Malignant Intelligence (Seismic Recollection)

[seismic1]

I really like the suspense aspect in the intro. It feels like you are detecting suspicious activity and something is going to happen. The main part has an electronic drums which a bit rare for your recent music. A really nice and catchy groove. The synth parts are very reminiscent of late 90's to early 2000's electronic. It could have some more variations, but it still very addictive and I could listen to it on the loop.

I could expect to hear it in a dark sci-fi movie/game. Something like "X-Com" or dark flavoured "Command & Conquer" style strategy game.

"suspense", "detecting suspicious activity" - good analysis. This track was written in response to the recent rampant deployment of AI in the world of media, advertising, politics and business in order to promote or monetise questionable practices or products.

I went back to EnergyXT2/EXT64 to make this, so it seemed quite fitting to also go back to some of my older instruments and sounds (although these are now 64-bit instead of 32-bit).

I think the last computer games I played were ToCa2 or maybe Silent Service II. I'm sure your choices would be more suitable.

Thanks very much for listening and for the great comments, VCA-089. Glad you liked it

[seismic1]

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.

It was quite an enjoyable track to make, returning to my old workflow, but using 64-bit plugins. I was able to add the pauses and breakdowns as part of the early composition process instead of adding them later. The guitar sound is provided by Dune 2. I'm looking forward to using EXT64 again in a month or so, when I've completed a couple of new tracks in MuLab.

Thanks very much for listening and commenting, margaret0547. Glad you liked it

[seismic1]

Already commented else where but I really enjoyed this one. Having another listen.

Thanks very much for the repeat listen and comments, justin. Glad you enjoyed it

[vstdls]

I don't know. I don't think it's dark at all. I really like it. I think the mix is great, I feel like I can hear everything on my Samsung Galaxy, and it obviously deserves better speakers.

[seismic1]

I could dig up Pro-53

Apart from the occasional remix where it was already present, I haven't used it on a new track for over 8 years.

Where does the time go

[seismic1]

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......

That's probably a bad idea. My furniture has already left me, citing an abusive relationship

Just kidding but Im dancing to it right now.....

I'm happy that you're still enjoying it

[seismic1]

Really excellent! All of the stuff i've heard from you up till now has been minimal/ambient but I like this beat driven approach just as much.

You're right. Most of my recent music has been slow/minimal/ambient, but I thought I'd change things around a little with the return of my favourite DAW, and return to my older style.

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

[seismic1]

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

I think I described the process as simple. What I meant by that was that the procedural components are relatively easy to follow (maybe like a flowchart), and can be applied in most settings or scenarios. Whether its a beat-centric track like this, or an ambient piece, the procedure is usually the same (although the reverbs used in my ambient tracks may throw the odd spanner in the works). A track featuring "denser" instrumentation will usually take longer to mix, as the mixing decisions/solutions will be more complex and take longer, but the process is broadly similar.

I suppose I am saying that having a simple procedure to follow makes the mixing easier, although not necessarily easy. This piece just happened to be one of the easier ones, probably due to there being a maximum of 9 instruments active at any time.

Your mixes sound fine to me, so whatever your process is, if it's working for you, you don't have to change it

[seismic1]

I don't know. I don't think it's dark at all. I really like it. I think the mix is great, I feel like I can hear everything on my Samsung Galaxy, and it obviously deserves better speakers.

I thought that it had a dark sound due to having 4 bass synths running at the same time (with a fair amount of reverb and delay too). There's also quite a lot of mid and low-mid action here as well.

I forgot to put this on my phone (also a Galaxy). I'll check it out in the next few days.

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