Gold Obelisk

Remember two days ago when I waxed poetic about Stepic, the amazing new step sequencer I got? Remember how I was fawning over those 80s Tangerine Dream soundtrack bass lines? Remember how I said that you’d likely hear more tracks with that kind of thing? Well, here we are. This is darn close (if not massively over the line) into pastiche territory. If I played this without comment for a Tangerine Dream fan, I suspect … Continue reading

Random Strudels

I bought a new tool. Yes, I buy a lot of tools, and most of them end up gathering digital dust when the newness wears off. In this case, though, I think I may have stumbled upon something that not only isn’t available in any of my other tools, but goes so far beyond what I expect that it could fundamentally change how I write certain tracks. The tool is called Stepic, and it’s a … Continue reading

I Don’t Remember

After a bit of faffing about, I wasn’t getting any traction and decided to pull out the “inspiration bag of tricks” box. Modern software like Scaler and other “AI” type tools has provided a lot of ways to avoid needing any sort of formal music training or theory. I have basic to intermediate theory, but most of what I do is instinctual. It’s actually very similar to my command of the English language. I learned … Continue reading

Falling

This was an “inspired-by-sound” song, which is strange since the sound was a piano. During the recent holiday sales frenzies, I picked up a sample library from Spitfire called Heirloom. The default patch is a piano with a fuzzy warm nostalgia to it. A bit out of tune, a bit creaky (a bit too much, actually), but giving all of the vibes of sitting in your childhood home playing the piano. I noodled for a … Continue reading

Change Your Behavior

Hey, remember when I said that I’d learned that it was normally better to be mercurial and opaque when it comes to lyrics? Not to hit people over the head with the obvious hammer? Yeah. I kind of ignored that for this one. It should be no surprise to anyone who knows me that fall pretty squarely into the libertarian camp when it comes to political leanings. I’m not a purist – I recognize that … Continue reading