terrific &mdash 11/15/05 - 10:04:11 AM
I think Alannah adding the spoken word really adds great texture to this. I
think this piece really sounds quite developed. Mesmerizing
Quite a nice production I think. [ Reply to This ]
The title is spot on! &mdash 11/15/05 - 10:29:54 AM
Haunting, indeed.
Really beautiful - the spoken word really adds to the mood. It gets really
mystic and mysterious, even more than before.
Hypnotic, even... [ Reply to This ]
The title is spot on! &mdash 11/16/05 - 03:27:48 PM
She wrote a nice piece of poetry, and read it well... I would have it on loop in
a spot to get the echo levels right, and would keep getting mesmerized
myself. Even the title was a collaboration between us :-)
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there [ Reply to This ]
Yet again. &mdash 11/15/05 - 01:20:15 PM
woman in the mansion &mdash 11/15/05 - 01:55:56 PM
Wow, this is powerful. Well done. Serious poetry delivered with spooky
intensity. The ambience in Alannah's voice de-corporealizes her. The
stuff of haunting dreams! Drak -- good job on the soundbed. [ Reply to This ]
woman in the mansion &mdash 11/16/05 - 03:31:13 PM
Thank you sir, great compliments coming from you! Though de-
coroporealizing somebody sounds messy and illegal and very Star Trekkish.
But her reading style, choice of words, and background singing really create
the mood, don't they?
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there [ Reply to This ]
Nice and fellow, for sure! &mdash 11/15/05 - 03:32:07 PM
This is very nice! The arrangement reminds a little of Sigurd Ros. And i think the lyrics are very good, i can relate to the. I find the backgroundmusic very appealing. Some very nice elements there. The spoken word is spoken with the perfect emotional feel for the music and the lyrics., not crossing the line of "too much. Hmm, gotta go on listen to this again a few times! Good work! thanks for sharing! [ Reply to This ]
Nice and fellow, for sure! &mdash 11/16/05 - 03:35:31 PM
Thank you Selters! Yes, Sigur Ros has come up before regarding Ember, and I
had to go find out who they were, since I had not heard their music before!
Alannah did deliver her words very well, and planned and paused them across
Ember so nicely it really sounds like they were meant to be together. Her
emotion came through very well.
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there [ Reply to This ]
How fun! &mdash 11/15/05 - 07:08:42 PM
Great collaberation! Alannah's dark voice adds real depth to the music. [ Reply to This ]
goosebumps &mdash 11/15/05 - 08:14:52 PM
Okay, I'm impressed. I LOVE the voice. Oh, this is so dark -- I love it.
Fantastic poety. A perfect match to your music, Drak. THIS is the voice;
THESE are the words I would have imagined on my own when hearing your
song for the first time. It's just natural. Beautiful. Small production thing: I
think the echo effect is used a bit too much. I love the way you
highlighted certain words with it, but it detracts just slightly from the
other words. Just a small observation. An instant favorite. Well done, Drak
& Alannah. Well done.
[ Reply to This ]
goosebumps &mdash 11/16/05 - 03:45:37 PM
I am delighted to have such compliments from you MissC! This was fun to
work on, and it is so nice to finish something and think, wow, this gives ME
goosebumps (but that's pretty much all Alannah's doing.)
As far as echo goes, I was trying to give it as much ethereal fx and echo/
reverb in the background as possible, without muddying it up. My
slavedriving boss Alannah kept listening to it and saying "It needs MORE
echo, remember, there's no such thing as too much echo, I loooove echo!" I
kept thinking she was saying "cowbell" for some reason. Anyway, I finally
came up with the idea that I could keep the echo/reverb tracks fairly low
during each sentence, and boost it on the last couple of words, to let them
trail off the end, and this worked really well (production secret.)
Glad I'm not the only one that gets goosebumps from this, in a good way!
Kudos Alannah!
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there [ Reply to This ]
It reminds me... &mdash 11/15/05 - 08:16:36 PM
...of a half-remembered dream in the first few minutes of being awake.
Very nice words, Alannah. They go so well with the sound and the spirit of
the music. Yet another amazing version of this tune. [ Reply to This ]
Kick Ass! &mdash 11/15/05 - 11:53:24 PM
I had a hard time paying attention to the words. I just listened as a
whole. I had to go back through and read along. This feels like Poe. I
like the sub-vocal singing stuff.
My only criticism is that Alannah needs a mac. Ha!
I have a few spoken words CDs and this would go great on the best of
them. I like this quite a bit. Creepy, romantic, obsessive. I want to
listen to it on headphones.
I think I will throw something out there this week to let people take
cracks at. This is pretty fun. Nice to see people picking it up. [ Reply to This ]
Kick Ass! &mdash 11/16/05 - 03:51:29 PM
I knew you would like it, thank you for swinging by to give it a listen... crawls
under your skin, doesn't it? I think Alannah would love to have a Mac, anyone
want to donate a nice dual-G5 to her so she can record more stuff like this?
Bwahaha... First Caroline, next Alannah... changing the world, one computer
at a time.
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there [ Reply to This ]
this scared the stuffing out the bear... &mdash 11/16/05 - 02:16:04 AM
so it must be good!!! oooh... moody, dark, chilling... we appreciated your work and will be back when something pinker and fluffier appears on the horizon! xxx [ Reply to This ]
Not the best lullaby &mdash 11/16/05 - 04:09:51 AM
I've never been emoted to such lows.. Wow! I prolly shouldn't have
listened to this just before bed... Eerie is what comes to mind. This is
very impressive work by both of you. I take it that neither of you works
for the tabacco industry... Chilling is another word that comes to mind.
I think that it's just wonderful, this combination of some very solid
talents. I listened twice; once to just the music w/ the Alannah's voice
being an instrumental texture, and then listening to Alannah speak
these words, while having the music become the instrumental texture
that it is and man... - I'm telling you that it is just amazing how well
the two became one while creating that third synergistic sense of pure
darkness.
Very wll done you guys. I'm almost envious, I say
Thanks for your efforts and for sharing this.
Dion [ Reply to This ]
Not the best lullaby &mdash 11/16/05 - 03:56:22 PM
Thank *you* Dion for your careful listening, and your enjoyment of the
emotive power of this... I'm glad it carried the message, even if it was a
message of loss and sadness. Thank you also for describing your thoughts
so eloquently, I always look forward to your critiques and feelings.
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there [ Reply to This ]
Not RJR-related &mdash 11/16/05 - 04:36:13 PM
Ugh, I escaped from a couple of chain smoking parents... I actually abhor
smoking (unusual for a dragon.) I wanted to draw something that evoked the
idea of a guy thinking of his lost lover, who appears to him in a veil of
smoke... and the only thing I could think of was her appearing while he's
calming his nerves with a smoke. So I grabbed a felt-tip pen and little dish,
and used that as a model for me to draw from. The model of the lady, uh, is
a secret. Sorry about the distasteful choice of smoke.
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there [ Reply to This ]
POW! &mdash 11/16/05 - 07:01:44 AM
I lived with this tune in my head for weeks....now to here it with the
recitation...and words that fit the mood not only of the music you
played drak...but with the missing guitar i played....i bet with
adjustments to my mix, we could make another version!!! What a
knockout!!!
I love this...hats off to alannah's contribution...very cool
d/l....how long til i have an ember playlist on the iPod??? [ Reply to This ]
POW! &mdash 11/16/05 - 04:06:35 PM
Oh Ziti, if you only knew how happy that would make Alannah (and myself!)
When she first tried a pass at Ember, she actually grabbed your guitar remix
and was using that. 'Twas I that told her I didn't expect her to use THAT one,
so she went back to the original, reluctantly I think. If you could weave some
of your magic guitar in with her reading, I agree that this would go way past
11... you game?
Yup, she really chose words and a reading style (and sexy/classy accent) that
made this synergistically delicious.
The wildly divergent and beautifully interpreted variations on Ember just
amaze and delight me beyond words! Here's to a fat iPod!
---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there [ Reply to This ]
Very Haunting &mdash 11/16/05 - 09:55:46 AM
the flexible ember &mdash 11/16/05 - 03:13:39 PM
It's amazing how the same bed can lead to such different
outcomes.
Alannah's voice is perfect for this. Both the speaking part
and the little background vocals that happen ("I know it now").
I was completely convinced that there were two lovers
tragically kept apart by some social convention.
The lyrics are really well written. It's such a sad story, but
I think it has to be in order to be haunting. Otherwise you'd
have Casper the friendly love ghost or something silly.
I went back and listened to the zitified version to try to imagine
what the two would sound like melded together. If there could
be room for a solo during a pause in the lyrics it could probably
be pretty dramatic.
Very cool work you two. [ Reply to This ]
beautiful minds combine &mdash 11/16/05 - 10:17:18 PM
coming from the mind of a writer the poetry is absolutely beautiful, and the voice behind the reading is beautiful. a poem words perfectly for this type of piece. the sound is a bit low, perhaps it can be amplified so the speakers dont need to be turned up so loud. [ Reply to This ]
50s sci-fi &mdash 11/17/05 - 08:58:08 AM
This sounded nice and very well mixed to me.
Really comes across with some good headphones.
Alannah did a great jobs with reading her words and
Ed did an excellent job of mixing this. Nice job of
putting this all together so nicely, next time though,
try a southern accent :)
You really need a French version of this, that would be fantastic.
Chees [ Reply to This ]
So... &mdash 11/17/05 - 06:17:56 PM
Lovely &mdash 11/17/05 - 09:26:36 PM
I am impressed with how the Ember remixes are turning out.
Her vocals are fantastic, and i could see her vocals going over my version
as well, to compliment the darkness.
Very moody and delightful yo.
Brandon:p [ Reply to This ]
I never would have imagined ..... &mdash 11/18/05 - 06:32:03 PM
that so many people would "enjoy" my spoken word ... more often I am told to "shut up and stop talking" ... HA HA [ Reply to This ]
Extremely cool &mdash 11/20/05 - 10:24:59 AM
Great power in Alannah's voice and the production behind it. Fascinating
words. Definitely got to add this one to favorites as a one of a kind. [ Reply to This ]
Textures &mdash 11/21/05 - 02:53:06 PM
Haunting is the perfect word for this piece. Brilliant. Great music. Very emotional
The poem is simply marvelous! Alannah
I love this line:
The ache of secrets not confessed
The words leave me thinking "What happens? What happens? I think that
s a tribute to excellent writing! [ Reply to This ]
Textures &mdash 11/25/05 - 11:40:33 PM
I believe that more relationships are lost because people just do not say how they feel or what they are thinking .... sad really. And in this case, those lyrics were inspired by that very thing ..... someone afraid to express their feelings. [ Reply to This ]
Haunting is the right word ... &mdash 11/24/05 - 05:04:27 AM
Beautiful dark and mellow ambient soundtrack ... very atmospheric.
Warm and glowing! The poem is a delightful addition and nicely
delivered.
I'm intrigued by your accent, Alannah ... I notice you're from Canada
but you sound very British to my ears! [ Reply to This ]
Haunting is the right word ... &mdash 11/25/05 - 11:37:07 PM
"Intrigued" Rebsie ? Probably because you are British and I am "not" ... and are spotting the "fake" heh heh ... Yes my little secret is out .... the accent in the song is perhaps somewhat "fabricated" on my part (oooops) My speaking voice is as Canadian as they come ... however, I did live in England for over three years ... and at THAT time did come home with an accent ... but alas ... I have lost it in recent years (that is ... until I am speaking with someone with a British accent .. and there it is again ... hmmmm wonder how that happens) ???? When I was doing the song .... I was originally NOT intentionally putting the accent on ... it just sort of came out of my mouth that way ...... and I guess it sounded OK so I left it as it was ...... [ Reply to This ]
Haunting is the right word ... &mdash 12/09/05 - 01:48:47 PM
It sounds more than OK ... and it had me completely fooled! I'm very
impressed. You even had me wondering whether, through some cultural
quirk, people in British Colombia speak with British accents!
It's very authentic indeed and you should be proud of yourself! [ Reply to This ]
Haunting is the right word ... &mdash 12/13/05 - 07:44:23 AM
hehehe, you can't fool me alannah! not english, not canadian, still beautiful though...
---
DOM! [ Reply to This ]
hauntingly &mdash 11/26/05 - 01:40:29 PM
Wow &mdash 11/29/05 - 04:24:20 AM
Spooky &mdash 12/04/05 - 05:52:52 PM
I think this woman has issues.
Nicely done, Drak! Great ambient bed with a soft, echoey VO (though
I'm not a fan of too many effects on voices, I do understand the choices
for this one). Well done both of you. [ Reply to This ]
I may not sleep tonight &mdash 12/21/05 - 11:31:17 PM
This is very, very haunting. Great voice, perfect accent for this! Nice echo on the vox, fades nicely into the repeating instrumentation of the bg. Your stuff is always so well balanced! I am effectively haunted.
PS- GREAT artwork on this! [ Reply to This ]
Hmmm... &mdash 12/29/05 - 12:19:35 PM
Haunting, seductive, sexy... This is like a goddess hovering over me and
mumbling magic upon me as i stare at the emptiness of the ceiling... You
see a haze of dizzying lights and feel the warmth build inside you, and...
OK, I'll stop there.
High marks for innovation and uniqueness. The voice-over is intoxicating
like whisky and the background music is other-worldly.
Is that Celtic accent, Allanah? [ Reply to This ]
Haunting &mdash 10/11/06 - 11:19:53 PM
I'm listening to various version of your Ember, and this one has just a bit
extra. The spoken word really goes well with the music. It blends. --
Victor. [ Reply to This ]
1/2 thanks &mdash 10/12/06 - 11:35:22 AM
Well, most of the credit for the blending goes to ALannah, whom I think did a
marvellous job writing the prose and speaking it to fit so nicely into the curves
of the music. I just took her vox and did some reverb/echo work to make it
more ethereal, but still understandable. Alannah always jokes that she wants
MORE MORE MORE reverb, but in this case I seem to have sated her for now :)
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/23351">Sometimes - Magic Flute mix</a> [ Reply to This ]
errie and wonderful! &mdash 11/09/06 - 12:49:07 PM
Can't say that this is my particular cup of tea music wise, but I really enjoyed it! I love the eerie nature of the way that things are put together. And the reverb on the spoken word vocals definitely adds to the overall feel of the song. I'll definitely be looking to expand my musical horizons with more of your stuff drakonis!!!!
---
-- insert something witty here -- [ Reply to This ]
thanks for stretching! &mdash 11/09/06 - 03:28:34 PM
One of the things I like about this place is finding new genres that aren't quite my style, but I find I like anyway... so I appreciate you stopping in, listening, and commenting! Alannah is addicted to reverb on her vox, so I tried to accomodate her and give an ethereal feeling, without completely echoing the words into unrecognizeable oblivion. Thanks for checking out this version of Ember!
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/23351">Sometimes - Magic Flute mix</a> [ Reply to This ]
? &mdash 11/11/06 - 07:00:34 PM
I-I-I-I-I a-a-a-a-a-m-m-m-m n-n-n-o-t-t-t-t a r-e-e-e-v-e-r-r-r-r-r-b j-u-n-n-n-n-n-k-i-e-e-e-e-e-e
---
"Music is the way our memories sing to us across time" [ Reply to This ]
about Haunting &mdash 06/08/07 - 12:20:12 PM
and your trailer, and your work in general
you are a digital showman, working in the newest most tactile mediums around. Daring you are.
Like the poem, know the feeling [ Reply to This ]
Daring you say... &mdash 06/10/07 - 10:01:51 AM
I just like to learn new things, and enhance my meager skills with this cool tool called a computer. It does help to have an overactive imagination :-)
Thank you for sampling some of my musical and video artwork... I have done the same at your photo gallery and am just as impressed! Some stunning artwork there too. I'm still saving up to get back into photography, left my high school Olympus OM-1 behind a decade ago, and have been itching to get into the digital SLR world ever since. Soon soon... just what I need, ANOTHER expensive hobby :-)
Anyway, glad you enjoyed this haunting rendition of Ember. Alannah did a super job with the poem and reading.
ttfn,
Drakonis
---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a> [ Reply to This ]
Very cool ambiance! &mdash 05/06/08 - 10:53:25 PM
Spoken word is fun to work with aye Drak? I'm hoping to do a project with some poets in the contemporary scene - will keep you informed! [ Reply to This ]
fun? &mdash 05/07/08 - 05:47:08 PM
Well, poetry is fun to work with, if *somebody else* is speaking it... I don't think I'm very good at writing or reading poetry, so I'll let talented people like Alannah and you do that! :-) I'll watch for your works. However, I admit that I overcame my common sense and tried to sing recently, perhaps I'll go totally loopy and record one of my poems someday. I'll warn you when that happens! :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis [ Reply to This ]
|
think this piece really sounds quite developed. Mesmerizing
Quite a nice production I think.
[ Reply to This ]