Israfel

Alrighty, here's the deal with the choir samples. They're "Voices of The Apocalypse" and it is available from soundsonline.com for about $450. I actually wouldn't recommend getting it though unless you just have money burning a hole in your pocket or if you're making money from your music. I mean, the samples are nice but they're a bit troublesome to work with. Aside from vowel sounds, consonants are also sampled, and it is possible to get realistically sung words out of this thing. I've never done it in a mix (well, I have a FF7 mix that sorta does it, but not really), but I have gotten it to work and it's friggin' cool.

Ahhh...I love this. There's so much character to the mix- unique and thoroughly exciting. The piece is constantly adding new material and ideas throughout its short length and it is an absolute joy to listen to. Yet another piece to add to my ever-growing "things I wish I'd written" list...*sigh*

Glad to hear you guys liked this. I would agree with GL in that I think Kwix has gone on to do more interesting arrangements, but I still enjoy it and was more than happy to help out a little. And to those who like the piece I just want to make it clear that 90% or more of this arrangement was written by Kwix, so give credit where it is due. As far as Russell's comments go- I'm sorry to hear that he wasn't fond of this or my other works, but it's just a matter of personal preference I suppose. It is worth noting that as an electronic musician I've made a conscious decision to not emulate real instruments. That is, whilst my samples might sound like a certain instrument I don't worry about that instrument's limitations (range, interval leaps, etc.). Likewise I don't concern myself with adhering to traditional instrument placement or panning. To me, one of the joys of electronic music is that it frees musicians from the limitations and traditions of live music. Now obviously not everyone is going to accept or enjoy this approach to electronic music- but hey, variety is the spice of life, right? So yeah- if you're looking for realistic "orchestra simulations" then you've come to the wrong guy. ^_~ But anyway, cheers Kwix and I hope to hear more mixes from you.

I don't think any mix manages to capture that early 90's new age sound as well as this one. The pads, harmonies and even the synth drums all fit perfectly with the style being used - this could have easily been a track on Arkenstone's "Valley in the Clouds" release. The sound is really that authentic. GL never believes me when I say this, but I honestly think this is the best Schala mix I've heard. This version just seems to have more depth and emotion than the other mixes- I can easily get lost in the world presented by this piece. There are things one might want to change. The ever-present cymbal might have been softer and I would have liked a bit longer track so as to let the atmosphere really sink in, but these things don't alter the fact that this is a really great mix. Everyone should at least give this a try, but fans of new age in particular are in for a real treat.

Fruity Loops is basically a software synth/sequencer.

Nope - it's a bummer. Actually the vast majority of software seems to center around the piano roll. In my opinion, even programs like Sonar or Cubase are inadequate for people who compose on a staff.

Maybe he means the violinist was just a lousy musician... I'll have to remember that if I hire a musician, "I would have preferred *real* instruments, but I guess you'll have to do." ;; Oh, but about the song. I was one of those people that listened to the 7th Guest CD in my stereo quite often - I was a huge fan of the music. The violin intro in particular was just great. (BTW, 7th Guest was the first PC game I bought, and it took me a year before I could play it - it took me forever to figure out how to configure a soundcard in DOS. Virgin's support staff was a joke, and of course I didn't have the internet then for help...but anyway) That being said, this was a rather enjoyable mix. It doesn't demand awe-inspired attention...but still, it's very well done. It's a nice trancey sort of club mix that one can just sort of drone out to. So yeah...I liked it.