i was actually quite impressed .. didnt think this track was gonna get as great as it did ...
it has soundtrack written all over it ..
and i kinda can also envision the alcatraz bit !
great stuff !!!

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That's a cool sound -- like someone kissing a hammer, as
if they could sweet talk their way out of Alcatraz. Not sure
I like the crunchy static that starts about 1/3 of the way
thru. Or is that my Sony sound deck decaying again?
Almost sounds like a bunch of inmates practicing their
basketball moves with rocks. A surf sound would be less
troubling to a region within my brain case. Other than
that, a nice progression. Dark, minor-key suspense.

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Your Sony (even though it's a Sony :-) is probably fine. This track was my first
experiment in manipulating sound, rather than notes. I've been trained as a
traditional musician, playing classical, pop, jazz, on "real" instruments. This
was my attempt to get away from that and really use the possibilities of the
electronic medium.

If you follow the synth line you'll notice that halfway through it's pretty much
gone. That's the "Trasher" plug which simulates a reduction in bitdepth and
other distortions. Together with that I tweaked the EQ and increased the
resonance on a low-pass filter.

The crunchy sound is what starts out as an echo and later becomes the
waves; that's a granular delay line. Basically it takes snippets of the drum
sound, and transforms them increasingly randomly. Pretty soon you don't
recognize the drum in it at all.

There's another granulator on the piano, doing more of a pitch shift. I find
that those first piano chords sound like someone throwing a piano out the
window, but on the other side of the building.

Anyway, thanks for your comments.

---
Victor

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I too had some problems with the static, but more on the volume side. I don't mind it being there, but found it too lpoud, somewhat distracting. The opening sequence also doesn't fit with the rest of the song. Sounds a little too electronic on the drums? Especially since as the track progessses it get more and more organic sounding.

I usually don't say what I voted, but:

7, 6, 8, 6

I'd have gone higher on production if it blended a little better.

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i found the static kinda soothing-didn't bother me a bit.
what did rub me the wrong way was the repetition..
changing key somewhere in there would have made a
difference-just seems too linear. i wish trilogy didn't cost
so much, the bass is frikkin amazing

interesting pic-is that a roller coaster in the background?
& how did i get lucky enough to have this woman locked
in the cell with me? i'm diggin her shoes.. maybe prison
ain't so bad

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Ok, first about the art work: yep, that's a roller coaster. Two images from
istockphoto.com superimposed over each other. Hey, if I knew how to get
that chick in a cell with me I wouldn't be sitting here behind a dumb
computer.

Repetition: sorry, no changes. The whole point of the song was to take
material and gradually transform it. Listen for instance to that synth: within a
minute it's become a nasty growl. The harp is transformed but more subtle.
Likewise the piano. The "static" is granulator delay on the drum. After a while
you lose track of the fact that it's a drum, and all you hear are the random
transformations.

So, no, the repetition stands. I like the subtle transformations of the music as
they are.

Trilogy: yes, expensive, but I wind up using it almost everywhere. This is one
of the synth basses, but I have another track that uses the acoustic bass,
which is too die for.

---
Victor

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This is a great comp. It would fit in quite well as an interlude or openining for a movie sountrack.

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I like the way everything slowly builds and deconstructs.
It gives kind of a lost feeling, like the concept of life on
alcatrez. Its like your an inmate losing your sanity over the
time you've spent living on the island. You have lived this
life long enough to forget what a real life is like. At least
thats the vibe I get. I like it. Do more tracks like this one.
Cool

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Really cool sound effect thing in the beginning. Can't
imagine how you kept that from over driving the mix.
Compression?????

I also like the synth sample that plays the melody. Very
nice tonal quality that has. Really random the popping
and background noises. Nice job with that randomness
seeiming rhythmic. Not easy. I think that the whole
melody line is simple here and that allows for all the
randomness to go on as if it weren't that arythmical.
Great job. Really this is a cool way to pull this off, and I
really like the sense of atmosphere that the song conveys.

I would say that there could stand to be something to
build up to as the whole tune seemed really flatlined until
near the very last part.......and then.......wow.......

No nevermind.....Don't change a thing.

Great job. I will have to say that this is by far a brilliant
song in a sea of songs that have been not all that good
lately. (Mine in the sea. Pun Intended I guess)

9-9-9-9

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Thanks for the kind words.

Compression: the final master of this track was done by a commerical
mastering studio (xarcmastering.com). They charge something like $60 a
track, and it's fully worth it. It improves the sound by a mile.

Synth: that's Tassman. Expensive, but very good sounding.

Random noises: those are in fact random. Search for "KTGranulator". It's a
weird effect that I've used a couple times. When the piano comes in it works
as a kind of pitch shiftter, but for the most part I use it on the drums. It does
random delays and pitch shifts, giving that "waves" sound.

---
Victor -- I review yours, you review mine, 'kay?

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It is slightly dark, but there are little rays of light flashing
through cracks in the thick crumbling walls. The
electronic noisy pattering that comes in later was initially
a little annoying, but actually fit in with the sawtooth-like
synth pad to create a dirty electronic rain sound or more
likely, the sound of sprimkles of dirt falling into the cell as
unknowing people walk overhead. The ending was a bit
abrupt, maybe a better finale... dunno. Overall I liked the
tempo and chords & feel, definitely created images in my
brain.
ttfn,
Drakonis

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It evokes a sense of despair in the midst of everything else
going on.

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