Bare Bones Barefoot

[laj35]

Barefoot, my man, really good to hear a relatively complete piece from you, much anticipated by me. Which reminds me, why the hell aren't you atleast PM'n me with updates??? I got like two dudes on my 'buddy' list and you're one of 'em....


Anyways, you got the groove bro, for sure. I've pretty much always been a bit sceptical about AcidPro, knew you were a big proponent, but now I just might have to check me a demo, impressive stuff. I must say that being a fairly avid trance follower (relative to this bbs anyways) that this is my style. Can dance to it, but definitely has a listenability factor that most trance lacks, and hence falls by the wayside. You mentioned having made improvements upon this and I'm pretty interested to hear them. You should check out The Orb's "Pomme Fritz" EP and some of the older Northern Exposure Series from Sasha and john Digweed and check their sample (vocal) usage; they really meld wierd spoken word stuff into lush atmospheric jumbo that would absolutely fit perfect with this track, hell I don't think it really demands a melody persay, but some thickening for sure, specially if you're looking to induce trance, which is of course a goal of sorts, of course (hehe). Anyways man, really cool to see blatant progression artistically, and you are riding the same vibe that my "band-mates" and I are workin. And hey, if you hit a brick wall with this I'm only an ICQ away, melodic atmospheres are my forte, my deal. Keep movin........




Laj

 

[B.SABBATH]

pretty phat indeed..

I dont know much about trance, but this sounded good to me.. I like some of those sounds.. Of course I hear a guitar solo through out , but I know that doesnt fly in these types of tunes!


it is a phat groove..

late
sam

 

[charger]

Wow, 7 minutes long. This must be the extended dance remix. Anyway, I got a little tired of that first drum beat that goes until about 3:00... Maybe throw in a variation or two. I like the arpegiatted synth somewhere after two minutes. Around 4:15 this thing really kicks off, deep bass, new drum, line, this part rocks. I don;t really like the way the main drum line fades out from 5:00... you should try to find a little more of a transition there, or soemthing to replace it. In general, I think drum lines are better on fade ins than fade-outs, especially when everything else keeps going. Then it's back in around 6:00, cool, back to where we were. And the arpeggio makes a reappearance around 6:30, I like it, but it should be a little lower in the mix.

My major comment would be, man this is repetitive. But I don't know a lot about the genre, so I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Overall, I liked the pulsing heavy bass and rockin drums parts best, those really rocked me.

 

[barefoot]

Laj, Thanks for your usual great input. The funny thing is that, barring a few exceptions, I don't like Trance - at least in it's present state. So in light of this, I put an ironic twist in I.L.T.S. Did you notice? I need to open up the attack on the compressor to make the kicks more obvious, but that very Trancy section from about 3:00 to 4:00 starts out with an 808 kick on the 1st beat then slowly builds to a straight thumping 4X4. And just when you think this is turning into a "Real Trance" tune the drums break, the bass cranks in, and some raucous groovin breakbeats smack you in the face and say "Got ya sucka! And here's a sum more for ya neon tie-dyed earthchild ass!! "

The Orb and S&D I know well - though I need to pickup some S&D discs. I guess I'm torn a little as to whether I should go the "ambient overlay" route. Every time I try that I think it throws the tune way over into Psy-Trance territory, where I definitely don't want to be. Maybe my execution is just off. I'll PM you with the next updates so you can let me know if you think I'm heading in the right direction.

Sam, Thanks man. Hey it's all valid, guitars or whatever. I haven't picked up my guitar in a while, but maybe I should for this tune. The last thing I was into before I took a hiatus from the guitar was trying to build these dreamy soundscapes with a sort of distant fury á la The Verve's "A Storm In Heaven" - an incredible recording by the way, and one you should definitely hear if you haven't already (one of the best rock albums of the 90's IMHO). Yeah, that kind of thing just might work here. Maybe it's time to blow the dust off of the case of my very fine, and completely underrated, Elite series Strat. Thanks for the idea!

charger, Glad you were feeling the vibe. Believe it or not 7 minutes isn't considered "extended" for this genre. That's a relatively normal length song. Extended electronica mixes these days are often one LP side, or even one whole CD long. But yeah your right, it's a bit repetitive at this point because what I have so far is meant to be the rhythmic framework for further melodic elaboration. I'll try experimenting with some alternatives to that drum fade out. Thanks for the suggestion.

barefoot

 

[fenderlikingood]

wow!!!!!!

i have never really listened to this type of music before( i mean i've heard it, but never really listened to it) and it was completely groovy. a sweet ass head phone trip, i was just staring at the computer screen totaly in to it , then my dog barked , and i nearly shit myself ( <<<<nice mental picture eh?) i can see why they call it trance. thanks for introducing me to this genre, im diggin it!

peace

rick

 

[Lt. Bob]

Must like it.......I listened to it twice. I'm a fan of anything but I particularly like sonic tapestry type stuff and this is another version of sonic tapestry. Needs a light show though. Really hypnotic....maybe it could use a little something in the higher frequency range to balance things out a bit. It seems a little dark.
A solid piece of work---I saved it to my driving cross country cd.

 

[barefoot]

Rick, Thanks, and it's an honor that you consider my stuff as having "introduced" you to music you've already heard examples of before.

Electronica is as broad and varied a genre as Rock. And like Rock there are a few gems scattered amongst the mountains of costume jewelry (or sometimes outright garbage). However, Electronica isn't played on the radio (fortunately in my opinion), so it's difficult for people who are unfamiliar with it to find those gems. Blindly stepping into a record store or club is not a good way to find it. I can PM you with a few "starter" suggestions if you're interested.

Hopefully I can progress to the level where I'm creating a few gems of my own.

Lt. Bob, " I saved it to my driving cross country cd" Hey, that's also a very big compliment! I know I choose my road music very carefully. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm toying with some high frequency sort of bird or frog like sounds. If it works it will brighten things up a bit sonically but I wouldn't say it necessarily brightens the mood. I guess it's something in my personality because my stuff often tends to have a dark air about it.

barefoot

 

[Village Idiot]

I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...

Damn Trance music...


Good Job!
Good Job!
Good Job!
Good Job!



VI

 

[Lt. Bob]

Yep...brightening it sonically is what I meant. I don't think you would want to change the mood. That's good where it is.

As for electronica.....I heard a live depeche Mode cd in a New Orleans bar a couple of weeks ago that really caught my ear. Is that considered good electronica or am I just displaying my lack of knowledge concerning the genre?

 

[samicide]

I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...
I really liked the groove...

Damn Trance music...


Good Job!
Good Job!
Good Job!
Good Job!



VI

LMAO!

 

[barefoot]

I really liked the groove...
......
I really liked the groove...

Damn Trance music...

Good Job!
......
Good Job!

That's rich man! And I can't deny it.

Though I feel in good company.

Repetition and cyclic variation have been tools of musical expression spanning millennia. Much Electronica takes it's cues from Eastern and African music in this respect. It's an area of such subtle and intricate sophistication that western music has only begun to scratch the surface in the last century.

.....I heard a live depeche Mode cd in a New Orleans bar a couple of weeks ago that really caught my ear. Is that considered good electronica or am I just displaying my lack of knowledge concerning the genre?

Who am I to say really, but I think people tend to consider Depeche Mode more in the Pop/Rock camp than in Electronica. But yeah, they straddle the line. "Good electronica"? They have their moments, but I personally wouldn't consider them shining examples of the form.

barefoot