StaticNomad

"thanks for taking the time to really analyze the track. This is very helpful and is the reason I've posted on this site".

No problem. That's why I post stuff here - to get a variety of perspectives as it does get lonely making music alone. That's why I like to give decent analysis - it's what I hope for on my own stuff but, sadly, only get from a few people.

I don't necessarily doubt my views on my work - it's just interesting and stops you going a bit mad to get some other views as everyone's got a different take on things. I don't agree with all of them but am happy enough to hear them. Some can be surprisingly insightful and even occasionally give me some new ideas.

"I played this for a friend and he thought the vocals were a flute"

They're strange and unusual for sure but I can't say they're quite that flute-like.

"2:47 may be harder to transition smoothly since it departs somewhat radically from the tone of the preceding phrase"

There are always multiple ways to make any transition better and/or smoother. Sometimes if I've got something that's just really awkward what I'll do is make a fill/transition that is really dynamic and a bit extreme to distract the listener from the change going on underneath.

A big drum fill, turning up the reverb, adding distortion - whatever works (maybe all of them). I'm not sure if that's quite what you need here; I just mention it as an example.

Good luck with this as you have something good and interesting here.

Hi. This is decent stuff though, as already said, you just need to turn it up as it is very quiet and thus such a small waveform.

The first half reminds me a bit of French producer who releases a lot of really good chillout for free from his Bandcamp page. His artist's name is Auditive Escape so check his many albums out.

This is all melodic stuff with a bit of a drum 'b' bassy second half.

Opening beat's simplicity reminded me a little of the intro to Stevie Wonder's classic Superstition.

Good layering of those two synths in first half. No bassline but it's OK without though you should have a go at sticking just a minimal one in, perhaps just playing with the bass drum, adding some emphasis to start of bar.

Or you could stay with no initial bassline and then bring a fat one in for the second half. Or maybe introduce it in the 3rd section, which might well be verse 2 (ie back to the start).

I think the progression in under two minutes is good so stick with this one.

"had a good laugh when I saw your comments email and the attached video!"

Glad I gave you a good laugh. Just one of those wonderful little songs you forget about in the Pythons' fairly large body of brilliant work. Eric Idle is arguably one of the finest comedy songwriters.

I couldn't actually tell which Superior kit you were using (which is why I asked), I just guessed as you have before mentioned you have the software (one that I use all the time). Drums do sound good here.

I shall check out Purity. I don't use much brass (not really into it) but do sometimes have a need for it. I'd like to get some muted trumpet into a track. Could go nicely with my slide blues guitar work.

Those cymbals aren't necessarily bad - probably just too loud.

Yes, I checked back and you did upload a song earlier this week - one with lots of guitar. I think I had a quick listen and wasn't grabbed by it. But I'll check back and listen again, see if I get more into it.

Damn, you got a lot of comments early on with this track so people were clearly sufficiently moved to leave some generous praise.

Yo. I like the reverse fade in starting on about 0:16.

Good lead in to the bass, drums and vocal.

TO be honest, they're not at all my sort of vocals but they're pretty good and I understand that lots of people like that style of singing.

0:47 good drop of the synths as they were taking up quite a bit of space.

1:02 drop of beat makes for good variety. This is a bit dubby, a bit dancehall.

1:22 new clappy sort of snare is more good variety.

This is a pretty non-stop vocal track that people can definitely dance to. They'll like grooving to this on the dancefloor.

The drops are good because they allow people to vary their dancing and build up and break down their movements.

This is good work. My one recommendation in terms of structure would be to have a break from the vocals before the final end section.

I guess the vocal intensity is good but I might prefer to hear a bit more of the supporting music. Some sort of good solo would be really cool. Guitar solo would be quite unexpected.

Hey, I got that reply in the end though may well not have seen it if I hadn't got the email notification of the reply. But I never got the reply regarding playing my tracks on your Loop radio show. Send it again if you've still got it.

"I seem to be more geared to doing soundtracks than songs, I'm afraid."

Same here though I haven't tried a lot of song-making as I need vocalists - a constant problem for me. So, I just go with far out instrumental - a lot like yourself.

I'm also "musically illiterate" in terms of music theory but can groove well and feel how sound should move and the various places a track could go (ie genres it could morph into).

"I do bang and pluck on things"

I thought you played a few instruments but maybe it's only hand drums. I can't fully remember. You do a great job if you don't play any instruments. There are a few people like that on this site.

Most of my synth stuff is programmed rather than played. I do play some parts but can do a surprisingly expressive and adventurous job just with drawing in data and constantly modifying it. I have a long, pure electro chillout far out track on here called Tiny Little Pieces that is almost exclusively drawn in using the mouse.

Anyway, your track is a very hypnotic, somewhat alternative take on dub. I'm not surprised people really like it.

Another week, another of your well made tracks.

Yes, definite late night chill.

Good room sound on those drums. A Superior kit, possibly? If so, which one?

This is probably a bit too lazy and gentle for me but late night, fairly romantic smoothness for people into that.

Especially when the sax enters. I guess that's a VST but it sounds damn convincing.

1:33 cymbal is a bit harsh/loud. Same again later on.

2:21 drum fill I like.

Good mix of piano and Rhodes (I think) here. Less of the synths with this one so sounds a bit more like a live jazz band due to the loose feel.

Maybe it's you in the corner of the bar at the piano entertaining the guests as they walk in.

Sorry, that's just reminded me so I can't help posting this gem of a song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLNdMY1JlR0

Yes, this is some big chill stuff. Great vibe.

"It has the earth's frequency as the dominate tone"

I have no idea if that is true or how anyone knows what the earth's frequency actually is.

The low end on this is very powerful and warm. I also like the harp-like lead. Is that a VST harp?

Percussion is interesting. A bit tribal and a bit of an unusual beat. I might have preferred it to kick into a more solid beat but still like it as it is.

Good distant pad work too so well done.

This sounds like actual proper dubstep rather than a lot of the painfully annoying dubstep I hear (quite a bit of which is posted on this site).

So, I can hear the clear dub and reggae origins and musicality rather than just a whole annoying series of wub-wubs and aggressive sounds.

Quick movement from somewhat classic dub to the more electronic side of things.

Then on 0:55 we really get moving.

1:22 nice movement back to the sparser beat plus some cool, busy brass on 1:36.

This is so musical and clearly not made by just a pure brostep/dubstep obsessive.

2:31 cool delayed subtle synth.

I also like the length of this and am having trouble faulting anything (and I like to suggest ways to improve).

Definite favourite for me.

As you like dub, you might be interested in the 2 minute reggae intro I added to a lengthy, complex and very psychedelic eastern rock track I recently uploaded. Happy listening.

Things That Should Always Be

https://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/152434

Hello again.

You didn't say much in the track description so I don't know what you've added here and what's a sample. But you gave me a long list once before so you don't have to do that again.

Anyway, this is instantly enjoyable dub. A classic bouncy groove.

Lots of good drums here with good variety.

Sax around 40 secs is cool. Slightly different for dub too.

1:09 those high vocals start fading in nicely. I'm not so keen on them so pitched up (probably would have preferred original pitch) but they are pretty good. The pitched up vocal thing is not so common for dub. Sounds like more of a hip hop or dance thing.

Good sax return - now we get to hear it properly.

This is all quite mellow and smooth and funky.

This is a good length and enjoyable stuff that lots of other people will like.

Sometimes I don't understand the very low number of comments that some tracks get.

This has, so far, 4 favourites but only 1 comment? 1 comment for 48 plays? Ridiculous.

Anyway, this is proper, proper dub. I don't really listen to dub (though I make a bit) but totally appreciate the production here as everything sits nicely and it bounces exactly as should.

This is so classic, it's sort of hard to pick anything out in particular. But I shall try.

I did like the intro which definitely doesn't sound like it's going to be dub.

And, at 0:17 there's a noise that sounds more from hip hop or grime so that's a bit different and interesting.

Horns in this are cool.

2:40 I like the vocal effects. Delay, I guess. Lots of mad feedback on the delay in this one. Classic dub stuff.

This is excellent work that has great commercial potential.

I added a 2 minute reggae intro to my psychedelic rock epic track so think that might interest you. Here it is:

https://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/152434

Hi. I'm surprised to read that this a guy si nging. Surely it's been re-pitched?

No way he can sing like that naturally, no?

It is a rather good and weird vocal. I think you should add some more words to your description about the vocal as it is unusual, especially coming from a man.

This is all well put together and creative. Lots of beauty here, especially on 2:13. Vocal there really working like strings or a pad. Great ambience.

I like this track the more I listen to it.

2:47 it cuts off awkwardly so you could definitely fix that and make it smoother. Especially as it's quite a smooth track.

Flute is cool and suits the vibe. Good return of the vocal after that.

Very final ending is a bit abrupt. Needs to fade out more smoothly.

You've managed to fit quite a lot of activity in only 4.5 mins so well done. Even though it's only using loops, they're well assembled.

The intro reminded me of some sort of 80s synth funk.

It actually seems a little disconnected from intro number 2, which is the rather lovely acoustic guitar.

I like the woodblock-like snare substitute that comes in with the drums.

Then the strings are nice and swirling.

Bass is subtle but blends really well with the guitar and some of those gentle back-of-the-fingers pulls across the strings (my favourite aspect of the guitar playing).

3:26 I wasn't keen on the change in drums. Not sure why - maybe the transition just isn't quite smooth enough.

But great work overall containing a lot of beauty and grace.

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?

"Did not expect any praise from you"

Why not? I give praise to all sorts of tracks on here. Most uploads I don't like or find boring. But when I do like one, I tend to say quite a lot about it. There is a lot to say about good music! That's why I'm disappointed at how little people say about music on here. I almost always try to give a good bit of detail. But most people don't.

Yes, I can hear some of those pops and crackles. Maybe you can find a way to get rid of them.

Delayed guitar and synth bass is a good intro and then it's really surprising when the vocals come in. Because they're so classic and well known that everyone knows we're hearing a very different presentation and remix.

Piano is good and everything works just fine without any drums. Lots of good melody here. Difficult to put this in any obvious genre.

Flute is something else a bit unusual.

It is a good drum loop and sits really well with that delayed guitar.

2:04 I like the stop of the beat. I'm the sort of person who would probably have put a drum fill in the gap but I think it's better without, as you've done it.

2:05 is kind of a trance/dubstep solo. Strange but good fit with the vocal.

I think this perhaps only needs to be 30-60 secs longer and it will be complete.

But there are lots of good musical elements so you could extend it and have more of a gap before you bring the vocals back.

You've probably heard enough of my stuff now to know I like and make very long tracks. But I also like some shorter stuff and this is quite effective at this length.

Excellent work!

Obviously, you're dealing with some very classic vocals here.

But that makes it even more important that you do a good job. And you did and have presented these classic vocals in a new way. On first listen, everything fits perfectly and this is no longer jazz.

I will give a more detailed review later but just wanted to quickly let you know now how I feel.

OK, I hope Shortbus does something you like. No, this does not have to have cinematic music - something like trip hop could also be cool.

"seems they haven't liked this enough to want to work on it"

Lots of people ask for collaborations or help on here though I guess most do not get it. But there are collaborations happening all the time so maybe someone will do a good job with your track.

I am not Norwegian but I am 34 years old. I used to live in Denmark so I know some Danish, Swedish and Norwegian.

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.

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...

I revisit tracks all the time (some that I made years ago) and find it very interesting. It can be great to hear something you enjoyed doing at the time but can instantly hear is now not good enough. I feel it shows how far you've progressed over the years. I certainly have and now much quicker at hearing bits that just don't work or things in the mix that need correcting with EQ.

Sometimes a track was fun to make but a bit crazy or weird so not so great to listen back to. Sometimes you can rip it apart and just take the best bits from it and discard the rest. Sometimes ou can slowly go through, tweaking bits and improving what was a good idea not done well enough at the time.

I'm sure you can improve this track as it has good potential. I'd tone down the dubstep madness. But then maybe that's what you like so feel you should go more with that and add some more banging elements and remove some of the chillout stuff.

Good luck, whatever you choose.

"I am very curious to hear your suggestions on transitions"

Oh wow, where do I begin? So much to suggest - depends how much you want me to write.

I make music based on a lot of jamming and then editing so not actually composing sections in advance in a traditional compositional sense. So, I end up with loads of transitions that need to be made smoother.

Sometimes I end up playing a new little part to get me from one section to the next but often I use drum fills and effects to smoothe things out.

If the feel in going from one bit to the next is awkward, if you distract the listener by making things extreme and powerful, this can help. So, a massive drum fill at the end of a bar - or maybe adding big reverb. Or delay at the end of the bar that rings out and decays (spills over) into the next. With delay, you'll often want to control the feedback control to make the delay more intense. You can automate that so it doesn't get too out of control.

Scrutinise your samples and see if you can find little parts that you can cut out and then expand further - these can be used for transitions. With my guitar playing takes, I look for little incidental bits I never consciously planned and then chop these bits out to make fun little fills or even loop them as full parts. See the intro to my track Knee Deep In The Cosmic Overwhelm to hear just a small incidental bit of guitar looped up into its own groovy part.

Reusing your material and finding other ways to stretch it out provides real continuity to the piece and sort of glues things together. I'm kind of like a hip hop sample/cutup guy, except the samples are all my own playing (apart from some drum loops I use).

The stop-start things with the drums was OK here if you're going to legnthen the piece and then bring those drums in to be heard without so much stop-start.

I hope some of those suggestions help though it's difficult to advise people when you don't know their software, their level of knowledge of what you're suggesting and so on. Ask if you want me to clarify anything.

Your usual damn aggressive crunch. 0:06-0:07 is probably my favourite.

Lots of precision riffs I doubt I could pull off.

Sometimes it sort of sounds a bit out of time with the drums but that gives it a certain charm and vibe.

I always say pretty much the same thing to you - wish you had a band, better bass and drums, maybe even some vocals to do your guitar playing justice.

Yo. With your explanation, I now like the title. I have bad teeth too though don't know how many real ones are left. Would be funny if it was 19. Must remember to ask dentist next time I go.

$6,800 is a lot of money. A good few quality basses there, or maybe just a super special limited edition one.

You are duty-bound to check out the excellent band Morphine. In some countries, anyone making bass-drums-sax music is legally required to check out at least some of their material. In the strictest legal systems, it is a criminal offence not to pore over their entire back catalogue (only about 5/6 albums, slide bass player/singer/songwriter died of a heart attack on stage in 1998). In other places, you're only required to listen to, say, the albums Cure For Pain and Like Swimming a few times.
Not sure how onerous the US requirements are though note that you have now been warned.

As a bass player, you have to be interested in a guy who I think is the only 2-string slide bass player ever. If there's another, I'd like to hear him. Actually, I should really become that second slide bass player though probably need a custom bass for it. Saw a Youtube video of a guy who built his own 2-string bass designed expressly for slide and it sounded great. Just like Mark Sandman (of Morphine).

But, in your track, you're doing something they didn't do, which is provide a heavier bass and drums backing to that sax. So you're already doing something different.

Anyway: I'll give a more detailed review later but for now will say there are some synth problems with this update. The sax in the intro doesn't groove and sounds a bit fake. It sounds better once bass and drums have come in.
Work on the lengths of those notes and make sure they groove and sound a bit more loose and natural. Try putting a good drum groove underneath and making them lock. Then you can mute the drums when you're done.

This now has a strange structure I'll say more about later as well as the additional synths, though I can already hear you're having some fun with the controllers, especially right at the end of the track.

Hi. Lots of good stuff here though quite a few problems too so hope you don't mind if I point them out.

Intro piano has quite a bit of noise on it. Not sure why that is. Maybe there's a synth underneath. If so, the main thing audible is the noise.

0:15-0:16 there's an awkward jump.

This is quite cinematic stuff. Sure, bit of an r'n'b beat and drum sound but I'd say it's quite cinematic otherwise.

Bass is very effective when it comes in. Very solid tone.

1:38 and the track iss getting deeper with that new synth wind instrument.

I've said it before so sort of feel slightly bad for saying it again but quite a few of your synth sounds really let the track down.

I'm sure this is just because you're working with all you've got. But your stuff would sound much better with better string/wind instrument samples.

I guess this means spending some money and I also suppose you're only young and are still very much learning and are only going to get better.

I say these things as hopefully helpful advice rather than just talking about what was good, which might leave you thinking these sounds are good enough when I don't think they are. That's not your fault and I assure you I used to use worse sounds. Until I got better ones and then went back and replaced those inferior sounds.

Hope that makes sense as I feel your compositional abilities would be better represented with better tools (sounds).

Hey, thanks for getting back to me eventually. I only saw it because of getting the email notification. Would have missed the reply if it hadn't been for that. When I was listening to Dance for the Morning, I was thinking "Hey, I wonder what happened to that guy's cool short track he posted a couple of months ago? I'd like to hear that".

So, Dance for the Morning is the full version, right? I guess I should have recognised it though it sounds quite different now. I still think a short, instrumental version of this would be cool. Lots of people have already enjoyed this short piece so I think two versions would work out really well. Not exactly like Orbital's wonderful The Box, but a little bit like that.

I'll comment again on Dance for the Morning, which may be just a little too long (maybe not) so worth thinking about a short version, which could be cool on an album before hearing the full length masterpiece.

Damn - you trying to make tracks as long as mine?
Gotta get well past 10 mins for that!

In all seriousness, this is great. I liked it right from the start, as I was sure I would.

Cool vocals.

1:21 second high vocal that gets repeated is also fun and powerful - reminds me of something like happy hardcore (something I haven't really heard in years).

When the guitar comes in, you're really mixing up the genres but in a very natural sort of way.

2:28 good break from the drums - comes just at the right time.

This is damn classy stuff. Some Orbitalesque arpeggiated synths now. Very gentle and melodic. Great bass movement. Everything sits nicely.

One of the classiest things I've heard on here for a while. Sounds like it could go on forever.

You're really reminding me of myself here though it's got quite a different vibe and some sounds I don't use.

Gentle reintroduction of beat around halfway.

This is stuff very much inspired by dance music but so much more musical than most of it.

Not a great deal changes towards the end but I think shall do some point-by-point commentary for the second half as this deserves it.

Great work that a lot of people will really enjoy!