Opioid - StaticNomad

Hi. Sorry for slow reply.

Lots of audio and synth parts in this were made way back around 2002. One of many projects sitting on successive hard drives waiting to be completed as I go through software updates, new gear and techniques and the eventual return to the desire to begin working on them again.

The best bass playing that you're talking about is all from all those years ago. Some fun funk there, for sure.

I actually started out as a bass player in my teenage years but became much more of a guitarist after about 5 years and that's my main skill these days. I don't play bass often though I also often go a week or two without recording (perhaps even picking up) any of my guitars.

5:10 I thought that section might be one of the weaker ones here. It's definitely quite a change from what's preceded it.

Here's a much more recent funk track containing quite a bit of bass guitar.

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/160058/comment-reply/506654

And I'm trying to complete a new epic that is probably my greatest ever funk track. Lots of bass guitar in that one too. It's called Bright Side Of The Sun and is coming soonish to The Loop.

P.S. Anyone's free to make suggestions about my stuff. So much going on that I totally appreciate all the other ways that it could have been done. Or could still be done! I do occasionally go back and change things based on/inspired by people's suggestions or criticism.

Word up, Spiv.

I recommended it to you cos I suspected you’d like it. It’s also a particular favourite of a friend who listens to a lot of extreme metal but he liked the end heavier section much more than you did. He thought that was one of my finest ever live band-sounding sections. I think I have many others just as good but I can’t say if he’s heard all of them (probably not).

I’ve listened back hard and still think you can hear each instrument pretty well in those heavy bits. It is supposed to loud and a bit dirty. I will check back but maybe the problem is the string pad in there that is very bassy (but also doing a good supporting role).

“Some interesting drum styles in this one”

I was slightly surprised at how good the heavy rock kits I used a lot of the time didn’t sound that heavy as the first half is pretty chilled out but driven by those kits. There’s a certain amount of extra drums and percussion eg a timbale sound as well as the pitch swept hi hat part you get right as the drums first enter.

“I expected more potent or prominent 303 lines in this”

Sorry I couldn’t manage that. What’s there is all I decided to go with, especially as I had a load of other synth, guitar and bass parts to work with. Hard to say if it needs more 303. If you’re well into acid, no doubt that’s just what it needs. Metallers will probably want more heavy stuff introduced earlier.

“I was enjoying the guitar and bass grooves very much”

Most of those parts were played a long time ago, quite a few back in 2002. I only resurrected the project this year.

“I think your songs tend to expose a listeners deepest preferences when it comes to music”

Yes – there’s so much going on in my tracks that people will pick out what appeals most to them, which is something I get slightly familiar with after a while. I’m always happy to hear what really stood out to people. It’s sort of my job to make everything and nothing stand out ie all parts to be equally as good as each other, hard as that is to achieve.

Glad you enjoy reading the comments. I write far more than most people but it is my music so not surprising I have more to say about it than most people.

Thanks again.

A big fat funk epic called Bright Side of The Sun is coming soon.

Greetings and welcome back after a while.

Yes, I'm not quite sure what that intro guitar sounds like. Probably many things! It's simple notes but I think it's all about the groove and the autowah tone. I like that and don't use it enough.

I don't actually have that many guitar intros in my stuff, especially considering how uch guitar there is in my tracks. There are certain lazy reasons for that that I won't go into now.

I'm not qute sure if you're saying that Jaco Pastorius WAS "always taught to learn the melodies to songs on the bass" ie he learned the main melodies of the song on bass so he could play them back? I only sort of do that. Maybe you're saying here that I seem to be playing other melodies in the track on the bass. Maybe though I'm terrible at learning parts and copying other melodies.

Yes, 4:50 new fat beat is supposed to be louder to give the track a lift as it kicks into that fat new kind of hip hop beat. Maybe you think it's too loud. Maybe it is. I will consider that when I go back and make finishing touches.

"guitar change about 5:50 where it gets like a disco guitar"

I never before thought of it as a disco guitar but I think you might be right. I thought of it as reggae and kind of backed it up that way with the drum groove. Even though the drum kit is partly a hard rock/metal one.

Thanks for the feedback. Some deep funk coming in the next couple of weeks.

Oh, and if you want some more funk basslines; while you were away I did a track that I actually stuck in the Funk category. I'd say it's pretty damn funky. And rocking when I switch things up halfway through. And it's only about 8 mins. Like a neat little pop song! Enjoy...

3,000 Miles Of Funk http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/160058

Thanks for checking it out and the thoughts.

“You might enhance it by shortening the song”

This is a complicated subject for me. I tend to make very long, epic tracks that are progressive journeys through sound and a mix of genres. Average length is probably about 10 mins and I even go up to about 17.

In the last year I have had some success in making some shorter tracks ( 4-7 mins) but I just can’t help doing the lengthier stuff. Sometimes I enjoy chopping the end off and turning it into a new track when I can see that the track is likely to be 15+ mins. But if it’s only 10-12 mins, I tend not to split it in two.

“less synths and more analog instruments in their place”

Hard to know what to say about that. There’s quite a bit of guitar and bass in the track and I have many tracks with a hell of a lot more guitar. I also have tracks with no guitar (pure electro). I like the range of synths in this one and I think the 303 stuff is a fun surprise. Maybe you don’t really like synth sounds?

If you want to hear much shorter chillout shuffle blues with more guitar try this: http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/155503

or heavier and with loads of guitar and much less synth try these:

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/155188

and

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/146806

I also have many tracks containing banjo though never in a country/bluegrass style. Check this one out:

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/146210

Those should keep you going for a while.

Thanks for listening.

Hello again.

Yes, my tracks contain so many elements that it’s difficult to mention even half of them in a review. But that’s OK – you don’t have to. There are probably at least 5 or 6 different things going on in most sections though I do, of course, sometimes strip things back and make them simpler and more powerful. Hey, I like layers! I’d actually like to incorporate many more layers though it’s always important not to crowd the mix too much.

I like to think I make music containing so many elements that you can listen again and again and find new small layers and parts and understand in new ways how all the layers interact with each other.

“a little bit of a reggae-style drums”

Yes, I think you mean the timbale sound. That’s just a single hit sampled from my old Boss drum machine. I would like to use more of that kind of sound but I need more than just a single sample to work with.

I can understand why you have chosen 0:59 - 1:36 as your favourite section. I’m not sure I have a favourite section in this track but then I’m not really supposed to have one. As the composer/player/producer, I feel I have to try to make every section as good as every other. That’s the aim but it’s always very hard to do. I guess some sections can’t be quite as good as others.

“finding some some different (more realistic?) drums”

Well, I use EZ and Superior kits in most of my tracks as well various drum loops. There are no drum loops in this track though there are some sampled single shot hits eg the pitchshifted hat in the intro. I’m not sure my drums are very compressed in this track. But then I don’t really understand compression and use it as little as possible. Maybe they are compressed, I’m not sure.

I do like acoustic drums but also many other types of electronic sound. I only care about things sounding right in the track so don’t mind mixing different types of acoustic kits with processed electronic drum sounds.

“the beautiful background pad from about 4:00 is keeping my attention”

Yes, I have two pads around that section playing the same thing. Lovely, evolving sounds. I know of Robert Rich, who mostly (I think) does big ambient music.

Glad you enjoyed listening again.

Thanks.

Love The Mayhem is now a possible album title.

Probably for a collection of some of my heavier rather than chillout/jazz/funk tracks.

Thanks for checking out my funky strength.

Regarding it being self-indulgent - that's a topic I could write a great deal about. Technically, everything I do is self-indulgent as it's just me exploring sounds and riffs in long format structures with no commercial aim, no proper song, no choruses or verses or whatever and it's not pumping dance music so not something you can just dance to and get lost in.

Maybe you just mean it's very long. Maybe you don't really like long stuff. I do and have many tracks quite a bit longer - even up to 17 mins (10 mins is about my average). I have been trying hard to cut them down in the last year, with some definite success. I've uploaded a good few shorter ones this year (eg Rainbowcatcher) but also this 4 min chillout blues piece http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/155503 or this far out pure electro sort of dance track http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/156638

Maybe my stuff's like a much more modern Pink Floyd or Yes or Ozric Tentacles. Hard to say as it takes in so many styles and I like to think every track is markedly different from every other.

I'd say the only Level 42 bass bit is the short slap part (damn, Mark King was/is really into that!) but maybe some other basslines too as I haven't listened to them in many years and was never really into them anyway.
You want more snap and pop from the kicks and snares? OK, I'll have a think about that. You may be right.

And I think you want more sub bass. Again, could be good though I sometimes find if I have too much, it muddies the low end. I like lots of low end but I sometimes fail to get it to sound good so I hold back on it. If you want some fat low end sub bass, try this grooving epic as I believe it qualifies: http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/154691

Thanks for the suggestions.

Cool, man. I try to make as many parts as possible stand out, if you know what I mean. That's why stuff tends to get so extended: if I come up with something good, I want it to come to the fore rather than just be buried.

I try not to crowd the mix (unless it's as an intense effect) so for everything to be heard, I find I have to just have more sections and then let different parts take over.

I can totally see why the funk (basslines) here would stand out for anyone. I guess club/dance/acid music types would find the 303 parts stand out for them.

I'm not really sure what stands out for me in the track. But I'm not really supposed to have favourite parts. What I mean is that I try to make everything equally awesome so if it's not then it needs to be removed. Or I tend to find a way to eventually make it awesome, sometimes after a lot of thought away from the studio. That's why I do indeed have to put a lot of effort into what I do.

It's not simple working with so many parts and trying to make music that doesn't really fit into any genre and which has the ability to surprise me.

I still do that all the time. I never really know what I'm going to get with all the experimentation that I do. And that's why my tracks sort of have no easily definable structure. They just keep going, with all sorts of peaks and troughs and chilled bits and heavy bits and slow bits and fast bits and funky bits and so on.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Oh, and if you want a bit more funk, I recently did a track that I actually stuck in the Funk category. Unsurprisingly, I'd say it's pretty damn funky. And rocking when I switch things up halfway through. And it's only about 8 mins! Enjoy...

3,000 Miles Of Funk http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/160058

Hello again.

Yes, the lead around 3:14 is my old Korg Z1 synthesizer – the only hardware synth I have ever owned (or used properly). I haven’t used its internal sounds for many years (almost all my synth stuff is Reason devices) but that part (and quite a few others) was recorded maybe around 2002. I can’t remember.

It was good fun playing that part and controlling the cutoff frequency using the Z1’s X-Y pad with my left hand. Great lead sound I should use again.

I only played a couple of tracks to one of the Ozric Tentacles many years ago (the flute player) and the tracks weren’t very good so I’d love to play them some of my more recent, much better music. I’m convinced the Ozrics would like them.

Yes, around 4:00 we get 2 evolving pad sounds that make the track more mysterious and give the feel that it is building to something. Which, of course, it is.

Your comments are very useful. You are easily one of the best reviewers on the site and have contributed a lot in a short time being here (as well as lots of quickly made skilful music).

“sometimes your replies are far much better reviews on your own stuff than the actual comment”

I agree. I try to write things that might be interesting to people who are really into what I do and would like to know more. Also, I use replies to express my feelings as I think it’s important to try to make sense of what you do.

One person once commented on one of my tracks: ”I'm enjoying the music and reading the comments and your answers - it's like a little booklet of musical knowledge combined for both ears and eyes.” http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/147824

Yes, music is a lot about feel and being in the moment and going with the groove but there’s so much more to it than that. Sometimes you have to really think in a very organisational, strategic, sort of business world planning kind of way if you want to get better and do things you haven’t done before. So, analysing what I have done and can still do can help a lot.

You improvement suggestions are good. I only know two scales (major and minor) though I never consciously use either (or any modes, I don’t know any). I just feel all the notes and use zero music theory.

“Use odd meters”

Yes. I’ve still never done a 3/4 track so really must do that sometime. But I use triplet and shuffle grooves quite often. I have some EZ MIDI drum files of drumming in 6/8, 7/8, even 11/8 (!) so should try to use those sometime.

I also need to learn more instruments. Cello would be cool though I would want an electric cello (so I can put it through effects and don’t have to record it on microphone) but they are very expensive.

I should also learn a really unusual instrument as that would appeal to my unconventional character. More work with vocals would also add a lot to my music (and mean I don’t have to play so many riffs). So much progress to make!

Thanks again for your useful thoughts.

Hello again.

"..You are writing a whole book in on song"

Yes, I agree. Lots of reasons for why I make such detailed, lengthy tracks but one of the main ones is fearing that things will get boring at any point (though I try not to overload the mix). I tend to address this sort of point quite a lot in my track replies.

Crucethus recently mentioned that my track reviews are often like a novel so it's interesting you should say a similar thing. I have a lot to say musically and a lot to say about music so I think they're connected.

But not everyone who has a lot to say about music comes out with such long, epic tracks. And I guess there are people who write lengthy epics who don't have that much to say about music (or just choose not to).

Yes, I like the basslines in this. Check the riff on 7:28 as it's one of the major basslines used at various points in this stuck through a software amp so that it now sounds like a big, distorted guitar riff.

Sorry I can't let you use any of my basslines in your stuff. But maybe you can come up with something related of your own that will specifically fit whatever it is you're working on.

Thanks for your words.