The Dead Morning - a sequel to a composition challenge winner

[Mornats]

If you can cast your mind and ears back to May 2016 I won the basschat composition challenge for the first time with The LIving Night (https://soundcloud.com/mornats/the-living-night).

It was always intended to be the first track of a duo with the second being The Dead Morning.

Finally, I got round to writing it, dropped it, started it again, did that a few times then ended up finishing it and I've spent the past two weeks or so mixing it and polishing it up.

https://soundcloud.com/mornats/the-dead-morning

As the blurb says:

Ethera vocals backed by Requiem Light choir set to Apocalypse percussion and the Albion One orchestra. Synths by Drumstruck and Massive. Piano is my special blend of The Giant and Ghost Piano.

Izotope Neutron and Ozone made a big impact on the sound of this. I hope it sounds ok to you!

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1503527871' post='3359007']...I hope it sounds ok to you!
[/quote]

Master of the understatement, eh..? Mmm, well, alright, OK it is, then.

...

No, seriously, this is a worthy sequel to the (deservedly...) winning composition of last year; and hopefully a prequel to a trilogy..? It's going to be a challenge, too, writing the script for the film that this (and its predecessor...) conjures up..! There's a sparse nature in the paradoxically rich tapestry which unfurls relentlessly before us, and a grim undercurrent of foreboding in the rapid pulsation. One is tempted to lend reconnaissance to the 'lyrics'; images are evoked from some mysterious, unknown depth of psyche, temptingly familiar yet totally foreign. I imagine that a fair amount of time was spent on the vocals; that time has paid off handsomely.
Not to neglect the rest of the orchestration, with some surprising dissonances in the piano, keeping us on edge, helped in this by the edgy strings and industrial 'noises off'. A nice echo back to the previous piece in the slight calm, only to take off once again, up to a restrained crescendo. Excellent work; thanks for sharing.

Edited August 24, 2017 by Dad3353

[Mornats]

Thanks for listening Douglas and for your review of it!

That piano is exactly the same patch (a blend on NI's The Giant and Ghost Piano from Sound Dust's Plastic Ghost Piano) from The Living Night. It sounds a bit different as it plays an octave or two below the one in The Living Night and is played faster so has a different dissonance to it.

The lyrics were from Ethera 2.0 Soundscapes and were one of the few patches with legible words in them. I was worried that they wouldn't make sense but I think they work. I have to thank RC 48 reverb from NI for the airy feel and NI's Replika XT for the more ethereal background vocals.

Neutron and Ozone were invaluable to the mix. Those presets are a good starting point and help you understand what "punchy and bright" sound like and how to get them working for you.

When I say it took two weeks mixing that's probably around 10 hours in total spread across that time. Time well spent as I learned a lot about mixing and mastering using Neutron and Ozone in that time. And as I said, when I did The Living Night I always had a sequel planned but it took a year to get something right. Hopefully the third in the trilogy (I love that idea) won't take as long

Edit: I forgot the mention that the staccato woodwind ensemble that does that fluttery ostinato is from Albion One and that patch sounds just sublime, I just love it.

Another edit: I used the famous Abbey Road technique to EQ the reverb and have to say, it works a treat! Vid if you're interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lNckK8N3to

Edited August 24, 2017 by Mornats

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1503601794' post='3359636']...the famous Abbey Road technique to EQ the reverb...
[/quote]

Not so famous that I'd heard of it, so thanks for the tip. The fellow does an excellent job of demonstrating it; I'll certainly be trying it out. I'll have to start using Fx sends even more, it seems.