Malignant Intelligence (Seismic Recollection)
- KVRian
- 1325 posts since 17 Aug, 2012 from Old Zealand
I like the sound of this production and it also has enough different elements througout to make it interesting all the way.
Also great to hear a track made with EXT64 alpha
Cheers
Also great to hear a track made with EXT64 alpha
Cheers
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- KVRAF
- 2991 posts since 22 Dec, 2004
Great sense of foreboding in the intro. Reminds me of an 80s horror soundtrack. Is that a reverse echo on the tom drum? Tassman is such a cool instrument. What sounds in this track came from it?
- KVRist
- 471 posts since 20 Nov, 2021
Very intriguing, quiet intro. I enjoyed the beat that evolved from that. The melody and synth sounds that followed drew me into the song. The pauses here and there were a good touch. Nice electric guitar sound. There was nice variation throughout and an enigmatic ending. The overall sound was excellent. It's nice to see that EnergyXT is resurrected. It was my first DAW on Windows.
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 11506 posts since 13 Mar, 2009 from UK
Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, John. Glad you liked it
When I was putting this together, I wondered whether that "wandering" synth would be off-putting over the course of the entire track, and was toying with the idea of automating the volume, but it seemed to work out ok. The initial (quieter) percussion is from Microtonic, the heavier rhythm is a Dune 2 preset. The guitar sound is also Dune 2.
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 11506 posts since 13 Mar, 2009 from UK
The gated synth was something I used a lot until early 2011, and I thought it would be nice to revisit some of my earlier sounds. As far as breaking things up goes, I used two instances of it here to try to disrupt the rhythmic "angularity" of the track. I may have been successfulATS wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 10:50 am I liked it a lot till that synth came in around 2:30, a little before. I thought that synth broke everything up and didn't sound right at all being there. I'm talking about the gated one to be clear. If It was me I remove that gated synth all together and replace it with something else more fitting. I thought the sound quality/mixing was fantastic. Of course all my opinion and you know what opinions are like.
The mixing was quite straightforward really. There weren't too many instrument tracks here and my workflow and EnergyXT2/EXT64 seem to get along quite well after almost 14 years together.
Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, Alex. Glad you enjoyed the first couple of minutes
- KVRAF
- 12352 posts since 7 May, 2006 from Southern California
Already commented else where but I really enjoyed this one. Having another listen.
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 11506 posts since 13 Mar, 2009 from UK
Unless you include Riven, which was over a year ago, I think this is the first since 2016. I don't know why things happened that way. I certainly enjoyed putting this one together.
The sounds were the key to this piece (and probably most of my other recent stuff too). Lately, the sounds tend to drive my composition process, with the actual notes turning up at an undefined point later in the procedure.
The mix was actually relatively straightforward. Having the new EXT64 alpha helped too. It's a "comfortable" environment for me to mix in.
Uh-oh. I can see another remix project on the horizon Maybe some kind of solo would work. I could dig up Pro-53
Thanks very much for listening and commenting, Frantz. Glad you liked it
- KVRAF
- 6325 posts since 18 Jul, 2008 from New York
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 11506 posts since 13 Mar, 2009 from UK
Thanks very much for the great comments, tomtom1. Glad you liked it
I'm not sure whether I'm doing anything special, because I'm not really aware of other people's mixing processes. I think it would be better described as simple, but I'll try to explain a little.
I'm working entirely on a PC in my lounge, using a Line6 Toneport UX2 through a pair of KRK Rokit5 monitors, with no sound treatment. I think I bought them in 2010, so they aren't the latest and greatest. A lot of people say that the monitors are muddy in the bass frequencies, but I quite like the sound of them. I also use a pair of Beyer DT-990 Pro headphones to check my mixes. My DAW of choice was EnergyXT2 (32-bit), but last year I started using MuLAB (64-bit). Two or three months ago, I realised that a 64-bit version of EnergyXT2 (EXT64) was in alpha-testing, so I thought I would try it. The current version of EXT64 does not feature any internal FX which was slightly awkward, but I have plenty of external options to choose from if I need them. This track only used 2 external FX. The mixer in EXT64 has the usual level/pan/EQ facilities. I used the reverbs built into the synths on this track apart from the microtonic percussion which went through Ultrareverb.
For this track I selected a set of sounds which worked together and didn't worry too much about mixing until the music was completed. Stage 1 of my mix usually involves setting up approximate relative volume levels. This is usually tweaked while I put the music together and refined later during the mix. For stage 2 I check the panning and adjust so that "conflicting" sounds are panned away from each other. Finally I apply a simple high-pass and low-pass EQ to each instrument. When I'm setting up the EQ parameters, I use the T-Racks metering for visually checking their effect on the individual instruments. If I need to perform any surgical EQ to cut a problem frequency or resonance from a particular instrument in the mix, I'll use EQuivocate, although I didn't need it on here. I also have an instance of Satin on the master bus to apply some saturation.
I use T-Racks 5 for mastering, and there are 4 modules in the chain (Linear Phase EQ, Opto Comp, EQP-1A, and the Brickwall Limiter). My EQ and compressor settings are quite gentle. I'm not trying to produce loud masters, and like to preserve dynamic range, so the limiter is not really pushed. It's mainly used to control the maximum output level of the mastered track. If I'm making an ambient piece, I typically use the 2 EQ modules only.
I hope this info is helpful.
- KVRAF
- 14962 posts since 13 Nov, 2012
One idea:
Can you dance?
I think I can speak for all posters in saying you should post a dance video to this.
You know, doing some Seismic moves and such......
Just kidding but Im dancing to it right now.....
Can you dance?
I think I can speak for all posters in saying you should post a dance video to this.
You know, doing some Seismic moves and such......
Just kidding but Im dancing to it right now.....
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 11506 posts since 13 Mar, 2009 from UK
Thanks very much for taking the time to listen, and for the great comments, jackoo. Glad you enjoyed it
P.S. You should fix the Soundcloud link in your signature. It should be https.
- KVRAF
- 7624 posts since 21 Dec, 2002 from MD USA
Yeah just listened again. I wish I could mix as well as you do. What makes it worse is you say it isn't hard
my music: http://www.alexcooperusa.com
"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." Muhammad Ali
"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." Muhammad Ali
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 11506 posts since 13 Mar, 2009 from UK
Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, sbj. Glad you liked it
I think I had given up any hope of ever seeing a 64-bit EXT. Now, I'm patiently waiting for the next alpha, although the current version is quite usable.
By the way, I have to thank you for being an unwitting inspiration for this piece. It was the presence of Obscurium on your track (Aero) that reminded me that I really ought to get around to using it myself
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 11506 posts since 13 Mar, 2009 from UK
Foreboding? '80s horror soundtrack? I can't think what you mean I love those Carpenter bass-synth vibes.Genetic_Junk wrote: ↑Wed Aug 24, 2022 1:11 am Great sense of foreboding in the intro. Reminds me of an 80s horror soundtrack. Is that a reverse echo on the tom drum? Tassman is such a cool instrument. What sounds in this track came from it?
That drum is a Dune 2 preset, and the reverse echo is actually coming from the LF in the reverb FX. There are 2 Tassman instances on here - the "wandering" synth that persists through much of the piece, and the "echo bass" that enters at 1:03.
Thanks very much for listening and commenting, G_J