Enceladus (dark, modular track)

[ZoeB]

Hi!

What do you make of this? The mix is a work in progress, I'm still selecting which takes to use and haven't begun to even EQ anything yet.

Thanks!

http://soundcloud.com/zoeblade/enceladus

[Brisbot]

I like the groove and the atmosphere going on. I think that after EQing and beefing the track up that it'll be pretty banging. I'm thinking that if you take advantage of the reverb and the space (especially the space), and give the listener a feeling of being in a huge room/ enveloped by the frequencies, then this track will be sweet.

At 4:30, I think you should extend this section, instead of going back into the previous section. I suggest a melody come out under the main melody, you know? And build up slowly, then end on that note. You actually have a small buildup going into it right before it reverts which I will admit, is a bit of a letdown, since you built up to that point well then it repeats without a section.

Hope I made sense. Might be a bit confusing.

[ZoeB]

Yeah, it's single-section which I guess wasn't very ambitious of me... Now you're asking, changing the composition itself will mean re-recording the whole thing! But yeah, you're right, it would make it better, it's too repetitive...

[Brisbot]

Yeah, it's single-section which I guess wasn't very ambitious of me... Now you're asking, changing the composition itself will mean re-recording the whole thing! But yeah, you're right, it would make it better, it's too repetitive...

It's not repetitive, only that very last section because I think it was the same section as a previous one minus the reverbed square and choir synth pad. What's your hardware setup consist of? I personally would never subject myself to having to get things right in one take

 

I think that repetitious melody on top is fine because, even though it's the loudest part in the mix ( I think ), the way you have the background space set up, my attention transitions over to the things being introduced, and the overall atmosphere of the track. Which makes that top melody become essentially 'the background'. When that reverb square comes in that's holding my attention, along with the choral pad. I like how it all stops, there's space, and then the new melody is introduced in at 4:36 right before it transitions.

[Thiefinger]

Sounds pretty quiet and minimalistic, which can be a good thing. The lonely melody that comes up sometimes might be mixed too low, volume-wise. I didn't even realise there was a bass somewhere before I switched to my headphones. So the balance of the mix might be a bit off at this point, I think I hear some distant pads there too? You might wanna make some stuff a bit louder there. Also the repeating synth chord thingy could use some modulation and fx along the way to give it slight variation.

But yeah, as you said, the mix is still in process so you'll probably do something to it anyways so just pointing out stuff here.

Other than that, it's a lovely hypnotic and melancholic track.

[ZoeB]

Thank you both! Here's the next revision:

 

 

My setup's a bit patchy at the moment... this is almost all Doepfer A-100 though, with some other bits and bobs for effects. :)

[Guest colonelchibbers]

You keep it to just a few elements, but I think they work well. I do like the feeling of it overall, and that's what matters. The wintry melancholy kind of reminded me of, weirdly enough, the Phendrana Drifts tune from the Metroid Prime soundtrack. If you were going for good backgroundy minimalism then you hit it.