KVR Audio

davidstiles · Post by **davidstiles** » Sun Aug 16, 2015 11:25 pm

Hi everyone,

Here's something I've been working on. The synthetic stuff comes from Hollow Sun's Pulstar, and it's paired here with a variety of orchestral elements. I'd be interested in hearing any comments that you might have, especially when it comes to the mixing, which was quite challenging at times.

https://soundcloud.com/davidstiles/interstellar

Aleatoriac · Post by **Aleatoriac** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 12:10 am

Cool it's like a couple of scenes, the piano and orchestra part is almost like home after a fantastic journey - which is what the first space-music part was like for my ears. And I love ambient space music!!!! Thank you for sharing your music

nineofkings · Post by **nineofkings** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 12:40 am

Beautiful! The synth sounds at the very beginning had that particular unavoidable "sample-based" quality that can be hard to put your finger on, but the addition of the orchestral sounds really brought it to life. The legato strings are heartache-inducing and the piano is very well done, as usual.

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 2:12 am

Excellent.

The mix is very good although perhaps the piano is a little bit quiet and the bassy elements a bit loud.

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 1:07 am

The first time I played it, it felt like the ending left me hanging in mid-air. I played it again a little while later and that impression had faded. As Frantz has mentioned, maybe the bass during the second part could come down just a little. Nice composition, which seems to work very well as a two-parter.

Good work

TrekStar · Post by **TrekStar** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 1:36 pm

from 00:58 on beautiful!

davidstiles · Post by **davidstiles** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 2:59 am

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Frantz and seismic1, thanks for the suggestion about the bass. I think you're probably right about that. I'll have to revisit the mix and see if I can fix that.

Googly Smythe · Post by **Googly Smythe** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 7:11 am

TrekStar wrote:from 00:58 on beautiful!

I beg to differ - UP TO 00:58 is beautiful!

All in all, good job.

spirit · Post by **spirit** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:20 am

I'd get rid of the first minute. Doesn't go anywhere and has nothing to do with the main part. Also, the main part has plenty of variation in it already. Either that or put a tiny taste of piano at the start to tie it all together.

Overall it sounds like it's been scored to sit alongside specific visual scenes. Very cinematic. The melodies were edgy enough in parts that I could easily imagine the whole thing to tip over into something very dystopic.

And while I'm being picky, I thought the legato/portamento near the very end was too strong and gave the strings a momentary artificial feel.

Very interesting track though, I liked it a lot.

davidstiles · Post by **davidstiles** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:11 am

Glad you liked it, Ayorinde and spirit! There seems to be quite a bit of disagreement over the usefulness of the first minute of the track.

I see what you mean about the portamento near the end, spirit. I'll see if I can fix that.

layzer · Post by **layzer** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:23 am

it sounds good, but it sounds weird....on phones anyway.
and the reason it sounds weird is because theres alot of bass from the low end of the strings on the right side.
easily fixed by adding a matching set of strings on the left side or using a bass centering VST. it is a great theatrical piece though!
the first minute provides a good intro/buildup just needs to mesh better. i'd keep it.

davidstiles · Post by **davidstiles** » Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:22 am

Thanks for the comments, layzer! I suspect that much of the imbalance you're hearing in the bass might not be strings, but Hollow Sun's Pulstar synth - I used several different voices from that, and one of them is very string-like, especially when it's really low. I'll have to investigate further to see if I can figure that out.

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 7:29 pm

I don't think the first minute's synth sounds plastic or like samples that need help whatsoever. That seems like a personal concern projected. As to the bass, in an orchestra the basses tend to place on the right side, isn't it. I'll do that and mix bass synths with contrabass section because that's what I'm accustomed to. Some people may not be aware of this, but if you're hearing an orchestra record, chances are pretty good the basses are not in the center of the field. There are locales in this world where they do work in the middle of the stage, though. While I, too, find the beginning somewhat incongruous with the earth-bound rest of the piece, that's none of my business. I think that beginning is superbly mixed.

annode · Post by **annode** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:37 pm

I was hoping for the Pink Floyd-esh song I didn`t get on the new David Gilmour release.
One more for killing the 1st section.
No sound comment...listening on PC speakers.

davidstiles · Post by **davidstiles** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:58 pm

Thanks for the comments, jancivil and annode.

That is a good point about the natural place of the bass on the right side in an orchestral recording, jancivil. And I'm glad you liked the mixing of the first section.

Interstellar - An Electro-Orchestral Cinematic Soundscape