KVR Audio

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 8:58 pm

This began life as an ambient piece but then grew some Dubstep legs. I toned down the percussion during the mixing process to keep the piece firmly planted in the land of chill. Most of the synths on here are Z3ta+2 presets with some light mods or automations. The mix was relatively straightforward as was the mastering.

EDIT:20221025 - removed mp3 link

on SoundCloud at 320kbps

https://soundcloud.com/whatsisname/parallax

Instruments and implements:-

recorded/mixed and pre-mastered in EnergyXT2.7 - Mastered in T-Racks 3

Z3ta+2
Axon
Tremor
DuneCM
FMERA
REFLEXplus
Stutter Edit
Breeze
Satin
T-Racks Linear Phase EQ
T-Racks Opto Compressor
T-Racks Vintage Equalizer
T-Racks Brickwall Limiter

DR -13

EDIT - 20150809

Here is Paradromic, a more minimal interpretation of the original track. I have cut back on the lead and bass synth lines, tweaked some of the vocal synth harmonies and made some minor adjustments to the StutterEdit processing.

https://soundcloud.com/whatsisname/paradromic

Same tools used for this remix.

DR - 12

EDIT:20221026 - I remixed Parallax again in May 2022. I wanted to decrease the levels in the master slightly, and took the opportunity to revisit the EQ settings in the mix and re-mastered using the original chain.

https://soundcloud.com/whatsisname/para ... ks5-master

Recorded and mixed in EnergyXT 2.7
Mastered in T-Racks 5

Z3ta+2
Axon
Tremor
DuneCM
FMERA
REFLEXplus
Stutter Edit
Breeze
Satin
T-Racks Linear Phase EQ
T-Racks Opto Compressor
T-Racks Vintage Equalizer
T-Racks Brickwall Limiter

DR - 12

PatchAdamz · Post by **PatchAdamz** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 1:34 am

Very nice changes and orchestration with just enough mystery.

I like the space been the parts, it takes discipline to pull that off.

Gets nicely Vangelis-ish near the end.

Very nice, reminds of Ozric Tentacles at their best.

layzer · Post by **layzer** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:05 pm

great sounds, great mix and composition, nothing not to like on this one tim. i was glued to my headphones all the way through. good good stuff!

btw, i think you know i'm a bass head and this had some juicy bass in it!

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 2:09 am

PatchAdamz wrote:Very nice changes and orchestration with just enough mystery.

I like the space been the parts, it takes discipline to pull that off.

Gets nicely Vangelis-ish near the end.

Very nice, reminds of Ozric Tentacles at their best.

Lately I seem to have developed a predilection for using pads with a vocal character in my tracks. I think the "soft" qualities associated with these sounds helps to maintain the space that your refer to. I think I've also been using less instrument instances over the last year or so, and my mixing technique seems to be a better fit here. I also have a bigger selection of reverb/delay FX available, so I'm spoilt for choice in that department. I really like the 2C reverbs on this more "ambient" sounding stuff, and REFLEXplus is a wonderful tool too.

Thanks very much for the wonderful comments, PatchAdamz. Glad you liked it

sbj · Post by **sbj** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 12:59 pm

layzer wrote:nothing not to like on this one tim

+1

Lots of good tension and suspense. And for what it is worth I also
think the mix went very well.

Cheers

PatchAdamz · Post by **PatchAdamz** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 10:01 pm

seismic1 wrote:
PatchAdamz wrote:Very nice changes and orchestration with just enough mystery.

I like the space been the parts, it takes discipline to pull that off.

Gets nicely Vangelis-ish near the end.

Very nice, reminds of Ozric Tentacles at their best.
Lately I seem to have developed a predilection for using pads with a vocal character in my tracks. I think the "soft" qualities associated with these sounds helps to maintain the space that your refer to. I think I've also been using less instrument instances over the last year or so, and my mixing technique seems to be a better fit here. I also have a bigger selection of reverb/delay FX available, so I'm spoilt for choice in that department. I really like the 2C reverbs on this more "ambient" sounding stuff, and REFLEXplus is a wonderful tool too.

Thanks very much for the wonderful comments, PatchAdamz. Glad you liked it

It is musical and production growth.

More space, less clutter = most listener accessibility.

Again, nice job.

kryptonaut · Post by **kryptonaut** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 9:18 am

I like the sinister feel of this, combined with the fast hats building up the tension. The section at 5:30 works well, where it all drops away and then gradually comes back again. The whole thing made me think of Mr. X by Ultravox, with some Vangelis-y influence. Very enjoyable

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:16 am

layzer wrote:great sounds, great mix and composition, nothing not to like on this one tim. i was glued to my headphones all the way through. good good stuff!
btw, i think you know i'm a bass head and this had some juicy bass in it!

Cheers, layzer. Thanks for listening and commenting. Glad you liked it

That smooth, deep bass synth is one of the DuneCM presets. It was such a good fit on here, that I left it alone, apart from some automated reverb processing and the usual eq job. I was a little worried about Frantz prized porcelain collection. He may still be clearing up the debris

TrekStar · Post by **TrekStar** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:36 am

highly enjoyed here, seismic! this was good built up. the Sound of the solo synth - somehow fragile and electronically detailed - was very attractive! also the rest of the Sound choice was very tasteful. I especially enjoyed the harmony progressions from 03:23-05:22.
Big thumbs up

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 6:48 pm

sbj wrote:
layzer wrote:nothing not to like on this one tim
+1

Lots of good tension and suspense. And for what it is worth I also
think the mix went very well.

Cheers

Thanks very much, sbj. Glad you liked it, and happy that you liked the mix

Tension/suspense/chillout - multi-functional

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 4:24 am

And here I thought we would be hobnobbing with Hobgoblin again but we have flashed forward to the present day. I was concerned about the mention of dubstep which could have been a dubious step for you. Fortunately, this falls into the Seismic sweetspot of melancholic beat-driven moodiness. The result is excellent. Z3ta complements your music very well. The dark, bass-heavy sound of previous mixes is gone. This is a full frequency recording with a clear, transparent widescreen sound. The mix is flawless. The use of reverb is subtle and effective. My precious porcelain was completely undisturbed even at high volume.

My only minor complaint is what sounds like a false ending at around the 6 minute mark but I guess I got used to the track springing back to life.

Overall, very enjoyable.

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:45 am

PatchAdamz wrote:
seismic1 wrote:
PatchAdamz wrote:Very nice changes and orchestration with just enough mystery.

I like the space been the parts, it takes discipline to pull that off.

Gets nicely Vangelis-ish near the end.

Very nice, reminds of Ozric Tentacles at their best.
Lately I seem to have developed a predilection for using pads with a vocal character in my tracks. I think the "soft" qualities associated with these sounds helps to maintain the space that your refer to. I think I've also been using less instrument instances over the last year or so, and my mixing technique seems to be a better fit here. I also have a bigger selection of reverb/delay FX available, so I'm spoilt for choice in that department. I really like the 2C reverbs on this more "ambient" sounding stuff, and REFLEXplus is a wonderful tool too.

Thanks very much for the wonderful comments, PatchAdamz. Glad you liked it

It is musical and production growth.

More space, less clutter = most listener accessibility.

Again, nice job.

Thanks again for the great comments

I fear it's going to be much harder to maintain that sparseness/space in my regular Electroprog infused techno. Let's see what happens.

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Fri Jun 19, 2015 1:53 am

kryptonaut wrote:I like the sinister feel of this, combined with the fast hats building up the tension. The section at 5:30 works well, where it all drops away and then gradually comes back again. The whole thing made me think of Mr. X by Ultravox, with some Vangelis-y influence. Very enjoyable

Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, kryptonaut. It is much appreciated

Most of my recent tracks seem to be darker in nature than my earlier work. I'm trying to figure out why this would be. It may be because my current remix project is focused on the earlier stuff, and writing these new pieces is just a reaction to the lighter moods present in the older tracks. Or it may be that I am just a miserable old git, rebelling against the joys of the nine-to-five

Glad you liked it.

Titas Sid · Post by **Titas Sid** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 6:57 pm

Nice composition : )

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 12:57 am

TrekStar wrote:highly enjoyed here, seismic! this was good built up. the Sound of the solo synth - somehow fragile and electronically detailed - was very attractive! also the rest of the Sound choice was very tasteful. I especially enjoyed the harmony progressions from 03:23-05:22.
Big thumbs up

Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, wolf. Glad you liked it

I've had Z3ta+2 for a while, but only just started using it in my tracks recently. Hopefully, I'll be using this again soon. Glad you enjoyed the harmonies too. That aspect of the track required the most consideration and and tweaking.

Parallax/Paradromic - ElectroProg (Seismic Viewpoints)