I just finished this track..

[cloudscapes]

..thought I'd spam a bit about it while my mind is still numb from the proof-listening on repeat for the last few hours. Also another reason I'm posting about it is because I've been somewhat influenced by The Amaranth Signal and Mezmer's music here, although it's not very obvious untill a bit later in the song. Other influences might be Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works, Vangelis, Pink Floyd and Sonic Youth in a weird way.

"Rapid Ear Movement"

Looped guitar, a synth or two, some soft beeps, some glitchy beats which I can't descibe, clashing harmonies (intentional), soft noise (also intentional), some discrete guitars/bass, and a child's voice (not my voice but I did write the text). The thing is 11:30 long, but takes a few minutes to really get going. Best heard with decent headphones!

Enjoy, or not.

[cloudscapes]

EDIT: did quite a bit of remastering and shortened it. it should be ok now

[Mohoyoho]

There's some cool sounds here. I like the reversed percussion. And I also think you came up with some interesting guitar sounds and loops, some of which I am going to try out on my guitar. I heard the original clip, and I think this is much better. I like the tune better when the percussion falls in the back of the mix. I feel it is too up front for too long in the beginning and it competes with some other voices.

[mosc]

Very nice piece, I like this one. It drew me in and kept my interest throughout. It sets and keeps a nice mood, but it keeps changing so as not to become boring. Good work! Keep em coming.

[Mohoyoho]

I like the little girl's voice. Where did you get it?

[cloudscapes]

Thanks for the kind feedback mohoyoho and mosc

I kind of like when the beats go out in the back too. Unfortunatelly the problem on why it's only for such a short time lies between my own two ears. I can never decide if I want the beats (which are often my forté) to be the center material, or put them in the background. Also, I'm not that good at mastering, technically it's easier for me to put strings, harmonies and drones on the sides and at the back than beats. And I don't have that much equipement to begin with for that. (not even monitors, I'm so ashamed, lol)

The little girl's voice is actually Audrey's voice on this site, which I first heard about on these very forums a number of weeks ago (speech synthesis thread). Made it about 150% slower and upped the pitch by 4/5 semitones. I could of used my own voice but I'm too shy

[seraph]

[seraph]

you mean this one, right?
http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-1426.html

[cloudscapes]

zactly that one

[Michael Chocholak]

This bears repeated listening. Which was not hard at all. Really liked the opening groove. The timbres and the reverse percussion. Sounded like an ethnic/exotic nu jazz groove. And I thought that's basically where you were going with it. But then it started unfolding - even as the groove developed - and I was thinking it's changing like a story - only to find a story within the story. Also the more abstract accents towards the end. Cool.

One interesting thing about how you recorded it, is that if you play around with the EQ, previously hidden nuances appear (on a lot of music playing with the EQ either gets you a dead sump or fingernails on the blackboard).

Also thanks for the voice synthesis site. Interesting how the rhythms change between the individuals speaking. I liked the way you reworked it for the piece. (I've been driving my dogs crazy with it )

[Mohoyoho]

Well, after listening to this piece I was inspired to get out my guitar rig this evening and experiment with it. Thanks for the inspiration, Cloudscapes.