Tape loops and guitar

[iainx]

Hello

I've been playing around with tape loops and guitars over the past few months, and feel like I'd like to share it with you all to get your opinions. Partly because I'm in the overly critical post-creation phase where I just automatically feel everything is shit (As an aside, how do you get over that?)



There's something nice about it all being a live performance, rather than micro-managing everything in a DAW, that every time I play it, it's going to change. This is the second time I've recorded the performance, the first time was 7 minutes and I felt it could be tightened up, so I tried again and somehow it ended up being 14minutes. Is it too long? Does it need more variation? Is it ambient? Does it work? All the doubts swimming round in my head at the moment.

So yes, hit me with your critical opinions

[Toan_]

That's very nice. I really like the color of this ambient rock track.
Keep on working in this way !

[iainx]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it

[windspace]

First off...I really enjoyed listening!
My opinions fwiw...
- The length is fine. It would work even longer, or shorter. I wouldn't worry about that, especially around here...some of us get rather long winded with our compositions! I know I'm guilty of that.
- Yes, it is ambient. I don't think you'd find any argument.

I have been trying to learn to play ambient guitar and have experimented with recording the audio from my guitar amps using a Zoom H1 portable recorder. I find it to be very refreshing compared to working 'in the box'.

[magnesson]

i dig it!

[GaryG]

loving this, especially that background loop, masterful.

[iainx]

Been slowly getting my gear set up after the kerosene tsunami and I made short recording if you'd like to have a listen

Tape and guitar loop, terrible recording because I've only got a 1/4W amp to play through and it's recorded using the iPhone's voice memo app, so apologies for that.

[ian]

i quite like the second one. i think it ends a little abruptly and i think that the high drone around 4-5khz(?) is too sharp when it gets loud, but the piece is interesting. i had to listen to it a few times to really take it all in. it's got a nice glitchy, gritty feel to it. i think the lo-fi recording actually adds a hell of a lot to it and you shouldn't be apologizing for it at all; so much of the atmosphere would be lost if you did this in a professional studio.

the first one is also cool. it's not as much to my taste as the second one is, but it's definitely legitimate too.

getting over the overly critical post-production thing is as simple as realizing that most people aren't gonna give a damn, anyway. when you make ambient stuff, unless you're an already well-known artist who mainly makes other music, you're not making something more than a handful of people are gonna hear. this isn't directly your fault or anybody else's; ambient music simply isn't to the taste of the majority of music listeners, no matter how much you might try to fight it. it's stereotyped as being "that stuff in the background" because of the contexts it's used in, so most people usually won't go out of their way to listen to it on its own the way they might listen to a modest mouse or disclosure record. you're catering to a niche audience that doesn't care as much about poor mix-downs or arrangements and wants to feel the music more than just hearing it. people crazy enough to go out of their way to just listen to ambient music for the fun of it are gonna care loads more about the soul you put into your work (and there's plenty of that in yours) than whether there's background noise, if it clips, if the lows are too overpowering, etc.

[Maharg]

I agree with the comments from windspace and ian. A simple low fi recording adds a great deal to many ambient tracks. Quite a few ambient and other musicians use the iPhone for field recordings and recording live performances to be added into different projects. David Gilmour uses a lot of recordings made on his iPhone for adding character and atmosphere. So if someone with his studio set up and productions skills records on the iPhone for some bits and pieces goes to show that utilising the iPhone is indeed nothing to apologise for.
As for the length of tracks, I would say that anything under 15 minutes is rather short for my tastes. 15-20 minutes is still in the area I call short. Getting close to an hour is where I begin calling it longish. 90 minutes plus places it into the long category (my take on ambient anyway).
I quite like the sound that clipping makes. Particularly if you slow down the recording and then lower the volume which gives it a nice edginess I like in small doses.

I like the second track better than the first, although I enjoyed listening to both. My tastes tend to long smooth transitions and slow evolving sound fields. Something sharp and unexpected now and again is fine. I also prefer to keep the volume of the various parts ebbing and flowing with as wider range as possible. It is ok for a pop song to have equal volume throughout, but not so good for ambient. Don't make it too loud, record low and let the listener decide what volume they want to listen at - I always recommend low

Keep doing what you are doing. It sounds great.

[iainx]

Thanks for that, Ian and Maharg, it's very helpful to hear that people are enjoying what I do and I'll take your comments onboard.

[windspace]

I'm a fan of trying to include the immediate environment as a part of the ambient piece, whether by including ambient sounds/noises or by running your audio through speakers and then recording the resulting combined audio from the interaction of your audio with the space. I like the ambience of the second piece. Sort of a Boards of Canada sound.

[iainx]

Actually, I did leave the window open when I recorded it because I noticed one of my neighbours was cutting the grass and there was a sort of choppy white noise thing happening, although I'm not sure if the recording picked it up.

[gis_sweden]

I like the 2nd one best too...

[iainx]

Here's a sort of cover/reinterpretation of Earth's Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine)

[GaryG]

That's wonderful, truly Hazy.

Can't say I'm familiar with the original, really need to get up to speed with Earth again (loved Earth 2 back in the day...)