It has endured a long and arduous process to get to its current resolved state but now that it is finally complete, I am very happy with the way it turned out.
The basic idea behind this work is a very personal one, you see, the wind really annoys me, it is in my top 5 annoyances (along with uncontrollable sneezing fits and driving in multi-storey car-parks). This work is basically an aural representation of my battle with the wind. This irritation is the base catalyst.
To be honest, I wasn't planning on the track length reaching almost half an hour in duration, the length wasn't really a consideration, after taking the piece from its written form to its recorded final form, that's just the way it turned out, it might be a problem for some people whose attention spans aren't top notch, but I feel as though it adds to the immersion.
I found this project monumentally challenging, since starting this project about midway through the semester, it's basically all I've been doing outside of work and other assignments. I recorded everything myself, without any assistance, this certainly showed my varied proficiency at various instruments; the bass tracks took about 2 weeks to record (of which there are many), this formed the sound-bed on which the rest of the piece sits. The drums were recorded next, which took the longest, probably around 3 weeks. Once they were done (one of the most relieving experiences I've had), I recorded all the guitar tracks which probably took around 3 or 4 days. A few different variations on these instruments took special consideration as to how they could be recorded effectively, such as distorted bass swells, extremely down-tuned guitar & bass (top string down to a low G#) and overlaying a snare track in the final breakdown section.
This piece was recorded (completely) in my home studio, it was also the first full length piece I have recorded using my new equipment so it was a massive learning curve, both for my playing ability and my technical skills in the recording process.
A few formal considerations; in this project the guitar and bass were tuned to a tuning I created a few months back, which is half a step down from Open D tuning, (C#, G#, c#, f#, g#,c#) this way, even when an open chord is played, it sounds incomplete and tense (as in, not quite a C or a D).
It is certainly a relief to have this project in its completed state, but this was definitely the most fun I've had in any Uni project so far. I've undertaken a rapid acquisition of learning about my equipment and how to approach the creation of sound pieces. The final piece is pretty much as I imagined it to be so I'm pretty happy about that.
The best way to appreciate this (I find) is when listening to the piece, try to imagine "Where is this?" as the arrangements and atmospherics change and develop throughout the piece.
No comments:
Post a Comment