Regreetings, Monsieur le conducteur des valves.

Well done for not forgetting to return. It only took a couple of weeks – a short forever.

Yeah, nice, ominous intro and then it gets a bit brighter and warmer. I’d rather it were darker but I really struggled in general with that intro after the first 20 or so seconds.

“Nice subdued percussion” is just a basic, minimal Metal Machine kit groove, plus some occasional nice ride fills and stuff before it goes heavier.

“2:48 Is that a guitar with some pitch bending effects?”

It’s a VST guitar part that is being driven by an arpeggiator. I do some pitch bending and automate the amount of distortion, plus a couple of other effects.

“This is a cool little, almost minimal section. The distorted, sustained guitar in the background is a good addition.”

Yeah, the track comes down into a chillout version of what has just been going on. So, I take most of the distortion off the VST guitar plus add some new cello parts.

“5:08 Those low tones are looowww.”

As already stated, I only have one bass instrument in the whole track – a sample-based string sound. Probably a double bass. I have a bunch of effects on it and vary them to give different sections different moods. It’s always got delay on it but I add a filter to give it more of a subdued sound during some chillout sections. And boost the low end when necessary. I don’t think there’s a phaser though it’s possible.

“6:28- complete drop off of the percussion. Good job.”

Indeed. I’m too often guilty of not having any drum breaks in my tracks, as has been pointed out by a few people over the years. I’m a bit drum and groove obsessed so don’t always find these drumless sections easy but they do help break the track up a bit.

“7:32- picking up the pace just a touch with those drums.”

Yes, double time drums begin. The track is 120BPM but the drums play at half tempo until that point. Then I try to turn the track into something like dance music.

“9:09- I would have liked to hear the drums pick even more.”

I’m adding in quite a few metal fills, plus a dance music drum loop. I think perhaps you want them heavier or something. I initially wanted this end section to be heavier but I’ve gone for more restrained and smooth rather than badass.

“as far as being a dark, or "doom" track as a whole, not entirely.”

Agreed. Dark and evil doesn’t come easily to me. I must not have your blackened soul or something. If you’d made this, there would be a much more evil vibe but I struggle with that, generally tending towards more beauty and smooth grooving. My attempts at dark and evil often sound discordant whereas more regular sounding notes seem to make more sense and are more pleasing so I just go with that.

Thanks for the thoughts. I still have huge musical frustrations and limitations and am making stuff much slower these days.

Static SlowMad

Thanks.

Yes, it is a bit dark. But only a bit.

Word up, steel hauling valvedriver. Great to hear you thought it was really good.

You finish up your metalwork and let me know your magical thoughts. Dig in. Dig deep.

Later, crater excavator.

This certainly didn’t feel flawless when making it as I had to spend so long listening over and over again, hoping for new ideas and riffs. It seemed like it would never be finished so I was happy to finally do so. It’s the opposite of a properly composed and live played piece. I just work on small sections at a time and then mix and automate as I go, hoping for new ideas to pop up as I listen back. Just as well some eventually came.

I doubt I’ll ever make a flawless track but I’m happy for anyone else to feel so. And say so.

Thanks for the words.

Hello, GoldWoman.

It is indeed rather long though only a bit dark. Nothing too aggressive or discordant. More beauty than I was going for but that’s OK.

Poor old NeoMorphinBro, desperately looking for a new bit of Nomad and continually being frustrated. Until, one day in March 2018, The God Unknown heard about his situation and delivered Neo a new Nomad track. It’s not the real Nomad but a track this mysterious God cooked up in half an hour to satisfy the Nomad’s biggest fan.

What’s pulling a Clapton? Is that taking a break from music for a few years to be a heroin addict? No, I didn’t do that – I’ve just mostly run out of creativity and riffs and stuff. Which, as a musician, can be a bit of a problem.

“not sure if I would label it Doom”

I agree. I tried and failed to make doom cello. I’d be happy if I‘d managed to add some short evil sections, or even just fills, here and there. Something a lot darker and perhaps more discordant adn atonal than what I have here. But I failed as I sort of don’t know how and am generally constricted by my desire to seek out beauty and melody. You probably could have added some tasty, evil bits of guitar. And/or a proper solo.

“To me its more mystical, or strangely unnerving. And I think that's a better or more interesting quality actually.”

I don’t know if it’s better. Mystical isn’t too difficult for me but dark and evil without being offputting is more difficult for me to achieve so would be more pleasing to accomplish.

“I especially like the kit you've chosen.”

That’s John Tempesta’s Superior Drummer kit called Metal Machine. You must know him – excellent drummer from White Zombie. I’ve used it in loads of tracks.

“I cant believe how f'n cool this vst guitar track is!”

Don’t believe it as I only think it’s decent. But I’m a bit jaded after listening to it thousands of times and struggling to automate it to get it to move vaguely how I wanted.

“Its like some crazy whammy bar distortion delayed glitch thing.”

I guess that was me automating the pitch, plus something else. It’s a VST guitar being driven by an arpeggiator in Reason.

“Cello is totally amazing”

It’s pretty good but you may have been confused by what is and isn’t cello. Some strings are programmed, for instance the only bass sound used here, which plays throughout. There are various periods with no cello at all.

“I hope you don't get in the habit of the disappearing acts”

I am firmly in the habit, so to speak. Just because it’s taking longer to make a track these days due to my lack of ideas. My output has slowed down so much, which is somewhat distressing to me but I’m trying not to let it get me down.

“its too damn short”

I don’t agree though I could easily have made it longer.

Thanks for the kind words, high praise and interesting reflections.

Disappearing Nomad

Godly greetings, Cru Diddley.

A very rare favourite from you. Praise indeed.

“sadness sorrow and melancholy”

Perhaps those but I heard it as more mystical power when making the track. I was probably fairly emotionless when making it so it didn’t feel like “Raw Unfettered sound and emotion” when playing or programming the track. I was just working with a slow tempo and emotive string and pad sounds. I was trying to make slow doom music but the mystical beauty took over, which wasn’t my intention. I tried to make it heavier but failed.

“At 3:55 you sound as if you are just toying with us sonically.”

Not sure what you mean. That’s the chillout faux g section where I keep that arpeggiated guitar VST from the previous heavy section going but with much lighter distortion.

“so much new in this dark deviant sound you have created”

The main new element is that delayed, droning, buzzy string bass sound that plays almost throughout.

“9:15 you are touching upon dark sounds.”

Yes, now we’re properly into the final, dance music end section and things are more uptempo and fun. Not mystical and brooding.

“9;40 sounds a stringed instrument used as a percussion sound”

That’s one of two music samples used here. Just one short riff from some clangy sort of stringed instrument (not sure what) that I find rather funky the way I’ve used it. Very percussive.

“Some nice double bass drums used tastefully throughout”

Well I am using a metal drum kit so I can’t help doing some double bass drumming, at various points. It’s good fun!

Thanks for the thoughts and I’m happy to give you a “nice re-entry back into the fragmented world of looperman.”

Godly Nomad

Hello.

It’s a shame I can’t read your extensive reply but not to worry. It’s best to type your replies in a separate document and then copy and paste to Looperman.

I’m glad to hear I took you on an amazing trip to a whole different dimension. That’s my aim. I’m really not much of a composer. I just loop riffs and parts up and then jam over the top and extensively edit and see what comes out. I’m not really sure that’s composition in the proper sense. I only have a vague idea where I’m going when I start a track and fully expect interesting and unexpected things to happen along the way as I try out all sorts of sounds and moods.

Maybe I’ll try adding a bit of reverb to the drums though I quite like how clear and present they are. Not dry, as that wouldn’t suit the spacey vibe, but not overly booming and reverb heavy.

“I am curious for what you have used to make this composition. Expecially as for these reversed sounds.”

Since 2001, I’ve used Reason and Cubase in conjunction ie each track is made up of a Reason and Cubase file that run as one. Synths are mostly from Reason and audio recordings are all in Cubase though my drum VSTs (Superior Drummer) also run in Cubase. The only recorded audio here is electric cello. Everything else is programmed synths and drums, plus a couple of samples.

The reversed sounds (they’re not actually that obvious to me) are simply a reverse reverb setting on the reverb units on a few synths in Reason. No reversed cello parts though I do sometimes do that.

The only bass sound in this is a sample-based orchestral string sound that I really like. It’s quite noisy, which is effective a lot of the time. When I don’t want it to be so noisy, I just add a filter that takes the edge off it. Plus EQing the top end.

Any other setup questions, just ask and I will tell.

I’m now working on another track based on leftover parts from this one though it will probably take a while to finish. I’m aiming for it to be just chilled out and beautiful rather than dark, ominous and sometimes heavy.

Thanks for the appreciation.