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Galaxy Band 8 by Bubowski

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 1130
Comments: 39
Votes: 12
Plays: 164
Last Played: Jul 01, 2009 - 05:12:01 PM
Downloads: 49
Fans: 43
Uploaded: Nov 26, 2008 - 01:37:44 PM
Last Updated: Nov 26, 2008 - 03:45:55 PM
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Keywords:
Galaxy (6)Band (121)Electronic (345)Orchestra (64)Symphony (26)Ambient (581)Cinematic (92)
Description:
A continuation of the Galaxy Band journey. A series of improvisations using keyboards, drum controller and actual guitars. I wanted to play everything in for a change of pace, so some parts may seem a little "loose."

The first section is fairly structured around a 5/4 meter, but the melodies tend to move freely over this. The middle section is pretty much a free improvisation on classical guitar and the closing section is an improvised orchestral section with a solo piano.

I wanted to sort of test out everything: drum controller, new plugins, new mic, recording acoustic instruments and electric guitars (with Guitar Amp Pro), field recording (the stream and bird sounds are recorded in the Yosemite back country with an H2 recorder), basically everything I have at my disposal right now.

So, here's the story:

--------------------------------------------

Exiting the time whorl
Memories past
of conflicts resolved
of faces stretching back seven generations
of seven stories told

I am floating on a sonic bed
Echoes in my mind of melodies
is it just a dream?
while the choir voices sing
and guitars play their sometimes harsh melodies

I awake, home safe, a stream at my feet
And birds in the trees,
a chorus of crickets,
while the melodies of home
play quietly in my head

And so I am called to meditation
I look up from my dream of home
and see the mountain peaks
the wind in the tall trees
and the startling night sky from my sunlit glade

My song of home has become a symphony
Another memory, another dream
I start to climb towards that incongruous sky
through the warm forest
scented of pine and cedar

As I reach the summit and face that sky
My feat touch the warm soil, my eyes drink in
the starlit universe above
a dream within a dream,
within a dream

--------------------------------------------

And a voice calls out...Skean...


Hardware:
MacPro 8 core, Alvarez Classical, Ibanez Hollowbody, Silverton Les Paul copy, Novation Keyboard controller, Yamaha Digital Piano, Roland Octopad II, Audio Technica 2035 Mic, Presonus Inspire interface

Software:
Logic 8, Rapture, EWQL Symphony Orchestra, Absynth, etc.

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kassia said 220 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
graham
What an incredible, ambient journey. I loved all the nature sounds you mixed in. Awesome guitar work and really great synth/atmospheric stuff going on underneath. A real organic feel to this, in performance, structure and sound. Great words you've accompanied this with, although I waited to read them until after listening once, so as to let the music create it's own picture. I loved the oboe (ehorn?) and bassoon. What an epic piece, congrats on this! Didn't feel like almost 11 minutes at all. I could have listened for another 20!
Check out my latest song called A Little Alleluia
Bubowski said 204 days ago (December 12th, 2008)
Words...
Thanks for your careful listen. I actually wrote the words AFTER the piece was done. Just used my impressions of the music to guide the writing. You are right, it's an oboe (from EWQL Symphony Orchestra).
Check out my latest song called Galaxy Band 8
Parichayaka said 220 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
Majestic, evocative, expressive
So many creative ideas to admire here...love the soundbed you start out with, the calm, deep atmosphere you create within seconds. Your poetry is invoking wonderfully uplifting imagery, taking the musical experience to a higher level. What I find especially remarkable is how you manage to combine different instruments and sound structures into one long musical journey without ever loosing the intensity of this mesmerizing soundtrack. Takes you into an almost ethereal space way beyond the ordinary....beautiful!
Check out my latest song called Rest not
Bubowski said 204 days ago (December 12th, 2008)
The journey is...
the reward. I'm glad you enjoyed to trip. :). I think the end still needs a little extension to wind down properly, but I am happy with it as is (for now). Thanks for your wonderful comments.

--Graham
Check out my latest song called Galaxy Band 8
Feter said 220 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
Galaxy Band 8
What a huge work ...man this is just incredible ...
the guitars so great ...the stream moment with the Alvarez just incredible ...just one of the best pieces
I heard here ...thanx alot for sharin such gem !!!!
Bubowski said 204 days ago (December 12th, 2008)
Thanks
for your comments. I appreciate it! Need to get my chops back up on the Alvarez, but I'm glad you liked the music.
Check out my latest song called Galaxy Band 8
drakonis said 220 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
exquisite
Nice rich bass intro really catches your attention.
Love the early piano flourishes that reverberate into space.
Excellent use of drawn-out quiet areas, then things sliding back in.
Very clean mix, so much room, lots of nice ideas woven together.
Very pretty classical guitar work.
There was a hint in the last (nicely done) orchestral section of some Copland-esque Americana (use of fourths?)
Nice stuff, and so good to see the baton picked up by a master, and passed to another one on this great project.
ttfn,
Drakonis
Check out my latest song called Bach Bach Black Sheep
Bubowski said 204 days ago (December 12th, 2008)
Those GB synths!
The intro sound is actually a home-brewed synth from Garageband. Based on a preset called Glide Swirl. I heavily tweaked it and renamed it Galaxy Swirl (for obvious reasons) it's amazing how good those GB synths sound - deceptively simple but sonically powerful. The sound reminded a little of the Yamaha CS-80.

Thanks for your comments and observations. I DO have a fascination with Quartal Harmony, so I guess thats why it sounds a little Coplandish.

--G
Check out my latest song called Galaxy Band 8
ktb said 220 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
wonderful
so layered, heavy with imagery. Also with deepest respect, so very trippy, I absolutely love it. More pls
Check out my latest song called Just my Luck (w/Thoddi)
magnatone said 220 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
Galaxy Band
wow graham - this is AMAZING! I love like - EVERYTHING about it!
Check out my latest song called MagnaFlight
Skean said 220 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
WOW
What a great journey... I feel so peaceful now.. Thank you for this nice ride... Super work :D))*
Check out my latest song called My Love Is Your Harmony (W/Onesweetworld)
guitapick said 220 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
So much...
...to this piece...a definite trip...very much enjoyed...
Check out my latest song called We Grew Up Together
Studioplayer said 219 days ago (November 26th, 2008)
Trippin'
Very Cool!! Great sounds. I just happen to have the headphones on and it sounds sweet in my cans. What a great mix. Guitars sounds really cool. Inspiring music.

Dave
Check out my latest song called The One I Like
MarkHolbrook said 219 days ago (November 27th, 2008)
Wow.. I agree
This is a huge undertaking and it came out great.

So much expression in the sounds. This is a masterpiece!

Wow.
Check out my latest song called Heart Cries
MarkHolbrook said 219 days ago (November 27th, 2008)
Wouldn't it be great
if we could see things like M42 (Orian Nebula) just over the horizon like in your picture?

I've been an astronomy buff for years.
Check out my latest song called Heart Cries
PrototypeEightyOne said 218 days ago (November 28th, 2008)
very nice
i cant even imagine how long it took you to produce this, very nice from start to finish. very clean, clear and concise.. something about the subtly @ 6:00 drew me in even deeper. This was very nice, and cant wait to check out the previuos installments that you mention!
Check out my latest song called The Flu Bug ( in Sonic Form )
bud said 217 days ago (November 29th, 2008)
Magnificent!
Loved the poem too. It's great that everything is played live and maintains the organic feeling that your tale sets up. I love your "kitchen sink" approach.
Check out my latest song called Zeppy collab
sloparts said 216 days ago (November 30th, 2008)
Masterful
All I can say is I think this is a wonderful collection of sounds and feelings. Very well played and the production values and arrangement is beautifully done. Your use of the soundscape shows a great knowledge of and mastery over controlling the listeners experience.

An absolutely gorgeous piece of music that will someday be considered a classic. Bravo Maestro

Ed
Check out my latest song called Schizophrenia
kristyjo said 216 days ago (November 30th, 2008)
This is
a real sonic adventure. I get a kind of 'Trans-Siberian Orchestra' vibe out of this. Maybe it's the scope of the piece. This is so well produced, too. Ah - there's the Copeland reference. The field recordings are a touch of inspiration.
Darn, it's over.
Check out my latest song called My Faith Looks Up to Thee
Mystified said 216 days ago (November 30th, 2008)
epic soundscape...
Everything is done so very well here...a musical journey both epic and amazing. I love the integration of nature sounds as well.

Excellent! :)
Check out my latest song called echoing hope
Ibstrat said 216 days ago (November 30th, 2008)
This
is just extremely well done.Can't think of anything else to say!
Check out my latest song called Take Flight
musichead said 215 days ago (December 1st, 2008)
proof...
Ive used some really crappy guitars in some of my recordings. But I dont think its what you have its how you use it, The silvertone sounds as good as any real les paul. And the Alvarez sounded like a Martin!!! Nice job!!!
Check out my latest song called Talks To Me Dirty
Char said 215 days ago (December 1st, 2008)
Definitely, otherworldly
... and a kind of orchestral romp through stream of consciousness. You threw everything you could in here and .. it is very beautiful and demands complete attention. Wonderful piece. Thanks.
Check out my latest song called Love's Out of Hand(musichead)
echoroom said 214 days ago (December 1st, 2008)
Far out..
... way out. Really celestially fantastic.

steve
Check out my latest song called Deeper (with Racerat)
MissChaos said 214 days ago (December 2nd, 2008)
I love this
Thanks for alerting me to this, Graham. It's gorgeous. Sorry I wish I could type more, but I keep getting interrupted at work. Geesh, don't these people know I'm immersed in music by Bubowski?!
Check out my latest song called Mama Cries - Album Version (MJRF)
Macaudion said 213 days ago (December 3rd, 2008)
A most wonderful listen
I'm not so sure that they made the words that would properly describe this but if I hadda guess while trying to put it into some type of context, I'd first say, that this piece sounds like all the knowledge within a universe sharing it's self. I'm also thinking, that you had to have gone to the outskirts of a well known system in order to retrieve it. I woulda just liked to have seen the look on your face when you were towing it back to town...

Beautifully Displayed!
Thanks for the free grabs, too!

BTW I was the one who DL'd three copies - making sure I got it, I guess
Check out my latest song called X-Lrg Impersonal Foot Wear
jiguma said 213 days ago (December 3rd, 2008)
So much good stuff ..
.. going on here Graham.

Outstanding post.

Neil
Check out my latest song called Shark Attack
Ed Hannifin said 212 days ago (December 4th, 2008)
I made myself...
...sit down after my morning tea and really listen to this, and over "the best headphones"...

This is another of those stereophonic headphone treats...Stuff coming in from everywhere, and stuff that FITS...

I love the roughish and very present electric guitar against the prettier, chimier things in the background, including other, cleaner, electric guitar...

Nicely recorded ambient sounds, too. The H2 proves itself once again...

The embarrassing part is that I have yet to spot the Mellotron...

I hope Tadashi gets to hear this....

Ed

Fits very well with the book I'm reading, 'Saturn's Children', by Charles Stross. For something with that 'lost in the universe' sort of theme...
lavalamp said 212 days ago (December 4th, 2008)
Audio art
Well assembled piece. It could definitely be used in in a film.

Great job. Very inventive stuff. Excellent guitar parts, too.

Dave
Check out my latest song called Forgot
davisamerica said 212 days ago (December 4th, 2008)
Graham
this still just blows me away ... great pick for the best of 2008
Check out my latest song called Nasty Little Things [ramonaji/awigze mix]
fabien0784 said 210 days ago (December 6th, 2008)
wow
I wonder how you get such a clear sound... it's impressive.

May I just say that I'm not a big fan of nature sounds in the middle of the track ? t.
Apart from this, I guess this is the best ambient tune I've heard this year ! the piano in the second part is just pure delight.

Many thanks for sharing !
Check out my latest song called Wind Of May
Kicbal said 207 days ago (December 9th, 2008)
Love it
Totally fulfilling piece, in that I think it satisfies what anyone could ask for in an epic musical adventure. Totally pro sound and I love all the detail and ear candy that is tucked in the corners, especially from the percussion work. Reminds me a bit of David Arkenstone, but more subtle and not so bombastic. The acoustic guitar and water remind me of Rush's 2112 album.
Check out my latest song called Falling Stars Forgotten
Moses said 205 days ago (December 11th, 2008)
A lot
of really intriguing sounds throughout this piece. I loved the transitions. I think parichayaka said it well... so many instruments and sound structures, yet this piece maintains such a fluidity. I think I'll let this accompany my three hour car trip on Monday. Thanks for sharing
Check out my latest song called For You, Physics
tadashi said 133 days ago (February 21st, 2009)
Hi, Bubowski
I made it to a new username.
Thank you for contacting me.

I learnt your message today.
Tadashi Togawa

As for this song, I feel a very deep, wide meaning.

Check out my latest song called When You Wish upon a Star (MJRF)
Bubowski said 131 days ago (February 23rd, 2009)
Hello Again
Nice to have you back Tadashi. Thanks for the listen.
Check out my latest song called Galaxy Band 8
Doug Somers said 122 days ago (March 4th, 2009)
A thoroughly delightful sonic journey
There's a patient tenderness that underlies your treatment of the themes here that makes this a most endearing piece of music. The variety of styles with enough of a soak in each aural environment both give the listener time to fully explore a place yet never get overly familiar as the next part of the piece evolves and brings in new treats for the ears.

Masterful work - I'm really encouraged to try something longer now myself.

Be well,
Doug
Check out my latest song called Dad's March
Bubowski said 121 days ago (March 5th, 2009)
Thank you
for your thoughtful comments. There is more me in there, since I improvised most everything, so I guess more emotion comes through. It was a lot of fun pulling many different elements and themes together and to fully use pretty much everything in my studio (at least a little).

--Graham
Check out my latest song called Galaxy Band 8
Char said 107 days ago (March 19th, 2009)
Really beautiful
and certainly comforting as home is sweet, something that belongs to us as we belong to it. It is easier to feel a part of this world than it is to feel safe in space where we can not breathe. Thanks.
Check out my latest song called Love's Out of Hand(musichead)
mowguy3 said 107 days ago (March 19th, 2009)
What can I say
that hasent been said? A little late to the show. Just let me say this is fantastic in every way. Enjoyed it so much. Thank you and thank's for the DL.
Be well, Russ
Check out my latest song called Dreams
Bubowski said 106 days ago (March 20th, 2009)
Thanks for the Listen
It's never too late! :)
Check out my latest song called Galaxy Band 8