The Making of "O frabjous day!"

PHOBoS · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2015 2:56 pm Post subject: The Making of "O frabjous day!"

O frabjous day! is a track I made for the No Labels No Musics II project which challenged musicians
to create original compositions from the electro-music.com fieldrecording archive.
This Making of "O frabjous day!" was originally put together for an episode of Organised sound with Dr Steve.
However Steve had a cold which resulted in a lot of coughing and although he gave it his best shot it was just too much text.
So here is the full story with samples and I advice you to download the zip so you can listen to the sounds while you read.
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- Prologue

It's been a while since I put the track together and I can't provide a chronological timeline
but I'll try to explain a bit how some of the parts were made and include some of the used fieldrecordings
and how they sound as part of the song. Most of it was done using Sony Acid Music studio, which let
you draw seperate tracks and it can automatically adjust the sample speed to the number of measures you
want it to play. You can also create volume and panning envelopes, change the pitch, reverse and add
some effects. For some of the sounds I used soundforge to cut out a nice looping section.

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- Intro: Cockroaches

my initial idea was to create an ambient soundscape, instead of cutting and looping samples like I did
for the first NLNM. But that was before I saw the bathroom scene of the movie "Joe's Appartment" which
features dancing and singing cockroaches using bathroom items to create the music. And that inspired me
to create a rhythm using some of the fieldrecordings.
(you can find the scene on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw_zUUE4BE0)

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- Chapter 1: first match the rhythm

I think I started out with the "striking match" sound but I'm not sure. I didn't add any effects but
used short and longer pieces of it to create part of the rhythm.

* original: match_642.wav
* Acid track: match_642_ACID.mp3

another part is formed by a tiny snippet I cut from the "Creaky door" recording, it's at the 11 second
mark and besides repeating it in a rhythmic pattern I also added delay and reverb.

* original: creaky_doors_151.mp3
* Acid track: creaky_doors_151_ACID.mp3 (first without then with effects)

I also used a different part of the "Creaky door" recording which I lowered in pitch.

Acid track: creaky_doors_151_2_ACID.mp3 (first normal pitch then lowered)

Then there is the glasswater recording which got the same treatment as the creaky door snippet;
repeat in a rhythmic pattern and add delay and reverb.

* original: glasswater_168.mp3
* Acid Track: glasswater_168_ACID.mp3 (first without then with effects)

and finally the bassdrum which is a small section of a fireworks recording which also got some delay
added. In the last section of the song I duplicated this track for a double bass.

* original: fireworksapplause1_289.mp3
* Acid track: fireworksapplause1_289_ACID.mp3 (first without then with effects)

and all these tracks combined create the following basic rhythm:

* rhythm.mp3

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- Chapter 2: cutting up the melody

The main melody is created by cutting and shifting parts from the "happy birthday music box" recording.
This was mostly done at random with a little bit of fine tuning to get the timing right. There's also
some delay added.

* original: phobos__musique_mecanique__music_box_happy_birthday_770.wav [not included]
* Acid track: main melody.mp3

another part of the melody is formed by cutting up the "shaku" recording and changing the pitch of
every part to create a melody. And I added some reverb and delay to this track aswell.

* original: shaku_397.ogg
* Acid track: shaku_397_ACID.mp3

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- Chapter 3: background drones

The harmonic background drone was created by using different parts of the "Carwashsounds" recording
on 3 seperate tracks, all changed in pitch differently and one track has some variation in pitch.
This was combined with a loop of the "wineglassplay" recording and a sound from the "bikesstreetlight"
recording, which I played back- and forwards. Some of the tracks had some reverb added.

* original: carwashsounds_110.mp3
* original: wineglassplay_173.mp3 [not included]
* original: bikesstreetlight_973.mp3
* Acid track: harmonic drone.mp3

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- Chapter 4: push the brakes

The break features a couple of recordings. Some traffic sounds from which I looped the end part,
pitched up talking people and sheep Wink

, and another part of the "Shaku" recording.

* original: shaku_397.ogg
* original: binaural_walk_109.flac [not included and this version is no longer available]
* original: traffic_jam_181.mp3
* original: sheep_grange_fair_0809_160.mp3
* Acid track: break.mp3

sidenote: this part feels for me as going from daytime to nighttime.

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- Intermission

I had one version I saved before the finished song which featured most of the above and some extra
added sounds. Some things were changed later.

* O frabjous day WIP.mp3

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- Chapter 5: adding the sequence

allthough I did have a general outline for the song I felt like there was something missing after the
break, something extra that stood out from the rest. It took me a while to figure out what but I came
up with some sequences made from the "metalwater" recording. As with the shaku melody it's created
by changing the pitch to create different notes. This is a semi random process in which I loop a part
of the song and then keep changing the pitch of the notes untill it starts to sound as something I like.
At which point I usually get a melody in my head and then I just recreate that.

* original file: metalwater_158.mp3
* Acid track: metalwater_158_ACID.mp3

I also added the double bass for a more energetic feel.

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- Chapter 6: The intro

I'm not exactly sure at what point I added the intro and if it came before or after I came up with the
name*. But what I tried to create is the sound of rushing down the stairs out the door to find a
beautiful sunny day outside.

* 'O frabjous day!' is a line from "Jabberwocky" a poem from the novel "Through the Looking-Glass, and
What Alice Found There" (a sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) written by Lewis Carroll.

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- Chapter 7: just one more sound

at this point I had the song almost finished but i just wanted to add one more thing to the break, and
that's when I found the "printer" recording. This one fitted in like magic, both the timing and
pitch/key were perfect.

* original file: printer_132.wav

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- Chapter 8: The Final chapter

A lot of time was spend on adjusting levels, panning, and equalizing every track, which is also done
along the way. One method I used was to listen to which frequencies of the track I want to stand out
and then amplifying these a bit more while surpressing others. But most of it involved listening over
and over and over, untill I come to a point where I feel that it's done.

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- Epilogue

O, I think that's it. have a frabjous day! albino

- PHOBoS

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frabjous.zip

Description:

ACID tracks and fieldrecordings used for "O frabjous day!"

Download (listen)

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frabjous.zip

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PHOBoS · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:14 pm Post subject:

not all of the recordings I used where mentioned above, so here's the full list:
binaural_walk_109
bikesstreetlight_973
birds_and_the_bees_128
carwashsounds_110
copier_129
creaky_doors_151
downstairs_130
fireworksapplause1_289
flamin_646
glasswater_168
metalwater_158
phobos__belgian_birds_les_murets_196
sheep_grange_fair_0809_160
traffic_jam_181
wineglassplay_173
shaku_397
injured_steinway_660
mandalapainting_212
match_642
phobos__musique_mecanique__music_box_happy_birthday_770
printer_132
sliding_door_20101022_992