Note: This post was written in 2025 and backdated to appear on the day I wrote and published the track.
This visit to the Mares is another drone. Once again, the Slate + Ash libraries are the stars here, and I began warming up a bit more to Spectres. It’s still my least favorite of their libraries, but as I poke more through the content, I’m finding usable things.
- Mare Anguis Ray Toler 7:34
In this case, the main drone sound and the “lead” sound that becomes prominent about halfway through are the same sound, but I used two separate instances. This allowed me to send things to different effects chains, set and move levels independently, and so on.
Watching the track play back, I really didn’t do too much. Only the effects level changes over time, so it’s the complexity of the various sounds that does the heavy lifting. It’s not just a set-it-and-forget-it piece, though, as I did play in the chords and melody. There’s not much time sense here, and while the project has a tempo, I never had the metronome going. It’s entirely freeform.
Over time I’ve really come to like this one. The slightly atonal / metallic feedbackish sound is just out of tune enough to set your teeth on edge, but it doesn’t make the piece ominous or forboding1Not to me, at least but rather mysterious. A journey through an off-planet mining colony with massive machines and bending metal, or an old mill with an ancient waterwheel and not enough oil to combat the rust.
Colophon
Instruments & Samples
S+A Spectres and Cycles
Effects, Mixing, & Mastering
FabFilter, Gullfoss, Output Portal and Movement, Valhalla Delay
Source Image: NASA
Notes
- 1Not to me, at least