Now after reading an opening paragraph like that, of course one might think... how the hell can you take such a pot-shot at someone's great works, especially when you have nothing even recorded. Think you could do better? I will of course concede that as a very valid point and I am totally non-defensible in that respect, but then again you can be the judges for yourselves if you think these tunes reach their full potential. I will give my reasons why I think they are just off the mark.
SYMBION PROJECT
What you are about to hear in the opening of this song is I think one of the most amazing intro's to a song ever. I am absolutely consumed with how cool the opening sequence is. It is eerie and beautiful, and something that I could NEVER replicate in a hundred thousand years without finding this guy and asking him how he did it. But he has this incredible opener, and then launches into a really lackluster ambient drone/drum solo for the remainder of the song. I am absolutely baffled as to how you can have such an amazing opener, and then not build on that in some significant way. Am I wrong about this?
-Soft Tempest-
PETE SAMPLES
Love this guy. He has such a unique sound, and he just somehow turned Pete Sampras into a pun. His most well known song Four Letter Words is a sonic gem for its genre, and has some really cool stuff going on. I love the deep descending bass kick, and the symphonic overlays. I am also really into the vocals that he has someone laying down, as I think they are perfect for this song. About half way through though, he basically just stops the song, and we just sit there and listen to wind chimes or something. Not sure why you would take the wind out of your own sails like that, but then again maybe it's just me??
-Four Letter Words-
JOEY FEHRENBACH
Joey Fehrenbach is a veteran of the GrooveSalad radio station on iTunes. He's well known for his downtempo and ambient work, and is a great producer. The first song I ever heard of his was Behold and I adored it for its simple form, and entrancing melody. I did however make a small disclaimer note in my mind about how incredibly slow the tempo was, and that it seemed to gather a bunch of momentum for some big moment, and then never really did anything but stick to the same melody all the way through. I don't fault Fehrenbach for making those choices artistically, I just felt like when I got to the end I had just missed an opportunity to hear something truly magnificent.
-Behold-
JENS BUCHERT
This is another guy I picked up off of GrooveSalad, and was really impressed with his work on Melange Electrique. It appears that Jens is a very talented Frenchman, and he is quite adept at making some really incredible ambient/electronic tunes. I adore the dissonant steel-drum overlay he puts in on this track, and I think it adds that element that makes the entire tune. I wouldn't say there is too much 'wrong' with this tune except that once again I am waiting for something extraordinary to happen, and yet there doesn't seem to be a payoff from a long and incredible momentum gain. See what you think..
-Melange Electrique-
I am not too big on critiquing others work publicly, as it is an automatic discredit to anything I am trying to do personally. Every one of these guys has been doing this for a long time, and they all have incredible production ability. While I am explaining that I really do love each of these songs, they just didn't totally knock me over when put under the microscope. I am of course trying to explore another element of this blog which will be trying to understand what makes or breaks good music. I am always interested to hear if other people are hearing or feeling the same things that I do when I hear these tunes or tunes like them. Finding new music is a passion of mine, and sometimes you stumble onto something that you think is incredible, and then when you stand back and look at the entire work of art, you just aren't as enamored as you were in the beginning. It's almost like a slight case of buyers remorse (especially if you bought the tune on iTunes).
Any comments on all of the above are much appreciated! Let me know what you like, and don't like?
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
-CS
hey, this is kasson from symbion project. somehow stumbled on this post and got intrigued by your comments. so making instrumental electronic music can be a tricky business. i approach songs essentially as "pop" songs meaning they have verses, choruses, etc even though they lack a singer who is lyrically and melodically tying all the sections together. so i'm interested to hear why you don't think by the end of the song that by coming back to opening theme there isn't any progression or dynamics in the song structure as a whole? i do agree that there are many times you'll hear a nice bit of genius only to then get it trampled upon or repeated endlessly. as a composer it's something i strive to deal with in all my songs! anyway, glad you like the genius moments of the track :) soft tempest is a song i'm very proud of making. cheers... kasson
ReplyDeleteHey Kasson,
ReplyDeleteSo surprised and humbled that you took the time to respond to my post! I would be lying if I said this isn't the first time the actual artist commented on the site. Really really cool! On the flip-side, I am of course slightly embarrassed, because I feel as though it was more of an inadvertent insult to say that your art was "missing something." Especially when I am a total novice, and have no business really critiquing that which you put your heart and soul into. My attempt was to try and point out some of the things that people struggle with when it comes to electronic music (repetitive elements etc.)in hopes that it would create some level of dialogue. I guess I didn't anticipate the actual creator being a part of the dialogue, but hey.. if it's on the internet, everyone can read it, right?? Let me reiterate how much I am in awe of 'Soft Tempest', because like I said in the post, there is absolutely no way I could have come up with something on that level, it is truly genius as I said. I still remember the day I first heard it, and what I was doing.. so kudos to you guys on having that affect on someone! (me) :) I am definitely of the mind-set that the song is tied together well, I guess I was just anticipating something more during the drum break-away part. I don't know that I would be able to articulate exactly what that 'missing element' would be, and I was hoping someone might have some insight into what they would have done or whatever. However, no one had replied to the post except you, so now the dialogue is with the creator, which is humbling and embarrassing at the same time haha. I sincerely appreciate you stopping in, and would love to hear more about your creative process, and what tools you use etc. Also, if you have any other works you are particularly proud of that I might be able to check out?
Many thanks again, and keep on doing what you are doing!
-CS