those jobs due to all the competition these days.

Okay, if you're out to make a lot of money, it's not easy. If you want to do it for fun and money isn't a concern, then it's ridiculously easy to find something, because there's always a game being made somewhere, and if you do quality work (and you do) for free or for chump change, then you're like... a godsend to these developers.

I'm guessing you're not looking to make a career out of this, right? Then it'll be easy to find smaller games and volunteer your time. You won't be getting paid much, if anything, because a lot of these smalltime developers can't afford it.

I haven't done any work for any big companies yet, so I wouldn't say I'm in the business, but I'm working my way up. You just need confidence, a fat portfolio, and you need to be good at it and let your demo reel speak for itself. But trust me, Ugo, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to the competition. Game music is 90% crap when it comes to the bigger games, and the smaller games are even worse.

Edit #2: I lied. I counted and have a lot less in my portfolio than I thought I did. Sorry.

[liars&ashes]

----Cool stuff. I pretty much agree with what everyone has said about it. If anything, I'd try and *thin*, or open up the mix a bit. It's mixed very well actually, I only say that part about opening it up, because I always like to hear the layered stuff more like that, and it's something I struggle with too.

Jeff

[ugo]

Okay, if you're out to make a lot of money, it's not easy. If you want to do it for fun and money isn't a concern, then it's ridiculously easy to find something, because there's always a game being made somewhere, and if you do quality work (and you do) for free or for chump change, then you're like... a godsend to these developers.

thanks for the info. i may have to try someday to see if i can get a game soundtrack gig or two, to see what i think of the work. i dig gaming and many people have mentioned that my music would be good for games, so it seems like a logical fit. however, from the little bit of film soundtracking work i have done, i know that there can be a lot more work and frustration attached to soundtracking than it would seem from the outside. so i'd have to test the waters first and see how far into the field i would want to go, and how much my time and effort would be worth to me.

btw, what would equate to chump change in that business? i dont mean to ask for specific figures, just a ballpark. i dont think i have the time or patience to do much soundtracking for free but i understand that i couldnt expect to ask for a lot either from a small dev and with my small (and at this point, gameless) portfolio.

----Cool stuff. I pretty much agree with what everyone has said about it. If anything, I'd try and *thin*, or open up the mix a bit. It's mixed very well actually, I only say that part about opening it up, because I always like to hear the layered stuff more like that, and it's something I struggle with too.

thanks jeff
what?...do dont want it to be shorter?

i know what you mean about opening it up a bit. i tried to do that some, but its still kind of a brick. in some aspects, i feel some of that helps give it power (like in the multiple drum layers and the basses), but in the melodic stuff in the higher end, it might be good if it was opened up further. i should experiment with that some more.

[liars&ashes]

----Cool stuff. I pretty much agree with what everyone has said about it. If anything, I'd try and *thin*, or open up the mix a bit. It's mixed very well actually, I only say that part about opening it up, because I always like to hear the layered stuff more like that, and it's something I struggle with too.

thanks jeff
what?...do dont want it to be shorter?

i know what you mean about opening it up a bit. i tried to do that some, but its still kind of a brick. in some aspects, i feel some of that helps give it power (like in the multiple drum layers and the basses), but in the melodic stuff in the higher end, it might be good if it was opened up further. i should experiment with that some more.

----No, that one had more to do it seemed, and you can always chop them up later and make them shorter. What I don't care for I guess, is the 90-120 second tracks that should be 45-60 seconds. Once you break 2:15 or so, you're in "song" territory then, and if things are moving along and happening, then time is out the window, up to a point.
----The whole mix sounded very good as it was, I was trying to find something to say about it that I thought might give you an idea for something to try that might, and only might, improve it. It's nice to compliment people's work, but it's rather pointless if you don't tell them "the whole truth" so to speak. And ultimately, they should think about what you've suggested or critiqued, and decide whether or not it's something that would benefit their project, and if not, then no harm done, and we both did our jawb eh.

Jeff

[Arglebargle]

how did you get into the business? i've heard it can be hard to get those jobs due to all the competition these days.

I have been wondering this myself for a long time. But it was just a pipe dream for me to begin with, so no harm done.