3am - less than three (old school horror/suspense)

[justin3am]

Had some time to kill this morning so I threw this together...

http://www.3amnoise.net/less_than_three.mp3

Kinda' inspired by those cheesy synth soundtracks for horror movies in the eighties. It's pretty long but it got some cool parts, it works best with some sort of visual but I'm not good with that sort of stuff so you can provide your own

It's all Roland V-Synth processed by DSI Evolver and U-he's MFM2. I put some effort into getting some kind of vintage tape vibe using the Eiosis AirEQ and PSP Vintage warmer... effective? Let me know what you think.

3am

[polyslax]

Great soundscape! I like the contrast of thundering, ripping, sweeping sounds with the chattery stuff. Gawd the sounds are beautiful... I'm totally jealous of that hardware setup...

[runagate]

I will take this home with me, though I'm upset that you reminded me that I once sat through all of Suspiria.

[Jazzyspoon]

Its like you are conducting an orchestra of B52 bombers, analog synths, and haunted organs. Very nice. The warbled "talking" sound in the background is right outta my most overwhelming nightmares. Great ride, J.

[blatanville]

very nice.

the only thing I would say, comparing what you set out to do vs. what you achieved is:

this mix has too much balls...an 80s synth score would have thinned that way out.

[justin3am]

Thanks guys, I think there is a little bit too much going on in general (in terms of events and frequency range). I'm really struggling to be happy with my stuff in this style, part of me wants to hold a single chord for 5 minutes but the kid in me gets impatient that it's not 192bpm (yes, that is a typical tempo for me).

Poly, Jazzy... I can't quantify how much I'm loving analog filters!

[JacK_SoliuM]

some very cool parts , indeed.
excellent work Justin!

[runagate]

It sounds less analog than most things I make, lol.
I liked it, it's nice and long, too, which I always appreciate.
blatanville is very correct about the mix! That's the first thing I thought, though I am in no way advocating than anyone ever make mixes sound like the 80s, ever.

[justin3am]

Thanks Runny, mainly what you hear are the digital oscillators from the V-Synth but the really squirmy LPF parts are the filters from the Evolver. No eighties style mixes?! You mean you don't like gated reverb and huge pre delay and over use of H-3000 choruses on everything? C'mon!

[runagate]

Nope, not one bit.
I dislike the synths of the 80s even more, which is why I never thought I'd ever, ever be a synth user.

Even when I played 2 analog monosynths at once on stage, and again a couple years later played some unlabeled synth with sliders for the adsr, I didn't really realize there were more advanced versions of these things.... except, say, like Mahavishnu's or something like that, but I knew they were ludicrously expensive, some rich rock stars' toys. Now, of course, I laugh at half of the sound design I encounter in synths and make patches for others. Musicians definitely listen to hype too often, even me.

I gotta hit ooTray, now that bastard is jaw-dropping!

[justin3am]

Nope, not one bit.
I dislike the synths of the 80s even more, which is why I never thought I'd ever, ever be a synth user.

Even when I played 2 analog monosynths at once on stage, and again a couple years later played some unlabeled synth with sliders for the adsr, I didn't really realize there were more advanced versions of these things.... except, say, like Mahavishnu's or something like that, but I knew they were ludicrously expensive, some rich rock stars' toys. Now, of course, I laugh at half of the sound design I encounter in synths and make patches for others. Musicians definitely listen to hype too often, even me.

I gotta hit ooTray, now that bastard is jaw-dropping!

Silly musicians and their toys Don't they know that those toys aren't as cools as they look in the commercials carefully placed between their saturday morning cartoons?

I agree about the eighties though... all the bands that were making music I like between 80 and 89 were obviously transported through time in a tragic accident. I haven't decided weather they came from the future or the past but their technology came from aliens... aliens that live at the bottom of the ocean. That movie "The Abyss"... actually a documentary amout where the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI came from!

Little known fact... good thing the internet is anonymous 'cause I could get killed for disclosing that information. Seriously

Anyway, haha, the other track I posted over there? Wait till you hear what my collaborators (co-conspiritors) have come up with! Prepare to clean up brain matter from the floor behind you, your mind is gonna get blown!

[runagate]

OK, I think I'd be into that!