Navigating The Neversphere - StaticNomad

Regreetings.

No kidding about the short time I've been playing and recording cello. I probably started recording it in the first few days of playing. I have no idea if I have a natural talent for it. I think it's more a talent for playing stringed instruments in general.

I still make loads and loads of mistakes when recording cello (and other instruments) but one of my top skills is editing of audio parts. So, my playing ends up sounding much better than the raw, recorded version after my careful splicing together and layering of the best takes.

Good to hear about you getting to hear American jazz fusion players play in Paris many years ago.

Thanks for the additional thoughts.

Hey, thanks for checking this out.

Great to hear you think it's freakin' brilliant.

Yes, ever-changing drum styles are a big part of my music, for various reasons. I try out so many different drum styles and often find that quite a few will fit so then try to work out how I'm going to get them all in (without overdoing it for the sake of it).

Also, I do a lot of stuff in the same key so having evolving drums helps give different sections in the same key different characters, hopefully hiding the lack of key changes.

"cello tracks are outstanding"

That's good to hear as I've only been playing the instrument for 5-6 months.

"Paris in the mid-late 70s"

No idea why it reminds you of that time but I'll take it anyway. I wonder if you heard music like this back then in Paris.

Thanks again.

Hello.

You are the second person to say that this is perfect. I don't think it's anywhere near that good but thanks anyway.

I like to make nice.

Yo.

Very sorry about the very slow reply. Most unlike me.

"Well, that narrows it down"

Well, so many of the weird sounds are cello but not all so I thought I should mention that. I'm not going to go through and give a time reference for each and every one that either is or isn't.

"my initial thought first time through was to slowly fade out the vinyl crackle"

The vinyl crackle ends because it was simply part of one drum loop that stops. It wasn't something I'd intentionally added and then removed.

"Nice Clyde Stubblefield style drum break"

Yes, I agree now that you point it out.

"4:00 Starting to boot-scoot now"

A boot-scoot indeed, which is a funny term. I like fast swing jazz drums.

"5:36 Uh oh, very minute audio click"

Extremely minute. Perhaps I'll just check exactly what's going on as the drums and bass return.

"6:24 Electronic stoner/doom commences"

I agree though I hadn't thought about it being doom. I just found it slow and dark though normally when I feel I'm in doom mode I get the guitar out and dial up some badass riffage. But I never attempted that here, instead preferring to get the cello to do as much as possible. Without distortion.

"I can pretty much just put this section to the end on loop and be happy."

I'm happy if I can make someone else happy.

Thanks again.

Yo, Bradobro.

I noticed that when you wrote this review you were writing loads of others around the same time. I never write any more than two, maximum three, a day. There just aren't enough Looperman tracks I either like or feel sufficiently moved to comment on.

Yes, it's a fairly powerful and distinctive intro.

"Is it electronic cello?"

Excuse me for potentially being pedantic but no, it's electric cello ie not an acoustic cello but still a real cello though it needs to go through an amp. So I put it through my guitar rig rather than using a mic, as you would with an acoustic cello.

I think electronic cello would be a synth/sample-based cello patch. I occasionally use some of those but they sound nothing like my played cello, which is new in my music in the last few months.

"0:19 is quite warm, silky"

Yes, that's where I layer probably about 4 bowed parts together to get that big, emotive rise that takes us neatly to the arrival of the bass and drums.

"single movements of the bow (for the most part) to create space."

Yes, that's because I'm still a total novice when it comes to bowing and don't really have sufficient control of it yet to groove doing alternate up and down bows. I wish I could.

"drum beat is solid and keeps everything together nicely"

I agree. Two loops that mesh together perfectly. Strong groove but doesn't get in the way of the more interesting stuff on top.

"2:48 was quite ear-perking for me."

Cool. I love to perk your ears.

"You have some really cool stuff going on in this segment"

I agree but I was strongly considering getting rid of it to cut down on the the running length. It was the last major section that I came up with.

"3:48 sounds like a jazzy bass is playing in the background"

That's the synth sub bass. It provides all basslines in the track apart from the first bassline around 0:20, which is cello going through my octave pedal so that it sounds like a proper bass.

"It's quite juicy, and I like juicy."

You've heard that exact same synth patch in many of my tracks. I know I shouldn't keep on using but it does such a good, solid unobtrusive job though I do sometimes also bring it to the fore and make it sound pretty badass.

"The beat gets a little repetitive for me as this segment goes on"

Sorry - I tried to vary that swing jazz groove in subtle ways but maybe I have failed. My drums tend to vary a lot so I'm trying to actually make them a bit simpler. You still hear much more drum variety in this track than in most people's music.

"7:30 - is that a guitar or cello?"

Definitely guitar. No way it could be cello. You can hear the sound of the guitar strings in there. I kept the guitar real minimal in this one though the playing in that section isn't great. Maybe I'll go back and try to improve it.

"a pleasant listen"

My pleasure to be able to offer you a little bit of pleasantry. It's why I do it...

Static Bromad.

Yo.

The intro was a bit difficult to play as I have to move quickly between two different types of bowing. So, there's a lot of editing and layering going on in the intro (before the drums come in). Still doesn't sound quite right but it is quite interesting and distinctive.

"Beat fits perfect, chill, psychy and groovy"

Yes, I think it's all those things.

Great to hear you love it.

Greetings, Neocellobro.

"You certainly wield a wicked Cello" is a cool phrase.

You know I've been concentrating on the cello for the last 4 months or so and trying to get it to do as much as I can in each track it appears in. I'm not really big on practice on any instrument so this is my way of finding a reason to play and try out new techniques and stuff as I learn this somewhat difficult instrument.

So, so much cello in this, including a few slightly different playing techniques. As regards time signature and tempo, yes I keep the drums moving through different styles. If I hadn't done that, I'm sure the track would feel long and samey and boring and as if it hadn't really gone anywhere.

"movie score to like a Quentin Tarantino version of Lawrence of Arabia."

That's an interesting idea and I know what you mean and it could work really well. I recently rewatched Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and I thought a lot more of it than I did on first viewing (I now really like it). I bring the film up because it had some cool, odd musical choices in it that gave things a really interesting feel. There's even a David Bowie song in it!

"harem girl sequence as 1:22 to 2:43 with some nice belly dancing nubiles"

Yes - I get that sort of feel from it as well. Sorry that section wasn't longer but I knew I had loads more sections to get to so I thought I wouldn't hang around and just get right on with the next one (which has some really powerful cello riffage).

"Love the effects on the cello, sounds like some overdrive/distortion in spots."

I was pretty sure that I hadn't used any overdrive on the cello in this but there might be in some of the darker swing jazz sections in the middle. Otherwise the effects are just delay, reverb and chorus plus some amp modelling from my guitar floor effects unit.

"you would have been a God to the hippies with this if you were around in the late 60's early 70's man"

Quite possibly. Maybe I can still be a god to them 40/50 years later (and beyond).

"You need to find a time machine!"

That may well be possible:

"The DeLorean Motor Company has announced its intention to manufacture the iconic DMC-12 sports car again..."

http://www.dezeen.com/2016/02/01/delorean-reproduce-dmc-12-car-back-to-the-future-gull-wing-doors/

Thanks for the thoughts and good to hear you're still firmly stuck in the Nomad groove.

Yo.

"the mixing is spot on"

It really has to be with the kind of music I make otherwise it doesn't work properly. I'm not making catchy songs or dancefloor anthems so everything has to be sound good as it's supposed to be music you listen to over and over again.

"I love the chosen instruments"

Good. There aren't very many of them as I've kept it quite minimal and tried to get the cello to do as much as possible. I've been doing that a lot in the last few months.

"The way you use the cello is pretty unique for my ears"

Yes, probably so. I generally use quite a simple combination of effects (mostly delay, reverb, chorus, sometimes distortion) that means that I my cello never really sounds like a traditional cello, as used in classical music. I'd quite like to get that sort of classical vibe as I think it would inspire a different style of music making. But I also like the sounds I get using these effects.

"The short jazzy break at 2:50ish is awesome"

I was thinking of getting rid of that whole section that follows (the one featuring Fender Rhodes) but then decided that I like the drum loops too much to get rid of the section.

"that are coming in at 5:35 are a bit to sudden for my taste"

That's where there's a big, sudden drum fill as the swing jazz drumming returns. I wanted something exciting and explosive but maybe I've got it wrong. I don't mind hearing that.

"The slowing down to the end is really strong and gives a very dark and mellow touch."

Yes - I like that slow, dark vibe. The reason I did it is because this track was made out of another recent one that you liked:

The Mythical Gates

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/177482

So, I still had all those slow, shuffle groove drum parts sitting on my timeline so I decided to reuse them (and change them). I think a slow, dark chillout ending is a good way to close things out and makes it seem like a real journey.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Yo, Monsieur Rhodes.

"The scratch adds an edge"

What's the scratch? Do you mean the very first note of the piece (and some others after it)? That's spiccato bowing on one of the higher strings. Basically, you don't rest the bow on the string and draw it across it, as with regular bowing. Instead, you give it a sharp sort of glancing blow, essentially bouncing the bow off the string. You can get flute and shakuhachi sounds using that technique.

Of course Rhodesy enjoyed the Rhodes piano chords! They're pretty simple and repetitive but work fairly well.

Thanks for checking in...

No, I definitely wouldn't say it's that good. I'm not quite sure what a perfect piece of music would be though you've certainly got me thinking quite deeply about it.

I could point out quite a few small sections (or single notes) in this track that could be better.

But if it seems perfect to you, I'll accept that.

I guess the first question for you to consider is whether you would want any element of the track to be in any way different. If not, then it might be close to being perfect to you.

Other people won't like the track at all...

Hi.

This is the second track of mine in the last month or so that you've wanted to go on for much longer. The other one was this:

The Mythical Gates

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/177482

They're actually both from the same project so are at the same tempo (100BPM) and share a few sounds and settings. Both have strong Eastern elements.

"driving beat that comes in was a dream"

That's two drum loops layered together. They seem to fit so neatly that they sound like one unified sound.

"talking weeping cello doing things cellos aren't supposed to do."

That's a good description and I agree that the new cello riff that kicks off the section after the first drum groove section does have a mad sound to it. It seems quite muscular and powerful but I'm not quite sure why. Despite getting all these weird cello sounds in this track, the only effects I'm using are delay, chorus and reverb. The rest is just playing techniques.

"story telling journey music that words would only dirty."

Only if they're dirty words. If they're interesting/intelligent words they help me make sense of what I've made and give me some useful things to think about and perhaps take into future compositions.

"Got to go have another listen"

Keep listening. I hope it's the kind of music that stands up to repeated listens.

Thanks again.

"Notice how I typed normal here so you wouldn't be like woah"

I noticed that and am hence not now "like woah".

That regular style of writing looks much better. And is easier to read. I'm not quite sure what you feel the capitalisation adds in terms of a benefit.

"It's extremely poignant and actually triggers one's emotions."

Sure - I'm all about triggering emotions though poignant wasn't one that I thought of when making it (or since listening back). But anyone's free to interpret it however they like. How could I stop them, even if I wanted to?

"I've never heard this style of music before"

I'm not sure I have either. I guess I've heard all the separate elements before but probably not combined in this way.

"hopefully I can implement this style into my own productions"

I'm not sure what to suggest except that you get more psychedelic, complex, detailed and so on. Lots of (or at least some) carefully controlled delay helps add to/create a psychedelic mood.

Hi.

Yes, this is quite psychedelic. I make a lot of that type of music though with lots of other genres incorporated into that type of mood and feel.

I will check out your track and leave feedback if I have anything useful to say.

Separately, why do all of your words start with a capital letter? Isn't it annoying (and a waste of time) to keep switching to the shift key when starting a new word?