Demo scene vibes. Very polished, I'm jelly.

Demo scene vibes. Very polished, I'm jelly.

Jimmac's statement about demo scene vibes is right on the money -- excellent work! I really like the fact that you return to the beginning via a circuitous route through a darker refrain than how you start, even if the swooshes are the same they're contextualized quite differently.

Regarding WB, speaking as a first-timer: prior to WB, I tried several times to do Jamuary and absolutely hated the experience. I brought this up recently with a friend (one of the best producers I know) and he said "I suspect WB is really daily beats, but with the all-so-necessary rest time" -- and I think this approach, when taken, is wise. Like any other process / project / thing, do not stop questioning if you're getting something out of it, and do not hesitate to change your goals and approaches if they're not working for you. The tldr is WB is what you make it, not a course w/ a fixed syllabus you have to satisfy. Be selfish: sometimes an experiment itself is interesting, and I am convinced some of the most interesting work on here is from folks second-guessing if they should post a file at all.

Jimmac's statement about demo scene vibes is right on the money -- excellent work! I really like the fact that you return to the beginning via a circuitous route through a darker refrain than how you start, even if the swooshes are the same they're contextualized quite differently. <3 Regarding WB, speaking as a first-timer: prior to WB, I tried several times to do Jamuary and absolutely hated the experience. I brought this up recently with a friend (one of the best producers I know) and he said "I suspect WB is really daily beats, but with the all-so-necessary rest time" -- and I think this approach, when taken, is wise. Like any other process / project / thing, do not stop questioning if you're getting something out of it, and do not hesitate to change your goals and approaches if they're not working for you. The tldr is WB is what you make it, not a course w/ a fixed syllabus you have to satisfy. Be selfish: sometimes an experiment itself is interesting, and I am convinced some of the most interesting work on here is from folks second-guessing if they should post a file at all.

Could easily imagine this in a demo. Nice job and I'm glad to hear my instruments helped

Could easily imagine this in a demo. Nice job and I'm glad to hear my instruments helped :)

Y'all can have no idea how great a compliment that really is. (added to the tags)

[quote=jimmac]Demo scene vibes[/quote] [quote=ilzxc]demo scene vibes is right on the money[/quote] [quote=laamaa]Could easily imagine this in a demo.[/quote] Y'all can have no idea how great a compliment that really is. :heart: (added to the tags)

That's a great take.  I'm not surprised he's one of the best producers you know.

[quote=ilzxc]I brought this up recently with a friend (one of the best producers I know) and he said "I suspect WB is really daily beats, but with the all-so-necessary rest time" -- and I think this approach, when taken, is wise.[/quote] That's a great take. I'm not surprised he's one of the best producers you know.

really cool! well done.

really cool! well done. :)

I liked those chords in the intro, too bad they get drowned out later on.

I liked those chords in the intro, too bad they get drowned out later on.

Cool groove here and I dig that bass tone. Solid melody too.

Cool groove here and I dig that bass tone. Solid melody too.

NGL: I sat down with some of your patches last week and kept stripping them down until I worked out a basic understanding of "how-laaamaaFM-get-so-much-character-without-sounding-particularly-like-FM".  A big discovery (to me) was how some of your patches build up a nice warm body of harmonics, then roll off the hideous high-end FM buzz by dialing the final modulator pretty low (and maybe adding some texture back with a bit of carrier feedback + reverb).

Learning how FM can build the sound you want AND suppress the sound you don't want definitely triggered one of those corner-turning moments (it's like filtering without filters!  it can target individual operators!)  It also suggests the level of experience/skill needed to come up with these kinds of solutions from scratch―but maybe some of that can be acquired by studying previous patches of the masters.

Thanks! That feedback was really helpful, after some digging:  At first I couldn't understand what you meant, because those chords only play during the intro.  But after re-listening for them after the drop, I started to get the same impression―even though I knew they weren't there.

I think I've worked out what's going on, and it's kind of wild:  After the drop, those chords' chiptune instrument switches to playing little high-pitched blippy arps.  (I thought of them as backup singers doing "doo-wops"―on revisting them, they also sound like office phones ).  The bass and lead eventually pick up their motifs from the intro, and it wouldn't feel out of place if the chords came back.  So: as the chiptune arps sit far enough in the background, it can start to sound like those intro chords are still playing―but have been almost completely drowned out by the rest of the mix, with only their arps still audible.

I guess that's a pychoacoustic thing?  When I finally heard it, it felt like getting a magic eye puzzle into focus:   The chords aren't actually playing, but it can sound faintly like they are.  I haven't thought about these kinds of effects in my arrangements before, but I'll certainly watch out for them now. 

Thanks for pointing it out, it's been a trip

[quote=laamaa]I'm glad to hear my instruments helped :)[/quote] NGL: I sat down with some of your patches last week and kept stripping them down until I worked out a basic understanding of [i]"how-laaamaaFM-get-so-much-character-without-sounding-particularly-like-FM"[/i]. A big discovery (to me) was how some of your patches build up a nice warm body of harmonics, then roll off the hideous high-end FM buzz by dialing the final modulator pretty low (and maybe adding some texture back with a bit of carrier feedback + reverb). Learning how FM can build the sound you want AND suppress the sound you [i]don't[/i] want definitely triggered one of those corner-turning moments (it's like filtering without filters! it can target individual operators!) It also suggests the level of experience/skill needed to come up with these kinds of solutions from scratch―but maybe some of that can be acquired by studying previous patches of the masters. :P [quote=Devieus]I liked those chords in the intro, too bad they get drowned out later on.[/quote] Thanks! That feedback was really helpful, after some digging: At first I couldn't understand what you meant, because those chords only play during the intro. But after re-listening for them after the drop, I started to get the same impression―even though I [i]knew[/i] they weren't there. I think I've worked out what's going on, and it's kind of wild: After the drop, those chords' chiptune instrument switches to playing little high-pitched blippy arps. (I thought of them as backup singers doing "doo-wops"―on revisting them, they also sound like office phones :P ). The bass and lead eventually pick up their motifs from the intro, and it wouldn't feel out of place if the chords came back. So: as the chiptune arps sit far enough in the background, it can start to sound like those intro chords [i]are[/i] still playing―but have been almost completely drowned out by the rest of the mix, with only their arps still audible. I guess that's a pychoacoustic thing? When I finally heard it, it felt like getting a magic eye puzzle into focus: The chords aren't actually playing, but it can sound faintly like they are. I haven't thought about these kinds of effects in my arrangements before, but I'll certainly watch out for them now. Thanks for pointing it out, it's been a trip

I think you got it right on the money, it's like I'm expecting them to be there, but somehow they're not, though I'm still filling in the gaps.

Weird, but the point is that they're good and I wish for their return. I'd really like more of them.

[quote=ineff][quote=Devieus]I liked those chords in the intro, too bad they get drowned out later on.[/quote] Thanks! That feedback was really helpful, after some digging: At first I couldn't understand what you meant, because those chords only play during the intro. But after re-listening for them after the drop, I started to get the same impression―even though I [i]knew[/i] they weren't there. I think I've worked out what's going on, and it's kind of wild: After the drop, those chords' chiptune instrument switches to playing little high-pitched blippy arps. (I thought of them as backup singers doing "doo-wops"―on revisting them, they also sound like office phones :P ). The bass and lead eventually pick up their motifs from the intro, and it wouldn't feel out of place if the chords came back. So: as the chiptune arps sit far enough in the background, it can start to sound like those intro chords [i]are[/i] still playing―but have been almost completely drowned out by the rest of the mix, with only their arps still audible. I guess that's a pychoacoustic thing? When I finally heard it, it felt like getting a magic eye puzzle into focus: The chords aren't actually playing, but it can sound faintly like they are. I haven't thought about these kinds of effects in my arrangements before, but I'll certainly watch out for them now. Thanks for pointing it out, it's been a trip[/quote] I think you got it right on the money, it's like I'm expecting them to be there, but somehow they're not, though I'm still filling in the gaps. Weird, but the point is that they're good and I wish for their return. I'd really like more of them.

love this track! especially those smooth melodies that weave in and out!  well done

love this track! especially those smooth melodies that weave in and out! well done

real groovy. The slidey synth is a perfect addition

real groovy. The slidey synth is a perfect addition

cool track, I like the way it builds up with some high scream-like snares and stuff and high melody, then slows down again, like a good story arc.

and really fascinating to read the discussions and analyses it's peripheral learning for me even tho I might not use it yet but kinda interesting to read about the arp/chord thing for example.

I'm also having the slight WB stress but I'm always glad after submitting, so I'm pushing myself to just do it even if I might not feel it 100% cause I know how much I get back from it afterwards. And the comments defo help so here's a tiny bit of giving back thanks for this dope track!

oh and I also liked the wind!

cool track, I like the way it builds up with some high scream-like snares and stuff and high melody, then slows down again, like a good story arc. and really fascinating to read the discussions and analyses :) it's peripheral learning for me even tho I might not use it yet but kinda interesting to read about the arp/chord thing for example. I'm also having the slight WB stress but I'm always glad after submitting, so I'm pushing myself to just do it even if I might not feel it 100% cause I know how much I get back from it afterwards. And the comments defo help so here's a tiny bit of giving back :) thanks for this dope track! oh and I also liked the wind!