Saorsa II - Prog Instrumental Suite

[ariston]

For those undaunted by ludicrous track lengths, here's another one for ya. Part 2 of 4, a bit shorter than part 1. Hope you enjoy it!

https://soundcloud.com/ariston/saorsa-ii

[ChameleonMusic]

Love the slow, subtle development of those opening acoustic guitar motifs in the first section.

Effective drop at around 1 min 40 secs...is that an Oud?

Wonderful change of texture from 3:30...Gabriel-esque flute lines.

7:50 - yeah, returning to the opening ideas, but developed differently...a little pivot point in the structure.

12:26 - Ney? Could be a duduk, but sounds slightly too edgy for that?

It all hangs together extremely well considering the length - seriously impressive achievement!

For me it was also better produced than your last track possibly (and that was good) - more warmth + clarity and separation between the sounds?

[seismic1]

After an initial listen, this is very promising. I agree with Mark's assessment of the production/mix. This sounded much cleaner than part 1, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me.

Good work

[ariston]

Thanks for listening in, and for your usual detailed comments, Mark!

The instrument around 1'40 is the wonderful Mandolin by Orange Tree Samples. It's got a very "woody" sound that I love, I can see (hear?) why you might have thought it was an Oud.

"Gabriel-esque flute lines" made me smile. I was thinking more of Roland Kirk when I improvised it, but I'll gladly take Gabriel.

The instrument around 12 minutes is actually the Uileann Pipes. I listened to tons of Chieftains back in the day, and I adore this instrument. It's so expressive and mournful, maybe I should get a real one someday. Maybe as a retirement project? I know bagpipes are divisive, and some people can't stand them, but my ears don't seem to be that sensitive to high piercing sounds.

There's a Duduk in the ending section though, trading lines with a rather simple synth flute patch.

Sorry for ramblin' on. Again, thanks very much for listening and your appreciative words. I'm really glad you like the production, as I did go back and remix parts 2 to 4 because I wasn't satisfied. There's a lot of effort in this mix, and I'm really proud of how it all came out. Still mixin' on JBL Ones and headphones, if you can believe it.

[jcub]

Loved this! Nice job with playing, production, and arranging. I have the same Mandolin library and love it. Impact Soundworks makes a really nice Oud library if you are looking for that kind of sound too.

[ChameleonMusic]

Thanks for listening in, and for your usual detailed comments, Mark!

The instrument around 1'40 is the wonderful Mandolin by Orange Tree Samples. It's got a very "woody" sound that I love, I can see (hear?) why you might have thought it was an Oud.

"Gabriel-esque flute lines" made me smile. I was thinking more of Roland Kirk when I improvised it, but I'll gladly take Gabriel.

The instrument around 12 minutes is actually the Uileann Pipes. I listened to tons of Chieftains back in the day, and I adore this instrument. It's so expressive and mournful, maybe I should get a real one someday. Maybe as a retirement project? I know bagpipes are divisive, and some people can't stand them, but my ears don't seem to be that sensitive to high piercing sounds.

There's a Duduk in the ending section though, trading lines with a rather simple synth flute patch.

Sorry for ramblin' on. Again, thanks very much for listening and your appreciative words. I'm really glad you like the production, as I did go back and remix parts 2 to 4 because I wasn't satisfied. There's a lot of effort in this mix, and I'm really proud of how it all came out. Still mixin' on JBL Ones and headphones, if you can believe it.

Thanks for the info...mandolin...that makes sense!

Uileann Pipes - that explains the slightly edgy sound...wouldn't have got there very quickly...I'd have been going around the Middle East first of all!

No objection to the bagpipes though...seen this lot a few times live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iijKLHCQw5o

[Frantz]

Sprawling and imaginative. A seemingly endless supply of musical ideas keeps this interesting. My favorite parts were when the drums kicked in and an irresistible groove was built up.

Excellent work! I hope prog fans find this.

[ariston]

After an initial listen, this is very promising. I agree with Mark's assessment of the production/mix. This sounded much cleaner than part 1, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me.

Good work

Thanks very much for listening! Yes it's definitely cleaner, better separation, and I think better performances overall. I fudged quite a few things in part 1, and I was much stricter this time around, going for the perfect take even if it meant re-recording stuff that had already been mixed.

[ariston]

Loved this! Nice job with playing, production, and arranging. I have the same Mandolin library and love it. Impact Soundworks makes a really nice Oud library if you are looking for that kind of sound too.

Thanks for listening and commenting jcub, glad you liked it!
I usually use the Oud from Ethno World Pro, but I am looking for a good Duduk. The one from EWP is quite alright for simple purposes, but it lacks subtleties and adornments.
Anyhoo, thanks again!

[jcub]

I will check out the one from Ethno World Pro. Thanks!

[seismic1]

I just listened to this again, more closely than I did a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say that I'm again picking up "Oldfield" vibes, both from the musical style, and from the instrumentation. I noted that you had used Uillean pipes, which adds a little meat to those bones

Do you remember Bo Hansson's "Lord of the Rings" album from 1970? Some of the sounds/moods reminded me of that too, (and the sense of a journey).

Good work

[ChameleonMusic]

Do you remember Bo Hansson's "Lord of the Rings" album from 1970? Some of the sounds/moods reminded me of that too, (and the sense of a journey).

Maaaaan, haven't heard anyone else mention that album ever!!!

I still listen to that from time to time - had it on repeat (if such a thing makes sense on a turntable) for a few weeks when i first discovered it many , many decades ago!

Leaving the Shire...The Black Riders...the Old Forest / Tom Bombadil...Shadowfax...

Never heard anything quite like it since!

But, yes, I can hear what you mean here!

[seismic1]

Do you remember Bo Hansson's "Lord of the Rings" album from 1970? Some of the sounds/moods reminded me of that too, (and the sense of a journey).

Maaaaan, haven't heard anyone else mention that album ever!!!

I still listen to that from time to time - had it on repeat (if such a thing makes sense on a turntable) for a few weeks when i first discovered it many , many decades ago!

Leaving the Shire...The Black Riders...the Old Forest / Tom Bombadil...Shadowfax...

Never heard anything quite like it since!

But, yes, I can hear what you mean here!

It's an under-rated album in my opinion. You can still pick it up new on CD. It's one of those albums that seems to be well-suited to late autumn listening, as the light starts to fade.

[ariston]

Sprawling and imaginative. A seemingly endless supply of musical ideas keeps this interesting. My favorite parts were when the drums kicked in and an irresistible groove was built up.

Excellent work! I hope prog fans find this.

Thanks a whole bunch, Frantz, really glad you enjoyed it. The part with the drums, yeah... I never intended for drums to get in there, I was building a groove with body percussion: the bass drum is me thumping my chest, finger snaps, zipper sounds, knee slaps... and it was just crying out for drums at the end.