StaticNomad

Salut.

Il n'y ont pas des problemes avec ton anglais. C'est en fait presque parfait.

Anyway, you've got to have a bit of humour when it comes to jazz metal as it's kind of a joke idea for a genre merger. I believe I have done it justice and not made it a ridiculous thing but it could so easily go very wrong.

I know what you mean about the Patton/Fantomas thing. I very much respect Mike Patton and the million bands and side projects he has though I can't say I listen to much of what he makes. I think the last thing I really listened to was an album/group/project called Lovage. Fantomas and Tomahawk are a bit weird for me and I try hard not to make stuff bizarre, with good melody and groove always being the most important things.

I guess you were shrieking along during the heavy middle section rather than the more chilled out jazz.

Congratulations on your first Looperman comment after joining five years ago. It really is your first comment. I guess there is mostly HipHopDanceRnBDubstep stuff though there are also quite a few proper songs on here. I don't really do songs, just creative long-form instrumental explorations that are really psychedelic jams that are then very tightly edited and controlled.

I do a large range of music (jazz, funk, metal, blues, electro, hip hop, d'n'b, metal, dub etc) and like to get into some heavier shit now and again. Here are just a few other examples for you to check out:

The Bigger The Fatter The Better

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

Valvedriven

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/163181

Debt Black Hole

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

Happy listening...

Regreetings.

Yes, I probably would blend rap and polka together if I liked polka (it's sort of OK, I guess) and if I had any raps to use.

I only merge genres I like and can just about manage to play. I have many more crazy, half joke ideas for genre mergers though I doubt I'll be doing all of them as I'm not really capable. Or I don't want to.

For instance, one joke genre name I came up with is 'grabba' - a cross between grime and gabba. But I don't like either genre so I won't be the one to do it. But I would like to make 'cuntstep' - a merger of country and, you guessed it, dubstep.

Yes, this is a pretty cool-looking waveform, though I'm not quite sure why. Seems nicely balanced and has a pleasing shape. I don't know if waveform shape has any real relationship to music quality but I can think of one example.

Most tracks I see on here that are horribly loud solid blocks of toothpaste turn out to be shit. Seriously - if I see one of those, these days I tend not to even press play as it's almost always the same unimaginative, histrionic, brickwall-mastered crap.

I did actually look up the Eagle Nebula so now know what it is but can't see how it looks like this waveform. Not to worry.

If you would like to hear perhaps my craziest genre-merging track, check the following adventurous little beast, called Way Beyond Wrong. Here's the track description:

"Probably the greatest banj-metal-hiphop-jazz joint ever. With lead saxophone, house bass, rock and metal guitars, Eastern banjo, jazz and hip hop drums and a tasty dose of drum and bass thrown squarely in your face. You can headbang or throw some body-poppin hippity-hoppity shapes to this mofo, for real. A lot of genres covered in 7 minutes so hopefully the time will fly by. And, yes, there really is acoustic banjo as a lead instrument on top of some crunching and crashing metal guitar and drums. Long live Banj Metal"

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/145971

Greetings.

Unexpectedly good is always a good thing, I think. Probably better than predictably good. You've got to be a little nervous if you hear "hey, it's jazz-metal" as that stands a good chance of being fairly awful.

I have no idea if jazz-metal is a subculture. Most probably not and I doubt it will catch on.

I wonder what sort of clothing jazz metallers would wear. Maybe a combo of swinging 20s smart clothing and more modern black leather, tattoos (not that they're clothing) and long hair etc. Hard to say, really.

Rhodes is perhaps the star of the early portion of this track (along with clean, grooving guitar). And then the metal guitars take over in the middle. But I also combine distorted Rhodes with the guitars (and synth horn) at various points. Sometimes disortion, wah and other delays on the Rhodes just to crunch it up a bit more.

I'm pretty sure there also isn't much Rhodes metal. That instrument and that genre never seem to go together (except here).

Thanks for your thoughts.

If you would like to hear another unusual recent metal track from me, check out Valvedriven here:

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/163181

Hi. The intro before the Rhodes and cymbals arrive on 0:21 is just one evolving synth instrument, no sitar. I think it's also just one note. I automate a control to make the sound change and open up to become brighter (and remind you of a sitar). Yes, good for ambient meditation music.

Flutes are not used in many of my tracks, just 3 or 4 that I can think of right now. Yes, usually in the background though in Fly Yes Land No they are lead somewhere around 9 mins (flute metal). The Ozrics have more lead flute as they had an actual flute player (who I've hung out with a few times).

"vocoded voice" around 1:19 is filtered EQ swept violin, a sound have used in many tracks eg A Little Bit Of Infinity, The Bigger The Fatter The Better, Right Place Wrong Century etc.

Yes, synth horn at 2:55 has a very evil sound and I automate the effects (and MOD wheel) to make it more aggressive.

No, not quite the same sequences during the heavy sections as the riffs change quite a bit. MrWolf thought the metal section was very different, as if I had another heavy track that I just stuck inbetween two jazz sections. The metal section still had the emphasis on the tritone but the basslines do change as well.

I knew you'd like the jazz and also thought you wouldn't know what to say about the metal because you don't really know about that genre. Yes, hopefully better than most of the metal on the site. Probably a bit more unusual.

Rhodes playing at the end is maybe too short but it seems to flow comfortably. And I am trying to make shorter tracks these days. I hope you noticed that there is quite a bit of distorted Rhodes in heavy sections eg 3:04 and also 7:41. And there's a wah effect somtimes on the Rhodes.

Good luck with your monosynth.

I would like to collaborate with people but most of all in person, not online, so that we can share the experience and talk about ideas and not have to exchange emails. And so that I know who I am dealing with as I have had many collaboration disappointments. So I don't really look to collaborate online with people though I suppose I am still open to the idea. Maybe I will think of something to suggest to you. I could perhaps send you the start of a track that I am really having trouble taking any further to see if you could add anything I like (probably). Some good playing might then inspire some good playing from me.

Just an idea.

Greetings, Patricia.

I know what you mean about the 60s swinging jazz theme tune after a minute or so. I'm not sure why that is but you're the second person to remark on it. Evisma though it was a bit like The Pink Panther theme tune. Much darker than that but not as catchy.

Then it does morph into jazz entirely from a different family. Perhaps the black sheep of the family. Or an orphan. Or the bastard son tearing shit up, giving the family a bad name. I think that will do for family analogies.

Anyway, you liked it so that's good.

Oh, and I'm not sure any sort of jazz is used for Mr Bean soundtracks but then I haven't seen the show in a long time and didn't bother with the film.

Take care.

OK. Doesn't really matter.

Thanks, man.

I don't really know what "DAT SOUNDWAVE DOE" means. Maybe something to do with the slightly interesting-looking waveform. Hard to know. But I do know a doe is a deer. Doe a deer a female deer.

The chill jazz groove stuff that is returned to around 5:50 originally came earlier but I wanted to get the metal in a bit sooner so shifted stuff around, as I always do (I don't really plan my "compositions" out in advance). Still, I agree the metal could arrive earlier as it takes a few mins to get to that heavy shit.

All the same, I like to think the swinging jazz grooves before the metal are interesting enough for real jazz metal fans (who are they anyway?) to be prepared to wait a bit. This ain't pop music so there's no getting to the chorus. Not gonna happen.

I'd like to make some other seemingly incompatible genres work together. No idea if/when I'll manage that. But I've done it before so I like to think I'll do it again.

Thanks again.

Thanks. I try hard to make interesting music that I've never heard made before.

It's perhaps just a few synth touches (eg the very first intro sound) that give this a slightly futuristic feel. Otherwise, I guess there's a lot of old roots jazz and blues (and metal, to some extent) in here.

Good to hear you liked the mix as well. I think most of the sounds are fairly clear though I'm sure it could be beter still.

My only extremely minor disagreement is regardig your 'heavy rock' term. I'd say this contains extremeley heavy rock ie metal. No big deal.

Thanks again.

Yo.

Yeah, I guess a bit less psychedelic - perhaps just a different type of psych vibe rather than my more usual beautiful, funky psych stuff. Darker and weirder this time though I never like to go too weird. Gotta keep it melodic and groovy.

I was really planning to disagree with you about the blues thing but I've listened more since your comment and thought hard about it and now partly agree. There is some cool blues playing from guitar (comes naturally to me) but I still hear the Rhodes as being much more jazzy. I have no idea how to play jazz or any other style as I'm a self-taught feel player who doesn't read music or really know any music theory. Give me a good swing groove and I can play in a jazzy way, otherwise I won't/can't.

I like the "jewelry" term. I guess my use of effects and stuff is a bit like jewelry. Hopefully effective and not just pretty adornments with no susbstance underneath.

" I just like it when people break the rules"

That's pretty much my aim with every track. I'm only really interested in creating something new that I can't hear anywhere else. Even if it's not brilliant, I can still be proud of its ambition and intent to do something different.

2:55 is where the big, evil synth horn sound comes in. I think that's what inspired the metal in this as that is a big, badass sound and just screamed "metal" to me. Well, that and the emphasis on the tritone (flattened fifth) in many parts of the track. See - I do know a tiny bit of music theory ie a few note names (oh, and major and minor scales, that's it).

No cello at 2:55. See my reply to Evisma about that so that I don't have to type it again. The new instrument is not gong too well, which is a shame (most expensive instrument I've ever bought but it does look nice) but hopefully it'll come alive when I get a bow. Only subtle cello in this track and it sounds more like double bass (as it's plucked).

" theremin sounding instrument" is a string part plus filtering and delays. Pretty evil and just playing the main horn theme. Haunting stuff. Also returns in the penultimate track section though Evisma didn't like it.

" definite ending, which we don't hear all the time from you."

Hey, you know that my tracks have definite endings. I still haven't done a fadeout. They don't have endings at all on Looperman when they're over 11 mins. But I almost always put a link up to the full thing elsewhere.

Yes, I think the mix on this pretty good. A rather beautiful-looking waveform (and you can clearly see where the metal is). I'm not quite sure why it looks like that but there seems to be some real balance in sounds or something. People who know more about the technicalities of audio might be able to explain it to me.

Take care and glad you like the jazetal.

Metallic greetings with a jazzy overlay.

I would not have you down as a jazetal (jazz metal) kinda dude. Then again, I don't know who I would have down as that, including myself. As usual, I'm just trying to make something I haven't really heard before.

Intro swell is decent though I spent ages on it (ie the length and getting the drop into the Rhodes right) but still don't feel that drop is quite right. Good intro sound though.

Don't quite understand your "non-keys" point. There's shitloads of keys playing in my stuff though perhaps it tends to have more of a programmed feel rather than conjuring up the image of someone sat playing a keyboard, as this track does. I've used Rhodes in loads of tracks and here it's me playing all of it plus a lot of correction and moving notes around afterwards. Maybe it has a more fluid live feel than my usual synth work.

I know what you mean about the Pink Panther. Some sort of 60s jazz theme going on there (from guitar) though I have no idea why.

2:55 is my evil synth horn. Doesn't sound too froggy to me but I know what you mean. All part of my unintentional skill (?) in making various creature sounds with synths. Yes, bass may well be too heavy there. Will check back, possibly readjust.

I don't know if you actually liked the metal in here, as you didn't say, but I'll just assume you did. I'd expect at least half a brick shat somewhere in that morass of riffage.

Cello playing is minimal in this one but you can hear it goin badass between 5:04-5:23. No one in the world will hear that distorted riffage as cello. 5:14 screechy slidey squeals.

Still struggling with cello, still not got a bow so mostly playing it as a double bass/guitar. It'll only come alive as a cello once I get bowing and get half decent at it.

Fretlessness is unforgiving on imprecise notes around where the fret would be. Thank Buddha, Allah and Mohammed I have lots of dots as fret markers. I don't understand how people get by without any markers. Exceptional accuracy required for any fast playing.

Yes, back swing chilling 5:53. Gotta return to the jazz. Could have had that section earlier but wanted to not take too long to get to the metal.

Sorry you didn't like the monster owl sounds. That's a rising pitch sample-based string instrument (violin maybe) not my cello playing. Can also be heard playing a haunting melody in the synth horn pre-metal section starting 3:14. Don't know if it also bothered you there.

Not sure if you liked my nice track bro (only expected you to like the heavy shit anyway) but thanks for the thoughts.

No dirt cheese, thanks. I don't eat regular cheese so adding dirt won't help.

P.S. Moved mostly back into house today. Nice having a sofa again. Shed music is over. Think I might come to miss it slightly, especially the sound of a rapid squirrel roof scurry...

Hi.

Yes, more dark swinging stuff could be just what the world needs. Maybe it will improve us as a species and encourage the aliens to finally make first contact with us:

"Hey, we were just waiting for you to make some really cool, dark swinging jazz metal before we accepted you into our universal club. Congratulations".

Jazz and metal are hard things to successfully combine and I'm not sure I've heard many people even try. Some that I have heard has been on the bizarre, weird, avant garde experimental side of things. But my music is nothing like that. There is one group that does really creative metal on top of a fast, swinging bass and drums platform. But their style is nothing like this one. It's also not bizarre, weird or avant garde.

They're called Diablo Swing Orchestra and their album The Butcher's Ballroom is well worth checking out.

I love that synth horn sound and find it quite evil. But a good type of evil, if that makes sense. So, the mischievous, playful devil rather than the nasty brutal one.

Thanks for you thoughts. I have no idea if I will make more jazz metal but it'll probably happen sometime. Many more genre crossovers to work on before then.

Here's a recent creative, very alternative metal track I made in honour of Looperman's Valvedriver. It's called Valvedriven:

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/163181

Jazzy greetings with a sprinkling of metal on top.

Yes, first few minutes, once the groove kicks in are a laidback, cool swinging stuff that I find very inspirational to play instruments to. My favourite thing about all the clean/undistorted guitar in the track is that it's a single 11 minute take that I then chopped up and moved around a great deal to get what I wanted. There was no need to add any other clean guitar parts as everything required was in those 11 mins.

Understated bass is the synth bass that gets much more powerful in the heavier parts. Very little bass guitar in the heavy sections - just one synth bass sound plus a few bass guitar fills at certain points.

I love that synth horn sound and it really said "pure wailing evil" to me so inspired the freaky, heavy vibe.

"is the heavy part maintaining the spirit of the initial part?"

I like to think it is. The track title is a reference to the tritone (or flattened fifth) note that has a very dark and evil sound, especially when played like this. You can hear it in many parts of the track, including the first Rhodes chord. There's an emphasis on it in the heavy sections too.

"Only the gods can answer."

And me.

I certainly didn't come up with the heavy stuff as a separate track and then stuck it inbetween the cool, swinging jazz sections. No: the metal drums are also almost all swung grooves, just like the jazzier, quieter drum kits. And it's the same synth bass sound heavy and quiet and the wailing strings can be heard both heavy and quiet. It's really all one track so I hope it doesn't sound like something heavy and unrelated in the middle. Once I get properly heavy, I do go off into various different riffs that sound quite unconnected to the rolling jazz. But that's just me exploring more and more riffs.

Bass at 6:41. When working on that, I thought of you and that you would like it. It's funkier than everything else so that's probably why it stands out to you.

7:31-8:19 is the return to the big emphasis on the tritone. So, that section is me doing metal in a chilled, jazzy way and with no guitar. I thought of adding it but it didn't seem necessary. Rhodes is nicely distorted there. And there's some groovy bass guitar underneath. See also 3:04 for distorted Rhodes.

Yes, more jazz than metal. That's because I'm better at playing chillout cool groove stuff than metal. And also rapid metal riffs don't take very long. Cool chillout groove playing lasts longer so that's why it has a longer running time in the track.

Thanks for your thoughts and glad you liked most of my jazetal (jazz metal).

Hi again.

Thanks - groove is probably my greatest inspiration in music. Then far out and beautiful sounds and probably then badass riffs though it's hard to rank these things (and I don't really need to).

I'm actually a pretty crap musician without a groove so I kind of need to knock good ones up in order to really feel a piece of music and play something good along with it. So, if any of my tracks don't have a good groove, I've probably failed.

You are the first to mention any vocal shouts. There are just occasionally brief bits of that same female vocal instrument from my heavy track Valvedriven. Remember that one?

You can also hear them in my track Reckful:

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/160356

Yes, the filler strings melodies perform an important function. Good fun getting them to fit here and there. They're excellent as a background element though I, of course, had to bring them right up front at times, especially the last 90 secs (my favourite section).

I think that gritty synth is somewhere around 2:00-2:30, where things get a bit more bombastic and I have a few synth layers, all playing nearly the same thing. Plus rock guitar on top (which I strongly considered removing).

No more new tracks from me for a few weeks as I'm working on some difficult heavy ones. One is a jazz metal one that used to be part of this track. Just as well I removed those sections as they would make this a weird trip and I prefer it as a more streamlined dance-chill thing. Best not to go off in jazz and metal directions in this one.

Thanks again.

Greetings. Good to hear that you interest was kept over the whole piece. Here's how it works for me:

Working alone, as I do, I'm forced to trust my judgment. I believe I have good taste in music and understand when something works or doesn't work. So, if a piece still interests me as it continues, I believe there is a good chance it will do the same for others. I certainly don't always get this right and the tracks whose sections I just can't get right do really piss me off.

But I don't really hear any obvious weak sections here. As always, it's only long because I felt there was enough good stuff to justify the length. I could have put a lot more in and resisted recording a whole bunch of varied guitar parts in the second half's breakout section.

I don't know if it is is the same riff/chord structure throughout. Quite possibly as I'm terrible at changing key but good at introducing loads of changes and variations using other techniques. If you listen again, maybe you 'll get some of those string melodies stuck in your head. They're still stuck in mine,as are some of the bass parts.

The bass is the same Reason patch I have used in probably something like 10 tracks on this site. I just keep reusing it as it's so very powerful and warm. Here's another good track featuring it prominently (also the track this one came out of):

The Beast That Could Always Be Tamed

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/154691

At least 90% of my synth work is from Reason. I just use the software's synths and samplers plus various sample-based instruments and patches I have collected since I started using it in 2001. I'd love to have Kontakt and use some of the great sampled-based instruments but I just haven't got round to it yet.

You didn't give me any time references so I don't know where you think the drums need more attack and bite. While it's obviously a major chill track, I've kept the drums quite powerful ie no gentle brushwork here. I think you're saying you want them to be more powerful in places but I'm not really sure.

A track similar to this, though with much more slide resonator guitar is:

Honey Mango Heaven

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/162441

That's even got slide trance and dream swing slide jazz in it and I think it will be your sort of vibe.

Thanks again!

Greetings.

You're doing well if your head's bobbing by two seconds in as I didn't think that Rhodes part was particularly groovy. But I think it is a few seconds later when the bass and drums arrive.

Not sure what you mean by "switches that add the woodwinds" as there aren't any woodwinds in here though there are strings (especially violin) so maybe that's what you mean. I can't really tell.

Glad you liked the guitars. Not so much guitar in this for me though I have also done a good few pure electro tracks over the years ie no played acoustic instruments, just pure synth work.

While some people do complain about the lengths of my tracks (something I'm consciously working hard to improve), quite a few have said something similar to you ie that they don't always feel the track lasts the actual running time. Probably because there's always so much going on and no time to get bored before something else arrives and other things disappear.

Yes, I think the steady feel throughout comes from the use of the drum loops (and mostly the same synth bass sound). While I use loads of drum loops, there's a real focus on just a few, especially the first one heard in the track.

It's my great yet difficult aim to never induce a sense of monotony in the listener. Saying that, it's important to use good sounds and sections enough as sometimes it's annoying when something's good but not repeated enough.

Hats off to you too and thanks for the review.

Yo. Is a Cellovangelist someone who gets up on TV, does a bit of bowing and plucking and then asks viewers to donate so that they can gain entry to musical heaven? Y'know - to hang out with Hendrix and Mozart etc

Would not have expected you to get much from this one. Too much sleepytime, not enough badass.

Anyway, the odd keys thing (it's Rhodes) is because of one chromatic note in there which makes things a little unusual though still quite melodic, I believe. In trying to come up with some changes, I decided to explore that chromatic note and then the track ended up being dark swing jazz. And then metal, with a big emphasis on the tritone (the flattened fifth).

But, as you can hear, I've since removed all the jazz metal though I'm still far off finishing that strange track.

I think you find the bass 'twisted' because of the wobbling from the LFO (low frequency oscillator).

Yes, I agree with your accurate phrase about that guitar flashing its stuff briefly then walking out the door. Probably to my next track as that's pretty standard sort of playing for me. I really considered getting rid of it entirely as I didn't want the track to be too rocky but decided that didn't matter so it should stay. Just a brief bit because sometimes that's best. Not extending some cool bits is all part of what I have to do to prevent tracks being 20 mins. Inevitably there will be bits that some people would prefer to be longer. I had to resist playing a whole load of guitar in the second half, just going with one slide solo. That seems to be enough.

Yes, 3:03 delicate clean funk is some groovy shit. Take note of the high grooving bass g entering a bit later.

"Your parting movement sounds a bit,......Asian"

As I said to FreeRad, I do some intentional Asian stuff (not that I actually know any of the scales/modes, I just make them up) but sometimes people get an Asian feel from stuff I do that I have not noticed. I can still barely notice it in this track. I love that end string stuff and somehow the Rhodes fifth chords underneath remind me of some Tool song sections.

I had never heard of Teddy Ruxpin so looked it up and it's a toy bear. Presumably that plays tapes. The final two notes in this are an export error and will be removed when I get around to it.

"Plenty to dig here"

I like to think there is in most, if not all, my tracks. Last thing I want is to make boring music. I'll try not to even in old age. Will just have to get more badass then.

No new uploads from me for quite a while as I'm working on a few difficult heavy ones.

I am taking care. You do likewise.

Yo. Is Crucehole an ass reference or the type of hole in the ground that a Crucethus usually lives in? Or the type of cartoon hole made when he is thrown through a window?

Was waiting for your review, partly cos I thought this might be one of your favourite ever tracks of mine.

That first Rhodes part was the foundation of the track and I vary it for a while before returning to it in the second (uptempo) half (with further variations).

I will go back and check the bass levels as I have to return anyway to remove those final two "export error" notes.

Yes, the synth sounds are magic - Nomadgic. My own unique brand of magic and not to be confused with no magic. I try to sprinkle a little Nomadgic on all my tracks. Alas, sometimes it does not stick.

No idea why 1:50ish has brassy synth sound but I hear it now you and Midisparks have mentioned it. Just a preset I dialled up and modified slightly.

No resonator guitar in that rocking section, just regular electric. Resonator only in one section - slide solo on 7:02.

4:10 I can hear no synth sax. Lead part there is the arppeggiated, bowed violin so not sure how you're hearing sax. There's mega evil synth sax in my unfinished jazz metal track so you'll like that.

Chime arpegg is cool though I don't read or watch any Harry Potter but can imagine what you mean.

3:40-4:10 is some mega chill funk. Check the high bass g.

"Now I am hand slapping the drums"

What else would you slap them with? Dick gets painful after an hour or so when I do it.

5:45 approaching "a cool zone" with new bassline that reminds me strongly of New Order's fantastic Blue Monday. Such a clever and timeless track.

I did listen to Is Your Love Strong Enough (no, thanks for asking) when you sent me the link. Don't know why the mixing here is like it.

9:20 is a freeze stutter effect I have used occasionally in many tracks, Into The Out There being a good example.

Thanks for the words. Now retreat back to your hole, slap your drums, polish your MS-20 and caress its wah porn joystick.

OK, cool, thanks.

I think there's quite a lot that can be said about this (as there's a lot going on) but it's always up to each person commenting how little or how much they say.

Hi again.

Yes, I like the slide solo here. It is much more of a focused solo than the guitar playing I normally do, which isn't usually about making one solo but a load of different playing that I edit together to provide different textures and moods. But this is a focused, kind of planned solo that seems to echo some of the earlier themes.

I'm not sure if there is any eastern stuff in that slide solo. Maybe- I'm just not sure and certainly nothing intentional. I didn't feel much of an eastern vibe while playing it.

As I said to clindsay, I don't really know much about Ry Cooder but I always hear he's very good. No doubt better at slide guitar than me.

"I try to question my role in here by posting spam comments"

I don't understand that. You post spam comments? You ssem to generally do some pretty good track reviews - much betetr than most people on here.

You're saying you avoid giving people suggestions? really - I'm sure I have seen you give people suggestions. I do that anytime I think I have spotted something out of place or think I can help in some small way.

"it may (slightly) change the actual value of the music"

I don't know why giving advice would change the value of the music. Some people uploading stuff to Lopperman are continually trying to improve tracks (me, for instance) so sometimes people's inoput and suggestions are taken into consideration.

"Do you really think your tracks will be possibly better mixed/mastered that way?"

Not sure what this means. Not sure if you're asking me about my tracks.

Good to hear you enjoyed listening again. I still like listening to this one.

Hi again.

Yeah, definitely go for a good few listens of this as there's a lot to take in - something that's pretty standard for my tracks.

Regarding the big band/rock/funk, it does get more rocking around 2 mins. You saying big band really got me thinking. That term usually to me means sort of orchestral jazz band though that's not what this sounds like. However, I listened more closely and I can hear a bit of a brass quality to one of the synth sounds in there so maybe that's got you thinking of the brass section that big bands always have.

That's given me the idea to go back and add in a complementary synth brass sound, just to accentuate that mood. But I probably won't as it's fine as it is. But, who knows, it could be cooler still. And that section is also pretty funky while the guitar brings the rock so I think you're actually pretty accurate with the genres. I was strongly considering ditching the guitar there as it works just fine without. But I managed to edit it to sound pretty cool so I'm keeping it.

Thanks again.

Hi. I agree with your review and think has some of my my best and most interesting melodies. Lots of interesting layers going on here, with the two different string instruments used sometimes subtlely and sometimes upfront in the mix (especially the violin one in the 90 second outro). The synth bass is also a major feature and gets wobbling at times through controlling the LFO.

The precise rhythms from the drum loops really tie this one neatly together and make the whole thing very tight. I make great use of one in particular - the very first one you hear. Programmed acoustic kits are used to complement the many drum loops used here though they also come out on their own during the slide solo. I use a metal kit there but it's quite versatile and not only useful for making heavy tracks (though I have also used it a lot to do that).

"The overall structure is coherent but takes you in different directions"

That's something I try to do a lot and getting the flow right is the most important aspect of all for me in track making. I want things to go in different directions but have to work hard at never making them too weird or unnecessary. I had both jazz and metal in this but removed them to turn them into their own track. I guess it could have worked but would have been pretty weird (and probably at least 15 mins long).

I still haven't listened to Ry Cooder since you last mentioned him. Will get round to it sometime but I guess there's no great rush as I seem to have absorbed some of what he does in my own way. Just how my playing comes out, I guess. I'm pretty happy with the slide solo in this one. No other use of the resonator guitar in the track though there is regular electric in two other sections (one funk, one rock).

Thanks again.

Good to hear that's what it sounds like as it's actually just one guy in a room at home jamming, enjoying his stuff. You probably guessed that.

I didn't think this one sounded so much like a band because of all the tight drum loops and synth work. Not that much guitar or live-sounding instrument playing (though there definitely is some).

I think some sections of some of my other tracks really do sound like a live band though it's always really hard to judge because I'm totally biased. I know it's not (and why it's not) so it can be hard to forget that and just hear it as a band playing together.

Thanks anyway.

Greetings.

Yes, something a bit different for me, as is always my aim Probably because of the use of all these drum loops and more of a focus on chillout dance music. But still some of my signature sounds in there eg the slide solo.

The filtered, arpeggiated (bowed) violins you can hear in quite a few of my tracks. Pretty much the same sound but always playing different melodies. Some of the very best are in here, especially in the last 90 seconds - my favourite section. That's just a return to violin parts heard earlier in the track but this time I do more with them.

"My favorite moment: ~3:00 ... this is very 80s"

Aha, I think you have chosen the funk section as your favourite. I'm not hearing it as being particularly 80s but I did enjoy playing that delicate clean funk stuff. Lots of chopping up and reordering of the bass and guitar parts but the end result is good, though not perfect.

"you know that the last "unwanted notes" fit nicely in the fade-out?"

I still haven't got round to removing those export error notes. Here's what they are:

Listen to 3:15 and you will hear some gentle high notes come in. That's an arpeggiated sequence heard a few times afterwards. It plays all the time, I just fade the volume up when I want it to be heard.

On export, the last second had the volume of that part mistakenly turned up so that's why it's heard. Yes, that sequence could easily fit in the outro but I'm not sure it's necessary. I have since thought of a way I could include those notes but I don't think I need to. That sequence is heard enough in other parts of the track so it's important not to overdo it.

Yes, the distinctive basslines probably do have the Nomad touch. That same bass synth patch can be heard in lots of my tracks but it doesn't seem to get boring. It's really just a very useful bass sound and it's the main bass in the jazz metal track I'm still working on (it used to be part of this track).

Bassline starting at 5:45 keeps reminding me of New Order's Blue Monday - probably one of the greatest club tracks ever made. And it's by a proper band so it's much more interesting than most dance tracks.

Glad you liked this one as I thought maybe it wouldn't be your sort of thing. I thought maybe there was too much synth and not enough guitar for you.

It may be a while till my next upload as I'm working on a few difficult tracks right now and am far off completing any of them.

See you around...

FreeRad ahoy!

Glad you liked my groovy mega chilling, though there are some rocking parts too. I tend to not be able to resist. If you listen to the rock guitar section, ending around 2:22 (with that massive drum fill) you can hear it's made by someone who likes to rock out.

Yes, I believe there are many memorable melodies in this. Loads that I can remember after making it and I'm sitting around reflecting on it, sad that it's basically finished and I won't be working on it anymore.

I hadn't really thought about there being much of an eastern vibe to it. People have said that about some of my other tracks, which I've kind of seen once they've pointed that out.

The only eastern melody I can think of here is the string part starting around 1:36, which goes somewhat with the grooving bass underneath.

There's not a lot of guitar in this but I use both my regular electric (my first electric, which I've played since 1996) and my resonator. I assume you're talking about the latter as the one with a unique sound. It only features in one section - the solo beginning 7:02.

Resonator guitars are fucking cool though people don't seem to use them much outside blues and country. I have no idea why. I do lots of mega blues tracks but I also regularly use slide resonator playing in just about any style I can manage to play - jazz, funk, metal, hip hop, electronic, whatever. This is in no way a blues track but I still stick a big slide solo in there. It's just a fantastically expressive style of instrument playing that you can really feel and put some heart and soul and attitude into.

My resonator is actually quite a crap one (Ozark BTE) as the quality ones are damn expensive (generally between £1000-£2,500). It's electro-acoustic but as its body doesn't have a very good sound, I very rarely just record it straight into the mic - I stick it through amp effects and almost always delay.

I can only think of one good example of hearing the actual sound of the acoustic instrument that I've recorded into the mic and it's in one of my greatest tracks:

Right Place, Wrong Century
http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/146210

Maybe it's just that the playing is really good but somehow the natural sound seems just fine in that.

I did buy another resonator when I was in New Orleans in 2013. It is a better sounding guitar but I find it awkward to play so don't like it much. But you can still hear it in a good few of my tracks.

Yes, mega chilled outro that I absolutely love. Should be a ten minute track just of that!

Sorry about those last two notes - they were an export error. At least it shows you listened that far!

Thanks again, FR.

Good to hear from you. First time in a long time.

Yes, as I've said - last 90s secs are my favourite section and should go on forever. I used some great fun cheating on that last section (because I'm a very average keys player). I run Cubase with Reason (have done since 2001) so Reason is responsible for 90% of my synth sounds.

One quite cool thing you can do in Reason, and it's the cheat I used here, is that you can just take any MIDI notes and then randomize them. But not totally random - it doesn't produce out of key/discordant notes, it just randomly moves the notes around based on the notes that are already there. Kind of swapping their positions and lengths. I used that a lot to add variety to those last 90 secs.

But, I'm confused (and have been a lot in my many in-depth replies to people's complaints/queries on this track/my working method) as you say you didn't like the violin chops. But they're the main feature of those last 90 secs! I don't know how you can like that section without liking the violins - the lead part.

"raging DnB piece with wobbles or something"

Sure, I could have done something like that but I'm trying hard to keep things under about 11 minutes these days. Y'know, just neat little pop singles ready for the radio and all that.

You can hear the synth bass doing wobbling at various points in the track, starting quite early on, actually.

Yes, I'm not really a dance guy but almost everything I do is based around deep grooves so I guess you can dance to it. I just don't make specifically dance-oriented music but am very influenced by it. Any music with a good groove, really. I like jazz, swing, funk, metal, blues, shuffle grooves etc and use all of them. Country trainbeat is cool too and so on...

This is probably my most obvious dance track on the site. One of my few pure electro ones. Not guitar, bass or banjo. Synths only.

P For Pneumatic

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/156638

Happy looping!