halc Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 http://halc.bandcamp.com/album/trending-topic-ep I'm happy to present my third EP, Trending Topic! Roughly 20 minutes of me turning virtual knobbies and writing as little music as possible. Yes, it's dubstep. With a chiptune flair, of course. ;D The album features 5 tracks, including a collaboration with Mr. Skrypnyk, a rocking synth solo by WillRock, and amazing artwork by Emunator. <3 As usual, the album is available for the excellent price of free or pay-what-you-want. All purchases go towards expensive music shit. And sometimes food. Oh yeah, and that engagement ring I just bought. For those of you who hate dubstep, don't worry. I have another jazzy little 9-bit treat up my sleeve. *coughpilotwingsalbumcough* Please enjoy, spread the word, "like!", and let me know what you think! click here to view hi-res version of album cover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollgagh Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Topic no Trend? is that valid japanese? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halc Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 pretty sure it's an ad for a japanese massage parlor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollgagh Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 ohok I'm sold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Derrit Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 cutest dubstep ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PROTO·DOME Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Great job on your successful album artwork release, Emunator! (Nice work man, love the album) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Great job on the successful Japanese translation ProtoDome, thanks for making it! (I love this album so much, it's probably the most unique dubstep material I've heard in ages. Way to singlehandedly evolve a stagnant genre bro ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillRock Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 thought i'd write an album review of this piece of 9-bit bloop-step - Trending Topic is the 3rd LP from OCR's Chiptune god halc, and as the album title suggests, this is one trendy bitesize offering.The reason I say trendy is because halc has changed his style to incorporate Dubstep elements, and its a transition that has been executed with style and flair. However, its one of halc's shortest offerings yet, with only 5 tracks and clocking in at under 20 minutes. No filler material here. The album opens up with Modesty Lapse, which starts with a rather lengthy build up, but this is just to prepare the listener for a dubstep assault, and frankly, its epic. The processing and creativity in the synth design on show here is completely overwelming, with plenty of attention to detail, and you'll be blown away by the constant evolving textures. This is fueled on beats and synth automation alone, with few melodic hooks, but the craziness of the whole thing will leave you shell shocked. After an awesome comb filtered synth opening the track, #FUBAR showcases dubsteps infamously overused wobble bass, and while this is technically impressive, there isn't anything that dubstep fans won't have heard before somewhere. Once again, the evolving sounds once again are completely blown out of proportion - in a good way. However, clocking in at only 2 minutes, this leaves one thirsty for more. Vitamins for Speakers is a collaboration with Skrypnyk, who introduces some interesting production ideas, such as automated panning on the drum delay. The bass and the lead in this track intertwine fantastically, melding themselves into one single entity seemlessly. At this point in the album, it suggests the possibility of getting stale, thanks to the similar style of all three tracks, but this is remedied with track 4. Be more Chill is the most accessible track of the bunch, with more atmospheric pads being carried by a thumbing bassline, which leads into a manic synth solo by yours truly. Due to the change in pace, it lacks the creative flair of the other tracks, but it is a welcome deviation, and ultimately a more accessible listen overall. Finally, Dead Pixels opens up with some jungle beats, which slowly morphs itself into a Dubstep powerhouse of a track, with some phat beats, sexy hooks, and ultimately is the best track on the album. This is down to the more controlled nature of the song, where even though the processing isn't as manic, the writing is more melodic in nature. So now for the conclusion. The Production here is absolutely top notch - everything fits in the soundscape perfectly and the sound is punchy and powerful. When you consider the amount of sound design automation going on here, its suprising everything fits together so well. Stylistically, Considering the change in pace from previous albums, this collection of 9-bit dubstep is a great success in terms of stylistic intent, and plays to the stengths - and the weaknesses - of dubstep. The album has a tendency to get a little repetitive due to the nature of the style halc has adopted here, which considering the length isn't exactly a good thing. However, dubstep inspires creativity in automated sound morphing, and halc uses that to his advantage here, and to great effect. This album is more creative than much dubstep, which makes this more specialist in style, but the execution here is steller. Basically, if you like dubstep or chiptunes, then you should download this album. halc might have changed his style to better suit mass appeal, but he's done it tastefully, creativity, and ultimately, successfully. Awesome Work halc. Also, love the synth solo in be more chill, ballin stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noTuX Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I like what I hear so far, but I gotta to get home and listen to this on my surround sound system. My laptop speakers just cannot handle the awesomeness. Great work everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon Odyssey Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 So Emu did the artwork, huh? Very nice! oh yeah and the album was okay. i guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Rex Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Just took a listen - great work! It's an interesting deviation from the norm, both for dubstep and halc. MUST HAZ MOAR Oh and congrats on that wedding ring thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Less Ashamed Of Self Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Much like. Good shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obtuse Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Good stuff Halc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halc Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 thanks guys! glad you're all digging it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Briggs Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 totes adorbstep :3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ectogemia Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 last 2 songs... so good... hhmmmnnngfmg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Shadow Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 gonna be blasting this in my car tomorrow, will let you know how it sits with me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverCoat Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Played some tracks of this on my show last night Everyone really liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Strader Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 thought i'd write an album review of this piece of 9-bit bloop-step - Awesome Work halc. Also, love the synth solo in be more chill, ballin stuff Very nice and timely review, good sir I'll have to listen to this on the way to MÅGFEST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockos Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Just plain awesome. Edit: Bought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modus Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Ah, I was strongly looking forward to classic calm, organic-y Halc, but this works too. I'm sure Pilotwangz will have that covered anyway. Be More Chill is really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Strader Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I'm sure Pilotwangz will have that covered anyway. It lacks bwahs... Its amounts of bwahs is not sufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modus Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 If I want more Wubz and Bwahs, I'll listen to PrototypeRaptor or that sound my computer makes when it crashes. Note for PrototypeRaptor: I enjoy PrototypeRaptor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Shadow Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 oh man, chipstep is definitely how i prefer my wub wubs. i was also, at times reminded of lo-bat this was me: well done to all involved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halc Posted November 9, 2011 Author Share Posted November 9, 2011 just giving this a bump. thanks for the comments, everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.