Terraform (ElectroProg - Seismic Struggle)

[seismic1]

Here is the 2015 remix of Terraform. This is the fourth mix I have made of this piece. The original was a stinker. I was listening to it in the car a couple of weeks ago. I went through a bad musical patch in April/May 2010 when I wrote this, and a couple of other tracks at around the same time. A lot of my failures during this period were caused by a desire to fix problems that didn't really exist, instead of directing my energies in a more useful direction. When I decided to remix this in 2012, I wasn't feeling particularly confident of the outcome, but I somehow managed to turn this track from one which I absolutely hated into a piece of music that I could actually listen to. That felt good. The 2015 remix involved changing out a couple of of synth patches for something more suitable, swapping out most of the original reverbs for CSR and Breeze, a sonic cleanup, and my latest Techno mastering chain with a pinch of Satin on the master bus. This will be going on the album later this year, which is now over half-complete.



I hope you like it

[meta4]

I checked this out a good few days back and I immediately like it a lot. I was busy at the time so I was only listening when I got the chance.

But as someone mentioned in the comments at the beginning about the hats. I agree totally with them-I think they are very clevely done with the what sounds like an arp synth sound kicking in at the intro-then the way the track changes around 0:45 works really well to with the percussion and that lovely subby bass. Also the track displays lots of different things happening all at once-then not so much-like adding to much can kill the track-but I think you have performed the arrangement very well-I can gut feel how you have balanced out the individual instruments & audio fx, like you have kept the same sound of the overall track.

But yeh the final mix- with its limiters n stuff-ughrr - there has been many a time before today were I have just got up from one of my projects as the final mix is wrecking my head, so I go for a walk which usually results with me coming back home with some cold ones-story of my life lol. But yeh the final mix. Thats were proper talent comes in. And I think you have nailed it totally. Just a great track and the overall mix of it to works really well. Nice n crisp.

But yeh that dreaded musical patch-I know what you mean-I hate it- but from it I have learned a lot to. Great title btw-I think it fits with the music and learning that this particular track was first born in 2010 certainly makes me understand much more how old projects can 'at a later time' be felt and heard in a whole different light. How you have described your feelings to on the track is an educational reminder- for me anyway-as I have often felt dissatisfied playing/hearing old projects. I think its wonderful how Terraform has worked out with its journey from its first appearance in 2010 till now. But more importantly it is here now for the world to enjoy to. Thats the beauty of what music can do and how it can change someones day in an instant. Terraform is a magnificent example for exactly that.

Great Stuff seis :tu:

[seismic1]

Hey Richy, thanks very much for taking a listen. It's always great to read your comments

This is the fourth (and I hope it will be the last) mix of this one. The original version wasn't one of my favourites but, by the time I completed the first remix in 2012, I was quite happy with the music. It took me a further two remixes to get the sounds the way I wanted them. I didn't dare mess with the drumkit at the end. That's got Freeverb3 on it. Most of the sounds on here are from "free" instruments, although I have 3 or 4 instances of Waldorf Wave 2.V on here. I really want to make more use of that synth.

The mixing wasn't actually too difficult. I like the instruments to blend into each other so the EQ work on here was all simple hi/lo pass stuff, with some panning to give me the required separation. I don't use heavy compression or limiting on my tracks. If I need more volume, I can just turn up the amplifier

I was just playing a rough mix of my latest track, Parallax, on the HiFi. It currently has no compressor or limiter on the mix, so is a little quieter that I would like, but if I turn up the volume on the amplifier, the resulting sound is much more balanced and dynamic than many commercial mixes. I'll probably put some light compression and limiting on there later in the week, just to give it a slightly "modern" vibe.

There is a lot to be said for keeping old projects safe on your hard disk for a couple of years. I was not happy with Terraform back in 2010, and I know a few people who would have binned the project under the same circumstances, but patience is a virtue, and the time spent away from the project was definitely beneficial here, and on some other projects too. My feelings about this track changed in the interim, and I was able to make the changes that I felt were required.

In contrast, the next remix for the album will require very little work, and will be purely aimed at tidying up the sonics. Offsets was a track that I was never unhappy with, although I have remixed it once and given it a new middle sixteen.

Once again, thanks very much for the great comments :thumbsup: