Tag Archives: Ambient

CoolPad

CoolPad was one of those rare compositions that was actually done incrementally, bit by bit, over the course of a number of weeks. Initially, CoolPad started with a single pattern I was playing on a Reaktor synth that I was demoing. So, I recorded a loop of the pattern, and began adding on other sounds, including tones from Buzzer, Vanguard, and others. Finally, I threw on a fairly simple drum loop, and that was the basic sound. From there, more things were layered on, and various different sounds came into play, finally leading to a breakdown and another buildup (with some sounds almost reminiscent of “Midnight in Berlin”), before finally coming up with a decent ending.

Aside from the main Reaktor pad sound and a few others from the likes of Buzzer, almost everything in this track is done with an instance of Vanguard (except for some EXSP strings). The drum loops (there is actually more than one) are from Garageband Jam Pack 2.

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/coolpad.mp3

Synth Thing

Alarm clocks and I have always had somewhat of a strained relationship. As a result, I’ve tried virtually every type of alarm clock out there that I can find, and none of them really seem to work perfectly. Analog alarm clocks have a ticking hand that drives me crazy trying to fall asleep, and while digitals are better, that grating beeping noise drives me insane. So, I try a radio alarm clock, but waking up to someone else’s idea of music isn’t very appealing (and neither is waking up to a screaming car commercial). Okay, fine then, I’ll use a CD-playing alarm clock – but what music can I use? Synth sounds are good, put trance is a bit too much for early in the morning… and anything too mellow won’t get me up. As a result, I created this – an evolving arpeggiation that starts off slow enough not to drive you crazy, but gets powerful and strident enough at the end to actually get you out of bed. Of course, as soon as I do this, I find out that my CD alarm clock is too limited to play recordable CDs… ah, well, that’s life, though.

Production Notes: All patches are done in Vanguard, including that one at the end which will definitely test the THX certification on your speakers… except for the one at the very very end, which is done using a Reaktor ensemble.

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/synththing.mp3

Subharmonics

This is an ambient piece that I recorded live, using a custom patch that I created for Reaktor Subharmonic. Overall, I think that the sound ended up sounding almost a bit like something you might find in a Vangelis track, and it’s fast become one of my favorite sounds from this instrument. Anyway, the result is a reflective piece with an interesting and distinctive character.

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/subharmonics.mp3

Kyoto Nights

Kyoto Nights was created using an innovative technique for creating freeform music – a program called ColorMusic (written by Shinichiro Hirama). This program translates the movement of a mouse over contrasting colors in an image file, and converts the result to music in the form of a midi sequencer file. The raw source for Kyoto Nights came from using a screenshot from the game Oni, and then edited and processed with different instruments in Melody Assistant.

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/Kyoto_Nights.mp3