(Downtempo) Beyond The Past

[adfielding]

I finally decided to upgrade my old copy of Komplete 7 over the weekend to Komplete 11, so I've spent a fair bit of time over the past few days going through all the new content and instruments - of which there is a lot. This morning I decided to fire up Polyplex and get to grips with it, and before I knew it I had some drums going... then things just kind of went from there, so I decided to roll with it. A few hours later, this popped out.

It's been a while since I wrote anything like this, as most of my tunes have been big bombastic production tracks lately so this was a nice change of pace. I ended up using Europa for most of the synths, along with Cinematic Studio Strings for the string elements and Una Corda for the piano. Oh, and Poly6 for the bass. The whole thing was mixed and produced in Reason, with Newfangled Audio's Elevate on the output for a bit of limiting.



I'd love to know what you think! Cheers

[jimmyklane]

I always start by listening on the iPhone. Why? Because that’s the common denominator. I like the music, I’m going to give it a real listen on both my cans and the studio monitors.

My first impression is that the drums (especially the intro with the side stick) come off as too upfront and loud. Perhaps automate or razor the clip and bring that part down by 2-3dB? In addition your modulated polysynth type melody (the high part) is just a touch buried under the music. Perhaps 1dB up?

Again, these are first impressions on the speakers of an iPhone 7+....I promise I’ll add another post with more details and opinions after listening on real speakers!

Nice song, very mellow and relaxing. This could be in a movie, as it’s got a cinematic feel to it. A meditation tape would work as well.

Perhaps, if your in the spirit, make an EP of tracks in this vein and see if you can’t get it released for one of those mindfulness/meditation/relaxation apps or albums

[rudiarii]

I could spend few months and get no where near what you have achieved in a few hours. I like the "vibe and flow" of this track. Funny enough my partner asked the other day if "that guy from the Reason community had any new music" she was referring to yourself...two fans in this household...nice one Adam...

[adfielding]

Again, these are first impressions on the speakers of an iPhone 7+....I promise I’ll add another post with more details and opinions after listening on real speakers!

That's totally fine - thanks so much for listening. I must admit, when I read your feedback my first thought was "come on, this is feedback from an iPhone listen"... but, actually, I agree with everything you said! I've been tweaking the track since I uploaded it, and introducing a slight fade in on the drums and boosting the arp were the first things I did. I'd re-upload the newer version to Soundcloud if I could, but I cancelled my subscription years ago and that's a paid feature (because, well, of course it is). Thanks again for listening, and I really appreciate the feedback!

I could spend few months and get no where near what you have achieved in a few hours. I like the "vibe and flow" of this track. Funny enough my partner asked the other day if "that guy from the Reason community had any new music" she was referring to yourself...two fans in this household...nice one Adam...

Haha, that's so wonderful! Thanks for giving it a listen, and I'm really glad you liked it! I must admit, I found Polyplex super inspiring to use for getting drum ideas down quickly - the randomise function is very conducive to getting the creative juices flowing as far as percussion is concerned. My Europa addiction is still rampant, though!

Yours sincerely,
That Guy From The Reason Community

[Kalm]

The atmosphere in this track is really nice but that melody catches me the most in the 2:30 area. What's the deep stabs? Europa as well? That sound is really intriguing to me.

[jimmyklane]

I always start by listening on the iPhone. Why? Because that’s the common denominator. I like the music, I’m going to give it a real listen on both my cans and the studio monitors.

My first impression is that the drums (especially the intro with the side stick) come off as too upfront and loud. Perhaps automate or razor the clip and bring that part down by 2-3dB? In addition your modulated polysynth type melody (the high part) is just a touch buried under the music. Perhaps 1dB up?

Again, these are first impressions on the speakers of an iPhone 7+....I promise I’ll add another post with more details and opinions after listening on real speakers!

Nice song, very mellow and relaxing. This could be in a movie, as it’s got a cinematic feel to it. A meditation tape would work as well.

Perhaps, if your in the spirit, make an EP of tracks in this vein and see if you can’t get it released for one of those mindfulness/meditation/relaxation apps or albums

I was wrong. The track is very well mixed. The iPhone sometimes lies, and while your drums are upfront, they don't come across as overbearing.
Well Done!

[adfielding]

The atmosphere in this track is really nice but that melody catches me the most in the 2:30 area. What's the deep stabs? Europa as well? That sound is really intriguing to me.

Thanks! Those are all Europa - more specifically (blatant self-promotion alert) it's a patch from Europa Relay, which is one of my sound-banks. I used the Synapse Deep Reverb to give it some extra ethereal space, I absolutely love that reverb.

I was wrong. The track is very well mixed. The iPhone sometimes lies, and while your drums are upfront, they don't come across as overbearing.
Well Done!

Cheers, thanks so much! That said - I think you were on point with your initial drum/arp feedback, I felt that the drums came in a little too suddenly and so I introduced a 2.5db fade to smooth it a little, and I ended up boosting the arp slightly as well. Your feedback was a nice reminder to never underestimate the usefulness of listening on different set-ups - so, hey! Thanks again!

[nickb523]

Works for me... i really enjoyed it. Do i hear a little bit of an Enigma and/or Robert Miles influences going on there?

If you are up for remixes or collaborations, then i'm always game for the fun stuff. I love doing that sort of thing as it gets me out of my comfort zone and motivated.

Good stuff!

Nick

[selig]

I love it Adam, makes me want to get back into the Komplete library and explore stuff like PolyPlex, which I've overlooked until now.

Very nice mix, if you ask me - is this the updated mix? I often hear drums coming in too strong on other folks work (so maybe it's just me), but not on this one. On my 'big' system the bass is kicking nicely (which is hopefully your intention?).


(EDIT - I DO hear the drums coming in slightly stronger on NS-10s and my mono Roland Cube, but still within reason, mainly because the low bass is lost on those systems, fwiw. My approach would be to give the bass a little more in the 3rd to 4th octave so compensate. BTW, what speakers do you mix on?)

[Kalm]

The atmosphere in this track is really nice but that melody catches me the most in the 2:30 area. What's the deep stabs? Europa as well? That sound is really intriguing to me.

Thanks! Those are all Europa - more specifically (blatant self-promotion alert) it's a patch from Europa Relay, which is one of my sound-banks. I used the Synapse Deep Reverb to give it some extra ethereal space, I absolutely love that reverb.

I've been wanting to hear what it sounds like in real context. Now I might just pick up that reverb for those sounds specifically.

[MindTheft]

This is so good It's like therapy for the ears.

I've got no business criticising, it sounds faultless to me.

I know what you mean about Europa, I've recently acquired it, and got Serum at the same time, and Serum is gathering dust!

I'm looking forward to more from you.

[Auryn]

Very soothing piece this, there are a lot of subtle touches which reward attentive listening. I found the drums to be a bit "superfluous" because the synths are so nice. I wonder what it would sound like with more minimalistic (like glitchy or lo-fi) percussion.

[adfielding]

Works for me... i really enjoyed it. Do i hear a little bit of an Enigma and/or Robert Miles influences going on there?

If you are up for remixes or collaborations, then i'm always game for the fun stuff. I love doing that sort of thing as it gets me out of my comfort zone and motivated.

Thanks Nick, really glad you liked it! To be honest I'm not massively into Enigma or Robert Miles - not that I have anything against either, just not something I've ever properly sunk my teeth into. That said, a few people have tried turning me onto Enigma so I really ought to give them a proper listen one of these days.

Very nice mix, if you ask me - is this the updated mix? I often hear drums coming in too strong on other folks work (so maybe it's just me), but not on this one. On my 'big' system the bass is kicking nicely (which is hopefully your intention?).


(EDIT - I DO hear the drums coming in slightly stronger on NS-10s and my mono Roland Cube, but still within reason, mainly because the low bass is lost on those systems, fwiw. My approach would be to give the bass a little more in the 3rd to 4th octave so compensate. BTW, what speakers do you mix on?)

Thanks Giles! This is the original mix, unfortunately Soundcloud doesn't let free account users update existing tracks and, well, I'm not about to renew my subscription any time soon! Really appreciate the tip on the bass - right now I'm using a pair of Genelec 8010s with my old KRK 10s subwoofer, which I normally toggle from time to time for comparison's sake...though I didn't here, and I guess it shows! I'm in a pretty small room now, so figured the 8010s would be a good fit - I'm really impressed with how they sound for their size.

This is so good It's like therapy for the ears.

I've got no business criticising, it sounds faultless to me.

I know what you mean about Europa, I've recently acquired it, and got Serum at the same time, and Serum is gathering dust!

Thanks! Yeah, I picked up Serum last year and I really like it, but Europa has been getting much, much more use from me - it's definitely become my "go-to" synth since it came out. Love it.

Very soothing piece this, there are a lot of subtle touches which reward attentive listening. I found the drums to be a bit "superfluous" because the synths are so nice. I wonder what it would sound like with more minimalistic (like glitchy or lo-fi) percussion.

Awesome, thanks - that's not a bad idea, actually! Probably not going to tweak this track, but it'd be interesting to try something similar with some more minimal percussion. Appreciate the idea

[adfielding]

Just a quick update to say that I've taken some of your feedback on board - so, here's an updated mix! The most obvious change is that there's a bass guitar layered over the synth bass now to give some low-mid presence, but I also added a slight fade-in to the drums, turned the strings up a little, and boosted the synth arp slightly. Mostly little tweaks. Thanks so much for the feedback, I was very much "in the zone" when I wrote this originally so having a fresh perspective or two really helped me when revisiting it today

[djadalaide]

Just a quick update to say that I've taken some of your feedback on board - so, here's an updated mix! The most obvious change is that there's a bass guitar layered over the synth bass now to give some low-mid presence, but I also added a slight fade-in to the drums, turned the strings up a little, and boosted the synth arp slightly. Mostly little tweaks. Thanks so much for the feedback, I was very much "in the zone" when I wrote this originally so having a fresh perspective or two really helped me when revisiting it today

Do you ever listen to Ulrich Schnauss? Kind of reminds me of his music, only his is a lot less straightforward.

I would add a bit of short room reverb to the drums to give them their own space, sounds great though!

[Wickline]

Dude this sounds great! The drums are upfront but that’s pretty on par (and how I prefer it) for the genre in my opinion. Great sound design and there’s a very nice groove to it. It has soul and emotion.
Some of the lofi elements remind me of Tycho, but the overall composition sounds a lot like the balearic downtempo stuff, Jens Gad (also an enigma member) in particular minus guitar and hand percussion.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jimmyklane]

Just a quick update to say that I've taken some of your feedback on board - so, here's an updated mix! The most obvious change is that there's a bass guitar layered over the synth bass now to give some low-mid presence, but I also added a slight fade-in to the drums, turned the strings up a little, and boosted the synth arp slightly. Mostly little tweaks. Thanks so much for the feedback, I was very much "in the zone" when I wrote this originally so having a fresh perspective or two really helped me when revisiting it today

PERFECT.
That’s how you nail a mix....love how the elements just slide together in place now....they fit before, but a little like there were rough edges on a jigsaw puzzle....now they slide smoothly into place.

WELL DONE!