One synth EP Challenge (No competition or prizes - just for fun)

Great fun, great prizes! Good luck!
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ravisoni
Posts: 416
Joined: 09 Feb 2015
Location: Las Vegas

26 Dec 2017

Just to make it a little easier for people to find tracks:

01. Modecca (Nostromo)
02. Kuranes (Nostromo)
03. teddymcw (Various Korg Synths)
04. TritoneAddiction (Chip64)
05. Peter (Viking) - post deleted
06. artotaku (Antidote)

07. East Island (Nostromo)
08. Sorped (Orbis)
09. teddymcw (Antidote)
10. Despondo (Nostromo)
11. Peter (Nostromo) - post deleted
12. siln (Thor) - link to tracks broken
13. TritoneAddiction (FM4)
14. Arrant (Thor)
15. Flavolous (Vibro)
16. Ahornberg (Malstrom)
17. theshoemaker (MonoPoly)
18. TritoneAddiction (Snakebite)
19. Ahornberg (Subtractor)
20. Ahornberg (Pulsar)
21. TheGodofRainbows (RYM2612)
22. TritoneAddiction (Legend)
23. teddymcw (Viking)
24. TritoneAddiction (Snakebite)
25. Auryn (Oberon)
26. miscend (Respire)
27. ravisoni (Lithium)

I cannot believe the amount of work this thread may have possibly helped get done. Thanks Tritone!

I'm going to keep this going. Next Synth up is Kraft. I already have a track previously done for Kraft, but I'll add another one by the end of the year. So another 2-track EP by 31st December 2017.

Keep up the great work, guys, and if any links are broken, let me know so I can fix them.

Bonus
For anyone interested in data:

# of times the synths were used:
#oftimessynthused.JPG
#oftimessynthused.JPG (23.25 KiB) Viewed 13863 times

# of total tracks contributed by user:
#oftracksperuser.JPG
#oftracksperuser.JPG (22.66 KiB) Viewed 13863 times

# of total tracks per synth:
#oftrackspersynth.JPG
#oftrackspersynth.JPG (22.55 KiB) Viewed 13863 times

# of synths used by user:
It won't let me attach a fourth file, I suppose...
:reason: Reason 10 | :re: Preset Browser | :refill: Refill Hoarder

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TritoneAddiction
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Joined: 29 Aug 2015
Location: Sweden

26 Dec 2017

ravisoni wrote:
23 Dec 2017
Short story: EP complete, tracks below.

Long story:
So I'm kinda tired of trying to advance these tracks. I realized I was frustrating myself more than it was worth trying to get the synth, string and other choir sounds out of the Lithium. Synth design is simply not my thing, I'm more of a preset browser. I need sounds, and I need them now --
designing them is a chore I'm probably never going to indulge in again. Problem is I am bad with melodies as it is, and adding on this extra challenge of designing the synth for a particular sound is, well, a walk through many hours of colorful language. Figured it was probably best to call it a day.

That said, I am going to continue with Liquim North and Liquim Midworld outside of this challenge. I see good potential in them and will share the tracks once they are complete. For now, enjoy the 3 (Liquim Vole had non-Lithium elements) 2 tracks below from my very first EP - Liquim! (Most sounds you hear are Lithium presets, and those which were combis, I made sure to remove any other synths comboed in the combi; there's some modulated vocals, too).

PS: Most importantly, what this challenge has done for me is made me understand my limitations and the type of music enthusiast that I am. The lessons I learned through the many hours put in will help me be more efficient with my work in the future, and so thank you to all who have continuously submitted and kept the thread going. Like many others have mentioned, even though this many not be our cuppa, it certainly is one of the most motivating threads to get on with music making (and yes, now I can say I finished a couple songs in 2017). Thanks again, all!
Nice music. I think you've managed to put together some cool soundscapes with these tracks. I especially like the first track Liquim North.

I know what you mean regarding the sound design thing. I almost always start from presets and tweak them or add so many effects to them that they become unrecognizable. That's my "sound design".

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CaliforniaBurrito
Posts: 574
Joined: 11 Nov 2015
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

26 Dec 2017

ravisoni wrote:
26 Dec 2017
For anyone interested in data
Great idea! This puts a nice spin on the thread. I might have to get in on the action soon.

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

26 Dec 2017

ravisoni wrote:
26 Dec 2017
Just to make it a little easier for people to find tracks:

01. Modecca (Nostromo)
02. Kuranes (Nostromo)
03. teddymcw (Various Korg Synths)
04. TritoneAddiction (Chip64)
05. Peter (Viking) - post deleted
06. artotaku (Antidote)

07. East Island (Nostromo)
08. Sorped (Orbis)
09. teddymcw (Antidote)
10. Despondo (Nostromo)
11. Peter (Nostromo) - post deleted
12. siln (Thor) - link to tracks broken
13. TritoneAddiction (FM4)
14. Arrant (Thor)
15. Flavolous (Vibro)
16. Ahornberg (Malstrom)
17. theshoemaker (MonoPoly)
18. TritoneAddiction (Snakebite)
19. Ahornberg (Subtractor)
20. Ahornberg (Pulsar)
21. TheGodofRainbows (RYM2612)
22. TritoneAddiction (Legend)
23. teddymcw (Viking)
24. TritoneAddiction (Snakebite)
25. Auryn (Oberon)
26. miscend (Respire)
27. ravisoni (Lithium)

I cannot believe the amount of work this thread may have possibly helped get done. Thanks Tritone!

I'm going to keep this going. Next Synth up is Kraft. I already have a track previously done for Kraft, but I'll add another one by the end of the year. So another 2-track EP by 31st December 2017.

Keep up the great work, guys, and if any links are broken, let me know so I can fix them.

Bonus
For anyone interested in data:

# of times the synths were used:
SEE ORIGINAL POST FOR GRAPHS


# of total tracks contributed by user:
SEE ORIGINAL POST FOR GRAPHS


# of total tracks per synth:
SEE ORIGINAL POST FOR GRAPHS


# of synths used by user:
It won't let me attach a fourth file, I suppose...
AWESOME!!! :D :puf_bigsmile: :thumbs_up:
I'm so glad you did this! Thank you! OMG I love data!! I've been trying to think of ways to consolidate this thread somehow, but nothing as comprehensive as this. Well done. :geek: :mrgreen: :clap: :wave:

User avatar
ravisoni
Posts: 416
Joined: 09 Feb 2015
Location: Las Vegas

02 Jan 2018

Just an update, I've mostly composed and arranged all sections of this new track using Kraft. A few things here and there, but I first need a break before I add the final pieces and do the mix, my head's swirling right now.
Should take no longer than about a week. I mean rotations start again next Monday, so I can't afford to give this more than a week.
I'll post Sunday at the latest, but most likely well before that. Hope you're all enjoying your holidays!
:reason: Reason 10 | :re: Preset Browser | :refill: Refill Hoarder

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TritoneAddiction
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Location: Sweden

13 Jan 2018

So I did it again, I changed my plans.
I said I was gonna write an EP with 3 tracks using Humana, Pangea and Klang. Well it turns out I don't feel very inspired working with them and I don't want bore myself further so I'll just end it here.
I wrote one short track using all 3 instruments and no other additional samples. It will just have to do for now. At least I ended up writing something different compared to my other tracks. Sounds like an intro theme tune or something to my ears.


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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

14 Jan 2018

TritoneAddiction wrote:
13 Jan 2018
So I did it again, I changed my plans.
I said I was gonna write an EP with 3 tracks using Humana, Pangea and Klang. Well it turns out I don't feel very inspired working with them and I don't want bore myself further so I'll just end it here.
I wrote one short track using all 3 instruments and no other additional samples. It will just have to do for now. At least I ended up writing something different compared to my other tracks. Sounds like an intro theme tune or something to my ears.

It's great! You know how to make a melodic song, that's for sure. Even though not that inpired, you still created something very nice. I was looking forward to even more tracks though. I have about 3 tracks I drafted out to get something started using the Pangea, Humana, and Klang. After I'm done with the JPSHS (getting close), I will work the PHK EP (no offical date for that yet).

The thing that's more challenging to me using these sample based instruments, is controlling their expressiveness, when and where and how I want via parameter modulation - of which there are relatively few. And also because of the limited velocity and round robin multi-samples.

But, from the live stream in which Props first introduced PHK, Mattias seemed to emphasized that they are meant to be used as supplements, more so than lead instruments. So maybe we are expecting to much out of them. I can't deny the sonic clarity and quality of them though. I love how everything was recorded.

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TritoneAddiction
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Location: Sweden

15 Jan 2018

TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
14 Jan 2018
It's great! You know how to make a melodic song, that's for sure. Even though not that inpired, you still created something very nice. I was looking forward to even more tracks though. I have about 3 tracks I drafted out to get something started using the Pangea, Humana, and Klang. After I'm done with the JPSHS (getting close), I will work the PHK EP (no offical date for that yet).

The thing that's more challenging to me using these sample based instruments, is controlling their expressiveness, when and where and how I want via parameter modulation - of which there are relatively few. And also because of the limited velocity and round robin multi-samples.

But, from the live stream in which Props first introduced PHK, Mattias seemed to emphasized that they are meant to be used as supplements, more so than lead instruments. So maybe we are expecting to much out of them. I can't deny the sonic clarity and quality of them though. I love how everything was recorded.
Thanks. Like you mentioned, it's hard to control their expressiveness since they're so limited (few samples per sound, no round robins). It think that's part of the reason why I got discouraged working with them. Also I just naturally tend to gravitate towards a more aggressive sound and these instruments doesn't really do that unless you totally abuse them with effects. Maybe it was just the wrong time for me to work with them.

The sounds are pretty good, but I did make some EQ cuts here and there to remove unwanted frequencies. I also I added quite a bit of clarity (high shelf EQing), both on individual instruments and on the master bus.

Looking forward to hear what you'll come up with for your PHK project. :)

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modecca
Posts: 807
Joined: 07 Jul 2016

08 Feb 2018

First with Nostromo last with Nostromo- how poetic.
Nothing time consuming with this one, the robot does all the work as of late.
60 minute 'albums' are fully created during the export song to .wav operation, which is about 15 minutes.
Just 4 instances of Nostromo inside 1 combinator, responsible for all this sound.
Welcome to Nostromo Radio we got:
Textures, drones, spontaneous lush pad sections and happy chip tune jingles all in the aeolian scale!

🔗💥

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TritoneAddiction
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Posts: 4212
Joined: 29 Aug 2015
Location: Sweden

08 Feb 2018

modecca wrote:
08 Feb 2018
First with Nostromo last with Nostromo- how poetic.
Nothing time consuming with this one, the robot does all the work as of late.
60 minute 'albums' are fully created during the export song to .wav operation, which is about 15 minutes.
Just 4 instances of Nostromo inside 1 combinator, responsible for all this sound.
Welcome to Nostromo Radio we got:
Textures, drones, spontaneous lush pad sections and happy chip tune jingles all in the aeolian scale!

This is insane. It's like a new art form or something.

User avatar
TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

15 Feb 2018

modecca wrote:
08 Feb 2018
First with Nostromo last with Nostromo- how poetic.
Nothing time consuming with this one, the robot does all the work as of late.
60 minute 'albums' are fully created during the export song to .wav operation, which is about 15 minutes.
Just 4 instances of Nostromo inside 1 combinator, responsible for all this sound.
Welcome to Nostromo Radio we got:
Textures, drones, spontaneous lush pad sections and happy chip tune jingles all in the aeolian scale!

I like this controlled-random-fractal-generative-soundscape-music-machine concept you have going. Keep going! I love Anomalous. It's my favorite. I like it because its on the more subdued, dreamy side. I'd personally love more of that. And from what I can tell, it's not available anywhere for people to hear since that link on your YouTube expired. The people must know!!

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aeox
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Location: Oregon

15 Feb 2018

modecca wrote:
08 Feb 2018
First with Nostromo last with Nostromo- how poetic.
Nothing time consuming with this one, the robot does all the work as of late.
60 minute 'albums' are fully created during the export song to .wav operation, which is about 15 minutes.
Just 4 instances of Nostromo inside 1 combinator, responsible for all this sound.
Welcome to Nostromo Radio we got:
Textures, drones, spontaneous lush pad sections and happy chip tune jingles all in the aeolian scale!

That's badass.

You can always go back to any of these 60 minute clips and take stuff from them and turn them into more stuff!

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FLVZ
Posts: 518
Joined: 17 Aug 2016
Location: ZW | GB

15 Feb 2018

ravisoni wrote:
26 Dec 2017
Just to make it a little easier for people to find tracks:

01. Modecca (Nostromo)
02. Kuranes (Nostromo)
03. teddymcw (Various Korg Synths)
04. TritoneAddiction (Chip64)
05. Peter (Viking) - post deleted
06. artotaku (Antidote)

07. East Island (Nostromo)
08. Sorped (Orbis)
09. teddymcw (Antidote)
10. Despondo (Nostromo)
11. Peter (Nostromo) - post deleted
12. siln (Thor) - link to tracks broken
13. TritoneAddiction (FM4)
14. Arrant (Thor)
15. Flavolous (Vibro)
16. Ahornberg (Malstrom)
17. theshoemaker (MonoPoly)
18. TritoneAddiction (Snakebite)
19. Ahornberg (Subtractor)
20. Ahornberg (Pulsar)
21. TheGodofRainbows (RYM2612)
22. TritoneAddiction (Legend)
23. teddymcw (Viking)
24. TritoneAddiction (Snakebite)
25. Auryn (Oberon)
26. miscend (Respire)
27. ravisoni (Lithium)

I cannot believe the amount of work this thread may have possibly helped get done. Thanks Tritone!

I'm going to keep this going. Next Synth up is Kraft. I already have a track previously done for Kraft, but I'll add another one by the end of the year. So another 2-track EP by 31st December 2017.

Keep up the great work, guys, and if any links are broken, let me know so I can fix them.

Bonus
For anyone interested in data:

# of times the synths were used:
#oftimessynthused.JPG


# of total tracks contributed by user:
#oftracksperuser.JPG


# of total tracks per synth:
#oftrackspersynth.JPG


# of synths used by user:
It won't let me attach a fourth file, I suppose...
My apologies I've since moved my release to bandcamp. I did four tracks with vibro, 5 including the mix.
Here's the updated link: https://flavolous.bandcamp.com/releases

User avatar
modecca
Posts: 807
Joined: 07 Jul 2016

16 Feb 2018

aeox wrote:
15 Feb 2018
That's badass.
You can always go back to any of these 60 minute clips and take stuff from them and turn them into more stuff!
Absolutely. The use of this combinator is not limited to avanteguard generative music.
For use with other types of music, I agree sampling would definitely be the path to take.

Eminem needs to reinvent himself, as his new songs seem to scream has-been and I think Gnost will fix him right up!
TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
15 Feb 2018

I like this controlled-random-fractal-generative-soundscape-music-machine concept you have going. Keep going! I love Anomalous. It's my favorite. I like it because its on the more subdued, dreamy side. I'd personally love more of that. And from what I can tell, it's not available anywhere for people to hear since that link on your YouTube expired. The people must know!!
You know what, my fascination with the capabilties of the Transmogrificator, caused me to forget about Anomalous.
Anomalous (Anna) asked (and did so with a phone sex operator voice) to only be transmitted by temporary 7 day links:
https://we.tl/864cI2S99e
🔗💥

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

18 Feb 2018

modecca wrote:
16 Feb 2018
TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
15 Feb 2018

I like this controlled-random-fractal-generative-soundscape-music-machine concept you have going. Keep going! I love Anomalous. It's my favorite. I like it because its on the more subdued, dreamy side. I'd personally love more of that. And from what I can tell, it's not available anywhere for people to hear since that link on your YouTube expired. The people must know!!
You know what, my fascination with the capabilties of the Transmogrificator, caused me to forget about Anomalous.
Anomalous (Anna) asked (and did so with a phone sex operator voice) to only be transmitted by temporary 7 day links:
https://we.tl/864cI2S99e
Dearest Modecca, I appreciate you sharing it, but it's a wma at 160kbps :cry: I'd really like a 320kbps, or maybe FLAC? The wav would be super, but that's a huge wav I know. I told you I liked Anomalous so much, I've started sampling it, but would love a higher quality version :D

Btw, what do you plan on doing about you running out of space on SoundCloud?

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artotaku
Posts: 652
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Location: Munich, Germany
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19 Feb 2018

Again, it´s chip tune time. Another entry from me. This time ... EUROPA!



All synth sounds: Europa.

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

19 Feb 2018

artotaku wrote:
19 Feb 2018
Again, it´s chip tune time. Another entry from me. This time ... EUROPA!



All synth sounds: Europa.
Yeah! Sounds great, and Europa sounds fat and savory. Good job!!

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artotaku
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Location: Munich, Germany
Contact:

20 Feb 2018

TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
19 Feb 2018
artotaku wrote:
19 Feb 2018
Again, it´s chip tune time. Another entry from me. This time ... EUROPA!



All synth sounds: Europa.
Yeah! Sounds great, and Europa sounds fat and savory. Good job!!
Thanks!

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TritoneAddiction
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Posts: 4212
Joined: 29 Aug 2015
Location: Sweden

24 Feb 2018

I'm thinking about whether I should do another one synth project in the near future. At the moment I'm working on some Zero Hybrid music.

There are a couple synths I'd like to explore further: Parsec, Red70, Europa, Grain. Also I would like to revisit FM4 at some point because I was very happy with tunes I got from that project. I'd also like to incorporate the Mixfood Ambi generators more.
Hmmm so much to choose from. Where should I start?

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ravisoni
Posts: 416
Joined: 09 Feb 2015
Location: Las Vegas

25 Feb 2018

Just an update on mine, apologies for being gone for so long. So after that windows patch came through, dell decided to release 3 updates of their own, and the thing has gone to crap. Two instances of rostnomo, or 3 instances of kraft, or 3 instances of synapse antidote are enough to trigger computer too slow message. For some weird reason, even kong sees some DSP util. At the moment I've had to revert to old devices such as subtractor and trying redrum for the drums instead. Let's see how my little subtractor foray goes.

Tritone, I'd put you up for a Europa, but maybe add a bit more of a challenge: glitchy drums, all coming from Europa.
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TritoneAddiction
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Posts: 4212
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Location: Sweden

25 Feb 2018

ravisoni wrote:
25 Feb 2018
Tritone, I'd put you up for a Europa, but maybe add a bit more of a challenge: glitchy drums, all coming from Europa.
Yeah maybe I'll go with Europa. we'll see. Not sure about the glitchy drums though :) I don't really plan beforehand in what style I'm gonna write. It just happens.

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teddymcw
Posts: 432
Joined: 13 May 2016

25 Feb 2018

TritoneAddiction wrote:
24 Feb 2018
I'm thinking about whether I should do another one synth project in the near future.
I’m thinking about doing a grain challenge myself since it’s so versatile, can be a workhorse, and this would be a great way to learn the whole synth.

I’d personally be really interested in you making some really washed out, even ambient like tracks. Though please don’t choose grain quite yet if I already am, I don’t want to have to compare my pieces with yours along the way, haha!

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Auryn
Posts: 842
Joined: 12 Aug 2015
Location: La Mancha

28 Feb 2018

Happy to see this thread alive and producing a lot of worthwhile music!

Here's a last entry for my Oberon EP, a kind of "au revoir" I guess. I feel it's by best one synth track I've made so far but... I actually cheated a bit again here because I used the PunchBD for the kick - as usual - but I also used one Zero sequence patch... I guess it just tied the room together. You could argue that the track doesn't qualify, but it still is very Oberon

~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-
Quixotic Sound Design: http://www.quixoticsounddesign.com
Europandemonium Refill: https://gumroad.com/l/YxIGB

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

19 Mar 2018

TritoneAddiction wrote:
24 Feb 2018
I'm thinking about whether I should do another one synth project in the near future. At the moment I'm working on some Zero Hybrid music.

There are a couple synths I'd like to explore further: Parsec, Red70, Europa, Grain. Also I would like to revisit FM4 at some point because I was very happy with tunes I got from that project. I'd also like to incorporate the Mixfood Ambi generators more.
Hmmm so much to choose from. Where should I start?
I'd like to hear what you do with Europa or Grain. For whatever reason, I have trouble getting the sound I want out of Grain. Maybe I just need to get more deep into it.

I think Europa is an awesomely fun and great sounding synth. I imagine you making some wild, 'wall of sound', gnarly intense tunes with it.

I still was looking forward to you doing more with Humana/Klang/Pangea. The one you did, I thought was really nice.

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

19 Mar 2018

Auryn wrote:
28 Feb 2018
Happy to see this thread alive and producing a lot of worthwhile music!

Here's a last entry for my Oberon EP, a kind of "au revoir" I guess. I feel it's by best one synth track I've made so far but... I actually cheated a bit again here because I used the PunchBD for the kick - as usual - but I also used one Zero sequence patch... I guess it just tied the room together. You could argue that the track doesn't qualify, but it still is very Oberon

That track is rich with juicey organic sounds. Very cool.

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