FORUM CD: Rate "Equal To Stars"

[Dave Bryce]

As many of you know, we are currently in the process of doing another CD compilation of original material submitted by members of this forum.

 

As with the last original compilation, the entries will be posted for review by all of the members of the forum whether or not they have contributed a piece. With that in mind, please check out "Equal To Stars" (submitted by The Bleen), and tell us what you think!

 

If the artist of the piece would care to post any notes about the piece in this thread, they should feel free to do so.

 

Thanks for listening!

 

dB

[Jazzman]

Thee Bleen.......Very nice job indeed. Sounded really cool, nice drum programming, very consistant sound. I liked it a lot my friend.

 

Good choice on the song title, lines up with the music well. Nice keyboard playing.

 

Jazzman

[Gulliver]

Excellent stuff, Bleen. Thumbs up.

I wish the song would be a bit longer... it ends too abruptly! ... Love such electronic excursions.

[bleen]

Thanks, guys! I, too, wish the song were a bit longer, but I wrote and recorded the majority of the song the day before I sent it to dB... The price of procrastination....

[Addix Metzatricity]

Wow. I'm seriously diggin' this one. I feel like I should turn the lights off and get some club lights and strobes!

 

Great one.

[Rick K.]

Groovy, dude!! What didya use to make this??

 

Rick

[bleen]

Originally posted by rickkreuzer:

Groovy, dude!! What didya use to make this??

Thanks, Rick! Glad you dig the tune!

 

Most of the drums are my Tama kit, recorded very simply with a stereo mic into a Sharp MiniDisc, and then recorded into Logic & warped beyond recognition with pHATmatikPRO

 

There are a couple rhythms that float in and out in the first minute or so that I programmed on my ER1, then ran it through a POD, left channel first with one amp model, then the right on a different model. I think I also used the straight stereo tracks direct from the ER1 into Logic.

 

The more "real" sounding drums during the 7/8 sections and the big middle section are from Reason, which I run on my Powerbook. I just banged out the 7 rhythm, exported each part (kick, snare, hihat, crash) as an AIF and flew 'em into Logic on my G4. Then I chopped up the hits for the 4/4 middle and "constructed" the drum part.

 

I also used Reason for the cello in the intro, the first bass line that happens about 20 bars in, and the band-pass filtered synth harmony behind the repeat of the cello melody.

 

The fast 7/8 arpeggios (which I did actually play in my ham-fisted, drummer way... ) are from my Waldorf MicroQ keyboard (which is for sale, incidentally), and the rest of the synths are Logic's built in ESM, ESE & ESP. No presets were harmed making this song, as I programmed all the sounds from scratch.

 

OH, and a bunch of DestroyFX, PSP, Waves and Powercore plug-ins as well!

[Steve LeBlanc]

Great sounds...nice chord changes at about 2:00...cool.

[Intheether]

Bleen:

Nice track! Really impressive drum programming, and clever use of arpeggiatiors. It does end rather abruptly though - definitely extend the mix.

[bleen]

Thanks, Nel! No arpeggiators used, though; I played all the parts by hand(s). I've never been able to figure out how to really integrate arpeggiators into my music because there's always something I want to change within the pattern, so it becomes faster for me to just play the kind of ostinato part that an arpeggiator may create.

 

Still figuring out how to make it longer, too....