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Question: Tr3s Lunas II :: Total Votes:17 Poll choices Votes Statistics Snow Cavern Flight 5  [29.41%] Sprites 1  [5.88%] Solar System 4  [23.53%] Requiem of the Sky 0  [0.00%] Moonlight Stroll 2  [11.76%] Thou Art in Heaven II 0  [0.00%] The Origin 1  [5.88%] Landing 1  [5.88%] Rebirth Tunnel 1  [5.88%] Other - please list 2  [11.76%] Guests cannot vote

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nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: June 25 2008, 09:23 Quote (Alan D @ June 25 2008, 04:35) [ You're right of course, that the audio album can be criticised separately without reference to the game, if you insist on doing that - but he did make it clear that it was not the whole story, by including the game CD (playable as a free demo, so you could try it and see if it worked on your computer) along with the audio album in a double-CD case. That's a pretty big signal, don't you think? Obviously he couldn't make people play the game if they didn't want to play it, but I think his artistic intentions were very obvious. Agreed. But he could have just released the game, the way he did with Maestro. If it were clearly indicated on the sleeve that TL was a "chill out" album I could accept that the music was perfectly appropriate for that genre. But the title and the wildly spacey album cover lead one to expect music more in the vein of TL2, full of cosmic highs and lows and galactic abandonment. Incidentally, I listened again to "Firefly" and yes, I was probably unfair to that piece.... I personally dislike the ultra-mellow guitar playing that characterizes pieces such as "Viper", but that's just an individual quirk. Dirk Star persuasively described it as "undulating", ie, snake-like. I can see that. But "Viper"? No, "Grass Snake"! (I'm not including the  names of Australian non-venomous snakes as we don't have very many! Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 25 2008, 12:12 Quote (nightspore @ June 25 2008, 14:23) But he could have just released the game, the way he did with Maestro. But he didn't, and that's my whole point. What was released was as close to a composite Music VR audio/game  package as (I suspect) the record company would agree to. (The reason he didn't repeat the dual release with Maestro was surely that there wasn't enough new music in Maestro to make up a separate album. But that's neither here nor there, really, because I wouldn't make these claims for Maestro. Maestro is much closer to the usual idea of what a standard computer game is like, with its tendencies towards specific goal-orientation, than Tr3s Lunas ever was.) Quote If it were clearly indicated on the sleeve that TL was a "chill out" album I could accept that the music was perfectly appropriate for that genre. Well, on my copy (bought when it was released) there's a prominent Warner's sticker that declares, in bold lettering:  Mike Oldfield's       Chill Out         Album Including the hit single       ToBeFree  and FREE DEMO of       Music VR Interactive PC Game As I said previously, Mike Oldfield's original artistic intentions were absolutely clear, and a great deal of what he said at the time was about this new composite music/virtual reality concept. There was never any doubt about that, so I'm not sure what we're discussing, really. I listened to the album again today, and I love it so much that, truly, I can't understand the problem. I think it's entirely captivating and delightful, like a big box of Tr3s Lunas-flavoured chocolates. Imagine a group of people gathered on a warm evening, relaxing to some music, having spent a wonderful day exploring a strange new place. 'Did you see that weird yellow snake?' asks one. 'Did the Indian girl say anything to you?' asks another. 'I went for a ride with wild horses, galloping through rain and a thunderstorm,' says another. 'Let's go back tomorrow, says another, 'I want to explore that island more carefully and swim out to the turtle in the lagoon.' And, as the sun sets and they sip their drinks, they agree to go back tomorrow. Well, in this imagined scenario, the music they're listening to while they enjoy this conversation and recall the things they've seen and done, is the Tr3s Lunas album. That's the spirit in which it should (in my view) be listened to. Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: June 25 2008, 13:54 Quote (3Wheeler @ June 25 2008, 03:42) Good thing with Trs Lunas   Trs Lunas 11   you got plenty of material to play around with..... i play  trs lunas with   1st Steps promoted to Tk1  and Ringscape included  as tk 8  .  Seems to work fine.... You're right, 3Wheeler. It's quite a lot of material and I'm grateful it's there and available. I like your idea of integrating some of the tunes from Light + Shade which were based on material from Tr3s Lunas. I think I'll try making a playlist like that. Dirk, I like your description of "Viper". It, along with "Tr3s Lunas", is one of TL's most aggressive sounding pieces (which isn't saying a lot on a "Chill Out" album, I know) - a combination of seduction and boldness. This might seem contradictory to sly and sneaky, but I think it all comes into play somehow. -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: June 25 2008, 14:58 Quote (Alan D @ June 25 2008, 12:12) Imagine a group of people gathered on a warm evening, relaxing to some music, having spent a wonderful day exploring a strange new place. 'Did you see that weird yellow snake?' asks one. 'Did the Indian girl say anything to you?' asks another. 'I went for a ride with wild horses, galloping through rain and a thunderstorm,' says another. 'Let's go back tomorrow, says another, 'I want to explore that island more carefully and swim out to the turtle in the lagoon.' And, as the sun sets and they sip their drinks, they agree to go back tomorrow. Well, in this imagined scenario, the music they're listening to while they enjoy this conversation and recall the things they've seen and done, is... YOSHIMI BATTLES THE PINK ROBOTS. Ok, so maybe you'd have to cut off part II of the title track, but, ohhh, In the Morning of the Magicians would really fit that. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 25 2008, 15:14 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ June 25 2008, 19:58) YOSHIMI BATTLES THE PINK ROBOTS. You know that feeling you get when somebody makes a joke, and looks at you waiting for a response, and you stand there desperately trying to understand it so that you can respond somehow, but no, no, no matter what, you just can't get it; and in the end you look sort of lame, and you say, 'I'm sorry but I just don't get it' and the world sort of curls up into a ball and rolls under the settee? (Did anybody say 'yes' to this?) Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: June 25 2008, 17:18 There's a brilliant way to make your way out of that situation: http://www.xkcd.com/178/ Matter of fact, though, I did think Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots would really fit that occasion, but no, I didn't dismiss your point at all. I was going to say, though, that including a "free demo" of a game into your album is a rather stingy form of multimedia art. "You want the full art? YOU'LL NEED MOAR BUCKS." -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 25 2008, 17:23 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ June 25 2008, 22:18) including a "free demo" of a game into your album is a rather stingy form of multimedia art. Ah, I said his intentions were clear. I didn't say they weren't stingy. Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: June 25 2008, 21:47 Quote (Alan D @ June 25 2008, 12:12) Well, on my copy (bought when it was released) there's a prominent Warner's sticker that declares, in bold lettering: [b]  Mike Oldfield's       Chill Out         Album Precisely my point. The record company realised the album's title and cover illustration could mislead, so they decided to warn, by means of adding a sticker, the public exactly what they would be buying. Obviously none of this is going to make Alan like TL any the less or me like it any the more, any more than I'm going to persuade him that The Millennium Bell contains at least four great MO pieces (which I think it does). Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: June 26 2008, 03:46 Quote (Sweetpea @ June 25 2008, 18:54) Quote (3Wheeler @ June 25 2008, 03:42) Good thing with Trs Lunas   Trs Lunas 11   you got plenty of material to play around with..... i play  trs lunas with   1st Steps promoted to Tk1  and Ringscape included  as tk 8  .  Seems to work fine.... You're right, 3Wheeler. It's quite a lot of material and I'm grateful it's there and available. I like your idea of integrating some of the tunes from Light + Shade which were based on material from Tr3s Lunas. I think I'll try making a playlist like that. Dirk, I like your description of "Viper". It, along with "Tr3s Lunas", is one of TL's most aggressive sounding pieces (which isn't saying a lot on a "Chill Out" album, I know) - a combination of seduction and boldness. This might seem contradictory to sly and sneaky, but I think it all comes into play somehow. Seduction & boldness is definetly better though Sweetpea that`s just me struggling for comparitives as usual.Viper certainly has more of the Aragorn persona than it does of Gollum for instance.. Alan I like your description of Tres Lunas there in referance to the game.Kind of like looking at holiday photographs and reliving the memories and emotions related to them.I`ve never really got past the demo with regards to playing the game myself.Mainly because my computer has neither the required ram or graphics to handle anything bigger than space invaders.That said though I know if I got into that thing I`d never be bloody off it.I get hopelessly addicted to those sort of things very easily that`s my trouble.In fact what am I saying?..I get hopelessly addicted to bloody everything in fact.Somebody would be doing me a huge favour if they were to shut down all these free porn sites that are kicking around at the minute.They`re driving me round the bloody bend man!!.. First thing I always do when I buy an album with a removable sticker on it is take off the sticker.Sometimes I even do it before I`ve brought it home.The Tres Lunas "removable" sticker though is still there to this very day.What the hell is that thing stuck on with man?God only knows really!But Imo somebody at Warners should get onto the phone to NASA and tell them they`ve found a remedy for that age-old space shuttle tiles problem. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 26 2008, 04:09 Quote (nightspore @ June 26 2008, 02:47) Precisely my point. The record company realised the album's title and cover illustration could mislead, so they decided to warn, by means of adding a sticker, the public exactly what they would be buying. I've kind of lost track of what we're discussing, here.... Warner's seem to be wrong for not telling the public what TL was all about, and wrong for telling them. But no matter. The really important thing in all of this is to know what MO's artistic intentions were for the MVR project, and he made that abundantly clear. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 26 2008, 04:15 Quote (Dirk Star @ June 26 2008, 08:46) Alan I like your description of Tres Lunas there in referance to the game.Kind of like looking at holiday photographs and reliving the memories and emotions related to them. Yes, that's almost exactly how it is, Mick. I can even push the analogy further. Looking at someone's else's holiday photos of a place you've never been is often a bit tedious. But looking at your own holiday photos isn't, because the photos help you to relive the experiences in imagination. I think TL the album acts very much like that. Certainly I think that's the explanation for my own shift of attitude to the album, from initial disappointment before I became involved in the game, to deep affection afterwards. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: June 26 2008, 11:06 Quote (Alan D @ June 25 2008, 17:23) Ah, I said his intentions were clear. I didn't say they weren't stingy. Point taken. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 27 2008, 05:03 Well, what a shakeup. I need to start with a digression. Our old amplifier (NAD3130) has been with us for maybe 20 years, driving a pair of LS3/5A speakers with effortless ease during that time, but many of its switches have been deteriorating recently, giving intermittent contact, so we thought we'd replace it. Yesterday, out came the old, and in went the new: the modern NAD equivalent, I suppose: a NAD C355BEE. I put a CD on to test it. I chose Tr3s Lunas.... My goodness! I thought I was just replacing an amp, but this is a major upgrade. I've never heard TL sound like this before. There was a wonderful feeling of what I can only describe as tight spaciousness. All the sounds are defined more precisely across the stereo stage, with an almost tangible presence. The air in the room seemed full of music - wonderful, delicate music. Everything seemed to have a more delicate touch on the one hand, yet more implied power and firmness at the same time. I laughed out loud when the saxotar came in - the sound that many people love to hate - but it sounded just perfect to me: exactly the right sound coming in at the right time, and I've never heard its character so well, before. So, still surrounded by packing materials strewn all around the room, I sat and listened, entranced, to the whole of Tr3s Lunas again, sometimes actually laughing, often smiling, and bathing in the sheer box-of-sweet-centred-chocolates pleasure of its sounds, and the memories it evokes. I now propose to give TLII the same treatment, and see what happens..... Back to top

arron11196 Group: Members Posts: 826 Joined: April 2005 Posted: June 27 2008, 15:14 I have done the same thing a few times with upgrades to my sound equipment. I revere the time I upgraded from my Soundblaster Live! to the Audigy 2 ZS as possibly the best moment yet in my life. I actually cried. It was so... intense to hear so much new depth and detail. I know exactly what you mean. -------------- Arron J Eagling Everyone's interpretation is different, and everyone has a right to that opinion. There is no "right" one, I am adding this post to communicate my thoughts to share them with like-minded souls who will be able to comment in good nature. (insert the last 5 mins of Crises here) Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 27 2008, 16:03 Quote (arron11196 @ June 27 2008, 20:14) I actually cried. It was so... intense to hear so much new depth and detail. I understand that completely, Arron. It's quite overwhelming to realise, suddenly, that a big new window has opened, and all the music will now be able to be discovered anew. Back to top

trcanberra Group: Members Posts: 349 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: July 13 2008, 01:12 Wow - I don't usually open cans of worms except when I do   I would hate to see anyone jettison 'To be Free' - love that track.  I also notice we strayed onto Millenium Bell, been listening to the promo lately and interesting to see how it ended up - the more I listen to the CD the more I think it belongs in my top 5 (*runs for cover). Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: July 22 2008, 11:26 Favourite track on TL2? Either Sprites, Requiem of the Sky, or Landing. Probably Sprites for the epic finale. -------------- 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

bugular tell Group: Members Posts: 482 Joined: Mar. 2003 Posted: July 25 2008, 15:49 Brandon, lets face it you made an AWSOME album, its all good, but if i had to choose it would be Snow Cavern Flight, and Sprites is preety impressive too! whens your music of the spheres remaix coming out? lol   -------------- Light travels faster than sound, thats why some people appear bright until you hear them speak Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Oct. 06 2008, 15:18 This talk of sound equipment upgrades make me envious of those who are able to hear MO properly. My 'sound system' consists of my computer speakers and my iPod (either headphones or car). -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Oct. 06 2008, 16:45 I have a quite good pair of computer speakers, complete with subwoofer. If I crank up the volume, I can get a pretty good sound going. But honestly, I'm not too hot about having THE EXTREME sound in my bedroom - partly because I have better things to spend my money on, and secondly because I'm only really worried with the quality of the music itself. If I can hear what's going on, it's alright. If I don't catch the exact moment when the guitar tone changes from "buzzy" to "0.0001% buzzier than before", it's just fine. Oh, and thirdly, if I'm listening to music that depends on super duper expensive equipment in order to sound good, then I'm listening to the wrong music. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

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