powderhorn

[driftmark]

hey guys, long time lurker first time poster, check out a track?
 

 

[dingformung]

High quality stuff. I like how dense this track is while being very calm. The soothing chords bring it all together. Good job on the panning, too

[driftmark]

thanks!  i'm trying to pay a lot more attention to levels and panning.  i know it's kind of a meme, but Mike Senior's 'Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio' got me straightened out on a lot of the basic stuff that I'd been ignoring

[TheBro]

Reminds me of the AFX Hangable Auto Bulb stylee lol. Not really my thing but still quite cool. 

[auxien]

this is good, almost an older type feeling to it, nice offkilter beats 

[driftmark]

13 minutes ago, auxien said:

this is good, almost an older type feeling to it, nice offkilter beats 

haha thanks, yea my taste def skews to older stuff in a lot of ways, i really like super raw beats like BDP, and Audio Two.  i kinda sketch out shit along those lines and then layer and edit and what not from there

[driftmark]

On 8/5/2020 at 5:18 PM, Stickfigger said:

Well made track man ... Really nice distortion on those noise samples and very nice trails on that reverb. The FM stuff is very nicely done too and sits well within the mix ... Very serious track tho so would have to be in the mood but this is definitely in the upper ranks of what gets posted ... Will be keen to dig about to see what else you're making 

thanks so much!  i'm working through some new stuff now solo, and with a friend on a duo project called Sedenion, if you'd like to check it out we're here on bandcamp:  https://sedenion.bandcamp.com/

 

[Dpek]

Very proper. This is just my taste but I think that more could be done with the arrangement, it kind of wanders, but still, very good sound design, it must have taken a lot of time and it shows. Nice one

[driftmark]

On 8/10/2020 at 8:11 AM, Dpek said:

Very proper. This is just my taste but I think that more could be done with the arrangement, it kind of wanders, but still, very good sound design, it must have taken a lot of time and it shows. Nice one

thanks, yea, it's straight up a wandering melody, its funny you mention that i was just thinking along those exact same lines as im sitting in front of my gear right now.  it's a weird problem, to me at least, because if i get really too constructed around a verse/chorus/verse, then i don't feel i'm very good at making it sound anything but very static and predictable.  i'm listening to a bunch of tracks right now where there's something more constructed, but escapes that 

[e-mertz]

This has been in my liked tracks on soundcloud for over a month and still get's played

[driftmark]

On 10/14/2020 at 12:25 PM, e-mertz said:

This has been in my liked tracks on soundcloud for over a month and still get's played

oh wow, thanks so much, i took a bit of a break, but i'm making stuff again now

[driftmark]

posting some new stuff again!
 

 

[Acedia]

Ayy a fellow Minneapolis kid! Powderhorn is REALLY clean dude, you should be proud. I can't really say much more about it that hasn't been said, but keep making stuff and keep experimenting and improving.

[driftmark]

On 11/9/2020 at 9:52 PM, Acedia said:

Ayy a fellow Minneapolis kid! Powderhorn is REALLY clean dude, you should be proud. I can't really say much more about it that hasn't been said, but keep making stuff and keep experimenting and improving.

thanks man, yea i was born and raised in minneapolis, but i actually juuust moved to LA.

i'm putting more stuff up now

 

[Acedia]

3 hours ago, driftmark said:

thanks man, yea i was born and raised in minneapolis, but i actually juuust moved to LA.

i'm putting more stuff up now

 

LA smart man... our temps are sinking quick so you got out just in time haha. This track is dope bro! very calm. There is a sample in there that sounds just like a skype notification noise ahaha I love it. Keep it up bro

[driftmark]

On 11/11/2020 at 10:49 AM, Acedia said:

LA smart man... our temps are sinking quick so you got out just in time haha. This track is dope bro! very calm. There is a sample in there that sounds just like a skype notification noise ahaha I love it. Keep it up bro

haha, i'm probably subconsciously manifesting online meeting sounds now, great.  

[auxien]

On 11/11/2020 at 9:15 AM, driftmark said:

thanks man, yea i was born and raised in minneapolis, but i actually juuust moved to LA.

i'm putting more stuff up now

nice stuff again 

[driftmark]

poooosted up another one. at this rate i'll have an album by the time i'm 50
 

 

[Cryptowen]

that new one has an interesting sound palette - it juxtaposes a lot of tones I don't normally hear being used together on the same piece, to the point where my brain's usual 'good track/bad track' metrics don't feel like they apply. basically just had to listen to it as an immediate experience, which was nice - that happens less often with music, the older i get

 

the one at the start of the thread is quite nice! it has the same sort of tonal feel but a much more conventional structure.

[driftmark]

4 hours ago, Cryptowen said:

that new one has an interesting sound palette - it juxtaposes a lot of tones I don't normally hear being used together on the same piece, to the point where my brain's usual 'good track/bad track' metrics don't feel like they apply. basically just had to listen to it as an immediate experience, which was nice - that happens less often with music, the older i get

 

the one at the start of the thread is quite nice! it has the same sort of tonal feel but a much more conventional structure.

oh hey, thanks, that's a really interesting take on it, i like it.  i'm kind of trying to find an interesting spot in between structured percussive stuff and more conventional ambient or droning music. appreciate the comments and the time

[Thu Zaw]

Fantastic 'drum' sounds. 

[driftmark]

hello all, i spent a bunch of last year doing some production for, and playing guitar in a backing band for a friend's project which was a totally new experience for me, and super interesting.  getting back electronic stuff here, my friend and I released another longer project!

 

 

 

[End Quote]

On 7/26/2020 at 10:11 AM, driftmark said:

hey guys, long time lurker first time poster, check out a track?
 

 

This is my first reply to a thread in this forum ; I'm going to test out a 'feedback template' which will most likely be changed over time, let me know what you think!
---
Thoughts While Listening :
START- 0:07 -> I like this flanger effect and how it also modulates the stereo/mono space.
0:08 - 0:24 -> This reminds me of the beginning of a Pink Floyd song.
0:52 - 1:05 -> There seems to be more activity being picked up here, though it kind of fades away later on, teasing!
2:33 - END -> I'm a huge fan of tracks ending similar to how they began, I like that you did that here.

Positive Feedback :
If I had to put a style to this, I would say this is something like what you hear in video games. A lot of Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, etc. music has this sort of vibe that is 'continuous'. I don't think it is particularly easy to achieve this, since potentially the track can repeat 'forever' and not seem repetitive ; well done here! Each sound, bloop, bleeps, synths have their own place in the spectrum, which keeps the brain busy listening. The 'feel' of the track is not lost at any point, which is a good thing in my opinion.

Subjective Criticism :
Perhaps it was your goal, but this track plateaus early on in the beginning and remains the same throughout. There are many uses for this, but in my opinion I think this track would shine brighter if there was some energy picked up later on. Of course, this would not be the case if the purpose of this track is to remain within the same vibe/frequency throughout, which is what is achieved here. I expected ~0:49 for some melody to appear and start giving us a different message, though this didn't happen. I think that you could easily write a melody on top of the ones you currently have in order to accentuate the overall feel of the track. Also, I think that you could further develop the track by removing some of the elements in some areas and bringing them back in other (this is the less-is-more idea!) This will make them stand out more when they do return!

[driftmark]

I appreciate the thoughtful feedback!  i may try adding more melodies to tracks like this, but in many cases, i do think less is more in songwriting.  

this is something i think about a lot actually.  in doing a lot of close listening to tracks i like to learn from, i've been repeatedly surprised at how structurally simple a lot of them are in terms of sections, specifically.  put on autechre's pir for example, jump the playhead around.  i find this is true for most music that i'm interested in that doesn't follow a verse/chorus/bridge/verse type structure.  

this really is the classic struggle though.  simple doesn't have to be boring, and complex isn't always interesting.  i think as musicians often times we put constraints on ourselves that the listeners really don't give a shit about that much.