Tracks

VicDiesel

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Description

In between visiting the south and north rim of the Grand Canyon, I stayed overnight in Tuba City. Close to there are some dinosaur tracks. I doubt that I would have been able to figure all that you could infer from the various marks in the ground if it hadn't been for a Native American lady who had a stand selling jewelry there, but who was happy to give me a tour. This track depicts the bestiary of creatures that roamed the area, tens of millions of years ago.

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Song Stats

Hits: 874
Comments: 25
Fans: 22
Plays: 55
Downloads: 53
Votes:
Uploaded: Dec 31, 2008 - 10:54:28 AM
Last Updated: Jan 05, 2009 - 05:13:00 PM Last Played: Oct 09, 2009 - 11:13:03 AM

Song License

Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NonCommercial

Song Actions

Keywords:

dinosaur (2), fossil (1), arizona (3), flute (147), native american (22)

Hardware:

Native American flutes in E, F#, Ab.

Software:

Logic, synths by Zebra, couple of guitar loops, tons of effects.

Comments

Feter	Feter said 326 days ago (December 31st, 2008)
	Tracks This is so Unique ...the taste of Native American flutes added something to the whole atmosphere the loops offered wonderful soundbed ...the sound so genuine ...a true story telling from the ancient pages of time ...very impressive ...thnx alot for sharin .... !!!! Check out my latest song called A Night With Feter feat'(Roxylee sloparts crissew johnwhitehead and Yamin AL Yamani )

Cameron

Cameron said 326 days ago (December 31st, 2008)

Lots of cool tidbits
Your playing of the Native American flutes is EXCELLENT.

I listened to this piece on speakers and on headphones. The flutes sound rather dry and "flat" compared to the rest of the mix. It's as though the flutes don't have enough space -- a bit more reverb would create more of an ethereal quality, as well as widen and integrate the soundscape.

Is it possible to articulate shorter notes on Native American flutes? Including sections of variety in articulation with your repetitive long-note phrases would add even more interest.

The background texture was very thick and sometimes overpowered the delicacy of the flutes. Perhaps that's why my ears wanted more reverb in the acoustic winds.

The last third of this piece held the most interest for me, after an initial key-change transition which didn't quite fit together. After that, you introduce faster triplet notes which sounded wonderful. It was a nice build-up from the earlier slower, sustained material.

I also liked the thinning out of texture at the very end of the piece with just the piano pattern. I think that the entire piece would benefit from more variety in the texture, in general.

Thanks for sharing this! You really have a gift for playing flutes and recorders!

Check out my latest song called EPONYM

VicDiesel

VicDiesel said 326 days ago (December 31st, 2008)

Spot on
Your observations are very correct. I tend to favour dense mixes, and for that reason I think I put too much compression on the flutes here. For instance, in the third section, the first phrase is low on the instrument, so it should sound softer than it does here. I need to tinker a bit more with the various plugins.

Reverb: there is already a fair amount of reverb (especially in the second section), and putting more of it on the flutes will push them further away in the mix. I'll have to find a less spacious reverb, to give them some warmth, yet not drown them in the mix.

I'm glad that despite these warts you found enough to enjoy in this track!

Check out my latest song called Desert Stars

composerclark	composerclark said 326 days ago (December 31st, 2008)
	Liked it. I really liked it! I agree with Cameron that more variety in the texture might be a good idea, but it's very enjoyable as is, and I particularly dig your flute playing. Check out my latest song called Scarlet Nightfall

magnatone	magnatone said 326 days ago (December 31st, 2008)
	Tracks wow Vic - you can really play those flutes so amazingly well. A very ethereal but still very high-motion work. Happy New Year Vic! Check out my latest song called Symphonic Smackdown

LunaTrick	LunaTrick said 326 days ago (December 31st, 2008)
	All I can say... Is that this is fabulous... the flautine voice and the wonderful backdrop textures. Your music really travels! Check out my latest song called Luna Gypsy Heart II (Eternal Firelight)

LunaTrick	LunaTrick said 326 days ago (December 31st, 2008)
	May I also add... that I really like the way the flute is mixed. Too often, they are over-reverbed and loose the wooden immediacy of the instrument. This is a fresh and non-cliche delivery here! Check out my latest song called Luna Gypsy Heart II (Eternal Firelight)

kristyjo

kristyjo said 325 days ago (December 31st, 2008)

Great sound-
I am listening on 'so-so' speakers, so I'm probably not getting all the detail that you've included. Your instrumentation reminds me of a group called The Burnt Earth Ensemble. (They make all of their instruments from clay, yet get an amazing variety of sounds and timbres) Good variety of styles, from the contemplative opening to the jazzier sounding final minute. This is really great listening.

Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Rocha Malhada	Rocha Malhada said 325 days ago (January 1st, 2009)
	Strange blend of instrumentation to my ears, but it seems to work pretty well. Flute sounds a little flat in spots against this backdrop, like you are struggling to land the note. But what do I know? I haven't listened with the headphones yet... . - Harold Check out my latest song called Kanun Oud Rock (LIOLI9)

Rocha Malhada	Rocha Malhada said 325 days ago (January 1st, 2009)
	woops I didn't read before I wrote... Check out my latest song called Kanun Oud Rock (LIOLI9)

blaky smith	blaky smith said 325 days ago (January 1st, 2009)
	Creatures Excellent piece Victor, very well done on all levels, a pleasure to listen, bravo ! Happy new year... Marc Check out my latest song called Sur le sable (w Jiguma)

Lennon714	Lennon714 said 324 days ago (January 1st, 2009)
	The Grand Canyon is such a humbling place. And living in Arizona, I've heard my share of Native American flautists. This track is great because the flutes are so contemplative and the backing gives it a unique bed. I like how LunaTrick described it as "non-cliche". A dead on assessment. Check out my latest song called Anarchy, Inc.

VicDiesel	VicDiesel said 324 days ago (January 1st, 2009)
	Arizona is a cool place Several of my native flute tracks are directly or indirectly inspired by my visits there. Now about this concept of "clice".... (Mr. Diesel pulls out his dictionary. Read read read.....) Interesting. No, can't say I'm familiar with that :-) Check out my latest song called Desert Stars

peacepiano	peacepiano said 324 days ago (January 2nd, 2009)
	Build Like the opening build up. Flute melody is very fine. Has a modern sound to it. Thanks Bill Check out my latest song called I Should Have Known

Mcboy	Mcboy said 323 days ago (January 2nd, 2009)
	koolacious...... kool blowin......much soul....! Check out my latest song called Heros( aclarke/mcboy)

Macaudion	Macaudion said 323 days ago (January 2nd, 2009)
	mellow goodnes verrrry cool! nice track, sir. a big thx for the free grab. d Check out my latest song called 123 iGetU

Komrade K

Komrade K said 320 days ago (January 6th, 2009)

Sumptuous
Just listened on headphones and I think the mix is pretty much spot on particularly as the flutes gain ascendancy as the track moves on. The 'acoustic' piano at the end has great impact against the slickness of the overall sound and I was wondering whether, if you wanted to achieve greater textural variety, this could make a showing earlier in the track. However this piece does go on a journey with subtle textural shifts throughout so this suggestion is probably unnecessary!

Excellent work.

KK

Check out my latest song called Ye Mariners All

saymme	saymme said 313 days ago (January 13th, 2009)
	tx for sharing : ) !!! ..the music , the story & the photo !!! Interesting sounds here (!) more harmony in it towards the end if U want my opionen, I'd love to see where this could go if You ever 'redo?' it !!!!! KUDOS & Have A Great New Year Much enjoyed ThankYou : ) !!

Mckenzie

Mckenzie said 307 days ago (January 19th, 2009)

woooow
you are so good at Native America flute!! I don't think i've ever heard one before now but i love it. Everything sounded great from where i was sat, production, arrangement, instrumentation was first class. I used to always want to be a paleontologist (up till about 3-4 years ago - is that a Celophysis i spot?!!) hehe, so that made this one that extra bit special for me.
Great tune Vic, thanks
Fav'd & downloaded
:)

Check out my latest song called Carriage Girl

SISTERS	SISTERS said 303 days ago (January 23rd, 2009)
	delicious the 3 flute tones make for some incredible harmony. the beat's good, and the build is great. your intriguing composition is very well done. enjoyed, anne Check out my latest song called HOW WOULD I KNOW

Char

Char said 291 days ago (February 4th, 2009)

I actually
am very drawn to all kinds of flute and especially native-American sounding flutes. This is such a large piece with so much variety that I was, in effect, transported to another time and place. I felt as if I was listening while standing out in the open , with the breath of the canyons tousling my hair.
I guess you'd have to have that piano helicoptered in. What a beautiful ending. I found no fault. You are an excellent maker of music and a great story-teller. Thanks.

Check out my latest song called Break Away (Mark Holbrook & Awigze)

Elevator_Funk	Elevator_Funk said 289 days ago (February 6th, 2009)
	Cool... good mix of techno and organic. the fact that you took the time to use the native flutes is pretty neat. Do you play them much or did you just tough it out and hyperventilate while recording? Check out my latest song called Post Nasal Drip

Diviner	Diviner said 288 days ago (February 7th, 2009)
	Very nice Sounds like you were being very careful when making this, its probably because the flutes have a very careful and tenative sound. Very nice music you have composed here, the North American flute always sounds so relaxing. Cool track and well played. Check out my latest song called Space Program (Space Race 2009)

mikkinylund	mikkinylund said 284 days ago (February 10th, 2009)
	Vic I've had the pleasure of hanging out with some real wonderful native indians since arriving to this country as well (The Lumbee Tribe, NC), and first of all, thank you for tributing this directly to its source. The flutes (loops I expect), are naturally not quite in tune and sounds very real, at least to my ear. Check out my latest song called Fairyland (Satumaa)

VicDiesel	VicDiesel said 284 days ago (February 10th, 2009)
	Ahem I hardly ever use loops, and didn't do so in this case. I used 3 very real flutes here that I played myself. (If they'd been loops they would have been in tune :-) Anyway, glad you enjoyed it. Check out my latest song called Desert Stars

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Artist Info

Name: Victor

In past lives, VicDiesel was a country fiddler, a shawm player at the Burgundy court, bellows pumper for JS Bach, Geoff Emerick's factotum, and a beggar playing drums in the streets of Calcutta for alms. Unusually, the memories of all that come... [see more]

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Genre Info

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