Thanks a lot for the comment. I think I still haven't got round to answering some of your other comments elsewhere. My apologies.

Not too busy? Ha, I do sometimes go overboard with that so have to mix very carefully and remove clutter. Always good to hear it's not too busy as I like things to be busy and constantly interesting and progressive. But not cluttered. Unless it's just for a short time, for effect.

"I think I would recognize your music anywhere."

That's excellent and probably one of the main things I set out to do when I started producing my own music 20 years ago.

Thanks again!

Hello, Orlando.

Yes, I tend to appreciate my tracks more once Ive uploaded them. I tend to get fed up of them because I spend quite a while carefully investigating if theres anything more I can do, from fixing anything in the mix to perhaps spinning a new track out of certain elements.

So, once theyre uploaded I can listen again as if it was made by someone else, rather than thinking about the track in a studio context and why it isnt better.

Yes, the intro may well be the best section. Fairly clean, smooth stuff there and quite a few layers, but carefully placed. Theres more going on under that lead violin sound than you might think.

you never know what kind of sound is waiting behind the next corner.

Excellent. Thats what I hope comes across in lots of my tracks.

cello which brings along middle eastern influences is my favourite bit of cello playing in this. I tried to get in more but my playing is still rather limited.

it seems you've put quite alot of effort into it

I sure did! I dont think any of my tracks ever sound like Ive knocked them out quickly. Theyre generally detailed, lengthy labours of love (and frustration).

Yes, production is good but could be better in places but thats just me being picky and rarely satisfied with anything I make.

Thanks for the decent feedback.

Just a little))

Greetings, Mr TheNyctopian. I like the idea of a pilgrimage into the mystical realm. Can I do this physically anywhere (eg on foot) or solely through music playing and production?

Yes, Ive listened to a fair bit of Future Sound Of London, especially the Lifeforms and Papua New Guinea albums. And also the later Amorphous Androgynous stuff, which I think is essentially the same guys.

I do like a calm aural experience but also one where the intensity and excitement levels get raised at certain points. I wanted this one to be a bit more exciting but couldnt manage it so eventually gave up and stuck it online.

Thanks for your words and your enjoyment of my mystical journey.

Salut, Monsieur Le Bleep.

I'm happy you found the introduction wonderful. I worked very carefully on it. I really like the appearance of the waveform - it shows how the volume gradually rises and has a very balanced look.

Yes, definitely a more tribal feel from the drums and certainly more ethnic/Eastern. I like that kind of feel but don't want to do it in every single track.

Yes, it does stay chilled out later on but I'm also trying to make it heavier though I failed to make it as heavy as I wanted.

I spent about two months making most of this and then two more months listening again and again, just changing small things, trying to somehow make things better. I'm still not happy with the final result but I don't know if I can do any better so I have now given up.

Thanks again for the thoughts.

Seven centuries of greetings, Mr Membranous Fold.

I thought of you a fair bit when making this because of the sine wave foundation. Made me think of you sitting there, fiddling about with basic waveforms.

I don't initially find this celestial. I find it interesting but a bit cold. It gets much warmer and more sensual when the violin lead enters a while later.

You're totally right about me and my drums. I sure do rely on them too much as a means of badassery. Jo Q certainly has influenced me and she's usually my inspiration for drumless stuff as she does so much of it in a very complete and satisfying way. And I don't just mean calm, ambient type of stuff, as in the first 3 mins of this. But I'm such a slave to the groove and a bit lost without it so drums really do inspire me and conveniently hide my playing mistakes and edits. I feel I'd have to become a much better musician to become good at playing without a solid beat.

"Kind of a glitchy snare roll thing."

Yes, that's from a loop I'm manipulating.

"Nice use of the glitch."

Just a freeze stutter effect on a banjo sound. Seems quite effective, memorable and appreciated by others here.

"the classic Nomad cello sound" is rather boring and unadventurous. I have a patch saved in my 20-year-old Boss effects unit and I mostly use that for each track, with very little variation. Yes, basically just chorus, delay and reverb. Perhaps some different EQ occasionally , which usually comes from plugins.

"Oh...wait..5:50-6:08. It sounds like there may be some clipping."

I sure hope not. You can probably tell that I'm trying to progress the track there and make it heavier and darker. I bring in a crunchy, distorted second version of the violin sound to add grit. Maybe that seems like clipping?

"Your drums in this one are a bit more restrained and subdued."

Kind of. There's still a lot of detail and variety and layering.

"8:56- here's where we start the waves of blooming pads. Both synth and choral."

Yes. The cello and violin have gone entirely so it's just a little extra, more expansive synthy section before the return to the intro sounds.

"It seems as if you have matured as an artist."

Ha, it might seem like it but I certainly haven't. I'm going backwards. This track is just what someone who used to be very productive and musically creative has recently been able to come up with.

Thanks for the Nice!!! review.

Seven hundred salutations, Cruciferous Crustacean.

Or are you actually Madonna now? If so, you should get into the groove, prove your love to me.

Nice to hear from you and good that you enjoyed the drumless intro, which doesn't surprise me.

"Perfect frequencies and minimal"

I like the sine wave stuff but wanted to do much more with that arp part but it didn't happen. But what is there does sit rather nicely behind the other layers which come in, such as the strings and even lower cello layers and a choir pad (to make things a bit more heavenly and lush).

"It's like you wrapped melancholy and remembrance in a blanket"

That's a nice, poetic turn of phrase. Congratulations. You can use a blanket to put out a fire or you can wrap melancholy and remembrance in it. All hail the blanket!

" Interesting percussion at 3.10"

Yes, some drum loops I've never used before and I like the snare used in the main programmed acoustic kit later on, giving the track a more tribal feel.

"You come loaded with some new tricks"

I do. They were a downloaded patch though you can return me to factory settings by pressing the reset button on the back of my neck for 10 seconds.

"I like the side-chained synth."

That's a banjo stuck through a stutter effect. Not sure if that is technically side chained but it's effective anyway.

"then comes the Phrygian Cello."

Aha, I wondered what that mode was. I don't know any by name as I'm playing them so always interesting to find out. And I only know two scales (major and minor).

"Syths are so tastefully mixed in the back of the mix"

Yes, there are a few going on. Quite a dense mix and the phrygian cello is at least three layered parts.

"if you are a cannibal, Baby baby back ribs."

Ha, nice joke.

I'm not really back as my music making abilities are still much diminished and I don't know where the next decent track is coming from though I am currently working on a few not very promising ones.

"around 7:37 I am longing for one of your guitar solos."

Me too! Shame I can't do them anymore, eh?

"I understand the coda of using the intro as an outro"

Good as I had to end it somehow. The sine wave arps sit nicely on a hypnotic loop.

"10 minutes just flew by"

Excellent. I find it quite an addictive track and the sections mostly seem to transition well.

"Always your friend and colleague musically."

Thanks very much. I really appreciate that. Likewise.

Monsieur l'homme du nouilles spastique.

Double comment from you so I'll just say you may as well check out some of my other replies for a bit more info on this track.

I would have loved to have got some Toolesque guitar in some of the tribal drumming sections!

Yo.

That glitchy synth is a sample-based banjo part put through a stutter effect. Good fun and fairly memorable.

"and then you break out the cello for a nice multi track Eastern thing"

My favourite cello riff in this. Kind of Eastern, with lots of movement. Fun to play.

"The bass plays a repeating pattern"

It does. Kind of the same thing throughout though there is a bit of variation when the track opens out later on and switches to the key of D (from C). I'm pleased with how the sine wave bass arp sits nicely under the strings and synths in the first few mins. Then I fatten it up for the groove based sections and it all seems to work nicely. There is another bass synth that takes over in a couple of different sections but I think the sine wave part may still be playing, lower in the mix.

"you may even have two drum tracks going here"

Yes, layered loops, as I often do. Plus programmed acoustic kits. Not sure about the panning but there is certainly some movement. Might be on the loops.

"You don't skimp or play it safe when it come to the percussion"

I don't but I'd also like to do more minimal drum tracks though I'm also always trying to get a unique overall drum track for each piece of music, as difficult as that is. Lots of albums have the exact same drum sound throughout.

"it almost sounds like a complete string orchestra"

Not sure why as there's mostly just one sample-based violin, though there are some played cello layers at various points, eg in the intro as the track builds in complexity and volume.

"a very fat groove of strings there for several bars as everything starts to speed up"

Aha, in that heavier, darker string section, I have the violin split into two channels, one with distortion on it, just to give more buzzy crunch. And there are higher cello flourishes to add emphasis.

"the reprise of the mystical opening tones to take it out."

Well I had to end it somehow and I find those mystical sine wave tones quite pleasant to listen to on a loop. I could've gone on with that for a while!

"the best artists are rarely satisfied with their material."

Well I'm certainly no great artist but I am a bit different, hopefully unique. And I am indeed rarely satisfied, especially these days as I sometimes feel like an ex-musician, quite disconnected from playing and listening to music.

"I'm waiting to hear some more guitar works hopefully."

Won't be happening anytime soon! Lost all my fluidity, ideas, phrasing, joy and so on on the instrument.

"Maybe some neo-sych or some Psy-trance."

I'd like to make some Tri trance (feat. lead triangle throughout) or Cry trance (sad, weepy, emotional trance for a raver's funeral).

I'd love to make some Eastern Sludge or stoner but guitar playing will be required! Or distorted cello.

Thanks again for the comprehensive comments.

Seven hundred greetings, Senor Neo.

Damn earbuds! They can be so crap. This track sounds rubbish on the ones I have.

No Quarter? Does this really sound like that. Will have to go back and listen to the original though I like the Tool version.

"a 3 minute drumless intro might even be a rarity for you"

It is but I'm trying to progress, even within my awful, ongoing period of creativity and non instrument playing.

"almost sounds as if there are some choral effects being used."

A choir pad enters playing pretty much the same thing as the lead violin at 1:56.

There's quite a bit happening in my intro, including two versions of that looping sine wave bass, which plays throughout most of the track. 3:06 I just add an effect to make it much fatter. Throbbing sub, basically. No throbbing in intro, just has to sit nicely under the strings and stuff.

"a nice tight staccato snare rudiment"

Yes, that's a drum loop that I've sort of trimmed by adjusting the attack, letting a lot less of the sound through than the original, which is kind of a dance beat.

"some pretty cool glitch rhythm elements"

I think that's just one stutter effect on, would you believe it, a banjo sound! That's at 3:52 and is good fun and has been noted by other people here.

More thoughts coming in my next reply.

Thanks very much.

nice comment!!

Nice comment!

No, it's not as good as I was hoping. I wanted it to be more powerful and epic. I'll give you a few, specific examples:

6:08 tribal drums I really like. They gave me the idea to do some heavy, Tool-like guitar playing. I used to be a decent guitarist but I rarely even play the instrument these days so I couldn't add the riffs I had in my head.

8:00 this heavier section feels like it should be much heavier and contain a cool guitar solo. But I'm not up to laying down any sort of guitar solo these days so I had to do without.

Glad you enjoyed my lengthy, twisting, turning journey. I make a lot of tracks like that. Yes, like a movie soundtrack. Intro is perhaps reminiscent of a Mongolian dawn.

Yes, a nice slow burn, building up to more powerful stuff. Just not powerful enough.

Hearing it played live would be cool but would need quite a few musicians. Probably two violins and two cellos, a few synth players and a couple of drummers.

Thanks for enjoying my flow. Always a very important thing when composing!

Thanks very much.

I would have liked to have made it more mystical and powerful but this is what I came up with after a couple of months of fiddling about, trying to make small improvements here and there but eventually giving up out of frustration. But I still like what I managed to create.