n0mad23

I love the sounds you use in this one! The drones floating up from your keys are rich, powerful, and quite unexpected (in a good way). It's the kind of track that you can dance to without breaking a sweat - something rather noble about that. Since you're asking for advice here, I'm wondering if you've thought about bringing a melody line in somewhere. Something out front and VERY different from the other sounds you've got going on? Again, something unexpected. Like a thumb piano (kalimba) electrified and run through distortion (that's what I was imagining while listening). Anyway, whatever you do with this, I think you've got a good, solid foundation! Cheers.

Listening to this after our little communique has really flavored my reaction. Strange how access to a back-story effects our interpretations, and I can really see how this came out reading cyberpunk. Especially since the neoHumanist in me sees creativity (genuine as opposed to wannabe) always being the subversive counter-toxin to societal dis-ease. Hi-Lo tech Musick - a kindred spirit to my own Space-Age aesthetic. Did you know you can take down an attack helicopter with a slingshot? This was used by the political opposition during the general strike in Cameroon a decade ago. Low tech usually wins the day. Mon ami, I LOVE this track! (6th play) What you're doing here with sonic movement, with frequency choices, with swelling...you're jacked in. This is brilliant because you've found the Spirit of the Thing. Another ShaubYaella favorite!

This is amazing! Your experiment in algorithm programming applied to tune structures is so groovy, it really makes me wonder about the implications. Could an upcoming genre of music be based entirely on orbital position calculations, or the algorithms behind genetic code? If so, I bet there's some beautiful and surprising melodies waiting to be found. The rhythms behind the melody here are great, and I think the glitch breaks work better than anywhere I've heard before. I do however have a pop/click sound consistently around 3:37, and I wonder if anyone else experiences this? Nasty artifact, but easily fixed. Had to fave this one!

[Feb `11 Edit]
This one still feels so seminal somehow. Like the emergence of sentience from levels of complexity within the digital flux fields. Outstanding and equally provocative.

I really like how the percussion shifts from sounding like analog instruments to electronic ones, and the way you use panning on them. You've got a really good sense of rhythm and an ear for timing those transitions at the right moments. I've got nothing to offer for improvement. I really enjoyed hearing this one! Cheers.

The weave between strings and percussion here is really nice. Really, really nice. Definitely a track that gets you bobbing your head to! I wonder about your title, though. It announces what it is, but I think it might have a better draw for an audience if it maybe suggested something that's not so obvious. For example, does the tune remind you of anything? I had images of driving on a gray and rainy day at speeds not entirely safe. See what I mean? Nice track!

I listened specifically to give you advice as requested. It's a hard task - you've got all the elements here that I love! The tuned percussion is amazing in conjunction with everything else going on, and your transition around the 2:00 min mark is AWESOME! Keep doing what you're doing!

I love delay and use it to some extent whenever possible. Stretching and manipulating time like that is amazing. In the context of a slow steady beat like this, the delay on the kicks really works well. I really love the rhythmic pads around 2:50 and the transition there. I also really like the drone qualities that float though out this. Nice track. Cheers.

Wicked bass coupled with wicked breaks. I dig the way you've used vocals in those breaks, too - it creates a call and response thing that really works here. What happens around and after 2:00 keeps it from being repetitive, imo - but theres a lot to be said for repetition, too! Nice one.

Good call putting this one back on Featured. Absolutely amazing, so thick but retaining razor sharp separation between the multiplicity of sounds. In arrangement and execution and spirit - a fave to be sure!

All tracks would be at home in the same collection. Each very different, but like from the same family. Nice job with that connection. I think my favorite is #1 as well - it's because of the wicked rhythm and how the vocal tracks weave together. It's almost hard to imagine they weren't done at the same time. I can't choose a second favorite, though #4 seems a little out of place. Maybe it's just the transition. I really hope we can hear these in their entirety. Cheers!

Very laid back and simple groove here, with the right sensibility behind it all. The bass line is fantastic. I could see taking this one in many directions, but it's really sweet in this form. For example, could you imagine what it would sound like with some sampled drums replacing some of the synth ones? Totally different dynamic that would work well, too. Nice one!

I had to check this one out simply because of the title. Bill Burroughs wrote a letter about this in `61 and said, "Be afraid. Be very afraid." I'm totally about percussion, and I'm digging this one - fabulous back beat! The stagger in this with that beautiful melody is too much! Your sense of timing in transitions really works, too. I'm not sure how well the title works as the patterns/fractals are more familiar to other substances, but otherwise more than works for me. Faved so I can pull it up easily again! Cheers.

Non-verbal audio story-telling. It's cool that you've done this with fx as interpretation is vast as there are listeners. Hip hop is really mostly outside my knowledge base (do know what I like though), but what really works for me in this one is the way you do transitions. Very subtle and distinct at the same time, especially as it retains a nice, steady beat. Really a beautiful track on several levels. Cheers.

You really understand dissonance! I can't help but wonder if it connects somehow to your studies in psychology. Dissonance and dis-ease are intricately connected. Pretty wicked how you weave it all around an excellent beat. Nice one.

Faved. Need I write anything more?

The title really works well (esp. with the vocal) and it's really a delightful blend of rhythm and the sounds expected from Trance. In other words, while staying firmly in the Trance genre it also seems to bend the rules in the process. Outstanding production, and I love the panning you do in that it moves but not so much as to be distracting. You're definitely an artist to keep ears/eyes on. Nice. I'll certainly be checking out your other tracks. Cheers.

3rd play...there seems to be an 'empty hand insurrection' going on, and it's quite inspiring! If this is satirical as I suspect, you do realize nearly nobody's going to get it. The 'ambient' or fx sounds you're using here are all from pop culture, aren't they? They ones that aren't (i.e. - your creations) are geared to invoke pop culture sounds. I hear little snippets that are US TV circa `73, `74, video game blip sounds, etc. Commodification of culture, the leveling of subversive elements, the successful commercialization (and normalization) of hip hop. And you're giving it back. The percs here and rhythms of your keys ground it authentically in the genre (and are really nice, too!). In a sense, it's more authentic than what people are buying. In terms of constructive criticism/revision suggestion I'm going to have to second Big Pete's request for vocals in the second half. I feel this would close the circle and give it more of a sense of completion. Outstanding draft, and I'm looking forward to hearing subsequent revisions.

Nice one. Funny how many of us from WA are represented on this site. Nice job with levels and separation with this one. The "cricket/night" sounds work really well with your percussion. Look forward to hearing more of your stuff. Cheers.

It does seem incomplete somehow. It's not quite minimal enough to stay there, and not full enough to be totally satisfying. A really great start, though! I love the effects you've weaved into the piano riffs and think this could be expanded. Have you considered trying Eshar's advice? I think a bit of percussive rhythm would really round this one out. Beautiful sounds you've got going.

Funny how a good piece of satire can twist certain knickers into atomic wedgy status. This is a happening piece! Love the intro and drums and how they genuinely turn the genre upside down. I really like how the lyrics here really go after the whole commodification/commercialization/corporatism of hip hop culture. If this is hip hop, I've got to adjust my bias again as I really dig this one!

It's amazing just how many hidden gems are to be found on this site! This is certainly one of them. There's a certain folk sensibility behind this that really delightful, and your guitar work and voice are spectacular. Any new releases in the works?

"Ninny" is one of my favorite words to use in an insult, so I had to have a listen. "Ninny Pants Dance" is a compelling title to be sure! I really like your sonic sensibility with this one, and the panning of the electronic sounds works really well. Really catchy rhythm. Good use of 'noize,' too. Knowing that this was to be a loop for a podcast kind of makes it hard to find suggestions for revision - hopefully it worked well in that capacity. Nice track. Cheers.

Really nice arrangement. The movement between the string sections are lovely, especially with the contrast that the percussion creates. Sure hope we see more tracks posted by you soon!

The build up through this piece is truly amazing, and there were moments I remembered owning Psychic TV's "Toward Thee Infinite Beat," but only moments as this one has a spirit of its own. This is the kind of "trance" I really like, but I think it's because you're not attached to the rules. You bend or break them to serve the music instead. Sweet track.

The Dj4Real! That's it, isn't it? Your approach here is that of the musician playing his/her instrument - just your's is the "deck," whatever form that takes. Really excellent arrangement and execution: the levels are right, the transitions right where they need to be without being totally predictable. Nice sonic choices!