Slack Water (Seismic Melancholia)

[seismic1]

Regarding the 8-bit vocal-ish sound which first appears at 0:38. I found it pulled me out of the trance a little bit. Because the rest of the track is so smooth, that element felt a little sharp in contrast. It might work better if it were tucked further back in the mix or used more sparingly so it doesn't interrupt the flow.

That synth sound at 0:38 was intended to be a representation of an unspecified bird-call! I may take a look/listen to that in the next few days - maybe pull it down by a couple of dB.

I remixed it tonight, lowering the volume of that synth by a couple of dB. It sounds a little less obtrusive now.

[Frantz]

Regarding the 8-bit vocal-ish sound which first appears at 0:38. I found it pulled me out of the trance a little bit. Because the rest of the track is so smooth, that element felt a little sharp in contrast. It might work better if it were tucked further back in the mix or used more sparingly so it doesn't interrupt the flow.

That synth sound at 0:38 was intended to be a representation of an unspecified bird-call! I may take a look/listen to that in the next few days - maybe pull it down by a couple of dB.

I remixed it tonight, lowering the volume of that synth by a couple of dB. It sounds a little less obtrusive now.

Better balanced birds bring bliss. Bravo!

I do think the track works better now.

[Benedict]

My parents talked of the Norfolk Broads.
E-XT, that a blast from the past.

It's a nice piece. V nicely done

[seismic1]

The sparseness in this creates a very nice sense of space and gives the individual voices a lot of gravity and impact. I didn't get a sense of melancholy—for me it was more contemplative and peaceful, but to each his own:) Great work!

During the last 10 years or so, my music has become more minimal - compositionally, sonically and instrumentally. In the last 4-5 years, at about the same time as I started using Absynth, the minimalisation process intensified, although there is no Absynth on here.

Sparseness/space is something I'm becoming more comfortable with these days, although it took quite a few years to get here.

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

[seismic1]

Nice track. I liked the sound scape and ambiance. Good orchestration and sounds.

Thanks very much for taking a listen and for commenting, Markku. Glad you liked it

[seismic1]

Great track Tim. It very much sounds like the sound of the photo...
Achingly beautiful and empty with flashes of insects?
Well done!

Thanks John. It's a peaceful sunset view, taken from one of my favourite riverside spots. The music was an attempt to capture that scene - with additional oars and birds! I think it was reasonably successful.

Glad you liked it

[seismic1]

I've listened a few times now. Great sound design with the synth representing a bird call. The pad/wash slowly moving in and out of the scene reminds me of a cool evening breeze. I really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing.

These comments land VERY close to the sounds/atmosphere that I was hoping to convey. I'm very happy that you picked up on that. Thanks very much for the multiple listens and for the great comments G_J. Glad you enjoyed it

[ecamburn]

Really beautiful piece @seismic1. Peaceful, calming. The sine keys part sits apart from the more ambient elements in an interesting way. There’s a part that sounds to me almost like a door opening sfx in a sci fi show. It’s so different in character than the rest of the sounds but it still works.

[seismic1]

Great sound design as usual .... I'll probably give this another spin tonight before bed

Thanks very much for taking the time to listen and comment, frank1985. Glad you liked it

[seismic1]

That is one VERY effective, ambient soundscape!

I think it turned out quite well. This was less "abstract" in concept than my usual tracks which tend to concern themselves with personal gripes and feelings about modern life or commercialism. This one was about a specific/special place in Norfolk. The soundset was quite minimal, but managed to maintain quite a full sound considering the paucity of instrumentation.

It really does have a shiny, glassy, reflective edge to the overall sound...yet it also has some considerable depth as well....very rounded and warm!

I think I may have lucked out with the instrument choices

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

[seismic1]

Regarding the 8-bit vocal-ish sound which first appears at 0:38. I found it pulled me out of the trance a little bit. Because the rest of the track is so smooth, that element felt a little sharp in contrast. It might work better if it were tucked further back in the mix or used more sparingly so it doesn't interrupt the flow.

That synth sound at 0:38 was intended to be a representation of an unspecified bird-call! I may take a look/listen to that in the next few days - maybe pull it down by a couple of dB.

I remixed it tonight, lowering the volume of that synth by a couple of dB. It sounds a little less obtrusive now.

Better balanced birds bring bliss. Bravo!

I do think the track works better now.

Thanks very much for the second listen and the alliteration, Frantz. I agree.

[seismic1]

My parents talked of the Norfolk Broads.
E-XT, that a blast from the past.

It's a nice piece. V nicely done

The Norfolk Broads is a fine place to visit, especially in the summer just before or after the school holidays. The pace of life becomes more relaxed and sanguine whilst messing around in boats, especially without a TV and with the mobile phone switched off.

EnergyXT2 is still working here, along with my remaining 32-bit VSTs (apart from those that were removed by subsequent software upgrades as their developers deemed them to be obsolete).

These days I tend to use EXT64 or MuLab in a vain attempt to remain fashionable and fresh.

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

[seismic1]

Really beautiful piece @seismic1. Peaceful, calming. The sine keys part sits apart from the more ambient elements in an interesting way. There’s a part that sounds to me almost like a door opening sfx in a sci fi show. It’s so different in character than the rest of the sounds but it still works.

The Iris/Ribs elements are routed through Aether, but all of the synths are using their internal reverbs or none at all (in the case of the ModularV2 bass).

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

[Hipster Bales]

I made this piece of nostalgic melancholia in September 2024, just over 2 years after I took the photo on the SoundCloud page.

https://soundcloud.com/whatsisname/slack_water

Gear and Gadgets

Recorded/Mixed in EnergyXT2.7
Mastered in T-Racks 5

Izotope Iris 2
Cakewalk Z3ta+2
IL Harmor
Arturia ModularV2
Ribs
Aether
NewFangled EQuivocate
BlueCat Gain3 Stereo
u-he Satin
IK Linear Phase EQ
IK EQP-1A

DR - 9

Very easy to listen to and the synths aren't too loud or too quiet. great mixdown dude

[seismic1]

I made this piece of nostalgic melancholia in September 2024, just over 2 years after I took the photo on the SoundCloud page.

https://soundcloud.com/whatsisname/slack_water

Gear and Gadgets

Recorded/Mixed in EnergyXT2.7
Mastered in T-Racks 5

Izotope Iris 2
Cakewalk Z3ta+2
IL Harmor
Arturia ModularV2
Ribs
Aether
NewFangled EQuivocate
BlueCat Gain3 Stereo
u-he Satin
IK Linear Phase EQ
IK EQP-1A

DR - 9

Very easy to listen to and the synths aren't too loud or too quiet. great mixdown dude

I just got back from 3 weeks vacation in Thailand, and only saw your comments today.

In truth, these minimal pieces featuring only 6 or 7 different sound sources are quite easy to mix in terms of relative levelling. I'm currently trying to push these ambient pieces to approx. -15 or -16 LUFS.

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