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Satyagraha Group: Musicians Posts: 103 Joined: June 2003 Posted: Aug. 04 2003, 04:10 ... and a bit of everything. August -------------- Byrði betri berrat maðr brautu at en sé mannvit mikit Back to top

ktran Group: Members Posts: 156 Joined: May 2003 Posted: Aug. 04 2003, 12:58 Very nice work, sir. I'm ashamed to say that HR is an MO album I don't yet own, so I can't draw any comparisons. But your stuff is very good. There's a richness in texture with your layering. How do you go about writing/recording? And are you also a guitar player? rgds, -------------- Khoa Tran www.suspendedseconds.ca Back to top

Satyagraha Group: Musicians Posts: 103 Joined: June 2003 Posted: Aug. 04 2003, 16:02 Quote Very nice work, sir. Thank you very much, sir. Quote How do you go about writing/recording? I used to use paper, pencil and piano, but these days I just enter notes with my mouse into my computer. As soon as I got a fundament, being a melody or an ostinato or a chord sequence, I start fooling around, working out counter-melodies and stuff. Then I record guitars, basses, organs, synthesizers, percussion and voices, and just keep on fooling around until I've got something I like. Quote And are you also a guitar player? Well, I played all guitars in August and Insomnia, so if that qualifies me, yes I am. I record my 1974 Gibson Les Paul Special direct to disk, simulating distortion, compression and amplifier characteristics by means of various software. I use software multitracking, and utilize all kinds of plug-ins liberally. I just love to tweak. My setup is very simple. My soundcard is so-so and my CPU downright stinks, so I can't add to much. And software mastering does leave a lot to be desired. When I get rich, I'm gonna buy the eqiupment of my wet dreams. However, thank you again for liking August. Be sure to also check out Insomnia -------------- Byrði betri berrat maðr brautu at en sé mannvit mikit Back to top

ktran Group: Members Posts: 156 Joined: May 2003 Posted: Aug. 04 2003, 17:44 Interesting. Insomnia is also very well done; I do hear some Incantations influence in there. I like your structured approach; it's something that I'm working towards trying to do myself. I take it from your screen name that you're a fan of Mr. Glass? Right now, I'm a bit more primitive. I use software multitracking, but I pretty much just improvise over simple patterns at the moment, so my melodic and harmonic constructions tend to be rather accidental. I'm experimenting with notation software, but I'm not quite MIDI-capable as of yet. rgds, -------------- Khoa Tran www.suspendedseconds.ca Back to top

BOOsTER Group: Musicians Posts: 1024 Joined: Jan. 2003 Posted: Aug. 05 2003, 09:49 Very nice, interresting...and chill out good work very good! Can I ask what's the software used? and where the organs come from? (synth? software?) Many thanks i am asking because your sounds quality is really really on pretty big level...it's clear and the balance of all the bands is very good! Though...it might have more crisp equalizing and maybe be a bit more airy (but I can just use my EQ here to make it). To my ears it's nice balanced but still missing some air if you know what I mean. (well maybe it's just because an hour spent with mixing a hard trance track, so my ears are pretty fu*ked now, so pls excuse me if it's not so) -------------- http://www.djbooster.net Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Aug. 05 2003, 11:03 Booster: the organs, trumpet, glockenspiel etc. sound all very Roland-ish to me. I can tell u this 'cause I've got a great Roland synth and it's got exactly the same sounds. Satyagraha: Congrats, an excellent piece... although maybe my judgement is a bit biased by the fact that HR is one of my favourite MO albums, especially in its so-called 'original mix'. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

MusicallyInspired Unregistered Posted: Aug. 05 2003, 13:52 I like it. Definitly good quality. I wish I had the equipment you have for the synth. What do you have, anyway? Definitly Hergest Ridge and Incantations-inspired. I look forward to more of your pieces as they are QUITE LOVELY! Back to top

Satyagraha Group: Musicians Posts: 103 Joined: June 2003 Posted: Aug. 08 2003, 04:40 Quote I take it from your screen name that you're a fan of Mr. Glass? Not really. I just love the name. It could also be the result of being a fan of Mahatma Gandhi. Quote Can I ask what's the software used? and where the organs come from? (synth? software?) I use an old version of Cakewalk with loads of plug-ins (all freeware) for recording and mixing, and Izotope Ozone for mastering. Except for the guitars, voices and percussion, I've used nothing but softsynths – Edirol and Dreamstation. And the introducing organ is my old Casio CZ 101 from 1984. Quote To my ears it's nice balanced but still missing some air if you know what I mean Do you really think so? I used no high-end exciting, just a slight treble boost. It might be that my monitors makes things sound too trebly, but to me the track is bright enough. Probably a question of taste. -------------- Byrði betri berrat maðr brautu at en sé mannvit mikit Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Aug. 08 2003, 05:37 You could try an EQ a little lower down if you should want to try brightening it - somewhere around 8kHz seems to bring out more 'air' without doing much damage...but not for all sections. I'm guessing that you just were aiming for a warm sound in the beginning section - when the sparkly glockenspiel-type sound comes in, I think any more top end on the whole mix would be overkill. The guitars really don't benefit from being brightened any more either. I'd think if you wanted to make it more airy for BOOsTER, you'd be better off just adding the EQ to individual parts as necessary. Anyway, enough on that subject! A nice piece of music, it does share some of Hergest Ridge's pastoral feel. I could almost imagine it describing the passage of a day from sunrise to sunset... The sounds are nice too - I especially like the soft organ sounds. It seems to me that older digital synthesisers like the CZ series and the Yamaha FM synths are rather overlooked these days, they can create some really nice warm sounds when used in the right way. I would maybe have gone for a slightly smoother guitar sound in places, but then that's my style and not yours...it's good stuff as it stands. Back to top

Gander Unregistered Posted: Aug. 13 2003, 12:36 Clever piece, too clever, in fact. I really don't believe the guy made this. It's too pro sounding and precise to be a home recording. Probably a hoax. Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Aug. 13 2003, 15:35 Well, I suppose that's a compliment in some ways... But really, I believe that people here are above the level of passing off someone else's work as their own. I hear no reasons to doubt that it's a home recording - it's just the work of a skilled and intelligent composer, and just because someone's not a household name doesn't mean they're not going to be any good at it. Was that meant as a serious comment, or am I missing a joke here? Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: Aug. 13 2003, 20:58 Have you ever made any home recordings, Gander? Almost anything is possible even with barely anything. Especially with today's technology. The cheapest or even some free programs you can get can be tweaked (if you know what you're doing and what you're working with) to sound professional. This is the second post by you that's made me suspicious to think you're just here to mess with us. Plus you're not a registered member which proves that theory further. I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but if I am you shouldn't be as down-looking as you are about someone's work. Negative yet constructive criticism is fine, but going on saying stuff like "It's probably a hoax" is going over the line. If it's not a hoax (which I don't think it is), in a way that's a pretty good compliment as Korgscrew said, but also calling someone's hard work false and not their own is rude. Again, sorry if I'm wrong. I don't want to make any enemies out of newcomers. And sorry for going off-topic. -------------- BrandonBlume.com "The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue." Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: Aug. 13 2003, 23:55 I'd also just like to say that I've listened to this a few times now and it's really growing on me. I really love this track. Just proves that music really hasn't come to an end. In terms of emotion, anyway. Music may have been reused over and over but the emotion it comes from gives the song individuality and it's audible. I love how those quite accurate Oldfield-drums come in at 5:25. It has that Oldfield feel but with a different flavour. A nice break from Oldfield-esque. I hope for more music from you, my friend. -------------- BrandonBlume.com "The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue." Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Aug. 14 2003, 03:30 Quote (Guest @ Aug. 13 2003, 18:36) Probably a hoax. Oh yeah? And who is the mastermind behind this very Mike-Oldfield-sounding hoax? Mike Oldfield?   P.S. I am the one who first said that Excalibur was a hoax. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Satyagraha Group: Musicians Posts: 103 Joined: June 2003 Posted: Aug. 14 2003, 09:34 Quote Probably a hoax. Ah, I admit. August is really an early demo outtake from Hergest Ridge II, scheduled for release next summer. Dressed up as a pizza boy, I secretly recorded it to a minidisc I hid in my wig. Quote I love how those quite accurate Oldfield-drums come in at 5:25. Actually, the only drum here is a sampled floor tom on the first beat of each measure. The rest is me slapping my thighs, processed through a ring modulator with frecuency set low. I was really surprised by the result. Quote And who is the mastermind behind this very Mike-Oldfield-sounding hoax? Mike Oldfield? Why, yes, I am Mike Oldfield. Great nose job, eh? Ugo, Korgscrew and MusicallyInspired: Thank you very much indeed (and then some) for your wonderful compliments. I promise I'll post more quite soon. Working on a piece I'm really fond of now. It's going to be darn long, though. 12 minutes or so. -------------- Byrði betri berrat maðr brautu at en sé mannvit mikit Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Aug. 14 2003, 10:18 Quote (Satyagraha @ Aug. 14 2003, 15:34) Working on a piece I'm really fond of now. It's going to be darn long, though. 12 minutes or so. Keep up the good work, my friend. It'll be a real pleasure to hear some more of your wonderful music and playing. The longer the better. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: Aug. 14 2003, 23:26 Yes! Longer means more music . Quote Actually, the only drum here is a sampled floor tom on the first beat of each measure. The rest is me slapping my thighs, processed through a ring modulator with frecuency set low. I was really surprised by the result. That was it?? It sounds VERY similar to the drums he used on parts of ommadawn, Incantations, Amarok and Serpent Dream. With just a some missing noises but the best simulation of the sound I've ever heard. Good job! Very resourceful! -------------- BrandonBlume.com "The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue." Back to top

Music, the ancient language... Group: Musicians Posts: 407 Joined: Jan. 2003 Posted: Aug. 22 2003, 14:40 Good composition. Nothing wrong with that. It's even good. But at some points I really had to turn down the volume, some notes really made me crinch! Equalise, compress, or I don't know what effect may help, but do something about it! Don't waste this composition! -------------- Read everything I write at own risk. I cannot be held responsible  for depressions and/or suicide attempts of any kind, caused by reading my posts. Back to top

Satyagraha Group: Musicians Posts: 103 Joined: June 2003 Posted: Aug. 26 2003, 06:23 Quote some notes really made me crinch (sic) Er … I guess you're referring to the first appearance of the (more than) slightly distorted electric guitar. Well, it's supposed to be loud and sharp. I wanted to wake you up a bit. (Or annoy any Richard Bransons out there, heh-heh.) I wonder why no-one else has commented on this, if it really is that horrendous. Anyway, I think I'm going to remix and remaster both my posted composistions here, as they are both done without much experience. I know a lot more know. The new versions will be smoother and more dynamic. In fact, that's all I can do recording-wise at the moment. An untimely kitchen-accident with a brand new, razor-sharp kitchen knife the other day left my left thumb out of comission for a month or so. I can't even touch a guitar's neck -- and my composition in the works, "Nightfall", has to be done 100 per cent by hand. No MIDI at all. -------------- Byrði betri berrat maðr brautu at en sé mannvit mikit Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: Aug. 27 2003, 21:03 Good luck with that. I'm intrigued to hear these already great compositions in an even better form! To tell the truth, those guitars did bother me a bit, but not a whole lot. Cool idea, though. But maybe it would sound better with not as much crisp-ness....but I suppose that was the point hehe. -------------- BrandonBlume.com "The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue." Back to top

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