Opposites Subtract - StaticNomad

Hi.

Sorry for the late reply.

Good to hear you enjoyed this so much. Yes, it's rare that I make anything in the DnB genre but I also have another very nice drum 'n' cell track (DnB + cello) that I'm currently working on.

"you can add curves to musical notes in a sensational way, you literally play with musical notes."

Yes - good points. I wish I could edit and control each note much more accurately but maybe it's not possible with recorded audio (only MIDI). I use lots of automation of so many small changes and notes.

"After all those years listening to your songs, you always surprise me!"

Excellent. That is always what I hope for but it's hard to keep doing it.

Maybe we could collaborate (you know I think your music is really good and interesting) but perhaps there would be communication problems.

I'm part of a collaboration with two other guys on Looperman and we write quite a lot of stuff to each other track describing the track and what we want from it. That could be a problem for you and me. I will think more about your offer...

Thanks again.

Hello for the first time in a long time.

Good to hear you like my bowed sounds. Bowing is hard and I've only been doing it for about 13 months.

Apart from that, I think you're just saying you don't like the piano sound. I had some problems with it but I think it works fairly well in the track.

"doesn't contribute much to the musical content (especially to the melody or melodic development) simply being an another additional texture."

Yes, it is an additional texture and it sits underneath other instruments in a lot of the track. But, between 1:30 and 2:14 I think it adds a lot and is used subtly later on the half tempo sections. 4:53 you get to hear the initial piano theme return at half tempo. Isn't that a little bit interesting?

Thanks for the feedback.

Hi, Wayne.

Yes, it is an interesting title and I'm surprised I also haven't heard it before. It only took me 37 years to come up with it.

No, I can't imagine you do know much about drum 'n' bass. Or drum 'n' cell. Not your area of musical interest.

"pioneering your way to fame"

Haha - what fame? That's never gonna happen.

"You having a tough time, picking it up slowly or mastering it like a madman?"

You tell me! I'd say I'm doing OK but it is a hard instrument. I have no idea if I'll ever really be any good. Still, I'm good enough to regularly make quite a bit of music using it as the main instrument. I've uploaded about 15 cello-dominated tracks in the 13 months since I started playing.

"bowing and plucking must have a learning curve."

Pizzicato (plucking) was pretty straightforward right from the start but bowing is damn tricky. There's a lot you can do with it, which also means there's a lot that can go wrong.

"I liked the cello at around the 7:45 mark"

I have a few layers of funky cello craziness going on there. Good fun.

"Intro sounded like it may go towards a middle eastern direction"

Really? I never thought of that. Maybe it's the darker, stranger second chord.

Thanks for the feedback.

Word up, Crumbnuts*.

It's true that my nuts are quite numb, mostly from the stutter effects I have been applying to them.

It's an interesting title and I find myself quite subtracted to you (because we are opposites).

I'm not that keen on the layered cello intro before the kick and hat enter. Hard to explain why though it was the very first thing I came up with for the track and everything grew out of it.

For the last few months I have been applying a limiter to nearly every track as a master effect. I'm quite concerned about my blocky waveforms but I prefer the louder, more powerful sounds. You must tell me if I've overdone the limiting.

"1.34 is cool with that bass line"

Yes, very busy and intricate bass. I've got a series of intros before the proper track really starts around 1:30 with the piano and bass. And then lots of dnb breaks are introduced.

"could layer a nice guitar screaming"

Indeed though I'm barely playing guitar anymore and have become pretty average at it. Cello has totally taken over. I really hope the guitar magic will return. It's a shame to waste the ability as I still think of it as my main instrument.

"Piano is perfect"

I think it's decent and a bit of a surprise in dnb, as is the cello. Though you fully expect there to be some cello in drum 'n' cell.

I haven't really tried phaser on cello. Not an effect I use often. Can sound a bit fake and over the top.

"5:53 is a nice chorus sound"

That's partly a choir pad.

"Nice Build at 6:35"

It's getting heavier now. And then a fiddle? Like a violin? Maybe. It's distorted cello.

"8:09 nice break again"

Nice to come down again. 8:07-8:09 is a cool delayed snippet of cello. Sounds like it has wah on it.

I will try your piano ending idea.

A pack of pasties? Are they sweets? Or are they like Cornish paasties?

Thanks for the details...

*On account of all the food you get through listening to my epic tracks. Don't forget to clean the crumbs off before bed.

Hello, Mr Frampard.

Good to hear that you're not too keen on DnB but like this, my slightly different take on the genre. I wonder which 3 DnB songs you like. Feel free to let me know which ones.

It does indeed have an atmospheric vibe though that's probably coming mostly from the cello as I'm not using synth pads much in this.

"that kick is #####"

It might be but I don't know which one you're talking about. There are loads of kicks in this as I'm using so many drum loops.

"I noticed a few people picked up on the cello"

You kind of have to as there's so much cello playing in the track. I'm not quite sure how many sections there are in the track but I think the cello is the lead instrument in all but three sections. I needed to have a break from it from time to time. And sometimes let the other instruments (eg piano and bass) take centre stage. The first 90 secs or so is all cello and drums, with just a subtle bit of synth bass underneath to add some weight and atmosphere.

"nice basslines"

Yes - they're very busy and have lots of little intricate, rapid fills going on. Often at the end of the bar and sometimes during the bar.

If it's drum 'n' bass it kind of needs to have some good bass, I think.

PEACE

(Mr Nomad)

Word up, my BassValve.

Yes, this does have a big chill vibe. I just cant help it! It's there in so much of what I do. I really look for beauty in music and I've always been fascinated by combining that with an uptempo feel. Some badass beats, basically.

"if you want to go with a more DnB sound"

I do and I don't. Among my many musical limitations is not really knowing enough about the structure of music to really understand quite how any genre is made. So I've never really belonged in any genre, except for perhaps rock music. So, every time I make any other genre, I'm guessing at how to get that sound and I also really like to mix up the genres as I feel it's the best way of coming up with a new and unique sound.

So, perhaps automated cutoff filters would make this more d'n'b but I like it to be somewhat atypical, as is having so much cello anyway. I still haven't heard any other drum 'n' cell though I guess there must be some.

No, JQ hasn't heard it yet but probably will. She gives me feedback on most of my cello tracks but via email rather than on here. I guess she'll like it, as she seems to with most, perhaps all, of my others. She thinks I have come along very quickly with the cello. I guess I'm still very much a beginner in terms of how long I've been playing it (13 months) though I have made two whole albums of material with it in that time.

"I think this might just be my favorite track of yours."

Cool. But maybe that's because it's new and you've forgotten some of the older ones. I'm sure I do that with other people's tracks.

"bouncing the bow in the attack of the draw are excellent"

Yes - that's called spiccato. Nothing to do with Hispanics. It is indeed bouncing the bow on the strings and can be rather cool but also problematic. You can hear that technique in the chill intro and those same parts are also reintroduced much later (with added distortion). The spiccato section you mention is probably my favourite cello section in the whole track. Either that or the riff in the last minute.

"Did you use the same speakers to mix this as you did to listen to Overmyth II?"

Yes and no. I make all my music on decent headphones as I have problems with my speakers. And I listened to Overmyth II on those same headphones.

I didn't realise the piano in this was jazzy. It actually plays for about 70% of the track as it's subtly there when things get more intense in the second half. You don't get that much piano in d'n'b.

Your ending makes sense and I can imagine it quite clearly. I will have another go and see if I can manage it.

"There's a fluid voice in that cello that I've never heard in any of your other tracks."

Damn, I hope there's some fluid cellage in some of my others!

Ok, see you again for another review of my DnC.

Mr Mellowcellomad

Hello, Deathbot.

I'm happy that I can make you moist all over. That's not exactly my aim when making music but I don't mind providing that additional service.

Yes, you certainly can have some more.

This last year has been all about the cello for me as I've made loads of music with it, across various genres. Here are some highlights for you to check out:

Cellometallo:

Nuance is Futile http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/176620

Grooving psychedelic cellout:

The Warm Glow Of Yesterday http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/176476

Cello hip hop, jazz, rock etc:

Everything Where It Should Be http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/177063

Psychedelic, Eastern, dark dance/jazz/fusion:

Navigating The Neversphere http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/177970

Psychedelic techno cello:

Dangerous Spaces http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/180406

Let me know what you think of one or some of them...

Greetings, DJ Swindla aka Mike.

I think the track is good but far from perfect. Some aspects still annoy me a little.

#####? I don't know - I never think about that when making music but I guess you're talking about some of the cool grooves.

And different people find different things #####. For instance, a female friend finds the following track #####. It's my heaviest ever track so you may not like it at all:

Fist Bumps Of Fury

https://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/180944

I guess this might be good for the summer. It's certainly not a cold, depressing, mournful vibe.

Thanks again.

Word up, Nodog.

Yes, I like the half tempo sections as well. That's much more my usual kind of tempo rather than the fast stuff. The half tempo sections are certainly not d'n'b but I don't care as they seem to fit the track and are quite similar to the other sections, just without those rapid breakbeat drums.

Which goes to show that d'n'b is mostly about the type of drums used.
"the whole production is very slick"

Excellent. I try to make things smooth but also keep some grit and attitude so that things aren't too bland and still a bit edgy and exciting.

I will try to keep up the good work.