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OCR01918 - Xenogears "Zeno Paradox"


djpretzel
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i love omnisphere a LOT. the tuban throat singers are fantastic, and the variety of choral and percussive elements are so much fun to play with.

where'd you find the taiko/orchestral tom samples?

I remember talking to Eliot about this track a long time ago. He did this entire track before Omnisphere was even announced. So even the throat singers are from somwhere crazy...maybe someone with a ridiculous knowledge of vocal libraries could point it out. Or it could just be autotuned. :razz:

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I have to say that this is easily one of my favorite tracks on the Gears disc, if not on the whole project. Every element in it has been carefully calculated to fit and give it's own part to the whole, ranging from the eerie opening vocalists through the ridiculous amount of percussion holding the rhythms and every instrument inbetween. The singers are of major note for creating a mood of indescribable size, so large and oppresive that the listener may, quite literally, shake in its pressence. It is also some of the best production I've heard, and much like a good book, this is another mix where you notice something new every time you listen to it.

I could go on and on about how great this song is, but you really should just do yourself a favor and listen to it. Right now. No, really, drop whatever you're doing and listen to this song. It's THAT good.

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I remember talking to Eliot about this track a long time ago. He did this entire track before Omnisphere was even announced. So even the throat singers are from somwhere crazy...maybe someone with a ridiculous knowledge of vocal libraries could point it out. Or it could just be autotuned. :razz:

i spelled it wrong. tuvan singers are a totally different harmonic basis than normal singing, so no, autotuned stuff can't do it.

maybe delay llama, but that's more synthy. where's it from? i'm really curious now.

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Thank you for the feedback. I am always thrilled when people enjoy a track. In general the quality of the stuff on this site increases every time I turn my back. I had a great time with this track. I'm glad you enjoy the strange transitions.

Mephisto:

As for the vocal libraries, all custom I'm afraid. Built with Kontakt and IRCAM's Audiosculpt. I've never used omnisphere or any spectrasonics stuff, but I hear it's good. The rest of this track is all over the map. Some material is from archival ethno-musicological recordings, vintage analog synths (EML 500, Elka), some is from old vinyl, CDs, easter eggs from the OST, some sounds I play / sing myself. Nothing too fancy, mostly just texture and mixing. …. and Massive.

Overtone singing: One sample layered six times at differing transposition levels / pan and EQ settings.

Big Drum: I got a recording of a taiko drum. Reverb + multi band compression + sub expander.

Tribal Drums: Re-sequenced taiko ensemble loop. Kontakt again.

I suppose my only trick would be that I work hard to hide formant shifts in sampled materials.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

-E

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I just had to post a comment here (although I'm going through and reviewing every song on the site) - this song is amazing. It manages to meld a vibe of what you'd expect from African music with electronic to create such a sweeping track. It is quite a unique piece of music period, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend anyone to listen to this, even if they have no particular love for vgm.

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Wow, this was a pretty awesome piece. In particular, the vocal stuff kinda reminds me of that Bulgarian Choir that does the song "The Beginning and the End" from the original OST. Nice little touch if I do say so myself.

I definitely thought of Kenji Kawai's scores when listening to this though. Beautiful stuff.

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I remember hearing the first version EB posted on the forums and being totally floored. You could already tell it was going to be a standout track.

Great emotive instrumentation, excellent usage of ethnic voices, & overall good progression between parts to keep the listener in it. (I immediately pick up on the CT reference thrown in there ;). The change-up at 2:14 was especially effective given it's unexpected, but is a great contrast to the previous sections.

Overall a track I'm still looping on my mp3 player and a great way to lead out the Gears disc.

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