Rhythmic ambient ...?

[Ambient Indigo]

This started off as a slow ambient piece, but developed into something a bit more rhythmic. I don't know if "rhythmic ambient" is a term which actually exists, but ... see what you think anyway ...

Its made completely with soft synths, mainly Spectrasonics and Zebra2.

https://soundcloud.com/ambientindigo/kingdom-of-haltia

[Ambient Mechanics]

A really great track, AI..kudos, man..I would have downloaded it if you had the download feature turned on. Thanks for posting this! :thumbsup:

[S1gnsOfL1fe]

Absolutely stunning piece!!! Rhythmic ambient? Of course it's a term! It's my bread and butter.

This track though, I'm on my second playthrough. So much attention to detail, so many deep layers and the percussion is done so well. Same with the lead sounds. You should feel good about this one, VERY good.

Cheers and wonderful work!

-S1gns

[Ciberithm]

I really like this style of music, and I could listen to this over and over. I love the layers of slow moving pads with the percussion groove. Nice work!

[phoenstorm]

impressive, very good track. like the mix, deep, polished, airy! care to share, which tools you used?

[Ambient Indigo]

@Ambient Mechanics, @ S1gnsofL1fe, @ Ciberithm ---- thank you, really appreciate the listen and the positive comments

@ phoenstorm : thanks for the comments. Sound-wise its mainly Omnisphere and Zebra2 - one instance of Omnisphere can layer up to 8 parts, and each part can have its own independent effects, and all 8 parts can be routed to seperate outs - this is so useful to audition how different parts work together such as when layering pad patches (I havn't seen this flexibility in any other synth). The percussion sounds are mainly Stylus RMX, which I treated in some cases quite a lot with delay, and there are some Kontakt in there too for some effect/percussion sounds. Effects come mostly from Guitar Rig, and on this track I used for first time free auto-pan Cableguys PanCake and also Melda Productions MAutopan (still deciding which is best), one of those together with a delay can do some interesting things. Still searching for the perfect delay plugin though ... For EQ and some occasional track compression I'm using Alloy2. Its simple to use and very effective, especially on the EQ. I use Ozone for mastering but keep the tweaks small, eg the overall EQ, add some light multi-band compression, and boost it a little with the limiter, plus some light reverb (less than 10%) to help blend the sounds together. If you want to know anything else, I'm happy to share.

[phoenstorm]

thanks for generouslysharing your workflow - the end-product really sounds great...I mean to invest in a mastering suite at some point, but before that, Zebra is on my list

[Ambient Mechanics]

A big :thumbsup: for Omnisphere..I agree with you totally. I know a lot of people say it's over-priced and that the sample sets limit you..but they are obviously missing the point completely. Sure, the in-box sounds won't work with everything, but then again, I don't know of a synth that does. Omnishpere's real shining feature is, as you mentioned above AI, it's ability to let you layer and mangle sounds in order to come up with your own in the end.

Sure there is a learning curve involved, but it's well worth anyone's time to invest both funds and man-hours in this gem. I don't think there is anything out there right now that can touch it. A few come close, but Omnishphere still sits at the top as far as I'm concerned.

[phoenstorm]

something, I'm not sure what it is, prevents me from finding Omisphere interesting...but then I hear the results & you begin to think

[Ambient Indigo]

Omnisphere may be one of the most expensive soft synths on the market, but its absolutely value for money. It ships with over 40 GB of sounds, over 5000 patches. I've had it years and never had to think about getting other soundbanks for it (not that many actually exist due to the quality and volume of what comes with it as standard). I've made some rubbish software purchases in the past, but I've never regretted this one.