Hi. I haven't released any mp3 album for a long time. so here is another one, after 6 months.
Some songs in the first part of this album might sound a little bit funny - but the album - as a whole - is more depressing than funny. or at least pessimistic.
Oh and the cover is the best i've made so far. That's why i included it in this posting :)
m3u playlist (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/playlist.m3u)
01-bloss ein traum (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/01-bloss_ein_traum.ogg) - 1.9MB
02-skaal (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/02-skaal.ogg) - 3.6MB
03-das fremde lied (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/03-das_fremde_lied.ogg) - 3MB
04-in der freiheit gefangen (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/04-in_der_freiheit_gefangen.ogg) - 2.3MB
05-das selbe lied (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/05-das_selbe_lied.ogg) - 3.5MB
06-bloss ein traeumer (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/06-bloss_ein_traeumer.ogg) - 2.9MB
07-warum so heiter (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/07-warum_so_heiter.ogg) - 1.7MB
08-naja (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/08-naja.ogg) - 1.1MB
09-name vergessen (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/09-name_vergessen.ogg) - 1.6MB
10-alles wird gut gewesen sein (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/10-alles_wird_gut_gewesen_sein.ogg) - 4.1MB
11-abgrund einer seele (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/11-abgrund_einer_seele.ogg) - 1.1MB
12-verdampft in alle ewigkeit (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/12-verdampft_in_alle_ewigkeit.ogg) - 2.6MB
13-wissen ist ohnmacht (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/13-wissen_ist_ohnmacht.ogg) - 2.8MB
14-der traum ist aus (http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/14-der_traum_ist_aus.ogg) - 4.5MB
(http://cubaxd.net/music/bloss_ein_traum/cover.jpg)
ack - an album - where do I start?
I guess, because it's an album, with track one :)
Nice to include the playlist, cubaxd.
01 - Beautiful, but also a hint of melancholic. A bit of a chinese atmosphere with that nice flute.
so far the humor doesn't do much for me
but through track 13 I like the more classical-ish stuff a lot.
do you have a zip of the album somewhere?
If you don't mind I'd like to keep it.
Thanks to all people who gave/give it a listen.
@uncloned
Quoteack - an album - where do I start?
With track 1, then 4,5,6 and then 8 through 14. Tracks 2,3, and 7 are the bonus tracks at the end.
Are you hinting at the album's composition? :)
Quotebut through track 13 I like the more classical-ish stuff a lot.
nice to read that :)
Quotedo you have a zip of the album somewhere?
That would need twice the webspace and I haven't got that much of it. And another reason is my terribly slow upload speed :(
QuoteIf you don't mind I'd like to keep it.
Great
@Sam_Zen
QuoteNice to include the playlist, cubaxd.
This was your suggestion some time ago, wasn't it?
I also think this is much more practical, i.e. for people who wanna listen first, instead of downloading something they don't want.
QuoteThis was your suggestion some time ago, wasn't it?
Could be, Then I had local off-line use in mind, so I was surprised that it could be used for streaming, so I checked.
And of course the full URL of the tracks were there..
So I had to generate a new m3u for my own use (as you know I DL everything first), but I have a batch-file to do that.
(This is not a complaint by any means)
02 - Very funny. Could be fit in a cartoon movie.
03 - A strange song indeed. A charleston air, maybe because of the banjo.
04 - Also a 'fremdes lied''. I like the arrangement and the speed changes.
By the way, Mozilla has announced that the next Firefox 3.1 will have an integration for the OGG-format as default.
And, also by the way, a very nice cover.
Before I uploaded the music, I've compared the output of lame (mp3) with that of oggenc, and the quality of the oggs is much better than that of mp3s at the same bitrate. Maybe i'm just to stupid to use lame correctly (it has many command line options), but from now on I will use the ogg format :) It also has the advantage of being free.
QuoteCould be, Then I had local off-line use in mind
I see. Every good music player is able to create playlists, thus I think that it isn't so important to include one for local use :)
QuoteAnd, also by the way, a very nice cover.
Thanks :) I've created it using GIMP by laying 4 different photographs one over another and adjusting the transparency of each. Has a nice effect sometimes.
Quotethe quality of the oggs is much better than that of mp3s at the same bitrate.
Of course this stays a subjective issue, but I agree. Apart from being open-source as a strong argument,
I think the quality is better. Not so much in sound 'an sich', but better dynamics and preservation of the panorama.
If you want to get rid of command lines to convert things, I use some simple options with a GUI for this.
1. The 'droppers'. Simple apps that can convert WAV to a certain format and vice versa (also open source) :
http://www.louigiverona.com/webarchive/samzen/download/oggdropxpd189.7z
http://www.louigiverona.com/webarchive/samzen/download/lamedropxpd397.7z
http://www.louigiverona.com/webarchive/samzen/download/flacdrop120.7z
They produce a small square box (settings via R-click). One of the rare occasions I use the drag-n-drop technique btw.
The 3rd one, FLAC, is a nice format for archiving original tracks, because it's non-destructive compression.
The file will be about half the size of the WAV.
The ogg format also has more fields in the ID3 tag to enter relevant data.
An editor for this can be found
here (http://www.louigiverona.com/webarchive/samzen/download/TOGGER.7Z)
Thanks for your help, Sam. But I didn't use Windows since a long time. Actually, as I'm only using Linux (most of the time), I'm very happy at the command line. There are just some programs, like lame, where there are too many options (164 lines if you input 'lame --longhelp', most of the describe another option). And if all that options would find their place in a GUI, it would need a fullscreen window ;).
I was just wondering why the original wav files are much louder than the generated mp3s. I've tried to turn off the lowpass filter, but that didn't help. The generated oggs where at the same volume as the wavs - without the need of any special options. And that was actually what i wanted.
Sorry cubaxd, I didn't know about Linux.
I have nothing against command-lines either. Well, maybe the links are useful for other readers.
The OGG format also can contain multichannels by the way.
05 - Again a beautiful arrangement in time. With quite tender dynamics.
06 - An ingeneous mix of instruments here. A friendly dream I would say.
07 - Not my favorite piece of this album. Can't find a specific direction qua expression.
08 - I like the solo-sound. With a right dose of tiny portamento moments.
Thank you, Sam. I'm looking forward to the day when you arrive at track 13 :)
QuoteThe OGG format also can contain multichannels by the way.
What is that mean? Isn't this for DVDs or so, when you have a film in several languages?
Could be, I don't know much about the formats on a DVD, but several languages means several audio tracks.
And that's what it is. Ogg can not only be a stereo file, but also can have more audio tracks, simultaneously played.
Like my favorite, four channels, and the, not my favorite, 5.1 system, which has six channels.
09 - It indeed has the atmosphere of the title.
10 - Same thing as such, kind of nostalgic feeling of 'maybe missed chances'. I fancy the low brass.
11 - As for the theme, I consider this as maybe core material for a longer piece. It has more potential.
12 - Nice title again. But, alas, I have a pre-bias against the piano sound, so I would give it a 5.
13 - Well .. I shouldn't have mentioned that :) Passing that issue, I like this, because of the air of contemplation.
14 - Very good. I like the 'bassoon' from 3:13 on.
Sorry for my late response, I had a problem with my internet connection. The last two days I was really living behind the times.
Thank you again for reviewing, Sam :)
Quoteso I would give it a 5.
That brings back memories of my time in school ;)
Very good. I always enjoy listening to your stuff, though I don't always make the time to comment. Much appreciated though as always.
Thank you again.
I just downloaded it all and since you are behind a slow connection I value your effort in sharing your work even more.
Chris
@Krazy Katz
@uncloned
Thanks a lot for downloading.
Quote from: "Krazy Katz"I always enjoy listening to your stuff, though I don't always make the time to comment.
DITTO :)
Quote from: "uncloned"since you are behind a slow connection I value your effort in sharing your work even more
It's not that slow. Downloading something is quite fast (considering), but for uploading this album it needed approx. one hour. So, with some patience, it's okay :)
Yep. Advertisements always mention the download speed, but the upload speed is what's really the point.
Quote from: "cubaxd"@Krazy Katz
@uncloned
Thanks a lot for downloading.
Quote from: "uncloned"since you are behind a slow connection I value your effort in sharing your work even more
It's not that slow. Downloading something is quite fast (considering), but for uploading this album it needed approx. one hour. So, with some patience, it's okay :)
then if your DL speed is ok, why the concern with the 320kbps quality?
It is okay for everyday things, as an old car is okay for driving around, but you can't win a race with it ;). I told you that I am of course downloading your tunes whatever bitrate they might be in.
I just can't hear a difference between 320kpbs and, say 256kbps. But to avoid any misunderstanding: I don't want to discourage you from doing things the way you do them!
My concern was about streaming, which is not possible with my connection if the audio stream is at a too high bitrate. I can't even watch youtube videos without the stream being buffered all the time. Therefore, when I'm watching a video, I first have to click pause and wait for some parts of the video to be loaded, and then I can watch the video free of interruptions. But that's another story :)
Just listened all the way through and went back to listen to "das selbe lied" again -- easily the best track, I think, and I enjoyed them all. "Das selbe lied" reminds me of the great adagios from the late Romantic period (Bruckner, Mahler, etc.). It was extremely well composed and you obviously know your music theory. I thought I caught a looping issue with one of the lower samples (bass or cello), but it may have been an intentional rhythmic effect -- I'm not sure. Anyway, I didn't mind. It was an outstanding track, and the whole album was well worth listening to. This is the type of music that I wish we would see more of. It's always interesting to me that although computer software has opened up the ability to compose extremely creatively, it's rarely used to full effect.
Great, great work.
Thank you a lot, mrvegas :)
Quote from: "mrvegas"I thought I caught a looping issue with one of the lower samples (bass or cello)
yes, the loop end wasn't well positioned in this sample. :)
QuoteThis is the type of music that I wish we would see more of. It's always interesting to me that although computer software has opened up the ability to compose extremely creatively, it's rarely used to full effect.
:oops: And it was all done with our favorite tracker. No need for expensive software :) One disadvantage is the size of the IT files. The smallest is 15MB (track 13) and the biggest track 4 with 64 MB. All IT files have a size of 498 MB. I think for the next album I will consider using ITP files to keep them smaller.
On the other hand, ITP files have the disadvantage, that they are using absolute pathnames. If the paths on my HD are changing, then i have to reload each instrument in an ITP file :(
Quote from: "cubaxd"- but the album - as a whole - is more depressing than funny. or at least pessimistic.
I agree about the depressing aspect despite the couple of not so depressing tunes.
2. :boogie:
13. Nice piano moods.
14. Great ending. The instrument playing from ~3:15 really stands out.
Thank you, Relabsoluness :boogie:
and sorry for my late reply :(