[Dance] The call (MP3)

[bvanoudtshoorn]

This is my first dance track in quite a while. I've kinda let this side of my music slip a little. This track tells the story of a conversation between two people, with very different characters.

It also tells the story of how my musical output soars when I have lots of other work to do for university. :/

Let me know what you think!

Download it here.


Coverart:

[Sam_Zen]

I enjoyed the cricket-like sounds.

[uncloned]

I must admit - crystal clear production but... not my cup of tea.

I can't say anything intelligent about the genre but I did listen for a few loops and tried.

[mrvegas]

Sounds great.  I've said this before, but I like your dance/pop stuff a lot.  I think your compositional knowledge contributes to make the tracks interesting.  I was surprised by the realism of the guitar part -- was it a real guitar or a loop from somewhere?  If you used MPT for this, how did you do the grace notes?

[bvanoudtshoorn]

@Sam_Zen: Thanks, S_Z - if we're thinking of the same ones, then they're a cool little effect that's in one of the 'glitch' drum kits I have.

@Clones: Thanks for trying. I fully understand that sometimes tracks just don't work for people, or even at all.

@mrvegas: Glad you liked it! The guitar is tracked, using a fantastic instrument bundled with Kontakt 3. What's really nice about the default nylon guitar in K3 is that at full velocity (v64), you get those nice bends. I also put in a couple of pitch bends and notes in the row just before the actual note (sometimes with an SDx delay).

[Nahkranoth]

Personally I hate pianos (must confess, I occasionally used them myself), but this track is damn beautiful despite the piano.
I can't call it "dance", it's just too complex (in a very good way) to be that kind of music where people can jump and shake their limbs and whatever to the sounds of the kickdrum
Let your mind dance instead!

PS: Barry, about the guitar: I see it like the more velocity you apply, the more bend you get. No pitchwheel, right?

[bvanoudtshoorn]

@Nahkranoth: I'm really glad you liked it that much, Nahkranoth! And you're kinda right about the velocity -> bend mapping, except that the bending only happens at all at very high velocities; anything below a threshold is played normally. And yes, no pitchwheel.

[tvdude]

Dude, you have some serious talent.

[bvanoudtshoorn]

Dude, you have some serious talent.

Thanks tvdude!

[psishock]

And you were saying that you're not so good at electronica composing? =) This is a very fluid and melodic piece, both the piano and the guitar "main" parts are beautifully made. You can listen to it many times, it's not getting boring easily.

[Harbinger]

Notes as i'm listening:

The Call:
VERY good arrangement, excellent engineering, nothing wrong with the chord progressions, but the melody, i still hear that Gameboy influence, and i don't know why to me it's so obvious. No matter what melodic or timbral movement you use, that style (which i don't have the ear for) seems to be pervasive. To me it's enormously distracting, even though i LOVE everything else about the composition. I don't know if it's the use of leading notes, perhaps you're melodies stick to close to the given chord (only thirds, fifths, and sevenths), but if i had the chance i'd study the sheet music to see why the melody sounds that way to me.

For anyone thinking about giving this a listen, it does NOT sound like a video game. My ear though picks up things that most others wouldn't catch if they weren't alerted, and that's never the composer's fault. He's composing in a style he knows, in a style his inspiration is borne into. Don't let an overanalytical ear dissuade you from giving this piece a chance -- it's very well-composed...

[Sam_Zen]

Relistened, because of the remark by Harbinger about a Gameboy element.
Indeed some sounds are game-like, but it's not that bad, because other sounds aren't. So there is a balance.

[bvanoudtshoorn]

You know what's weird, though, Harbinger? I have never owned a gameboy in my life, and I've probably only racked up a couple of hours of playtime on them. In fact, I didn't own a console until a few months ago, when I bought a Wii -- and that's at my fiancée's house.

Nevertheless, I appreciate the point you're making. And since you indicated that you'd be interested in looking at the original, I've uploaded the OpenMPT file. You won't be able to play it, 'cos of the plugs I use, but you'll at least be able to see what happens where, and what notes are played by which instrument.

Oh, and I'm glad that you enjoyed the track, notwithstanding its game-ish influences. And I really do appreciate you taking the time to listen and give feedback on it.

I think S_Z's got a point, though -- there are certain elements in the track which I don't think can really be game-like, so there's a balance between the two.


EDIT: Of course, it'd be helpful to actually point to the uploaded original... http://test.pbc.wa.edu.au/music/The%20Call.it