Emunator Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 (edited) Bramble Blast - WIP 2 Sources: / Update 2/16/2015 As a few of you may know, I've been actively working on this project tirelessly for the last month, putting in a bit of work just about every day, sometimes for hours at a time. What I've got is nowhere near complete, by any means, but it is a SIGNIFICANT step up from where I was at this time last year and, at the very least, listenable enough to share. What's changed: + Added ~3 minutes of arrangement, including... - Expanded intro - Much slower build - Extended piano breakdown/solo section - New source for final "chorus" - Hot Head Bop + New instruments (piano, shakuhachi, sine lead, boy's choir, orchestral percussion) + Cleaned up production quite a bit/preliminary mastering + A bazillion tiny tweaks. What's left to go: + Drums will completely be replaced + Do something cooler in addition/in place of the first synth solo (particularly 1:01) + Expand ambiance/pad writing throughout the track, particularly in the piano breakdown + Flesh out final Hot Head Bop section (right now is just a concept/placeholder) + Figure out what to do from 3:45 - 4:24 + More interesting transitions/sfx work + Live instruments (brainstorming for vocalist and violin/viola players - any interest?) + Additional harmonies/flourishes/transitions throughout the track Please feel free to share any thoughts - keeping in mind that there's still a long way to go before I'm really satisfied with this. Hope you all enjoy, I've been working extremely hard to move this one along ==================================== 12/08/2013 WIP 1: https://soundcloud.com/emunator/donkey-kong-country-2-bramble Don't think I ever posted this one here. I'm interested in potentially picking up production on this one again. I'm very interested in any feedback on the sound choices (particularly that chiptune synth, not sure if it fits) and the drums (too hollow? Is the dBlue Glitch abuse too egregious?) Thanks for listening! Edited February 17, 2015 by Emunator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 (edited) Hey dude! Hm... not sure if you had any distortion on the pads, but it sounds like you had a little bit much overload, causing the frequencies to slightly break up at 0:08. It's very slight though. I like the kick, and the snare fits in this context. The bassy e. piano at 0:20 seems to work well playing that fifth at 0:25 (Maybe it's not a bass). Perhaps the ambient bell-like arp at 0:20 - 0:40 can be a little bit louder to make it more apparent that something new was introduced. The square arp at 0:40 works IMO, and it would really only need a little bit of taming of very minor resonances to make it a tiny bit less dominant. Awesome hammered dulcimer at 1:02! Omnisphere? You might find inspiration from this. Edited December 13, 2013 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 oh goodness, this is very, very similar to múm. You have a really good foundation. The sounds work. I'd like to see where you take it from here before really nitpicking anything. Lovely lovely stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radiowar Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 oh goodness, this is very, very similar to múm. yes. yes!! agreed this could be very good though my immediate impression is that the sounds do not "blend" atm. some of it is due to fakey-ness (i really wanted to hear a better electric bass sound there) and some of it is just too pretty, like that sitar (?) and a couple other things...in general i think it could be dirtier. is also a good reference here, i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnWake Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Bass sounds like an E. Piano, I don't think it's a bad electric bass sample I love your chill tracks and this one sounds pretty good. I love the drums but I'd probably add a bit more reverb to the snare. The quick hi hat fills you added are nice but sound a bit mechanical. I hope you continue this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Bass sounds like an E. Piano, I don't think it's a bad electric bass sample I love your chill tracks and this one sounds pretty good. I love the drums but I'd probably add a bit more reverb to the snare. The quick hi hat fills you added are nice but sound a bit mechanical. I hope you continue this! Yeah, you're right. It's an E. Piano. It also explains why 0:25 had such a clean fifth harmony. Regular electric basses don't harmonize quite that well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radiowar Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 i was typing fast give me a break lol . my point was that the texture led me to anticipate some sigur ros-esque electric bass, which i think would sound better. but i know wes disagrees with me D: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 i was typing fast give me a break lol . my point was that the texture led me to anticipate some sigur ros-esque electric bass, which i think would sound better. but i know wes disagrees with me D: Haha, no problem. Actually, I'd be correcting myself too with that remark of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Just finish the god damned song already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 (edited) Ahhh, you caught me! I was definitely trying to mimic Mum's style here. Green Grass of Tunnel is one of my favorite songs and I thought that style fit so perfectly with Stickerbush Symphony. And regarding the e-piano, I specifically selected that for the bass because it got such clean chords and I could work with the harmonies more than I could with a regular bass. That said, when I hear the phrase "sigur ros-esque electric bass," it makes me reconsider that choice... Hopefully gonna have some progress on this soon! Thanks everybody for taking the time to listen/comment! Edited December 15, 2013 by Emunator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 And regarding the e-piano, I specifically selected that for the bass because it got such clean chords and I could work with the harmonies more than I could with a regular bass. Cool, I love how you actually thought about that, because... Yeah, you're right. It's an E. Piano. It also explains why 0:25 had such a clean fifth harmony. Regular electric basses don't harmonize quite that well. xD Just for giggles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 *1 Year Later* As a few of you may know, I've been actively working on this project tirelessly for the last month, putting in a bit of work just about every day, sometimes for hours at a time. What I've got is nowhere near complete, by any means, but it is a SIGNIFICANT step up from where I was at this time last year and, at the very least, listenable enough to share. What's changed: + Added ~3 minutes of arrangement, including... - Expanded intro - Much slower build - Extended piano breakdown/solo section - New source for final "chorus" - Hot Head Bop + New instruments (piano, shakuhachi, sine lead, boy's choir, orchestral percussion) + Cleaned up production quite a bit/preliminary mastering + A bazillion tiny tweaks. What's left to go: + Drums will completely be replaced + Do something cooler in addition/in place of the first synth solo (particularly 1:01) + Expand ambiance/pad writing throughout the track, particularly in the piano breakdown + Flesh out final Hot Head Bop section (right now is just a concept/placeholder) + Figure out what to do from 3:45 - 4:24 + More interesting transitions/sfx work + Live instruments (brainstorming for vocalist and violin/viola players - any interest?) + Additional harmonies/flourishes/transitions throughout the track Please feel free to share any thoughts - keeping in mind that there's still a long way to go before I'm really satisfied with this. Hope you all enjoy, I've been working extremely hard to move this one along https://soundcloud.com/emunator/bramble-blast-wip-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NyxTheShield Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Dont get me wrong, this sounds really cool, i love for what you went. But i feel like you could make this a completely original track (And it would be an amazing one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) Hm, I wonder if you could try replacing the dulcimer with a santoor if you have one, or cutting the low end of the dulcimer; it seems to stick out when it seems like it could fit more in the soundscape. I also think at 3:45, you could try some reverse delay work (psychedelay?) on a bell sound (how about "Tibetan Sforzando" from Omnisphere?). Maybe some more airiness to the reverb on the bells throughout could make this more immersive too. Edited February 19, 2015 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Well it seems like you've identified most of the areas you need to touch up already! I've been listening to the Tropical Freeze soundtrack a lot recently, and that Stickerbrush flute section sounds very similar to the style of Dave Wise's version on Tropical Freeze. Not sure if that was intentional but . Not too sure about the Hot Head Bop transition, but as you said you're going to work on that. Gorgeous soundscape and instrumentation though, and if you could get them live that'd be even better. Can't wait to hear the finished thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-wix Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) Caught this on facebook - dropping a review - I'm specifically ignoring everything in the thread thus far and just writing my initial thoughts on hearing the most current version. Sometimes its best to go into these things blind, and I'm a huge fan of Emu.. So if I cover anything that you are already planning on fixing/editing, sorry - but yea - here we go: - Great intro. It's charming, light, and soft. The drums are absolutely perfect here. I love your pads as well! Great blending of sounds. Chord progression is alright. Excited to see where it leads. - Unexpected lead. So very mellow and original sounding. Nice job @ 1:10 with the bass! so cool. I keep waiting for some drums to start up, or something heavier on the low end, but no - it just sort've keeps teasing! Nice. - The break @ 1:36 is perfect. Do not change anything. Nothing. - I feel like you can do more with the bass in general. It toys around with some aggressive bits, and don't go too crazy or anything, but I really, really feel like you could do some awesome stuff on the low end with what you have, it feels like it's almost there, I'd love to hear some heavier drums or a stronger bassline build up to the 'break' that hits at about 2:45. Stop teasing and gimme something epic - You could hit me in the feels before you even get to the sweet break. - Nice flute action! Great job in general - the blending of sounds is especially nice, there's this refreshing and charming vibe about the piece - its just a really fun song to listen to - it's really hard not to smile during each progression. Overall? This is awesome. I feel like you can push the bass/drums farther than your current efforts! The high end sounds fantastic. The layering of the instruments is well done and it has a nice building progression to it! Still not sure how i feel about the addition @ 2:14, I feel with some work to the bass/drums - It would work better! Hope it helps bro! Also, I could totally sing to this, but I'd need a few weeks to get my voice back into recording shape. It's been far to long! Edited February 17, 2015 by k-wix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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