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See by SmokeyVW [Email]
Genre: Classical

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 1053
Comments: 13
Votes:
Plays: 75
Last Played: Nov 19, 2008 - 10:02:40 AM
Downloads: 11
Fans: 2
Uploaded: Jul 25, 2006 - 08:28:39 PM
Last Updated: Sep 19, 2008 - 12:11:47 PM
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Description:
album: Plankton
track 1: 5:26 Drop
track 2: 4:46 Ocean Lady
track 3: 4:48 L'Heure Bleue
track 4: 3:31 Sink Into The Sea
track 5: 6:08 Steps
track 6: 6:36 Seven GHs
track 7: 2:32 Nautical Twilight
track 8: 12:48 See
...more albums...

Song Description

Last step. Words have no meaning at all now.

~~~ notes ~~~

An algorithmic and manually generated work.

I used GarageBand to mix and cross fade the tracks. I also added a background subliminal voice and some sound effects of seagulls and waves. (Love that rainstick!)

The actual notes were generated using a Tcl script that executed the following algorithm.

There are 13 phases, using a cycle of fifths. The last phase repeats the original key of the first phase.

Each phase is divided into two parts. The first part is built from a pentatonic scale. The second part is built from the same scale with one particular note removed. This note is about to change.

The idea is to smooth the upcoming modulation by avoiding the one note that will change in pitch. In other words, the second part is ambiguous: it is between the key of the first part and the key of the upcoming next phase.

At the end of the second part this note is lowered a half step to form a new pentatonic scale. This new pentatonic scale is up one fifth from the previous scale. (It turns out, this has an added benefit: when the first new note of the key finally appears, it has a sort of tug on your heart. It works especially well on the second appearance of the tubular bells.)

Notes are chosen randomly from the scales.

The cycle continues until it finally returns to the original key.

The song starts in C with this scale: C, D, E, G, A. The next key is G with this scale: G, A, B, D, E. The note that changes is C to B. So during the second part, the C is avoided; there are only four notes in the scale: D, E, G, A.

The pattern continues in this cycle of fifths: C, G, D, A, E, B, F#, Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F, and finally back to the C.

The subliminal voice: The sea is where all water originates and eventually returns. The cycles of transformations of water from liquid, solid, and vapor are not unlike the phases that each one of us travels through as we flow through our lives. At first our being is fluid, molded by our parents, our families, our friends, our world at large. Eventually we crystalize into the beings that we are throughout most of our adult lives. And, at the end, our essence slowly evaporates once again into that eternal form. We flow as does the water from the mountains to the sea. We are all, each one of us, a part of the grand cycle that is life. You should see.
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cool &mdash 07/26/06 - 10:42:55 AM
your songs are good and different, I like your style of music and thoughts behind them. Check out my vid at www.youtube.com/veg1000/waterpower
and tell me what you feel...thanks 4 the jam

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cool &mdash 07/26/06 - 03:21:06 PM
ack! the link doesn't work! typo?

thanks for kind feedback.

download the whole album (in order) and give it a listen. my hope is that it will
take you on a trip to new places...

---
B^)

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More ambient than classical &mdash 07/26/06 - 11:10:31 AM
Very nice track. The development is very subtle, but you can sense it
happening. Thanks for the description of the process you used. The result
is amazingly good sounding.

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More ambient than classical &mdash 07/26/06 - 03:16:43 PM
ambient... yeah, i debated that one. i figured the classical guys will yell at me if
this is too much afield. there's a lot of classical structure here, though the
sounds certainly are not "classical" and i guess sound effects should place it in
ambient or something. (i have tons of trouble with "getting" categories by the
way.) it's easy to change that.

thanks for noticing the pattern to it. yes, it's subtle, but i find it works really
well. (it's hard to be your own audience, but i am very pleased with how it came
out. wish i knew really how i did it.)

---
B^)

[ Reply to This ]
A Grand Trip! &mdash 08/11/06 - 06:00:26 PM
It's a grand trip you've created for us. Very rich and beautifully layered. I
think it's exceptional for this type of ambient ever evolving and flowing
piece. The sound effects worked very well and your final slowing down to
a heartbeat was perfect. Well done and thanks for the extensive and
fascinating essay on this.

[ Reply to This ]
A Grand Trip! &mdash 08/12/06 - 08:55:22 PM
I'm glad you enjoyed your trip.

Check out the other songs in this album - they are meant to lead up to this final piece...

Thanks for listening!

---
B^)

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A Grand Trip! &mdash 08/12/06 - 11:22:17 PM
also, i can't resist talking about some details...

'evolving' is certainly a life cycle idea i had in mind throughout this album. i wanted to deal with life and death and the big picture of the cycle of billions of years of life we are all a part of.

note that the heartbeat at the end falters and stops before the fade out...

(the heartbeat shows up elsewhere too)

there's also an awful pun about the key this starts in and ends in. and even the 'cycle' of fifths is an intentional pun.

---
B^)

[ Reply to This ]
,-) &mdash 09/15/06 - 09:12:51 AM
Sound and delicate moviment of the notes!

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beautiful &mdash 04/20/07 - 04:02:52 PM
i'm really liking this one. i think you can stick with classical; as in modern classical as in Gavin Bryars or something along those lines (although the drums that come in might P.O. some who like their genres to be clearly delineated).It's really beautiful, and soothing. Is there a little bell sound somewhere in the background with a ring modulator on it? Another outstanding track, really love your stuff.

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. &mdash 04/20/07 - 06:12:57 PM
i thought you might like this

re: ring mod, i think you are referring to the tubular bell synth. it sounds (to my ears anyway) very much like a real orchestral tubular bell kit. a sound i very much enjoy, perhaps due to Mike Oldfield.

thanks for the support on the genre choice. i really get puzzled on genres. mostly because i strive NOT to follow conventions, within reason. so my stuff falls through the cracks i suppose...

thank you very much for listening and commenting - i'm glad you liked this one - i thought you might!

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Hey Bill - not sure how I missed this &mdash 04/20/07 - 05:16:18 PM
definitely my kinda thing - very eno northern lights (before the drums come in). To my mind you might have left the drums out - they seem more static than the rest of the piece. Just my opinion - this is still a great piece. Agree with mike on Bryars reference re genre - I always have trouble with choosing too. Overall the voicings are really well tempered and mixed - I know how hard it can be to get this kind of thing just so - and it's right on.
Nice work - you never cease to amaze and amuse.

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. &mdash 04/20/07 - 06:05:58 PM
this is a rather "old" (lol) song

i was listening to some of my meditation-type stuff to, well, meditate. and it struck me that there were some similarities of this one to "Ponder Then Awaken" http://www.macjams.com/song/30708 - so i sent off a note to you and michael2.

if you have time check out some of the other songs on Plankton - they're all cross-linked in the Description fields...

i hear you about the drums, it was a close call on leaving that part in. my main excuse is that it introduces the heartbeat concept...

thanks Bud!

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you know what &mdash 04/20/07 - 09:13:47 PM
else might be kind cool Instead of real "drums," some sort of clicking, static-ey sort of thing. far be it from me to tell you how to crank out a good song. Ø, Minamo, and Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto are some artists that come to mind that use a lot of "clicks and sines," in place of a rhythm section. i've been starting to experiment with other sounds for rhythm as I can't figure out how to make a convicing sounding drum track with loops, and/or kits and a keyboard.

i will check out the rest of your album. i think i've listened to about half of it so far, as was liking it very much.

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