--The post what you are working on *right now* thread--

[GH]

Baldego Green:

Really good song. Interesting choice of rhythm kicking in at 1:20, and especially liking the synthesizer chords!

Having said that, it's the quirky fluttery vocal samples that give it the most character - without them, this would still be very good, just not half as unique a sound.

Thank you, I really appreciate that

[kyriakos]

Cafe

[m_thomp]

Originally posted in The Playground, but realised that this thread is much more appropriate.

Hi guys,

Just like BoC, after a long radio silence, I’ve finally resurfaced. I originally thought I'd posted the original post to kick-off this thread at the start of last year, turns out it was 2 years ago. Quick re-cap...

Previously on m_thomp’s Twoism posts:

I was eager to start making music and canvassing for opinion about what the best route to go down actually was. Having considered your responses I opted for Ableton and jumped straight in at the deep end - in truth I started in earnest at the start of 2012 (I work on BoC time). If Ableton were a video game, I’d like to say my current capability is at the ‘Novice’ or ‘Easy’ difficulty level (the lowest being ‘Amateur’ the highest being ‘Expert’). In short, I’d consider myself marginally above ‘awful’. And it’s debatable whether I’ve risen that high.

The bulk of last year was spent generating lots of ideas/sketches without biting the bullet and committing them into a full arrangement. I guess I lacked the confidence to follow through on the fleshing out those ideas.

I then had some baby-shaped impetus. My woman got knocked up, and my Ableton playtime was running out. So towards the end of the year, with varying degrees of success, I arranged 3 pieces.

The baby is now born (girl, 4 months old, cheers) so I’m looking to get back into the music-making fold. But, with the time gap, distance and clarity that 4 months of changing shitty nappies brings, I wanted to get some constructive criticism on where I’m at. Which is why I’m back on here: to share with a knowledgable, clued-up and informed crowd of what I’ve been upto (baby not included) and gain some feedback.

So here’s a breakdown of the three pieces, which today, after endless attempts to export the 'true' sound of the tracks out of Ableton, I've managed to shove onto Soundcloud:

The first and the worst. This is a very naive piece, and one that tends to suffer from 1) the lack of an engaging intro (it feels, and is, sort of bolted on, as well as a bit Euro-Housey) and 2) a ‘throw enough mud and see if it sticks’ mentality. I think there are some good ideas in there (and, no, none of those appear in the first 2.30 mins) but I’ve kind of buried them in a fog of effects rather than emphasize them. This hasn’t been mixed down or EQ’d and relies on a lot of global send/return tracks which would probably make the mixing and EQ’ing difficult (but don’t know because I haven’t tried, and I haven’t tried because I don’t know how to do it).

Second one and probably my favourite. For this, I deliberately copied the arrangement of an existing song – that’s just the arrangement and not the sound (my song and the copied song sound very different) in a bid to focus my work by giving it a template to follow. There is a prize if you can guess what the copied song is. Again, there is no mixing and EQ’ing on this track. This track also relies on a few global send / return tracks.

The Third one – my goal on this track was to avoid a static 4/4 rhythm, instead going for a rhythm that was constantly shifting (albeit subtly). This too started life as me trying to ape another track (a static 4/4 track) but ended up somewhere very different. I think it's a bit ramble-y, and perhaps suffers from me showing some of my influences a bit too obviously - I grew up loving the Orb, so there's a bit of a meandering, unfocussed, themes drifting in-and-out vibe to it. Again, there is no mixing and EQ’ing on this track.

I think, as a result of the global send and return tracks, when I try to render these tracks they lose some of the effects. The result is the rendered track don’t include a lot of the effects applied to them.. it’s almost like m_thomp Unplugged. I’m not sure of how I can avoid this. I’m trying to find a workaround for this (NB - I think I've cracked this now, as the Soundcloud version sounds a lot closer to the Ableton 'Master' track).

So what am I looking for from you guys? An honest critique, mainly. And guidance too, as many of you are music-makers/producers in your own right, with impeccable taste too it must be said, an experienced helping hand to avoid known pitfalls or advice on ways to improve would be invaluable. I feel as though there must be a world of do's and don'ts out there that I've stepped in through sheer blind ignorance and diddly-squat in the way of any musical education. I'd certainly class everthing I do as a novice's work-in-progress (and not a balloon), so please go gentle on me!

[GH]

@m_thomp: Hey man, there's tonnes of potential in there. I can see you're starting from a point far removed from inside the box, and that's a real plus.
The second one is my favourite too, and I like where you're going with all three, so good work in general.
All that remains for you to do is stick with it.

[kyriakos]

[Treefingers]

Produced a nice, short, bassy, ambient vignette out of something else I'm working on.


And also did a sort of remix of 'If I Am' by My Bloody Valentine.


Sunday, productive Sunday

[nordheim]

Just finished this!
My 2009 album "Flight" Remastered. Free of charge. 4trks, 21mins, 1pdf, 1mov. http://theattemptedtheftofmillions.band ... 3-remaster

[Pointsman]

the recent BoC events has inspired me enjoy

Nice, can't decide if the static in the first part is a bit hard on my ears or not, it's just on the edge of turning unpleasant. found the rest of the song though to be just really pleasant, nice melody and panning.

New project of mine: http://soundcloud.com/pauls-islet

[noby]

I've been reviving my future jazz tendencies lately.

[todieisfun]

the recent BoC events has inspired me enjoy

Nice, can't decide if the static in the first part is a bit hard on my ears or not, it's just on the edge of turning unpleasant. found the rest of the song though to be just really pleasant, nice melody and panning.

New project of mine: http://soundcloud.com/pauls-islet

great work, i love the sound of Rise and Shine, Mate. beautiful piano sound. thanks for the feedback, appreciate it

[todieisfun]

I've been reviving my future jazz tendencies lately.

damnnnnnn this is good. keep it up

[Betacord]

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0FcT4qbe3JQ

I've been reviving my future jazz tendencies lately.

Brilliant bit of music - bright & smooth jazz-influenced chords, tight drums driving things forward.
Really great stuff... If you ever finish this one, let us know!

[m_thomp]

@m_thomp: Hey man, there's tonnes of potential in there. I can see you're starting from a point far removed from inside the box, and that's a real plus.
The second one is my favourite too, and I like where you're going with all three, so good work in general.
All that remains for you to do is stick with it.

Thanks GH. Your encouragement means a lot. I’m going to make a bit more of an effort to stop adding more and more layers to my tracks, and just try and hone the original ideas a bit more.

I think aping someone else’s arrangement also helped. That’s what made Track 2 flow a lot better. It also stops my rambling instincts – again, I blame Dr Alex Paterson for this

In true BoC spirit, I have lots of ideas/works-in-progress that have never progressed beyond a few loops bouncing round. I may record some of them as tiny snippets, stick them on Soundcloud and let you Twoism-folk decide which one I should flesh out as my next move – I work better under instruction!

[GH]

New track featuring the vocals of Livi. Free download. The track is called Unearthed.

[TaoTapeTao]

haven't been back here for a while.. gonna be making a hiphop mixtape over the summer, here's a little rough sample of what it's gonna sound like.

https://soundcloud.com/maketapesounds/track-hop

[lyst]

Really very proud of this new one.

[747Music]

Really very proud of this new one.

That's quite nice actually. I really enjoyed it.

[747Music]

I'm working on this one currently. I rendered it to get feedback, so it's not done yet.

Our Work Here Is Done

I like the chords and that wonderful FM-style synth going on...

Building up those drums is probably the way to go - thinking rapid hi-hats and a snappy 80s style snare, something like that? Could then also experiment with re-arranging the kickdrum pattern(s) to see if anything else besides the standard four-to-the-floor pattern works as well, or better.

Thanks you for listening and taking the time for constructive criticism. I'll definitely take your suggestions to mind. thanks again.

[GH]

Just to say 747Music is a refreshing example in this thread. ^^^^^^^^Look^^^^^^^^^

Not only does he listen and comment on other peoples music rather than just drop his own, but he also does something much more important: He thanks people who have listened to his tracks.

Sometimes I feel that can be kind of lacking in this thread.

[747Music]