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WeeklyBeats.com / Music / miraclemiles's music / Displaced Astronaut

Displaced Astronaut

By miraclemiles on July 12, 2020 11:52 pm

Where these songs come from, it's a mystery. Would not have guessed this is what I'd make this week. I started out thinking about making some boom bap hip hop, maybe writing some words, telling a story (I just watched Hamilton, and listened to the new Run the Jewels ... felt like getting wordy I think), and then maybe a trip hop portishead vibe because I enjoyed them this week too. But like most weeks, when I sit down to create (at a desk in front of the Push in this case), whatever comes out comes out, and its often a surprise. I just go with it and don't try to force may way back into the foggy notion of a plan I started off with anyway. I think if you just get into flow, and keep going, no over-thinking, or second guessing, no internal editor during creation time, fun thing can happen. To get started I like opening old projects that had some sounds I knew could provide a starting point because I didn't want to spend time digging around for sounds. First things first, I grabbed some samples that were in my head (wonder pets theme because kids were singing it this week and "The Warrior" from scandal because it popped in my head during a run). Didn't know what I'd do those yet. Just kind of got them in time, drop them together and went with it for a loud, weird chorus thing. Then opened up some notes I'd written over the past couple days and started doing vocals through Kaoss pad. For me, the line that had the most personal meaning was "love the one you're with" (not my original line of course), and "radically accept we are small," but "displaced astronaut" definitely seemed more provocative and mysterious for a title.

The mystery of song creation is one of the coolest parts I think.  Where do the ideas come from?  Are these pieces of music that actually already exist somewhere in the ether and we're just receiving and channeling them somehow?  Or are we creating them from scratch?  I also like sometimes starting with a vague notion of what I want to do and seeing how far the end product drifts away from what I originally thought it was going to be.  Lots of cool sounds bursting all over this and the plethora of little vocal snippets are great.

CosmicCairns wrote:

The mystery of song creation is one of the coolest parts I think.  Where do the ideas come from?  Are these pieces of music that actually already exist somewhere in the ether and we're just receiving and channeling them somehow?  Or are we creating them from scratch?  I also like sometimes starting with a vague notion of what I want to do and seeing how far the end product drifts away from what I originally thought it was going to be.  Lots of cool sounds bursting all over this and the plethora of little vocal snippets are great.

Yes! Glad you appreciate the mystery. I've gone back and forth between believing we channel them out of ether and creating from scratch sides. Plucking out of ether is kind of more fun to imagine - opens up limitless possibilities I think, because the ether is full of ideas waiting for eager vessels to channel them. Agree, so fun to just see what happens, cannot count in things going according to plan. All this mystery is a reason to keep on creating I guess!

Whoa, I didn't know I could make a blank comment. Oops/neat. The pitched around drum in the beginning and end is my favorite part. I like the dissonant vocals a lot too, and the scratchy stuff in the middle.

Not Up Down.
Just Down.

license wrote:

Whoa, I didn't know I could make a blank comment. Oops/neat. The pitched around drum in the beginning and end is my favorite part. I like the dissonant vocals a lot too, and the scratchy stuff in the middle.

Not Up Down.
Just Down.

Thanks! I think I'll have to play with those pitched around drums more, I played stuff, but then threw a random device on it to alter more, came out fun. Those other vocal bits and scratchy stuff all Kaoss pad, I enjoy that thing. That's right, NOT Up Down ... definitely just Down ... who knows what I meant there.

miraclemiles wrote:

That's right, NOT Up Down ... definitely just Down ... who knows what I meant there.


Not me, but I liked it a lot!

This is quiet a raw product with tons of great moments of polydimentional stylemerging. it should and will be analyzed in scholarly lessons in the future. genius.

A huge awesome texture of sound especially when that ride cymbal beat kicks in.  I liked all the percussive elements especially that intro drum.  Nice work!

Q-Rosh wrote:

This is quiet a raw product with tons of great moments of polydimentional stylemerging. it should and will be analyzed in scholarly lessons in the future. genius.

haha, thanks for this great comment, this made my smile. Glad you could dig my somewhat weird and all over the place space I got going on. I sure hope there's a scholarly course somewhere in the future on polydimentional stylemerging ... sign me up! 

Tone Matrix wrote:

A huge awesome texture of sound especially when that ride cymbal beat kicks in.  I liked all the percussive elements especially that intro drum.  Nice work!

Thanks very much! Yeah that intro drum is a pitched tabla sample instrument, I think released by Brian Funk, probably free too. I'll have to play with that more. Pitched percussion is fave of mine.

This is some real cool vocal shopping and mixing here. Definitely using this as a reference

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