Because I've been so short on time lately, my Picks of April will go up a week late, sorry. :(
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A quick plug, everyone check this guy out and leave some support!
sadlersongs - new to the Audio Portal as of only a few days ago, though his talent is only too obvious! Give his stuff a look if you're interested in hearing professional-quality soundtrack music.
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Download here, and hear the original here (at the bottom of the page)!
My original intentions were to surprise you all and get Cordis to put it up on his page somehow, and then link there - but there's no easy way for it to happen really. :\ I've posted it here instead.
With this track, I wasn't aiming for production value or originality as much as I was aiming for emotional power. It's an experiment in this sense - you'll hear I cut a few corners in the process by recycling drum sounds plus a synth or two from Sleep. So if you're going to offer criticism for this one, keep that in mind.
No news with the other WIPs, but I'm going to have less and less production time as mid-April approaches, and even less for the better part of May. We'll see how that goes. :)
EDIT: I'm not actively working on any WIPs at the moment, actually. So now would be a pretty good time to make suggestions... ;D
Apeirophobiac
Whoa. This is one heck of a great song! A very emotional and soothing track, perfect for late-night listening.
I definitely recognize the drums and a synth or two, but that's totally fine. Sleep was an awesome song! I'm going to review this one as well as I know how.
First off, I love the pan effect on the opening pad. Very wide and dreamy-like ;) Which is good for a pad to be. The piano is perfect, if slightly repetitive in the rhythm. This is an ambient style, though, so too much variation might throw the listener.
Bass is quite nice, sort of acts like a pad on longer notes... is it just my hearing, or is the bass dipping into some notes? I hear solid notes in between, but around 1:25 it sounds like the bass is dipping up. If it is, I like that effect. If not... my hearing needs checked. :P
The fade off is a nice effect, and then... wow. Choirs. How the heck do you get choirs that amazing? No exaggeration, I believe that is the best synthesized choir sound I've heard yet. Too bad it didn't last longer... glad they came back later!
And then the piano and such comes back in. I admire your ability to make transitions happen without being too sudden. Nice work!
I hear Cordis's original, Sleep, and even a slight hint of good old SBB's "Galaxy." Something about the snare connects with that song... but in a good way.
I could spend all the rest of my 6,882 characters telling you all I liked about this, but I think I've said enough already. Just keep up the good work!
Oh, and I do have a suggestion for what you should do next. This ambient stuff is awesome... do you think you could do a sort of softer, more melodic style of house? I don't know how that might be achieved, but I've heard some softer house that I thought was wonderful and wanted to know what you could come up with. Just a thought!
Karco
This long comment brightened my day Apeirophobiac, thanks. :)
The repetitive rhythm in the piano comes from the original composition - this is a remix after all. I'm glad you like it though, I had to take down the notes from the original by ear and couldn't get parts of it to stay fully true to the original.
The bass does slide now and then but there's nothing at 1:25, it might just be you.
The choir is a Nexus2 sound, as usual with me. It's quite awesome. :D I couldn't resist using them later either - they really make the song that much more dramatic. And thanks for the compliments on the transitions. :)
Thanks for the kind words - not sure what you mean by softer house though, care to send me a PM with some links perhaps? Who knows, maybe I'll try it. :)