Open You're Min'd

This is the first track I've completed since rewriting my music software in Clojure. Let me know what you think:

intro reminds me of the start of the album Rooty by Basement Jaxx

when the tempo kicks in it starts to feel more like oldskool computer games I woulda been playing around 2001 as a kid...will link to an example at the end of the post maybe

i like the textures that come up as you're teasing the drums around a minute thirty, but I find myself wanting a stronger kick to come in at some point. like just something that would make a dude at the back of the rave yell out "YEEEEEEEEAAAAHHHHHHHH"

yeah honestly the lack of a strong bass in really the only thing holding this track back for me. perhaps it's my headphones though, might sound fine on other set-ups. textures are otherwise very good

(also did you make that image? it's fun, reminds me of when i used to spend lots of time drawing shapes in photoshop, how sometimes it'd end up feeling weirdly evocative)

The more melodic section that starts around 4.5 minutes in: good start, some really pretty AM kinda sounds here. especially those shimmery aurea borealis waves going on in the background. part of me wishes that there was a more clear-cut melodic line taking centre stage, another part of me appreciates the way you let it hang out as this spacious drift. like standing out at night on a vast plain in the cold, watching the stars immense overhead. this section feels very organic & flowing, especially as that smoother pad begins to take shape around 7:30. great textures here.

Again finding myself wanting a more pronounced rhythm section as the energy picks back up. Sick acid//psytrance line at nine minutes, though. This track works really well as an ambient piece, but the way it keeps flirting with more ravey sounds makes my brain start jonesin for the drop. overall i dig it though: the ground here is fertile

Thanks for the feedback! I'm surprised to hear about the bass, I was worried that the track was too bassy if anything. Most of the bassline is concentrated in the low harmonics though so maybe it doesn't come through on headphones? I did try boosting the upper harmonics a bit when I was mixing  but didn't like the result, should probably have tried harder.

I did make the image, yes. Was done with Python.

Listening to the video you posted now, it's cool.

  On 10/26/2020 at 3:25 PM, Rotwang said:

I'm surprised to hear about the bass, I was worried that the track was too bassy if anything. Most of the bassline is concentrated in the low harmonics though so maybe it doesn't come through on headphones?

That might be it! I've had trouble mixing harmonic bass stuff in the past myself. Often it'll come out sounding one way on phones, a completely different way on speakers...I distinctly remember a moment once when I dropped a track I had done entirely on headphones into a liveset for the first time, only to discover that there were entire harmonies in the thing which only became audible on the club system! i do have speakers as of recently, still need to get them set up proper - will try to rememer to revisit this track when I do!

I can confirm bass troubles as well, sounds like it's out of phase or something. There's this weird black hole where it should be that is really doing my head in when listening, I think it's my brain trying to correct what my ears are hearing.

Interesting, thanks. I won't have access to my monitors this week but when I get a chance I'll see if I can figure out what's up with that and reupload if I can fix it.

I didn't sum the low frequencies to mono like people often recommend - do you think that might help?

I do.

OK, I've reuploaded it with more bass. Hopefully an improvement.

nice, my brain can process that now!