srbrown7

That is fabulous...someone who likes guitar music just a bit, this is a 'must' piece...super tones, super play, moody chill with elegance...

12/10 :-) to bid Ed...:-)

Danke

oh yeah...this one is a real pleasure on the ears Steve..definite 11 out on 10 in my book and a fav...and thanks for the DL...it will be on my MP3 player....standing ovation from this ol boy...Ed

Nice one! Is really good to listen at night in the bed, right before falling to sleep.

Wow...brilliant guitar fest!...also beautiful piano part in the middle!

Thumbs up___Orlando

Hello yet again.

"3 step chord progression overlapping a 4 bar structure" sounds about right for that intro though it's not too much of a problem.

I listened back (of course) and still think the drums are too loud and maybe also have too much reverb on them.

But this is always about tastes and preferences so go with what feels best to you.

One suggestion is that when you make an update, you should put this in the track description eg UPDATE 11/02/2014 - Fixed the drum volume, added some Tuvan throat singing

That way I, or others, know to listen again. I like to follow people's improvements. Feedback and improvements are what I feel the site should be all about.

When touring with the hot ladies and Dave Grohl as guitar tech, I may well need a roadie or 10. Some will have to carry me out on stage and others might have to dig me out from underneath all the hot naked female bodies I'm buried under (that's sort of in the film Rock Of Ages with Tom Cruise as the gross rock star).

Are you looking for that sort of a roadie/personal assistant job or would you rather just shift amps and flight cases?

All your tracks that I have listened to seem to have some kind of smooooth vibe to them that makes for great listening Steve...some music (even the stuff we like) can get tiring to the ears after a while but to my mind this is the kind of music that a person could spend a lot of time with....nice variations in the beat & instrumentation..That break around 3:45 is great...Its sounding really good up here a few K North of you (where you can put a minus sigh in front of your temperature & it will be pretty close to ours)....stay cool mate....Ed

So, my reply and a little more detail.

Regarding other sounds, you should buy/acquire some other packs of sampled acoustic instruments as VSTs or whatever (most of mine are in Reason format).

I use lots of these - from sitars to banjos to dulcimers. I have my actual acoustic instruments too but my sample-based sounds are a bit different. I try to make the synth stuff a lot more acoustic-sounding though they then get mangled up through various effects so also then become more electronic - a blend I like.

Yes, vocalists do force things in different directions. I have a jazz/funk track on this site in which the female vocalist inspired me to do jazzy/funky stuff that is a bit different for me. Warning: track is old, needs a lot of updating but is still enjoyable:

https://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/103945

I'd like to work with other vocalists but managing to do that is a difficult thing for me and I don't try very hard to make it happen anymore after various big let-downs.

Your track:

There's something off (slightly awkward) about the timing before the drums enter. Then it all sits fine after that.

Drums are a little bright, maybe too loud. Perhaps also too much reverb.

I feel they're dominating/interfering with your melodies.

This track would work fine without any drums or perhaps just very minimal/sparse ones.

3:27 awesome sound there to take us to the cloud bridge.

The clouds do, indeed, part. They have to in order to let you have a breakdown and a return to your main theme.

This is more good stuff but I feel I'd hear the melodies better if you made the drums less prominent (reverb/volume/hi EQ down).

So I was wrong and there are production "faults" that weren't so obvious to me on first listening.

I'd be interested to hear an improved version but keep it as it is if you entirely disagree.

All the best and respect as always. I appreciate your hobby "excuses" but only try to suggest improvements, which you are free to reject.

Lightweight, carefree and a timeless good song. Awesome work!

You're really very consistent with the tracks you regularly upload here. Not sure if you make one a week or if these have been brewing for a while. In my case, I've been working on quite a few for many years.

You could definitely have a decent upbeat chillout album that people would buy and listen to. Not ncessarily any hit singles but you could also do that if you had the vocalists.

I'll do a more specific review of this later but for now will say it's your typical stuff in which I can barely find any reason to criticise or complain about the production. Pretty much flawless.

This one doesn't seem to have such an obvious theme or melody though maybe I'll hear it more when I listen again.

One minor criticism of your stuff is that perhaps you tend to play it a bit safe with your sounds. Actually, this isn't even a criticism but more an expression of my tastes and what I would prefer to hear. So, the sounds are all very clean but I would prefer a bit more dirt and a bit more weirdness and character. I'd like to hear a more unusual and distinctive collection of instruments and sounds as I think that would make your stuff more recognisable and distinctive.

Predictably good work...

Hello my Friend ....

Yes! perfectly tamed .... as usual you allow us this escape that reminds a little heat haze your continent ....
Very pleasant to listen to, and allows me to travel outside the perpetual storms we have here on the old continent.

I hope everything goes well for you. Thank you for sharing.

Dan

Brilliant work, chill out with energy, great sax, builds with some real 70's vibes running through ( and I mean that with respect) I could almost have been back at the turntables!! I LOVED IT.
All the best,
Mark/Larry!

Well Steve I liked your planned chord progression , skletton & musical form of it & musical texture of this carpeT with Aerophonic instruments specially according to this Scale .
beyond obvious notable poinT of your mix & mastering,always personage role of Bass is a pleasurable traiT of your musiX .particulary I think it sound stylish & well as it is & doesn't need anything buT maybe & just maybe Ed & his cristalized notes & self style guitar playing .in facT althoughT details are so determinative & affective abouT Guitar line , buT what is fair to be expected from a machin guitar was done in iT . also a vocalisT too can have a good fun with iT,I think . dear Mr Brown,unseen friend of mine behind that monitor, it's always a pleasure to play push button beside your nice musiX.thnx for sharing Steve & all the bests.___Behnam

I`m just listening on my pc speakers tonight Steve..but that sax sounds good to me...I`ve often gone looking for decent horn sounds for Chicago style blues etc and come up a bit empty as I`m a pretty poor keyboard player...Quite a big mix this one..but clear as a bell...smooth listening, yet has that power drive from the drums & bass that let you feel it....This kind of music I could just sit at the back table witha cool brew and listen to for the night...your compositional & playing talents are obvious...I`ll join Bear & danke in the ovation....Ed

Bravo.....just had to hit the play button when I seen you used a 6-8 (waltz style) beat...haven`t heard it used in popular music for ages...believe it or not I just recently went looking for (and found a copy of) an old song by the first incarnation of the Moody Blues (You Better Go Now) that grabbed me by the mind and ears long after I discovered the bands 2nd incarnation (they used a waltz eat very prominently in it)....anyway...beautiful rich intro and great job on letting it just build and evolve...this is thoughtful composing and really great listening Steve....just a great track..should be on a soundtrack....Ed

For my a cool made mix of pop, chill out and a little bit house. In other words: Made cool - love it!

Very Nice - Not sure I would call this chill out - lots of energy in this one. Great transitions - especially at 3:38.

WOW is all I can say Steve this is just amazing work what a talent :)

Steve

Hey, you've got some sort of creature jumping into the track eg at 0:18.

More of your usual good work and some cool bass, especially the fill at the end of the bar at 1:00.

1:19 lead, slow rising synth is cool.

Have you got a bit of Sugar Bytes Guitarist in here?

Sax sounds pretty decent. How did you do that? Is it sample-based?

4:19 extra bit of delay on that synth is very effective there.

Not so keen on the fadeout ending but it's OK.

This is pretty decent, spacious you can dance to. It's not my favourite track of yours (think that was the last one you uploaded that was more banging and powerful)but I still like it. Not every track can be my favourite but yours are almost always good or better.

To put it simply...another masterpiece!

Respect___Orlando

Hey Steve, great track (I know I hate it when people say that...but it really is a great track, haha). Like Danke said, the bass line is really special, but I've got a soft spot for great pads and this one has some of the best sounding pads I've heard in a while. Mix is spot on and the master is stellar.

I think I'll join Danke in rising and applauding this one. Fantastic job. I hope all is well.

Bear

Hahh Mr.Brown...

Favd this fabulous song...not just for the sax use but what about that amazing bass line...incredible...as usual pro mix...as usual standing ovation...

Best, Danke

Bravo maestro!!

Orlando

Hello ....

Even here, legs itch me .... This is really good, and as I've already written on another page .... "which leads us to slam fingers, and in a frenzy of dance.
Congratulations! very very interesting orchestration. You are a master" ....

and I would add: "in your genre" .... don't change anything.

Dan

This is very nice. Great construction and lovely synth work and I think the echo timings are pretty tight. The filter cut offs are smoothly opened and closed and blend beautifully.

I like that every idea comes and goes about the right speed, with hardly any flat spots where nothing new happens, which holds the attention throughout. Solos are top notch.

Not sure about that skip at 6.35, others might disagree :)

It's a good mix of genre as others have said...I get that totally, and it reminds me a little of Steve Hillage's greatest ever piece called Cyberboogie, for a long forgotten computer game, but is just fantastic...

http://youtu.be/ZAUCJmMUKec

Well done anyway! Really enjoyable listen.

Maff

Well, I didn't plan to write so much. But, once I got started, I kept finding so many things I needed to mention and praise. Gotta let you know I noticed them. You've probably noticed by now that I write as much as or more than pretty much anyone on this site.

Check out all of Underworld's stuff. Their most popular are their first two albums from the 90s but my favourite is the bizarrely titled Beaucoup Fish. It contain tracks like the aforementioned Jumbo and outrageously good, groovy dance classics like this absolute monster:

Underworld - Shudder / King of Snake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi9buHnx9rU

So, I of course listened again. 4:26 is that funky, filtered guitar? I'm not sure but if it's just synth, it's very guitar-like and clipped and funky.

That other lead, chilled guitar seems to sound better this time though perhaps doesn't fully develop into something more powerful.

Sorry, but I still don't think you've got the stutter edit right. It's awkward and out of time, needs to last a couple of beats more or not stutter at all, just go into the slowdown effect at the end. Gotta be careful to get stutter edits right.

Check out the killer hip hop stutter edit stuff from another 90s classic electronic act, the Chemical Brothers. This is done brilliantly and I've seen it screw people up trying to dance live at Glastonbury (I was there watching this in 1997).

The Chemical Brothers - 04 - Piku

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ZoVCuQcD8