I Sail On (arr: Troy) by TobinMueller
Genre: Progressive Rock
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Keywords:
jazz fusion (45), art rock (31), progressive rock (53), keyboards (37), instrumental (531), collaboration (108), synthesizer (49), neoclassical (7), Yes (17), ELP (5), Asia (27), Genesis (7), Troy (10), tobin (69), TobinMueller (37), synthesizers (10), synthetic (8)
Description:
This song is a collaboration with Troy Paiva.
After hearing my solo piano piece by the same name, Troy suggested he take the lead in re-arranging the piece as a Prog Rock track. I replayed sections, syncing up the notes to the metronome, and sent the GB file to him. He re-arranged the piece based on my MIDI file, adding drums, bass, synths, gutars, splitting parts. We knew a new middle section was needed to replace the piano cadenza, and so I drafted a new section using airy synths and organ, and added a new intro using some of those same sounds. Troy simplified them both and made them more melodic. We passed the file back and forth I think 7 times. The end result is a very cool track that comes to life with Troy's musical personality: full of whimsy, drama, and lots of retro Prog sounds. I am very grateful to Troy for his enthusiasm, talent and time. It was great fun to complete.
After hearing my solo piano piece by the same name, Troy suggested he take the lead in re-arranging the piece as a Prog Rock track. I replayed sections, syncing up the notes to the metronome, and sent the GB file to him. He re-arranged the piece based on my MIDI file, adding drums, bass, synths, gutars, splitting parts. We knew a new middle section was needed to replace the piano cadenza, and so I drafted a new section using airy synths and organ, and added a new intro using some of those same sounds. Troy simplified them both and made them more melodic. We passed the file back and forth I think 7 times. The end result is a very cool track that comes to life with Troy's musical personality: full of whimsy, drama, and lots of retro Prog sounds. I am very grateful to Troy for his enthusiasm, talent and time. It was great fun to complete.
Lyrics:
Troy suggests playing the song very loud.Hardware:
I played in the original on a Roland a90ex 88-key controller. Troy uses the pencil tool, I think.Software:
GB 2; mastered in Peak 4.You must be registered and logged-in to comment.
SlimGirlFat
You both must have worked very hard on this.
A melodious and wonderful collaboration between the two
of you. Some may think the two of you would make an
unlikely combination, however, this track just goes to
show how very talented you both are. Together, you really
have created a totally awesome, awesome, piece of music.
I adore the delicate intro that builds up with those chord
changes and then really takes off.
If I had a hat, I would take it off , but I dont, so I shall
give you 10's.
SlimGirlFat
TobinMueller
Thanks, Slimmie. Troy and I had several iChat conversations, one that
resulted in a new song about the nature of revolution I am working on right
now, and exchanged a ton of music back and forth, prog rock and jazz, over
the last months. We'd been trying to come up with a project to collaborate on,
and Troy heard something in the I Sail On piano solo, truly made it live.
Thanks for noticing all the work (just the piano piece took me 5 days to write,
work out just right; and I suspect Troy put in over 40 hours on this
arrangement). But the real joy was having Troy appreciate the music and
treat it with such talent and respect.
Peter Greenstone
A very unexpected combination with fantastic results. I am
just amazed. Wow! Now THAT is some damn fine
progressive rocking. So much going on but it never feels
cluttered. Very tight. Great work on the percussion,
amongst other things.
TobinMueller
Funny you mention the drums. The drum track is what we tugged and
changed more than any. Troy came up with all of the drumming, then I would
delete a ton of notes, then he'd put them back in; then I'd change some to
snare, move others, and tone down more; and then they'd be back up, front
and center in the next version. I finally realized the interesting drive they
gave the piece, Troy realized they needed to integrate a bit better, and the
compromise ended up working out. Yes, glad you mentioned the drums.
stevel
This kind of reminds me of Frank Zappa, some really
strange sounds and interlocking melodies going on..
sounds great
S
perceptualvortex
This reminded me of early Genesis or Gentle Giant, in a very good way. Excellent listening here. --D
TobinMueller
Yes, there is a sea shanty whole tone folky element to the song that is like
GG. Good ears. And the interplay of melody and bass lines. I love GG, so that
is a wonderful compliment. Thanks for the careful listen.
I'm reminded mostly of Gentle Giant, with their nimble
rhythms and light touch. Excellent playing and pencilling
here.
I guess my quibble is a minor complaint I have with a lot
of progressive rock - many by excellent musicians whose
skills I admire - the song didn't leave me with anything I
found myself humming afterwards.
TobinMueller
Thanks for the careful listen and the desire to take something away from the
piece. Your comment made me smile, "the song didn't leave me with
anything I found myself humming afterwards," since, when I write stage
music, being able to hum the tune is a prerequisite. I do this other stuff as a
kind of rebellion, tho, so I think it is just fine that you don't. But, I tell you,
after listening to this track a hundred times, that whole-tone scale riff stuck
in my head way too long!
there are almost too many elements in this grand
composition ... but you two manage to pull it together
into cohesive whole VERY WELL! ...
many, many different things going on ... i especially like
the piano ... texture thins out briefly during those
moments ... great sound of intervals there! ...
this is also amazing from standpoint of two obviously very
different artists coming together in monumental piece ...
congratulations! ...
TobinMueller
Thanks. The sound you hear, the concept, is all Troy. He arranged the whole
piece in a first draft; I added a middle and intro to his version 2, and he
cleaned out the arrangement in his next version. I merely added layers,
added a few lead in pick-up note runs, and deleted/softened some drum hits.
The rest is his vision. We spent lots of time talking about certain sections,
but most of the stuff sounded great right off the bat. It was totally cool to
hear someone else's concept applied to the music. I hope we do it again
soon!
bronco
Obviously a lot of musical talent going on here. This
would be fun to hear at a big arena show. Lots of changes
in tempo and texture keep things interesting.
thetiler
Sounds like very advanced jazz.
Lots of interesting stuff.
The crashing of the cymbals makes me feel like I am in
the boat. That is very cool.
Inspirational I feel like I am in the boat.
Reminds me when I was in the navy and out to sea on
rough storms when i was in charge of the lookout on the
bridge and the stern of the ship was lookin like a
submarine.
Thanks so much for the unique piece of great musical
craftsmanship!
This piece really does have a special meaning for me.
Cause I have been out there. I knew it was rough when
they gave me a little bowl to throw up in and of course
that probably was the last place I made it to. :)
Thanks for sharing Tobin and friends.
TobinMueller
Thanks for sharing, too. Especially the part about the throw up bowl.
Get than man a towl!
---
Accentuate the weird in your songs!
alley-oop
on the planet is doing music like this! I'm in awe. What a
tremendous collaboration. This track can be admired on
so many levels. Downloaded. Great job Tobin and Troy!
Tom Atwood
Wonderful adaptation and arrangement of the Mueller
original, which is one of my favorite piano pieces. This has
such a different feel that I am reminded of how good the
original version is, while enjoying this as an almost
completely new creation.
TobinMueller
ELP and Yes, very cool, two of my favs. Amazing how that happened, since I
never once thought of them while writing the original. Loved diving into the
organ sounds in GB and will use them more now. But the coolest things, for
me, were the retro synth leads Troy brought in. I'm stilled suprised how well
this worked as an ELP style instrumental. Thanks for your comments and
comparisons.
Mystified
...collaboration. Wow. I don't feel particularly qualified to
comment about this genre, other than to say I'm really
impressed by what's been done in this. The textures and
the arrangement/addition of the instrumentals is amazing
and creates a new intensity to the piece--a wonderful
addition.
Kudos to you both!
I'm really glad Tobin was kind enough to let me do this
weirdness to his song. As soon as I heard the piano only
version, I could HEAR this in my head.
We went back and forth a number of times, but the bulk
of the arrangement was done in my first pass. Tobin
pushed me very hard to finesse the piece. This is v8, I
probably woulda posted v3, but I'm glad that he pushed to
to keep poking at it. I think Tobin still hates the sloppy
keith Moon style drums, LOL.
I suggest playing everything I do LOUD, Tobin!
Thanks again.
TobinMueller
And thank you, too! Now what...? (Oh, and Troy also found the song art.)
aclarke
Shades of Yes without question. This is really, really interesting music. Troy- I kinda like the sloppy Keith Moon drum thing- based on your track record I'm not all that surprised you went with a real sounding drum arrangement... sounds like it was banged out live. Tobin- as always, fantastic playing.
ChrisSly
I love hearing what one musician does with another's
music. This sounds so unlike, and yet still related to,
Tobin's music. Fascinating and very listenable.
drakonis
I dunno, I think Tobin and Troy both have similar styles,
they both enjoy writing stuff that is a little ahead of the
rest of us, enjoyably complex melodies, but with clear and
sparse orchestration. This was great, I was definitely
tossed about rather "hard to lee" at times by the chord
progressions, but the momentum was never lost... it was
an exciting ride... maybe even an E-ticket (remember
those?) Kudos you two, I liked the clarity of orchestration,
that's so tricky to do without getting muddy.
ttfn,
Drakonis
TobinMueller
Right, I agree that Troy and me are Three of a Perfect Pair. Altho there is a
completely different sense of melody & chord progression in our songs, a
completely different style of playing in our recording process, we share a love
of some of the same music, appreciation for the same sorts of musical
virtues, and have wonderful wives. Almost everything fell into place on our
collaborative process, it was a joy. However, I think the great wives thing is
our best feature, when all is said and done.
Suzanne
i second that!
---
morning girl
Yeah, I think you nailed it. We ARE very different. You are highly educated
and musically experienced, I am neither. Because of this our process is 180
degrees off. We come from 2 totally different directions
BUT
Our final destination is the same. Tobin and I both enjoy the same kinds of
music. When we initially talked about this piece all those bands mentioed in
the comments here (and a few others) came up. "Yeah, lets make this section
like THAT!"
And we have endlessly patient and giving wives.
---
Accentuate the weird in your songs!
jonx
as a longtime lover of ELP. yes. genesis et al, you've made
something contemporary yet true to your prog-rock
roots-prog on!
Aircraft
... and the prog sounds have me hooked. Slightly zappa,
which is a great thing in my opinion! Slightly downhill for the
rest, but still an enjoyable (if you have an open mind)
experience.
Syncopatient
ok, turning down a little so I can type. Upon the first 3
bars, I thought to myself....I hear Troy's style here...then
went and read the description. I must say this is a really
cool proggy track. I dig the piano interlude...then all the
synth work, with that organ. This piece is most
interesting as it doesn't conform to anything remotely
mainstream (which is a very good thing).
I hear somewhat of a merged band between Yes, ELP,
early Genesis, and solo Rick Wakeman. Great work
gentlemen!
TobinMueller
It is cool that you thought, after listening to the first few measures of the
intro, that you recognized Troy's style. That was one of the few sections I
initially arranged, trying to create an intro to Troy's style of arranging. The
intro and the slower interlude were the only sections I did the initial
arranging; everything else was mainly Troy's.
Mcboy
now this is why i come to macjams ...to listen to sounds i
wont hear anywhere else.....this is a frankesteinian
production....loads of sounds and motion to latch on
to....thanks for the trip...
SpasmodicMan
All this talk of Troy, makes me think of The Iliad and Odyssey, all those seafaring adventures of mythic proportions. The song sweeps away the computer, fills the room with ancient mariner cries and skinny rock stars throwing their hair back on stage, playing harpooned shaped guitars and waves crashing against the walls in technicolor fractals. Gotta echo Mcboy and say, way cool Dr. Frankensteins, keep the lightning flashing.
JOAN
the sounds remind me alot of Terrapin Station, grateful dead
thoddi
Really mechanical sounding strings there. If Frank Zappa was still around he would hire you to his band I'm sure:-) Very 70's-80's jazz style. Remind me of Weather Report or Zappa. Its so very controlled and on time. I guess every instrument plays of sheet music, or...?
But like others have mentioned I really get the feel of the seven seas and I almost have to reach for that bowl someone talked about...
compyellow
Thats really really good. I really like all the drums,
particularly the snare and how combative it is, but in a
good way. The synth layering is straight out of the prog
hall of fame. You two should do more of this. Please.
jiguma
Loved this one - as a long time fan of Gentle Giant
and Yes, it felt really familiar but fresh. Beautiful
musicianship and craftmanship in putting it all
together.
9.9.9.9 DL
mandolinquent
... I admit it. But this is a really terrific collaboration; clever
writing; clever production. Deserves all the big points it's
got and more.
Epileptic Gibbon
Gentle Giant maybe but not Genesis! It's unusual for
Troy not to slap some Tony Banks style keyboards in
there but here he's gone with somthing distinctly
more Emersonian. No, this is characteristically Yes
meets ELP in style, methinks. And an excellent job it
is too. Retro but not derivative. Nice to see what
happen when two old progheads get together… I'm
turning it all the way up to eleven!
TobinMueller
When I first sent the metronomed file to Troy, I included some MIDI
instrument choices, mostly Emersonion organs, and as we passed the mix
back and forth, I kept pushing the organs louder, in more of a ELP balance.
fairy beth
very interesting sounds going on, quite complex. I
enjoyed listening - there was a lot of variation in the
melody which kept my attention. You both have bags of
talent, and it comes thru in this song.
TobinMueller
Thanks. The more I listen to this, the more I appreciate Troy's musical ears
and integrity.
Shimky
Bits of this reminded me of early Genesis. Other bits of Zappa. Good, strong stuff. Excellent musicianship. And very listenable. :O)
ledebutant
I'm not qualified to comment meaningfully on this song, but I did want to say I was very impressed with the integration of all the different elements and, though the style is outside what I usually listen to, I really liked this.
_nderscore
you guys compliment each other EXTREMELY well. i think i
just missed the prog rock era growing up, but this has the
same kind of complexity that i enjoy in the crazy electro-
industrial crap i listen to (there is plenty in there to keep the
ears busy). what i like most is the sense of urgency that
unfolds. great tuneage
TobinMueller
Luckily, for me, the Prog Rock era was also my college years. I played Third
Wave jazz (wheeling my Wurlitzer on wheels down the sidewalk), listened to
Close To The Edge and Three Friends, and wrote 12 tone ballet in my
composition classes. Great times.
Drew Kopr
This is excellent music. I"ll have to listen to more of your stuff now! Reminds of Zappa in a way, which is a massive compliment,
alanfraser
Worthy of Genesis and that's the highest compliment I can
pay. Add a ballsy vocal track and this one could be a
masterpiece. This is, by far, the coolest thing I've ever heard
you do.
Definitely added to favorites.
alanfraser
P.S. I agree with Mungo about a 'hook' - Check this out from "Supper's
Ready" - Can you hear it?
Like the river joins the ocean,
as the germ in the seed grows
We have finally been freed
to get back home.
There's an angel standing in the sun,
and he's crying with a loud voice,
"This is the supper of the mighty one,"
Lord of Lords,
King of Kings
Has returned to take his children home,
To take them to the new Jerusalem.
---
I comment on yours and you comment on mine. Seems fair to me!<br /><br />
Alan Fraser from <a style="color:purple;" href="http://myducksoup.com/">My Duck Soup
Isak Sherwood
Kind of stuff and mechanical, but a totally cool surf.
this reminds me of genesis trick of the tail or selling england by the
pound. There is even a part that brings my ears to Yes or even King
Crimson. I see you have put out progressive rock on my space now I will
have to listen, great song.
Bubowski
This sounds like Gentle Giant to me as well...even a little like PFM, but not as hyper. Cool track...PROG LIVES!
Bob6stringer
Keith Emerson? Sure, but do you have a rig you can strap yourself into like he did in the orchestral Pirates tour? It's great to hear talk of ELP and Gentle Giant here. I remember those days through the haze...
I wouldn't call it prog rock, just prog music, period. This is a serious thrill. Unfortunately I can't hear this on a good system (tonight) and it sounds like the mids are a little low here... wait... believe it or not, stock iPhone earbuds, if I am them against my ears, give a truer sound than the boomy low-end Sennheisers I've come to hate. So: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIUS DOWNLOADABLE.