StaticNomad

Well, something a bit different from your normal busy, ancient tribal cinematic stuff.

This is also cinematic but with a gentle, calm, relaxing mood to it. No big tribal drums or strings!

Vocals are very good. They sound amazing 1:18-1:33. Those high notes sound very hard to do.

Pleasant sound design and the delayed main synth bounces around well over an icy, calm background.

My problem with the track for listening to for pleasure at home is that it doesn't really go anywhere, doesn't really build to anything more. It just sits - like a painting.

That's why it might be best used in a film to drive the emotions of the viewer. This is why I don't sit around at home listening to pure ambient music - I need the music to be busier and more exiting.

Overall, well done!

Here is my favourite ambient album ever:

Global Communication - 76:14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9kcXbQ1QW4

and my second favourite (but it's got more beats in it):

Funki Porcini - Weow (from the Fast Asleep album)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujMw857S8dE&list=PLkUGE6pVID-KDTBBqR3k8KIwhBaMbJPv_

So, I have returned - with a little more detail.

You mentioned to me recently a 100BPM track so I guess this is it.

When the fat beat kicks in, it sounds like you're using some sort of dubstep kit. But not playing dubstep/brostep style - which I mostly do not like.

1:25 pause and high screech is cool. Then some megabass. It's now much dubsteppier but a good, throbbing rather than just all over the place craziness.

And at 2:05 you have your interesting melody and atmosphere that returns as well as your funky little bass so it's really quite musical.

2:43 drowsy lead

2:52 changes in note/chord that is a good bit of movement rather than dubstep wobbling about on one note.

Gotta bring that beat back in so you do. My only real complaint regarding the last section is that it doesn't really add much to the track. It's just a repeat of a previous section though it is good so that's OK. Just would have preferred some new element or new presentation of previous elements.
Overall excellent Great work.

Finally, here's my favourite musical performer and insane musical comedy genius giving you a bit of vocal-made d'n'b and dubstep. He's got way better stuff than this, including killer whole shows but I know you're gonna like this one.

Beardyman - "Drum & Bass vs Dubstep" a Do512 Lounge Session
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4mmjT4P6rw

Hi man. Cool, teetering-on-a-precipice intro and then an unexpected bassline.

I really like this, especially the groove, and am surprised by the blend of sounds so am making it a favourite.

Much more detail from me tomorrow (not enough time right now) so a very short comment from me here.

Until then, well done!

Well this is something different for you. I am not a father missing a son but I thought I'd check it out anyway.

0:15 that high flutey reverbed hit is too loud, jumps out too much. Same on other occasions though I like it.

First cool thing is 0:33 with a few layered cool sounds. Maybe pan pipes in there? You repeat later and it's a good little section.

Movement of the piano is good and this is quite emotive stuff and a bit like a theme tune to some film or other.

1:36 low end is cool. Adding that sort of sound is unusual for something sort of orchestral and gives this an extra, modern electro sort of stamp.

2:12 screechy weirdness and crunch later is also strange.

2:34 piano roll is nice and surely the kind of smooth playing I couldn't do (and maybe couldn't program).

To improve, bring down some of your loudest and sharpest sounds. Otherwise, it's a good emotive piece though I prefer your groove-based tracks.

With me, groove is in the heart.

Just in case you didn't get that reference, you now will (and you'll love it):

Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart (Video Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etviGf1uWlg

No problem - I enjoyed listening to it and would like to make more d'n'b. I'm not really sure why I don't. I seem to just be more comfortable working at mid tempo (80-110 BPM) rather than faster stuff ie 160-180 BPM.

I tend to do fast stuff just for certain sections of a track rather than have the whole track fast. I think I get a bit confused at high tempos and am much better at introducing good and varied grooves to my playing and more soul and funk when things are quite a bit slower.

I do particularly like your kettle drums, or whatever they were. Ah yes - timpani patches.

Yes, definitely check out The Prodigy's Their Law. As you don't know it, I'm guessing you maybe don't know that classic 90s electronic crossover group. They haven't really made much/any good music since then but I really recommend their Fat Of The Land album as a bit of a classic (though Their Law isn't on it). But they're still pretty big on the festival circuit due to their excellent back catalogue - music guaranteed to get a crowd moving!

And you did check out my track and liked it so that's good, for two reasons.

All the best to you...

Hi. Very good for a second track.

Everything sits well and in time, key etc etc.

Drums are decent though they seem quite in the background and I'd turn them up a fair bit. Groove still works even with those low key drums.

Bongo type percussion is good when it comes in and an interesting change.

Bass is classic dub and I can't rally fault it.

Vocal samples work well. Brass is the main melodic element and one I like.

Decent enough length though not sure what else to suggest except a better, more conclusive ending.

Congratulations...

I like the fadein, where things are indistinct and then become a lot clearer.

Maybe have some sort of pad sound on top of that? Or some other lead so that the d'n'b fades in underneath.

Simple main keyboard line that works just fine and the drums sit well. Tiny bit of something like guiro there panned to the right.

Build and break just before 1:01 is a nice subtle touch and the track takes off a little bit more after that.

Good delayed piano (?) right at the end. Use more of that during the full track and let the delayed note spill out over the beat.

It's hard to know how to suggest you take this further.

But you could change to a different, maybe bigger bass later and move the drums more to the ride/crash. Those are just obvious things so not much real help there.

Good luck with it as it all sounds well produced so no criticism there.

You really do make some very particular, huge powerful ,mystical ancient music. Are you a fan of Dead Can Dance? You have something in common with me.

Groove here is awesome and so are those ancient chants. Makes me think a little of the Thuggee cult music in Indiana Jones & The Tempe of Doom (by John Williams).

Strings are melodic and powerful. Is that cello and violin together? Actually, it sounds like something else so I'm probably wrong about cell and violin.

Percussion changes on 1:05. The breathing noises and other short, sharp effects are very cinematic and moving.

Well done with this very professional cinematic track.

Hi. This isn't the sort of music I listen to but must say it's well done.

I guess it reminds me a bit of Tori Amos and also a little bit of Joan As Policewoman, though her stuff is a lot more haunting.

Piano sounds great so there's not much to say about that and nothing for me to really analyse or suggest in terms of improvements.

Well done!

Hi. I don't know the original so it's a little bit hard to know quite what you're doing on this one. Probably just putting it through your trademark nomad swirling maelstrom dub filters.

As you said - you're not playing anything on this.

"Raggamuffin Livity through the rekindling of jahknow's Dub Guild."

I don't know what that means. You're splicing together two tracks?

Anyway - I liked it more on the second listen. Has it been speeded up from the original?

Maybe not - maybe just faster swirling drums added to make it more frenetic.

I guess it kind of feels like it should have some vocals somewhere but it would be pretty cool out live at a club. Or as a bit of soundtrack music as it's got some good energy and I could see a busy doing stuff/running montage set to this.

It probably lack for variety for my tastes and the final section after the last breakdown isn't much different from preceding sections.

But it's still good stuff so well done on your cavernous dub remix. I guess I should look up the original!

Hi. This is some fairly strange but also commercial-sounding stuff with some distinctive, weird bass. How did you make that bass part? You can really hear the strings. Are you playing it?

They're really not my sort of vocals but I understand lots of people like them.

One criticism is that the track doesn't really go anywhere in the second half. It's mostly just a repetition of what we've already heard. Adding in some other parts and/or changing the drums would probably help. Maybe try adding some busy wide hats to really give it a lift and make that groove really swing.

And I guess they're vocal samples and that's why they're mostly just repeated from the first half. So, doesn't really feel like an actual song but sounds like it should be. I hope that makes sense!

You really do like huge kick drums.

Hi. This is cool. I don't actually hear that much d'n'b on Looperman (not sure why).

I like your kettle drums and would like to use more of them in my own music.

And it's good the way those drums build with the bass and then the funky flutey sound. Reminds me a little of The Prodigy's Their Law track. Do you know that one?

Solid d'n'b hats but the kettle drum low end makes this a bit different.

1:33 offbeat synth arrival I like. Funks it up a bit more.

2:06 new spacey pad minus the kettle drums makes the low end a bit cleaner and sparser though its fine when they return.

3:14 nice ending and a cool fadeout.

I could hear cello being on this and I think some of the lower end stuff made me think of low cello notes.

Good vibe that I like so well done.

I add small flavours of d'n'b into the many styles of music I make. Still never done a proper d'n'b track but will do someday. If you check my track Way Beyond Wrong, you'll hear d'n'b in there plus metal, hip hop, jazz, funk, banjo and saxophone in a crazy merger of genres and sounds. Here it is:

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

You really are one of the best and most consistent track makers on this site. More good stuff here.

Kicks off with a good, solid beat and then various keyboard and bass stuff that you always make your own.

Where are you getting these vocals from?

Sax I think is a VST and sounds good.

1:32 synth/wah guitar is bizarre but very cool and unexpected and unusual in this sort of track. Maybe it's Rob Papen guitar software. It's my favourite part.

Also some other guitar parts over the top, in addition to the pad.

It's all sitting nicely with those keyboard chords as the anchor but I'm wondering if it'll build to anything. No, have a drumless breakdown instead.

Then beat returns with a sax solo. Good, soaring emphasis from the vocals though I guess the track is pretty much the same as the first half. Might have been nice to make the drums bigger and heavier, just to make things more intense.

Fadeout ending is OK but perhaps you'll say it's crap and come back and finish it off in a day or so, as you did last time.

Overall, I certainly liked it but didn't love it. Maybe I was hoping for a bit more grit or edge or something. But it's very solid, groove-based, emotive chillout music so certainly something to be proud of.

Hi. This is good work. That bass is awesome and pretty damn strange and dark. Makes the track stand out as something different.

Not so keen on that first piano break. Seems to take the energy out of the track too soon. Choir is OK but a bit of a typical VST instrument.

1:27 cool when that mega bass returns. Vocals sound good there. I think the track is probably a bit too loud so is a bit messy and maybe distorting in places.

Rap on 2:16 is really loud and bright and a bit painful on the ears but it's a good rap.

Overall, I think this is a good track and I'm not much into this sort of thing.

Must have forgotten to check this out a couple of years ago when I listened to quite a few of your tracks.

This has a hell of a vibe. Big, swirling cavernous sounds that should be blasted out a soundsystem in a desert. Or really just anywhere outdoors. But maybe not a in a quiet flower garden whilst people meditate.

I guess the bagipes mesh with the deep metallic drums to make something that is a bit like some sort of futuristic (Scottish) clan warfare.

I wouldn't call it dub but I'm sort of struggling to give this a genre name. The best I can come up with is Cavernous Tribal.

"public domain Morocco field recordings from the 1950's"

Maybe I should get some of that sort of stuff as it would probably fit well in some of my music.

Congratulations!

"as usual your insight is helpful and challenging."

Thanks. I especially like to challenge people whose music I like. I want it to be even better! If I can help, in any small way, that's what I feel this site (apart from the free loops) should be about.

"a type of African drum"

Cool - I guess it's adding the reverb that makes it so huge.

"Rob Papens Rhythm guitar"

I bet it's great but I play loads of guitar and might feel a bit weird having intricate guitar stuff in my tracks that I hadn't actually played. Especially as I can sometimes play some intricate stuff.

Sorry to hear about the tinnitus.

First few mins of this sound great again. Fist half is a complete chillout track.

Chillout to rock transition now better and more logical. Very well done in such a short time!

Ending is much better and classier something along the lines of what I was thinking though I thought you might move drums to playing solid 2-stick hat pattern with just kick keeping time so no snare.

6:00-6:02 there's an awkward little crackly pop edit that I hope you can tidy up. Otherwise, no real suggestions for you as it's good additional work. I knew you could do it!

Well you asked for my analysis and suggestions on this so here they are:

The guiro is quite good fun and I don't hear it used much in electronic music.

Build up intro is good and the riff is simple but quite infectious.

0:50 good little delayed break.

Then we have the main beat, with everything sitting well and the infectious main riff continuing plus some extra percussive elements.

1:37 removal of main riff. Not quite got the transition right there. Probably should go into something bigger and better.

1:50 very nice, haunting little pad sound and the guiro is back and sounding cool.

Then you bring the main riff back and return to the sea for a conclusion.

It's well produced and I can't really fault any aspect of the production, which is a very good thing! You could play this right now as it is on a dancefloor and people would enjoy it.

But it's also definitely lacking some top level elements such as melodies and/or vocals. It doesn't sound finished and not like a full track, even though it's long enough to be a full track. But it is catchy so it would appeal to someone who likes providing vocals for this sort of style.

"can you please check this track and give me some hints about adding Guitar or vocals"

I don't know how to suggest you add guitar. Do you play guitar?

I'm sure I could play some guitar along to this though I'm not planning to.

Hope you can add the missing elements to make this a really excellent house track.

Finally - interesting-looking waveform!

Hey - this is cool and weird.

Danke is right about the drums though I have mixed feelings about them.

Snare is totally awesome and that reverb is perfect. But the cymbals/hats are far too bright and noisy for me.

Low end on this is great too.

I don't really hear it as rock music but it is pretty damn far out. Reminds me more of The Prodigy with the way some of those synths move.

I must find a way to get that sort of snare sound.

Well done and I hope you can develop it and make it at least twice as long.

Greetings, good sir.

0:13 I like that cavernous door opening sort of synth release sound. What is that?

0:53 vocal was a surprise but there's a great timbre to her voice. And then she's back fro a second note after your strings have played some good melodies.

Low end also sits really well. What I think of as 'anchor bass'. Totally binds everything together and track would be lost without it (I tried as I listened on crap laptop speakers at first so got none of that bass).

So, these first few mins are some good, deep chillout.

Then we get to the second half, in which you must have spent a while scratching your head wondering if you should start a new track. But, a lot like my stuff, you didn't.

Guitar longer notes/chords are decent, in a supporting kind of way, but guitar really gets cool and funky on 3:53. Is that also a VST? Sounds played.

Decent drums. Not my favourite sort of groove but there's some busy kick and some good fills too. Rock section reminds me a bit of my stuff.

Fadeout ending is a big disappointment. Sounds too much like you ran out of ideas and couldn't think of anything better. But you're way better than that! So you should come up with a definitive ending.

Perhaps bring back your female vocal and really tie up the two halves in a nice bookend kind of way. Try combining long guitar notes plus a load of big delay, her vocal, that anchor bass and some steady but gentle hats and kick. Fade the drums out gradually and maybe end where you started.

Hope those ideas help!

Hi again.

"only the bass and drums are getting squashed the other sounds keep their dynamics mostly"

That's a good point and may well be why it works well.

"waterphone yes almost every eerie sound you hear in horror movies is made by one of these"

Yes, it is a weird, unsettling sound. But surely you're forgetting about the use of the theremin in movie soundtracks. I'd guess it's used more than the waterphone. I used it in a track about 13 years as I got a friend who had one to come round and make some noises with it, which I recorded. I don't think he could really play it at the time (damn hard instrument to play!) but it's still quite cool in the track, which I must open up again and improve, especially as my production skills have improved a lot in 13 years.

Yes, your track is of a type I recognise from late night aggressive-sounding dark club music. Powerful stuff that will do your head in a bit if you're having a bad drug trip.

Again, good work.

Hi. Funny looking waveform you have here. Looks like a chainsaw!

Anyway, this is banging stuff. First drop and we're nicely into something that's also pretty damn chilled. Twinkly high stuff is cool and all those loops (3 or 4) sit so nicely together.

Beats are fat and classic. Quality melodies so not much to criticise.

Definitely some top level house for tracks I see posted on here.

2:40 nice new, bold piano chords in that breakdown. Of course it's going to build back and you do it really well. Moves just how a crowd would want it. I'm guessing you've been making this sort of stuff for quite a while.

Nice way to bring things down at the end and the final 'DJ headphone mix' of the track fading away works well too.

Excellent work.

Yo. Being the nomad that I am, I can't help wandering about all over the place. Even when I can't be bothered, my legs sometimes just won't stop. And I doubt I've wandered onto anyone else's Looperman tracks more than yours. A fine subterranean sonic realm it is.

"not too shabby either, if I may pretend to have an ego. "

Damn right you can have an ego. I'm proud of lots of stuff I've made and you should be too (of yours, not mine - that wouldn't make much sense). Being proud of successes probably inspires more. I try to think of my tracks as if I were a fan of them and they had been made by someone else - which is my attempt at being objective and trying to hear what I've actually produced rather than get caught up in too many little details. And I do actually sit back and listen to my tracks. You know - for a bit of pleasure. Also, there are so many bits that I can't remember them all in my head so have to listen again to be reminded.
"This track involved a bit of luck, I believe."

Well mabe a bit though I fail to see where the luck is in your bass ability. Maybe you just continually fluke out with killer riffs. You're like the world's luckiest bass player or something. You're actually crap but pure freak chance puts your fingers in the right place all the time. You're going to be so busted when your luck runs out!

"fuck with the same synth parameter for two and a half hours just to accidently lose it by getting "click-happy".

Gotta be very careful there. I do very little hardware controller manipulation of parameters so tend not to change a setting without noticing (only to come back later to find the patch is now ruined and I can't fix it).

One way round this is to save in the same track folder a patch setting for each synth patch that's working really well. Then, if you fiddle about and screw it up, you can just reload that saved one and everything should be fine and sync up with any automation data you have going on. I also continually save new versions of the track I'm working on so can also open previous versions of the song to get settings that I've since screwed up.

P.S. Finally, I have cool band recommendation for you. The awfully named Maria Isn't A Virgin Anymore. Shocking name but don't be put off as they make awesome, alternative, intelligent stoner-related stuff with some Toolish/youish basslines. I think I just made up the word 'youish' but not sure what else I could have gone with. Sorry I haven't provided a link but will another time (if necessary). I bet you one cookie (not the silly internet browser trojan buggy thing version) that you love them.

Well, this is some unusual stuff. No way of knowing what it will be from that intro.

Quite possibly a nursery rhyme or lullaby, if you know what I mean.

Then it starts to turn more into rock music as that drum kit enters. But the fizzing synth dominates so that's a it different.

Pull back the drums and get a bit more back into the lullaby as the vocals start. Nice acoustic guitar in there.

Quite a mix of sounds and genres in the first couple of minutes. I guess I'd have to call it prog rock.

I've seen your name on the site before (loopmaker, maybe?) but don't think I've heard any of your music.

I don't love the vocals (not my sort of voice) but they're OK and work well enough for this style.

I would just complain about the drums being so far back in the mix. But then I love fat grooves though maybe you didn't really want any here.

3:42 classy lead sound and sparseness of beat and spacious feel helps us hear it.

This is classy stuff that could be pretty popular amongst people into proper prog rock songs.

And I'm back! Enjoying listening to this one again.

First thought, aside from the killer riffs, is how good the drums sound. So good you're not dependent on loops anymore. You've now got the movement and emphasis and a cleaner sound than you had with the loops.

But don't forget about them entirely. I still use them but as a sort of flavour rather than something I depend on.

No sure what you've changed since last time but there is really so much killer playing in here. It's a bit like one of my tracks but rather than multiple riffs and sounds being spread out across loads of instruments, it's really all just on one. Which is damn hard to do.

It's probably a genuine bass masterpiece (not quite sure how to 'prove' that)and I don't hear it as lacking anything.

2:07-2:28 I do not remember and suspect it may be new. I like it.

Winding down ending after 3:11 is great and probably new too. You're dong something that sounds fresh and different right up to the end of this very varied track.

Yes, if this is 90BPM in the DAW, you're definitely doing double time so 180. This is one track that really races away. Oh, and the distortions sound fine.

Surely one of your finest and I'd love to be able to come up with something similar.

Aha - some good detail from you. Now I know a bit more about how you work.

Regarding drums - typical house drums can be quite boring though they can also be very cool and create an essential type of dance music. My last upload (Dance Motherfucker Dance) prominently featured a pair of house loops though I added a lot of other drums, as I tend to do. The new epic track I'm working on is a continuation of that last one, also prominently featuring that same pair of house loops. Plus lots of other programmed drums to give all sorts of variety.

I tend to use drum loops these days as more of a flavour that I add to and augment with the intricate programmed acoustic stuff. I think lots of people use monotonous drum loops because they don't really have anything else. You could get into the drum programming thing if you wanted as software such as EZ Drummer isn't really very expensive. And it's well worth it and great fun. I've recommended it many times on this site and some people have even gone out and bought it.

Yes, now you say it, I do recognise some of your synth work here as it's similar to some in the Nina Simone remix. Piano is a decent bass line but might be a bit too busy as a proper bassline when you get the drums in there so might need something lower that anchors things together better.

You ned to get yourself even just a cheap MIDI controller keyboard. I have done whole electronic tracks without playing any keys (eg Tiny Little Pieces) but it is often very time consuming and you don't get a chance to actually groove with the track.

I'm sure there's a lot more to come from your music over the years so you deserve a bit more gear. Especially the basic stuff such as a half decent keyboard.