Paramnesia (Seismic Induced Distortion)

[seismic1]

I really like the atmosphere. It's somewhat dreamy but it has a sense of tension and mystery. Like looking deep into the starry sky, relizing how big the universe is and how many wonders it hides. It builds up really nicely and gets pretty epic in a good way. Ends a little abruptly though.

That's an interesting comment, because I wrote a piece over 7 years ago which exclusively featured the instrument that provided the foundation for this track, and was inspired by an hour spent looking at the stars. In some ways that piece formed the basis of this one.

I was writing to a maximum specified track length of 10 minutes for the compilation, so I was a little wary of exceeding that restriction. If I remix for a future album release things could change

Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, VCA-089. Glad you liked it

[PatchAdamz]

Wow, very expansive and relaxing.
Has a deep, calming quality that is very enjoyable to experience.

Really like it.

A big part of the writing here was concentrated on panning similar parts (2 WOLLO vocal instances) (2 Z3ta+2 arps) on opposing sides of the mix. I left the lead, bass and vocal samples somewhere in the middle.

I guess those thumbs indicate that you'll be taking a short break from the kalimba

Thanks very much for listening and for the great comments, Patch. I'm glad it hit the spot

I like the idea of working the musicality of a tune around panning (or reverb or other FX) which is often considered incidental.

What ever you get inspired by is a good path to follow....

[Allomerus]

Beautiful soundscape with a few moments of tension. Great to listen to on a cold rainy day.
The Paulstretch software has been on my radar for a while. Might have to get it.
Well done Tim.

[seismic1]

Hi Tim

I like how this track rises and fall or maybe more like waves coming and going on the shore.

And your choice and blend of sounds are excellent. Furthermore I just got myself some new headphones and this is the kind of music I prefer listening to with headphones because it really makes me focus on the details.

Have a great one

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

I do seem to like adding non-percussive, slow rhythmic pulses to many of my ambient pieces.

I had a very good idea of the sounds I wanted to use before I started putting the music together for this one. Even to the extent that I went back to my 32-bit DAW (EnergyXT2.7) to record it.

I may even try making a new track in EXT64 next month.

I hope the new 'phones are working out well for you

[seismic1]

Great stuff, relaxing but interesting. Indeed, truly ambient music.

Thanks very much for listening and commenting, CW. Glad you enjoyed it

The simple sound combinations here made the mix decisions easier and more intuitive for the genre.

[Frantz]

Slow deep bass drones, mid-range choral pads, and thin high synths all work together in this multi-layered creation. It seems to be mixed in 3D creating width and depth that shouldn't be possible in stereo.

Like sitting by the water on a foggy evening letting sounds from all directions and distances wash over you.

Most enjoyable!

[seismic1]

Love the understated beginning - expansive, yet somehow 'hollow' sounds...intriguing sound quality ....especially when combined with the dissonant music.

The lift at 4mins 50secs or so is very cleverly and subtly 'heralded' by little synth whisperings before hand.

The synth parts at the beginning are Wollo FMERA (32-bit), which was the reason I went back to a 32-bit DAW for this piece. Hollow is a fitting descriptor.

Works as it stands, but I was definitely expected it to return to those opening sounds at the end? Then again I am mildly obsessed with symmetry / returning home / circles in my musical structures!

I particularly wanted this one to end with the PaulStretched vocal samples riding into the sunset.

Expect the unexpected (although this piece is quite "structured" or "song-like", relative to ambient norms).

Thanks very much for listening and commenting, Mark. I'm glad you liked it (even without the symmetry)

[Opaque]

Sounded familiar, then I noticed I already liked it on soundcloud. Particularly enjoy the melodies/atmosphere of the final part, from around 6:00.

[seismic1]

Great work. Enjoyable calm ambience and good sounds.

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

[Moe Shinola]

I love ambient stuff like this. Great that you could make this in XT, where I'm stuck now that Cakewalk has upgraded itself into uselessness on my Win 7 desktop. Thanks for posting, it sounds great.

[seismic1]

That was quite the journey to listen through. The song really evolves over time. I agree with the others, I like how it has this element of mystery that you can't quite put your finger on yet works really well with the overall vibe.

I think the composition process (particularly relating to journey/evolution/mystery) here was made much easier by having a "sonic picture" in my head for the sounds to be used before I started putting the music together, although most of my tracks still don't conform to this methodology.

Thanks for posting how you incorporated Iris2. That was going to be my first question. I forgot I had Iris2 until recently and was curious to gain a little insight as to how you used it here. Thanks for sharing!

I had Iris2 for over 5 years before I actually used it at all, but I can see myself using it frequently in the future. Glad I could be of assistance.

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

[seismic1]

Wow, very expansive and relaxing.
Has a deep, calming quality that is very enjoyable to experience.

Really like it.

A big part of the writing here was concentrated on panning similar parts (2 WOLLO vocal instances) (2 Z3ta+2 arps) on opposing sides of the mix. I left the lead, bass and vocal samples somewhere in the middle.

I guess those thumbs indicate that you'll be taking a short break from the kalimba

Thanks very much for listening and for the great comments, Patch. I'm glad it hit the spot

I like the idea of working the musicality of a tune around panning (or reverb or other FX) which is often considered incidental.

What ever you get inspired by is a good path to follow....

It's good to change things up every now and then. It helps to keep things fresh and interesting. The track I'm currently working on is put together in a more conventional manner, although I have just panned two trance gates away from each other at a fairly late stage in the composition process

[seismic1]

Beautiful soundscape with a few moments of tension. Great to listen to on a cold rainy day.
The Paulstretch software has been on my radar for a while. Might have to get it.
Well done Tim.

Thanks very much for taking the time to listen, and for the great comments, John. Glad you liked it

PaulStretch is available within Audacity, which is how I tend to use it, processing samples from various sources.

PaulXstretch is a plugin version which should work inside most DAWS, under various operating systems.

[seismic1]

Slow deep bass drones, mid-range choral pads, and thin high synths all work together in this multi-layered creation. It seems to be mixed in 3D creating width and depth that shouldn't be possible in stereo.

Like sitting by the water on a foggy evening letting sounds from all directions and distances wash over you.

Most enjoyable!

Thanks very much for the great feedback, Frantz. Glad you enjoyed it

There are a maximum of seven instrument tracks active in this piece at any one time, and I had a very good idea of the panning/reverb solution before I started putting this together, so it was a relatively straightforward job to position them spatially.

[seismic1]

Sounded familiar, then I noticed I already liked it on soundcloud. Particularly enjoy the melodies/atmosphere of the final part, from around 6:00.

Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, Opaque. Very happy that you liked it, and on more than one occasion, too