he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
I started this one tonight. Was a little rushed at the end but I like where it is going. Thanks to all of you who give feedback. It makes this more fun.
ReasonTalk.com
he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
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Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
Mid nineties i was playing a PS1 game based on the Alien franchise. Soundtrack was super cool: atmospheric, electronic, spooky and also dynamic. This track could perfectly be a soundtrack of a remake of that title. Great sound design, elegant harmonic progressions and lots of small details that bring life to the track: i loved the hi-hat hits at the very end: unnecessary yet perfect
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
unnecessary is the story of my musical life. Thanks for listening, I won't quit my day job.Quarmat wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023Mid nineties i was playing a PS1 game based on the Alien franchise. Soundtrack was super cool: atmospheric, electronic, spooky and also dynamic. This track could perfectly be a soundtrack of a remake of that title. Great sound design, elegant harmonic progressions and lots of small details that bring life to the track: i loved the hi-hat hits at the very end: unnecessary yet perfect
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
Nice
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
Cool track. Very nice sound selection and atmosphere.
The only thing I would tweak is the hihats. I would tame them a bit with EQ or simply lower the volume.
The only thing I would tweak is the hihats. I would tame them a bit with EQ or simply lower the volume.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
Thanks, Most of the sounds (aside from a couple of drums) are of my design. As for the HHs, my mixing is abominable. I struggle with consistency across different listening devices. Like many of us I struggle with finishing tracks. Thanks for the advice and most of all for listening.TritoneAddiction wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023Cool track. Very nice sound selection and atmosphere.
The only thing I would tweak is the hihats. I would tame them a bit with EQ or simply lower the volume.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
Mixing can be a pain in the ass for sure. You would think it would get easier with time. Turns out you just get more picky the more you learn, at least that's been my experience. My attitude around it is "Just do what you can with the skillset you have right now and then leave it, even if it's not perfect". That's my self talk regarding mixing.mimidancer wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023Thanks, Most of the sounds (aside from a couple of drums) are of my design. As for the HHs, my mixing is abominable. I struggle with consistency across different listening devices. Like many of us I struggle with finishing tracks. Thanks for the advice and most of all for listening.TritoneAddiction wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023Cool track. Very nice sound selection and atmosphere.
The only thing I would tweak is the hihats. I would tame them a bit with EQ or simply lower the volume.
Seems to me you're pretty good at finishing tunes. I know many people who hardly ever finish their tunes.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
I love the Depeche Mode vibe of the synth melodies.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
These sounds are cool! You said you made most of them yourself? That pad/poly sound at the beginning and end is great.
I love the melodies and all the different sections.
I love the melodies and all the different sections.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
I absolutely love martin gore and alan wilder. Like much of their music I used borrowed chords and modulated awkwardly into new sections(not consciously just liked the way it sounded). Another thing one can find in DM songs is simplicity. This song has 3 monophonic synths, drums, and one poly synth. I do not play any chords until the chorus. but i do spell out the chords with the various synths. That IMO is a hallmark of old school electronic music like DM.I think mostly because they had a bunch of mono synths.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
it is a really simple patch. one filtered saw into a chorus then pushed hard into a plate reverb.The saturation you get from the preamp of the plate verb gives it that shine. Finally i ran it all into a granular delay. Most people want to put the delay before the reverb but by placing it last you get the reverse reverb tails in the delay. The granular delay is a free plugin if you want to try it out.Here is the link. Thanks for listening. https://www.kvraudio.com/product/emerge ... el-gergely
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
Thanks for the breakdown. Emergence VST is great.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
Mono synths and very early samplers! They are my favorite band, for sure. A massive influence on everything I do. Particularly with Alan Wilder! He's a genius.mimidancer wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023I absolutely love martin gore and alan wilder. Like much of their music I used borrowed chords and modulated awkwardly into new sections(not consciously just liked the way it sounded). Another thing one can find in DM songs is simplicity. This song has 3 monophonic synths, drums, and one poly synth. I do not play any chords until the chorus. but i do spell out the chords with the various synths. That IMO is a hallmark of old school electronic music like DM.I think mostly because they had a bunch of mono synths.
So yeah, very cool track. I like the title too. It's interesting and ambiguous and made me want to check the song out!
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
stillifegaijin wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023Mono synths and very early samplers! They are my favorite band, for sure. A massive influence on everything I do. Particularly with Alan Wilder! He's a genius.mimidancer wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023
I absolutely love martin gore and alan wilder. Like much of their music I used borrowed chords and modulated awkwardly into new sections(not consciously just liked the way it sounded). Another thing one can find in DM songs is simplicity. This song has 3 monophonic synths, drums, and one poly synth. I do not play any chords until the chorus. but i do spell out the chords with the various synths. That IMO is a hallmark of old school electronic music like DM.I think mostly because they had a bunch of mono synths.
So yeah, very cool track. I like the title too. It's interesting and ambiguous and made me want to check the song out!
The title paraphrases a line from poem I love.
Because I could not stop for Death—
He kindly stopped for me—
The Carriage held but just Ourselves—
And Immortality.
We slowly drove—He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility—
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess—in the Ring—
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—
We passed the Setting Sun—
Or rather—He passed us—
The Dews drew quivering and chill—
For only Gossamer, my Gown—
My Tippet—only Tulle—
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground—
The Roof was scarcely visible—
The Cornice—in the Ground—
Since then—’tis Centuries—and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity— Emily Dickinson
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
I've never read that one. Love it. Thanks for posting it and explaining the title. I'm a big fan of titles. It's always been part of my process to name songs very early on, sometimes even starting with the title before any music or lyrics are written, then work from the title as if a prompt. Or have some less than obvious connection between the title, lyrics and music, but still a real connection.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 18 Apr 2023
I like the imagery of Death coming for us at his pace without regard for our plans. We get caught up in our daily struggles. Losing sight of life’s ephemeral nature is lost in the illusion of our preoccupations. There is also comfort as she peacefully reflects on her life in the carriage alone with death. Emily notes that years have passed but to the dead, it is a moment. I like her brain. We could have been pals.stillifegaijin wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023I've never read that one. Love it. Thanks for posting it and explaining the title. I'm a big fan of titles. It's always been part of my process to name songs very early on, sometimes even starting with the title before any music or lyrics are written, then work from the title as if a prompt. Or have some less than obvious connection between the title, lyrics and music, but still a real connection.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 18 Apr 2023
mimidancer wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023I like the imagery of Death coming for us at his pace without regard for our plans. We get caught up in our daily struggles. Losing sight of life’s ephemeral nature lost in the illusion of our preoccupations. There is also comfort as she peacefully reflects on her life in the carriage alone with death. Emily notes that years have passed but to the dead, it is a moment. I like her brain. We could have been pals.stillifegaijin wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023I've never read that one. Love it. Thanks for posting it and explaining the title. I'm a big fan of titles. It's always been part of my process to name songs very early on, sometimes even starting with the title before any music or lyrics are written, then work from the title as if a prompt. Or have some less than obvious connection between the title, lyrics and music, but still a real connection.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 19 Apr 2023
On Twitter in the last few of days, 4 people told me in DM that they liked the track but my HHs are too loud. They were all people that play music too.TritoneAddiction wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023Cool track. Very nice sound selection and atmosphere.
The only thing I would tweak is the hihats. I would tame them a bit with EQ or simply lower the volume.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 19 Apr 2023
I love the chord change at 1:20 ish. I would call it "unexpected" rather than awkward, like how Talk Talk often did it IMO.mimidancer wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023I absolutely love martin gore and alan wilder. Like much of their music I used borrowed chords and modulated awkwardly into new sections(not consciously just liked the way it sounded). Another thing one can find in DM songs is simplicity. This song has 3 monophonic synths, drums, and one poly synth. I do not play any chords until the chorus. but i do spell out the chords with the various synths. That IMO is a hallmark of old school electronic music like DM.I think mostly because they had a bunch of mono synths.
Working back with mono synths or limited polyphony, and even on the CMI Page R, working with a few monophonic lines to define the chords is a fun way to work for me to this day. I technically have one more mono synth than poly in my hardware setup, just because I have two voices of Eurorack that are mono plus the MiniBrute 2s.
That approach is more "orchestral" in my way of thinking (played in school bands for over 7 years) where almost all instruments are monophonic.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 19 Apr 2023
Nice vibe. Like John Carpenter meets Depeche Mode (both favorites for me). The mix can use a bit of work, but definitely worth it to do that. The hats don't seem too loud to me, rather they need a bit of EQ and maybe a pinch of reverb (with enough pre-delay).
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 19 Apr 2023
The hi-hats are only too loud if you don't want them to be that loud.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 19 Apr 2023
the key changes from Am to G harmonic minor. To return I go to the Dm which is the 4 chord of Am and get that easy plagal cadence back. But the Bm from the F/E is jarring. That F# don't belong. I love that. Thanks for listening.selig wrote: ↑19 Apr 2023I love the chord change at 1:20 ish. I would call it "unexpected" rather than awkward, like how Talk Talk often did it IMO.mimidancer wrote: ↑17 Apr 2023
I absolutely love martin gore and alan wilder. Like much of their music I used borrowed chords and modulated awkwardly into new sections(not consciously just liked the way it sounded). Another thing one can find in DM songs is simplicity. This song has 3 monophonic synths, drums, and one poly synth. I do not play any chords until the chorus. but i do spell out the chords with the various synths. That IMO is a hallmark of old school electronic music like DM.I think mostly because they had a bunch of mono synths.
Working back with mono synths or limited polyphony, and even on the CMI Page R, working with a few monophonic lines to define the chords is a fun way to work for me to this day. I technically have one more mono synth than poly in my hardware setup, just because I have two voices of Eurorack that are mono plus the MiniBrute 2s.
That approach is more "orchestral" in my way of thinking (played in school bands for over 7 years) where almost all instruments are monophonic.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 23 Apr 2023
Nice song, reminded me of old futuristic films like tron. i liked the high hats as they add some motion in the higher frequencies, as for if they are too loud for me they did not stick out too much for me. 
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 26 Apr 2023
On twitter I recived several DMs indicating the obnoxious nature my egregious hats as well. I have turned them down in Reason but have not re-rendered the song. I do not know if I can update what I have already uploaded. I doubt anyone will be going back for a second listen anyway. Thanks for the feedback.
Re: he stopped for me (old school eletronic)
Posted: 26 Apr 2023
If you pay for Soundcloud you'll be able to update any song without having to upload a new song/link. I do that all the time. Tweak things and update the track. It's a very nice function to have.mimidancer wrote: ↑26 Apr 2023I do not know if I can update what I have already uploaded. I doubt anyone will be going back for a second listen anyway. Thanks for the feedback.