StaticNomad

Thanks. I dig it too. An interesting blend of sounds is what I aim for with each and every track.

I feel I always have to get something slightly unusual in there so, with this one, it was an occasional touch of sitar during the guitar solo as well as the different strings in the first minute or so.

Yes, I like it this length but have some killer other stuff to get to that's already composed, just not yet finished.

The transition right where this track ends into the major bass riff is just great. I have seriously considered leaving this as this length but I cannot split up that great transition that no one has yet heard. I've only it for you lucky Loopermen, Looperladies and Looperhermaphrodites.

I would like to do some shorter stuff but I've never done a proper deep shuffle blues epic so this is it. And it needs to be long to get in all the ideas and the extensive guitar playing. Long form mega musical exploration is just what I do. It suits my far out style.

Yes, some nice melodic bass guitar in the background during the second half solo. First main bassline you hear (0:40) is actually guitar though my octave pedal - something I do a lot. Actually do it much more these days than playing my bass guitar (something I should change).

The rest will be uploaded over the top of this track.

Take care till then.

Thanks but I certainly can't say this is the best guitar solo ever. That would be one hell of a claim!

I'd have to really sit down, listen to a lot of music and think extremely hard to choose even my top 50 favourite guitar solos. There are just so many good ones, and of hugely differing lengths.

Three I would go for would be Jimi Hendrix's Hey Joe and All Along The Watchtower solos and various solos from Creedence Clearwater Revival's amazing 11 minute version of Heard It Through The Grapevine. I'm sure David Gilmour and Jeff Beck would also feature in there somewhere. And some heavy bands and also old rock 'n' roll solos.

But this one is definitely one of my best ever guitar solos and I'm not really a lead guitarist. More of a textural groover and riff merchant than a lead guy.

Glad you liked it.

Hi. It definitely is real. I would say 'real good' but then I'm a bit biased.

Wow - such dedication to listen to it for 2 hours on repeat! Even I would get bored of that. Didn't know you could listen to Looperman in your car. On your phone? And on headphones or hooked up to the speakers?

I've written a great deal already on this track and on other tracks in my replies so will just briefly say yes I am recording everything apart from the drums (and the few bits of synth) so there are no samples used here.

So: it's one electric guitar, one bass guitar and one electro-acoustic resonator guitar (for the slide bits) recorded through a Boss GT-5 guitar floor effects unit that I've had since 1998.

Drums are programmed using Superior Drummer (and various EZ Drummer Expansion packs ie different drum kits).

I pretty much use no samples in my work. I get more control over everything if I play or program it myself and feel better about myself and don't worry that someone else has used the same sample(s) better in their music.

The main exception is drum loops. I use quite a few of those though most of my drums these days are programmed acoustic kits. But I also have electro tracks that rely a lot on reprogrammed and manipulated drum loops.

I think that's a decent answer and more than I was planning to write when I started.

All the best to you.

Yes, I know what you mean about having to scroll down so far. People have said that before to me. Most of the words are mine.

While most people on the site don't seem to have a lot to say in track reviews or replies, I do. I almost use it as a way for me to write out some of my own ideas and reflections. On my own music and other people's.

I like the idea of your live band scene for this. Sounds like a crazy, heavy party. I'm thinking there might even need to be two full kit drummers. There are a few bands who do this, actually. The Melvins have sometimes appeared with two drummers (I'm not talking about an extra percussionist) when they teamed up with the band Big Business and the band Flica (quite interesting group, with good lead singer) have two drummers all the time.

I say two drummers because I use multiple kits on this track (as I do on most tracks) and sometimes two are playing at the same time. Actually, during the heaviest section towards the end (from around 5:30 onwards) there are two different kits playing all the time. Sometimes both are playing exactly the same thing. That's one way to get a heavier sound! See my reply to thehumps for a little more detail on the drums in this.

You'd need at least two guitarists for this live. Probably a third as well to cover the slide resonator guitar parts. And a bass guitarist and also a synth player as there are a few bits of synth in this too. Oh, and there's a lot of synth sub bass going on underneath the bass guitar. I guess I would probably be one of the live guitarists.

I didn't use any dancers to make this track but let's add them live, why not.

I would definitely go to see that show. Of course I would! Maybe I would get in for free.

Yes, I use lots of wide stereo effects in my music. Actually, I think I pretty much always try it out on guitar parts. Sometimes it doesn't help but it often really does. And I automate it to either add or reduce intensity or power. Or to create more space in the mix. You don't want everything always panned wide.

You see - this reply means it will take the next person who comments even longer to scroll to the comment box.

Good to hear from you.

Thanks. It's a complicated flow but it's suposed to be kind of crazy and energetic. A maelstrom of mad actitivity.

I don't think I've done a track without any delay and/or echoes. Wah I use less often but it can be really cool. I try not to overdo it.

I don't know what >=0) means but it's probably something good.

Yes, second half I have to build and make things even bigger and heavier. First two minutes are pretty damn intense but the heaviest section after around 6 mins is bigger (and maybe better).

Thanks for your thoughts.

Sorry for the late, late reply. Wanted to make it good.

Fixed tempo:

What I need is almost certainly Ableton Live. With Cubase (also running Reason simultaneously) I have the big problem of not having the audio as elastic audio where the sequencer can just change the tempo and everything remains in time. Ableton is the one if it really does function as I've been told but I can't really be bothered to switch though I should progress beyond this fixed tempo problem sometime. Could make my stuff sound just like a live band with all their tempo nuances.

My compositional method is based around needing to move any part anywhere in a piece. So, I can't have a 12 BPM tempo change, record guitar at that tempo and then realise I'd rather hear that part earlier in a track section which is playing 20 BPM slower. I basically just play instruments over a good looped section and then make more and more sections out of what I get. And that's why it's fixed tempo.

If I were going to have all these tempo changes, I'd have to plan them all out beforehand ie fully compose the structure and arrangement in advance. And that's not how I work (because I don't have that sort of organised imagination). I jam and see what I get and then do interesting things with those parts and add more and so on.

I know what you mean about putting terrible stuff online. I've never put anything awful up though I have put many things up that I've since hugely improved.

Probably only a couple of my tracks on Looperman to avoid (because I can make them much better and haven't worked on them in years).

No particular ones I need you to listen to though 28 Levels Above Top Secret is a pretty stunning journey through 9 squillion sounds and riffs.

And A Month Of Mondays has received very little attention.

Otherwise, check out whatever you like. I still think most of them don't sound much like anyone else. And I mean anyone at all, not just people uploading to this site. Not the best music ever made (whatever that is) but a unique body of work, I'd say. In my hugely biased opinion...

Thanks again for the interest.

Hello. Yes, I kind of also have a short attention span and do like to introduce new little parts on a constant basis. But I also like to have cool riffs and parts sit for a while so we get to hear them properly. And then I change other things around them to keep things interesting.

I have a great fear of making boring instrumental music that people say is OK but needs vocals. I believe I can do it all without a vocal and without loads of soloing (which can get pretty damn boring).

But this one is supposed to be a crazy, intense maelstrom of heavy madness and worship of the riff so no surprise that there are even more rapid changes than usual.

I'm good at spinning parts out and making more and more out of them through using effects, copying a synth part to a diffferent synth, changing the drum groove and so on.

Yes, drums are extremely powerful here. See my reply to thehumps for a little more detail. Not much skill from me in terms of the sound. It's really just about having good taste in how they fit with the other instruments and the variety in the playing. I probably spend as much time on my drums as my guitar playing.

Production is good though not quite faultless as there are some clipping clean leads, though I've done my best to hide them a bit. But I think I get away with it in this one as it's such an energetic and aggressive track.

All the best to you.

Hi. Thanks for checking this out.

There are indeed lots of twists and turns but that's standard for pretty much all my tracks, for a few reasons.

I, in general, like to provide variety but I'm also no proper composer. I jam things out on different instruments and then spend ages editing things together in very careful detail. I like heavy, gentle, fast, beautiful, funky, weird etc and, through my constant experimentation while putting together a track, start to see how the same riffs can sound good presented in a variety of ways.

If I find that a riff sounds good with a fast d'n'b beat underneath as well as with a mid tempo hip hop groove, I tend to want to include both (and a whole lot more). So I try to make each section distinct whilst also keeping a similar vibe going so that it doesn't sound too much like I've moved into a completely different track. So, everything has to flow fairly neatly into everything else.

There are also the twists and turns because of having to join all these different sections together. As I said, I don't compose them and plan them out in advance - they're just what come from lots of jamming and experimentation.

This track now has the most favourites of any of mine on this site though I'm not sure it's my best ever. That might be the one with the next most favourites, called Circular Motion. And it's only about 5.5 mins - very short for me.

I have tracks way longer than this one. Try 28 Levels Above Top Secret, which is over 14 mins, as it has even more variety and a lot more beauty. Still has some heavy and intense sections and I'd say it's a better track.

If you want to hear some more heavy stuff, go for Debt Black Hole, Lord Of Misrule or Zero Per Cent Proof.

So many more I could recommend (all of them?) but that will do for now.

Happy listening!

Hi. Thanks for the praise and interest in my music. Quite a few people on the site have asked about downloading my stuff or buying it or when I'm going to release an album and so on.

No, I 've never released anything but am working hard(ish) on changing that and have been assembling some 8-10 albums for the past couple of years. A couple are nearly ready to go except for proper mastering and artwork. Then I'll probably just release them for free on a site such as Bandcamp.

I just keep putting it off as I fiddle with mixes as I'm improving all the time and have made great leaps in the last couple of years after getting a much faster PC and great drum software (Superior Drummer). And I've got much better at using EQ and mixing in general. I'm glad I didn't release anything a few years ago as I've improved all of it.

"it just constantly evolved itself to cover so many different genres whilst still maintaining a certain feel and style"

You make a good point. There are a number of things I do to achieve this. First, all my tracks are fixed sequencer tempo. I could spend a while talking about the drawbacks and that I would like to have more tempo variations but would probably need a sequencer such as Ableton Live to make that happen. Anyway, it can also be a real benefit as it means that any audio material can be shifted to anywhere else and will remain in time.

Despite the fixed tempo, I do a lot of either double or half time drum stuff in my tracks. So, hip hop gets double timed into d'n'b or swing jazz or whatever.

I work very closely with every instrument and make changes and try to spin as much as I can out of each part. I change one or two elements in the track while keeping others the same as this helps ease one section into the next. The main bassline in this starts off being presented as hip hop, with jazzy acoustic drumming adding the jazz feel and then d'n'b drums (double time funk drumming) playing over that same hip hop bassline (which is now played on a classic house bass synth sound).

The second (fast) metal section features the same sax playing as before but put through different delays to make it more frenetic to fit the uptempo heavy vibe. I just keep recycling elements throughout the track as I try out applying different effects to them.

Not sure if that explanation helped or made much sense but these things take a lot of words to describe. And there's a 3,000 character limit so I can't do it all here and now.

Thanks again for the interest.

Glad you liked it. It's my heaviest track ever though I'm sure I'll do something heavier in the future.

This currently has 13 favourites - the most for any of my tracks, along with Circular Motion (the one that I describe in my track description as maybe my best ever track).

This is almost my favourite ever title. See my very first reply to hear how I came up with such a title. In terms of words and linguistics, it's a very interesting arrangement of letters and thoughts.

Ah yes 4:24 it gets a bit more psychedelic. That's not my favourite section but I of course like them all. I'm sure you liked the walking bass guitar at 4:43.

My favourite section is probably 5:29-7:17. I see that all as one thing as I keep building it. Best bit 5:50 when that new heavy riffage enters.

7:48 to the end definitely needs some more work as it feels a bit rushed as I bring a new heavy guitar riff in. I can make it more fun and interesting so will go back and do that. But I'm working on some deep shuffle blues tracks right now so only feel like working on them for the time being.

I was really looking forward to finishing this track as I've been working on it for a long time, with big breaks inbetween, trying to decide what to do next, so I'm pleased to have almost finished it.

I know some people like to work quickly but I like to take ages and really get all the pleasure I can out of a track. And the exploration and experimentation is all the learning that I do. And I make many, many tracks out of one project.

I was stuck on one project a couple of months but then went and made two full, finished new tracks out of other sections sitting on the timeline. Now I'm returning to the problem section from before and I think know some of what I have to do.

Good to hear from you.

Thanks. I have tracks that are much longer that incorporate more genres. But I wanted this to be a slightly more straightforward heavy assault that didn't turn into jazz or chillout or whatever else. It's still damn complicated and fairly lengthy compared with most music.

Serious number of riffs and basslines and drum changes here that were all great fun to make.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sure I made it all. Almost every track I upload is 100% played and/or programmed by me. Of course, that doesn't include the few drum loops I use here and there (just one short hip hop one in this - you probably won't notice it).

All the guitar playing you hear in my stuff is played just by me though I do shitloads of editing of the best bits and layering to make myself sound a lot better than I really am.

I find it quite an addictive track. When I press play I want to listen to it right to the end.

Thanks for listening.

Yeah, it's got some mad heavy shit in it just for you. Not as heavy as some of your playing but more layered and weird riffs and fat double kick drums and stuff. And slide resonator guitar too.

This is the kind of heavy drum track you need to go with your guitar playing!

Hi again.

I'm sure you must have chosen to play this track because of the title. It's a title that really fits a lot of the music you make. But I'm not sure it fits this track so well.

Anyway, 2:43 lead synth is a fun and very psychedelic sound. I need to use it in more tracks!

I updated this track last year. It used to be only about 3-4 minutes.

4:43 we hear the return of the sound that you really liked on 2:43. And also the didgeridoo comes back.

Most of my music features played and recorded instruments (guitar, bass and banjo) but I also do what I call 'pure electronica'. This is a pure electronica track.

It's much easier for me to play lots of guitar as that way I can express myself the best. I'm not a good keyboard player so much more work for me to make a track only with synths. Most of the synths here are carefully programmed, not played.

Thanks for checking it out.

I will try to do more pure electronica. I have another track that is an extension of this one but I haven't finished it yet.

Here are some other pure electronica tracks a little bit like this one (but also very different):

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/147824
http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/151693
http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/104626

Well you did say a while ago that you like the heavier stuff I do and I don't get much heavier than this! So, I dedicate this (currently) to you and your intrigued wife. Sounds like it took her a couple of minutes to get into it (based on your time references).

I'd love to do some electronic cybergrind type of stuff. Check this to hear the greatest band in that genre. Absolutely mental!

Genghis Tron - Board up The House

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2DPKKrsJ_o

How to review this? Well you could just say that there are big, layered riffs and then more riffs and on and on right till the end.

Migrating geese is rather a cool and accurate way to describe that very first slide note.

Intro is in your face, the rest is in your ass. Plus melting one's visage at times.

1:13 synth - one of the few synth parts in this (apart from all the mega sub basses).

1:41 best drum fill of all.

2:13 Cubase morphing filter plugin sweep.

3:18-3:50 feels like a key change. Not sure if it is. I don't need to know as long as I can play along with it!

4:00 chopped up bits of eastern guitar plus dbBlue scratches.

4:45 is me hammering away on the bass guitar doing some walking jazz type of basslines. Guitar in the background as it was recorded with clipping so had to hide it a bit. I started out as a bass player and it was mostly what I did ages 13-16.

Yes, there is far too much describe in this track. That's my constant idea of making something that's well worth listening to again and again, hopefully for many years.

6:33 big phaser stuck on the guitar. An effect I rarely use but worked there.

6:44 psychedelic arp synth I thought would interest you.

7:05 we go into full-on blastbeat territory.

7:16 comedown took ages to get right and fiddled about with so many options. Probably should have ended it there but had more shit to get in (hey, the track's only 8.5 mins).

7:48 guitar to end just doesn't work as it should. Need to fix that. Recorded and mixed it n the final day whern I thought I was finishing up the whole mix (did that too) so a real afterthought. Feels too brief.

Could have gone on so much longer with this one but thought I'd keep it short and sweet for radio play and, surely, my first US No 1. Just need that video with some hot bitches in it and it's a dead cert, no?

You reviewed (and liked) the track this used to be part of called Zero Per Cent Proof. That's the psychedelic blue grungehop one with some mad delta blues in it. No blues here though there are lots of bits of slide.

You get 8 virtual biscuits for your review (and not just because you liked it):

()()()()()()()()

P.S. I didn't know what Poutines and Crueller were but, thanks to Google, I now kind of do. I thought they were going to be alcohol!

Yo. I'm a big fan of Stewart Copeland, but mostly for his playing in The Police (great band). I'm aware of his TV and film and other work but haven't heard much of it.

I'm surprised by the comparison as I didn't think he played this loud or with as much double kick. Or with blastbeats.

Killer drumming in this is mostly thanks to Superior Drummer and the excellent kits and great performance MIDI files. My skill is in arranging those drum parts and layering them and choosing kits and when playing moves from one to the next to provide the drum variety I like to have in most, if not all, of my tracks.

I'm a good and slightly unusual guitarist but only add the 'freekin' good' through careful editing together of the best takes in my loop recording guitar jam sessions.

See my reply to Extraball for more details on my guitar cheating. Not as good a player as I sound on record!

"goes good so close to earth day and all"

That's odd. Not sure what this might have to do with that environmental protection celebration day. But cool if it trips you out. Maybe 'psychedelic grunge' is the best simple genre name for this.

Yes, slide resonator guitar is kind of my speciality and it features a lot on my many tracks. I'll play it over metal, blues, electro, funk, whatever. Lots of shorter touches of it here to provide unusual variety (clean guitar sounds over heavy ones is odd) but no proper solo. There isn't a proper solo in this - it's just riff, riff and strange textures all the way.

Lots of slide in my track Debt Black Hole, which is a favourite of yours.

My greatest chillout blues slide resonator track:

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/103943

Slide jazz. The main bassline is slide resonator and there are other slide bits at various points.

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/152913

Electro slide blues.

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/147997

Cutup slide blues drone grunge weirdness.

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/148414

Psychedelic slide dub blues.

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/153422

Thanks for the feedback!

Hi. Life is pretty good and mostly musical.

God, I haven't listened to Talvin Singh in years. No idea what he's up to. Might go off and check so thanks for reminding me.

I think the following track (One, from the Ha album) is the best track he's ever done. The drum programming (and its progression) is incredible, as is every single other element.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMZUGZeuJWE

Never been compared to him before but I'll take that and I think I get what you mean. I do have various eastern elements in my music but not as many as him (hey, I'm just a white English guy).

Yeah, my tracks aren't easy to follow but I do try to make them enjoyable. People probably need to download/own them and then listen a good few times to get used to all the changes and complexity. I honestly do forget some of the sections that are in my tracks and have to listen back to be reminded of them.

I try to keep things very, very interesting and I quite possibly cram too much into what I do. I'd probably put less in if I had some vocals.

Yeah, this track kind of makes you sit up and take notice. Didn't know you liked anything this heavy but I can hardly guess the limits of your tastes, can I?

5:30 on I had to take it massive and heavy, as per the title. Those sections after 5:55 are the heaviest but the most intense may well be those starting on 1:31.

As regards more of this sort of thing: this track used to be 17 min track, then I split it in two. The other half is here and contains grunge, blues, rock and hip hop, all as a psychedelic long form, eastern journey:

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/149490

I hope that satisfies your lust for more...

Thanks. There are lots of other bits of wah but the one you have chosen may well be the best.

Hey, that's OK. I make stuff that can be hard to dissect. But it's supposed to just be enjoyable rather than some sort of technical exercise in all the effects I can manage to use and things I layer and changes in beats and groove and stuff.

I've never wanted to make boring, instrumental, technical stuff and that's why I don't really listen to much of that guitar hero, really technical type of music (eg lots of prog rock).

I think it's still melodic and fun(ky) but some people will disagree (and already have).

If it's not interesting throughout then I've failed so I try to only include things that deserve to be there. Otherwise it's got to go and I often have sections that I just can't quite manage to fit in.

They generally get recycled and turned into other tracks but sometimes they just sit on my timeline for years until I can find a way to use them. Which might even be never!

Thanks for stopping by...

Yo. Good to hear from you. It is pretty wild stuff.

I'm slightly surprised you think it's lacking in melody though I can't really make arguments through writing words to convince you there is a fair bit. If that's what you hear, so be it. I was also surprised another friend found this a "bit too light" in terms of the sound as I think it's pretty damn intense and heavy. I guess I just have to have my own confidence that stuff is good though I reflect deeply on any and all criticism or suggestions. That's mainly why I use this site

Almost all my stuff is sort of technically a jam. Well, it's more many, many jams carefully sculpted to form something that might be considered a "proper" piece of music (whatever that is). It's always hard with instrumental music unless you're doing a very specific theme with a big obvious tune. I just try to come up with cool parts and grooves and then weave them together into a pleasing structure.

I thought you'd like the sub basses in this, which feature quite a bit and often sit underneath the bass guitar.

3:50 is good for heavy sub bass and the wah is fun. Yes, that section could and maybe should be much longer. The problem is that I came up with it only to join two other sections together. And I didn't want to make this track 15 mins long, which I could very easily do. It was 17 mins until I split it last year and turned the other sections into their own 12 min track.

Anyway - good you got something out of it. There's a lot of variety between my many tracks (also within them) so it's inevitable that people who like some won't much like others. And many people wouldn't like a single one. It's hardly catchy pop music so always destined to be niche stuff.

It might well be a lot less niche if I had one or more songwriting singers to work with but I don't (I have had in the past but they all quit). So I just have to do what I can on the few instruments I play.

Take care...

Hi. I haven't listened to Nuno Bettencourt in years. No idea what he's been doing since the 90s. He's a wonderful player and I assure you I am nowhere near as good as that sort of guitar hero type of player.

I cheat a hell of a lot with all the close editing of my playing. I could be a lot better if I practised more and was in a regular band. But I can't be bothered to sit there and practise really hard when I just wan to get on and make the track. And I've got all the bass, drums, synths etc to do.

I take the best bits of my playing and carefully join them together. I don't know if I could play so fluently live and I'm fairly sure there are riffs in my stuff that I could never play. If you picture me playing all this in one go, I will sound a lot better than I really am. I can't even remember how to play half of this stuff, let alone string it all accurately together.

2:04 riff is a bit of a rougher sound than the previous stuff. I try to get the sounds similar but also a bit different to provide variety. Don't want it to be like all those boring instrumental guitar widdler fretboard wanker guys. Much better players than me but they tend to make really boring music.

2:29-2:31 little fill is one of my favourite bits of guitar in this though I kind of love them all.

Yes, 6 mins guitar stuff and energy is great. I actually have two metal drumkits layered there, both playing exactly the same thing.

I don't think of this as being a track where I blend that many genres. Not compared with many of my others. But I guess it still is, especially as there are hints of d'n'b and hip hop. There's even some tabla!

2:46 d'n'b ride madness gives a real lift to similar backing as in the previous section.

I actually have quite poor track writing ability. I'm just good at jamming and working very carefully with the material and eventually finding ways to join sections together. As I sort of don't know what I'm doing, it tends to come out sounding strange and unlike perhaps anyone else.

Good to hear from you with your interesting thoughts and high praise.

Yo. Yes, I don't like to adulterate an ass when it's bad. Got to keep it pure.

More seriously, you could say I've adulterated it in one sense because I have quite a lot of clean, undistorted guitar parts that are sometimes on top of the more evil, distorted ones. Not many heavy (eg metal) bands would do that so I think it gives it an off feel and strange texture here.

And that's why the mix goes up and down - because of the more chilled out elements that I like to sometimes present in a more chilled out way. Id di want to make this get bigger, fatter and better and I think I managed that around 6 mins with the heaviest riffs I brought in. And I've got two metal drum kits both banging away playing identical parts. And a mix of basslines (bass guitar and synth sub bass) so a thick layering of badassery.

Yes, you did hear some clipping in the first guitar part. I played a clean sound but had it up too loud so it clips and gives it a hard edged sound. It's worst at 4:43 for that whole section, which is why I put the rumbling, walking bass guitar part in the forefront.

Should probably have replayed that clipped guitar part but the playing was great and I couldn't remember how to play it.

It wasn't easy to take the sections down but also keep up the intensity. Having so many layers makes it a bit more intense and the breaks work well to give the listener a bit of a rest. Could have made this one so much longer (it used to be a 17 min track) but I showed a lot of restraint there.

Might go back and lengthen some bits as there are still some problems in this that need fixing especially the last 30 secs, which just don't work as well as they should.

Good to hear from you, as I seem to do every few months.

Yo. This may be me at my heavy finest and it is my heaviest track so would appeal to people, like yourself, who like a bit of a musical face slapping. I wonder if that means metallers are masochists?

Was thinking of you when making this which might seem odd as we've never met and probably never will but I do know your music well so I think that counts for a lot. I was sure you'd like it and there's also quite a bit of bass guitar here (there's little or none in many of my tracks).

A real life friend said "its still a little too light, for me" which surprised me as I think some of it (eg 6 mins on) is pretty damn heavy. He doesn't only listen to extreme metal so I don't get that!

This Mean Motor Scooter is a potential track title though this track is more of a Harley or perhaps Batman's bike in the recent films. The one with the ridiculously wide tyres. That's the kick drums in this track!

You need to get better drum software and play around with combining multiple kits and multiple types of drumming. I have many layers on the timeline of awesome MIDI files and fills and spend ages combining and tweaking them. I take most riffs and audition beats covering many, many styles (in real time using Superior, so much fun) and then use the ones that work to drive changes. Different grooves make me play instruments in a different way.

2:25-2:46 I have tabla underneath the snare hits. Listen and you'll hear the subtle difference it makes. Would like to get more tabla in this track, especially as there's not much tabla metal about.

I cheat big time using all this awesome drum software. But, I think a creative musician such as myself deserves a kickass drummer. I don't have one (or the facility for recording a real kit, multiple mics, room etc etc) so software cheating is fine.

Yes, one of my greatest ever titles. See my first track reply to learn how I came up with it.

Finally, here's a new treat for you. The most guitarey bass sound you've ever heard (must be using an octave pedal to blend the signals).

Royal Blood - Little Monster - Later... with Jools Holland - BBC Two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHBJpCjq50E

Thanks. I did have a lot of fun with this though it was sometimes quite difficult to make.

It used to be a 17 min track also featuring a lot of hip hop and blues but I took out some of the heaviest parts and turned them into this track. The other parts I also finished. That contains grunge, blues, rock and hip hop, all as a psychedelic long form, eastern journey:

http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/149490

There's not a lot of synth work in this track except for the big synth basses. But there is an arpeggiated synth in the heaviest section at 6:44. And a different synth at 1:10.

There are guitar effects that perhaps sound a bit like synths eg at 2:13 and 2:24. That's just a filter sweep effect on the guitar part.

I needed to have the breaks in this so that I could build back up to heavier sections. And I like to take things down and make them more chilled out and funky.

And I also don't compose my tracks in an intelligent or logical way - I just make different sections and then have to work out how to join them together to make it sound like a natural progression that I always intended.

Good to hear from you. I'd like to do another track a little bit like this but also featuring some of the ancient tribal, mystical sounds you make. That really would be powerful!