Drown - ElectroProg (Seismic Comfort Zone)

[seismic1]

It's really good - nice and varied, and great sounds and mix.

D.

Thanks very much for checking this out, Daniel. Glad you liked it

[seismic1]

The beginning is simply beautiful. The sort of thing Vangelis might do. Delicate wistful melody floating in reverb in a carefully manicured Japanese garden.

I loved Vangelis back in the '70s and early '80s, then I lost touch with him. I had another reference on SoundCloud, so I'd better check it out. I don't usually use heavy reverb like this, so I was taking a risk here. I think I got away with it.

Just when things might be getting a little too placid, suddenly the engine starts and we're landcruising. We're driving in a high performance vehicle with the terrain flying by so fast it barely has time to register. (This is the first time I got driving imagery from your music.)

If at first you don't succeed.....

All the parts are excellent. Love the bassline. The length is perfect. The piece flies by without a dull moment.

I've listened to this a bunch of times on speakers and earphones. My only suggestion would be a slight adjustment to the mix. I would turn up the bass and bring down both the arp and lead a tiny bit. I am talking about very minor changes to all three.

What do you mean by "a tiny bit"? 1dB ? 2dB? And what do you mean by bass? bass generally, or the section from 3:14 where the first bassline enters, or the section starting at 4:34 where the heavier Rapture bass enters?

Overall great track. This is labeled track 10 of "Hand." This will be a very strong album. How many more tracks are left?

The album titles were basically a device I used to group tracks together. When I had enough tracks to fill a CD (up to about 78 minutes, I think) I would start on the next album's tracks. Until this point there were no unifying concepts or plans. Some tracks from the first couple of "albums" got released as download EPs, and 8 tracks from the third and fourth "albums" will probably get released on Bandcamp later this year with a new title. As far as "Hand" goes, it is now complete. There is one other track which I haven't bothered to remix. It is a cover of an Opeth song, but I just don't feel comfortable putting out reworks of other Artists' creations.

By coincidence my sixth "album", titled "Reconstruct" is somewhat concept based. Currently, I have 6 tracks written and ready to remix, leaving room for possibly 5 new ones. The idea for these tracks was to use a "looser" form of composition (first tried with Drown, which was completely written in one session, without resorting to pre-assembled building blocks). In some cases the resulting tracks didn't have a traditional verse/chorus type structure. This was my second attempt to break out of a somewhat rigid compositional process, and was definitely more successful than my first

Thanks for the great comments, Frantz. Glad you liked it

[Frantz]

I loved Vangelis back in the '70s and early '80s, then I lost touch with him. I had another reference on SoundCloud, so I'd better check it out. I don't usually use heavy reverb like this, so I was taking a risk here. I think I got away with it.

Checking out some more Vangelis is probably a good idea. Although I think his output in the 90s and beyond is less impressive than his earlier work.

I think the reverb worked perfectly on this track.

What do you mean by "a tiny bit"? 1dB ? 2dB? And what do you mean by bass? bass generally, or the section from 3:14 where the first bassline enters, or the section starting at 4:34 where the heavier Rapture bass enters?

You know ... er ... um ... a little bit. Probably 1dB or less. Unfortunately, while I often have a clear impression that something is too loud or soft, I can never quantify the amount precisely in decibels. I have to move the faders until it sounds right.

I think all of the bass parts could be a little louder. I am not actually expecting you to remix it. I am just giving some extra feedback in case you were on the fence about the levels. It sounds pretty good as it stands.

The idea for these tracks was to use a "looser" form of composition (first tried with Drown, which was completely written in one session, without resorting to pre-assembled building blocks).

Interesting. It worked well here with a very cohesive end result.

[astrochimp]

a great track! i'd really love to hear a version without the beats, but without any other changes.

[seismic1]

After the initial oriental mysticism it launches into something a lot more germanic . Reminds me of an 80s track by , I think , corey hart called " I wear my sunglasses at night ". That might not be the title but those are the words he sings ( on a sidenote , it always amuses me when people refer to Crowded houses first track "dont dream its over " as " hey now hey now " )

It also reminds me very much of depeche modes " Tora! Tora! Tora! " which is as quintessentially 80s as you could get , and an era of music that I will always always love. Nice track mister =)

Thanks very much for the listen and the comments, Chris. Glad you liked it

I wasn't familiar with the Corey Hart track, but I think I can hear some similarities between the synth/rhythm on there and the buildup of Drown after 3:14. The synth that enters at 3:14 is AlphaCM, and I definitely hear DM similarties with that, especially the higher notes. I haven't listened to Tora! Tora! Tora! for years. I think I have it on cassette somewhere. I must dig it out.

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

indeed, there are a couple of moments where it sounds like alan wilder had a hand in it, and it's almost as though dave gahan is about to start in with a vocal.

cool!

[D.H. Miltz]

I enjoyed the whole thing, but the beginning really stood out for me. Simply beautiful, as Frantz said.

Thanks, seismic1.

[seismic1]

I hear a recurring theme in your music, it starts out there, begins to arrive, it appears around us with striking synth work and then travels off into orbit. very well executed to get the arrangement across and the mix is speaker friendly.

The style of most of the tracks I made so far is fairly defined. I had a long Prog-Rock listening "history" and a shorter participatory involvement many years ago. In 2009 I forced myself to start making some music on my computer using VSTs. My intention was to make some contemporary or modern pieces, but I failed miserably because I couldn't shake off the Prog "upbringing" and consequently most of my tracks tend to end up in some sort of '80s (or occasionally '90s) middle-ground, which is a little ironic as I felt the '80s were somewhat disappointing after the golden age of Crimson I suppose some of those '70s habits die hard. My next track is certainly more '70s than '80s, and is a deliberate attempt to achieve eternal youth

I grew up with speakers. I always found headphones to be an unnatural substitute for the real thing. Even in the days of the Walkman, I would always try to route the sound through speakers wherever possible, and today, I only use headphones occasionally, usually towards the end of a mixing session.

I enjoyed the voyage and it makes me want to visit this style again. time away from it and hearing pieces like this has me thinking I could offer something again.

I'm looking forward to it

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

[seismic1]

i love how this moves from the ambient oriental soundscape to a driving ryhthmic piece of retro sounding synth goodness ... great work !

Thanks for checking this out and commenting, Shaun. Glad you liked it

Music for the car? (another driving reference)

[seismic1]

I don't usually use heavy reverb like this, so I was taking a risk here. I think I got away with it.

I think the reverb worked perfectly on this track.

Thanks very much, Frantz. That was fairly new territory for me.

What do you mean by "a tiny bit"? 1dB ? 2dB? And what do you mean by bass? bass generally, or the section from 3:14 where the first bassline enters, or the section starting at 4:34 where the heavier Rapture bass enters?

You know ... er ... um ... a little bit. Probably 1dB or less. Unfortunately, while I often have a clear impression that something is too loud or soft, I can never quantify the amount precisely in decibels. I have to move the faders until it sounds right.

I think all of the bass parts could be a little louder. I am not actually expecting you to remix it. I am just giving some extra feedback in case you were on the fence about the levels. It sounds pretty good as it stands.

I'll try to tweak these a little on Sunday, see how it turns out.

The idea for these tracks was to use a "looser" form of composition (first tried with Drown, which was completely written in one session, without resorting to pre-assembled building blocks).

Interesting. It worked well here with a very cohesive end result.

I have one coming in about 4 months (Cape Different) which took things in a very interesting direction, imho. I wasn't happy with it at the time, but, 30 months later, it sounds more interesting than I recall.

[fateamenabletochange]

Am liking this one alot, sounds hanging in the air, blue notes, great sounds, and a cool change just before 3 min but the character of the tune remains, even after the beats start up in earnest.
Keep em coming.

[seismic1]

a great track! i'd really love to hear a version without the beats, but without any other changes.

Thanks very much for the listen and comments, astrochimp. Glad you liked it

I have plans for another track, similar in mood to Qattara. It probably won't be ready until next year The next track, due in 2 or 3 weeks is more TD-inspired.

[ZenPunkHippy]

... and it was over before you know it! Great track. Love the sinewy lead towards the end.

Peace,
Andy.

[bluedad]

... and it was over before you know it! Great track. Love the sinewy lead towards the end.

Peace,
Andy.

My thoughts exactly. Interesting choice of tools to work with, proving you don't have to spend mega bucks
to do great production work.

[clintmartin]

Very nice piece of work! Plenty of ear candy in there...Great mix!