RA - 9th

[Chris {RA}]

Maybe a bit too much of the same notes and rhythm that gets blurred by delay effects. And definitely too loud bass drum, perhaps a bit overcompressed sound.

 

But well thought out, floating music with a sense of journey.

 

Thank you for the last positive remark.

When it comes to the "overcompressed" kick I can mentioned that yes, it is of course compressed in the original mix, overcompressed? no.

Maybe the mastering took it slightly over the edge, but that's about it.

Also how much compression you use is a matter of taste, and not as black&white as some would like to have it. Some music genres overcompress a lot as an added effect.

I've seen some posts from you before about the "loudness" of music and how the compression today destroys the dynamics in music. I agree, in many ways it does.

I suppose if we decided to go for STEM mastering instead we could have had an even cleaner sound, but as you may know using STEM is also risky as it may change the overall picture too much, not to mention the costs...

 

"Same notes and rhythm that gets blurred"? Well, I see where you're coming from and again this is a matter of taste.

I don't know if you produce yourself or not, but to get a sense of 3D dynamics (or a sense of space) some delays are usually effective in this genre.

How much you decide to use is a matter of taste and a matter of composition technique. Sounds strange? Well, say that you compose a goa track and you want a feel of a C minor changing to a G# major (and maybe moving into the F minor and A# major before going back to C min). How to do this when you leave out the 3rd of every chord AND you want to keep the bass from changing (because YES, the bass often lose punch when it changes too much).

One way of dealing with this is introducing the 3rds in the riffs where you play with the feel of the chords without actually changing the chord.

By adding delays the picture becomes more complex and whole when the notes are overlapping. Of course the delays do NOT make the same effect as having 2-not stabs (in 5ths) going in the background like more commercial trance, but the notes are there. Much like a real violin for instance that has a natural overtone and hence composers tend to leave out certain notes in their violin arrangements because the feel of the left out note is already present. This is referred to as harmonics and is hard to distinguish as separate notes, but the feel is different if you were to remove these harmonics.

By listening to the riffs solo with delays I go over them again and again to see where the essential harmonics happen and how they affect the feel. Many times by putting the FX up to max just to know exactly what is going on I edit away notes or change them because they add a slight disharmony and then I take the FX down again to the normal level. It takes time and effort but is worth it in the end.

Shame you think it is too much, but it is definitely something I would not change :-P

 

Chris [RA]

[avogadro]

I read on the suntrip website : "CD Copies pressed : 1000"

 

Only 1000 copies for this Masterpiece ?

 

It's a joke ?

[Penzoline]

I read on the suntrip website : "CD Copies pressed : 1000"

 

Only 1000 copies for this Masterpiece ?

 

It's a joke ?

 

You must realize these albums don't sell that much.

[Djuna]

Next to Corolle Suntrip's most solid album, lovely story-telling throughout the entire album. Not much changed since To Sirius, but it still sounds fresh and certainly not outdated. I play this one at least every month, right when I'm about to forget that I have it.

[Celaripo]

i cant think of many trance tracks more beautiful than track number 4 other self - jaw-dropping piece of music

[Kitrinos]

Predator is by far my favourite. A masterpiece. I only don't really like Transcendent and Expand Consciousness. The rest are good. 

[GhostOnAcid]

On 11/22/2008 at 10:43 AM, Lemmiwinks said:

Another thing bugging me (about this album and new school in general) is the absence of memorable hooks: ok, you're having a good time while listening to this album but press "stop" and try continuing the melody in your head: nothing will come because nothing really stands out! I remember back in the days some oldschool melodies were so memorable that they would stay in my mind for YEARS. For example, I haven't listened to Prana - Scarab for at least 5 years but all I have to do is close my eyes, think about the track and it all comes back to me in a flash: the way it starts with the didgeridoo sounds, the way it picks up and continues, the way it stops near the end and the great melody starts just when you thought the track was over, EVERYTHING! That simply isn't the case here, or with most newschool releases. Maybe this should be something that newschool producers should keep in mind for future releases?

I read your old review on discogs and i wonder you see at the same way today? It is right many Neogoa has unmemorable melodies, cliche-sounds and so on. But here I hear one memorable melody after another. Some tracks have not only one hook. Here are not only floating melodies or arpeggiator after arpeggiator. The whole album is memorable. That is the reason why this is a real classic for me and one of the best albums in history of Goatrance. :-)