KVR Audio

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Mon Nov 02, 2020 4:36 pm

And now for something a bit more chilled and ambient compared with my last 'Dante' offering!

https://soundcloud.com/chameleon-music/ ... arunachala

Cities and Memory project July 2020.

www.citiesandmemory.com

As always with C&M projects, I did a lot of background reading into the social and cultural context of the original field recording before beginning to re-imagine it...

BRIEFLY: Arunachala is a seriously, sacred mountain in India - a place renowned for quiet contemplation, meditation and reflection.

The piece itself was created entirely within the confines of KONTAKT 6 sampler using SONAR X3 as my DAW.

The opening washes of sound are entirely taken from the original recording - 3 separate instances woven together after being pulled 'kicking and screaming' through some granular synthesis / sampling techniques.

The bell loop that fades in at around the 2 minute mark is also 100% from the field recording - various short audio snippets were cut out, processed and then put back together using Kontakt.

Original field recording can be found here:

www.listennotes.com/podcasts/cities…du-7gw1sAoJWDl/

Also in my re-imagined version you can hear:
1) A gentle acoustic and electric guitar loop
2) A mysterious female vocal solo or two - all heavily processed.
3) Improvised Rhodes Piano
4) Tabla and Tampura.
5) A rhythmic synth loop.

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Mon Nov 02, 2020 11:22 pm

I really enjoyed this. Could have been much longer.

Very nice, detailed mix. I think that the rhodes jumped out a little too much but the tone worked surprisingly well with the rest of the sounds. I just wished it were a bit more dynamic or had a little more movement.

Well done! Thanks for sharing!

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Mon Nov 02, 2020 11:37 pm

I really enjoyed this. Could have been much longer

Thank you for the feedback and taking the time to have a detailed listen!

I think that the rhodes jumped out a little too much but the tone worked surprisingly well with the rest of the sounds.

I'm seriously glad that you thought the lead sound worked...finding the 'right' one to blend with the musical backdrop was tricky here. Agreed - I think maybe the Rhodes does jump out a tiny bit too much at times, but there was a delicate balance here with a danger of some of the quieter notes being lost (didn't want to squash the hell out of it with compression either as you tend to loose that full Rhodes warmth very quickly).

I just wished it were a bit more dynamic or had a little more movement.

I presume you meant the piece overall here - yes, it could've been developed a lot more in various ways, I totally agree, but I decided that the background info regarding the original field recording + the vibes around the sacred Arunachala mountain needed a more static contemplative approach!

I have to admit that my natural inclination is always to develop basic musical ideas quite extensively, so showing a bit of restraint here was probably good for me!

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Tue Nov 03, 2020 7:29 pm

ChameleonMusic wrote: Mon Nov 02, 2020 11:37 pm
I just wished it were a bit more dynamic or had a little more movement.
I presume you meant the piece overall here - yes, it could've been developed a lot more in various ways, I totally agree, but I decided that the background info regarding the original field recording + the vibes around the sacred Arunachala mountain needed a more static contemplative approach!

I have to admit that my natural inclination is always to develop basic musical ideas quite extensively, so showing a bit of restraint here was probably good for me!

No, in general I agree that the composition benefits from a certain "stillness" or "patience". I was speaking specifically about the rhodes. It works well in contrast with other sounds and I just thought that some more motion there (even if just volume automation, to allow background sounds to pop through), would allow the part to sit better in the arrangement while maintaining it's role as something that draws the listener's attention.

I totally understand the need for restraint, particularly if you are the type who will focus on details to the detriment of finishing a project. Perhaps you could say that conviction in creative decisions is important when it comes to shaping your sound/voice.

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:47 pm

No, in general I agree that the composition benefits from a certain "stillness" or "patience".

Thanks for getting back and explaining further - appreciated.

I was speaking specifically about the rhodes. It works well in contrast with other sounds and I just thought that some more motion there would allow the part to sit better in the arrangement while maintaining it's role as something that draws the listener's attention.

Got what you mean - I misunderstood the first time! I do get your point here 100%, but the truth is that having listened again a few times, I'm pretty happy with the balance of the Rhodes solo versus the background music. There is a certain trade off here maybe as the live solo has some deliberately very quiet moments, but I think overall it works well as it stands and the slight lack of balance doesn't bother me very much at all...in fact, in some ways, I quite like it's prominence.

More motion / dynamic range for the Rhodes - no, I deliberately played the solo quite low key to fit in with the generally still mood. again, I get your point - it's a valid one, but I wouldn't want that here. In fact the solo used was number 3 out of 6 that I recorded, with the last two deliberately performed much more hectically and intensely in case they worked better...for me...they didn't.

I totally understand the need for restraint, particularly if you are the type who will focus on details to the detriment of finishing a project. Perhaps you could say that conviction in creative decisions is important when it comes to shaping your sound/voice.

No, I didn't explain myself very clearly again, I think...

I really have no difficulties finishing of projects at all...worked to some extraordinarily tight deadlines with clients over the last 30 years! No, I meant that (probably because of my traditional, classical beginnings in terms of composition training) I have a natural tendency to want to start with a simple musical idea and then develop it in many different ways as a piece progresses. I generally do this very quickly nowadays and then have to decide which developments are worth using and which ones to reject as such...that's sometimes the tricky part, but I have no problem with it at all as rejecting ideas is a crucial part of the whole process...wish I could instil that simple fact more strongly into some of my bloomin' students!!!

Cheers for the feedback - always, always welcome.

layzer · Post by **layzer** » Wed Nov 04, 2020 6:38 pm

cool chill vibe. the industrial background noise carries it well. builds up nice and when the percussion comes in, im taken to some middle eastern place to an ancient excavation site. no mix issues imho. well done

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Thu Nov 05, 2020 11:35 am

layzer wrote: Wed Nov 04, 2020 6:38 pm cool chill vibe. the industrial background noise carries it well. builds up nice and when the percussion comes in, im taken to some middle eastern place to an ancient excavation site. no mix issues imho. well done

Cheers, Layzer!

This one was a damn sight easier to mix than the Dante extravaganza!

jcub · Post by **jcub** » Thu Nov 05, 2020 4:00 pm

Nicely done! I especially like when the percussion and EP come in and then the vocals are the icing on the cake.

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 4:32 pm

jcub wrote: Thu Nov 05, 2020 4:00 pm Nicely done! I especially like when the percussion and EP come in and then the vocals are the icing on the cake.

Thank you!

MasterTuner · Post by **MasterTuner** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 5:23 pm

Excellent, ...great soundscape. The washed vocals add a lot to it.
Can I ask what vocal library you used?

Paladin on a Horse · Post by **Paladin on a Horse** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 5:42 pm

I like this one. Relaxing.

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 6:10 pm

MasterTuner wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2020 5:23 pm Excellent, ...great soundscape. The washed vocals add a lot to it.
Can I ask what vocal library you used?

Tried to enter this reply once and something weird happened...I'll try again!

Thank you for the listen and feedback...

Ethera Gold

Preset Vocal Phrase - to fit my music it was:
Time-stretched
Rhythm of melody changed
Some individual notes in the melody changed in terms of pitch (in Melodyne)
Some individual notes in the melody changed in terms of volume (in Melodyne)
Retrograded
Wash of reverb
Delay
Compression

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 8:15 pm

Paladin on a Horse wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2020 5:42 pm I like this one. Relaxing.

Cheers...and Thank God it didn't make you fart a lot like the Dante track did!

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Thu Nov 12, 2020 2:22 am

I like the way this takes its time to build and subside. It's almost like the ending of the piece is a mirror image of the intro. I must make more use of some of the granular options that I have, 'cos the sounds in the intro are great. I loved the ghostly female vox, and the percussion was well-defined and was perfect for the piece. The ivory-tinkling was a great fit. Everything worked together to create a fine ambient/world music/jam combo.

Good work

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Thu Nov 12, 2020 10:36 am

seismic1 wrote: Thu Nov 12, 2020 2:22 am I like the way this takes its time to build and subside. It's almost like the ending of the piece is a mirror image of the intro. I must make more use of some of the granular options that I have, 'cos the sounds in the intro are great. I loved the ghostly female vox, and the percussion was well-defined and was perfect for the piece. The ivory-tinkling was a great fit. Everything worked together to create a fine ambient/world music/jam combo.

Good work

Thanks Tim - i didn't post this when I composed it in July as I was never that sure about it...

Then I listened again when composing the new Dante piece and thought it might be OK after all!

granular options

I get more and more into granular synthesis and sampling each year - love it...so many options to do incredible thing with tiny fragments of sound!

Yeah - the opening washes of sound were originally really hectic, cacophonous, ringing bells...love bells combined with granular synths!

The ivory-tinkling was a great fit.

You've no idea how last minute that was... in hindsight the original lead sound was sooooo stupid!

Improvising bits in my music is good for me as I make a pact with myself to leave the chosen solo alone, even if it's not 'perfect' (whatever that means)...helps control my urge to continually tweak!

Embrace Me Arunachala