This is a track I made using only samples and synthesizers. The samples used are the sound of rain, a drum track, a person counting numbers and bees. The rain was turned into a melodic instrument by using a filter to bring out the natural resonance of the raindrops. The first half of the track sampled drums by cutting longer sections and triggering them in a different tempo in order to achieve a more 'wonky' feel and rhythm. The idea behind the bees was to slowly introduce various pitch-shifted bees together until they become a swarm and act as sort of a 'bee-synth'. The addition of a person counting numbers compliments the piece by adding a sense of urgency and chaos. The second half of the piece uses more traditional instruments such as synths and virtual drums.
The idea behind this track was to take something inherently hard to follow such as odd time signatures and polymetre and make it into something cohesive. Initially, the track was written as an improvised live piece for physical synthesizers, but I felt that it would work just as well with a solid structure. This is why I recorded and structured the song on Pro Tools. In addition, this meant that I could write a string section for the piece which includes counter melody.
I was asked to make music for an independent film which was about a Viking's quest for Valhalla. The stabs, stingers and dynamic shifts were synced to the images on screen. The basis for the track is a tri-tone chord in the bass section, layered with more fluid higher register violins and cellos. Looking back, I would have preferred to have used better sounding virtual instruments. At an attempt to make them sound more authentic I used some light distortion and reverb.
This is the first song in which I wrote, engineered, and played all the instruments myself. It was recorded using an older, less stable version of Reaper in my sitting room. At the time I did not own any cymbal stands and had to use my mom's umbrella as a replacement. I still remember how frustrating it was to climb over so many cables in order to just hit record. To this day I am still happy with how it sounds.
This is technical demonstration of a demo-track that my band Pack of Dogs recorded. The raw audio and mixed track are played side by side in order for comparison. At the time of recording the only equipment we had available could only record on to a single track. This meant I could not isolate and mix the instruments independently. As a drawback, I could only use EQ and various audio clean-up techniques to mix it. As frustrating as this was it meant that due to limitations, I was forced to come up with various creative solutions to adapt to the situation. Despite the setbacks, I am happy with the final result.