Jump to content

"Trending Topic" - original dubstep EP by halc


halc
 Share

Recommended Posts

tt-cover-small.png

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! :D

click here to view hi-res version of album cover

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 ;)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...